Thales UK has opened its new Joint Electronic Warfare Experimentation Laboratory (JEWEL) in Leicester, UK. The JEWEL features a fully operational Electronic Warfare Operation Centre (EWOC) to provide complete simulation of land electronic warfare scenarios, support tools, and mission planning and reporting. Its ability to simultaneously simulate up to nine sensors, including two live sensors, allows Thales to demonstrate the capability and flexibility of sensor remote control.
The laboratory adds to the company’s EW capability in the UK where more than 400 people are dedicated to the research, development and delivery of its integrated EW systems. Long-term plans include the ability to link the JEWEL with Thales’ existing Intelligence, Surveillance, Target Acquisition and Reconnaissance (ISTAR) Theatre in Crawley, UK, to conduct even more extensive modelling and simulation exercises.
“The JEWEL is an extremely powerful tool and a breakthrough in our research, development and testing capability,” said Richard Deakin, managing director of Thales’ aerospace business in the UK. “It allows us to work hand in hand with our customers to model, test and refine their land EW operational requirements.”
Kevin Swales, director of Electronic Combat Systems activities for Thales in the UK, stated: “This is a major step forward in EW modelling in the UK. The possibilities for it to help our customers develop and test their EW strategies are extremely exciting—with the electromagnetic spectrum increasingly cluttered, our defence forces need to know how their equipment is going to cope in real combat environments.”