Bird Aerosystems, the Israeli airborne surveillance and missile protection systems developer and provider, is presenting its Ocean Surveillance Control and Reconnaissance (Oscar) maritime surveillance system for the first time at the Paris Air Show.

Established in 2001 and based in Israel, privately-owned Bird specializes in developing and deploying two main product lines: Airborne Missile Protection Systems (AMPS) and Airborne Surveillance, Information, and Observation (ASIO) solutions. According to the company, Bird’s products are in wide-scale, long-term use by some of the world’s largest commercial, governmental, military, and transnational organizations, including NATO forces, UN Air Operations, the U.S. Government, Airbus, and other major aircraft manufacturers.

“During 2018, Bird expanded its client base, achieving new and challenging programs, both for the ASIO and AMPS business lines,” Ronen Factor, co-CEO and founder of Bird Aerosystems, told AIN. “At the same time, we also invested in our product offering, in order to continue to position Bird as a leading and innovative solution provider for airborne systems.

“We will present two of our latest…solutions that demonstrate Bird's unique capability of combining operational know-how with high-end technology and engineering capability: the Oscar solution, which will be officially launched during the Paris Air Show, and the Self Protection Radar Electro-Optic System [Spreos] DIRCM [Directional Infrared Counter Measures system], which will be presented in its production configuration,” he said.

Oscar provides 24/7 protection of the maritime domain and Tier 1 Level prevention against illicit activities at sea such as illegal, unreported, and unregulated fishing, oil theft, smuggling, and illegal trans-shipment, as well as for monitoring exclusive economic zones (EEZs). 

Bird (Hall 3 E40) claims its patented Spreos DIRCM, which will also be on display at the show, is the most advanced, compact, and lightweight DIRCM in the market today. Factor said that the system was a gamechanger in the DIRCM market. “We witness a growing interest from our customers, who appreciate its cost-effectiveness, light weight, and other multiple benefits that our system offers over competing systems.”

Spreos DIRCM combines a radar-based confirmation sensor and an active laser jammer and ensures optimal protection against different man-portable air-defense systems (Manpads) threats. The patented Spreos performs multiple functions, including threat confirmation, tracking, and jamming of advanced infrared guided missiles.

"Spreos slews to the direction of the threat, activates its multi-band radar functionality, confirms, and tracks while analyzing its unique information to enable the most effective jamming response,” he said. “Following the confirmation and tracking, Spreos deploys the dual-band countermeasure laser, causing the missile to miss the aircraft. Compact and lightweight, Spreos is an ideal solution for a range of airborne platforms. Spreos is integrated in Bird's AMPS MD [missile detection] solution.”

Asked to comment on a hypothetical scenario where Bird’s systems might have been able to assist a Malaysia Airlines Boeing 777, operating as flight MH17, which was shot down over Ukraine in 2014, Factor said: “[O]ne can only provide a general answer—any aircraft, equipped with proven and operational survivability equipment such as that offered by Bird, could dramatically improve its survivability, and protect [itself] from various threats, such as Manpads or radar-guided weapons.