Brazilian Air Force and Elbit Systems’ Subsidiary, AEL Sistemas Conclude Successful Series of Flight Tests of E-LynX Airborne SDR Integration Onboard F-5M Aircraft

By ARIE EGOZI

Defence Industry

Tel Aviv: The Brazilian Air Force (FAB) and AEL Sistemas, Elbit Systems’ Brazilian subsidiary, the prime contractor of the Brazilian Link-BR2 strategic program, concluded successful series of flight tests for the integration of E-LynX Airborne Software Defined Radio onboard two F-5M aircraft.

The system enables seamless communications between air, ground and naval unit, even in very complex combat scenarios. The system has been sold to some foreign customers and is used by the Israeli defence forces in different configurations.

The Brazilian Link-BR2 program aims to provide national secured datalink capabilities, enable digital connectivity of all aerial platforms among themselves and establish multi-domain interoperability. The next phase of integration will be onboard SAAB’s Gripen NG aircraft while the Link-BR2 program roadmap includes integration of the system capabilities onboard all of the FAB aircraft.

The functionalities that were demonstrated during the recent flights include provision of multi-domain situational awareness, enabling Mobile Ad Hoc Network (MANET) based datalinks (both air-to-air and air-to-ground), facilitating transmission of airborne applications over long ranges including simultaneous audio and data, and display of a common operational picture that is shared among all the members in the network – Airborne segments and Ground segments.

According to Elbit, demonstrating the capability of simultaneous multi-channel transmission, the Link-BR2 enabled aerial and ground forces to perform target interception, receipt of information from ground radars and rapid closing of sensor-to-shooter loops, as part of the multi-dimensional arena. The Link BR2 strategic program will lead the Brazilian Armed Forces to operate on the NCW concept, a disruptive technology that brings a huge advantage on the local operational scenario.

The E-LynX family of SDR is designed in an open architecture approach, featuring unique waveforms and enabling the adoption of European and NATO waveforms. The E-LynX SDR solution was selected by the Israel Defense Force as well as several Armed Forces across Europe including Sweden, Switzerland, Spain, and other NATO countries. The E-LynX radios are developed and manufactured in three Elbit Systems’ Radio Engineering Centres around the globe: in Israel, in Germany by Elbit Systems Deutschland and in Brazil by AEL.