Thales unveils JEWEL

today opened its Joint Electronic Warfare Experimentation Laboratory (JEWEL) in

, which incorporates a fully operational Electronic Warfare Operation Centre (EWOC).

EWOC provides a complete simulation of land electronic warfare (EW) 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. This will enable customers to carry out training and operational modelling of areas of conflict under realistic conditions.

‘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, leading to refined solutions that save development time and reduce costs.’

Long-term plans include the ability to link the JEWEL with Thales’ existing Intelligence, Surveillance, Target Acquisition And Reconnaissance (ISTAR) Theatre in Crawley to conduct even more extensive modelling and simulation exercises.

Kevin Swales, director of Electronic Combat Systems activities for Thales in the UK, said: ‘This is the 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. The JEWEL laboratory will play a critical role in that.’