PAWS-2 | Elbit Systems

High-Resolution IR Missile Warning System (HR-MWS)

Today’s fighter aircraft face a wide array of increasingly sophisticated threats, with passive IR and EO-based missiles becoming dominant.

Passive IR missile warning systems have become essential for platform and aircrew survivability – enabling the direct measurement of missile signatures and ensuring timely indications of a missile in the air.

Elbit systems’ revolutionary PAWS-2(HR) MWS provides an unprecedented level of missile detection performance, delivering the best protection available today. Mature and proven, the infrared system detects a wide variety of threats including SAMs, air-to-air missiles and MANPADS – whether they employ active, passive or other types of seeker technology. The system’s unique level of protection for fighter and transport aircraft, as well as helicopters, ensures mission success in even the most complex, dense and dangerous scenarios.

Based on a new generation Common-MAWS (CMWS) cooled MWIR sensor, PAWS-2(HR) addresses critical operational needs. The high-resolution system (over 5 megapixels), provides a long detection range with superior accuracy for early launch detection, precise launch point detection and geolocation – enabling timely activation of countermeasures, with auto-dispensing capabilities. Advanced image processing algorithms, combined with the high sensor resolution, ensure negligible false alarm rates (FARs).

Advantages

Reduced FAR

Better discrimination between actual threats and background clutter, reduces the risk of false alarms. The high-resolution sensor enables efficient discrimination between static and dynamic objects, simplifying missile classification.

Expanded Launch Detection

The HR-MWS detects any missile or rocket deployed in the vicinity of the aircraft – discriminating between missiles threatening the platform and those not aimed at it – providing full situational awareness and accurate launch locations for all types of missiles.

Superior Detection Ranges

The high-resolution sensor provides significantly increased detection ranges for all types of missile threats, allowing faster reaction times.

Greater Separation and Timing

The HR-MWS offers better angular separation between adjacent threats. The system's high angular accuracy and missile time-to-Impact (TTI) measurement optimize countermeasure effectiveness.

Hostile Fire Indication

The HR-MWS provides a very high sampling rate, detecting small arms bursts, RPGs and ATGMs.