The German company HENSOLDT announced that it will deliver 16 early warning and protection systems to Ukraine to strengthen the helicopters of the country’s Armed Forces.

The value of the order amounts to a double-digit number of millions, while the company that will customize the systems is the Czech LOM Praha.

The Airborne Missile Protection System (AMPS) is an early warning and protection system and its modular structure allows it to be adapted to various types of helicopters and fixed-wing aircraft.

It combines different kinds of warning sensors, countermeasures and other electronic equipment in order to protect the platform and its crew from a variety of threats such as radar- or laser-guided missiles.

The AMPS can be equipped with a Missile Launch Detection Sensor (MILDS), an Advanced Display Control Unit (ACDU) and an active confirmation system (MACS), which determines the range and speed of detected missiles and eliminates false alarms.

Existing active countermeasures delivery systems (CMDS) on helicopters, such as chaffs and flares, can continue to operate with the current AMPS configuration. In the AMPS-MD configuration active countermeasures can be replaced by a Directional Infrared Counter Measures system (DIRCM).

Ukraine has, among others, Mi-8 and Mi-24 helicopters, the export version of which is the Mi-35 that the Cyprus National Guard also has in its arsenal. It has received additional helicopters of these types as part of military assistance since the Russian invasion, as, in particular, Croatia has sent 14 Mi-8 helicopters to Ukraine and the Czech Republic has sent Mi-24 and Mi-17 Hip helicopters.

The Czech company LOM Praha, which will undertake the integration of AMPS on Ukrainian helicopters, deals in particular with general repairs, upgrades and modernization of Mi-2, Mi-8/17, Mi-24/35 helicopters and their components such as engines, turbines, gearboxes and auxiliary power units.

Also read: National Guard | Live fire of Mi-35’s “ATAKA” anti-tank missiles – Photos