Euronaval Online 2020: Lacroix unveils VESTA active offboard decoy UAV jammer project.

Lacroix, a French pyrotechnic systems integrator, offers a complete range of self-protection products (from countermeasures to systems) for air, land and naval forces around the world. Design, manufacture and supply of pyrotechnic devices and systemsto meet military, civil and space industry requirements. Its R&D teams have superior expertise in combining multiple decoy effects in various deployment vectors, which are themselves integrated into a system.

Sylena Mk 2 Decoy Launching Systems (Picture source: Lacroix)

These activities cover the following areas: protection, terminal pyrotechnic effects, training, simulation and pyro-mechanisms
• Sylena Decoy Launching Systems : 3 decoy launchers created and marketed in less than 10 years
• Seaclad new generation of ammunition (RF, IR, CNR, ASM) : more than 10,000 delivered worldwide
• Submarine Launched Devices (smoke & flare signals) 

(Picture source: Lacroix)

As part of a call for proposals, the Agence Innovation Défense (Defence Innovation Agency) selected that of Lacroix. It is presently working to develop an active offboard decoy (jammer embedded in UAV), as a complement to passive decoys, which both have soft kill capabilities that are complementary to hard kill capabilities.

The project, known as VESTA (Versatile EW Self-protection Tactic onboard unmanned Aircraft), is an innovative project carried out in a collaborative effort to bring together governmental bodies (AID, DGA, etc.) and DTIB companies for civil and defense purpose. Lacroix off-board Active Decoy (VESTA) project is an essential component of their vision of self protection, based on a comprehensive approach, allowing “multi-layered” and “multi-threat” protection mixing Hard Kill, off-board active and passive decoys tactics, anti-torpedoes solutions.