BAE SYSTEMS ANNOUNCES AWARD OF SUPPLY CONTRACT FOR HIDAS FOR KUWAIT'S APACHE HELICOPTERS

BAE Systems has announced that the US Army has signed the contract for the supply of Electronic Warfare (EW) equipment plus associated engineering and support for the Kuwait Apaches.

As a US Foreign Military Sale, the US Army is charged with the responsibility of producing the Apaches for the Kuwait Air Force on behalf of the US Government. The US Army's Communications and Electronics Command (CECOM) at Fort Monmouth, New Jersey, who procure the EW for all US Army platforms, has confirmed the supply contract with BAE Systems for HIDAS for the Kuwait Apaches.

Said Dr David Hughes, Executive Vice President for EW Systems, "This major milestone marks a magnificent achievement for BAE Systems. The selection of HIDAS by Kuwait and then by Greece for their fleet of Longbow Apaches emphasises the fact that national defence forces increasingly recognise the importance of protecting their most expensive and militarily invaluable assets with the best available equipment.�

HIDAS was down-selected by the Kuwait MoD in the late 1990's and was then written into the Kuwait Government to US Government Contract at the end of 2002, which has resulted in the award of the HIDAS supply contract.

BAE Systems co-operates closely with Boeing, Mesa, Arizona and is delighted to be part of the ever-increasing Apache user community.

About BAE SYSTEMS HIDAS:

HIDAS, the Helicopter Integrated Defensive Aids System, designed and manufactured by BAE Systems, detects, identifies, prioritises and counters threats to the Apache helicopter, without the need for crew intervention. It is unique for its degree of integration, its use of 'best of class' sensors and its intelligent software controller. The HIDAS controller uses information from its multi-spectral threat warning sensors to produce a comprehensive tactical picture. It then uses the pre-defined mission data to enable HIDAS to recognise the threatening weapon system, and to automatically select and implement the appropriate countermeasure.

HIDAS can be used in Automatic, Semi-automatic or Manual mode, thus offering significant operational benefits to the Apache aircrew. It increases their situational awareness, reduces the time to react to threats and increases the efficiency and effectiveness of countermeasures. In short, it enhances survivability on the battlefield, where crew workload is at its highest.

HIDAS is fully programmable by the user to detect and counter enemy weapon systems, providing for a mission library of over 5,000 threat modes. The BAE Systems Merlin integrated EW operational support system enables the user to create his own mission libraries, specifying the required countermeasures, and to carry out post-flight analysis of mission data.