STUTTGART, Germany — A consortium of European firms, led by Indra, is poised to kickstart an initiative aimed at equipping the European Union with an electronic warfare capability to safeguard its aircraft from missile attacks. The Responsive Electronic Attack for Cooperative Tasks (REACT) project is set to enter its second phase in a few months, according to company officials.
The consortium, which comprises European sensor manufacturers Hensoldt, Elettronica, and Saab, was chosen in June to receive substantial funding from the European Defence Fund (EDF) for the project. The primary objective of the REACT program is to develop a system that can jam any signals used for targeting European aircraft and simultaneously disable opponent electronic warfare emitters, as per an EDF fact sheet.
As European forces grapple with increasingly advanced long-range, integrated air defense systems, airborne electronic attack (AEA) capabilities become crucial to creating safe zones around aircraft formations, stated Pablo González, director for NATO and European defense and space programs at Indra.
Indra has already made significant strides in the initiative’s first phase and has learned valuable lessons that will be applied moving forward, González mentioned in a September 7 email to Defense News. The consortium was previously awarded a grant for REACT I in 2019 under the EDF’s predecessor, the European Defence Industrial Development Programme.
Indra is also a prime contractor on the trinational Future Combat Air System (FCAS) program, representing the Spanish industry and acting as the lead contractor for the program’s sensors portfolio. However, Indra did not comment on any potential overlap between its work on REACT and FCAS.
The FCAS program, which also involves France and Germany, began its Phase 1B technological demonstration phase in December 2022. It is set to continue until 2029 when a prototype demonstrator is expected to be unveiled. Indra is expected to receive €600 million ($640 million) for its work during Phase 1B.
During the first phase of REACT, the industry partners developed operational scenarios and analyzed potential threats that a new AEA system might need to counter in the next 15-20 years, according to Raúl Pajarín, director of airborne platforms systems at Indra. These efforts resulted in an architecture, specification, and preliminary design of the AEA capabilities.
REACT II is expected to officially commence at the end of 2023, following the signing of the grant agreement with the European Commission. The primary goal is to demonstrate the AEA capabilities through testing of various prototypes developed during the project. The consortium plans to develop a modular, reconfigurable architecture-based system and also aims to consolidate a Europe-wide definition and digitalization of electronic attack missions.
The program is projected to take four years and cost approximately €69.7 million, including a maximum of €40 million in EU contributions. It will include studies, design, prototyping, testing, and qualification of the new capability. The Organisation for Joint Armament Cooperation (OCCAR) will manage the program on behalf of the participating nations.
Funding for REACT II will be provided by the European Defence Fund and the defense ministries of Spain, France, Germany, Italy, Sweden, and Poland. Industrial participation and support will also come from Bulgaria, Estonia, Finland, France, Lithuania, the Netherlands, and Poland.
The participating companies in REACT II include Indra, the Technical University of Madrid, AXTER Aerospace, Spika Tech, Gaerum Engineering from Spain; Elettronica, the National Laboratory of Radar and Surveillance Systems and Systems and Energy Technologies (SENTECH) from Italy; Hensoldt from Germany; Saab and the KTH Royal Institute of Technology from Sweden; Thales from France; the Warsaw University of Technology and XY Sensing from Poland; Bianor Software and IT Services from Bulgaria; the Royal Netherlands Aerospace Centre (NLR) from the Netherlands; Rantelon and CAFA Tech Robotics from Estonia; the Baltic Institute of Advanced Technology from Lithuania; and DA-Group from Finland.
