BIRD Aerosystems has completed the delivery of its AMPS (airborne missile protection system), including the AeroShield POD and MACS sensor, to a VIP customer in Africa. The system will protect the presidential Boeing 737 aircraft during its international flights around the world.

Designed to protect VIP aircraft, BIRD's AMPS is already in operational use by several different customers in Africa, protecting head of state aircraft and helicopters.

AeroShield POD is an all-in-one integrated solution that supports the installation of BIRD's systems on VIP wide-body aircraft. Integrating the AMPS system, which includes missile launch detection sensors (MILDS), missile approach confirmation sensor (MACS), flare dispensers and an inertial measurement unit (IMU), BIRD's AeroShield POD is easily installed, provides optimum platform protection with minimal interference to the aircraft, and can be easily transferred between different aircraft.

The AeroShield POD that has been delivered under the current contract includes BIRD's patented missile approach confirmation sensor (MACS), which performs a unique confirmation of suspected incoming missile threats detected by the main electro-optical passive sensors, and practically eliminates any false alarms. Upon receiving a pre-alarm warning from the electro-optical sensors, MACS slews to the direction of the incoming threat and verifies the threat's validity. Concurrently, MACS also collects relevant information on the target's velocity and distance, and calculates its time-to-impact, enabling the most effective countermeasure response to the incoming missile. MACS ensures that only real missiles will be declared by the system and reacted upon.

Co-CEO and founder Ronen Factor says: “We are thrilled to complete another successful delivery of BIRD's AMPS to a customer in Africa. This delivery, which was completed as planned despite the ongoing international Coronavirus crisis, follows previous deliveries and installations of BIRD's AMPS and AeroShield POD on different military and civilian aircraft around the world. Small and lightweight, BIRD's AeroShield POD is ideal for wide-body aircraft, such as the B737, and provides optimum platform protection against MANPADS with minimal interference to the aircraft. Integrating BIRD's MACS sensor, the system ensures zero false alarms.”