Military and Strategic Journal
Issued by the Directorate of Morale Guidance at the General Command of the Armed Forces
United Arab Emirates
Founded in August 1971

2022-11-01

Lacroix’s Smart Solutions Evolve to Counter the Latest Threats

By: Sakha Pramod

On the sidelines of the recently concluded EURONAVAL 2022, Nation Shield spoke to Francois Moulinier, COO of Lacroix Defense, about the company’s participation and the latest products being highlighted at the show. He also discussed Lacroix’s partnership with the UAE and shed light on upcoming plans. Excerpts:
 
Lacroix has been known for developing training systems and effects for over 50 years. How has the response to your ‘Train as you fight’ programme been?
The best preparation for high-intensity needs is “Training as you fight”, indeed. It needs more than electronic devices only. Noise, smoke, blast, and flashes are mandatory to create realistic and stressful training conditions. Therefore, we have developed a system named REPY made of launchers, which operate a range of pyrotechnical ammunition, each providing different effects, such as gun shooting, artillery impact simulation, IED, etc.
 
REPY can be interconnected with a global training system and is remote-controlled. It is now entering its qualification phase with the French DGA and will soon be available for our foreign customers.

 
In what way does your company take advantage of its expertise in pyrotechnics?
Since our creation in 1848, the company has cultivated a culture of excellence in pyrotechnics. We like being challenged by our customers and developing unique solutions for them. This is necessary to stay up-to-date in the Electronic Warfare (EW) environment, which is constantly innovating.
 
There is a continuum of R&D in our pyrochemistry department. We continuously try to discover the next molecule expected by the market to meet the latest threat to counter the latest regulation on chemical products, such as REACH, while respecting the workforce and the environment.
 
To design the most effective and reliable countermeasure cartridges and self-protection systems, there is a need for strong Research & Development. How effective are Lacroix’s R&D efforts?
 
A third of our industrial activities are made of new products from our R&D department at the pace of one or two new products every year. It’s a good rate to maintain and stay ahead of our competitors and continue regular industrial activities.
 
Our baseline is to master EW and, therefore, maintain a team of experts internally to design intelligent systems which will be able to place the right effect at the right place at the right moment.
 
We think it’s good to have internal systems and ammunition engineering capabilities. Some companies have systems but not ammunition or vice versa and struggle to innovate as they miss half of the solution to emulate the best systems and ammunition.
 
Our manpower force in R&D is about 100 employees working on several programmes, projects, engineering and support to production.
 
We inject significant self-funds annually in R&D and also benefit from the strong support of the French DGA to develop our products. R&D activities represent about 20 per cent of our annual revenues.
 
What exactly is the MOSC Module presented at EURONAVAL 2022 by Lacroix?
Lacroix Defense has taken advantage of EURONAVAL 2022 to officially unveil its new SEAMOSC module Launcher, intended to counter threats guided in the visible range or by laser, thanks to the deployment of a smoke screen specific to the naval field.
 
The concept retained for the MOSC launcher is in line with the other Sylena launchers (LW, MK1 and MK2 launchers). It is modular and a fixed launcher, with quick, easy and safe reloading.
 
Only 10 years after launching the first Sylena in 2012 (SYLENA LW), Lacroix demonstrates its innovation capability and agility in developing systems tailored to meet customers’ needs.
 
How does the multimode soft-kill decoy system, Sylena, protect smaller surface combatants like patrol vehicles?
Thanks to its three variants, Sylena comprises a range of naval decoy systems offering solutions to the whole scope of surface vessels. The LW version provides anti-missile (RF and IR) capability for smaller surface combatants like patrol vehicles. The option MOSC can be an add-on when laser and visible protection are needed.
 
For bigger vessels such as corvettes or frigates, the MK1 (anti-missile) and MK2 (anti-missile plus anti-torpedo) versions are also available.
 
The highlight of Sylena is that it’s a robust solution, easy to install and maintain, and cheaper than trainable launchers as it’s a fixed one. There is no concession on the effect, which needs to be credible. So, Sylena operates SEACLAD ammunition, including Corner Reflectors, to counter RF missiles, the main threat at sea.
 
Please outline the unique features of Galix. How effective is the system in hiding fighting vehicles from an approaching threat?
Galix has succeeded thanks to its long-duration smoke Galix 13 ammunition. Due to the elevation of its launcher, Galix deploys smoke screening in less than one second. It covers a large spectrum from 0.7 to 14 mm and lasts more than 45 seconds. This provides considerable protection to the vehicle to counterattack and achieves the mission.
 
Could you share more details about ‘Soft-Kill Advanced Protection System (S-KAPS)?
S-KAPS is a new system combining detection and Galix’s capability of reaction. It takes advantage of a suit of sensors of different types to detect an extended range of threats to armoured vehicles. Once a threat is detected, the system establishes the tactical situation, routes the firing orders to the right launchers to deploy rapid screening in the direction of the incoming threat, and gives to the crew, through the Man-Machine Interface, the best recommendation of manoeuvre (course and speed to maintain) to stay as long as possible behind the smoke screen.
 
When it comes to the naval field, what are the most innovative decoy solutions offered by Lacroix?
As a passive decoy, our Corner Reflectors (SEALEM from SEACLAD range) are a unique solution on the market, closing the gap with CCM (Counter Counter Measures) of modern missiles.
 
We are also working towards developing an off-board active decoy, which will be part of a multi-layer protection system combining different capabilities. This is a very promising project under the management of the French DGA. It should provide future advanced protection against next incoming threats.
 
What steps are being taken by Lacroix to strengthen services in the UAE and the Middle East?
Lacroix has had a regional branch located in Abu Dhabi since 2014. Moreover, Lacroix and an Emirati partner have been operating a local Joint-Venture (JV) established in 2016 in the UAE. This local JV has successfully delivered several important programmes by transferring know-how to UAE in compliance with Tawazun’s offset programme. Through this local JV, more than a thousand land platforms in the Middle East have either been equipped with Lacroix advanced soft kill protection systems or maintained for optimum operations. To extend Lacroix’s in-country value, some mechanical components have also been locally manufactured in the UAE.
 
Could you share a few words about Lacroix’s association with UAE?
Lacroix’s team looks forward to strengthening its cooperation, which has lasted for more than 30 years with the UAE Armed Forces. Lacroix is working on creating additional local soft kill protection capabilities with long-term partners in the UAE. We aim to boost our activities by serving faster and more efficiently to our regional customers.
 
Regionally, nearly 10,000 platforms (armoured land vehicles, surface vessels and aircraft) are already equipped with Lacroix systems and ammunition. There is a significant potential for growth by providing the latest cutting-edge solutions to defeat the coming generation of threats.
 
Among our main local UAE partners, we can mention NIMR and ADSB (Abu Dhabi Ship Building), which seek to integrate the most performing soft-kill solutions available in the market.
 
As a faithful and reliable partner, Lacroix is eager to attend the next IDEX Show again in February 2023. We will be pleased to take this unique and outstanding opportunity to showcase more innovative solutions recently developed and continue working with our esteemed partner Nation Shield.
 

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