Apex Radar Jamming Pod (Improved ELT-555)

[nuk92]

DB Selector

DB3K

Baseline

900

Hypothetical

No

Name

ELT-555(V)2 Apex [DECM] ELT-555(V)2 Apex DECM Pod

Sensor Generation

Late 1980s

Range (nm)

-

Horizontal Arc (deg)

No response

Vertical Arc (deg)

No response

Sensor Capabilities

No response

Sensor Codes

No response

Search/Track Frequencies

H Band (6-8 GHz) [Old C Band] 3.75-5 cm, I Band (8-10 GHz) [Old X Band] 3-3.75 cm, J Band (10-20 GHz) [Old X Band] 1.5-3 cm

Lower Frequency (Hz)

6,000,000,000

Upper Frequency (Hz)

20,000,000,000

Scan Interval (s)

1

Target Altitude (ft)

No response

Horizontal Beamwidth (deg)

No response

Vertical Beamwidth (deg)

No response

System Noise Level (dB)

No response

Processing Gain/Loss (dB)

No response

Peak Power (W)

No response

Pulse Width (μs)

No response

Blind Time (μs)

No response

PRF (Hz)

No response

Source Level (dB)

No response

Pulse Length (ms)

No response

TASS/VDS Length (m)

No response

TASS/VDS Depth (m)

No response

Convergence Zones

No response

Comments

Please add the sensor and the pod to the DB. DECM, Deception Jammer

"having an extended' frequency range" "enhanced multi-threat capability" "Apex uses fast digital radio frequency memory technology to facilitate coherent response techniques":

Extended frequency range stated. Most likely covers 6-20GHz like the ELT-555(V)3 which is an improvement over the original ELT-555 (7.5-16.5GHz).

Baseline: ELT-555

Sources

[FrangibleCover]

Do we know if these systems were sold to anyone or are they for hypothetical fits? A late 80s-early 90s ELT-555 upgrade is an interesting candidate for the Mystery Jammer aboard SAAF Cheetah fighters.

[nuk92]

I couldn't find out whether Apex pods were sold. There might be something on Military Periscope but I can't access it: https://www.militaryperiscope.com/weapons/sensorselectronics/electronic-support-measureselectronic-warfare/elt555 On the other hand there are new versions of this pod (2008). Perhaps they just changed the name and Apex could stand in for these newer versions. I think Morocco purchased ELT-555 pods for their upgraded F-5s, probably new pods: https://twitter.com/Kobaz4/status/1300840876944633856

[nuk92]

If I understand correctly, SAAF Cheetah fighters have jammers but it's not specified which one?

Funnily enough I'm also searching for a jamming pod that can be justified for modernised J-22 Orao which was proposed in 1988. Around the same time the Yugo flight test center was dissatisfied with the ELT pods it received and Elettronica's customer support due to reliability issues, mechanical failures and almost one year of troubleshooting. For this reason further purchases of ELT-450 series and 555 pods and their integration into Oraos was stopped. Only a few EW aircraft were equipped. Yugoslavia was still interested in these pods and they tried to improve the reliability of the existing ELT system with technical expertise from Israel. In the early 90s talks were held with Israel but without a result. An improved ELT-555 would also be a good candidate for a hypothetical Orao. The improved recon variant with afterburners was already scheduled for 1992.

You might know this already but the SAAF also had ELT-450 series pods. They can be distinguished from Elt-555 pods by these protruding antennas below the pod:

[FrangibleCover]

Interesting find, I didn't know that, thanks. By the end of the Bush War the SAAF had some really interesting systems on many of their aircraft: Helmet mounted sights, jammers, MAWS, countermeasures, a bomb with a HVAR motor strapped to the back which I'm sure is of interest to a Yugoslavia Enjoyer like yourself. Unfortunately it's pretty hard to get good data on these systems, I hope to put forward a tranche of requests for the SAAF but it's still in the data gathering stages.

I think the Apex is a believable system for a 90s Yugoslavia, or else some sort of Elbit jammer system. Perhaps the Israelis would be more willing to negotiate with a more politically stable Yugoslavia and the talks would come to something? I suppose the other, less likely, possibility is that Novi Avion is a successful project and the mid 90s Orao upgrades use technical spin-offs from that, perhaps Barracuda.