G DEFENCE
GDS / CAPABILITIES / DOMAIN 06

Aerial defence architectures

An architecture, not a product. Layers are scoped to the customer's airspace, threat picture and existing command structure.

Air defence fails at the seams: between sensors and command, between services, between new equipment and the national systems already in place. We therefore work at the level of the architecture, five layers, each scoped to the customer's airspace and threat picture, and integrated with what already exists rather than around it.

01 Detect 02 Decide 03 Coordinate 04 Effect 05 Sustain
Fig 06·A — Layers scoped to the airspace; effector detail excluded by design
  1. 01

    Detect

    Layered sensor coverage, from long-range surveillance through to low-level and terminal detection.

  2. 02

    Decide

    Command and control, air picture compilation, identification, and engagement authority workflows.

  3. 03

    Coordinate

    Integration with air traffic management, allied networks and existing national command systems.

  4. 04

    Effect

    Integration of ground-based effector layers, held under the customer's national command and authority.

  5. 05

    Sustain

    Crew training, exercise support, spares provisioning and through-life technical support.

This page deliberately describes no effectors, munitions, performance envelopes, ranges or specific systems. Effector-layer detail is handled only through licensed, government-to-government channels with end-user certification in place.

The sensing layer is described under radar & sensor solutions. The sustain layer is described under sustainment.