By Richard Scott
Lacroix Defense (Muret, France) has confirmed that it is supplying its Sylena Mk 1 decoy launch system (DLS) and associated decoy ammunition to the Hellenic Navy as part of a larger frigate contract being delivered by Naval Group.
The Greek government in March 2022 awarded Naval Group contracts for three FDI HN (Frégate de Défense et d’Intervention – Hellenic Navy) defense and intervention frigates plus their in-service support. Two ships, Kimon and Nearchos, will be delivered in 2025 with the third, Formion, to follow in 2026. The contract includes an option for a fourth frigate, which would be delivered in 2027.
Conceived by Lacroix as a low-cost, easy-to-integrate shipborne soft-kill system, the Sylena DLS comprises a number of fixed-angle mortar launchers above-deck (the exact number depending on ship size/radar cross section), a central processing unit and display (typically integrating to both the ship’s combat management system and an electronic support measures outfit), a heading indicator panel on the bridge, and an emergency control box (for manual launch) in the operations room.
Sylena Mk 1 uses fixed “rack” launcher installations, with the firing impulse to individual decoy rounds using an induction link. Two different decoy rounds are employed: the SEALEM 08-02 electromagnetic (EM) round deploying multiple corner reflectors; and the SEALIR 08-01 imaging infrared (IR) decoy with a single-burst morphologic payload.
According to Lacroix, each FDI HN frigate will be equipped with four Sylena Mk 1 decoy launchers. A Mk 1 launcher is designed to accommodate 12 SEALEM 08-02 EM decoy rounds and four SEALIR 08-01 IR rounds.
