The Netherlands Materiel and IT Command (Commando Materieel en IT – COMMIT) has disclosed further trials of an experimental Plot Level Data Exchange and Fusion (PLDEF) system developed in conjunction with France.
In a 3 June social media post, COMMIT said that PLDEF had been tested in a live environment as part of last month’s ‘At Sea Demo/Formidable Shield 2025’ (ASD/FS25) integrated air and missile defence (IAMD) exercise in the North Atlantic.
PLDEF is designed to enable the realtime networking and fusion of radar plot data from cooperating units so as to improve detection performance, increase track quality, and build an improved tactical picture based on more robust composite tracks. This ability to generate composite tracks using fused multi-source sensor data is seen as increasingly important given the stressing kinematics and signature characteristics of the evolving IAMD threat: the Royal Netherlands Navy (RNLN) is looking to field a PLDEF capability in its new Anti-Submarine Warfare Frigate class and projected Future Air Defender.
COMMIT’s Maritime Systems department has a coordinating role for PLDEF in the Netherlands, working with the RNLN and Joint IV Commando, while the current experimental system architecture has been developed by Thales and TNO. The Direction générale de l’armement is leading on the French side, supported by industry partner Naval Group.
An exercise scenario undertaken as part of ASD/FS25 sought to test the experimental PLDEF set-up against manoeuvring Royal Air Force fighters. “[The] fighter planes flew complex patterns in the air that are difficult for one radar system to follow,” said COMMIT. “But with PLDEF technology on board the French and Dutch naval ships, it was possible to accurately track these targets.”
The names of the vessels involved in the PLDEF trial at ASD/FS25 were not disclosed by COMMIT. However, photographs accompanying the social media post showed the RNLN air defence and command frigate HNLMS De Ruyter and the multi-mission frigate FS Normandie.
A previous live test of PLDEF took place during ASD/FS21. On that occasion, HNLMS De Zeven Provinciën and the French Horizon air defence frigate FS Forbin shared radar plot data over satcom on a classified network.
