No Jam Tomorrow? £20m Electronic Warfare Test Facility Planned

A new 'silent hangar' test facility will help the U.K.'s armed forces develop protection against attempts to jam their GPS devices.

In what will become one of the biggest such facilities in Europe, the space at the Ministry of Defence’s Boscombe Down site in Wiltshire will be sizeable enough to accommodate some of the biggest military assets, including Protector drones, Chinook helicopters, and F-35 fighter jets.

Defence industry giant QinetiQ will build the radio frequency, anti-jamming facility, which will help the U.K. to develop assets that can perform successfully on operations in the harshest electromagnetic environments.

The new hangar, expected to be ready for use in 2026, will be "anechoic" – in other words, sound-deadening and free from echoes – creating an ideal environment in which to test the integrity of electronic equipment.

As per an MoD statement, the GPS simulators and threat emulators inside the chamber will provide the ability to create a number of hostile environments to test how well equipment can withstand jamming, and other threats, that attempt to confuse or disrupt military assets. 

The hangar also prevents such testing affecting other users, such as the emergency services and air traffic control. 

Minister for Defence Procurement and Industry, Maria Eagle, said: "This cutting-edge test facility will help us eliminate vulnerabilities from our platforms, protect our national security and keep our Armed Forces better protected on global deployments."

Will Blamey, QinetiQ's Chief Executive, UK Defence, said: "On an increasingly digital battlefield, the debilitating effects of electronic warfare are a persistent threat.  

The testing we will conduct using this new facility will be integral to strengthening the resilience of military equipment, which in turn enhances the safety and security of our Armed Forces and the United Kingdom." 

Read more on the MoD website