The Type 453 laser warning system has been designed by GEC-Marconi Electro-optics for use in tracked and wheeled armoured fighting vehicles.

It provides a countermeasure to laser-guided weapon systems and provides an audible alarm and visual display showing the direction from which the threat has originated. Output from the receiver can be combined with a defensive aids system.

The sensor head configuration can be tailored to provide spherical or hemispherical cover and presents the laser threat bearing to the crew as sectorial information. The number of sensors required is tailored to the particular platform.

The sensor heads are completely passive and laser radiation is routed to the central processing unit by fibre optic cables. This feature eliminates the risk of false alarms being generated by radio frequency interference.

Using advanced scatter rejection techniques, the system can discriminate between direct and indirect hits and hence give a reliable direction of arrival of the threat. The system can analyse the incident laser source and compare it with an onboard threat library to allow identification.

Advanced development. Has been successfully trialled in the UK and the USA. As of mid-1999 there are no known production applications of this for a land platform.

The Type 453 system uses a number of dispersed sensors to detect incident laser radiation. This counters the problem of detecting a very narrow beam which at any instant would be illuminating only a small part of the vehicle.