Selex ES, a Finmeccanica company, was recently commended by the UK Ministry of Defence for its responsiveness in ensuring the UK was prepared to counter any remotely controlled Improvised Explosive Device (IED) threats which may have emerged during the 2012 Olympic and Paralympics Games.

The company and its industrial partners were presented with a Ministerial Acquisition Award for the effective way in which it delivered this capability as part of the successful national security strategy for the events.

The citation read:

“Recognition of Achievement Award Citation: For support to the London 2012 Olympic and Paralympics Games

The team delivered a complex electronic countermeasures capability in support of explosive
ordnance disposal operations within the UK in order to fill extant capability gaps in time for the 2012 Olympics.

The team took the measured risk of an innovative collaboration with DSTL and industry, undertaking the high-level design in-house and retaining the design and integration responsibility. This facilitated more rapid commercial agreement with industry and protected the delivery timeline.

Managing the technical challenges of providing effective electronic countermeasures was highly
challenging and the team had to capitalise on the agility of the innovative design approach to permit design changes without delaying the overall schedule.

Their innovative and collaborative approach enabled rapid delivery and the project reached its inservice date only nine months after conception.”

Selex ES has a pedigree stretching back many years in providing IED suppression equipment to the UK Armed Forces and to many allied nations from its GUARDIAN range of equipment.