Malvern Optical

Malvern Optical is an independent research and development provider and test house specialising in the electro-optic (EO) and electro-magnetic (EM) domains. Founded on the rich experimental heritage of the former RAF Pershore site in Worcestershire, United Kingdom, the company has built on more than 80 years of trials activity at Pershore Airfield to become a leading independent resource for specialist testing, assessment, and advanced R&D. Operating from Hangar 3 at Pershore Airfield, Malvern Optical draws its name and technical lineage from the world-renowned research and development establishment at nearby Malvern, offering a unique combination of laboratory facilities, outdoor range capabilities, and deep domain expertise that is unmatched by commercial test houses in the UK.

Malvern Optical's core technical output is organised around four disciplines: electro-optics and instrumentation design, EO materials design and formulation, EO materials and systems platform assessment, and platform and system electromagnetic environment (EME) assessment. In each discipline the company provides services spanning the full lifecycle from early materials research and prototype development through to formal independent verification and evaluation of fielded systems and platforms. This breadth of capability — combining active R&D with impartial third-party testing — is a distinguishing feature that allows clients to engage with a single partner across an entire programme.

Electro-optic testing and characterisation is a primary service. Malvern Optical's temperature-controlled optical characterisation laboratory houses spectrophotometers and Fourier Transform Infrared (FTIR) spectrometers capable of assessing materials across the full electromagnetic spectrum from the ultraviolet (UV) through visible, near-infrared (NIR), short-wave infrared (SWIR), mid-wave infrared (MWIR), and long-wave infrared (LWIR) to the far infrared. At the materials level, the laboratory characterises reflectance, transmittance, emissivity, and spectral signatures of coatings, substrates, and composites. At the systems and platform level, Malvern Optical conducts field assessments of EO sensor performance across multiple wavebands, visual and thermal signature evaluation, and active/passive infrared assessments using its 100 m low-light test facility — one of the largest indoor EO test ranges in the world at approximately 100 × 40 × 10 m.

Electromagnetic environment (EME) testing is the second major pillar of Malvern Optical's services. The company's EME facility conducts a large selection of UKAS-accredited measurements covering electromagnetic compatibility (EMC), power quality, electromagnetic propagation, and platform electromagnetic hazard (EMHAZ) assessments. Standards addressed include DEF STAN 59-411 (electromagnetic compatibility for defence), DEF STAN 61-005 (power quality), DEF STAN 08-006 (signatures), and relevant NATO standards. The facility includes a large screened room and a dedicated antenna range. Critically, Malvern Optical is one of very few organisations worldwide to hold First-of-Type Platform TEMPEST accreditation under the Certified Platform TEMPEST Accreditation Scheme (CPTAS) operated by the UK's National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC). TEMPEST testing is conducted on mobile land vehicles, ships, aircraft, fixed installations, and Human As A Platform (HAAP) configurations, assessing compromising emanations from electronic equipment that could represent a communications security risk.

Malvern Optical holds UKAS accreditation to ISO/IEC 17025:2019 for its testing and calibration activities, demonstrating independent verification of technical competence and measurement traceability. In addition, the company holds CPTAS certification as a test house for First-of-Type platform TEMPEST testing under NCSC authority. The company is a member of ADS Group (the UK's premier aerospace, defence, security, and space trade organisation) and supports MOD procurement and regulatory compliance across defence standards. These credentials underpin the impartiality and traceability that government and prime contractor clients require when commissioning independent assessment and evaluation work.

Facilities at Pershore Airfield include a suite of controlled indoor laboratories, a large screened room for EME testing, an antenna range for propagation and antenna pattern measurements, and extensive outdoor range areas for field trials and signature assessment. The low-light facility provides a controlled, calibrated 100 m indoor range uniquely suited to the evaluation of image intensifier systems, thermal imagers, laser rangefinders, and other EO sensors under repeatable lighting conditions that cannot be achieved outdoors. Outdoor range activities include passive and active IR signature measurements of vehicles, aircraft, and naval platforms, and electromagnetic propagation trials. The combination of indoor metrology laboratories and outdoor operational-scale ranges is rare in the independent test house market.

Malvern Optical's primary client base is the UK Ministry of Defence, UK government agencies, and the wider UK and international defence industry, including prime defence contractors and platform integrators. The company is involved in assessments covering land vehicles, naval vessels, aircraft, and fixed military installations. Technical consultancy services allow Malvern Optical scientists and engineers to provide ad hoc expert advice or to fully embed within a client team for the duration of a development programme, with support covering optical and instrumentation design, materials selection, EMC compliance strategy, and signature management. R&D activities include the development of novel EO materials and coatings, novel sensor concepts, and new measurement methodologies — outputs that directly inform and enhance the company's assessment and testing services. Malvern Optical also provides sensors and communications evaluation, complementing its EO and EME capabilities with expertise in RF propagation and antenna performance, making it a genuinely full-spectrum resource for defence platform evaluation.