LAND
13 Apr 10. Cambridge Consultants has been awarded a further contract to supply its leading Advanced Radar Missile Scorer – ARMS-300 for installation in Selex Galileo Avionica’s Mirach 100/5 target drones on French test ranges. ARMS was the world’s first non-cooperative vector scoring system and users include the UK MoD, French DGA, Italian MoD, US Navy and the Royal Australian Navy. ARMS-300 measures the accuracy of guided missiles under test by reconstructing the missile trajectory as it intercepts the target drone. ARMS-300 is suitable for full-scale and subscale targets and gives high quality feedback on the performance of the missile for development tests and training shots. The system measures the point of closest approach to within 30cm or 10% of range and miss-distances up to 30m, at closing speeds up to 2000m/s. It is effective with modern, highly agile missiles, where the trajectory may be highly non-linear.
13 Apr 10. Lockheed Martin will deliver a long-range air surveillance radar system to the United Kingdom that overcomes sensor performance issues commonly caused by the rotating blades of wind turbines. The advanced electronics of Lockheed Martin’s TPS-77 radar mitigate interference, or “clutter,” that commonly obscure radar targets in and around wind farms. The new radar system will provide reliable air defense surveillance capabilities for the U.K. MoD and allow the nation to move forward with aggressive plans to install some 924 turbines along England’s east coast.
07 Apr 10. SELEX Communications, a Finmeccanica company, has won a significant export contract to supply its CTX interface system offering In-The-Ear (ITE) hearing protection for frontline troops involved in extended and intensive operations. CTX is an intelligent radio interface system providing multiple communication interfaces. In quiet surroundings, CTX users hear normally and can adjust the mode of operation to reduce sound or, conversely, to amplify sound for increased hearing. On detection of impulse noise, CTX limits the sound level to a maximum of 85dB, ensuring hearing protection whilst maintaining full Situational Awareness in any operational environment. CTX detects the user’s voice via the headset’s inner ear microphone, where the voice is most audible in high noise environments. The attenuation provided by the ITE headset equals protection offered by many systems that incorporate Active Noise Reduction in parallel to passive protection. The innovative design of the ITE headset provides enhanced side impact protection to user. Any side impacts sustained, which can result in injury, are now displaced across a larger area, preventing the earpiece being forced deep into the ear canal.
SEA
12 Apr 10. Thales has signed a contract to equip France’s
additional three FREMM frigates with radar, infrared search and track, sonar and communications systems -bringing to 11 the number of French multi-mission frigates the company will supply.
AIR
14 Apr 10. BAE Systems will support and service aircraft countermeasures systems under a £16m urgent-needs contract with the UK Ministry of Defence. The AAR-57 Common Missile Warning System, or CMWS, integrates electronic warfare sensors to detect and defeat infrared-guided missiles. It has been credited with saving multiple aircraft from infrared-guided missiles. CMWS is a passive missile detection and warning system. It consists of up to six electro-optic missile sensors, depending on aircraft type, and an electronic control unit (ECU). The sensors are installed around the aircraft to provide comprehensive coverage and constantly monitor for the signature of a missile. The ECU processes the sensor data and, if it detects an incoming missile, provides cues for countermeasures to defeat the threat missile.
09 Apr 10. France has ordered an additional eight CASA CN 235 light cargo aircraft from EADS CASA under a €225m ($300m) contract.
The French Air Force will take delivery