EUROPE

LAND

15 Nov 10. Cassidian, the recently re-named defence and security division of EADS, has received a follow-on contract from US-based ViaSat Inc. to deliver high-performance electronics enhancing NATO’s network-enabled datalink capabilities. The contract covers the production and delivery of 1,000 Power Amplifiers for the Multifunctional Information Distribution System (MIDS) of the US and European NATO forces.

17 Nov 10. German KMW Training & Simulation has been selected by the Norwegian Armed Forces to deliver the BATSIM® Classroom for the main battle tank LEOPARD 2. The BATSIM® Classroom provides state of the art combat training on serious games level and offers maximum of realism. The system runs on commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) desktop computers. KMW Training & Simulation will deliver the BATSIM® Classroom simulators to the Norwegian Armed Forces in 2011.

15 Nov 10. Raytheon Company’s BBN Technologies’ Boomerang Warrior-X wearable shooter-detection system has been selected by the United Kingdom Ministry of Defence (MOD) for field trials related to urgent operational requirements. The selection follows an assessment by the MOD’s Defence Science and Technology Laboratory that included Boomerang Warrior-X and several other wearable shooter-detection systems. The study found that Boomerang Warrior-X was the most effective system tested. Now Boomerang Warrior-X will be assessed in theater conditions. Boomerang Warrior-X is a compact shooter-detection system that is easily integrated into the tactical vests of dismounted troops. Weighing less than 11 ounces, the system delivers an alert through an earpiece and provides details of the shooter location on a matchbox-sized display. It incorporates the technology used in the vehicle-mounted Boomerang III system. More than 5,000 Boomerang III systems have been deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan. Raytheon BBN Technologies is a wholly owned subsidiary of Raytheon Company.

18 Nov 10. The UK MoD has signed a deal with Virtual Simulation
Systems (VSS) for a three-year lease of a complete aircrew training system (CATS) for the army air corps (AAC). The CATS simulator will provide the AAC with the ability to teach aircrew everything from basic circuit work to formation flying with NVGs in an operational virtual environment. CATS combines all three basic skill sets – rotor clearances, rescue hoist operations and external load operations –, into one training device, according to the Shepard. VSS will also provide a simulated M134 minigun on a short-term trial basis for virtual door gunnery.
The MoD’s first CATS unit will be operational by 25 December this year at Middle Wallop. (Source: armytechnology.com)

AIR

16 Nov 10. Cosworth Group has won an eight-year, multi-million pound contract with aerospace engine control leader, Aero Engine Controls, a Rolls-Royce plc and Goodrich Corporation joint venture. Cosworth Group, leading supplier of high performance engineering technologies, will produce components for the engine control system of the Rolls-Royce Trent 1000 engine which powers Boeing 787 and the Rolls-Royce XWB engine which powers the A350 – as part of the strategic manufacturing partnership. Cosworth Group will manufacture the main casing for the Trent 1000 FADEC system. This complex component will be machined from a 100kg single solid piece of aluminium through a process which will take 22 hours and will produce a final item of just 7kg. This computer controlled process will ensure that the casing is supremely strong whilst lightweight. Aero Engine Controls, a joint venture between Rolls-Royce plc and Goodrich Corporation, is the latest in a line of blue-chip businesses to contract Cosworth to provide precision engineering and manufacturing services.

15 Nov 10. Goodrich Corporation gyroscopes have successfully passed inorbit testing on the European Space Agency’s (ESA) Earth Explorer CryoSat-2 satellite during a mission to detect shifts in glo