DRS PUSH AHEAD WITH NEW DISPLAYS
By Adam Baddeley, Deputy Editor, BATTLESPACE
DRS Tactical System at Farnham UK are providing their Commander’s Tactical workstation CTW-17 Workstations to Thales Air Defence as part of the HVM ADAT programme, with Main Gate due in April.
DRS have supplied four 17” pre-production systems after the eight 18” variants previously delivered were found to be too big for the cramped CVR(T).
The CTW-17 is based around a 17 inch TFT touchscreen display, with resolution of up to 1280×1024 and up to 20 programmable bezel keys. Users have the option of separating the computer from the display. Up to 4GM RAM can be installed with the choice of either a Flash Drive or Rotating Hard Disc Drive for mass storage. Weighing 14Kg dimensions are 120mm x 360mmx 400mm.
The systems can run the Intel Pentium M, Core Duo and power PC as us MS XP, XP Embedded and VxWorks and LynxOS.
The CTW will operate between minus 20 degree and plus 55 degrees centigrade.
A key feature of the solution is that up to six images can be run concurrently within a picture-in-picture display such as the driver viewer, drivers viewers and weapon system, indeed the HVM can be fired from the CTW-17. Several CTW’s could also be linked together for other applications. A frame grabbing capability can be used to send imagery around the battery and beyond.
Current planning for the HVM ADAT envisage having a two-screen solution inside the HVM, the other workstation being the Bowman P-BISA.
DRS have a long-standing relationship with BAE and other UK primes, which they are pursuing for other legacy and future platform opportunities.
SBAC U.K. BUDGET SUMMARY
21 Mar 07. The key highlights for the aerospace and defence industry are summarised below:
Defence Spending
* A further £86.4m for the Security and Intelligence Agencies to accelerate the development of counter-terrorism capabilities
* This raises the budget for security and intelligence from £1bn in 2001, to £2¼ billion (2007-08).
* An extra £400m will be made available this year (2007-08) to the Ministry of Defence to cover overseas commitments in Iraq, Afghanistan and elsewhere.
* A further £200m will be allocated from reserves in 2007-08 to support ongoing peacekeeping activity across the world.
Technology Strategy Board
The TSB will now take on a wider remit to stimulate business innovation in those areas that offer the greatest scope for boosting growth and productivity. This covers all areas of the economy, from manufacturing industries to the arts and creative industries.
The new Arms Length Technology Strategy Board will operate with a business-led Board taking a strategic overview of innovation priorities across all sectors of the
UK economy and will advise Government on the allocation of resources to priority technology areas. The new structure will become fully operational by July 2007.
The TSB will allocate £100 million for Collaborative R&D. Over 600 R&D projects have been approved for funding so far and this new call will include substantial funding directed to larger projects that provide maximum economic impact.
The new Board plans to learn from the US Defence Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) and recruit secondees directly from industry. The TSB will also complement its portfolio of support by taking over responsibility for leading the Knowledge Transfer Partnerships (KTPs) that provide support to companies who need to bring skills or knowledge from the research base into the business.
Sainsbury Review: Emerging Conclusions
The emerging conclusions of the Sainsbury review have been published. The review is examining how existing policy instruments can be better used to enable the UK to respond to the challenges of globalisation. For example, the Review is exploring how
Innovation Platforms can be used to enhance departmental procurement through more strategic supplier engagement. It is also looking at h