HOMELAND SECURITY
09 Mar 09. EADS Defence & Security (DS) has been commissioned by
Brazil’s Departamento de Polícia Federal (DPF) to expand the digital radio network of the Brazilian Federal Police on the basis of the Tetrapol standard in order to cover all the state´s capitals and the frontier areas. The existing system covers the metropolitan areas of Rio de Janeiro, Brasilia and Sao Paulo. In the current implementation phase, the states in the North-East and in the South will be integrated into the radio network. In the recent extension, the Federal Police will complete the coverage in the northern and central-western states, especially in the frontier areas.
13 Mar 09. Japan to join anti-piracy patrols. Two Japanese warships are to join an anti-piracy mission off Somalia. The two destroyers are to set sail on Saturday and are expected to reach the Gulf of Aden in about three weeks. Their deployment follows a defence ministry decision in January, which required approval by parliament and the prime minister. Japan’s pacifist constitution allows its forces to mount operations only in self-defence, making the decision to deploy so far from home controversial. The two ships, Sazanami and Samidare, will carry a total of about 400 sailors and coast guard officials. (Source: BBC)
09 Mar 09. The Home Office has announced funding for the purchase of six new police Eurocopter EC135 helicopters through a 2009/10 £5m capital grant for air support, as part of the first joint procurement by six UK police forces. The grant will also provide enhanced state of the art mission equipment. The Police Air Support Units in Suffolk, Cheshire, North Wales, Cleveland, Midlands and Chilterns will each receive a new EC135P2i helicopter. However, the helicopters will be used by up to a total of 18 neighbouring police forces as part of regional consortia, including a Midlands regional collaboration pilot project to trial more efficient joint police air operations.
04 Mar 09. DSIT Solutions Ltd., a subsidiary of Acorn Energy Inc. (NASDAQ: ACFN), announced today that it received a $1.7m order for its AquaShield™ underwater security system. The system, to be used by a large energy facility at an undisclosed location in Asia, will guard and protect the customer infrastructure from underwater intrusion and sabotage. The system will include multiple AquaShield™ Diver Detection sonar (DDS) units, which will be combined and integrated into a comprehensive surveillance system. (Source: ASD Network)