24 Oct 06. General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems (GD-OTS), a leading provider of ammunition, explosive ordnance disposal (EOD), and ordnance DEMIL products and services has partnered with RAFAEL Armament Development Authority in Israel to bring a dual mode, standoff ordnance neutralization system into the US. Thor combines a high-energy laser and M2 12.7mm machine gun on a stabilized weapons pedestal with a remote operator control station and day/night sighting sensors to provide a general purpose, standoff ordnance neutralization capability. Thor provides a wide range of combat utility and freedom of movement capabilities that the maneuver force commander requires. Thor has demonstrated combat effectiveness in operational engagements bringing an additional precision fire gun platform to the fight, while at the same time filling a unique tactical mission role. The system will be used by military combat engineers and EOD teams to neutralize explosive hazards.
20 Oct 06. A Raytheon Company team participated in Empire Challenge 2006, a demonstration evaluating intelligence collection systems for joint and coalition operations, at the China Lake Naval Air Warfare Center, China Lake, Calif. The Raytheon team installed the Distributed Common Ground System (DCGS) Integration Backbone (DIB) into imagery test beds during Empire Challenge 2006. Raytheon co-developed the DIB with the U.S. Air Force under the Air Force’s DCGS 10.2 contract. The Empire Challenge 2006 exercise, which ran from Sept 5th to 28th, was designed to test and demonstrate techniques and procedures for coalition airborne imagery assets, using a variety of U.S. and allied DCGS ground systems.
17 Oct 06. General Dynamics Aviation Services® and Sagem Avionics, Inc. have teamed to provide low cost Integrated Cockpit Display Systems to Part 25 Gulfstream II®/III®, Falcon 20/50, Hawker 700/800, and Challenger 600/601-1A business jets. The modification removes existing older primary flight instruments, engine instruments, radar display, TCAS Traffic and Resolution display, navigational switching, and EICAS annunciators and replaces them with a state of the art SAGEM AMLCD Integrated Cockpit Display System (ICDS). The modification includes options for Fiber Optic Gyro based AHRS and Digital Radar. The highly reliable AMLCD system provides full reversion capabilities to ensure flight information is available to pilots even in the case of failure. The major benefits of the system are better dispatch-ability, increased situational awareness, increased safety, and modernization of these still excellent performing mid-life aircrafts. The team plans to have the first Gulfstream II® flying by second quarter 2007. Orders are being taken now.
23 Oct 06. Zeligsoft(TM) and Mercury Computer Systems, Inc. announced component portability support for Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) used in Software Defined Radio (SDR), and Wide Band Data Links and SATCOM (WBDLS) terminals. This collaboration is a continuation of Zeligsoft and Mercury’s work with component portability for specialized hardware processors, such as Digital Signal Processors (DSPs) and FPGAs, used in SDRs targeting the Joint Tactical Radio System (JTRS) and recently in WBDLS terminals. FPGAs are attractive to SDR manufacturers as they provide higher computational density and throughput as well as superior and more flexible I/O capabilities than General Purpose Processors (GPPs). For this reason, FPGAs are essential in WBDLS and small form-factor radio terminals. With support for component portability for specialized hardware processors, Zeligsoft and Mercury make it possible for SDR developers to design, deploy, and re-use their FPGA code in a true component-based software manner to increase productivity and improve flexibility and interoperability.