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12 Dec 11. The MOD has changed its policy for senior officer accommodation and provision of domestic assistance which will save at least £3m a year. Following a comprehensive review, the Ministry of Defence has disestablished the status of Official Service Residence (OSR) this financial year and is publishing a new Tri-Service policy on the provision of Domestic Assistance and Official Hospitality. Until now, a number of Service properties at the highest level were granted OSR status if the post held by the occupant involved significant official entertaining duties. This status conferred an enhanced package of furniture, fixtures and furnishings for that property which has now been discontinued so all equivalent Service Families Accommodation is managed to the same standard. In addition, the support provided to the most Senior Officers, such as Domestic Assistance for official hospitality, has been reduced and harmonised across the Services. The changes also revise the rules in relation to Official Hospitality. The combination of these measures is expected to save at least £3 million per year. Domestic assistance will now be linked to official hospitality events and officers in command will receive five hours domestic assistance per week in support of their role rather than the 24 hours per week under previous arrangements. There are currently 26 properties classed as OSR. The changes to OSR mean savings will be made over time as and when the furniture, fixtures and furnishings require maintenance or replacement.
13 Dec 11. Raytheon Company recently established a test site at White Sands Missile Range, N.M., for its cruise missile defense system – the Joint Land Attack Cruise Missile Elevated Netted Sensor System (JLENS).
Brig. Gen. Ole Knudson, the U.S. Army’s Program Executive Officer for Missiles and Space, along with representatives from the U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Command, Redstone Arsenal, Huntsville, Ala.; White Sands Missile Range; prime contractor Raytheon Integrated Defense Systems; and TCOM, the aerostat’s manufacturer located in Elizabeth City, N.C., attended the test site’s activation. Testing is focusing on the JLENS’ ability to detect, track and integrate with U.S. Army and Navy intercept systems to engage hostile targets, including cruise missiles and other air breathing aircraft, and stay aloft and operational for extended periods. The system is also designed to detect surface threats on land and sea. JLENS systems, each consisting of a tethered 74-meter aerostat, can be elevated to 10,000 feet. One aerostat elevates a surveillance radar that provides 360-degree coverage out for long distances over land and sea. The other aerostat elevates a fire-control radar. Each of the aerostat platforms has the capability to integrate other communications and sensor systems. Because JLENS is a tethered aerostat, it can remain airborne for long periods – up to 30 days at a time – providing persistent surveillance for extended periods at significantly less cost than surveillance aircraft performing the same mission. JLENS is one of several radar systems that Raytheon designs and builds for applications such as situational awareness, air and missile defense, and air traffic management.
15 Dec 11. Telephonics Corporation, a wholly owned subsidiary of Griffon Corporation announced the opening of a new facility at 315 Bob Heath Drive in Huntsville, AL that will house engineers from its Radar Systems and Communication and Electronic Systems Divisions as well as its subsidiary, Systems Engineering Group (SEG), Inc. The new facility located in the Cummings Research Park, will primarily provide air and missile defense threat systems analysis and engineering, high fidelity modeling and simulation, and missile, radar and combat systems engineering design and performance analysis. Additionally, the work will involve performance of high-technology engineering for integrated information, communication,