Web Page sponsored by MILLBROOK
Millbrook, based in Bedfordshire, UK, makes a significant contribution to the quality and performance of military vehicles worldwide. Its specialist expertise is focussed in two distinct areas: test programmes to help armed services and their suppliers ensure that their vehicles and systems work as the specification requires; and design and build work to upgrade new or existing vehicles, evaluate vehicle capability and investigate in-service failures. Complementing these is driver and service training and a hospitality business that allows customers to use selected areas of Millbrook’s remarkable facilities for demonstrations and exhibitions.
Tel: +44 (0) 1525 408408
www.millbrook.co.uk/military
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22 Mar 10. A new communications and surveillance control shelter has been delivered to the UK Ministry of Defence in only 28 working days by Marshall SV part of Cambridge based Marshall Land Systems. The order placed just before Christmas was delivered in early February. The ISTAR (Intelligence, Surveillance, Target Acquisition and Reconnaissance) container was designed, manufactured and tested before being delivered to the Deployable Support and Test Equipment (DS&TE) IPT and the Imagery & Geospatial Systems (IMaGE) Delivery Team at the MoD earlier than the contract had called for. Mr Gary Daniels, Head DRMS, DS&TE Team commented, “The MOD’s DS&TE & IMaGE Teams have worked together combining their own specialist gatekeeper roles to facilitate expeditious delivery of this UOR. This has offered Value For Defence (VDF) and helped to ensure that the end user gets what they want, when they want it and at the cost that they want. The ‘partnership’ between MSV, IMaGE and DS&TE teams was phenomenal in achieving the unachievable.
“This was a fantastic achievement and shows how effectively project teams, consisting of the customer and ourselves, can work together to support the front line by delivering a quality solution quickly and efficiently. Using the expertise and experience of both parties where they are best employed assisted in the requirement capture, design, delivery and rapid production” said Peter Callaghan, Chief Executive of Marshall Land Systems.
The control centre consists of two work stations and four server racks. It is fully air conditioned to maintain a sensible working environment even if outside the temperature rises to nearly 50ºC or drops to below -30ºC. It has been Convention for Safe Containers (CSC) approved and is transportable by land, sea or air including by C-130.
22 Mar 10. The Indian Ministry of Defence has awarded a contract to BEML to provide variants of the multiterrain BEML TATRA transport vehicles to the Indian Army. Under the Rs632 crore ($138.8m) contract, the company will supply 498 8×8 vehicles, 278 6×6 vehicles equipped with winches and 12 6×6 vehicles without winches to the Indian Army. BEML TATRA 8×8s are used as multiterrain vehicles to transport personnel and military tanks.
These vehicles are also equipped with a winch for self recovery and the recovery of other vehicles. Delivery of the 788 BEML TATRA vehicles is scheduled to be complete within 18 months. The Indian Ministry of Defence has already made a Rs315.83 crore ($69.4m) advance payment to BEML. (Source: army-technology.com)
22 Mar 10. A new radar system that could track a vehicle through buildings is being developed by military scientists at the US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). The remote-controlled airborne detection system known as “spy in the sky” is a multipath exploitation radar (MER), which uses buildings as mirrors to identify a target vehicle from radar reflections, according to the Times Of India. A scientist at DARPA said the new radar system sees around corners and down into
“urban canyons”. According to a DARPA spokesman, MER is expected to be compatible with the radar systems