Sponsored by Arnold Defense www.arnolddefense.com
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12 Sep 19. L3Harris launches T4 medium-sized robot for urban security ops. L3Harris Technologies has launched a robotic system designed to meet the requirements of security operations in the challenging urban domain.
The T4 medium-sized robotic system will support operations such as clean-up of hazardous materials, explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) and special weapons and tactics (SWAT) missions. L3Harris is demonstrating the prototype robot at DSEI. T4 is much lighter and smaller than L3Harris’ military-grade T7 robot and offers the same ruggedness.
The system’s integrated controller interface is intended to improve the user experience and provide operators with enhanced command and control.
T4 also provides ‘human-like dexterity’ and ‘precision control’ to complete a task effectively and swiftly.
The availability of the ‘haptic force feedback’ feature is aimed to allow users to feel the impact when the robot arm comes into contact with something during operation.
L3Harris Space and Airborne Systems president Ed Zoiss said: “T4 brings life-saving technology to the medium-sized robotics market and reaffirms the importance of highly reliable, precise and easy-to-use systems for security forces worldwide.
“T4 combines strength, reach, intuitive control and robustness to deliver uncompromised performance anywhere, even in the most challenging urban environments.”
To meet challenges in congested environments, the robot is equipped with a rugged track system for improved mobility and manoeuvrability.
The company is looking to position the T4 system as a solution to meet the needs of global security and police forces.
T4 can be fitted with attachments to carry out bomb disposal operations inside tight spaces such as automobiles, aircraft, buses and trains. (Source: army-technology.com)
12 Sep 19. RWS pioneers appear. EOS Defence Systems from Australia is among the companies making its first appearance at DSEI, exhibiting as part of the Australia National Pavilion (Stand S10-200). EOS (Electro Optic Systems) has its roots in satellite tracking and precision laser and range-finding systems that were designed for use in the harsh environments of space. However, in the late 1980s the company saw applications for its technology in the defence world, resulting in the development of the world’s first remote weapon system (RWS). In 2003, the US Army adopted the company’s RWS as the CROWS 1 for deployment to Afghanistan and Iraq. From those beginnings, EOS has developed a family of RWSs to match various role requirements and vehicle types, and has delivered around 1,200.
Among the RWSs is the light gimbal R150, an example of which is shown on a Thales Hawkei in the Australian Pavilion. This is the lightest gimbal capable of mounting a 0.50in (12.7mm) heavy machine gun. The R150 comes with two sensor unit (SU) options, a lightweight uncooled unit for self-protection and support vehicles, and a longer ranged cooled SU for reconnaissance/ surveillance missions.
EOS’s medium gimbal RWS is the R400, the direct descendant of the original CROWS 1 design. The latest R400S Mk 2 version has dual-weapon capability and can also mount anti-tank and surface-to-air missiles.
By mounting cannon that fire 30x113mm rounds, the lightweight R400 RWS brings 30mm cannon firepower to lightweight tactical vehicles that previously lacked the structural strength to mount such weapons. The R400 with a 30x113mm cannon allows the vehicles to out-range commonly encountered threats such as 14.5mm heavy machine guns and the 2A42 30mm cannon. (Source: IHS Jane’s)
12 Sep 19. Lockheed Martin UK is successfully delivering turrets manufactured on-site in Bedfordshire to prime contractor General Dynamics (GD) for the British Army’s AJAX programme. Situated on a 64-acre site, the state-of-the art manufacturing facility in Ampthill designs, develops and manufactures the turrets for the AJAX programme. Lockheed Martin is contracted to deliver 245 turrets to GD by 2024. The AJAX turret shares certain common elements with the upgraded turret developed by Lockheed Martin UK for the Warrior Capability Sustainment Programme which is currently undergoing Qualification and Verification activity and Battlefield Missions as part of its activities for the Demonstration Phase of the WCSP.
Graeme Myers, AJAX Programme Director at the Ampthill site said: “We have invested significantly into the site and our people to ensure we have the facility, systems and skills needed to solve some of the world’s most complex problems for our customers. We are the UK’s only facility which has the ability to design, develop, build, integrate and test turrets for armoured fighting vehicles. We continue to invest in our systems and people so that we remain a world-leader in this area, and to ensure the UK retains this capability”.
The Ampthill facility was injected with a multi-million pound investment by Lockheed Martin to upgrade and modernise its production line; enabling the company to manufacture and integrate high-tech, fully digitised turrets for major armoured vehicles programmes. The site employees around 900 individuals, around half of which are highly skilled jobs.
The impressive Lockheed Martin site is a world-class location for highly-skilled engineering, technical and manufacturing work. The home grown cutting-edge technologies and capabilities bring a huge advantage to UK plc: they are providing jobs for British people, helping to create a competitive and skilled UK supply base, and are ensuring that the UK’s defence sector remains a global leader.
12 Sep 19. First order for gun. MSI-Defence Systems (Stand S3-160) has disclosed a launch order for a 30mm version of its Seahawk Lightweight (LW) naval gun system. Engineering development of the Seahawk LW mounting began in late 2009 using the same servo and stabilisation techniques already in service with MSI-Defence Systems’ larger-calibre mountings.
The company has since sold the Seahawk LW20K variant (fitted with the Oerlikon 20mm KAA cannon) for Damen 5009 Stan Patrol ships built for the Trinidad and Tobago Coast Guard, and the Seahawk LW14.5P version (integrating the Romarm 14.5mm heavy machine gun) to an Asian customer.
The new LW30M, which integrates the Northrop Grumman MK 44 S 30mm cannon in the MSI-DS Seahawk LW mounting, is designed to offer navies and coastal security authorities ‘‘a lightweight, reliable and cost-effective gun solution with an extended range capability and unmatched accuracy in this market segment’’, according to MSIDefence Systems. The company adds that the Seahawk LW30M enjoys the added advantage of dual ammunition feed capability, providing for either additional ammunition capacity or a mix of two dissimilar onboard ammunition types.
As with other Seahawk LW systems, Seahawk LW30M is equipped with an electrooptical sensor package suite comprising a daylight TV camera, a thermal imaging camera and a laser rangefinder.
Equipped with an advanced gun fire control system with a dedicated inboard control console, the Seahawk LW system architecture allows for a compact installation envelope, ideally suited to smaller vessels. (Source: IHS Jane’s)
11 Sep 19. EXPAL launches new mortar aiming and safety systems. Spain’s EXPAL Systems unveiled two new mortar components at the DSEI show on 10 September. The E-COMPAX electronic mortar aiming system provides orientation and elevation aiming giving mortar teams fast and accurate fire support.
According to EXPAL Systems product manager Jose Maria Fajardo, development of the system started two years ago. The company is marketing the system across potential users in Europe, with testing being undertaken by the company and by potential European users.
The E-COMPAX combines inertial AMENS gyroscopes and accelerometers, alongside a fluxgate electronic compass and a video camera, with potential night-vision image intensifiers also a possibility for development.
During the systems’ orientation phase, it takes 10 seconds to find north ahead before mounting on the bipod, with targeting data entered via a keyboard or tablet, or from a centralised fire-control system. The operator adjusts the mortar using existing cranking handles. Using the E-COMPAX, total aiming time for a mortar is reduced to less than 30 seconds. Adjustments to a mortar’s aim after each firing are reduced to less than 5 seconds.
“The benefit of this system is that it greatly reduces the time to fire, improves accuracy, and reduces the amount of stress on the crew,” Fajardo said.
The E-COMPAX is platform agnostic, and can be integrated onto any 60 mm, 80/81mm, and 120mm mortar tubes, being anchored to the mortar bipod on a NATO-standard mounting dovetail. The system is designed to replace a standard basic optical sight system.
EXPAL Systems also unveiled the new M-COUNTER system to monitor mortar tube performance for maintenance and safety. The M-COUNTER sensor is mounted on a bracket around the mortar tube, and records information for engineering support staff including date of firing, rate of fire, and number of bombs fired. (Source: IHS Jane’s)
10 Sep 19. Thales unveils new soldier architecture. As part of its wider effort to support the ‘collaborative combat’ environment, Thales has unveiled the Soldier Harness Architecture (SHArc) to support the networking, power and data requirements of dismounted troops.
Unveiled at DSEi on 10 September, the SHArc comprises a central processing unit- called the Flexible Soldier Hub or FiSH- which is capable of integrating up to nine sub-systems and batteries through a series of nine connector ports. The FiSH, which is battery-agnostic, also features USB connectivity which can support a wireless dock to reduce cabling should such a requirement be requested by customers.
According to a company spokesperson, SHArc has been designed to support ‘more readily available data’ being passed around the battlefield, in addition to shortening sensor-to-shooter targeting cycles.
The technology demonstrator presented at DSEI saw the FiSH integrated into the combat belt of a load carriage solution, with Thales officials describing how a unit was already in evaluation with the UK Ministry of Defence’s Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (DSTL).
The 400g SHArc is being offered up to support phase three of the British Army’s Virtus programme which aims to provide dismounted close combat personnel with power and data capabilities.
SHArc has also undergone testing with the British Army over the course of two Army Warfighting Experiments.
Sources also confirmed to Shephard how Thales was considering the development of a smaller form factor to be worn by infantry personnel on the battlefield. Such a solution would weigh just 200g, providing a ‘lean, light and unobtrusive’ solution to the armed forces.
SHArc comprises part of Thales’ Collaborative Combat concept, which aims to successfully apply next-next-generation technology in land warfare.
Addressing delegates at the Land Capability conference on the first day of DSEi, Lt Gen (Retd) Alain Bouquin, Defence Advisor for Land at Thales, described how armies must increase the speed of innovation with ‘prototype warfare’ putting greater capability into the hands of the warfighter.
Such a concept, he explained, could be initiated through the introduction of technology enabling the automation and cueing of decision making processes. As a result, Thales continue to explore a series of next-generation technologies and capabilities to optimise connectivity; big data analytics; artificial intelligence; and cyber warfare through an ‘open system of systems’, Bouquin concluded.(Source: Shephard)
10 Sep 19. SEA, the UK’s defence and security electronic system specialist, is launching a Trainable Decoy Launcher System to protect surface platforms from missile and torpedo threats at this month’s DSEI exhibition in London. The system is capable of a wide range of movement, rapidly delivering complex patterns of mixed decoys around platforms. It offers a sophisticated threat processing engine, which can recommend and enact responses to a wide range of threats much more quickly than traditional systems, minimising the need to manoeuvre the ship, improving its effectiveness. The gyro stabilised launcher has a wide range of movement, so that the system can offer countermeasure coverage to both sea skimming and ballistic trajectory threats.
With the speed of missiles increasing and the window in which the surface platform can respond becoming very small, surface platforms require the ability to rapidly and accurately place decoy payloads to maximise their effectiveness.
Steve Hill, Managing Director of SEA, said: “We are very pleased to be unveiling our new Trainable Decoy Launcher System at DSEI, based on our proven launcher technology and combat system expertise. The system offers a highly flexible, reliable and low through-life cost solution with tiered integration options. We look forward to bringing the technology to the industry in London.”
SEA is delivering this new system by partnering with Chess Dynamics and MASS, its fellow Cohort subsidiaries. This partnership leverages a number of important strengths to deliver an advanced solution.
SEA has been delivering and supporting launcher systems for many navies worldwide for over 20 years, and offers full combat system integration services.
Through Chess Dynamics, which is a UK leader for training mechanisms including optical and tracking systems, SEA has incorporated in-service technology, proven through 15+ years of operational service in harsh naval environments where high reliability and low maintenance requirements are key.
MASS has over 35 years’ experience supporting the warfighter in the electronic warfare environment, providing the ability to store and manage electronic warfare (EW) and intelligence data from all sources in a single data management capability. This data can then be used, along with MASS’ modelling and simulation capabilities, to create countermeasures for known threats.
The storage of this EW and intelligence data will allow the operator to create a threat library of known threats in the area of operations, enhancing threat recognition and identification, allowing rapid deployment of the correct and effective countermeasure. New data can also be readily ingested into the data management capability allowing analysts to focus on the new information and to analyse the intelligence. This new intelligence can then be added to existing threat libraries or new threats identified and countermeasures explored and created.
The system is available in a range of flexible configurations, it has support for 130mm and other decoy types, including:
- Chaff
- Flares
- Active rounds
- Expendable torpedo countermeasures
- Rocket/mortar, and mortar launched sub munitions
- Programmable rounds
The system is designed for global operation in a range of military environments. Other features include:
- Configurable ergonomic round loading
- No deck penetration
- Small deck footprint
- Low weight
- Uses proven Seagnat barrels, interchangeable with existing Seagnat systems
- Modular construction allows other types and calibres of payload to be employed
The Trainable Decoy Launcher System will be available in 2020.
For more information on SEA, please visit: www.sea.co.uk. The Trainable Decoy Launcher system will be available to view at the DSEI exhibition on stand S8 120.
10 Sep 19. Marlborough Communications Limited (MCL) will be launching the most advanced platform intercom system yet to the market at this year’s DSEI.
Produced by Invisio and exclusively available in the UK through MCL, the new intercom system bridges the gap between the mounted and dismounted soldier. The first of its kind, the system allows operatives to personalise exactly what it is connected to and how many users are accommodated on it.
Due to its extensive flexibility and modularity, the intercom can be carried on the go between platforms or permanently fixed, and it can be integrated to any platform with minimal effort. It is lightweight and unparalleled in size, letting troops move seamlessly between platforms without losing communications.
With the Invisio intercom the soldier can access all land, maritime or air communications directly from their Invisio control unit. There is no need for the soldier to remove or connect to other control units when mounting or dismounting from a platform.
In addition, soldier-worn control units connect to radios, smart devices, land, maritime and air platform intercoms. Patented Invisio Intellicable™ technology provides seamless plug and play integration between the control units and the connected radios, intercoms and headsets allowing for the deployment of new equipment without the need to update existing equipment.
Meanwhile, a suite of sophisticated hearing protection headsets help protect soldiers from potentially damaging impulse and continuous noise found during mounted and dismounted operations. One of the innovative headsets in the Invisio range incorporates the use of bone conduction technology instead of traditional sound wave detection, where a small in-ear microphone picks up vibrations from the user’s jawbone. This means when speaking, even whispers are converted into sound, providing crystal clear communication and enhanced situational awareness
Shane Knight, Managing Director of MCL said: “We are greatly looking forward to demonstrating the Invisio intercom system to visitors to the DSEI exhibition. As the sole UK suppliers of the system, we are proud to bring this advanced and flexible technology to market.
“Being able to hear and communicate effectively can be the difference between life and death. By offering a seamless transition between land and platform operations we are reducing the burden on the soldier and simplifying the MMI, enabling soldiers to focus on their operational role.”
The Inviso intercom will be available to view at the DSEI exhibition on stand S6 220.
10 Sep 19. Kongsberg demonstrates ATGM capability with Titan UGV.A Javelin anti-tank guided missile being fired from the Titan UGV for the first time.
Norway’s Kongsberg Defence & Aerospace AS has revealed that it fired a Javelin anti-tank guided missile (ATGM) from its Protector Common Remotely Operated Weapon Station (CROWS) mounted on a Titan UGV for the first time in June 2019.
Kongsberg Executive Vice President Pål Bratlie told Jane’s that the Javelin missile was remotely launched using its CROWS M153 system.
The live-fire demonstration – which also included the firing of the weapon station’s 12.7 mm machine gun (MG) – was carried out at Redstone Test Center in Alabama, US.
Video and fire-control data and command signals were securely transmitted over radio from the weapon station and the missile itself.
“The CROWS Javelin is being fielded on the [US Army’s] Stryker vehicles,” Bratlie said. “So we demonstrated a fully wireless capability for both the ground vehicle itself and the weapon station.
“This is based on our secure wireless communication with the system command and fire-control system,” he added. “This is a first wireless firing of a Javelin from a remote weapon station on an unmanned platform.”
Bratlie noted that this configuration is primarily aimed at the US market, which the company currently sees as a key driver of such requirements.
“We see the Javelin as a very capable missile and of course we can always integrate other missiles onto the system,” Bratlie explained. “The key for us is to demonstrate a secure capability for firing weapons from an autonomous platform.”
Bratlie noted that the company is presently focused on the light and medium platforms being developed for the US Robotic Combat Vehicle (RCV) programme.
“CROWS systems will be the candidate for the light, and our medium-calibre system delivered on the Stryker will be for the medium system,” he revealed, adding that the benefit is a common fire control for both types of platforms. (Source: IHS Jane’s)
10 Sep 19. MBDA offers insight into ongoing results of Team Tempest work. At DSEI 2019 MBDA is showing an insight into some of its ongoing work as the coordinator of effects within Team Tempest, further highlighting the benefits of this new approach to designing a future combat air system.
Being a Team Tempest partner, involved from the inception of a future combat air system, is helping ensure that innovative weapons systems complement the cutting-edge design and the novel technologies of the platform around them.
This collaborative arrangement is already showing the potential to deliver capability enhancements across a range of missions that have led to the concepts on display at DSEI this year.
In the domain of Survivability in Attack and Control of the Air, working closely with Leonardo and BAES has led to MBDA developing concepts for a Hard Kill Defensive Aid System (HK-DAS) capable of tracking, targeting and intercepting incoming missiles in high threat environments.
Leveraging commonality, modularity and reuse of the HK-DAS concept, MBDA are exploring a small form factor, scalable, Ground Attack Micromissile capability to enhance the Tempest system in the Close Air Support (CAS) role for Persistence in Attack.
Drawing upon the prior weapons integration experience of both MBDA and BAES, innovative payload bay and launcher concepts facilitate an improved weapon load out, like the twin WVRAAM (Within Visual Range Air-to-Air Missile) concept, or increased weapon release envelopes and the flexibility to introduce enhanced weapons capability like the increased calibre WVRAAM concept.
Outside of concepts on display, MBDAs contribution to the PYRAMID Open Mission System* is exploiting technologies developed in the Ground Based Air Defence (GBAD) command and control (C2) domain to enhance the operational effectiveness of Tempest in Air-to-Air engagements for Effectiveness in Control of the Air.
There is also work on Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) with Leonardo and BAES where MBDA is working to exploit effectors such as a node on a sensor network, enhancing the situational awareness picture available to pilots.
Whilst next generation missiles previously displayed alongside Tempest – Meteor and the SPEAR family of weapons – will be optimised for use on the future combat air system, by being at the heart of the system design stage is creating a synergistic architecting of effectors and platform, to achieve a significant force multiplication.
Underpinning all of this work is the challenge to processes and technologies, to deliver a step change in the cost, length and complexity of weapon integration.
Chris Allam, managing Director of MBDA UK, said: “The partnership approach provided by Team Tempest will deliver a step change improvement in the time, complexity and cost of weapons system integration campaigns. Being involved in the development of novel interfaces, bay designs and integration processes will also be a key enabler to the spiral development of complementing effectors in the future. We are utilising our unique role in this collaboration to ensure that a future fighter is able to fully utilise existing weapons and planned weapons, whilst supporting a full range of system-design studies assessing the trade space between the future fighter platform and the weapons of the future.”
10 Sep 19. BAE Systems Unveils New ARCHER Mobile Howitzer at DSEI. BAE Systems is unveiling a new ARCHER Mobile Howitzer at DSEI today that is highly adaptable to diverse terrains and battlefield conditions, giving it the flexibility needed to meet a wide range of mission requirements for militaries around the world. The key is a modular design that allows it to be integrated onto different truck chassis and then seamlessly introduced into existing vehicle fleets.The ARCHER’s modularity makes it a cost-effective solution that provides critical battlefield capabilities. The ARCHER system displayed at DSEI 2019 is mounted on a Rheinmetall RMMV HX2 8×8 truck – meaning it could be common to systems already in service with the British Army. The original ARCHER, first delivered to the Swedish Armed Forces in 2013, is mounted on a Volvo A30 6X6 articulated hauler.
“This new international version of the ARCHER can be easily integrated onto a variety of different chassis, allowing the customer to specify the vehicle best suited to their needs,” said Ulf Einefors, director of marketing and sales at BAE Systems Weapon Systems business in Sweden. “We’re pleased to display this new version at DSEI to demonstrate the versatility that ARCHER could add to any allied military force.”
The long-range, self-propelled ARCHER brings speed, mobility, and high rates of fire to support ground troops. From the safety of ARCHER’s armored cabin, a three-person crew needs less than 30 seconds to deploy or displace the system, making ARCHER the ultimate shoot-and-scoot artillery system. As the most advanced wheeled 155mm, 52-calibre system in operation today, ARCHER features a 21-round auto-loader and onboard ballistic calculation. The system can fire up to eight rounds per minute at ranges approaching 40 kilometers with conventional 155mm ammunition and 60 kilometres with precision guided munitions such as Excalibur. (Source: News Now/BUSINESS WIRE)
BATTLESPACE Comment: Sources close t BATTLESPACE suggest that Archer is being offered for the 3 x36 Battery Requirement to replace the ageing AS90 vehicles. Nexter is also believed to be offering its mounted howitzer solution.
10 Sep 19. Thales unveils new soldier architecture. As part of its wider effort to support the ‘collaborative combat’ environment, Thales has unveiled the Soldier Harness Architecture (SHArc) to support the networking, power and data requirements of dismounted troops.
Unveiled at DSEi on 10 September, the SHArc comprises a central processing unit- called the Flexible Soldier Hub or FiSH- which is capable of integrating up to nine sub-systems and batteries through a series of nine connector ports. The FiSH, which is battery-agnostic, also features USB connectivity which can support a wireless dock to reduce cabling should such a requirement be requested by customers.
According to a company spokesperson, SHArc has been designed to support ‘more readily available data’ being passed around the battlefield, in addition to shortening sensor-to-shooter targeting cycles.
The technology demonstrator presented at DSEI saw the FiSH integrated into the combat belt of a load carriage solution, with Thales officials describing how a unit was already in evaluation with the UK Ministry of Defence’s Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (DSTL).
The 400g SHArc is being offered up to support phase three of the British Army’s Virtus programme which aims to provide dismounted close combat personnel with power and data capabilities.
SHArc has also undergone testing with the British Army over the course of two Army Warfighting Experiments.
Sources also confirmed to Shephard how Thales was considering the development of a smaller form factor to be worn by infantry personnel on the battlefield. Such a solution would weigh just 200g, providing a ‘lean, light and unobtrusive’ solution to the armed forces.
SHArc comprises part of Thales’ Collaborative Combat concept, which aims to successfully apply next-next-generation technology in land warfare.
Addressing delegates at the Land Capability conference on the first day of DSEi, Lt Gen (Retd) Alain Bouquin, Defence Advisor for Land at Thales, described how armies must increase the speed of innovation with ‘prototype warfare’ putting greater capability into the hands of the warfighter.
Such a concept, he explained, could be initiated through the introduction of technology enabling the automation and cueing of decision making processes. As a result, Thales continue to explore a series of next-generation technologies and capabilities to optimise connectivity; big data analytics; artificial intelligence; and cyber warfare through an ‘open system of systems’, Bouquin concluded. (Source: Shephard)
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Arnold Defense has manufactured more than 1.25 million 2.75-inch rocket launchers since 1961 for the U.S. Army, U.S. Navy, U.S. Air Force and many NATO customers. They are the world’s largest supplier of rocket launchers for military aircraft, vessels and vehicles. Core products include the 7-round M260 and 19-round M261 commonly used by helicopters; the thermal coated 7-round LAU-68 variants and LAU-61 Digital Rocket Launcher used by the U.S. Navy and Marines; and the 7-round LAU-131 and SUU-25 flare dispenser used by the U.S. Air Force and worldwide.
Today’s rocket launchers now include the ultra-light LWL-12 that weighs just over 60 pounds (27 kg.) empty and the new Fletcher (4) round launcher. Arnold Defense designs and manufactures various rocket launchers that can be customized for any capacity or form factor for platforms in the air, on the ground or even at sea.
Arnold Defense maintains the highest standards of production quality by using extensive testing, calibration and inspection processes.
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