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19 Oct 07. Following a series of test firings, the US Army has ordered design changes to the active protection system (APS) being developed for future armoured vehicles. Major General Charles Cartwright, head of the service’s Future Combat Systems (FCS) programme, said he had directed a redesign and a new series of test firings after some rocket motors in the APS interceptor showed ‘splittage’ in recent testing. The army is developing a new family of manned ground vehicles that will be lighter than the main battle tanks and infantry fighting vehicles currently in service. APS is supposed to provide the future vehicles with a higher level of protection without added weight. The system is meant to envelop vehicles in a ‘360-degree bubble’ that can defend against both close-range threats such as rocket-propelled grenades and top-attack anti-tank guided missiles. Dennis Muilenburg, Boeing vice president and FCS programme manager, said the interceptors were the most technically challenging APS component. “These active protection systems operate on a tight timeline and accuracy,” he said. (Source: Jane’s, JDW)
24 Oct 07. Spectrum Signal Processing, a unit of Vecina announced a product known as “waveform physical layer software” that plays a key role in military radio systems for both terrestrial communications and for MilSatCom, or links to and from satellite transceivers. Spectrum referred to its new software-defined radio offering as waveform physical layer software. That type of software plays a key role in widely deployed military radio systems such as the Joint Tactical Radio System (JTRS). Spectrum’s new product, called the waveform physical layer, sometimes called the air interface, is a layer within the system’s wireless protocol stack. It carries out radio frequency, intermediate frequency and baseband signal processing functions. The signal processing modules inside software-defined radios can comprise thousands of lines of code, Spectrum said. The new waveform physical layer software Spectrum announced today will help radio designers by providing an off-the-shelf waveform module that is already ported to a platform, the company said. It also will help waveform designers, who may be seeking to customize an existing waveform. “Spectrum is focused on accelerating our defense and satellite communications customers’ programs, from development to deployment, with optimized radio technologies and end-to-end services. Waveforms are a key part of this strategy,” said Mark Briggs, vice president of marketing at Spectrum, in a prepared statement. “By partnering with established waveform leaders in the military, satellite and commercial communication markets, Spectrum will be able to deliver highly optimized and high-value integrated radio solutions to its customers that can dramatically simplify and reduce development and implementation efforts.” (Source: GCN)
24 Oct 07. S. Korea to Launch Stealth Fighter Project in 2011. South Korea will open a bid to acquire fifth-generation fighter aircraft equipped with radar-evading stealth technology in 2011, with the aim of deploying the planes in the field between 2014 and 2019, the Republic of Korea Air Force said. In a report to the National Assembly’s National Defense Committee during a parliamentary audit Oct. 24, the air force unveiled the timeline for the third phase of the country’s fighter procurement project, dubbed F-X. South Korea’s goal under the F-X program is to acquire 120 fighters by 2020 to replace its aging F-4s and F-5s. (Source: Defense News)
24 Oct 07. Planned Italo-Russian Sub Could Shrink to Suit Market. A submarine being developed by Italy and Russia displaces 1,000 metric tons but could take a size cut to better suit market demand, an Italian official said here Oct. 23.
Italian shipyard Fincantieri and Russia’s Rubin have been working on the S1000 submarine, equipped with ai