NEW TECHNOLOGIES
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09 Nov 07. UK demonstrates stand-in jamming concept. A three-year Stand-in Jamming Capability Concept Demonstrator programme jointly conducted by the UK’s Defence Science and Technology Laboratory (Dstl) and Selex Sensors and Airborne Systems has culminated with flight trials of a testbed system. Stand-in jamming is a support electronic countermeasures technique where an air vehicle is deployed in close proximity to the hostile radar, and within the lethal engagement envelope of associated surface-to-air missiles, to provide screening for other platforms. (Source: Jane’s)
19 Nov 07. Savi Technology, a Lockheed Martin company has recently begun deploying solar-powered Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) readers and signposts, enabling customers in the defense and commercial sectors to conserve energy and reduce costs while tracking supplies in real-time. Solar energy provides an energy efficient and environmentally friendly power source for users’ RFID hardware, and also eliminates the need to install electrical infrastructure in remote areas where there is no fixed reader infrastructure. Savi engineers mounted solar panels and RFID signposts on poles located at a major U.S. Army supply facility in Kuwait. The solar-powered signposts activate RFID tags attached to vehicles or pieces of equipment. The tags then report the assets’ positions to nearby RFID readers, which relay the information to Savi Site Manager software that automatically updates the assets’ latest location. These tools enable the facility to track more than 25,000 tags per day. PM J-AIT serves as a single point of contact for acquisition support and technical expertise for Joint Services, Federal agencies, NATO, and multi-national forces. Plans are underway with the U.S. Department of Defense to expand the use of solar-powered applications to other areas in the Middle East and beyond.On the commercial side, Savi Networks operates an RFID-based network in Colombia that also leverages solar energy to power Savi RFID signposts and readers that track the status and security of containerized cargo shipments managed by Emprevi Ltda., a Colombia-based provider of logistics and security services for major importers and exporters. Savi Networks, a joint venture in which Savi Technology holds a majority interest, installed solar-powered panels at strategic supply chain checkpoints, including source factories and port facilities, to monitor in-transit goods manufactured in and exported from Colombia.
19 Nov 07. Acro, Inc. announced ACRO-N.E.T (Nitro Explosive Tester), an explosive detector for military and commercial explosives. ACRO-N.E.T complements Acro’s ACRO-P.E.T peroxide explosive tester for improvised peroxide-based explosives such as TATP. Acro will provide explosive detection kits, comprising ACRO-N.E.T and ACRO-P.E.T, covering a broad spectrum of explosives. ACRO-N.E.T is capable of identifying the majority of explosives currently in use, such as TNT, Tetryl, TNB, picric acid, dynamite, RDX, PETN, nitrocellulose smokeless powder, C4, Semtex, and others. In addition to military and commercial explosives, ACRO-N.E.T can detect homemade explosives based on nitrate. ACRO-N.E.T is based on a long-proven technology used by many security forces around the world, that has been incorporated into Acro’s innovative pen-like device. ACRO-P.E.T identifies peroxide-based explosives, such as Triacetone Triperoxide (TATP), which are almost impossible to identify, since they do not contain nitro groups or colors and may appear in a variety of shapes and forms, including liquid. Improvised explosive devices based on materials containing peroxide have increasingly been used in recent years by various terrorist organizations. The US army recently acquired several hundreds of ACRO-P.E.T devices.
14 Nov 07. Rontal Applications Ltd. announced a personal digital assistant (PDA)-based