NEW TECHNOLOGIES
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24 Nov 08. During a ceremony held at AgustaWestland’s Yeovil facility today, the first two Apache AH Mk.1s equipped with a new sighting and targeting system were handed over to the UK Ministry of Defence, following the achievement of Release to Service on 14th November 2008. The sighting and targeting system, known as M-TADS/PNVS (Modernised Target Acquisition Designation Sight/Pilot Night Vision Sensor) along with TEDAC (TADS Electronic Display and Control) will provide Apache AH Mk.1 crews with greater situational awareness and combat effectiveness. Additionally the new system will also deliver significant whole life cost savings over the service life of the aircraft. The M-TADS Contract has been an excellent example of industry (AgustaWestland, Lockheed Martin, Boeing and QinetiQ) and the Ministry of Defence teams working as partners to benefit the performance and flexibility of a project.
03 Nov 08. Ukrainians present new AAM seekers.New seekers for air-to-air missiles (AAMs) were presented at Ukraine’s biennial AviaSvit (Aviation World) aerospace exposition held on 25-29 September. The Kiev-based Arsenal Design Bureau and the Radar plant, based in the same city, both displayed seekers that could be used to modernise the R-27 (AA-10 ‘Alamo’) air-to-air missile. (Source: Jane’s, JMR)
03 Nov 08. Slovak Republic displays upgraded MRLS. One of the RM-70 Modular multiple rocket launching systems displayed during a military parade in Bratislava on 21 September showed refinements added to the definitive production version. Two launch vehicles – one with the original configuration and one incorporating minor modifications – participated in the parade, which took place to celebrate the 15th anniversary of the Slovak Republic Armed Forces. (Source: Jane’s, JMR)
17 Nov 08. UK mulls over sniper rifle upgrade.The UK Defence Equipment and Support (DE&S) agency is in discussions with Accuracy International (AI) to bring legacy L115A1 and A2 sniper rifles up to the new A3 standard. AI recently completed delivery of 582 L115A3 variants ordered by the British Army in March 2008 as part of the service’s Sniper System Improvement Programme. (Source: Jane’s, IDR)
17 Nov 08. The French Army put a range of advanced technology offerings and experimental products through a week of live evaluations during the second annual Exercise ‘Phoenix’ in October, helping to refine operational concepts and provide realtime user feedback to accelerate programme development. Technologies were provided to the 6e Brigade Légère Blindée (6th Light Armoured Brigade) by the Délégation Générale pour l’Armement (the French procurement agency) in conjunction with Bohemia Interactive, EADS Defence and Security, MBDA, Nexter, Sagem Défence Sécurité, Thales, Panhard and Renault Trucks. (Source: Jane’s)
21 Nov 08. IBM to build brain-like computers. IBM has announced it will lead a US government-funded collaboration to make electronic circuits that mimic brains. Part of a field called “cognitive computing”, the research will bring together neurobiologists, computer and materials scientists and psychologists. As a first step in its research the project has been granted $4.9m (£3.27m) from US defence agency Darpa. The resulting technology could be used for large-scale data analysis, decision making or even image recognition. “The mind has an amazing ability to integrate ambiguous information across the senses, and it can effortlessly create the categories of time, space, object, and interrelationship from the sensory data,” says Dharmendra Modha, the IBM scientist who is heading the collaboration. (Source: BBC)
24 Nov 08. BAE Systems Ground Systems, a leading producer of ground vehicles to the U.S. military, has received Level 5 certification against the Software Engineering Institute Capability Maturity Model Integration (CMMI). This is the highest level rating that an e