Web Page sponsor Oxley Developments
www.oxleygroup.com
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06 Aug 12. SELEX GALILEO Vixen 500E AESA Radar enters Operational Service with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP). Following the successful completion of Operational Test & Evaluation (OT&E) flight trials in the United States, the SELEX Galileo Vixen 500E active electronically scanned array (AESA) Air Intercept Radar and Mission Management System (MMS) have entered service with U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) on their Cessna Citation C-550 jet. The prime contractor for the programme is TKC Aerospace based in Charleston, South Carolina. This new radar provides an enhanced capability in U.S. border protection as part of the wider U.S. Department of Homeland Security’s mission and builds on the success of the Seaspray 7500 AESA surveillance radars currently in service with the U.S. Coast Guard. The radar incorporates specific requirements of CBP and delivers a wide range of multi-role AESA radar capabilities. The Vixen 500E Key discriminators include:-
– Significantly enhanced performance relative to similar sized AESA and larger mechanically scanned systems.
– Superior air-air detection and automatic tracking capabilities, particularly against small targets (including Micro-lights) over varied difficult terrain.
– Excellent air-surface capabilities including Sea Surface Search providing tracking of small targets in varied sea states. This capability is further enhanced by utilising the ground mapping, SAR and imaging modes.
– Fully integrated MMS enabling fusion of the platform sensor suite providing the operator with the ability to slew the EO/IR Turret to radar target data, thereby significantly reducing operator workload and human error and increases interdiction effectiveness.
The AESA Antenna uses leading edge solid state transmitter-receiver module (TRM) technology to electronically steer the beam providing instantaneous beam repositioning to targets of interest. This is a key advantage over mechanically scanned radar systems. AESA technology also provides graceful degradation and greatly reduced through life costs for the customer. The Vixen 500E radar is a compact, easy to install solution and forms part of the large family of scaleable SELEX Galileo AESA Radars ranging from the small PicoSAR surveillance radar to the larger Vixen 1000E wide field of regard radar and also the Raven ES-05 Fire Control radar selected for the Gripen NG aircraft. The Radar can be tailored to customer requirements to meet platform and operational needs e.g. specific and/or interleaved software modes. The success in OT&E represents a significant milestone in AESA development and is the culmination of a product development programme building on both 60 years of Fire Control Radar experience and 20 years of AESA technology investment. It also reinforces the SELEX Galileo position as the European leader for AESA Radars.
08 Aug 12. Rockwell Collins introduced the GPC-3000, a small mission computer that offers UAS customers advanced mission capabilities with unmatched security features. The computational horsepower of the GPC-3000, in conjunction with Rockwell Collins’ robust software environment, enables hosting a variety of advanced mission and payload applications, including digital video recording and playback, multi-payload sensor fusion and other applications for intelligence, reconnaissance and surveillance operations. In addition, the small form factor GPC-3000 uniquely includes Rockwell Collins’ SecureOneTM cross domain technologies that enable trusted multi-classification level information sharing, and a computing environment that will support reuse of software capabilities as defined by the Future Airborne Capability Environment (FACETM) Consortium. AAI Unmanned Aircraft Systems’ Shadow® Tactical Unmanned Aircraft System will be the launch platform for the GPC-3000. Its predecessor