Web Page sponsor Oxley Developments
www.oxleygroup.com
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22 Nov 12. Cassidian further increases its leading position in state-of-the-art radar technology. The company has developed a new generation of transmit & receive modules which give the new AESA radars with electronic beam scanning (AESA = Active Electronically Scanned Array) previously unattained performance. Thanks to the new modules, the multi-mode and multi-tasking capabilities of AESA antennas can be enhanced on a sustained basis while at the same time significantly reducing production costs. In contrast to conventional systems, radars based on AESA technology can perform several tasks practically simultaneously. The transmitting energy is generated directly in the antenna, namely in a multitude of transmit & receive modules (TRM), instead of in a delicate central transmitter. With environmental qualification to IEC 60748, Cassidian now has completed the basic development of a new generation of transmit & receive modules. This milestone will pave the way for using these high-tech components in particularly demanding applications in the aerospace sector. Cassidian has optimised the industrial production of these modules using a standard design based on a modular principle. Operating Europe’s largest production line for this type of radar module, Cassidian is the pioneer of this technology in Europe. The new technology offers so many operational advantages for the customer that Cassidian can expect AESA radars to be used in many fields of reconnaissance and surveillance in future. The Cassidian products using the new TRMs include the Eurofighter’s future e-scan radar, the security radars in the Spexer family as well as spaceborne earth observation radars.
21 Nov 12. The U.S. Patent Office has granted Panacis Inc. a patent that improves rechargeable battery operation and cycle life at high ambient temperatures, a challenge for high energy density lithium ion cells. The proprietary technology involves a complex algorithm in the Battery Management System (BMS) that dynamically adjusts certain parameters in response to cell temperature. To date, Panacis’ preliminary testing has shown a lifetime increase from 4 months to more than 19 months for a battery exposed to temperatures of +55C. Panacis utilizes its own in-house, proprietary BMS in its products. This allows custom tailoring of the battery and also allows innovations to be deployed easily, sometimes by simply updating the battery’s software. (Source: Yahoo!/PRNewswire)
26 Nov 12. USAF’s Hypersonics Road Map Sets Long-Term View. Fifty years after the U.S. Air Force first began to recognize the true challenges of air-breathing hypersonic flight for weapons and aircraft, a cohesive plan is emerging that finally may enable those long-held goals to be achieved. Unlike many earlier road maps, however, the new plan is measured in decadal, rather than annual, targets and appears to accommodate both the technological difficulties of the tasks and the realities of defense science and technology (S&T) spending in a time of austerity.
(Source: glstrade.com/AvWeek)
29 Nov 12. Hitachi VK-S655N/EN 36x Optical Zoom. Advanced digital signal processing (DSP) technology ensures outstanding colour reproduction and low light performance, capable of capturing details such as facial features, clothing, and automobile colours that can serve as vital evidence. Setting a new standard for imaging quality, night or day, the Hitachi VK-S655N/EN marks another phase in the evolution of digital surveillance systems. A newly designed 36x auto/manual focus optical zoom lens delivers enhanced resolution, clearly capturing subject details at long distance. Proprietary Hitachi auto-focus control makes it possible to track rapidly moving subjects, while the addition of a 12x digital zoom delivers a maximum zoom factor of 432x. The improved lens design produces crisp