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05 Jan 15. US Army researchers developing flexible plastic sensors. US Army engineers and scientists are developing flexible plastic sensors to improve situational awareness capabilities. Once operational, it is hoped that the new technology will enable soldiers to accumulate information on the chemical-biological environment, troop movements and signal intelligence. US Army Research, Development and Engineering Command executive deputy to the commanding general Jyuji Hewitt said: “The army of 2025 and beyond calls for advanced sensors that can locate and identify threats, enable protection systems to counter those threats and make it less likely an enemy will detect our vehicles.” As part of the research, scientists will also work on improving air operations in degraded visual environments, known as DVE. Furthermore, researchers at the army’s Aviation and Missile Research, Development and Engineering Centre at Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, are working on a programme that integrates images of multiple sensor technologies, such as radar, infrared and laser detection and ranging (LADAR). US Army Research and Technology deputy assistant secretary Mary Miller said: “Sensors and situational awareness are the keys to our soldiers being effective. “I think that [the] army [science and technology] is looking at a broad number of approaches for what sensor capabilities we will need to meet future challenges. “We’re looking to improve situational awareness, mobility, [and] lethality, and even improve the maintainability and effectiveness of our systems.” (Source: army-technology.com)
06 Jan 15. GET Engineering Launches First Virtual Navy Tactical Data System. GET Engineering Corp. has launched Virtual NTDS (V-NTDS), a revolutionary new communications method for use in place of Navy Tactical Data Systems (NTDS), the company announced in a Jan. 6 release. The new V-NTDS is the first and only method designed to reduce development and deployment costs by eliminating the need for expensive and dedicated NTDS adapters and bulky, costly cables for NTDS communication.
“We created Virtual NTDS to allow for a seamless transition of a functioning system with NTDS hardware to Ethernet communication, reducing the system’s overall cost,” said David Grundies, president and chief executive officer of GET Engineering Corp. “V-NTDS provides a turnkey solution to aging NTDS applications.” The primary advantages of using the new V-NTDS product include: little to no modification of an existing NTDS application, no need for specialized NTDS converters, and it has an adaptable application interface that allows for continued use of certified applications with little or no modification. The new V-NTDS design provides emulation of standard NTDS operations. Separate channels for data and external interrupts are provided. Aborting conditions, timeouts and other termination events are well supported. An entirely new functionality provided by V-NTDS is the ability to perform data transactions between different NTDS Types. With V-NTDS, an NTDS Type A device can now communicate with other parallel types (Type B/C/H) or even with NTDS Serial data types (Type D/E). This technology has not been previously available and opens new realms for NTDS application development. (Source: Defense News Early Bird/Seapower)
05 Jan 15. NRL demos super-fast ship-to-shore wireless system. The Navy, which has been steadily working to increase the speed and range of its shipboard communications systems, took a significant step recently with the demonstration of ship-to-shore system that hit 720 megabits/sec close to port and held its signal, at lower but still solid rates, more than 22 miles from shore. The Naval Research Laboratory and with Mercury Continuity demonstrated the Tactical Reachback Extended Communications, or TREC, system in the Port of Miam