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13 Nov 19. Socom Preps for Fast-Paced Technological Change. Technology is disrupting the business environment and government, and it will soon disrupt U.S. Special Operations Command and the rest of the Defense Department.
Lisa Costa, the command’s director of command, control, communications, computers and intelligence and chief information officer, said it won’t be business as usual and change will be coming fast.
Speaking at the Red Hat Government Symposium in Washington yesterday, Costa said one example is that the command is embracing disruptive technologies — including artificial intelligence and machine learning — for its network operations.
Network operations is what makes the command’s and DOD’s systems function in air, land, sea, space and cyberspace. It is used to digitally transmit information between people, systems, and between people and systems.
Costa noted that Socom’s network is the fourth largest in DOD, and innovation must be driven from the top down and the bottom up.
From the top down, senior leaders need to set the future vision of digital transformation, she said. In order to do that, leaders must first become much more technically savvy than they have been in the past.
Network operators must receive training so they can innovate from the bottom up, and they need to be allowed to have space to fail fast in their experimentations, learn from such failures and ultimately achieve success. This, she said, requires a big culture shift.
Once they receive the right training, operators should be encouraged to question and perhaps jettison processes that no longer work and streamline development, she said.
The command has always been an early adopter and innovator of disruptive technology, so Costa said she expects operators to embrace the changes that will be coming once they see the benefits to the warfighter.
Costa said DOD’s Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure cloud contract, which was awarded last month, will enable the command to more efficiently share information across DOD and with industry in the cloud environment. It is crucial for enabling disruptive technology to flourish, she added.
In any given day, there are thousands of the command’s personnel operating in some 140 countries, she said. Digital transformation will enable them to succeed on the battlefield. (Source: US DoD)
13 Nov 19. Internet of military things: Leading regulatory trends revealed. Listed below are the key regulatory trends impacting the IoMT theme over the next 12-24 months, as identified by GlobalData.
Personal data
Regulation regarding the access to, and dissemination of, information and databases from defence and security organisations is an issue that will have to be addressed soon, and it will be necessary to continue updating legislation as the technology changes. The topic is even more important when it comes to security organisations or private entities, which have access to citizens’ personal information. The European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) is a step in the right direction, but it will have to continually evolve to follow the industry standards.
Similar regulations exist in other countries as well. For example, the US has followed an incremental approach, as various government bodies have adopted legislation addressing data protection issues in their area of interest, while Canada’s Personal Information Protection and Electronic Documents Act (PIPEDA) addresses personal data exchange in a way similar to GDPR. China has composed its data privacy legislation based on the EU’s GDPR. The minor or major differences reflect each government’s priorities, which could lead to hurdles in both the exchange and protection of data between countries.
Splintering
Besides regulation in accessing and disseminating information, the parties involved in systems integration and data exchange must follow common security processes. Governments are taking steps towards adopting industry best practices, but better results will only come if these are part of a wider agreement on specific rules. However, that is a difficult and highly political process that could lead towards group of countries and companies following differentiated codes of practices, suiting their own specific security needs.
Creating hubs with varied approaches is often described as splintering. A common cause is the desire of certain countries to regulate access to the internet in an effort, among other reasons, to counter cyberattacks.
Standardisation
There is a trend towards multiple sensor capabilities in a single connected device, so microcontroller units (which tell these sensors what to do) are getting more complex. Leaders like NXP and Microchip will likely see a golden age for their products, but ARM (Softbank) and Intel also wish to dominate this space. There is no common interconnection standard for IoT. As a result, manufacturers who wish to connect their products are forced to use communications chips with several wireless technologies, including 3G, 4G, 5G (in the future), Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and iBeacon.
Low power wide area (LPWA) technologies also play an important role in opening up new low-bandwidth IoT applications across all major verticals. Subcomponents manufacturers at this level are a good example that COTS technologies and material will remain important in the development of IoMT.
Auditing
With an increasing number of systems, items, and users or organizations (national and international) becoming interconnected, defence and security organisations will have to carry out audits to reassure that standardisation, security, and interoperability are maintained to a high standard.
For their part, organisations will have to update their procedures, best practices, and assign such tasks either to new agencies that should be formed or to existing ones that will have to reorganize and receive further training to keep up with the latest technologies.
This is an edited extract from the Internet of Military Things – Thematic Research report produced by GlobalData Thematic Research. (Source: army-technology.com)
13 Nov 19. Powerbox announces industry’s first power supply for immerged computing applications. Powerbox, one of Europe’s largest power supply companies, and for more than four decades a leading force in optimizing power solutions for demanding applications, has announced the release of its ‘industry first’ power supply solution for immerged applications such as hyper loaded computing machines. The OFI600A12 is the first commercial power supply designed to meet immerged applications specifications and guarantee the highest level of safety for system and operators. With its built-in digital supervising functions, in just a few minutes the OFI600A12 can be factory reconfigured to meet specific tasks and demands.
The PRBX OFI600A12 is the result of two years of research and development and has been validated by Powerbox’s R&D and quality teams as a certified platform for a new generation of power supplies for immerged applications. The OFI600A12 is based on an interleaved transition mode power factor correction (PFC) design with an LLC converter as second stage. It is designed to have the lowest possible inrush current, less than 10A at 264VAC. The product has an input voltage of 187 to 265VAC, dual outputs comprising a master 12V/600W and an independent auxiliary of 5V/10W, and its efficiency is up to 93%.
The OFI600A12 includes remote On/Off, remote reset, over-current and over-voltage protection and complies with safety and EMC regulations. Depending on the application, output protection may be required to be one of a number of different configurations (Switch off, Hiccup mode or Constant current), meeting this requirement, the OFI600A12 is able to be reconfigured as appropriate. Based on firmware defined profiles and the output protection configuration, the mode of operation can be factory selected in a few minutes to meet the requirements of specific applications. The unit is protected by a conformal coating and complies with the RoHS and REACH directives.
The concept of immersed data-centers emerged in 2005, and following a number of successful trials and experiments it has now become a market reality. The technology requires special caution when selecting switching power components, although manufacturing practices are very similar to those required by the marine industry in terms of robustness and the ability to endure operation in high levels of humidity or salty environments.
“With increased concerns for the environment and energy optimization, immersed data centers are becoming widespread and a number of industrial embedded applications have adopted immersed computers requiring compliant power supplies that are designed, tested and certified to work safely when immerged in a cooling fluid.” Said Patrick Le Fèvre, Powerbox’s Chief Marketing and Communication Officer.
Calling on years of experience and expertise in developing power supplies for the marine industry, Powerbox designers have transposed best practice for ruggedized design over to immerged electronics. Besides requiring a new mechanical approach to facilitate fluid circulation through and around the power supply, designers had to investigate every single component for compatibility with cooling fluids to guarantee they will maintain their mechanical and electrical performances when immerged, e.g. risk of corrosion. The development process also included a thorough risk analysis to verify that when immerged the final product operates with the highest level of safety for users and equipment.
12 Nov 19. USAF to link F-35, F-22 in ‘connect-a-thon’ experiment. The U.S. Air Force is preparing an experiment it hopes will link the F-22 and F-35 fighter jets, the first in a series of experiments that service acquisition head Will Roper has dubbed “connect-a-thons.”
The experiments are to happen every four months, starting in December. The goal is to identify a fleet of aircraft with a communications issue, invite voices from inside and outside the Pentagon to offer solutions, and then test those offerings in a live experiment.
“We’re making it up as we go, right? There’s never been anything like this,” Roper said at a breakfast hosted by the Defense Writers Group. “We need a way for people to propose connections and get into the pipeline. So I wouldn’t be surprised at all if it ends up being like a pitch day … having a proposal process where we review the maturity of the tech versus the benefit to the war fighter. We would do the former, our operators would do the latter.”
“And what I love about this is it’s kind of a competition within the joint force,” he added. “We’re going to be looking for the fast movers to volunteer, then we’ll be looking at the fast followers.”
The first event, hosted by North American Aerospace Defense Command and U.S. Northern Command, will feature an attempt to allow the F-22 and F-35 to share battlespace — a long-sought capability.
The F-22 was built with an older data link that can’t match up with the Multifunction Advanced Data Link, or MADL, system used on the newer F-35; while the F-35 can receive data through Link 16, it can’t share the data back — a key capability given the envisioned role of the F-35 as a major sensor for the future Air Force.
For the test, the service will use what Roper called a “Babel Fish-like translator” under the working name of GatewayOne to serve as a “universal translator” for the two jets. The first test, in December, will feature the equipment on a pole on a test range, with the jets pinging their information back and forth from that fixed location.
Should that system work well, in four months Roper plans to put GatewayOne onto a Valkyrie drone, a system designed by Kratos to be cheap enough to be disposable in a battlefield situation. It’s not the first time a drone has been used as a link between the two fighters: In 2017, Northrop Grumman pitched its Global Hawk unmanned system, equipped with a new radio, to act as a translator between the aircraft.
Future connect-a-thons currently planned include linking SpaceX’s Starlink satellites with KC-135 aerial refueling aircraft in an effort to show commercial communications can work with military aircraft; Roper said the KC-135 community volunteered because the tanker aircraft is perpetually seeking more bandwidth.
Roper also expects the F-16 community — which he called “very innovative, agile operators” who understand they need to keep an aging plane relevant — to “sign up wholesale” for tests in the future.
The acquisitions chief said he is committed to keeping the four-month schedule going, in part because it means if the technology isn’t satisfactory, the service will know quickly and be able to move onto something else.
“The good news about that is [Congress and the Pentagon] don’t really have to believe us for very long. Just let us get through a few connect-a-thon cycles,” Roper said. “And if we’re failing miserably, then that should tell you something about the future of the program.” (Source: Defense News)
12 Nov 19. TE Connectivity’s new 369 shielded connectors expand harsh environment capabilities beyond commercial aerospace. EMI shielded product extension of current 369 connector family now available.
TE Connectivity (TE), a world leader in connectivity and sensors, is extending its time-tested 369 connector series with the introduction of the new 369 shielded rectangular connectors for environments that demand ambient EMI noise protection. These connectors incorporate the benefits of the 369 series, which is qualified for use in a wide range of commercial aerospace applications, with EMI shielding that opens up new application possibilities.
“The combination of shielding technology with the existing 369 connector series enables a huge range of potential applications for the 369 series beyond commercial aerospace,” said Clint Schlosser, product manager for TE’s Aerospace, Defense and Marine division. “That includes other harsh environment applications like military aerospace, fighting vehicles and military ground vehicles.”
TE’s new rectangular connectors have been tested to withstand indirect lightning strikes of 3.6ka and are rated to provide effective shielding of greater than 60 DB at low frequencies and greater than 40 DB at high frequencies.
This EMI protection technology is wrapped in a lightweight, non-toxic (RoHS-compliant) composite nickel shell that can lead to up to 75% weight savings. 369 series shielded connectors enable data transfer rates of up to 100Mbs (100 Base-T1) and are backward compatible with current 369 product offerings.
These features on the new shielded extension complement the 369 series connectors’ rugged, versatile design. 369 series connectors are engineered to save valuable space with a lightweight, small form factor design. Designed to MIL-DTL-38999 levels of performance, 369 series connectors are ideally suited for harsh aerospace and military environments.
12 Nov 19. Australian Defence expert calls for cheaper, smaller and more prolific weapons. Strategic policy expert Alan Dupont is stepping into the debate following claims made by retired Air Marshal Leo Davies concerning the glaring long-range strike gap of the Australian Defence Force, calling for Australia to shift focus towards cheaper, smaller and more prolific weapons to offset the balance of power between Australia and potential adversaries.
The strategic buttress of congested waterways and densely populated archipelagos of the ‘sea-air gap’ has formed the backbone of Australia’s defence and national security policy since the late-1980s – however, as the region continues to evolve it is critical to understand the role the ‘sea-air gap’ will continue to play in strategic calculations.
Australia’s involvement in the Vietnam conflict at the behest of the US signalled a major shift in the direction of the nation’s strategic policy that continues to influence Australia’s doctrine to this day.
Domestic political backlash and a changing geo-strategic environment would see Australia adopt an arguably more isolationist policy, focusing almost entirely on the ‘Defence of Australia’.
While Australia’s alliance with the US further enhanced the nation’s position as an integral US ally – mounting domestic political dissatisfaction, the new Whitlam government and the mounting cost of Australia’s involvement in the conflict, combined with rapidly declining US support for the conflict, saw the nation’s post-Second World War strategic reality and doctrine begin to shift away from regional intervention and towards a policy favouring the defence of the Australian mainland and outlying territories.
This shifting domestic and regional environment saw the formalisation of the Defence of Australia (DoA) policy in the 1986 Dibb report and the subsequent 1987 and 1994 Defence White Papers, which established the ‘sea-air gap’ as a strategic ‘buffer zone’ for Australia, enabling the reorientation of Australia’s strategic and broader defence industry posture, shifting away from what Dibb identifies:
“Until the late 1960s, Australian defence planning and policy assumed that our forces would normally operate in conjunction with allies, and well forward of the continent. We saw our security inextricably linked with the security of others.”
Dibb’s report leveraged the 1973 Strategic Basis paper’s focus on the nation’s isolation to reinforce the concept of the ‘tyranny of distance’ as justification for reducing Australia’s interventionist role and capabilities in the region:
“Australia is remote from the principal centres of strategic interest of the major powers, namely western Europe and east Asia, and even those of secondary interest, the Mediterranean, the Middle East and the north-west Pacific.”
The ‘sea-air gap’ encompasses what has long been defined as Australia’s ‘sphere of primary strategic interests’ – the narrow maritime sea-lines-of-communication and air approaches to the north of the Australian landmass throughout south-east Asia that served as the nation’s strategic, economic and political links to the broader region, through what would eventually become known as the Indo-Pacific.
This dependence on the ‘tyranny of distance’ and Australia’s ‘sea-air gap’ directly influenced the nation’s defence posture and focus on what beyond certain specialised elements amounts to a regional constabulary defence force, not fit for the high-tempo and peer or near-peer competitor competition on the horizon.
Cheaper weapons and maintaining the status quo
Professor Alan Dupont, nonresident fellow at the Lowy Institute for International Policy and a professor of international security at the University of New South Wales, has rebuffed calls made by likes of retired Air Marshals Leo Davies and Geoff Brown who have called for a renewed focus on high-end long range strike capabilities for the ADF.
Professor Dupont believes that the ADF, as it stands, is suitably sized, structured and equipped to meet the myriad roles and responsibilities the nation may require of it in the Indo-Pacific, ranging from traditional stabilisation, counter-terrorism, humanitarian and disaster relief, with a small contingent focused on high-tempo, high-end peer or near-peer conflict capabilities.
“Giving higher priority to great power conflicts doesn’t mean restructuring our defence force to take on a great power or policing vast stretches of the Pacific. This would be prohibitively expensive and militarily self-defeating for a country of 25 million,” Professor Dupont states.
He expands on this belief, stating: “The point is the ADF was sufficiently flexible and multi-skilled to carry out a wide range of operations in the Middle East, Afghanistan and Indian Ocean to counter insurgents, terrorists, pirates, narcotics traffickers and sanction-busters. Even with a renewed emphasis on conventional warfighting there still will be a requirement to do all these tasks in support of our wider interests, alliance obligations and the liberal democratic order. Proximity should not be the only determinant of where we deploy.
“The ADF needs more land and maritime-strike assets as well as greater protection against missile and cyber threats to recalibrate for the challenges ahead. But the choices made must be appropriate, affordable and not be at the expense of other necessary capabilities.”
Professor Dupont’s focus on the status quo for the ADF’s force structure echoes the claims made by the likes of Hugh White and Paul Dibb, both of whom have long advocated for the nation to focus solely on defending the Australian landmass and its immediate maritime and aerial approaches – negating the increasingly symbiotic relationship between Australia and its regional and global trading partners and the security of said approaches.
He believes shifting the conversation from large, ‘big-ticket’ items like the B-21 bomber toward the acquisition of smaller, cheaper and more accessible technologies, leveraging the force multiplying effects of unmanned, semi-autonomous vehicles and artificial intelligence should form the backbone of Australia’s future defence acquisition programs.
“There are better ways to enhance the strike power of the ADF than acquiring expensive manned bombers such as the B-21 from the US at more than $800m each. We need to move away from big, expensive, drawn-out equipment purchases to cheaper, quicker defence solutions. It’s time to get serious about using unmanned strike aircraft in tandem with smaller, dispensable drones, land-based, long-range precision guided munitions and ballistic missiles all of which can be turbocharged by artificial intelligence,” Professor Dupont said. (Source: Defence Connect)
12 Nov 19. USQ researchers to share in $1.2m in R&D funding for next-gen technologies. University of Southern Queensland researchers will share in more than $1.2m worth of grants from the Australian Research Council to support the development of cutting-edge work in renewable energy, supersonics and astrophysics.
Education Minister Dan Tehan and Member for Groom Dr John McVeigh announced the ARC Discovery Early Career Researcher Awards (DECRA) on 8 November, providing a funding boost for the country’s promising research talent, including USQ’s Dr Min Hong and Dr Fabian Zander.
Dr Min Hong was awarded $400,116 in the latest funding release to develop materials that could revolutionise the renewable energy industry.
His research focuses on high-performance thermoelectric materials as a means to generate electricity from waste heat.
“A new generation of these materials could diversify the development of eco-friendly energy conversion technologies to replace the non-renewable carbon-based fossil fuels,” Dr Hong said.
Dr Hong is already working with national and international experts at Northwestern University, USA; Oak Ridge National Laboratory, USA; Kyushu University, Japan; and University of Queensland.
Dr Fabian Zander is taking supersonics in a new direction, developing an air-breathing propulsion concept for engines that greatly exceed the speed of sound.
“An air-breathing rotating detonation engine is a theoretical next step for high-speed flight, but questions remain about how to use an air-breathing inlet to achieve improved engine efficiency,” Dr Zander said.
From supersonics to astrophysics, USQ received $426,696 for a project that will help change how humankind understands the solar system – working with Dr Xu Huang to search the stars for new exoplanets.
“The uniqueness of the solar system is an inspiring question that has driven the exoplanet field for decades. A key element of the formation and habitability of the Earth is the coexistence with Jupiter and Saturn,” Dr Huang explained.
The ARC DECRA funding follows the university’s success in the ARC Future Fellowships for mid-career researchers earlier this month, with $888,000 announced for Dr Pingan Song from USQ Centre for Future Materials. (Source: Space Connect)
09 Nov 19. NASA unveils its first electric airplane – a work in progress. NASA, most prominent for its many Florida-launched exploits into space, showcased an early version of its first all-electric experimental aircraft, the X-57 “Maxwell,” on Friday at its lesser-known aeronautics lab in the California desert. Adapted from a Italian-made Tecnam P2006T twin-engine propeller plane, the X-57 has been under development since 2015 and remains at least a year away from its first test flight in the skies over Edward Air Force Base.
But after attaching the two largest of 14 electric motors that will ultimately propel the plane – powered by specially designed lithium ion batteries – NASA deemed the Maxwell ready for its first public preview.
NASA also showed off a newly built simulator that allows engineers, and pilots, to get the feel of what it will be like to manoeuvre the finished version of the X-57 in flight, even as the plane remains under development.
The Maxwell is the latest in a proud line of experimental aircraft the National Aeronautics and Space Administration has developed over many decades for many purposes, including the bullet-shaped Bell X-1 that first broke the sound barrier and the X-15 rocket plane flown by Neil Armstrong before he joined the Apollo moon team.
The Maxwell will be the agency’s first crewed X-plane to be developed in two decades.
While private companies have been developing all-electric planes and hover-craft for years, NASA’s X-57 venture is aimed at designing and proving technology according to standards that commercial manufacturers can adapt for government certification.
Those will include standards for airworthiness and safety, as well as for energy efficiency and noise, Brent Cobleigh, a project manager for NASA’s Armstrong Flight Research Center at Edwards, about 100 miles (160 km) north of Los Angeles.
“We’re focussing on things that can help the whole industry, not just one company,” he told Reuters in an interview at the research centre. “Our target right now is to fly this airplane in late 2020.”
The final modification, or Mod IV, of the aircraft will feature narrower, lighter-weight wings fitted with a total of 14 electric engines – six smaller “lift” props along the leading edge of each wing, plus two larger “cruise” props at the tip of each wing.
The lift propellers will be activated for take-off and landings, but retract during the flight’s cruise phase.
Because electric motor systems are more compact with fewer moving parts than internal-combustion engines, they are simpler to maintain and weigh much less, requiring less energy to fly, Cobleigh explained. They also are quieter that conventional engines.
One challenge is improving battery technology to store more energy to extend the plane’s range, with faster re-charging.
Due to current battery limitations, the Maxwell’s design is envisioned for use in short-haul flights as an air-taxi or commuter plane for a small number of passengers. (Source: Reuters)
06 Nov 19. Collins Aerospace’s Special Mission Processor prototype will provide much-needed processing power and future-proofing functionality for USSOCOM.
- “Future-proof” processor will increase efficiency and require less work to upgrade
- Provides the resources the warfighters need to power additional systems
Collins Aerospace Systems, a unit of United Technologies Corp. (NYSE: UTX), is one of three companies selected to help the U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) increase efficiency and reduce aircraft downtime with a modernized Special Mission Processor (SMP). The new SMP prototype will address obsolescence and provide additional capabilities and processing power across its fleet of fixed-wing AC/MC-130Js.
The shift toward Multi-Domain Operations is driving military aircraft toward increased demand for processing power on electronics and computer systems. Today, adding functionality means taking an aircraft out of service to perform extensive updates to proprietary operational flight program software. This is often time-consuming and expensive. Based on an open systems architecture, the Collins Aerospace Assured Multicore™ system will provide a certified solution to give customers the power they need, when they need it.
The new prototype, designed with the Collins Aerospace mature mission computing technologies, will also have built-in compatibility with COTS and third-party software products to easily accommodate new functionalities as needed.
“We’re driving our innovation and investments to ensure our military aircraft are meeting the needs of the warfighter by providing them with a solution that delivers the power they need now and the functionality they’ll need in the future,” said Dave Schreck vice president and general manager for Military Avionics and Helicopters at Collins Aerospace. “We’ve listened to the needs of our customers and are developing the premier solution to match the speed at which upgrades are currently needed.”
Collins Aerospace is on track to deliver its first prototype next spring with a product selection by USSOCOM expected in the Summer of 2020. (Source: ASD Network)
07 Nov 19. Astronics Announces a New Family of Rugged COTS Avionics Control and Communication Devices. The ‘NG’ Family is a New Generation of Ballard Boxes for Avionics Interfacing and Computing that are Secure, Right-Sized for the Application, and Ready to Deploy. Astronics Corporation (Nasdaq: ATRO), a leading supplier of advanced technologies and products to the global aerospace, defense and other mission critical industries, is launching a new family of flexible, compact, 64-bit avionics I/O computing platforms for problem-solving and tech insertion in areas such as mission computing, distributed control and avionics data conversion.
The NG Family consists of three distinct series of commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) products with varying capability for use on fixed wing, UAV, rotocraft and ground vehicles. These highly-flexible, low SWaP (Size, Weight, and Power) systems include multi-protocol avionics I/O coupled with a high-throughput Ethernet backbone for inter-device communication and compatibility with a variety of avionics systems. The NG Family meets the demands of DoD open system business and technical strategies such as MOSA (Modular Open Systems Approach) and OMS (Open Mission Systems).
The NG Family shares similar design features and each variant is optimized for different levels of deployment:
- NG3 Series Avionics I/O Computers, available for order now, feature the highest level of capability and I/O, along with 64-bit processing and audio/video, for the most demanding applications.
- NG2 Series Avionics I/O Controllers, available in 2020, feature the same processing power as the NG3, but in a smaller size with a corresponding reduction of I/O, when lower SWaP is critical.
- NG1 Series Avionics I/O Converters, available in 2020, are extremely compact and optimized for converting avionics protocol data to Ethernet for interfacing to the NG3/NG2 or other avionics systems.
“The NG Family builds on the success of our highly-popular and ground-breaking AB2000 and AB3000 avionics I/O computer products,” said Jon Neal, President of Astronics Ballard Technology. “The NG Family provides our large installed base of users with a direct upgrade path to 64-bit processing, robust security features and higher performance, extending the useful life of their programs for many years to come. The NG Family will also appeal to new users as flexible, problem-solving platforms for intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (C4ISR) programs.”
The NG3 Series is currently ready for customer evaluation for in-progress and upcoming programs. Key features include:
- Latest Generation Intel Atom® E3950 64-bit quad core processor to run newer 64-bit operating systems that provide higher capability for today’s cybersecurity requirements.
- Rugged, maximum-density, modular architecture provides flexible I/O combinations from the factory, including MIL-STD-1553, ARINC 429, 708, 717, discrete I/O, and Ethernet. These units arrive pre-configured, pre-validated and ready for quick deployment.
- Cyber-security enablement consists of built-in tools to help customers build proprietary security solutions, including secure storage and operation, security SSD features and flexible write-protect capability.
- Two solid-state drive (SSD) media are user-removable and include sanitize discretes to enable users to declassify NG3 if necessary.
- Easy system migration for current AB3000 customers looking for low-risk technical refresh and insertions. This drop-in, form-fit replacement shares the same programming interface, size, and mounting configuration, with many variants being pin-to-pin compatible.
- Mini PCIe expansion slot allows I/O expansion while maintaining the ability to keep the same chassis envelope and size. This provides a low cost, low risk method to integrate additional I/O. (Source: BUSINESS WIRE)
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Oxley Group Ltd
Oxley specialises in the design and manufacture of advanced electronic and electro-optic components and systems for air, land and sea applications within the military sector. Established in 1942, Oxley has manufacturing facilities in the UK and USA and enjoys representation worldwide. The company’s products include night vision and LED lighting, data capture systems and electronic components. Oxley has pioneered the development of night vision compatible lighting. It offers a total package incorporating optical filters, equipment modification, cockpit and external lighting along with fleet wide upgrade services including engineering, installation, support, maintenance and training. The company’s long experience of manufacturing night vision lighting and LED indicators, coupled with advances in LED technology, has enabled it to develop LED solutions to replace incandescent and fluorescent lighting in existing applications as well as becoming the lighting option of choice in new applications such as portable military hospitals, UAV control stations and communication shelters.
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