Sponsored By Oxley Developments
www.oxleygroup.com
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09 Dec 21. Leading industrial computing platform provider Advantech has further enhanced its IPC-200 series – the world’s most compact high-performance fan-based industrial edge computers, which are suitable for a broad spectrum of applications.
The enhanced IPC-220/240 V2 and IPC-242 line-up combines a small footprint, and easy-maintenance design with powerful computing capacity in the form of 10th generation Intel© Core™ processor.
The IPC-200 series employs fans as a thermal solution, meaning they work reliably even in an environment with no air flow. The smart fan’s speed adjusts automatically depending on the temperature to minimise noise, while the front-facing I/Os including hot-swappable HDD/SSD trays to facilitate cable routing and maintenance when the IPC is installed in a machine or control cabinet.
The range boasts a self-diagnostics function which monitors temperature, fan speed, watchdog timer status, with front LEDs which notify the user of required maintenance before a system defect can occur, minimising the risk of production loss due to machine controller failure.
Each IPC-200 product also comes with additional power outputs – 5V DC/ 2A and 12V DC/ 2A – for external devices to save the space and cost of regulators. The range is readily expandable to support machine vision and motion control, making it particularly well-suited to industrial automation and equipment manufacturing applications requiring an ultra-compact, best cost-performance ratio controller.
Meanwhile, when paired with Advantech’s responsive local configuration services, the range can minimise time-to-market for machine builders while accelerating Industry 4.0 adoption.
The current IPC 200 portfolio is being employed in diverse applications worldwide. These range from automated optical inspection to test and measurement, and robot guidance & control.
Ken Lin, Senior Product Sales Manager at Advantech, commented: “The industrial automation market is seeing increased demand for control solutions which offer premium capacity and performance but not at the expense of compactness.
“The IPC-200 range has become a byword for efficiency and excellence across multiple applications in widely differing industrial sectors. The latest enhancements to the range will enable customers to enjoy outstanding control and performance at a competitive price point through a future-proofed solution backed by unrivalled technical support.”
For more information visit: www.advantech.eu.
09 Dec 21. Deutsche Telekom and partners will design the European Quantum Communication Infrastructure (EuroQCI).
- •Study serves as architecture blueprint for the European quantum security network, EuroQCI.
- •Interim results have been delivered to the European Commission in December 2021.
- •The “QSAFE” consortium comprises strong European industry partners as Deutsche Telekom, Thales, Thales Alenia Space and Telefónica and a well-known research institute as the AIT Austrian Institute of Technology.
After European Commission selected the QSAFE (Quantum Network System
Architecture for Europe) consortium to design the European Quantum Communication Infrastructure last April, the interim results have just been delivered. The scope of these results includes the initial technical design, security analyses, initial network dimensioning and lays the foundation for future implementation of the EuroQCI network.
The key to security
For the secure encryption of sensitive information, it is necessary that the keys are shared securely enough among the communication partners. Tried-and-tested encryption methods such as RSA (Rivest, Shamir, Adleman) or DH (Diffie-Hellman) will no longer remain secure against quantum computer attacks. This poses a threat to highly secure communications and motives the switch toquantum key distribution. Quantum-key technology is based on physical laws of nature that signal unavoidably a potential eavesdropper. Critical infrastructures, confidential private or government information will be protected by quantum keys against attacks and criminal intentions.
The QSAFE study
The QSAFE consortium led by Deutsche Telekom gathers European partners with a 20-year background in quantum communications for European quantum infrastructure: the AIT Austrian Institute of Technology, Thales, Thales Alenia Space and Telefónica Investigación y Desarrollo SA. Associate partners from Academia and from highly specialized companies are additionally involved in the project.
The study, conducted over fifteen months, follows the ‘security-by-design’ approach and elaborates the basis for the deployment of a European quantum infrastructure considering fibre-based terrestrial as well as satellite-based components. It is the follow-up of a first feasibility phase conducted in 2020, with the same consortium led by Thales at that time.
The study is part of the European Union’s efforts to advance the development of independent and secure quantum communication technologies. End of July 2021, Ireland was the last of the 27 EU Member States to sign the EuroQCI declaration, which is a commitment that the Member States, the European Commission and the European Space Agency together plan to jointly deploy a secure quantum communication infrastructure.
In April2021, the European Commission initiated two independent studies, including the one led by the QSAFE consortium, to define the architecture of a EuroQCI. The studies centre around the production of quantum-secured keys (Quantum Key Distribution, QKD). The scope is to design a network to deliver keys between different end points, where the keys are used for encryption and decryption of classified data, in a way that a potential spy is always detected. The first users will be the European Union, EU Member States and additional government-related agencies.
The study will serve the European Commission as a basis for the next steps on the journey to establishing a European quantum communication infrastructure. All aspects – costs, security, technology, network dimensioning, planning, operational model, etc. – are included in the study.
Above all, the project benefits from the diverse experiences of its partners and their long-term involvement in the field of quantum technologies. EuroQCI is essentially a communication network. As such, Deutsche Telekom and Telefónica bring in their fundamental know-how to plan, build, and run a network. In the context of European research activities, both companies have already installed quantum testbeds in Madrid and Berlin and are investigating the interaction between quantum technology and established network equipment. As one of the leading international applied research institutions with special competences in the field of QKD technologies, the AIT Austrian Institute of Technology makes important contributions to quantum technology development and implementation of pilot experiments as well as testbeds in Europe. Thales is a global leader in complex, critical security systems for defence, transport, aerospace, and critical infrastructures. The company is contributing to the project sharing its expertise in cybersecurity and cryptography. Thales Alenia Space is the worldwide leader in telecom satellite constellations and covers aspects of satellite based QKD.
The QSAFE consortium closely collaborates with certain national government representatives. As such, EuroQCI aligns to national and European security policies.
The combinationof large European network operators, system integrators, network suppliers for optical communication networks and space components as well as top experts from universities and research institutes forms the ideal framework to design the optimal European Quantum Key Distribution network.
06 Dec 21. Government-backed liquid hydrogen plane paves way for zero emission flight. UK project unveils plans for a new liquid hydrogen plane.
- passengers could one day fly anywhere in the world with no carbon emissions as £15m UK project unveils designs for a new liquid hydrogen plane
- this comes as 8 companies secure the go-ahead for their sustainable aviation fuel developments from the government’s separate £15m Green Fuel, Green Skies competition
- officials and industry leaders today discussed progress towards achieving zero carbon emission flight at the fourth meeting of the Jet Zero Council
Passengers could one day fly to the other side of the world with zero carbon emissions and just one refuelling stop, thanks to government-funded technology being unveiled today.
The concept aircraft was today (6 December 2021) unveiled by the Aerospace Technology Institute (ATI) ahead of the fourth meeting of the Jet Zero Council, which is chaired by the Transport Secretary.
The FlyZero project, led by the ATI and funded by the government, has developed a concept for a midsize aircraft powered by liquid hydrogen. It is capable of flying 279 passengers halfway around the world without a stop or anywhere in the world with just one stop to refuel.
This means that a zero carbon, non-stop flight could be operated between London and San Francisco, or that passengers could fly around the world from London to Auckland, New Zealand with just one stop, at the same speed and comfort as today’s aircraft.
The project showcases the huge potential of liquid hydrogen powered aircraft as the UK drives for a cleaner and greener air travel future and builds on progress already achieved by the Jet Zero Council, a partnership between industry and government with the aim of delivering zero emission transatlantic flight within a generation.
The council will today meet for the fourth time, ahead of International Civil Aviation Day on 7 December.
Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said: “As we build back greener, it’s crucial that we place sustainability at the heart of the aviation industry’s recovery from COVID-19.
This pioneering design for a liquid hydrogen powered aircraft, led by a British organisation, brings us one step closer to a future where people can continue to travel and connect but without the carbon footprint.
I will continue to work closely with the Jet Zero Council to support the UK’s world-leading research in this sector, which will create green jobs, help us meet our ambitious net zero targets and lead the global transition to net zero aviation.”
Business Secretary Kwasi Kwarteng said:
These designs could define the future of aerospace and aviation. By working with industry, we are showing that truly carbon-free flight could be possible with hydrogen a front-runner to replace conventional fossil fuels.
Fuelling planes sustainably will enable the public to travel as we do now, but in a way that doesn’t damage the planet. It will not only help us to end our contribution to climate change, but also represents a huge industrial opportunity for the UK.
Jet Zero Council CEO Emma Gilthorpe said:
The Aerospace Technology Institute’s pioneering research highlights the potential for hydrogen in realising zero-carbon global connectivity.
This ground-breaking green technology looks set to play a critical role in decarbonising flight and through the work of the Jet Zero Council, the UK aviation sector is exploring all avenues to ensure we protect the benefits of flying for future generations while cutting the carbon cost.
FlyZero Project Director Chris Gear said:
At a time of global focus on tackling climate change, our midsize concept sets out a truly revolutionary vision for the future of global air travel keeping families, businesses and nations connected without the carbon footprint.
This new dawn for aviation brings with it real opportunities for the UK aerospace sector to secure market share, highly skilled jobs and inward investment while helping to meet the UK’s commitments to fight climate change.
Another technology with the potential to decarbonise flying is sustainable aviation fuel, a low-carbon fuel made from waste materials.
Earlier this year, the UK government set out its ambition to become a world leader in the production of sustainable aviation fuel, launching the £15m Green Fuel, Green Skies competition to support the early development of trailblazing UK facilities working to turn everyday waste into jet fuel.
The shortlisted winners, 8 industry-led projects that will receive a share of the £15m in funding, have now had their final funding agreements confirmed by the Department for Transport.
Today’s announcement comes shortly after the COP26 climate conference in Glasgow, which saw ambitious new international pledges to decarbonise transport, including the agreement by 24 countries – representing around half of global aviation emissions – to work together to achieve a new aviation decarbonisation goal. (Source: https://www.gov.uk/)
02 Dec 21. Liteye and Unmanned Experts develop drone swarm control tool with integrated UTM. Liteye Systems has partnered with Unmanned Experts Inc. to provide the hardware components to ruggedize the new AIR COMMONS™ – SWARM, drone swarm asset planning, management, and control system. “AIR COMMONS™ SWARM technology enables command and control tasking, mission planning, and generation of a “Swarm Air Tasking Order” including resource allocation, asset-target matching, force management, and mission control. These capabilities enable US swarm commanders and tacticians to deploy overwhelming autonomous airpower faster than the enemy’s decision-making cycle. The system is designed to fully integrate Unmanned Traffic Management, Advanced Air Mobility, Air Traffic Management, and UAS utilization and provide Air Domain Awareness within a disaster response or deployed Area of Responsibility.”
“Swarming autonomous systems are the next technology to be addressed to secure dominance and air superiority,” said Keven Gambold, CEO of Unmanned Experts, Inc. “AIR COMMONS has demonstrated control of 55 drones and this number continues to increase.”
“Unmanned Experts’ technology is necessary for today’s battle,” said Kenneth Geyer, CEO of Liteye, “Swarms are increasing, and adding these capabilities to friendly UAS capabilities will be vital moving forward.” (Source: www.unmannedairspace.info)
03 Dec 21. Curtiss-Wright’s Defense Solutions, today announced that its PacStar® business, a leading developer and supplier of advanced communications solutions for the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD), has introduced an enhanced configuration of its PacStar Modular Data Center (MDC). With support for NVMe storage and Intelligent Platform Management Interface (IPMI) remote management, the new PacStar MDC-NR delivers more compute power and NVMe storage (>8TB) than any other tactical data center. Using IPMI, warfighters can remotely or programatically set-up and manage their tactical server hardware, greatly easing and speeding deployment. Using a remote keyboard, video and mouse (KVM) over IP networks and the ability to remotely mount media resources, such as DVDs, USB drive and ISO files, eliminates the need for the operator to be physically present.
PacStar MDC-NR enables tactical and expeditionary teams to access data and compute resources using state-of-the-art cloud, virtualization, and containerization, even in disconnected, intermittent, and limited (DIL) environments where WAN connectivity is not assured. It can host a vast array of flyaway, command post, ground vehicle and aircraft applications for virtualized network functions, storage, analytics and cybersecurity technologies. It can be deployed dismounted, in forward operating bases (FOB), command posts, ground vehicles and aircraft, as well as in upper echelons – for military, intelligence, law enforcement, and Homeland Security use. When configured with VMware® vSAN, PacStar MDC-NR is certified as VMware Ready for platform and compute.
“Our PacStar Modular Data Center are ready to field compute and storage solutions purpose built to deliver optimal performance at the tactical edge, said Chris Wiltsey, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Curtiss-Wright Defense Solutions. “Representing our commitment to continually raise the bar for innovation and enhanced performance, our new PacStar MDC-NR features high-speed NVMe storage and enables remote management via IPMI.”
“Warfighters today need compute and network solutions that support system hyperconvergence on the move,” said Peggy Miller, Senior General Manager, PacStar Business Unit, Curtiss-Wright Defense Solutions division. “With remote management capability and super-fast, high-density storage, the PacStar 451-NR, combined with our IQ-Core® Software, provides the easiest-to-use communications solution for maximum visibility into network operations and management, speeding the deployment of applications at the edge, to ensure access to advanced technology, even in a disconnected, intermittent and limited environment.”
About the PacStar MDC-NR
The PacStar MDC-NR is based on PacStar 451-NR Small Server Modules. These compact modules provide a high-performance virtualization platform in a quick setup, rugged form factor. They are equipped with Intel® Xeon® D processors providing either 8,12, or 16 physical CPU cores, up to 128 GB RAM, 10 GigE SFP+ networking, and more than 8TB of NVMe storage. The PacStar 400-Series platform is widely deployed in the US Army and US Marine Corps, having been selected and deployed by the US Army PM TN T2C2, SFAB, and ESB-E programs and the US Marines NOTM program.
PacStar MDC solutions, based on widely deployed and proven PacStar 400-Series COTS small form factor modules, host compute, storage and networking functions with industry-leading reduction in size, weight and power (SWaP). These rugged tactical and expeditionary data centers are ideal for hosting mission command, cloud/storage, sensor fusion, AI and analytics applications.
Curtiss-Wright’s PacStar business offers a wide array of system packaging options for PacStar 400-Series, including briefcase, transit case, rack mount, vehicle mount, and backpack transport. Curtiss-Wright’s PacStar products are manufactured in its facility in Portland, Oregon.
03 Dec 21. Lockheed Martin’s Mysterious SR-72 Could Enter Service in the 2030s. The SR-72 is envisioned as an unmanned, hypersonic, reusable reconnaissance, surveillance, and strike aircraft.
Here’s What You Need to Remember: Despite the progress that has reportedly been made, concrete development and production timelines remain elusive. Lockheed said in late 2018 that an SR-72 prototype will fly by 2025, with the aircraft possibly entering service into the 2030s.
Rumored to eventually be the world’s fastest plane, Lockheed Martin’s mysterious SR-72 could revolutionize flight as we know it.
The legendary SR-71 Blackbird, a fifty-seven-year-old reconnaissance plane that still holds the title of fastest manned airbreathing jet engine aircraft, was retired by the U.S. Air Force in 1998. In the late 2000s, rumors emerged that Lockheed Martin was working on a successor to the Blackbird. In 2013, an influential piece by Aviation Week’s Guy Norris provided fresh insights into Lockheed Martin’s ongoing Skunk Works development of a Blackbird successor: the SR-72, or “Son of Blackbird.”
The SR-72 is envisioned as an unmanned, hypersonic, reusable reconnaissance, surveillance, and strike aircraft. The latter role is among the new fighter’s key upgrades. Whereas the original Blackbird carried no armaments at all, the SR-72 will reportedly support Lockheed Martin’s upcoming High-Speed Strike Weapon (HSSW). The SR-72’s combat capability could be a potent tool for delivering high-precision strikes against in threat environments deemed too risky for slower, manned fighters. Capable of traveling at a staggering top speed of Mach 6 or 4603 miles per hour, the SR-72 is roughly twice as fast as the original Blackbird. The new aircraft can also reportedly take off much faster than its notoriously slow-to-start predecessor, potentially a major operational boon in rapid-response scenarios.
But the technologies required to realize a product this ambitious and forward-looking were not sufficiently mature in 2013, slowing down the project by several years. That is now no longer the case, according to top Lockheed Martin officials. “We’ve been saying hypersonics is two years away for the last 20 years, but all I can say is the technology is mature and we, along with DARPA and the services, are working hard to get that capability into the hands of our warfighters as soon as possible…” Rob Weiss, Lockheed Martin’s executive vice president, and general manager for Advanced Development Programs, reportedly told Norris several years ago.
Weiss’s account was corroborated by Lockheed Vice President Jack O’Banion at an event in 2018. “Without the digital transformation the aircraft you see there could not have been made. In fact, five years ago, it could not have been made,” said O’Banion, referencing an SR-72 rendering presented at the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics’ annual SciTech Forum. “We couldn’t have made the engine itself—it would have melted down into slag if we had tried to produce it five years ago,” O’Banion added. “But now we can digitally print that engine with an incredibly sophisticated cooling system integral into the material of the engine itself, and have that engine survive for multiple firings for routine operation.”
Despite the progress that has reportedly been made, concrete development and production timelines remain elusive. Lockheed said in late 2018 that an SR-72 prototype will fly by 2025, with the aircraft possibly entering service into the 2030s. (Source: News Now/https://nationalinterest.org)
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Oxley Group Ltd
Oxley offer a range of Military Marine NVG friendly LED lighting that includes navigation lights and controls, flight deck landing lights and interior compartment lighting. Our lighting products are used by Navies around the world including our own Royal Navy on UK Aircraft Carriers, Canadian Frigates, Swedish Submarines, Australian Surface vessels and Submarines, on board French Naval Carriers and in Naval Gun Turrets.
https://oxleydevelopments.cmail20.com/t/t-l-cdhkulk-yujhutkljd-r/
The technology is extremely energy efficient and built robustly, with proven long life. The lighting is NVG friendly, dimmable and programmable to allow for operations with aircraft pilots using military night vision goggles. They offer superior design giving high reliability for the most demanding environments with high sealing and the ability to meet the most stringent EMC standards.
https://oxleydevelopments.cmail20.com/t/t-l-cdhkulk-yujhutkljd-y/
Oxley are proud to say that we are working in partnership with SeaKing to enable a control panel to be offered with our LED Navigation Lighting. All of Oxley navigation lights have been specifically developed for vessels over 50 metres.
Contact Marcus Goad on 07850 917 263 for more information or to arrange samples.
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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