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24 Apr 20. RAF’s ‘Digital’ Airbase Tests Covid-19 Tracking App. Personnel at RAF Leeming, North Yorkshire, are trialling the software, led by the station’s innovative digital unit, RAF eXperimental (RAFX), who have been working closely with NHSX and partners.
The app uses Bluetooth software to determine a user’s proximity to other devices. If a person shows symptoms or tests positive for the virus, they can choose to share this information with the NHS via the app. An alert will then be sent to other devices they have been near, whose users can then be tested or self-isolate. More than 300 personnel and their families at RAF Leeming carry the app on their phones as ‘beta testers’.
The NHS chose RAF Leeming to host the trial because RAFX has a record of testing apps and is at the forefront of driving new processes across the force.
RAFX set up a scenario which simulated people’s experience of shopping. To adhere to social-distancing rules, phones were placed on tables to simulate people clustering in a shopping area. Others walked past as if looking in shop windows. In doing so the Bluetooth software registers one phone’s proximity to another.
Group Captain Blythe Crawford, RAF Leeming station commander, said:
“The Royal Air Force is doing everything it can to support the NHS and with the help of RAFX and the personnel at RAF Leeming we have provided the perfect testing ground for projects such as this.
“All of our participants were volunteers and spanned the Service, Reservist, Civil Service, Contractor and Dependent communities here on station, and we are delighted that the results have helped the NHS in their drive to develop an application to assist in tracking any spread of the virus.”
Mother-of-two Mrs Trudie Chesworth, whose husband works on the station, said: “It was great that the whole station, including dependents such as myself, were able to do something in support of the NHS and the national effort.” (Source: Warfare.Today/RAF)
20 Apr 20. Second Unsafe Intercept by Russia in U.S. Sixth Fleet. For the second time in four days, Russian pilots flew in an unsafe and unprofessional manner while intercepting a U.S. Navy P-8A Maritime Patrol and Reconnaissance Aircraft in U.S. Sixth Fleet, 19 April, 2020. On April 19, 2020, a U.S. Navy P-8A aircraft flying in international airspace over the Mediterranean Sea was intercepted twice by a Russian SU-35 over a period of 100 minutes. The first intercept was deemed safe and professional. The second intercept was determined to be unsafe and unprofessional due to the SU-35 a conducting high-speed, high-powered maneuver that decreased aircraft separation to within 25 feet, directly in front of the P-8A, exposing the U.S. aircraft to wake turbulence and jet exhaust. In response, the P-8A, which was operating at a constant altitude and airspeed, descended to create separation and ensure safety of both aircraft. The unnecessary actions of the Russian SU-35 pilot were
inconsistent with good airmanship and international flight rules, seriously jeopardizing the safety of flight of both aircraft.
While the Russian aircraft was operating in international airspace, this interaction was irresponsible. We expect them to behave within international standards set to ensure safety and to prevent incidents, including the 1972 Agreement for the Prevention of Incidents On and Over the High Seas (INCSEA). Unsafe actions increase the risk of miscalculation and potential for midair collisions. This incident follows the April 15, 2020 interaction over the same waters, where a Russian SU-35 flew inverted within 25ft. of the U.S. P-8A. In both cases, the U.S. aircraft were operating consistent with international law and did not provoke this Russian activity. (Source: defense-aerospace.com/US Navy)
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Founded in 1987, Exensor Technology is a world leading supplier of Networked Unattended Ground Sensor (UGS) Systems providing tailored sensor solutions to customers all over the world. From our Headquarters in Lund Sweden, our centre of expertise in Network Communications at Communications Research Lab in Kalmar Sweden and our Production site outside of Basingstoke UK, we design, develop and produce latest state of the art rugged UGS solutions at the highest quality to meet the most stringent demands of our customers. Our systems are in operation and used in a wide number of Military as well as Homeland Security applications worldwide. The modular nature of the system ensures any external sensor can be integrated, providing the user with a fully meshed “silent” network capable of self-healing. Exensor Technology will continue to lead the field in UGS technology, provide our customers with excellent customer service and a bespoke package able to meet every need. A CNIM Group Company
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