30 Mar 12. The Editor saw the EXPAL EIMOS integrated mortar system at FIDAE. EXPAL has developed the integrated mortar system EIMOS with the aim to provide solutions to the troops for the new operational requirements, as well as provide the latest technological developments for defense and protection, The combination of a 81 mm long-range mortar and a 4×4 high mobility lightweight vehicle results in a weapon system with firepower and mobility suited to support the units in nowadays missions, where responsiveness and mobility are crucial. The total weight of the system without rounds is 700kgs which make it easily deployable in light vehicles or boats. EIMOS is a tested system with the capacity, versatility, and technology necessary to fulfil the priority operative requirements in current and future scenarios, at a reasonable cost and easy maintenance, due most of its components can be easily considered as army equipment, supported by its current logistic chain. The EIMOS System can also be adapted to the customer needs and final requirements while facilitating integration with legacy systems, such vehicles, communications means or other command and control systems. It has a targeting system linked to a fire control system and can easily be adapted to accommodate a thermal camera to give it day/night capability

13 Apr 12. The U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) has awarded BAE Systems an $11m contract to procure the company’s revolutionary SkeetIR® thermal monocular for its forces. The combat proven monocular can be used by USSOCOM personnel in a variety of modes.
“Our primary focus is to allow our operators to see the enemy before they’re seen, and the SkeetIR does just that,” said Vadim Plotsker, president of BAE Systems OASYS in Manchester, New Hampshire, where the devices are designed and produced. “The SkeetIR has undergone extensive Department of Defense review and testing and is often referred to as a game changing operational capability.”
The SkeetIR is one of the smallest and most versatile thermal imagers on the market. It fits within the dimensions of a credit card and it allows for seamless operational transition from an observation to a targeting device. The thermal device can be used in clip-on, handheld, and helmet mount modes and for visual augmentation for image intensified devices. The SkeetIR greatly enhances vision at night and in dust or smoke conditions. BAE Systems OASYS has expertise in thermal imaging technology, optical assembly design and manufacture, precision optical components, and rapid development of multi-mission use devices. The company continues to improve its systems providing customers with smaller, lighter, and lower power devices. (Source: ASD Network)

13 Apr 12. Advanced Blast & Ballistic Systems (ABBS) has developed an active belly plate system to help double the protection of military vehicles, such as light armoured vehicles (LAVs) and main battle tanks (MBTs), against a range of under-belly mine blasts. According to the company, the new blast defence mechanism applies a force against the floor of the armoured vehicle in order to reduce floor deformation and to help stop the vehicle from being thrown into the air, following the blast. ABBS managing director and inventor of the system, Roger Sloman, was quoted by The Engineer as saying that the technology deals with global acceleration and works on a very simple concept of actively opposing the force of the mine. Sloman said the technology can further be developed to provide specific forces which would match each explosion.
“Either you can set everything off, or you can analyse the strength of the shockwave and get an estimate of the size of the mine and where it is and therefore you can tune the response,” Sloman added.
The technology, which has been developed in collaboration with the UK Ministry of Defence’s (MoD) Centre for Defence Enterprise (CDE), counteracts the force of the mine by exploiting the short delay be