03 Dec 12. Silynx Releases Micro U94. Silynx’s CEO Gil Limonchik announce the release of the Micro U94. Silynx’s SOF Micro U94 is the world’s first U94 chest PTT with weapon mounted Micro Wireless Push-to-Talk (WPTT). The Micro U94 was specifically designed as a PTT upgrade for the ComTac headset and is interoperable with MBITR/JEM & AN/PRC152. For the first time ever, the Micro U94 allows the user to Unleash Yourself from wired PTTs.
04 Dec 12. Northrop Grumman Corporation has delivered its 250th LITENING G4 targeting system ahead of schedule. LITENING G4 is currently in full rate production to accommodate separate indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity contracts with the U.S. Air Force and the Naval Air Systems Command. These contracts allow for procurement of new LITENING G4 pods as well as upgrades of existing LITENING Advanced Targeting Block 1 pods to the advanced LITENING G4 configuration.
03 Dec 12. Italian special forces warm to UK knitwear. New British knitwear company Armadillo Merino has signed a groundbreaking deal with the Italian Navy to supply its special forces with high-quality woollen undergarments, as a safer alternative to synthetic fibre vests. The company, set up by Andy Caughey, a former managing director of British luxury knitwear brand John Smedley, said the contract represented a significant endorsement of the fledgling brand. Mr Caughey first identified a commercial opportunity in adapting fine grade woollen garments for military use after hearing about soldiers in the Iraq war suffering severe burns when clothing melted on to their flesh. He said the Italian Navy’s purchase, which came about through a trade mission organised by UK Trade and Investment, was an acknowledgment of the superior qualities of merino wool, rather than a fashion statement. (Source: FT.com)
04 Dec 12. Sagem (Safran group), Thales and Sofradir have signed an agreement for Sofradir to acquire Sagem and Thales’ infrared (IR) detector technology development and manufacturing facilities. Sagem and Thales bring to Sofradir IR technologies originally developed for their internal purposes. IR detectors are advanced technology components at the center of multiple military, space, commercial and scientific applications: thermal imagers, missile seekers, surveillance systems, targeting systems or observation satellites. Their performance and price are key to the competitiveness of optronics systems. Under the agreement, Sagem will transfer to Sofradir the Indium Antimonide (InSb) technology. The Quantum Well-Infrared Photodetector (QWIP) and Indium Gallium Arsenide (InGaAs) technologies will be transferred to Sofradir from the GIE III-V Lab, an economic interest group with partners Alcatel Lucent, Thales and research institute CEA (the French nuclear energy and alternate energies commission). By consolidating these IR technologies under one roof, Sofradir joins a very small circle of IR detector manufacturers with expertise in all the cooled and uncooled IR technologies. The acquisition will reinforce Sofradir’s leading position in Europe and pave the way to a global leadership position in the imaging market. Sofradir is currently ranked number one for volume deliveries of IR detectors based on its Mercury Cadmium Telluride (HgCdTe) technology.
05 Dec 12. Swarming boats operating in highly-trafficked strategic waterways will soon be easier to detect, target and engage. During a recent test, a Raytheon Company JLENS simultaneously detected and tracked double-digit swarming boats, hundreds of cars and trucks, non-swarming boats and manned and unmanned aircraft. The swarming boats, similar to swarming boats in the inventories of hostile navies in high-threat regions of the globe, simulated a real-world scenario with a series of tactical maneuvers at low and high speeds. The aircraft and other vehicles JLENS tracked were similar to the other kinds of systems that might operate in the vicinity of busy vital waterways. JLENS,