19 Feb 13. Enemy tactical ballistic missiles may soon be easier to detect and track. During a series of recent tests, a Raytheon Company JLENS demonstrated tactical ballistic missile defense (TBMD) capability when it detected and tracked a total of four ballistic-missile surrogates during their ascent (boost) phase. During the test, the JLENS X-Band radar tracked two ripple-fired and two individually fired ballistic-missile surrogates. The missiles flew flight profiles similar to the profiles enemy tactical ballistic missiles might fly in high-threat regions of the globe.
“Along with other systems in Raytheon’s family of X-Band radars, JLENS can provide a robust early warning and tracking capability against ballistic missiles,” said David Gulla, vice president of Global Integrated Sensors for Raytheon’s Integrated Defense Systems business.
JLENS demonstrated its capability against cruise missiles when it enabled Patriot and Standard Missile-6 intercepts of cruise-missile surrogates during separate tests. JLENS also completed two developmental tests and demonstrated its ability to stay aloft for long durations.
21 Feb 13. L-3 WESCAM announced the successful on-time delivery and in-flight demonstrations of its first MX™-25 electro-optical/infrared (EO/IR) imaging system. The MX-25 was delivered to the U.S. Army’s Yuma Proving Ground in Arizona, where it was evaluated by the Persistent Threat and Detection System (PTDS) Communications-Electronics Command (CECOM) team as a plug-and-play upgrade path for the MX-20 systems currently deployed on PTDS aerostats. Upon delivery and after only two hours of installation, the MX-25 was operational and evaluated over a course of nine consecutive days. During this time, a side-by-side resolution test was conducted between the MX-20 and MX-25, whereby the MX-25 provided similarly detailed thermal imagery at fifty percent greater standoff distances.
18 Feb 13. BAE Systems Land Systems South Africa revealed its latest manned turret to attendees at IDEX exhibition in the United Arab Emirates. The Overhead Manned Turret (OMT) is a new generation, low profile turret designed for vehicles such as Light Armoured Vehicles (LAV) or Mine Protected Vehicles (MPV). The OMT is operated by one crew member and provides self-protection, ground fire support and attack capabilities to the vehicle system with an optimal balance between situational awareness, crew protection and cost. The system has been modularly designed to support different user requirements. Parameters such as protection level, weapon interface, sighting system and position control mechanism can be configured to suit specific applications. The OMT can be configured to accommodate a range of weapons from 7.62mm and 12.7mm machine guns, to 40mm grenade launchers. Fitted with the appropriate weapon configuration, the OMT can be effectively utilised against enemy targets. The basic designated system is equipped with manual turret drives and an optical episcope with integrated aiming mark. All round vision of the battlefield enables outstanding target detection capability, fast reaction time and orientation in urban conditions. Four smoke grenade launchers are fitted as standard. The latest OMT-ED (Overhead Manned Turret – Electrical Drive) version is based on the basic system and is fitted with additional traverse electrical drives, enabling the operator to engage a target quickly and effortlessly. When configured with a B7 level ballistic protection, the total mass is 550 kg excluding ammunition. The maximum height of 590mm above vehicle deck offers a low-profile solution with good situational awareness and high performance target identification of more than a kilometre, day or night. Elevation and traverse hand wheels provide the standard human interface for turret movement. The OMT-ED version makes use of a dead-man switch and movement controller for rapid movement in traverse. An integrated brake system ensures operation while the