12 May 10. Vision Systems International, LLC (VSI), a leader in advanced Helmet Mounted Display (HMD) technology, has recently completed a successful flight evaluation of its Night Vision Cueing and Display Aviator’s Night Vision Imaging System (NVCD ANVIS). The flight evaluation of the NVCD ANVIS was conducted by the Royal Netherlands Air Force (RNLAF) at Leeuwarden Air Base, Netherlands, on March 22-23, 2010. A standard pair of ANVIS-F4949 Night Vision Goggles (NVGs), provided by the RNLAF, were modified with a VSI kit in one hour by the RNLAF personnel at Netherlands NVG depot facility. The flight evaluation was conducted in an RNLAF F-16 with no modifications required to the aircraft. Air-to-air and air-to-ground missions were performed during the evaluation. The pilot was very pleased with the system performance. His quotes include… “The NVCD display performed very well…Excellent symbol clarity and readability…Overall, the NVCD system provided much improved situational awareness during the demanding night mission…Safety of flight was improved by being able to quickly pick up flight members with the NVCD in combination with Link 16…No significant change in weight, center of gravity or comfort compared to the standard NVG configuration…”
05 May 10. DARPA progresses Long Range Anti-Ship Missile project. Two separate project teams within Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control have completed initial Phase 1 design and demonstration activities under the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s (DARPA’s) next-generation Long Range Anti-Ship Missile (LRASM) programme. The rival concepts – LRASM-A is a low, slow and stealthy missile, while LRASM-B is a high, fast and manoeuvrable solution – completed their respective preliminary design reviews in March 2010 following completion of near parallel nine-month Phase 1 contracts awarded in mid-2009.
06 May 10. Army bomb disposal experts from the Counter-Improvised Explosive Device (C-IED) Task Force have cleared the road to the market town of Shahzad in south west Helmand, in the heart of the ‘Green Zone’.
The road, littered with improvised explosive devices and surrounded by insurgent positions, had previously been impassable for the local population in an area controlled by the Taliban until Operation MOSHTARAK. Captain Ciaron Dyer is part of the C-IED Task Force: “My team and I have been tasked to the area in order to clear IEDs,” he said from a compound off Route Dorset in Helmand province. “Basically, what we’ve been doing is working with a Royal Engineers search team to provide a high-assurance search of the area and search the route so that we can clear these IEDs.” Having spotted a potential IED on the route, Captain Dyer explained what happened next: “What’s happened is that in the last 20 minutes we’ve just moved into the incident control point and we’ve sent out the Royal Engineers search team to isolate the IED from any command wires that may be coming into that area. Once that’s complete, I’ll then walk down the road and deal with the IED.” Having dealt with the device, Captain Dyer said: “What we’ve found is an IED in the middle of the road. Ordinarily I would consider blowing it in situ, having removed the components for further analysis; however, in this instance it would have risked damaging the road too much.”
30 Apr 10. Lockheed Martin looks to test GMLRS Plus rocket. Lockheed Martin is working to advance an internally funded effort to develop new precision rocket technology as the US Army looks to fill a possible requirements gap. The company’s Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System (GMLRS) Plus is scheduled for two flight-tests this year at White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico, according to Scott Arnold, Lockheed Martin’s vice-president for precision fires programmes. (Source: Jane’s, JDW)
12 May 10. The Afghan National Army is set to use Nato weapons, including M-16 rifles and .50-calibre machine guns, instead of the widely used K