07 Oct 10. Russia on Thursday successfully tested its new nuclear-capable Bulava intercontinental missile, the defence ministry said, its first successful firing for months after a series of embarrassing failures. The missile was fired from the Dmitry Donskoi submarine in the White Sea in
North European Russia and hit its target in the Kura firing area on the
Kamchatka peninsula on the Pacific Ocean some 6,000 kilometres (3,730 miles) away, it said. (Source: AFP)

04 Oct 10. Aerial Surveillance Systems, Inc announced today that its SkyEye 350 Hawker Beechcraft King Air 350-based aerial surveillance aircraft successfully completed its more than 18 month design, development, modification and integration program by virtue of the final issuance of its full FAA authorized Normal Category certification.
FLIR Systems’ Star SAFIRE HD was selected to be the electro-optical/infrared (EO/IR) thermal sensor for the SkyEye 350. The Star SAFIRE HD allows the detection, recognition and identification of extremely small targets on an HD monitor, enabling operators to select wider fields of view without sacrificing scene detail. FLIR Systems has more than 3,600 sensors in operation today, on over 100 different types of fixed-wing aircraft, helicopter, unmanned aerial vehicle and ship platforms in more than 75 countries around the world. The specially modified FLIR EO/IR sensor package and other installed systems allow the SkyEye 350 to accomplish a wide range of low-medium-high-altitude tactical missions as well as Maritime Surveillance/Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) Protection and oil spill and pollution monitoring. ASSI also announces that it has signed a Joint Venture Agreement with Optimare, NV of Bremerhaven, Germany to further develop the SkyEye 350 into the SkyEye 350 OPTIMARE MEDUSA Oil Spill Monitoring Maritime Patrol Aircraft , the most comprehensive means of detecting and tracking offshore pollution including comprehensive oil spill monitoring and response. This will further allow ASSI to deliver the user the appropriate equipment to perform multiple missions: offshore, on the battlefield, or both – all in a single, highly capable platform, and all at an affordable price. The SkyEye 350 is the most technologically advanced aerial surveillance platform in the world at its cost-point. The aircraft is being offered as a turnkey, COTS, user-friendly, exportable platform to US, NATO, international and foreign customers and with FAA certification accomplished is now available with the shortest available delivery lead-time in the industry.

14 Oct 10. DSM Dyneema is expanding its already strong portfolio of products based on Dyneema®, the world’s strongest fiber™, with the first in a new series of vest grades of uni-directional (UD) material. Dyneema® SB51, which the company believes will create a step-change in the protection achievable with Soft Ballistic (SB) armor, has been developed for use in ballistic vests that combine minimum weight with high protection performance against handgun ammunition, fragments and knives. Dyneema® SB51 builds on the success that DSM Dyneema has already achieved in this market with its Dyneema® SB21 and SB31 UD grades, all three of which are made with the ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) Dyneema® fiber. Numerous ballistic tests show that Dyneema® SB 51 takes performance to the next level, substantially outperforming aramids and demonstrating improvements of 10 to 20% compared with Dyneema® SB21 for specific bullet and test specifications. Intended for use by personnel in the military and law enforcement, Dyneema® SB51 has been developed in close cooperation with body armor manufacturers. It is the first material to be designed specifically to provide protection against the prevalent threats in Central and Eastern Europe and Asia Pacific, in particular the 7.62x25mm Tokarev bullet, widely used in former Soviet states and neighboring countries as well as the Chinese P54 pistol amm