16 Nov 10. BATTLESPACE Publications would like to clarify that there is no connection between the proposed Shephard Night Vision and Infantry events being proposed at Bisley next year and Owning The Night. Owning The Night is owned solely by BATTLESPACE Publications and further announcements regarding the next event will be made in due course.
18 Nov 10. Iran has domestically designed and built a long-range air defence system with the same capability as the Russian-made S-300 system. Iranian Brigadier General Mohammad Hassan Mansourian said the country has developed the new system by upgrading S-200 missiles and the details of the missile system would be unveiled soon.
“We have tested it successfully using all our potential and experience in the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC), the army and the Defense Ministry,” he told Press TV.
Iran built the missile system following the cancellation of an $800m deal signed with Russia in 2005 involving the sale of its S-300 system in September 2010. The S-300 air defence system is an advanced mobile system capable of shooting down aircraft and cruise missiles from a distance of 150km. (Source: armytechnology.com)
17 Nov 10. Having monitored the increasing incidence of piracy over the past years, BCB International, one of the UK’s leading manufacturers of military equipment unveiled the Buccaneer Ship-Borne Shore Launcher (SBSL) in late 2009. This system has been developed to provide a ship’s master with a flexible reaction system to incidents at sea, ranging from a man overboard to attack by pirates. Using either compressed gas from cylinders or the ship’s compressed air system, the Buccaneer can deploy anything from single man life rafts, line or netting to snag the propellars of pirate skiffs to solid projectiles up to a range of 300 meters. Although significant kinetic energy can be delivered without resort to dangerous or volatile explosives, the SBSL is accepted as an essential safety and survival system. As such it is a genuine non-lethal response and deterrent to pirate attack. Due to the range of the system, an early demonstration of intent is likely to deter and dissuade an aggressor. Moreover, the effect can be spread over a wider area, thus improving the chance of a ‘hit’ on smaller, fast moving vessels. For the first time, the crew will be able to deal with an imminent pirate attack without having to resort to the use of lethal force. Andrew Howell, the Managing Director of BCB International added, “As we are all aware, pirate attacks have become increasingly common. Shipping companies have also agonized about the consequence of deploying or not deploying lethal force on their ships. This important new system solves that dilemma. It is simple to install, simple to use and provides an effective solution to a problem that has previously refused to go away”.
11 Nov 10. Plextek, the Cambridge-based electronics and communications design consultancy has supported the Ministry of Defence’s (MoD) Intermediate Command & Staff Course (Land) (ICSC(L)) on its annual NIGHT OWL exercise at the Joint Services Command and Staff College (JSCSC). The event, which featured Plextek’s Blighter radar technology, took place over two nights from the 9-10 of November and guided students through hands on experience of the latest in surveillance and security technology. Plextek has supported the event for three years now and has worked closely with ICSC(L) and Defence Academy staff to ensure students experience the latest in battlefield surveillance technology.
Plextek’s Jonathon Pittock, Blighter Field Applications Engineer, attended the event and said, “We are proud to continue our support in educating JSCSC students on the latest in battlefield technology. Modern radar systems now offer integration with a wide range of other sensors and can be remotely managed, and the best way to experience this is through the hands-on experience that the NIGHT OWL exercise brings.”
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