30 Jun 11. Boeing has completed system integration of key components for the US Army high-energy laser technology demonstrator (HEL TD). The integration included installation of the beam control system and critical hardware onto the Oshkosh heavy expanded mobility tactical truck, HEL TD’s vehicle platform. HEL TD system integration will undergo low-power system testing scheduled for the final quarter of 2011 at White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico, US, to demonstrate its ability to acquire, track and target moving projectiles. The system is equipped with mirrors, high-speed processors and high-speed optical sensors. The system will receive the laser beam from the HEL TD laser device, reshape and align the beam, and then focus it on the target that include rockets, artillery, mortars and UAVs. The HEL TD system is managed by the US Army Space and Missile Defense Command/Army Forces Strategic Command, Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, US. (Source: armytechnology.com)
29 Jun 11. KVH Industries, Inc., introduced its new DSP-1750 fiber optic gyro (FOG), the world’s smallest high-performance FOG and the first to use KVH’s new 170 micron E.Core(r) ThinFiber technology, today at the 2011 Joint Navigation Conference in Colorado Springs, CO. This super-compact commercial FOG offers revolutionary performance levels for a unit its size, including input rates five times faster than KVH’s original DSP-1500 FOG and angle random walk (ARW) five times better than the KVH DSP-3000 series. In addition, its bias stability is eight times better than the DSP-3000 series, a level of performance previously only available in larger, more expensive closed-loop fiber optic gyros and ring laser gyros. (Source: ASD Network)
24 Jun 11. Thales puts the gun back into air defence. Thales is developing a new mobile, multi-weapon air defence system – the Gun Missile System (GMS) – for the protection of mechanised brigades. Combining six ready-to-fire Thales Starstreak laser-beam-riding air defence missiles with a CTAI 40 mm Cased Telescoped Armament System (CTAS) provided by Nexter (under its joint venture with BAE Systems), GMS would typically be deployed on a tracked chassis in association with the Thales SHIKRA-60 radar/command-and-control system mounted on a similar chassis. (Source: Jane’s, JDW)
29 Jun 11. Raytheon Company’s rapid concrete-breaching tool has been added to the General Services Administration schedule of products and services available to federal organizations. The Controlled Impact Rescue Tool (CIRT™) from Raytheon is a self-contained, safe and portable unit designed to aid fire departments, local and federal rescue agencies, and the military services. The tool sends pulverizing shock waves that enable rescuers to breach concrete structures faster than with existing techniques such as drilling, chipping or sawing. Developed under the rapid-technology application program of the Department of Homeland Security’s Science and Technology Directorate, CIRT can quickly penetrate concrete walls and barriers, facilitating personnel rescue after disasters. It is a two-person portable tool, actuated by standard powder cartridges, and is capable of breaching a targeted reinforced concrete wall up to four times faster than with traditional methods. Additionally, the force generated by CIRT is concentrated in a localized area on the concrete barrier, minimizing collateral damage and potential destabilization of the surrounding structure. Raytheon completed a series of CIRT training demonstrations with the Hawaii National Guard and the Virginia National Guard CERF-P Breaching and Breaking Platoons. The tests were, respectively, part of the Makani Pahili 2011 exercise at Bellows Air Force Station on May 31 and a training demonstration at the Virginia Beach, Va., TF-2 Fire and Rescue training facility on May 16. Makani Pahili is an annual statewide joint exercise involving the U.S. Army Garrison-Hawaii and the State of Hawaii to test and evaluate pre