20 Oct 11. Lockheed Martin was selected by the U.S. Army’s Research Development And Engineering Command, Communications-Electronics Research, Development and Engineering Center (RDECOM CERDEC) Night Vision and Electronic Sensors Directorate (NVESD) to demonstrate an advanced slew-to-cue sensor system designed to provide greater situational awareness during route clearance and surveillance missions. The Multi-sensor Graphical User Interface (MS GUI), demonstrated recently at the Association of the U. S. Army Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C., is an affordable, backwards compatible upgrade kit for fielded Gyrocam systems currently deployed with the U.S. Army and U.S. Marine Corps. MS GUI allows the operator to use a touch screen display capability to slew between reference cameras, such as the Driver’s Vision Enhancer, and the Gyrocam® Vehicle Optics Sensor System (VOSS), to simultaneously search for potential threats while interrogating identified hazards on route clearance missions. Under a cooperative research and development agreement with NVESD, Lockheed Martin will continue to enhance capabilities of the MS GUI system for use in various situational awareness applications, paving the way for the eventual fielding of the technology.

07 Oct 11. Nett Warrior gets a size and cost makeover. The US Army has significantly overhauled its Nett Warrior programme – which is intended to deliver next-generation soldier-worn situational awareness gear – by reducing the system’s size and cost and leveraging commercial technology. Bill Brower, deputy project manager for Soldier Warrior, told reporters on 6 October that Nett Warrior will now essentially be a smartphone or tablet computer networked through a tactical radio. (Source: Jane’s, IDR)

19 Oct 11. Ukrainian scientists have developed a new explosives disposal technology, the Biochemical Laboratory at the Sevastopol Institute of Nuclear Power research associate Gennady Baranov has revealed.
RIA Novosti has quoted an associate as saying, “It is an organic mixture that ‘consumes’ explosives and chemicals, producing an absolutely pure fertiliser.” The bacterium, when poured on an artillery shell, takes between 15 and 115 days to eat through the explosive and leaves the metal intact for recycling. The composition of the patented mixture has not been disclosed. (Source: armytechnology.com)

19 Oct 11. Northrop Grumman Corporation has completed delivery of the first 50 LITENING G4 Advanced Targeting (AT) Pods under a $277.8m indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity contract from the U.S. Air Force. “Completing Lot 1 is an important milestone because it puts a significant capability in the hands of our war fighters,” said Jim Mocarski, vice president of Electro Optical/Infrared Targeting Systems at Northrop Grumman. “It also demonstrates our expanded production and upgrade capacity to execute Lot 2, our Marine Corps G4 and U.S. Air Force Advanced Targeting Pod – Sensor Enhancement orders.” The LITENING G4 Advanced Targeting Pod is the newest addition to the company’s LITENING family of targeting pods, delivering the latest advancements in sensor, laser imaging and data link technology. LITENING G4’s full 1Kx1K Forward Looking Infrared and Charge-Coupled Device (CCD) sensors, wider field of view and enhanced zoom deliver more accurate target identification and location at longer ranges than previous generations of LITENING targeting pod systems. The short wave infrared laser imaging provides a unique capability to capture images in situations where forward-looking infrared and CCD are ineffective.

13 Oct 11. US Army tests ‘flying shotgun’. The US Army is conducting an ‘operational evaluation’ in theatre of the Switchblade weapon as part of the service’s Lethal Miniature Aerial Munition System (LMAMS) project. William Nichols, a deputy product director for the army’s Close Combat Weapon Systems (CCWS) office, said the evaluation this year would be followed by a similar deploy