Sponsored by Blighter Surveillance Systems
www.blighter.com
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28 Jul 22. CPI TMD Technologies Division Launches Higher Power K & Ka Band Travelling Wave Tube Modular Instrumentation Amplifiers. At the IEEE EMC+SIPI 2022 exhibition, the TMD Technologies Division of Communications & Power Industries (CPI) will be showcasing its new PTCM1017 and PTCM1027 travelling wave tube (TWT)-based amplifiers in Booth 218.
Part of CPI TMD Technologies Division’s successful PTCM series, these new amplifiers feature higher gain and efficiency performance when compared to solid-state amplifiers. With frequency coverage of 18 to 26.5 GHz and 26.5 to 40 GHz, both amplifiers offer power output exceeding 100W CW and can also be pulsed using an internal grid modulator. The amplifiers are optimized for applications including electromagnetic compatibility (EMC), radiated immunity, communications, electronic warfare (EW), radar and RF component testing.
The construction of the PTCM1017 and PTCM1027 amplifiers is based on a modular 6U system that offers different configurations to meet customers’ unique requirements
27 Jul 22. SHOTOVER Systems Debuts M2 Multi-Sensor at APSCON 2022.
SHOTOVER Systems, a manufacturer of high-performance imaging systems coupled with the most advanced and easy-to-use, real-time augmented reality mapping software, announced today the launch of its M2 Multi-Sensor camera system. Bringing many firsts to airborne ISR, the M2 Multi-Sensor system comes with SHOTOVER’s 5th generation, true 6-axis gimbal design and is the only EO/IR system that eliminates “gimbal-lock” and “horizon-rolling”.
SHOTOVER Systems Debuts M2 Multi-Sensor System at APSCON 2022
“This is it — this is what we’ve been building towards for the past 15 years: an imaging system where the goal is not to be like a FLIR or WESCAM, but better. Better image quality, better reliability, better support.”, said Tom Churchill, founder and CEO of SHOTOVER Systems.
SHOTOVER’s M2 Multi-Sensor features the latest in 4K Ultra-HD color and long life High-Definition HOT infrared technology for unprecedented day and night clarity. Precision zoom optics outclass traditional systems with superior quality while maintaining greater stand-off distances. Other exclusive benefits include automated license plate recognition; 24MP digital photographs; and automated steering, tracking, and other functions to simplify operation.
The M2 Multi-Sensor comes equipped with SHOTOVER’s next generation mission management solution with real-time augmented reality overlays providing instant identification of streets, addresses and POIs, and can also visualize weather conditions, aircraft traffic, ship locations, cell and radio emissions, friendly force locations, and more.
“The M2 is essentially a computer vision system with a design similar to modern-day mobile devices versus the dated camcorder style of other imaging systems. It has far fewer parts so there’s less to go wrong or wear out; it’s highly automated making the system easy to use; and you can connect it to the Internet to conveniently add new features and functionality, or get immediate remote servicing and support.”, said Robert Kubis, VP of Imaging Systems at SHOTOVER Systems. “It’s a real game-changer and simply unlike anything out there today.”
About SHOTOVER Systems
SHOTOVER Systems is a leading developer of high-performance imaging systems and real-time augmented reality mission management solutions for a wide range of markets including public safety, defense and homeland security. The company’s product range offers users a seamless end-to-end solution while delivering unprecedented versatility and ease-of-use backed by world-class service and support. http://www.shotover.com (Source: PR Newswire)
27 Jul 22. ANRA Technologies Demos Live Drone Tracking in India. ANRA Technologies, a supplier of integrated airspace, mission management and delivery systems for uncrewed aircraft, along with participation from the ideaForge and Asteria Aerospace, demonstrated live tracking of drones in India’s national airspace. The demonstrations showcased two options; a software plugin as well as a small strap-on hardware module showcasing the various approaches possible for a tracking solution. Equipped with these capabilities, drones manufactured by ideaForge, Asteria Aerospace and ANRA were connected using ANRA’s SmartSkies Tracker Platform, enabling authorised users to view and track simultaneous drone operations happening in National Capital Region (NCR) and Bangalore.
As part of the demonstration, a drone manufactured and operated by Asteria Aerospace in Bangalore and another drone operated by ANRA in the NCR were integrated via the software plugin. A third drone manufactured and operated by IdeaForge was integrated using a strap-on hardware module, which showcased the diversity of integration options and a tracking solution.
Each of the drones were tracked in real-time with their locations and other associated flight details available on the SmartSkies Tracker App. Drone operators were able to turn the tracking option on or off and only authorised and privileged users were able to view the tracking information using the SmartSkies Tracker App.
“Today, we took another step forward for the Indian drone industry by demonstrating a tracking and Remote ID solution that addresses some of the key operational concerns for the government of India,” stated Amit Ganjoo, Founder and CEO of ANRA Technologies. “Our Tracker platform is network-based so authorised users anywhere in India can view tracking any of the integrated drones.”
“Testing various solutions for Remote ID in the real world is a key first step towards arriving at a Remote ID ecosystem that delivers its objectives to Drone OEMs, operators & regulators. Using the strap-on device, we were able to derive key insights, which can help Industry players recommend the right approach to building a Remote ID ecosystem within Indian unmanned airspace” said Ankit Mehta, the CEO & Co-founder of ideaForge.
Small drones are difficult to track using traditional methods such as radar and not every drone is connected using a solution that transmits its telemetry to a network that is subsequently shared. Using a software plugin at the drone’s control station or strap-on hardware that electronically shares the drone’s position and other associated details at regular intervals offers a new option and today’s demonstration successfully proved this capability in two different cities. (Source: UAS VISION)
26 Jul 22. Ontic Signs License Agreement With Honeywell for the RDR4A/B Weather Radar Systems. Ontic, a leading OEM, and MRO services provider for established aircraft in the commercial, military, and rotorcraft markets, has signed an exclusive license agreement with Honeywell for the RDR4A/B Weather Radar Systems.
Ontic will leverage its existing facilities and repair teams in the USA, Europe and Asia to ensure continued customer support. The products are installed across a wide range of platforms and add to the existing radar capability that Ontic already has established at its Chatsworth facility in Los Angeles. The transition will be managed by our dedicated global Project Management Office team.
This latest agreement adds to the large portfolio of exclusively licensed products between the two companies in a relationship that began in 1983.
Gareth Blackbird, Ontic Vice President and Chief Commercial Officer, said, “We’re excited to secure another license with such a key partner and look forward to supporting this complex, flight critical product for the existing customer base.”
“Honeywell has a long-standing relationship with Ontic with many such license arrangements. This exclusive license for RDR 4A/4B weather radar product lines will continue that partnership and enhances value for our end customers,” said Vipul Gupta, VPGM Avionics for Honeywell Aerospace.
About Ontic
Ontic is an Aerospace Industry leader with over 45 years of aerospace product manufacturing and aftermarket support experience. Ontic provides FAA, CAAC, CAAS and EASA Part 21 and 145 original equipment manufacturer (OEM) support, including new and serviceable spares and repairs for maturing, legacy aircraft parts.
Ontic supports OEMs by taking complete responsibility for their mature and non-core products, under license or acquisition, allowing the OEM to focus on their current and future programs. Our portfolio includes licenses for over 7,500 top-level aerospace assemblies including avionics, electronics, electro-mechanical, fluid pumping and control, APUs, engines, oxygen systems, fuel measurement and power generation. We are the experts at adopting and transitioning aerospace products. (Source: BUSINESS WIRE)
26 Jul 22. Thales to supply Iraq with air-surveillance radars. Iraq’s Air Defence Command (ADC) will receive Thales radars in addition to the Lockheed Martin TPS-77. This was announced during a ceremony marking the start of construction of a new operations centre for the military branch on 24 July. The Iraqi Ministry of Defence (MoD) released a video of the event in which Minister of Defence Juma Inad Sadoun said the “new operations centre will be connected to the new radar system that is being imported from the French company Thales”.
Although he did not identify the types of Thales radars that have been ordered, he said Iraq had been seeking short- and medium-range systems to complement its new US-made TPS-77 long-range air surveillance radars and extend coverage across all of Iraq. Posters at the event showed Thales radars, most prominently the Ground Master (GM) 400 and GM200, and suggested that the company is also building the air-defence operations centre. (Source: Janes)
25 Jul 22. Lockheed Martin, IAI incorporate Elta Sytems radar in integrated air defence offering. Lockheed Martin and Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) are incorporating an Elta Systems radar as part of an integrated medium-range air-defence (MRAD) solution, Janes has learned.
In March 2022 Lockheed Martin and IAI announced that they would partner to offer a solution that combines the Lockheed Martin UK-developed SkyKeeper ground-based air-defence (GBAD) and battle management capability with IAI’s Barak MX surface-to-air missile system.
Janes believes that the Elta Systems radar could be the ELM-2084 multimission system, but this is not confirmed.
According to Lockheed Martin UK (LMUK), the largely International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR)-free SkyKeeper system can integrate multiple sensors into a networked system for not only GBAD, but also counter-unmanned aircraft systems (C-UAS) and counter-rocket, artillery, and mortar purposes. It can also act as a ‘funnel’ for tactical air picture and wider intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition, and reconnaissance (ISTAR) information, the company says. (Source: Janes)
22 Jul 22. Qatar selects Fortem Technologies’ SkyDome counter drone solution to protect FIFA World Cup events. The Qatari Ministry of Interior and Safety and Security Operations Committee (SSOC) has selected counter drone company Fortem Technologies along with distribution partner Smart Communication Systems to protect against rogue drones during FIFA World Cup events taking place in Qatar from November 21 to December 18, 2022.
Fortem Technologies and Smart Communication Systems will provide enhanced security for the FIFA World Cup games, and counter-drone systems to other important events and venues throughout the region. Fortem SkyDome system is designed to detect, defeat, and protect against rogue drones. The SkyDome system classifies threats and mitigates them autonomously with its interceptor drone, DroneHunter. At the heart of the Fortem SkyDome System is TrueView radar, a compact, AI-enabled, networkable radar designed to perform in urban environments and crowded, public places such as sports arenas and airports.
Engineer Captain Rashid Fahad Alali, Security Systems Officer in the Ministry of the Interior in Qatar and the Anti-Drone Program Leader in the SSOC. “We are pleased to partner with Fortem Technologies as an anchor vendor to enhance our security around Doha.” For more information visit: www.fortemtech.com (Source: www.unmannedairspace.info)
21 Jul 22. Awaiting IVAS verdict, SASC directs Army to toy with ‘mixed-equipping’ night vision goggles. An Army official recently said the service hasn’t finished analyzing the results from a critical IVAS test, still assessing best path forward for enhanced soldier vision.
While the Army continues to analyze how its next-gen Integrated Visual Augmentation System (IVAS) did in a recent test, Senate lawmakers plan to direct the service not to ditch its current night vision program and, instead, try “mixed-equipping” soldiers with both systems, just in case.
The Senate Armed Services Committee voiced its worry in its version of its fiscal 2023 National Defense Authorization Act, coming after the Army zeroed out funding for the Enhanced Night Vision Goggle-Binocular in its FY23 budget request before the IVAS program passed its initial operational test.
“The committee is concerned about the Army’s decision to terminate procurement of the ENVG-B before the IVAS is fully certified to meet operational requirements,” the Senate report reads.
In its report, SASC members stated that a “recurring comment” from soldiers and junior leaders at IVAS soldier feedback events is that “not all personnel in a close-combat formation should be equipped with IVAS and that equipping select soldiers with alternative night vision and situation awareness equipment could make the formations more combat effective.” The language goes on to direct the Army to experiment with equipping units with a mix of IVAS, ENVG-B and “other elements” of night vision capabilities.
“The committee believes the Army should experiment with mixed-equipping of close-combat formations in order to best inform its IVAS and night vision systems basis-of-issue, procurement decisions, and overarching night vision strategy,” the report states.
IVAS, essentially battlefield augmented reality goggles made by Microsoft, is a top Army modernization priority. The program ran into trouble last year when it delayed its operational test, previously scheduled for last fall, to this summer after field-of-view issues. In May, Army Secretary Christine Wormuth said that the IVAS operational test would determine the future of the program. In a gaggle with reporters on Wednesday, Undersecretary of the Army Gabe Camarillo said that they’re not done analyzing data from the test.
“We’re still working through the results,” Camarillo said, including usability, software stability and how it fits into the force.
Lawmakers on Capitol Hill will be keeping an close eye on those results when they come in. The Senate’s FY23 National Defense Authorization Act adds $75m back to the ENVG-B program, while the House version added $100m. The SASC bill report also notes that the committee is concerned that the decision to not fund ENVG-B will hurt supply chains, and it expressed worry that the Army isn’t taking into consideration the “long-term industrial base consequences of their decision.” ENVG-B is made by Elbit Systems of America and L3Harris.
The Army’s budget request called for about $400 m in procurement funds to field 7,000 sets of IVAS goggles to three brigade combat teams. Service officials also said they planned to buy 270 sets of IVAS 1.2, the next iteration of the program.
Asked on Wednesday if the Army considered IVAS a replacement for ENVG-B, Camarillo said the jury is out.
“It’s too early to say that. Obviously, we’re continuing to execute the funding that Congress has given us for the latest generation ENVGs,” Camarillo said.
The answer will likely come out of the Army’s future night vision goggle strategy. The undersecretary said that the service is considering what enduring requirements and right mix of capabilities will be, based on threats, evolving technology, the industrial base and how capabilities will develop over time.
“Rather than lock the Army into one answer at this point in time, I think we’re doing the prudent thing, which is kind of assessing where those capabilities are evolving and where are the needs which are varied across the Army,” Camarillo said. (Source: glstrade.com/Breaking Defense.com)
22 Jul 22. Textron launches Citation Longitude MPA. Textron has launched a new maritime patrol aircraft (MPA) based on the Cessna Citation Longitude business jet. Revealed at Farnborough International Airshow 2022 in July, the Citation Longitude has been equipped with a raft of specialist mission equipment for the MPA role, including duties such as maritime surveillance, search and rescue, border patrol, and fishery monitoring.
“Textron Aviation [which owns Cessna] has developed and had certified factory provisions for various mission equipment supporting maritime patrol and surveillance missions, maximising value for operations worldwide,” Bob Gibbs, vice-president, Special Mission Sales for Textron Aviation, was quoted as saying.
As noted by Textron, the MPA version of the twin-engined Citation Longitude is outfitted with a transmissive belly radome for maritime radars, a beyond line-of-sight (BLOS) datalink, a retractable electro-optical/infrared (EO/IR) sensor turret, and optional night-vision goggle (NVG)-compatible lighting. The aircraft has a 483 kt cruise speed, a service ceiling of 45,000 ft, as well as an eight-hour endurance and a 3,500n mile range (both including a 45-minute reserve). (Source: Janes)
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Blighter Surveillance Systems is a world-leading designer and manufacturer of best-in-class electronic-scanning ground-based radars, surveillance solutions and Counter-UAS systems. Blighter’s solid-state micro-Doppler products are deployed in more than 35 countries across the globe, delivering consistent all-weather security protection and wide area surveillance along borders, coastlines, at military bases and across critical infrastructure such as airports, oil and gas facilities and palaces. Blighter radars are also used to protect manoeuvre force missions when deployed on military land vehicles and trailers, and its world-beating multi-mode radar represents a great leap in threat detection technology and affordability for use in a variety of scenarios.
The Blighter range of radar products are used for detecting a variety of threats, from individuals on foot to land vehicles, boats, drones and low-flying aircraft at ranges of up to 32 km. Blighter Surveillance Systems employs 40 people and is located near Cambridge, UK, where it designs, produces and markets its range of unique patented solid-state radars. Blighter prides itself on being an engineer-led business committed to providing cost-effective and flexible solutions across the defence, critical infrastructure and national security markets.
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