Sponsored by Blighter Surveillance Systems
www.blighter.com
————————————————————————-
11 Sep 18. New Date for Owning The Night! Cranfield Defence and Security ‘Symposia at Shrivenham’ and Battlespace Publications, in association with UK Qioptiq presents:
Battlefield Surveillance – ‘Owning the Night’
Chepstow Racecourse,
Monmouthshire,
South Wales,
NP16 6BE
Wednesday 16thJanuary 2019
Event time: 10:00
NOTIFICATION AND CALL FOR PAPERS
Overview
The 2019 Battlespace Surveillance – Owning the Night symposium is scheduled to take place at Chepstow racecourse on Wednesday 16th January. This location offers the best combination of presentation and networking facilities, and outdoor vistas for demonstrating night vision equipment. The demonstrations under cover on the steps and hardstanding of the racecourse stand. Silks restaurant provides an excellent conference venue and has an expansive view of the course and park estate. The day will comprise a number of technology presentations and discussions, followed after nightfall by actual demonstrations including night driving and UAV technology. Onsite car parking is free and refreshments including a buffet lunch and evening supper are included.
Theme
The theme of the event is about helping the soldier not only to operate at night, but to manage the information and data that is available to him in order to improve decision-making in terms of both time and outcome. In particular, the conference will look to see how systems can deliver both better visibility and be fused with other information streams. It will also draw upon the findings of this year’s Army Warfighting Experiment. Owning the Night 2019 will give Defence, Police, Government and Industry a taste of the future and the ability to try the latest night vision devices from weapon sights through night driving aids to advanced target tracking and identification systems.
Call for Papers
If you wish to present a paper on a topic you feel is relevant to the theme, please submit an abstract of around 200 words by e-mail to Leanne no later than Friday 12 October 2018. Papers should be planned to take 20 minutes to present followed by 10 minutes for questions.
Displays, Demonstrations and Sponsorship
We offer companies, departments and establishments an opportunity to display their equipment or advertise their capability. There are also unique opportunities for sponsoring the event, which gives exclusive space and delegates packages, these are very limited. Once again, please e-mail or call Leanne directly on 01793 785648 to discuss your requirements further.
The Location
Chepstow racecourse is located just 5km beyond the M48 Severn Bridge and about 23km or 24 minutes’ drive from the M4/M32 junction at Bristol. The racecourse includes 400 acres of estate which is bounded by hills and parkland to the north, and parkland and the Wye Valley to the east. Within the interior of the racecourse is a service road that can be used for driving.
Silks restaurant provides an excellent conference venue with full height windows that look out over the course and parkland. 360 degree Virtual Tour,
There are numerous hotels in the area and further advice on prices and discounts can be sought from Leanne.
Lynn Cade
Event Organiser Symposia at Shrivenham
Defence Academy of the United Kingdom
Tel: +44 (0) 1793 78 (Mil 96161) 5773
web: www.symposiaatshrivenham.com
12 Sep 18. Kopin Corporation (NASDAQ: KOPN), a leading developer of innovative wearable computing technologies and solutions, today provided an update on two contracts providing components to the U.S. Defense Department. Kopin is the sole supplier of displays for the helmets worn by pilots in the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter jets. Kopin is currently shipping displays into the F-35 program and has received an additional purchase order for approximately $2.6m which will extend scheduled shipments for the period January 2019 through July 2019. The Company has also received a new order for approximately $4.2m related to the Family of Weapon Sights Individual (FWS-I) program. This order covers shipments for the period September 2018 through 2019. As previously announced, the Company achieved full qualification for the FWS-I program to provide a digital eyepiece module used in imaging rifle sights. (Source: BUSINESS WIRE)
12 Sep 18. New Steiner S-Series Battle Sights. The amount of gear that modern infantry soldier carry into the field has consistently grown over the years. The new Steiner S-Series battle sights ensure that the optics contribute more performance for less weight. These next-gen prism battle sights have it all — wider field of view, larger eye box and eye relief, faster acquisition, simple operation, unmatched optics and accuracy.
There are two sights in the series—S332 with 3x magnification and S432 with 4x magnification. Versatile enough to be utilized on carbines or machine guns, they provide shooters with a clear aiming point in all light conditions and all battlefield scenarios – from close quarter combat to medium range engagement or any situation in between with the ability to retarget instantaneously. The compact S332 and S442, 3x and 4x magnification respectively, give shooters mid-range supremacy with astonishing fields of view of 12.9 yards and 15.4 yards at 100 meters. An unrivaled 80 mm of eye relief allows getting on target even when perfect positioning is not possible.
A large eye box and quality glass provides brilliant clarity in all environments while simple rotary digital controls located on the side make adjusting windage, elevation and reticle brightness convenient. Both sights come with the easy-to-use rapid dot reticles that are available in 7.62 and 5.56 calibrations. Additional attachment points are provided for adding lasers and other accessories. The S-Series is designed to never fail. It is waterproof to 10 meters (33ft.), 100% fogproof (nitrogen filled) and can withstand up to 900 Gs of impact. Both sights are powered by one CR2032 battery.
The risk from lasers
Used in both tactical and strategic scenarios, lasers are an amazing tool which provide us with critical target information be it ranging or identification. While their utility is supreme, their use does come with some risk. Each device has a warning label that cautions the user against direct exposure to the eyes. In a piece for Scientific American Douglas A. Johnson, a senior health physicist and laser safety officer for Texas A&M University pointed out the dangers of direct exposure of laser radiation. Johnson, also a member of the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) for laser safety standards noted exposure to lasers could result in harm to the retina, the part of the eye where we perceive vision.
A solution to the problem
Lasers can be deployed on both sides of a conflict so the threat of having one cause eye damage is a very real, but new problem. Imagine a scenario where two combatant teams are lasing each other in an attempt to range each other’s location. The person using binoculars or a scope is particularly at risk for laser radiation exposure as the optic creates a direct funnel to the eye. Steiner was the first company in the world to develop a filter coating to protect users of optics from this type of exposure.
Steiner, the world leader in laser protection technology, worked with a broad selection of its military clients from around the world during research and development of this filter. They created the technology and then applied it to the inside of lenses in binoculars. This is optimal as it does not change the dimensions or weight of the optic. Plus, it also means the filter is will still function even if the external portion of the lens is damaged. This filter comes available in two levels of protection, LPF Gen II and LPF Gen III.
LPF Gen. II: Extreme protection level
Absolutely 100% reliable protection against any laser starting at 800 nm up to max. 1.600 nm (broad band protection). Gen. II laser protection is absorbing (not reflecting) any laser impact and offers the highest security level available on the market.
12 Sep 18. Supacat unveils HMT 600 `Coyote` in mobile Anti-UAV role – mounted with operationally proven AUDS Anti-UAV Defence System. UK special operations vehicle developer, Supacat, is displaying its HMT 600 tactical support vehicle, best known as `Coyote`, in an anti-UAV defence role for the first time at DVD. It will be installed with AUDS (Anti-UAV defence system), the only operationally proven counter drone system, supplied by Chess Dynamics and the AUDS Team.
In November an AUDS mounted `Coyote` will participate in `Autonomous Warrior- the 2018 Army Warfighting Experiment’, which will test how Robotic and Autonomous Systems (RAS) can be exploited in the Land Environment and assess their ability to reduce the danger to troops during combat.
“This is a further example of the flexibility of the HMT platform, which can be reconfigured to integrate the latest technology and enhance capability for our armed forces on the modern battlefield,” said Phil Applegarth, Head of Supacat.
The Coyote mounted AUDS is the latest collaboration in a long standing relationship between Supacat and fellow UK SME, Chess Dynamics, and demonstrates the agility of both UK companies in coming together to deliver battle ready solutions that fill a capability gap.
“We are both innovative, high technology British SMEs of similar size and geared to responding at speed to customer requirements. We both build world beating products in Britain that are successful abroad, making exports a central focus for our businesses”, said Applegarth.
AUDS is in service with the US forces in both its field mast configuration and has also been installed on Stryker vehicles. It has over 700 confirmed “kills” and has been on continuous combat operations since it deployed almost 2 years ago. It is designed to disrupt and neutralise unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), remotely piloted aircraft systems (RPAS) or unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) engaged in hostile airborne surveillance and potentially lethal activity.
11 Sep 18. EagleView Invests in PrecisionHawk. PrecisionHawk Inc., a provider of drone technology for the enterprise, has announced a partnership with EagleView, a provider of aerial imagery and data analytics for government, insurance and commercial sectors. Through this partnership with PrecisionHawk, EagleView will collect at-scale insurance claims imagery via drones by leveraging PrecisionHawk’s global network of drone pilots, Droners.io.
The addition of PrecisionHawk’s drone pilot network will benefit EagleView OnSite Solutions for remote claims inspection. EagleView OnSite virtual desk adjustment combines imagery from multiple sources, including drones, with a variety of data analytics and reports to enable adjusters to efficiently triage claims, virtually inspect properties from their desk, and ultimately close P&C (property and casualty) claims faster than ever before.
“EagleView OnSite provides insurance customers with all the tools necessary to settle claims without ever going into the field,” said Rishi Daga, CEO of EagleView. “As drones transform the way the insurance industry operates, making inspections safer, easier and more cost effective, EagleView reinforces its commitment to drone technology to digitize manual workflows.”
Virtual drone inspections for insurance claims address a challenging trend in the P&C insurance industry. Over the past 20 years, the number of experienced insurance adjusters has dropped dramatically, causing labor shortages especially after major storms hit. The demand for insurance adjusters is high, yet drone pilots add a new, untapped “labor force” to the equation.
Combining the EagleView OnSite virtual desk adjustment solution with PrecisionHawk will offer the insurance industry thousands of certified, trained drone pilots to perform high-quality insurance inspections at a competitive cost. With more than 25,000 claims processed by EagleView OnSite in the last 18 months, EagleView can help insurance carriers transform their property claim workflows and decrease cycle time by at least 40 percent to best serve their customers after a catastrophic natural disaster.
“Today, insurers are increasingly using drones for asset inspections, particularly when assessing claims. This practice is transforming the claims cycle, making it faster and safer for adjusters to observe, analyze and assess the damage associated with incidents ranging from one-off accidents to natural disasters,” said Michael Chasen, CEO of PrecisionHawk. “Our relationship with EagleView not only provides highly trained and certified drone pilots for its offerings, but also underscores the significant value drones deliver across industries and catalyzes the adoption of drone technology.”
EagleView also confirmed today its participation in PrecisionHawk’s latest round of $75m in funding.
“To further cement our relationship, EagleView is investing in PrecisionHawk through our participation in their latest round of financing,” stated Rishi Daga, EagleView CEO. “Combining the strength of EagleView OnSite Solutions and the expertise and scale of PrecisionHawk and Droners.io, both operationally and with financial investment, will certainly help insurance carriers deliver more value to their policyholders.” (Source: UAS VISION)
10 Sep 18. US clears further E-2D Hawkeye package for Japan. The U.S. has cleared a sale of up to nine E-2D Advanced Hawkeye aircraft for Japan, in a deal that could be worth as much as $3.14bn. The airborne early warning and control aircraft would represent an upgrade over the existing systems currently operated by Japan, and would work hand in hand with the Pacific nation’s incoming fleet of F-35 joint strike fighters to upgrade regional surveillance — a vital need for Tokyo given perceived threats from China and North Korea. Japan’s Air Self-Defense Force currently operates 13 older E-2C Hawkeyes and four E-767 aircraft in the role at its bases in Misawa and Hamamatsu, respectively. Japan is already under contract for four Hawkeye aircraft, with the most recent contract being signed last week; total procurement cost for Japan for the four E-2Ds is around $633m.
“This proposed sale will support the foreign policy and national security of the United States,” an announcement from the Defense Security Cooperation Agency stated. “Japan is one of the major political and economic powers in East Asia and the Western Pacific and is a key partner of the United States in ensuring peace and stability in that region. It is vital to U.S. national interests to assist Japan in developing and maintaining a strong and effective self-defense capability.”
In addition to the aircraft themselves, the proposed sale would include 28 T56-A-427A engines (18 installed and 10 spares); 12 Multifunction Information Distribution System/Joint Tactical Radio System (MIDS/JTRS) terminals (9 installed and 3 spares); 10 APY-9 Radars (9 installed and 1 spare), and other equipment. Northrop Grumman would be the prime contractor, and there are no offsets required in the deal.
DSCA announcements do not mean sales are final. The announcement serves as notification to Congress about the potential sale, which can be vetoed by the Senate; once cleared, negotiations between the customer and contractor can lead to changed quantities or dollar figures from the original announcement. However, the sale is expected to clear Congress easily, as arms sales for Japan enjoy widescale support between both Congress and the administration and the previous Hawkeye deals have had no issues. Per DSCA figures released this summer, Tokyo has $19.6bn in active foreign military sales cases, including the F-35, the Aegis combat system, the KC-46 refueling tanker, the Global Hawk and the Osprey MV-22 tilt-rotor aircraft and the Hawkeye. (Source: Defense News Early Bird/Defense News)
10 Sep 18. USAF Asks Raytheon to Upgrade Electro-Optical AN/DAS-4 Multispectral Sensor. U.S. Air Force electro-optical surveillance experts needed next-generation multispectral targeting sensor systems for the MQ-9 Reaper attack unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) and other reconnaissance aircraft. They found their solution from the Raytheon Co. Officials of the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, announced an $281.9m contract Friday to the Raytheon Space and Airborne Systemssegment in McKinney, Texas, to build and upgrade AN/DAS-4 multispectral targeting system (MTS) Model B high-definition and target location accuracy turrets. The AN/DAS-4 multispectral system offers four high-definition cameras covering five spectral bands; a three-color diode pump laser designator and rangefinder; laser spot search and track capability; automated sensor and laser bore sight alignment; three mode target tracker; and built in provisions for future growth, Raytheon officials say.
The contract calls for Raytheon to provide 127 AN/DAS-4 MTS-B high-definition and target-location accuracy turrets; 40 DAS-1A to DAS-4 turret unit upgrades; one lot of initial shop replaceable unit spares; one lot of capacity increase production support; and one lot of data.
The AN/DAS-4, the latest variant of the Raytheon MTS sensor family, incorporates greater fire control and target location accuracy technology than previous MTS versions for precise coordinates.
The AN/DAS-4 MTS enables mission commanders to use high-definition data from an airborne tactical sensor to identify and engage targets with much greater accuracy than previous-generation systems could, Raytheon officials say. This sensor system also is going aboard the U.S. Navy MQ-4C Triton long-range maritime patrol UAV.
This advanced electro-optical and infrared (EO/IR) system provides tracking and laser designation for the Griffin and Paveway missiles, as well as all tri-service and NATO laser-guided munitions. MTS sensors offer several fields of view, electronic zoom, and multimode video tracking. Multispectral sensors divide images and video into several light wavelengths — typically three to 15 spectral bands — across the electromagnetic spectrum, including light from frequencies beyond the visible light range such as infrared and ultra-violet. Dividing images into several different wavelengths enables the sensor to extract additional information the human eye fails to capture with its receptors for red, green, and blue. The L-3 Technologies Advanced Laser Systems Technology (ALST) segment in Orlando, Fla., is providing the eye-safe laser rangefinders for the Raytheon MTS. On this contract Raytheon will do the work in McKinney, Texas, and should be finished by September 2020. (Source: UAS VISION/Military Aerospace)
10 Sep 18. LVSII extends M2 HMG capability. The Lightweight Video Sight II (LVSII) developed for the General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems Light Weight Automatic Grenade Launcher allows operators to engage targets using the most sophisticated fire control system currently available for crew served weapons. This same technology can also be leveraged to enhance the fire control of other similar crew served weapons systems, such as the venerable M2A1 Heavy Machine Gun, enabling a quantum leap in targeting and precision previously unattainable with the conventional M2A1 platform.
The LVSII integrated fire control module gives the operator an ability to detect, recognise, identify and engage targets in both day and night conditions through day colour video and night thermal imaging cameras. A laser range finder enables the operator to quickly and accurately determine distance to target.
This information, combined with data from integrated sensors (air temperature, atmospheric pressure, sight pitch and sight cant) and various user inputs (such as ammunition type, range wind and cross wind) are fed into a ballistic solution algorithm and used to calculate the ballistic solution. The solution is presented to the operator as a corrected aim-point on the colour LCD flat panel, making first-round-on-target precision fires a practical reality.
This new capability not only increases the combat power of the M2A1, but also realises a vastly improved efficiency of fire, reducing ammunition expenditure and associated logistical loads on the ammunition supply chain. Integration of the LVSII fire control system with the M2A1 brings a much needed increase in operational performance to the heavy machine gun category and a next-generation capability upgrade to an existing in-service direct fire support weapon. (Source: Defence Connect)
10 Sep 18. CEA radar and Hawkei: The best of Aussie ingenuity. CEA Technologies showcased the first of type land-based prototype radar of their highly successful maritime-based Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA), which has been specifically designed for carriage by the Australian-designed and built Thales Hawkei vehicle, at Land Forces 2018. Completion of the prototype radar represents a significant milestone for Defence and Australian industry, and highlights the potential for Australian-developed technology to contribute to one of the world’s foremost short-range ground-based air defence systems. The prototype is the first step in the integration into the Raytheon/Kongsberg National Advanced Surface to Air Missile System (NASAMS) under Army’s new short-range ground-based air defence project. If successful, CEATAC will provide improved surveillance and defence against modern airborne threats.
“This is an Australian-developed radar on an Australian-developed vehicle, which is a great outcome for Defence industry,” Minister Pyne said. (Source: Defence Connect)
————————————————————————-
Blighter® Surveillance Systems (BSS) is a UK-based electronic-scanning radar and sensor solution provider delivering an integrated multi-sensor package to systems integrators comprising the Blighter electronic-scanning radars, cameras, thermal imagers, trackers and software solutions. Blighter radars combine patented solid-state Passive Electronic Scanning Array (PESA) technology with advanced Frequency Modulated Continuous Wave (FMCW) and Doppler processing to provide a robust and persistent surveillance capability. Blighter Surveillance Systems is a Plextek Group company, a leading British design house and technology innovator, and is based at Great Chesterford on the outskirts of Cambridge, England.
The Blighter electronic-scanning (e-scan) FMCW Doppler ground surveillance radar (GSR) is a unique patented product that provides robust intruder detection capabilities under the most difficult terrain and weather conditions. With no mechanical moving parts and 100% solid-state design, the Blighter radar family of products are extremely reliable and robust and require no routine maintenance for five years. The Blighter radar can operate over land and water rapidly searching for intruders as small a crawling person, kayaks and even low-flying objects. In its long-range modes the Blighter radar can rapidly scan an area in excess of 3,000 km² to ensure that intruders are detected, identified and intercepted before they reach critical areas.
————————————————————————