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08 Feb 18. Mystery surrounds Algeria’s three ISR Gulfstream 550s. Mystery continues to surround the Algerian Air Force’s USD1.1bn deal for three intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR)-configured Gulfstream 550 aircraft. The contract, brokered by the Algerian armed forces’ Joint Chief of Staff, General Ahmed Gaid Salah, was signed with aerospace giant Raytheon in late 2015, yet more than two years later the work appears to have stalled. Raytheon outsourced the Algerian business to US-owned Field Aerospace, based at Will Rogers World Airport in Oklahoma. This is where the three Gulfstream 550s – N543RN (serial number 5543), N546RN (5546), and N550RN (5550; ex-N750GA) – are currently housed. Field’s past work has involved the KC-10 and KC-135 tankers operated by the US Air Force (USAF), but the company also states on its website it is an ISR systems integrator. (Source: IHS Jane’s)
08 Feb 18. US Coast Guard Evaluates ScanEagle Ocean Surface Anomaly Detector Payload. The US Coast Guard (USCG) is assessing and evaluating a payload on its fleet of Insitu ScanEagle tactical unmanned aerial systems (UASs) that takes photos of the ocean surface, checks for anomalies, and alerts the aircraft’s operator for further investigation, according to a key official.
Commander James O’Mara, USCG cutter Stratton operations officer, told Jane’s in a recent interview that the payload’s programme uses an algorithm to detect the anomaly before sending the operator a message, similar to an email that provides a photo and options for further investigation. The payload is one of three that the USCG is assessing and evaluating as part of a ScanEagle trial period before the coast guard holds a competition to acquire small UAS services for its entire fleet of cutters.
Cmdr O’Mara said the USCG is focusing on visual target detection and cueing for its current mission. He said this incorporates a number of tasks, such as looking at a vessel or target of interest and determining what is on board, how many people or engines, or, perhaps, contraband jettisoned. Cmdr O’Mara said image fidelity is crucial for this mission so the USCG can provide prosecutors with physical evidence for criminal prosecutions.
Unlike his US Air Force (USAF) counterparts, Cmdr O’Mara said the coast guard does not have issues with processing all the data coming in from its UAS. He said this is for two reasons, one being that the USCG is focused solely on visual cueing, for now, and secondly that the coast guard is in the middle of the ocean looking for isolated targets, as opposed to the USAF patrolling data-rich areas like Iraq or Afghanistan.
(Source: UAS VISION/Jane’s 360)
08 Feb 18. 17″ Military Grade Panel PC Features With 1000-nits High Brightness and a Fully IP67 Rated Rugged Enclosure Acnodes Corporation introduces the PCM8017, a 17″ military grade panel PC powered by 6th generation Core i7-6600U 2.6GHz CPU in a fully IP67 rated rugged enclosure. PCM8017 also meet Mil-Std-810G with -20 to 60 degree C wide range working temperature. The fully IP67 rated enclosure supports MIL-STD-810G in shock, vibration, humidity, low and high temperatures. With the fully IP67 protection and MIL-STD-810G standard, PCM8017 provides durability and reliability in harsh environment. Furthermore, PCM8017’s monitor displays 1280 x 1024 with LED backlight. Moreover, with 1000-nits high brightness and 1000:1 contrast ratio, PCM8017 also provides 16.7M in colors and viewing Angle as 160′(H)/ 130′(V). Additionally, PCM8017 offers 5-wire resistive type touch screen monitor with EMI filter.
On the other hand, PCM8017 comes with 6th generation Core i7-6600U 2.6GHz CPU with DDR4 SO-DIMM 8GB for memory slot and SoC integrated chipset. Furthermore, the dimension measures at 17.72″(W) x 2.85″(D) x 15.12″(H) and weight at 25.35 lbs. Next, the