Sponsored by Blighter Surveillance Systems
www.blighter.com
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24 Oct 19. First two upgraded ATL2s delivered to the French Navy. The French procurement agency Direction Générale de l’Armement (DGA) has authorised the transfer of the first two upgraded Dassault Atlantique 2 (ATL2) maritime patrol aircraft (MPA) to the French Navy, the French ministry for armed forces announced on 24 October. Eighteen out of the 22 ATL2 MPAs operated by the French Navy will be upgraded to the new version called ‘Standard 6’. The upgrade is comprehensive and should allow the aircraft to operate until 2030. The upgrade programme includes the development of a new combat system called ‘Logiciel de traitement de l’information operationelle nouvelle génération’ (LOTI-NG). The system is used to establish a tactical picture based on data gathered by the aircrafts’ various sensors. (Source: IHS Jane’s)
24 Oct 19. Pixels on Target introduces VooDoo-S. VooDoo-S is the next generation of tactical thermal imaging. All in one hand, all under l 0-ounces. VooDoo-S is a multi-mission uncooled thermal imaging sight designed and optimized for small and medium caliber weapons as a true Clip-On. It also serves as a stand-alone sight, hand-held viewer, or helmet-mounted system. VooDoo-S provides the sharpest thermal images on the market, utilizing a shutterless 12-micron, 640 x 480 PIXELS ON TARGET core powered by a BAE Systems focal plane array and advanced thermal image processor.
VooDoo-S is mission-ready and includes a flip-to-side / QD mount that allows seamless transition from day optics to thermal sight while maintaining zero.
VooDoo-S features advanced ergonomic design for one-handed operation, tactile-positive feedback, and silent buttons that are easily manipulated while wearing gloves.
Note: VooDoo-S Contains Unique & Specific Enhanced Capabilities that are only available to the United State of America Department of Defense. Attempting to Acquire a VDS Unless Authorized will not be approved.
24 Oct 19. Pixels on Target introduces VooDoo-M. VooDoo-M is the next generation of tactical thermal imaging as a medium/long range sight. Feature rich, yet easy to use. All in one hand, all under 18-ounces. VooDoo-M is a multi-mission uncooled thermal imaging sight designed and optimized for small, medium and large caliber weapons as a true Clip-On. It also serves as a stand-alone sight, hand-held viewer, or Tri-Pod mounted. VooDoo-M provides the sharpest thermal images on the market, utilizing a true shutter-less 12-micron, 640 x 480 PIXELS ON TARGET Core powered by a BAE Systems focal plane array and Pixels on Target advanced thermal image processor.
VooDoo-M is mission-ready and includes a flip-to-side / QD mount that allows seamless transition from day optics to thermal sight while maintaining zero without bullet impact shift.
VooDoo-M features advanced ergonomic design for one-handed operation, tactile-positive feedback, and silent buttons that are easily manipulated while wearing gloves. Optional Visable & IR Laser Functionality.
Note: VooDoo-M Contains Unique & Specific Enhanced Capabilities that are only available to the United States of America Department of Defense. Attempting to Acquire a VDM Unless Authorized will not be approved.
23 Oct 19. Do microwave cones have a place in the counterdrone zone? With a cone pointed at the sky extending from an uncannily familiar barrel, the form factor of the microwave weapon was unmistakable.
The Time Integrated Gigawatt Electromagnetic Response, or TIGER, developed by Leidos, made its public debut at the 2019 meeting of the Association of the U.S. Army. Melding the stylistic choices of a 1950s sci-fi reel with color schemes and lived reality of the forever war, Leidos bills the TIGER as part of a balanced counterdrone diet.
High-powered microwaves, as a directed energy weapon, sit between the signals-interference of a jammer and the physical damage of lasers or bullets.
As the militaries of the world adjust to a range of new drone threats, finding the best way to stop them means choosing from a set of incomplete options. This can include everything from ramming interceptors, special drone detectors, and infantry-carried directional jamming antennas, to name a few. Drones, especially small and cheap drones, have spurred such a variety of responses because their small size, low cost and remotely directed nature complicate traditional anti-air defenses.
“This technology provides a non-kinetic defense against the urgent threat of small UASs attacking as a single unit or in swarms, and [it] can operate in concert with other countermeasures such as jamming, laser or kinetic systems,” said Billy Schaefer, directed energy business manager for Leidos.
While Schaefer highlighted how TIGER fits into a larger counterdrone picture, he also clarified the specific advantages the microwave weapon brings. Lasers have legal restrictions for use within the United States that might not apply to microwave weapons, though much of the domestic law around counter-drone systems remains to be written.
Microwaves are also an area-effect weapon, hitting multiple targets within range. Unlike lasers, which feature a longer range but also have to linger on a target until the beam does enough damage to incapacitate the drone, the microwave beam disrupts electronics as long as it is firing. Jammers can be hindered by short range, especially the infantry-portable jamming rifles, and will struggle against autonomous drones navigating without external control or GPS inputs.
Hence, the TIGER.
The prototype is built to be small and human-transportable, with the components breaking down to allow distribution over a team and to be set up in minutes. Leidos expects to test the prototype for the first time by the end of the year. The handle, barrel and tripod are all modeled after that of a .50 caliber machine gun, with the TIGER plugging into a battery box or another outlet. The goal is that, for the soldier using it, the device becomes as simple as point-and-shoot.
At present, TIGER is designed as an answer to Type 1 and Type 2 size drones, or roughly as large as hobbyist drones get. Schaeffer said it’s possible that TIGER could work on larger drones, but will need testing first.
While the Air Force has not specifically asked for an infantry-portable microwave turret, Leidos officials said it was developed internally based on past needs expressed by the Air Force Research Laboratory. Future TIGERs could be designed with infantry in mind or mounted on vehicles. Right now, the company is focused on proving the defeat mechanism works in the .50 caliber-esque form.
Similarly, Leidos could incorporate targeting sensors for the TIGER in the future once its proven it works as a point-and-shoot device.
This is still the earliest of early stages for the device. That it exists at all speaks to the growing demand for newer counterdrone tools, one that can adapt to modern threats and possibly even swarms. It is not future-proof, but it certainly looks like a lost future of war, transported to a test range in the middle of a southwestern desert.
(Source: C4ISR & Networks)
22 Oct 19. US Army awards SBIR contract to Princeton Infrared Technologies. The US Army has awarded a Phase II Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) contract to Princeton Infrared Technologies to fund the development of real-time on-board video for gun launched munitions. Princeton Infrared Technologies will use the Phase II SBIR funding to develop a small, cost-effective visible / short wave infrared (SWIR) camera for precision-guided gun launched munitions.
The camera is required to have low weight and power. The contract comes after the company demonstrated the technology in Phase I.
Princeton Infrared Technologies president Martin Ettenberg said: “The advantages of InGaAs SWIR imagers are their ability to image at long range through atmospheric obscurants better than visible cameras without a requirement for cooling.
“They support very high frame rates for negating the effects of image blur in very fast moving munitions. In prior programmes, we have demonstrated that InGaAs SWIR imagers survive gun launched mechanical shock which we will leverage in this development.”
The company stated that it will work on the development of a lightweight, uncooled 640×512 on 8μm pixel pitch SWIR seeker.
It will enable operators to precisely engage targets during day and night, in challenging environmental conditions.
The SWIR camera will provide the capability to image and track laser designators and pointers on the battlefield.
To be developed in a two-year period, the gun-hardened InGaAs SWIR camera will be installed on board a mortar launched projectile or small high-speed gun.
In May, Princeton Infrared Technologies was awarded a Phase II SBIR contract by the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) to develop detector arrays for coherent laser detection and ranging (LADAR). (Source: army-technology.com)
22 Oct 19. Raytheon Company (NYSE: RTN) delivered the first high-energy laser counter-unmanned aerial system to the U.S. Air Force earlier this month. The system will be deployed overseas as part of a year-long Air Force experiment to train operators and test the system’s effectiveness in real-world conditions. Raytheon’s high-energy laser weapon system uses an advanced variant of the company’s Multi-spectral Targeting System, an electro-optical/infrared sensor, to detect, identify and track rogue drones. Once targeted, the system engages the threat, neutralizing the UAS in a matter of seconds.
“Five years ago, few people worried about the drone threat,” said Roy Azevedo, president of Raytheon Space and Airborne Systems. “Now, we hear about attacks or incursions all the time. Our customers saw this coming and asked us to develop a ready-now counter-UAS capability. We did just that by going from the drawing board to delivery in less than 24 months.”
Raytheon installed its high-energy laser weapon system on a small all-terrain vehicle. On a single charge from a standard 220-volt outlet, the HELWS can deliver intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capability and dozens of precise laser shots. It can also be paired with a generator to provide a nearly infinite number of shots.
Raytheon Company is integrating multiple proven technologies to counter the unmanned aerial system threat across a wide range of scenarios – from commercial airports to forward operating bases to crowded stadiums. Raytheon’s portfolio of sensors, command and control systems, and kinetic and non-kinetic effectors covers all aspects of the UAS threat. To learn more, visit Raytheon.com/counter-uas.
21 Oct 19. Russia’s Ka-52M combat helicopter to receive AESA radar. Russia’s new Ka-52M combat helicopter will receive new targeting sensors instead of upgraded versions of present systems.
The new V006 Rezets (Cutter) active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar is being developed by the St Petersburg-based Zaslon company for the modernised helicopter. The test version of the radar installed in a Ka-52K helicopter was shown at the MAKS aerospace show held in Zhukovskiy close to Moscow on 27 August-1 September.
The Rezets radar for the Ka-52 has a fixed 900×300 mm AESA antenna with 640 transceiver modules. It can detect a group of tanks from 45 km, a railway bridge from 100 km, and a destroyer-class warship from 150 km, according to the manufacturer. In the air-to-air mode, it can detect a fighter aircraft with a radar cross section of 3 sq m from up to 50 km head-on and a hovering helicopter from 20 km. The Rezets radar weighs 130 kg, 10 kg less than the current Ka-52’s FH01 produced by Phazotron-NIIR of Moscow, and is air-cooled, with an air scoop for cooling seen on the helicopter’s nose fairing.
The OES-52 developed by Moscow-based NPK SPP will be the Ka-52M’s new electro-optical sight; present helicopters have a GOES-451 turret from UOMZ of Yekaterinburg. According to Russian media, the OES-52 is modeled on the Safran Strix targeting sensor for the Tiger attack helicopter. The OES-52 performs similar functions to the GOES-451 and houses five sensors: a thermal imaging camera, TV camera, laser rangefinder/designator, laser beam riding for anti-tank guided missiles, as well as a laser spot tracker. However, it weighs 177kg, compared with the GOES-451’s 220kg. (Source: IHS Jane’s)
17 Oct 19. AeroDefense drone detection system chosen by New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium. AeroDefense has announced that MetLife Stadium has selected the AeroDefense Drone Detection System, AirWarden™, to provide an early warning system for drones. MetLife Stadium is home to the New York Jets and New York Football Giants and hosts many large-scale events including concerts, international soccer, and college football games.
MetLife Stadium is in close proximity to Teterboro Airport where there are significant FAA regulations that govern flying a drone.
According to an AerDefense press release: “MetLife Stadium in 2017 began to evaluate many different types of drone detection systems, including radar, radio frequency (RF), acoustic, and camera systems.
“RF is currently the best solution to identify where the drone and operator are, and the only one that we found that can detect the drone and controller when the RF connection is first established,” said Daniel DeLorenzi, Vice President Security & Safety Services at MetLife Stadium. “Therefore, it’s possible that we can detect the drone before it even takes off.”
“Once a controller or drone is detected, AirWarden notifies MetLife Stadium security staff so they can respond immediately. The system has been extensively tested in a stadium environment to ensure reliable detection and a low false-positive rate,” says the company. https://aerodefense.tech/airwarden-drone-detection-system (Source: www.unmannedairspace.info)
21 Oct 19. US completes operational transition from P-3C to P-8A. The US Navy (USN) has completed its operational transition from the Lockheed P-3C Orion to the Boeing P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft, the service has announced.
The final deployment for the P-3C concluded on 9 October with the return of Patrol Squadron (VP) 40 ‘Fighting Marlins’ to its homebase at Naval Air Station (NAS) Whidbey Island. With its welcome home ceremony, VP 40 brought to an end more than 60 years of operational service by the P-3.
The USN has a programme of record of 117 P-8A aircraft (compared to 250 P-3Cs), of which 72 will be stationed at NAS Jacksonville and 45 at NAS Whidbey Island.
Seven East Coast squadrons are located at NAS Jacksonville in Florida, with six to be located at NAS Whidbey Island (VP 40 will complete the process in the coming months). While the USN plans to transition over to the P-8A for all its VPs by the end of 2020, a number of P-3Cs may remain in service after the date with the Special Projects Patrol Squadron.
Squadrons located at Wing 11, NAS Jacksonville, comprise VP-30 responsible for P-8A and Northrop Grumman MQ-4C Triton unmanned aerial vehicle training, with P-8A operational units made up of VP-16, VP-5, VP-45, VP-8, VP-10, and VP-26. Those located at Wing 10, NAS Whidbey Island, comprise VP-4, VP-47, VP-9, VP-1, VP-40, and VP-46. (Source: IHS Jane’s)
15 Oct 19. India’s Border Security Force issues tender for counter-UAS system. India’s Border Security Force (BSF) has issued a tender for counter-UAS system that can detect and destroy a lone or swarm of drones.
According to the tender document the system should be ground and vehicle based and comprise a radar, RF receiver, electro optic sensor, jammer and system controller. The system should be able to track multiple UAVs and be capable of neutralising the objects by jamming radio and GPS frequency links. The radar must have a 360 degree capability and a tracking accuracy of 10m at 10km; the RF receiver must operate in detection frequency bands 20MHz to 8GHz with a detection time of 10 seconds; the electro optic sensor comprises a day/night camera; the jammer must comprise GPS jamming time within 10seconds of detection and the system controller includes a MIL-STD 15.6 inch display.
The system “should be capable of real time scan, detect, track and neutralis(ing) flying objects (like multi copters, fixed wing UAVs and radio controlled UAVs in different categories in specified ranges) in 360 degrees…system should be scalable and support open architecture to integrate additional sensors like acoustic sensors, Lidar etc for future enhancement/upgrades.” For more information
http://bsf.nic.in/doc/tenders/tdr649.pdf (Source: www.unmannedairspace.info)
21 Oct 19. Applied Technology Launches Anti-Drone Laser Weapon. ATA unveiled LOCUST, a Low-Cost Counter-Unmanned Aerial System for Targeting, at the 2019 Counter UAS Summit in August and showcased LOCUST at AUSA’s Annual Meeting and Exposition, October 14-16, 2019 in Washington D.C.. LOCUST will also be participating in U.S. government field experiments in October and November. LOCUST was designed from the ground-up to provide a capable and cost effective defense against low cost asymmetric unmanned aerial system (UAS) threats. LOCUST detects and identifies UAS threats using active and passive radio frequency (RF) and electro-optical infrared (EOIR) sensor subsystems, and it negates the threats using intelligent electronic attack (EA) and high energy laser (HEL) effectors.
Each affordable LOCUST delivers a layered detection and identification capability in a fixed emplacement configuration or on a mobile platform with HEL shoot-on-the-move capability. LOCUST is designed for the counter UAS mission, and the technologies and approach are scalable to provide a compact, rugged, and modular multi-mission system to conduct more effective and efficient detection, identification, management, and mitigation of Group 1 and Group 2 UAS threats. LOCUST is designed for installation on military or commercial platforms to defeat UAS and intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) threats, as well as provide ISR capability. It can be rapidly inserted into integrated battle management, command, and control (BMC2) architectures as well.
“Applying ATA’s technical strengths to help protect our military and civilians from the rapidly emerging threats of small unmanned aerial systems is an endeavour that builds on our heritage and is pivotal to ATA’s future aspirations for high-tech solutions and manufacturing,” said ATA President Dan Gillings.
LOCUST leverages over 30 years of experience providing precision pointing, tracking, and beam and fire control on laser weapon programs. ATA, in business since 1975, is an advanced technology company specializing in precision stabilization, tracking, pointing, and controls for optical systems including HEL systems and optical communications systems. ATA is an ISO 9001 certified quality organization. (Source: UAS VISION)
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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.
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