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24 Nov 16. Camcopter Tests New COMINT Payload. Schiebel and Israel Aerospace Industries’ Elta subsidiary are performing demonstrations of the former’s Camcopter S-100 unmanned air vehicle equipped with the ELK-7065 3D HF communications intelligence (COMINT) payload.
According to Igo Licht, Elta’s vice-president of marketing and sales, the payload enables quick detection and identification of high frequency signals, creating an electronic order of battle picture and accurate geolocation.
Licht says the special antenna installed in the payload allows it to locate targets and listen to their communications systems.
He adds that the combination of this type of UAV with an HF COMINT payload is unique, and solves operational problems that armed forces and law enforcement agencies have in wanting to locate a target by communication emissions while verifying it by listening to the transmissions.
Licht says the combination of the rotary UAV and the COMINT payload will create a lot of interest, and there are already some potential customers for the package. (Source: UAS VISION/Flightglobal)
23 Nov 16. The term ‘land equipment’ is broad, extending to the equipment utilised to map and gain an educated awareness of foreign territory. Equipment applications are now required to work together to better inform the commander and personnel in the field. Defence writer Domhnall Macinnes caught up with Tony Wheeler, Sales Manager, Eastern Europe and Key UK Accounts at Luciad, to learn more about the integral role of Shared Situational Awareness.
Tony Wheeler, Sales Manager for Eastern Europe and Key UK Accounts at international high-tech software company Luciad, is a recently retired RAF Wing Commander and pilot with many years’ experience in the development, deployment and exploitation of C4ISTAR – Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Information/Intelligence, Surveillance, Targeting Acquisition and Reconnaissance – capabilities.
C4ISTAR solutions amalgamate the systems utilised by soldiers in the field to help them develop a better awareness of their environment and provide commanding officers with the information they need to inform their tactical decision-making.
Before leaving the RAF Mr Wheeler helped establish a Ministry of Defence battle lab, the C2BL, at Shrivenham. The core initial function of the team’s work was to help the MOD bring into service and best exploit C4ISTAR systems. Mr Wheeler became involved in particular with the Common Operating Picture (COP), which led to his involvement with Luciad. The MOD selected NATO’s Integrated Command & Control (ICC) software as its joint COP capability to provide the rich map-based information to support the commander’s decision making.
Luciad provides the key components to end solutions and at the heart of the ICC is LuciadMap, an Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) and NATO standards-based capability which exploits C4ISTAR services.
During Mr Wheeler’s time at the C2 Battle Lab, he managed the delivery of the UK modification to the ICC system to meet UK COP needs; the system was then deployed in Afghanistan. The team also worked on other systems.
Mr Wheeler explained: “We worked on the Tactical Ground Reporting system (TIGR), a US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) system. It was designed for the Army and for use by Army personnel on patrol, initially in Iraq and subsequently in Afghanistan. At the C2BL we suggested changes to the TIGR system and these were incorporated into TIGR for UK and US forces, and improved the exchange of key information between systems.
“British Army personnel developed overlays and recorded information on TIGR, ICC and other C4ISTAR system and these were exchanged with the Joint Automated Deep Operations Coordination System (JADOCS). The systems had to present the same (common) informat