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18 Dec 13. Cassidian’s new radar for the German Navy’s F125 class frigates has demonstrated its particular reconnaissance and surveillance capabilities during tests in the North Sea and Baltic Sea and during factory acceptance tests. In two test series of several weeks, the TRS-4D naval radar showed an extraordinarily high precision, particularly when detecting small targets such as UAVs, guided missiles and periscopes. Subsequently, the customer confirmed the system’s capabilities during the factory acceptance test at Cassidian’s Ulm location. At the beginning of the test series, which ran for over a year, the radar underwent functional tests on the beach, which were carried out by the Bundeswehr Technical Centre No. 71 in Surendorf. Next year, the first system is planned to be integrated into the “Baden-Württemberg” lead ship. The new radar’s system concept allows the advantages of AESA technology (Active Electronically Scanned Array) to also be fully exploited for small and medium-sized ships, for the first time. Thanks to the use of multiple independent emitters in its antenna, this system is more accurate and faster than conventional radars, allowing it to tackle a wider-than-ever range of targets, e.g. for protection against asymmetric attacks. The system architecture is designed so that the radar system’s capabilities can easily be extended, through software updates. For the F125 frigates, the system will be deployed in a version with four fixed arrays. Using electronically controlled beams, these planar arrays are able to track individual targets much more accurately than mechanically rotating antennas, whose update rate depends on their rotational speed. The four F125 frigates of the “Baden-Württemberg” class should replace the German Navy’s F122 “Bremen” class ships from 2016. (Source: ASD Network)
10 Dec 13. GD and Colt Canada offer Rifle-Centric Soldier System using Smartphone Technology. General Dynamics Canada and Colt Canada are working together to network Colt’s Sniper (Soldier) Weapon & Observer Reconnaissance Devices (SWORD) system, which integrates weapon-mounted surveillance and targeting devices with ruggedized smartphone-like technology. The SWORD system brings critical situational-awareness information directly to the solider via his weapon; it will be offered as an alternative to radio-centric individual soldier systems.
“SWORD makes sense as an integrated soldier system,” says Jeff MacLeod, General Manager, Colt Canada. “By combining modern smartphone technology with weapon-mounted scopes and laser rangefinders, soldiers have all the information they need, literally at their fingertips. SWORD is not about simply delivering a computer or a display to soldiers; it delivers an entirely new capability centered on the rifle.”
“Cooperation between Colt and General Dynamics Canada builds on the strengths of both companies,” says David Ibbetson, Vice President, General Dynamics C4 Systems International. “Colt has worldwide expertise in developing and delivering rifles, while General Dynamics has the networking experience needed to connect individual soldiers. The combined solution gives soldiers the smartphone capability they have been asking for in the form of an Android-networked rifle.”
Based on commercial off-the-shelf components, the SWORD system provides power, data and navigation infrastructure within the weapon, including GPS and inertial navigation for GPS-denied situations. Enhanced with modern smartphone technology and the ability to host battle management applications, these Android-networked rifles will deliver the information soldiers need to execute missions safely and successfully. (Source: ASD Network)
25 Nov 13. (Modified from Jul. 13.) The USAF Theatre Battle Control Division has issued a solicitation for contract award on a limited comp