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16 Jul 14. Thales debuts Talios pod. Thales has released additional details for their new Thales Optronique targeting pod, known as Pod de Désignation Laser de Nouvelle Génération (PDL NG) for the French Air Force and has given it the company name Talios, at the Farnborough International Airshow 2014. Designed as a follow-on to its Damocles targeting pod, the open architecture and sensor payload allow Talios to operate as a multi-function pod, dealing with target acquisition and designation through to non-traditional ISR (intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance) tasks. It will, said General Bruno Depardon (rtd), product line manager for airborne optronics at the company, “deliver the right information at the right time for all conflicts”.(Source: IHS Jane’s)
22 Jul 14. Boeing on July 17 delivered on schedule the first of four upgraded French Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) aircraft. The upgraded aircraft will increase the fleet’s surveillance, communications and battle management capabilities. The Mid-Life Upgrade – the largest set of modifications to AWACS aircraft for France – will provide the crew with more actionable information and better situational awareness and increase mission effectiveness and efficiencies.
“The focus, commitment and hard work among Boeing, Air France Industries and French and U.S. government teams were key in achieving this milestone on schedule,” said Steve Swanz, French AWACS program manager for Boeing. Delivery followed ground and flight tests at Avord Air Force Base and qualification by France’s Direction Générale de l’Armement.
“The French Mid-Life Upgrade program is a model for enhancing intelligence and surveillance capability within the armed forces. This program also demonstrates Boeing’s enduring commitment in providing the French Air Force with a superior air battle management capability,” said Yves Galland, president of Boeing France. Modifications to the other three French AWACS aircraft are scheduled for completion by the third quarter of 2016.
17 Jul 14. Chemring and GD partner to develop real-time video intelligence system. Chemring Technology Solutions has collaborated with General Dynamics (GD) Mediaware to develop a next-generation tactical video exploitation system. The collaboration combines Chemring’s visual target analysis (VTA) 2.0 system, with GD’s digital video exploitation (D-VEX) system to track vehicles and personnel in real-time using video streams from manned or unmanned aircraft. The new system is expected to automatically alert operators to moving vehicles and personnel in high-pressure motion intelligence gathering and analysis environments. Chemring Technology Solutions product manager Martin Ward said: “Chemring Technology Solutions’ collaboration with General Dynamics Mediaware’s D-VEX’s intelligent video technology will further enable surveillance platform owners to extract significant value from the large volumes of full motion video captured from sensors deployed in the field.” General Dynamics Mediaware chief technology officer Kevin Moore said: “Chemring Technology Solutions’ unique approach in VTA 2.0 gives D-VEX the enhanced ability to track and map vehicle and personnel movement, providing the operators and analysts who are working under extreme pressure with mission-critical actionable intelligence in near real-time.” D-VEX is a portable video exploitation system designed to help troops in capturing and management of full motion video (FMV) from airborne intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) platforms on the battlefield. As well as enabling the operators export all recorded metadata to enterprise FMV systems, D-VEX also allows for detailed forensic analysis due to its comprehensive search and mark-up capabilities. The combination with Chemring’s moving target indicator