09 Mar 06. ‘Lakshya’, the specially built Pilotless Target Aircraft (PTA), was successfully test flown from the Integrated Test Range (ITR) at Chandipur-on-Sea, near Balasore, Orissa. ‘Lakshya’ perform discreet aerial operation in the battlefield, including target acquisition, has been designed by Aeronautical Developmental Establishment, Bangalore. The microlight, six-feet long, sub-sonic re-usable aerial target system is fitted with a digitally controlled engine that can be operated from the ground with a remote.
06 Mar 06. Cyber Defense Systems, Inc. has been chosen as Sub-Prime Contractor on a Navy UAV development contract, that if fully funded would be valued at about $800,000 in revenues to the Company over the next twelve months. On this UAV development contract, Cyber Defense Systems is the sub-prime contractor to WinTec Arrowmaker, Inc. of Fort Washington, Md. WinTec has been awarded the $5.05m prime contract on a cost-plus-fixed-fee indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract basis. Under this contract, WinTec, with Cyber Defense as sub, will provide technical and engineering services in support of the Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division’s (NAWCAD) Special Communication Requirements Division. The scope of this contract includes concept evolution, design, development, integration, test and evaluation, maintenance, logistics, and life-cycle support of Navy, Army, Air Force, Joint Services, Marine Corps, and other agency communication-electronic platforms, equipment, systems, subsystems, and unmanned vehicle systems. Most of the work on this contract will be performed in Tampa, Fla. (about 82 percent), with the remaining work to be completed at NAWCAD, Patuxent River, St. Inigoes, Md.
09 Mar 06. Optical Alchemy, Inc.’s KJ product line delivers multi-mission, Reconnaissance, Surveillance, and Target Acquisition (RSTA) Laser Designation capabilities in a single 18-pound gimbaled turret to meet the urgent surveillance and mission needs of the warfighter. In RSTA mode, targets are detected, recognized and tracked. Optical Alchemy is uniquely positioned to address RSTA and other battlefield needs as the company’s KJ product line enables commanders and warfighters in the field to accomplish missions that cannot be served using pan/tilt and gyro-stabilized sensor products used today. Mid-sized UAVs need to sense and relay multiple types of information (e.g., geolocation, time, coordinates of the target of interest, other information embedded in the image stream)- not just television images- between soldiers on the ground and their commanders. Pan/tilt sensors aim cameras or others sensors at a target but do not automatically remain fixed on a target when the UAV moves, requiring the operator to constantly readjust the sensors to hold a view or image of the target. Gyro-stabilized sensors stay fixed on target while the UAV moves; however, these sensors cannot lock onto the target and provide the exact coordinates of the target in view. Optical Alchemy’s inertially referenced sensors deliver high-precision target coordinates, in a GPS coordinates system, providing soldiers with geospatial information and the exact coordinates of the target’s location.
14 Mar 06. Athena Technologies’ GuideStar(TM) GS-211 HG, a compact, integrated inertial navigation system, global positioning system (INS/GPS) and air data sensor suite, will provide dual back-up navigation capabilities for the new US Army Extended Range/Multi-Purpose (ER/MP) UAV. General Atomics Aeronautical Systems’ (GA-ASI’s) Warrior(TM) is the next generation high-performance UAV, derived from the combat-proven Predator(R) unmanned aircraft system. Flying up to 29,000 feet, the Warrior will provide long-endurance surveillance, communications relay, and weapons delivery missions, with more than double the weapons capacity of Predator. Athena’s proven GuideStar, with 60,000+ cumulative flight hours in Operation Iraqi Freedom, will pr