Sep 02, 2010, post by Artur Nowak
Addvalue Communications Pte Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of SGX Mainboard-listed Addvalue Technologies Ltd (“Addvalue”) announced today that Globe Wireless, which serves over 550 ship operators with over 10,000 ships using its products and services, has officially launched Globe iFusion service to the maritime industry.
Globe iFusion is the next generation of maritime satellite communications – a solution designed specifically for IP satellite systems that fully integrates shipboard satellite communications, shoreside administrative control, GSM voice and data, and a comprehensive crew communications service. Addvalue is proud to have partnered with Globe Wireless in the design and development of the Globe i250, the shipboard component of iFusion. Integrated into the Globe i250 is the FleetBroadband technology developed by Addvalue. The system is highly integrated, versatile and configurable to provide a total communication solution.
The Globe i250 allows the user to make voice calls using a GSM handset or norma fixed-line telephone, send/receive email and fax, browse the Internet, and up/down load files. It also allows users to access Globe Wireless commercial applications on the system. The total solution provided by this new Globe i250 system is a completely new way for shipping companies to manage communication with their ships.
Sep 02, 2010, post by Artur Nowak
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Losing a half-billion dollar contract award will not discourage Lockheed Martin from continuing to pursue hybrid airships as a future business.
The company’s advanced development programmes (ADP) division instead has released a new marketing campaign, with a promotional video posted on YouTube on 24 August revealing new details about the company’s technology.
Lockheed systems engineer Bob Ruszkowski confirms the company “absolutely” sees opportunities for new business, despite losing a competition for a $517 million contract from the US Army in June.
A Northrop Grumman/Hybrid Air Vehicles team instead won the deal to build the long-endurance multi-intelligence vehicle (LEMV), for deployment to Afghanistan in early 2012.
“We are exploring opportunities for hybrid airships beyond LEMV,” Ruszkowski says.
Lockheed lost the contract despite investing significantly in hybrid airship technology. The ADP, or Skunk Works, division manufactured a demonstrator aircraft called the P791, which first flew in January 2006.
“The P791 demonstration aircraft still exists. It’s still in our hangar. It’s available to use again for other demonstrations,” Ruszkowski says. “We learned quite a bit from it, and we’re exploring other opportunities for hybrid airships.”
In the new video, P791 programme manager Bob Boyd and other programme officials describe details of the hybrid airship technology.
The P791 is described as guided by a two-axis thrust vectoring system that is steered by fly-by-wire flight controls. The tri-hull airship is built using a “high-strength, lightweight woven material that’s heat-sealed together”, Lockheed says.
Lockheed’s hybrid airship also incorporates an air cushion landing system with four pads, which both soften landings and “grab” the ground so no mooring equipment is required.
The company plans to offer a hybrid airship as both a surveillance and cargo aircraft. In the latter configuration, new versions of the technology scaled up to seven times its current size could haul as many as 300 freight containers at a time, Lockheed says.
The video also offers hints that Lockheed sees an opportunity with hybrid airships to break into the commercial aircraft market for the first time since the early 1990s. Its future airships will be designed to offer availability rates on a par with commercial aircraft, of between 95 and 99%, the company says.
Sep 02, 2010, post by Artur Nowak
TiaLinx, Inc., a developer of miniaturized mm-wave radars with integrated radio and antenna arrays, today announced the launch of the Eagle45-W, a hands-free precision Sense-Through-the-Wall Imager.
The lightweight, ultra-wideband (UWB), multi-Gigahertz RF imager requires only limited use of hands and is operated through a miniaturized display. Through the software controlled interface, which is integrated into the wearable imager, the hands are free for performing mission-critical tasks. The user is not distracted by searching for the control functions. The display unit can be mounted on a pair of glasses or goggles for ease-of-use.
The lightweight arm-mounted scanner unit transmits wideband pulses (nano-sec) that are directional and can penetrate concrete walls greater than 16″ of thickness. In the receiver, a pulse detector circuit is employed to capture the reflections from potential targets. Amplitude and delay information are then extracted and processed in an integrated signal processor. Advanced signal and image processing algorithms are employed to detect moving targets or the breathing pattern of a person.
“Reduced weight, increased battery life, enhanced user-friendly interface, and providing improved visual perception were the key factors in the design of the Eagle45-W,” commented Dr. Fred Mohamadi, Founder and CEO of TiaLinx. “The disruptive Sense-Through-the-Wall imaging technology from TiaLinx assists the user by enhanced situational awareness and minimizes the Sense-to-Reaction time significantly. The combination of the two functions is essential for successful fielding in the near future. Further modifications are ongoing to put the user out of harm’s way completely by extending the range through remote sensing.”
Sep 02, 2010, post by Artur Nowak
Three satellites of the GLONASS global navigation system were put successfully on the designated orbit.
“The launch vehicle Proton-M, which was blasted off at 4.53 am Moscow time on Thursday from the Baikonur spaceport by the upper stage rocket DM within a period between 8.26 am and 9.12 am Moscow time put three satellites GLONASS-M on the designated orbit,” spokesman for the Space Troops Lieut. Col. Alexei Zolotukhin told Itar-Tass. “The separation of satellites was made as scheduled. The stable communication with the satellites was established and is being maintained. The satellite onboard systems are operating well,” he noted.
“The placement of each of three satellites in the designated point of the orbit will be made thanks to the engine switch-on,” a source in the Federal Space Agency (Roskosmos) said. “New satellites should be made operational fully for 45 days since the launch moment,” the source said. The satellites will operate on the circular orbits at an altitude of 19,100 kilometers and with the inclination angle of 64.8 degrees.
The Thursday launch is seeking to build up the GLONASS orbital grouping. According to the Machine Building Central Research Institute, “The orbital grouping included 23 satellites, 21 of which on the designated mission and two in the orbital reserve” as of September 1, 2010.
At least 18 operational satellites, 24 satellites on the global scale, are needed for the constant GLONASS signal on all the territory of Russia.
The launch was specific, because the GLONASS orbital grouping includes 26 satellites for the first time in the last few years. However, the target level of 24 operational satellites has not been reached yet. “Two satellites are planned to be made operational and one satellite will be added to the orbital reserve group” 45 days after the launch, the Roskosmos source said. Thus, 23 satellites will be used on their designated mission and three satellites will make up the orbital reserve by October 17.
The GLONASS satellites will be placed on the orbits in three projections taken apart in 120 degrees from each other, at least eight satellites in each projection. The payload of the satellite GLONASS-M is 1,415 kilograms. Its service life is seven years.
The civil GLONASS satellites are designed to provide the constant navigation signal, which can detect the highly accurate coordinates and the speed of any moving object equipped with GLONASS receivers. The GLONASS orbital grouping resolves the missions for Russian security.
The GLONASS system was initially put into operation in the interest of the Defence Ministry in September 1993 with the limited orbital grouping of 12 satellites. In December 1995 the orbital grouping was deployed to the scheduled strength of 24 satellites, however it was cut again due to underfinancing. On February 18, 1999, the Russian president decreed the GLONASS system as a dual-purpose system. In December 2005 Vladimir Putin instructed Roskosmos and the Defence Ministry to speed up the restoration of the GLONASS orbital grouping.
Before the end of 2010 Roskosmos is planning to orbit four more navigation satellites GLONASS-M and one new-generation satellite GLONASS-K.
Sep 02, 2010, post by Artur Nowak
Russia has signed a “historic” contract to deliver Mi-17 helicopter to Argentina, a member of a Russian delegation said on Wednesday according to a report from Russian news agency RIA Novosti.
The operation involves two Mi-17 multipurpose helicopters mainly for Antarctic logistics
“The contract provides for the delivery of two Mi-17 helicopters to the Argentine Air Force,” the official said, adding that the contract was signed Tuesday evening at the Ministry of Defence in Buenos Aires.
The sale is the first time the Argentine military has bought Russian military hardware, he said.
“Until now there has been no military-technical cooperation between Russia and Argentina,” he added.
Vyacheslav Davidenko, spokesman for Russian state arms exporter Rosoboronexport, confirmed the contract.
According to Argentine Defence sources the multipurpose helicopters are to be used for logistic and rescue operations in Antarctic bases.
The Mi-17 helicopters have capacity to transport 26 passengers and 5 tons of external load. They have floaters for emergency water-landing, cargo cranes for upload and download in the deck of vessels and supplementary tanks for long-range operations.
The Ministry of Defence said the purchase of the helicopters was done as a “government to government” contract and includes the training of the crew and mechanics. The helicopters will arrive in Argentina in September 2011.
Sep 02, 2010, post by Artur Nowak
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Raytheon Co.’s winning bid over Alliant Techsystems Inc. to continue development and possible production of the satellite-guided Excalibur artillery shell is undercut by the Army’s decision to shrink the program almost 80 percent, according to new figures.
The program has been reduced to 6,264 shells from 30,000, said Audra Calloway, an Army spokeswoman. That will save $800 million in production costs over the program’s life, or $400 million through 2016, she said.
Raytheon’s mixed news shows the budget risks companies face as the US combat mission in Iraq changes to an advise-and-assist role, said Loren Thompson, a defense analyst for the Lexington Institute in Arlington, Va.
“When wars end, demand for munitions plummets,’’ he said. “Even companies that win competitions have to wonder about the profitability.’’
Waltham-based Raytheon, the fifth-largest US defense contractor, is the incumbent producer and already has assembled more than 2,800 Excaliburs. It received a $23 million contract Aug. 25 to continue final projectile design and, if successful, produce under three contract options as many as 3,430 weapons after passing qualification tests. The contracts may be worth about $160 million, Calloway said.
“I don’t think it would be appropriate to comment in this case,’’ Jaclyn Gutmann, a spokeswoman for Raytheon, said in an e-mail. “The Army’s decision to reduce their procurement numbers is not something Raytheon can affect or control.’’
Defense Secretary Robert Gates seeks savings of $100 billion over five years. The Army wants to save $10 billion through 2016.
Most of what Gates intends to reduce is overhead, excess personnel, and redundant practices, transferring the savings into weapons and personnel programs.
Still, the Excalibur decision indicates weapons systems are not off the table, Thompson said.
www.boston.com
Sep 02, 2010, post by Artur Nowak
After successful development of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s (DARPA) daytime persistent surveillance system, BAE Systems has been awarded an additional $49.9 million contract to develop the advanced processor for the agency’s nighttime, infrared system – the Autonomous Real-time Ground Ubiquitous Surveillance — Infrared (ARGUS-IR).
ARGUS-IR provides real-time, high-resolution, nighttime video surveillance capability for U.S. combat forces for detecting, locating, tracking and monitoring events on battlefields and in urban areas. The system is being developed for compatibility with a variety of unmanned aerial systems.
BAE Systems’ Electronic Solutions Sector, headquartered in Nashua, will be responsible for the design, development, manufacture and test of the ARGUS-IR Airborne Processing Subsystem (APS). Additionally, BAE Systems will integrate a high-resolution infrared sensor subsystem over the course of the 32-month, eight-phase project.
“ARGUS-IR further expands military capability by providing 24-hour, day-night reconnaissance and surveillance capabilities over a much wider area than previously possible,” said Dr. John Antoniades, ARGUS program manager and director of ISR technology for BAE Systems. “Following the successful development of the daytime version of ARGUS, the new APS establishes appreciably expanded capability, and will be designed for use with a number of possible platforms.”
BAE Systems’ APS will process and store the imagery provided by the infrared sensor and downlink a minimum of 256 independent 640×480 video streams over a data link with a maximum effective bit rate of 200 Mbits per second. Each video window may be a “tracking video window” or a “fixed video window,” according to DARPA’s specifications. Additionally, the APS will have the ability to downlink automatically detected moving target metadata and image chips. BAE Systems is scheduled to conduct the system’s first flight test by the second quarter of 2012.
BAE System’s first flight tests of ARGUS-IR’s predecessor, ARGUS-IS, concluded last October aboard a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter. The tests successfully demonstrated the system’s multiple video windows for persistent area surveillance and tracking capabilities for vehicles and dismounted soldiers.
Sep 02, 2010, post by Artur Nowak
It would appear that China has successfully carried out a satellite rendezvous maneuver in orbit. And on August 19, the two satellites may have even touched, one probe being shunted aside by the other.
The event was first reported by the Russian media and U.S. military tracking data seems to back up these early reports. Now the question on everyone’s mind is: Why?
It may be tempting to jump to the conclusion that this technology has some kind of military application — after all, satellites have been in China’s cross-hairs before.
In January 2007, the nation demonstrated its anti-satellite prowess by destroying a defunct weather satellite at an altitude of over 500 miles. China was heavily criticized in the aftermath and the debris remains a problem to this day.
In 2008 however, the U.S. military replied by destroying a dead spy satellite demonstrating its ability to take out spacecraft too.
Although the tit-for-tat exchange of satellite carnage looks like the rumblings of a new arms race, this most recent unannounced satellite game of tag may not be as sinister as it seems.
The two Chinese “Shi Jian” (“Practice”) satellites called SJ-06F and SJ-12 are officially designated as science spacecraft and their mission comes in advance of the launch of China’s planned space station.
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The first space station module (Tiangong-1) is set for launch in 2011 and to give the docking sensors and control systems a “test run” before trying it out on the space station could be the purpose of SJ-06F and SJ-12. But why all the secrecy?
“This sort of thing may very well be consistent with wanting to test drive the hardware and software before you test it on your space laboratory,” said Dean Cheng, a Chinese policy expert with the Heritage Foundation, a think tank in Washington DC. “You’d be doing it on a smaller, cheaper, less prestige-oriented item so that if something went wrong, it wouldn’t necessarily be politically disastrous.”
Also, China keeping the “test drive” quiet may seem fishy, but it is understandable, especially if the test docking procedure wasn’t successful. National pride most likely dictated the silence.
But there is the concern that the satellite rendezvous could indicate another, more subtle, form of anti-satellite technology. Using an intercepting satellite to “hijack” an enemy’s satellite would be quite useful after all.
However, the fact remains that there are far easier ways to “take out” a satellite using kinetic missiles or ground-based lasers to blind spy satellites.
discovery.com
Sep 02, 2010, post by Artur Nowak
Lasers have recently shown they can down an uncrewed aerial vehicle (UAV) – but they can also keep the drones up in the air. LaserMotive, based in Seattle, Washington, has kept a 22-gram model helicopter hovering for hours at a time on a few watts of laser power.
LaserMotive won $900,000 from NASA last year by beaming power to a robot that climbed a 900-metre cable dangling from a full-scale helicopter. The technology could help power space elevators to lift objects thousands of kilometres into orbit. But with space elevators still at the concept stage, LaserMotive is keen to find other ways to turn a profit from its technology, says company founder Jordin Kare.
Flying times of conventional UAVs are limited by the fuel or batteries they can carry. Solar power with battery backup for night flight allows flight times lasting several days – defence firm Qinetiq, based in the UK, has flown its ultralight Zephyr for more than 82 hours. But although Swiss company Solar Impulse has demonstrated that solar power can keep even a piloted craft in the air, the uncrewed vehicles typically flown by military agencies are heavier and more rugged, and so need more power to stay in the air than they can get from the sun.
LaserMotive says that ground-based lasers can deliver the required power. At last week’s AUVSI Unmanned Systems Conference in Denver, Colorado, the firm focused light from an array of semiconductor-diode near-infrared lasers down to a 7-centimetre beam, which automatically tracked a modified radio-controlled helicopter. The aircraft carried photovoltaic cells optimised for the laser wavelength, which converted about half the laser power reaching them to generate a few watts of electricity – enough to power the rotors of the little copter.
The laser-powered helicopter can hover for 6 hours, company president Tom Nugent told New Scientist from the show. He thinks that limit is set only by the quality of the motor driving the rotors. “It’s a little consumer-grade brush motor not meant to run this long,” he says. Under laser power, the copter “flies for several hours until the motor burns out”.
Laser-powered future
“That little helicopter sounds like a nice demonstration,” says Robert Van Burdine, a former engineer at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, who demonstrated laser-powered flight of a fixed-wing craft in 2003. His group manually aimed the laser, but the 300-gram radio-controlled plane with 1.5-metre wingspan had enough momentum to glide if the beam drifted off target; the helicopter would fall if the beam missed it. Although many people expressed interest at the time, he knows of no follow-up work.
LaserMotive has bigger plans for extending flight duration of military craft, says Kare. “We expect we can scale to anything anybody is interested in,” including helicopters and UAVs. A craft could hover for long periods over a laser base, or fly missions and return to recharge over the laser, or fly between a series of laser bases. In the longer term, he envisions lasers powering remote ground-based sensors, delivering power to forward military bases, or supplying emergency power during disasters.
www.newscientist.com
Sep 02, 2010, post by Artur Nowak
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U.S. Army officials needed thermal weapon sight technology for rifles, machine guns, and mounted weapon systems for infantry soldiers in combat. They found their solution from the BAE Systems Electronic Solutions segment in Lexington, Mass.
BAE Systems won a $123 million Army contract to continue production of thermal sights that improve situational awareness and survivability for infantry soldiers, company officials announced today. The order increases the BAE Systems total thermal weapon sight contract value to more than $1 billion since 2004, company officials say.
BAE Systems Electronic Solutions produces light, medium, and heavy thermal weapon sights using the company’s MicroIR uncooled infrared sensor technology to generate superior IR imagery without the need for bulky, power-consuming cryogenic cooling equipment.
In April BAE Systems also received a $14 million contract to provide thermal weapon sights to the Canadian army. These weapon sights enable operators to see deep into the battlefield in darkness and through smoke, fog, and other obscurants, to help them detect and identify targets at long ranges.
The company tests its thermal sites for their ability to withstand harsh battlefield environments, and to date has delivered more than 80,000 sights to meet Army fielding requirements in Iraq and Afghanistan.
