Apr 25, 2012, post by Artur Nowak
General Dynamics Canada introduces the new ultra-rugged SD8000 family of smart display products with the quad-core 3rd generation Intel® Core(TM) processor, bringing latest in commercial computing to military vehicles. These new smart displays meet the computing-intense requirements of the battlefield while conserving size, weight and power inside military vehicles.
“Quad-core processing effectively doubles the computing capabilities of previous dual-core smart displays,” said David Ibbetson, general manager, General Dynamics Canada. “Increased demand for warfighters to have rapid and direct access to information and sophisticated battle management applications requires highly integrated battlefield computing solutions. Now, with our next generation Smart Displays, we are bringing this capability to our customers the same day it is available to commercial industry.”
“The growing use of sensors and high definition video, along with heavy processing requirements for critical battlefield management and on-site embedded training / mission rehearsal applications, amplifies demands on vehicle computing systems,” explains Matt Langman, director of marketing, Intelligent Systems Group at Intel. “By harnessing the increased energy efficiency and enhanced 3D graphics and video capability native to the 3rd generation Intel® Core(TM) processor family, General Dynamics can provide critical computing capabilities while maintaining processing speed.”
The next generation displays are naturally convection-cooled to meet rigorous military standards. Additional key features include touch screen, multiple video and audio input channels, streaming and snapshot video capture, multiple vehicle-bus interfaces, wireless communications, VoIP capabilities, embedded Ground-Based GPS Receiver Application Module (GB-GRAM), multiple I/O ports and a solid state hard drive. General Dynamics has also integrated Intel® Virtualization Technology to enable the use of Multiple Independent Levels of Security/Safety (MILS), a high assurance security architecture for controlled information. Developed for ground combat vehicles in harsh military environments, these enhanced product features provide a flexible platform that adapts to the changing dynamics of missions while supporting interoperability and future technology enhancements.
General Dynamics’ rugged Smart Displays are onboard a variety U.S. Army ground combat vehicle platforms including the Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP), Stryker and Bradley vehicles. With a significant savings in weight, space and power over conventional architectures, General Dynamics’ smart displays provide increased affordability and easy integration into vehicle C4I sub-systems.
General Dynamics Canada is part of General Dynamics C4 Systems, a business unit of General Dynamics /quotes/zigman/227407/quotes/nls/gd GD -3.17% . Additional information is available at www.gdcanada.com .
Information about General Dynamics is available online at www.generaldynamics.com .
Oct 11, 2011, post by Artur Nowak
Textron Systems Advanced Systems, an operating unit of Textron Systems, a Textron Inc. (NYSE: TXT) company, announced that its U.S. Army Lightweight Small Arms Technologies (LSAT) program team has successfully completed a critical Military Utility Assessment (MUA) of its cased telescoped light machine gun (CT LMG).
“The cased telescoped ammunition and weapon together are 40 percent lighter than the M249 when carrying 1,000 linked rounds, which equates to more than 20 lbs. That makes a big difference to the warfighter—in terms of mobility, weapon ergonomics and logistics.”
The evaluation took place at the Maneuver Battle Lab at Fort Benning, Ga. during a three-week period in September. The MUA, employing soldiers from military police and infantry battalions and a Ranger regiment, fired 25,000 rounds using eight CT LMGs. Evaluators assessed the weapon’s performance in numerous categories—in a side by side comparison to the Army’s M249 Squad Automatic Weapon—to determine if the LSAT weapon system is suitable for the full spectrum of automatic rifleman tasks.
“Initial feedback from the MUA was extremely positive,” said Kori Phillips, the LSAT Project Officer from the U.S. Army Armament Research, Development and Engineering Center (ARDEC). “The cased telescoped ammunition and weapon together are 40 percent lighter than the M249 when carrying 1,000 linked rounds, which equates to more than 20 lbs. That makes a big difference to the warfighter—in terms of mobility, weapon ergonomics and logistics.”
LSAT is a technology based program managed through the Joint Service Small Arms Program Office (JSSAP), located at ARDEC at Picatinny Arsenal in New Jersey. Textron Systems’ AAI Corporation is the prime contractor and systems integrator for a team of six additional companies who contribute to the LSAT program.
The cased telescoped light machine gun is a gas-operated, air-cooled, belt feed selectable semi-automatic and fully automatic weapon that fires from the open-bolt position. Its rate of fire is approximately 650 rounds per minute.
Soldiers at Fort Benning tested the CT LMG’s performance across a variety of automatic rifleman tasks and operational scenarios to assess whether it affects their ability to effectively engage targets. The weapon also was evaluated on its suitability in other areas including portability, safety, compatibility with soldier equipment, durability in challenging operational environments, ease of use, and its impact on soldier mobility.
“Our Cased Telescoped Light Machine Gun really proved itself in the variety of environments and live-fire situations during the MUA,” said Textron Systems Program Manager Paul Shipley. “Soldiers experienced firsthand the benefits of this weapon and the significant advances our project team has made in weight reduction, handling, controllability and other factors during the past seven years.”
Additional CT LMG tests are in the planning stage with U.S. Army Special Operations Command while the Army determines a written requirement for lightweight weapons.
About Textron Systems Advanced Systems: www.textronsystems.com
Aug 19, 2011, post by Artur Nowak
Extreme Engineering Solutions, Inc. (X-ES) announces that they have entered into a Cisco® Solution Technology Integrator (STI) agreement, allowing them to integrate Cisco networking technologies into X-ES embedded computing solutions for military, communications, industrial, and commercial markets. The rugged Cisco 5940 Series Embedded Services Router is now available in both development platforms and deployable X-ES embedded systems for air- and conduction-cooled 3U CompactPCI cards.
Cisco 5940 Series Embedded Services Router, with Cisco IOS software and Cisco Mobile Ready Net capabilities, provides highly secure data, voice, and video communications to stationary and mobile network nodes across wired and wireless links.
X-ES supplies two unique development chassis incorporating the Cisco 5940:
The XPand1200 is a lab-based conduction-cooled chassis, hosting Intel® Core™ i7 processor boards such as the XPedite7332, or Freescale QorIQ P4080 processor boards such as the XPedite5470. Additionally, third-party I/O PMC or XMC modules can be supported with the XChange1200 3U cPCI carrier with front panel or P16/P14 I/O.
The XPand1300 is also lab-based, but air-cooled, and hosts the same CPU or I/O cards for quick and easy development purposes.
When lab development is completed, the air-cooled or conduction-cooled payload modules can be easily migrated to deployable systems. Conduction-cooled payloads are integrated into the MIL-STD-810F and MIL-STD-461E certified, conduction-cooled, ½-ATR XPand3200, XPand4200, or XPand5200 chassis for deployment into Size, Weight, and Power (SWaP) constrained applications. “We are excited about becoming a Cisco STI partner and having the ability to integrate embedded routers from the worldwide leader in networking into X-ES systems,” states Bret Farnum, VP of Sales and Marketing at X-ES.
“We are already working with multiple joint customers on opportunities to integrate the Cisco 5940 router into systems. Having the STI agreement in place will allow X-ES to provide better support to our customers.”
To learn more about how X-ES is integrating the Cisco 5940, to see all of our new products, or to speak with our sales and engineering staff, visit X-ES at AUVSI 2011 in Washington DC, booth #833, from August 16 through 19, 2011.
