Defense Technology International - June 2008 - (Page 8)

AROUND THE WORLD NEWS BRIEFS HIGH-IMPACT FIRE SUPPORT TDA Armaments has orders for its new 120mm. 2R2M riﬂed-mounted recoiling mortar from Oman and another Middle East customer. Oman ordered the system for integration in VAB 6 X 6 armored personnel carriers from Renault Trucks Defense. The second customer, understood to be Saudi Arabia, will use the system to modernize M113 mortar carriers as part of a ﬂeet upgrade program. In a recent demonstration for DTI in Bourges, France, the 2R2M ﬁred several rounds. It has a range of 13 km. (8 mi.) and terminal effect that “almost matches a 155-mm. howitzer,” TDA claims. The mortar ﬁres 10 rounds per minute of highexplosive, smoke, illumination, submunition or other projectiles. A guided long-range (17 km.) munition is in development. Carrier vehicles work with a ﬁre-direction center (installed in another vehicle) that receives ﬁre- JORIS JANSSEN LOK/DEFENSE TECHNOLOGY INTERNATIONAL support requests from forward observers. It sends a call for ﬁre to the mortar carrier, which is equipped with an inertial navigation system, radios and a display on the mortar itself. TDA claims the system can be installed in any vehicle in the 15-metric-ton class. I NETWORK CREATES AN F-22 DATA LINK The U.S. Air Force successfully tested an experimental data-transmission technology from Rockwell Collins that allowed two F-22 Raptors to communicate with ground stations. The test occurred during the JEFX (Joint Expeditionary Force Experiment) 08-3 exercise at Nellis AFB, Nev., in April. F-22s are not equipped with conventional data links, which can be detected by enemy sigint. They use a narrow-beam intra-ﬂight datalink (IFDL) to relay data and synchronize situational pictures between each other. Since an IFDL is incompatible with other datalinks, Raptors cannot communicate directly with friendly aircraft (DTI December 2007, p. 40). The F-22 Raptors tested Rockwell’s Tactical Targeting Network Technology. For the ﬁrst time, F-22 sensor data was downlinked to the Combined Air Operations Center using a tactical network. In a prior test at JEFX 08-2 earlier this year, images were transmitted from an F-22 to an F-16 via a ground-based gateway. The system sent the sensor data to ground stations at Nellis and Langley AFB, Va., which relayed it to airborne F-16s. USAF says the test validates further development of technology to support joint air and ground operations. I SUPER SENSOR IS A POWER-SAVER JORIS JANSSEN LOK/DEFENSE TECH. INT’L. French companies Bertin Technologies and CEA, working with the National Institute of Advanced Technologies and the DGA defense procurement agency, developed a digital electro-optical sensor in which each of 40,000 pixels has a dedicated processor. The sensor, known as Caladiom (a French acronym for “long-range sensor for detection and identiﬁcation of mobile targets”) has a programmable digital retina of 200 X 200 pixels. The detector array is controlled by electronic architecture and consumes just 1.8 watts of energy. This is possible because processing is integrated within the detector array. The camera is dormant until it detects a predeﬁned scenario, further reducing energy use. Endurance is more than 10 days on one micro-battery. The sensor is programmed remotely via an Ethernet link or WiFi. Caladiom can be equipped with a CMOS-type daylight camera or micro-bolometer, non-cooled IR detector. It detects people at 350 meters (1,150 ft.) and vehicles at 1,000 meters. Proposed installations include perimeter-surveillance towers, unmanned ground vehicles, robots, drones and missile-guidance systems. I AviationWeek.com/dti LOCKHEED MARTIN 8 DEFENSE TECHNOLOGY INTERNATIONAL JUNE 2008 http://AviationWeek.com/dti

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of Defense Technology International - June 2008

Defense Technology International - June 2008 Contents Around the World Science Watch Tech Watch Basic Black Self-Defense Fire-Resistant Perfezione Hyperspeed Trial Big Sky Cashing In Digital Links Hang Ten Sea Change Programs Update Two Steps Back Direct Hit Staying Power Potent Stinger Do No Harm Guard Duty The Net Cutting Edge First Person In Review Insight

Defense Technology International - June 2008

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