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Raytheon's Quick Kill Achieves a First; Decimates 'Enemy' RPG in Test with Precision Launched Munition MCKINNEY, Texas, -- Raytheon Company's new Quick Kill System is the first active protection system (APS) to destroy a rocket propelled grenade (RPG) at close range, using a precision launched warhead with a focused blast. The successful test occurred at a New Mexico Institute of Mining and Technology test center Feb. 7, 2006. Quick Kill is a new "hit avoidance" system designed by Raytheon to protect combat vehicles and their warfighters from enemy fire. It destroys enemy weapons with speed, surgical accuracy and minimal collateral damage. The system is capable of instantly engaging projectiles fired from any location around or above the vehicle. The test featured an RPG launched at close range, simulating an engagement of a Stryker combat vehicle equipped with Raytheon's Quick Kill system. The Quick Kill's active electronically scanned array radar detected and tracked the RPG and -- after computing its speed, trajectory and intercept point -- cued the precision-launched weapon to counterattack and destroy the RPG with its focused blast warhead. The weapon performed a vertical "soft launch," pitched over, accelerated to the point of intercept, fired its warhead and destroyed the RPG in mid-air. All of this occurred in the proverbial blink of an eye. Raytheon's approach to this technological breakthrough is equivalent to firing a weapon around a corner and hitting another weapon, while both speed through the air at hundreds of meters per second. Raytheon is the first company to develop and then prove this concept of engagement by successfully intercepting an RPG at close range. "Quick Kill's speed, precision and effectiveness are truly amazing," said Glynn Raymer, vice president of Raytheon Combat Systems. "It offers our current force warfighters a level of battlefield protection that no one has ever seen before." "We wanted to prove the APS technology as quickly as possible and accelerate its fielding to warfighters," said Johnny Garrett, director of Raytheon Integrated Systems. "Using our own money, Raytheon took Quick Kill from concept to reality in fewer than six months." Source: Raytheon Six FOX NBC reconnaissance vehicles go to the Netherlands - State-of-the-art NBC detection technology from Rheinmetall Rheinmetall Landsysteme has just delivered six highly advanced FOX NBC reconnaissance vehicles to the Dutch armed forces. In a ceremony at Rheinmetall Landsysteme GmbH??™s Kassel plant on January 25, 2006, Cees van der Knaap, the Dutch Deputy Minister of Defence, was presented with a symbolic key to the vehicles ahead of their official transfer to the NBC Reconnaissance Company of the Dutch armed forces. Headquartered in Kiel, Rheinmetall Landsysteme GmbH is an internationally leading maker of tracked and wheeled armoured vehicles as well as the world??™s top supplier of military systems for detecting nuclear, biological and chemical contamination. The company is a subsidiary of the Rheinmetall Group of D??sseldorf. Ordered at the end of 2003, these new FOX vehicles give the NBC reconnaissance units of the Dutch armed forces a NBC detection capability that places them at the global cutting edge. The NBC variant of Rheinmetall??™s tried-and-tested FOX has proved invaluable in crisis regions around the globe. So far, the company has made more than 260 NBC-RS FOX vehicles, nearly half of which are in service with the US armed forces; other NBC-RS FOX user nations include Germany, Norway, the United Kingdom and Saudi Arabia. In March 2005, the United Arab Emirates placed an order for 32 systems as well, which will be delivered over the next four years. The systems ordered by the UAE will be the first to be able to confirm unequivocally the presence of biological warfare agents and other biological contaminants. Packed with advanced equipment, the NBC-RS FOX is based on the highly mobile FOX armoured transport vehicle, some 1,200 of which have already been built. Thanks to its highly integrated sensor and analysis systems, it is capable of detecting a diverse array of nuclear and chemical hazards, enabling swift protective countermeasures to be taken. Rheinmetall Landsysteme has also developed a mobile field laboratory for the German Bundeswehr, which can be rapidly deployed by road, rail, sea or air. During numerous operations both at home and abroad, this NBC field laboratory has proved to be a very efficient tool for identifying all types of NBC warfare agents as well as conventional pollutants. The system is currently being introduced into the Swedish armed forces as well. In the civil defence domain, Rheinmetall Landsysteme has thus far supplied 372 NBC detection vehicles to German fire brigades. They make an important contribution to overall preparedness, providing Germany??™s civilian population with the best possible protection from threats of this kind. Source: Rheinmetall Force Protection, Inc. Confirms $21 Million Contract for Buffalo Armored Vehicles LADSON, S.C., The U.S. Army has issued an initial order to Force Protection, Inc. for approximately 19 Buffalo mine clearance vehicles to be used in Iraq and Afghanistan, the company announced today. The order for vehicles, training and field support is the first given under a procurement contract and is worth an estimated $21 million. "We are encouraged by this order and the fact that it has come so quickly after the procurement contract was announced," said Force Protection CEO Gordon McGilton. "This is a clear indicator that the critical need for the Buffalo continues to increase, and we will respond accordingly by delivering the first vehicles to the Army in the next 30 days." The Buffalo was first deployed with the Army Corps of Engineers in 2003. This is the first time, however, that the Army's Tank-automotive and Armaments Command in Warren, Michigan has placed an order. "Force Protection has the necessary infrastructure in place to meet customer requirements for both the Buffalo and Cougar series," said McGilton. "The processes and resources are unique to each vehicle. We will be able to maximize already-existing Buffalo production cells while moving forward on expansion of multiple Cougar production lines. These distinctions are necessary due to the dramatically larger market represented by Cougar and its multiple configurations." Since its inception in 1997, Force Protection has become the nation's leading center for research against IEDs and blast protection technology. Source: Force Protection, Inc. Lockheed Martin Awarded $9 Million to Build U.S. Army Technology Demonstration Vehicle OWEGO, NY -- Lockheed Martin has been awarded a $9 million contract to build a technology demonstration vehicle for the second phase of the U.S. Army's Future Tactical Truck System Advanced Concept Technology Demonstration (FTTS ACTD). Under the contract, Lockheed Martin will build an LM4x4 FTTS utility vehicle for delivery to the Army later this fall. The truck will then undergo a Platform Systems Demonstration and a Military User Assessment. The results of these evaluations will be used to refine the requirements for the next generation of tactical wheeled vehicles. "The ACTD's second phase is an important step in developing the requirements for safer and more survivable vehicles for our warfighters," said Louis J. De Santis, vice president and general manager, Integrated Products, at Lockheed Martin Systems Integration - Owego. "We look forward to working with the Army to build a technology demonstration truck that will help the service refine the requirements for the 40,000-plus vehicles that will eventually replace the Humvee." Lockheed Martin was selected to build the demonstration vehicle because of its performance in the ACTD's initial modeling and simulation phase, which concluded in September. During that phase, the LM4x4 FTTS utility vehicle design was able to demonstrate several important features, including improved survivability and safety, enhanced vehicle reliability, maintainability and range, and robust digital network capabilities. The FTTS award comes less than two weeks after Lockheed Martin UK Holdings Limited, a subsidiary of Lockheed Martin, announced that it had acquired HMT Vehicles Limited, a United Kingdom-based developer of designs for military vehicles. Lockheed Martin plans on incorporating HMT's designs into its U.S. programs such as the Army's FTTS. Source: Lockheed Martin UK ESG Software Solution Enables Integrated Maintenance of German Army's Material Inventory From now on, the Bundeswehr will be able to manage its material inventory in a more efficient and cost-effective manner. The N-CORE system was officially put into operation today (Friday 27th Jan 06). This software solution was developed by the Munich-based systems and software specialist ESG Elektroniksystem- und Logistik-GmbH. The introduction of N-CORE is a milestone of the modernisation of the Bundeswehr's cataloguing system. The new system replaces the existing ILIMS system, which has been in use since the 1970s. N-CORE stands for "NATO Codification System Repository". The new ESG solution will enable all NATO codification tasks, including international data exchange, to be carried out efficiently and conveniently. Technical Background: In all member states of the NATO alliance, every article is assigned a 13-digit supply number on the basis of which the article can be clearly identified. The alliance's inventory covers goods such as weapons, machines, office equipment and clothing. N-CORE has a certified interface for integrating the SAP R/3 ERP system, enabling the entire material inventory to be controlled in an integrated manner. Users of N-CORE be-nefit from a considerable increase in the quality, productivity and cost-effectiveness of codification. The official commissioning was carried out by the staff from the relevant department in the Bundeswehr's Logistics Office (Logistikamt) in Sankt Augustin, Germany. Brigadegeneral Berthold Buchholz, the head of the Logistics Office, got things started with the first supply number created using N-CORE. The ESG development N-CORE has become the world's leading commercial tool for NATO codification. Along with the Bundeswehr, the armies of Denmark, Greece, the Netherlands, Slovenia, Austria, Turkey and Hungary now also use this system. Source: ESG BAE SYSTEMS Delivers 1,000 Transparent Armored Gun Shields For HMMWVs Under A U.S. Army TACOM Contract SANTA CLARA, Calif. ??“ BAE Systems has delivered the first 1,000 Transparent Armored Gun Shields (TAGS) to U.S. Army troops in Iraq under a contract worth up to $4.7 million from the U.S. Army's Tank-automotive and Armaments Command (TACOM). The contract, awarded in November 2005, called for the delivery of the kits for installation on M1114 High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicles (HMMWV) by January 2006. ???Our TAGS units provide an additional level of protection from small arms fire and IED fragments,??? said Paul Para, BAE Systems??™ program manager. ???TAGS enables direct vision, situational awareness and target acquisition for the gunner.??? BAE Systems TAGS units have been configured for a wide range of vehicles, including Bradley, M1 Abrams, M113, HMMWV, and for the Stryker Common Ballistic Shield. TAGS units are particularly effective in close-combat urban environments. Source: BAE Systems |
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