Jenoptik presents the DLEM 20 at booth #1161. The lightweight weighs less than 33 grams and measures distances up to 5km with an accuracy of half a meter. DLEM 20 is the latest, smallest and lightest product of the previously four-strong DLEM family with its broad range of military applications.

The eye-safe DLEM 20 Class 1 laser is barely higher than a one-euro coin. It is distinguished in operation by low energy consumption and has very high accuracy, even at extreme temperatures of -40 to +80 degrees – even with highly reflective targets.

The low beam divergence produces a very small measuring point which greatly improves the accuracy for small targets at large distances. Added to this is a high selectivity when detecting several, overlapping targets. The DLEM 20 measures fixed targets and moving targets at up to 25 Hz. With its compact, robust design and good measuring characteristics, the DLEM 20 is the smallest and lightest unit in its family. These product characteristics enable it to be easily fitted in hand-held surveillance and firing control systems as well as unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV).

In a keynote speech to the opening session of TechNet Europe 2016 on board the SS ROTTERDAM this morning Terry Halvorsen, Chief Information Officer for the US DoD, told delegates he was not entirely satisfied with the preparedness of the defence community vis-à-vis its readiness to deal with the challenge of the cyber security world.. “We’re not making enough people with the right skills worldwide – we definitely need more than we have right now,” he said, speaking to the issue of ensuring the right people are in place with the right tools, attitudes and capabilities t to respond to the rapidly changing threat environment.

Addressing the conference’s principal theme: “Changing the Game in Security: New Role for C4ISR,” he focused on the issue of human resources as a critical one to be overcome before implementation issues can be resolved. “I worry a whole lot more about the people than I do about the technology: we do not have a unique set of problems here,” he said.

He sees the necessity of change as paramount – in process, in capability development and in resource management. “This is going to be another extremely disruptive period in IT: the pervasive nature of the cyber threat is evolving and accelerating rapidly and our systems and processes are not keeping pace. We don’t know what will happen in the future – but we pretend we do and the result is that today we are still fielding legacy systems.”

If a $50,000 cyber-attack tool can take down and nullify a multi-billion dollar supposedly secure communications systems, “who is on the wrong side of the cyber-economic curve,” he asked.
He did not paint a picture of utter doom and gloom, however – he stressed that a better, more productive relationship with industry is not only a prerequisite for better performance, but is an issue in the making: it is beginning to happen. The imperative for change in this respect  – for a new way of doing business – was a theme echoed by other representatives of national and institutional organisations in the keynote speech session.. A receptive audience of over 200 delegates from nations across Europe and North America is readying itself for more insight – and potentially for more encouragement.

Speaking to the opening session of TechNet Europe 2016 on board the SS ROTTERDAM this morning, Rear-Adm. Maarten Tossings, the Principal Director of Organisation and Chief Information Officer of the Netherlands Ministry of Defence, stressed the pervasive nature of the IT conundrum for his command.

“Since 2014 we have been overhauling our processes and seeking a better way of achieving our objectives,” he said. “If you visit Dutch forces serving in Mali today, the first thing you will see on getting off the plane is people using SAP [enterprise software] to manage logistics – and everybody here knows how important logistics are to any complex operation. It should never be forgotten that sometimes we have to operate in quite a Spartan environment.”

Reconstituting the IT capabilities of an entire armed force is a challenging prospect, to say the least. Tossings and his command distinguish between ‘white IT’ – the infrastructure required to conduct and manage all the business of a government department – and ‘green IT’ – the capabilities required to conduct information warfare and counter hostile cyber intent. The former can, to a degree, be outsourced. The latter requires levels of security and specialisation that make it imperative uniformed personnel guide and implement the change process.

Nevertheless, Tossings’ vision is to bring about a single infrastructure that will gracefully and efficiently address both sets of requirements. The overarching theme of the Dutch approach, in his words, is “to harness innovation and government-industry partnering to the maximum possible degree,” – a sentiment echoed by every other speaker in the keynote session opening the conference.

Organised by AFCEA Europe and attracting over 200 delegates from across Europe and North America, TechNet Europe 2016 is examining the issue of “Changing the Game in Security – Key Role for C4ISR.” The conference runs 3-5 October.

At AUSA 2016, AM General is displaying its new HAWKEYE lightweight 105mm recoiless howitzer on the chassis of a HMMWV 1152.

The HAWKEYE howitzer system, by the Mandis Group, incorporates advances in protection, payload, suspensions and life-cycle sustainment – at an affordable price to meet the expeditionary requirements of intwrnational customers. It exemplifies the steady evolution of the HMMWV based on customer feedback, battlefield experiences, and innovation, according to the company.

The HAWKEYE 105mm is lightweight at less than 2,400 lbs. (1,100 kg), fires 360 degrees, and has a direct fire scope that is digital camera in conjunction with the digital fire control.

Today at AUSA 2016, AeroVironment introduced a Multi-Pack Launcher (MPL) for it’s SWITCHBLADE Lethal Miniature Aerial Missile System and it’s BLACKWING tube-launched unmanned aircraft.

The MPL can be employed in Forward Operating Bases and controlled from remote locations, such as bunkers and buildings, to protect system operators from incoming fire.  For land forces, the MPL can also be integrated into tactical ground vehicles to provide force protection and ISR on-the-go. The MPL comes in a standard 6-pack configuration weighing 160lbs. fully loaded.

AeroVironment’s design is scalable from 2 to 20 SWITCHBLADE/BLACKWING rounds and enables rapid reload of less than 30 seconds per round.  The MPL can be powered via shore and tactical vehicle power, and is also equipped with solar panels and an internal battery pack to ensure uninterrupted operation.  Future naval versions of MPL will enable surface ships to launch multiple BLACKWING UAVs rapidly to provide multi-UAV ISR and Cross-Domain Communications, Command and Control. 

“Our new Multi-Pack Launcher is compact, modular and rugged to provide fixed and mobile force protection and ISR for our warfighters in frontline operating environments,” Kirk Flittie, AeroVironment vice president and general manager of its Unmanned Aircraft Systems business segment, told MT.  “We designed MPL from the ground-up to address warfighters’ needs, based on our extensive operating and training experience in the field, for easy installation, integration and operation.  The MPL’s ability to launch either our SWITCHBLADE rounds or our BLACKWING UAVs provides additional flexibility to our customers to address a growing number of mission requirements in the future.”

At AUSA 2016, Qioptiq, an Excelitas Technologies company, is showcasing its KESTREL Image  Intensified Rugged Night Vision Binocular, which is currently gaining large interest from specialised users.

The KESTREL binocular configuration enables enhanced depth perception and is particularly suitable for vehicle driving, parachute jumps and Special Forces operations, even at very low light levels. KESTREL provides state of the art and rugged mechanical design offering stability of the goggle bodies for improved comfort during long periods o use. KESTREL offers great optical performance in a similar size and weight to other binoculars. KESTREL is available  in two versions offering different weight / performance options:
KESTREL  LW  (Light Weight)  with  F/1.2  lens: Reduced weight for increased mobility
KESTREL  HP  (High  Performance)  with  F/0.95  lens: Fast  aperture  collects  60%  more  light  than conventional  binoculars  for  increased  sensitivity  at low light levels, according to the company.

KESTREL  provides  a  wide  range  of  adjustments, allowing the user to set the NVG to his requirements. Additionally a ruggedised helmet  mount  has  been  developed  to  be compatible with a range of Helmet Mounting Shrouds.

Features of the KESTREL include: Field  of  view:  40°; Objective  lens: F/1.2  (LW), F/0.95 (HP); Focus  Range:  25cm  to  infinity; Dioptre  Range:  -5  to  +3  dioptres.

KESTREL  is a self-contained  system  operating  on  a single  AA battery  or  with  a rear  battery-pack  for longer operations and  is  compliant with  military standard requirements. 

Addressing the delegates assembled at TechNet Europe 2016 on board the SS ROTTERDAM this morning, Lt.-Gen. Riho Terras, Commander of the Estonian Defence Forces, warned the audience that, “Russia is the principal challenge. This is not a weather front approaching from the east that may blow over. It is fundamental climate change. Make no mistake, Russia is preparing for war.”

It is rare for so senior an officer to be so brutally frank in public. It should also be noted that the General stressed his views were his own and not a statement of national policy. Nonetheless it is an infrequent experience to hear so starkly articulated an impression of the current state of European geopolitics. And it it makes a somewhat deeper impression for that.

Couching his remarks under the headline ‘A View from the Alliance’s eastern flank,’ General Terras commented that events in Ukraine in particular have helped to change NATO’s and the EU’s views – but that there is still some mileage to be made up for. “Nobody believed that events in Georgia or Ukraine would develop as they did – but they did. Was it a wake-up call? Yes – but the wake-up call was snoozed. Russia is using our weaknesses against us very cleverly and we need to deal with that – not by confronting them but by finding solutions,” he said.

Estonia’s proximity to Russia and its history make the General’s views perhaps inevitable. But that does not make them any less valid. Russian forces in the western military districts have trebled in size and structures have reverted to the Cold War formations of divisions and regiments, rather than a more flexible brigade structure as has been the case recently. Russian nuclear forces have gone to a high state of alert several times in 2016 already – not counting those occasions on which they have been participating in exercises. Russian concepts of operations currently focus on the use of tactical nuclear strike as a method of de-escalation, since, “they are convinced NATO will not respond in like manner,” the General said.

He recognises that the maintenance of a dialogue with Russia is essential, but points out that, “a dialogue needs two ends, and at the moment they are not talking [openly] to us…..We need to invest in our early warning in order to get inside the Russian decision cycle – and there we have the challenge that they have only one head in the cycle – NATO has 28, soon to be 29.”

Bringing his address to a close in dealing with cyber warfare, General Terras’ remarks ran somewhat counter to the tenor of other speakers at the conference. “Cyber is not unique or special – it is just another aspect of the multi-dimensional warfare spectrum that we now face,” he said. Without belittling its importance, he believes cyber defence is an integral part of a wider strategy needed to counter the principal direct threat his nation faces. “The Russians understand heavy metal above all else,” he stated, referring to the deterrent effect of well-founded and well prepared conventional forces centred on heavy armour capability.

Well-articulated and passionately delivered, General Terras’ point of view deserves a much wider hearing than the small, albeit highly focused and high powered audience in Rotterdam. They bring harsh illumination to bear on an issue that many have discussed – and ignored as being too difficult of resolution. Perhaps it is time for that snooze button to be disengaged!

Over 200 delegates: 20 nations represented; 34 speakers – and an articulate and eloquent debate, with some measure of agreement that government and industry need to partner more closely, but no really crystal clear roadmap as to how to achieve that – yet.

Rear-Adm. Maarten Tossings, Principal Director of Organisation and Chief Information Officer, Netherlands Ministry of Defence:

“There are questions in every aspect of the cyber defence domain – questions we have yet to resolve. For example, I was meeting recently with some major banks and they were quite surprised to learn that defending [their IT systems] is not currently a task for the military.”

“Tactical ISR – that is Big Data in practice!”

Terry Halvorsen, Chief Information Officer, US DoD:

“The cyber issue is everywhere – it is pervasive and accelerating – and that is a problem for government: our systems and processes are not keeping pace.”

“Outsourcing [of generic or specific IT functionality] is not the optimal solution: but partnership perhaps is. I believe our ability to bring in the true partnership we need between government and industry is our secret for success.”

“The leadership needs to pull back responsibility for transparency from the lawyers – because at the moment it is not working.”

Dr. Jamie Shea, NATO Deputy Assistant Secretary General for Emerging Security Challenges

“Cyber is the ultimate democratisation of conflict.”

“Organised crime is now offering cyber security services to jihadists.”

Murray Davidson, Director of Strategy, NCI Agency

“Whenever there is a problem, it is a people problem.”

“I worry about the future – about what I will be asked to fix. That is the biggest part of my real job.”

“We have forgotten about symmetric warfare. We need to be planning for a borader range of contignencies.”

Col. Hans van Dalen, Commander, Netherlands Joint ISTAR Command

“We face a new kind of warfare – chaoplexic warfare in which chaos provides the metrics rather than energy or effects.”

Lt.-Gen. Riho Terras, Commander, Estonian Defence Forces

“The current situation [in Europe] is beginning to look more and more like that just before the First World War: it is a total mess everywhere.”

“Russia has just appointed a new Parliament: ‘elected’ is too strong a word for the process in which only 16% [of the electorate] voted.”

“Our defence budget represents what we can do: the US spends the equivalent of our defence budget every five hours.”

Peter Rost, Head of Business Development & Marketing, Rohde & Schwarz Cybersecurity GmbH

“The ‘Airbag’ model of cyber defence: “If it happens, make it hurt less!”

“Society wise, we are still in the Wild West era,” in response to “is it not more likely a hostile cyber attack will be made against civil rather than military infrastructure?”

Dr. Phil Jones, Head of Countries and Operations Cybersecurity (Europe), Airbus Defence & Space

“We need to be investing in active disruption,” in response to “should be focus investment in defensive or offensive cyber capability?”

Maj.-Gen. Koen Gijsbers (ret.), General Manager, NCI Agency

“There is an arc of insecurity and instability along NATO’s periphery and beyond, especially to the east and south.”

“Interoperability is not all about technology: it is maybe 10% technology and the rest relies on our understanding and ability to work together.”

“Agility is the most important factor. Cyber needs to move faster from the technology to the operational domain: nothing is static.”

“Innovation money no longer lies with government: it is with industry. The IT industry in Silicon Valley alone has more than $100 billion a year [to fund innovation].”

The US Army awarded Lockheed Martin a $49.3 million contract to upgrade the Modernized Target Acquisition Designation Sight/Pilot Night Vision Sensor (M-TADS/PNVS) on the AH-64E APACHE helicopter.

Under this contract, Lockheed Martin will produce an additional 42 Modernized Day Sensor Assembly (M-DSA) upgrade kits and spares for the US Army as part of Lot 1 production. Production will take place at Lockheed Martin’s facilities in Orlando and Ocala, Florida, through March 2019.

“M-DSA gives APACHE aircrews the ability to more rapidly identify targets and coordinate with troops on the ground, which improves mission success,” said Tom Eldredge, director of M-TADS/PNVS production programs at Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control. “M-DSA’s modular design reduces operation and support costs, and will be supported by our award-winning Performance-Based Logistics sustainment programme.”

With M-DSA upgrades, pilots can identify targets at farther distances through an additional field of view and extended range picture-in-picture capability. They also now have the ability to view high-resolution, near-infrared and color imagery on cockpit displays. M-DSA also provides a new laser pointer marker that improves coordination with ground troops, and an updated multi-mode laser with eye-safe lasing capability that supports flight in urban environments and home-station training.

M-TADS/PNVS provides APACHE helicopter pilots with long-range, precision engagement and pilotage capabilities for mission success and flight safety during day and night and in adverse weather conditions. Lockheed Martin has delivered more than 1,350 M-TADS/PNVS systems to the US Army and 15 countries.

Airborne  Systems  North  America  presents the Hi-5 as the latest  addition  to  their  line  of  High  Performance  Ram  Air  Parachutes.  The  Hi-5 demonstrates  exceptional ram  air  glide  performance  while  allowing  glide modulation  to  descend  quickly  and  land  accurately. 

The  Hi-5  has  a  remarkable  5.5:1  glide  ratio  and can  transition  to  a  1:1  glide  ratio  with  a simple  control  input  using  the  Glide  Modulation  System. Unlike  other  methods  of  angle control,  such  as  front  riser  trim  tabs, Airborne  Systems  Glide Modulation  System  does  not  increase  the  total speed  of the  canopy, providing  a  safe  transition  at  any altitude.   This  eliminates  the  need  for  multiple  spirals  or S-turns  at  low  altitude,  and  allows  for extremely  accurate  landings  using  safe  straight-in  approaches.  The  jumper  is  in  total control  of  where they  are  and  when they  arrive  on  target. In  addition  to  the  leap forward  in glide  ratio  technology, the  Hi-5 is  also  easy  to  maintain  and  handle for a jumper,  and  very  intuitive  to  pack  for  a rigger.  The  Hi-5  bridges  the  gap  between  the Intruder/RA-1 (shown below at AUSA 2016) and  our Hi-Glide  parachutes,  providing  a  wing  with a high  glide,  accurate  landings, and the ability to descend into tight areas safely.

Curtiss-Wright’s Defense Solutions division at booth #319 introduced the company's first 3Uembedded power supply that also delivers system I/O expansion without increasing slot count.

The rugged PSU3-THOR power supply combines dual XMC mezzanine slot expansion and a 6-port PCI Express (PCIe) Gen2 switch all in a single 3U VPX slot unit. It enables system designers to provide 285 or 485 watts of power to support today’s demanding deployed applications while simultaneously reducing their 3U VPX system’s size, weight, power and cost (SWaP-C) envelope. The PSU3-THOR’s built-in 24-lane 6-port PCIe switch provides the backplane interface for its dual XMC sites while eliminating the need for a separate XMC carrier or switch card. The power supply’s PCIe switch also provides up to four extra x4 PCIe ports, significantly expanding overall system I/O. The PSU3-THOR power supply is ideal for use in today’s latest generation of high performance small form factor 3U based embedded systems. It also provides a compelling solution for expanding the capabilities of legacy 3U systems through technology refresh.

“Many of our customers face the daunting challenge of reducing the size of their embedded subsystems while deploying more power and I/O hungry processing performance,” said Lynn Bamford, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Defense Solutions division. “Over the last 5 years, we have seen average system size requirements decrease by up to 40%, while the power required for the latest technology has increased over 50%. That’s what makes our new PSU-THOR power supply a breakthrough for system integrators. It’s the industry’s first 3U form factor power supply to deliver XMC card expansion and a 6-port PCIe Gen2 switch all in a single compact unit.”

Elbit Systems of America announced today that it received a $7.3 million contract to supply the Bradley Fighting Vehicle Gunner’s Hand Station to the US Army. The Defense Logistics Agency sole-source contract will be performed during a two-year period with work being completed in Fort Worth, Texas.

“As the trusted supplier of combat vehicles electronic and electro-optics systems for over two decades, we understand the importance of a reliable solution for improving soldiers’ firepower,” Amela Wilson, vice president of Sensors & Fire Control Solutions at Elbit Systems of America, informed MT. “We have delivered the Gunner’s and Commander’s Hand Station units in the past and are pleased to continue providing U.S. Army Bradley gunners with this capability. We also recognize the need for advanced vehicles and are committed to supporting the Army’s combat ground vehicle modernization campaigns.”

The Gunner’s Hand Station provides Bradley vehicle gunners the ability to acquire their target and fire accurately. Working in collaboration with the Commander’s Hand Station, the Gunner’s Hand Station is used to drive the rate of movement of the Bradley turret and to initiate control signals to the turret fire control systems in the Bradley M2A3/M3A3 vehicle.

In addition to the Gunner’s Hand Station, Elbit Systems of America also provides the Commander’s Hand Station and the Turret Processing Unit for the Bradley Fighting Vehicle.

Bluewater Defense and Vorbeck Materials on booth #7617 announced the introduction of next generation, high performance wearable antennas for military, tactical and commercial use in apparel and equipment featuring multiple communication bands including LTE capabilities.

Bluewater and Vorbeck partnered to offer robust, high-gain, low-cost, and discrete conformal printed graphene antennas embedded in military apparel and backpacks with omni-directional coverage through the deployment of an array of antennas, supporting wide frequency range from 800-3000Mhz.

“We expect that our military and defense leaders will appreciate a high performance wearable antenna with little or no silhouette, therefore better protecting the warfighter,” Vorbeck’s CEO, John Lettow, told MT. “Two additional benefits of this technology are that it delivers real-time, “on-the-go” communication capabilities because there is no need to deploy an external antenna, and they also interface with traditional electronics, making them very easy to field.”

Vorbeck has pioneered the use of graphene in printed, flexible electronic components and systems for a wide variety of industries and applications. Using high volume printing technologies and its suite of commercial Vor-ink formulations, Vorbeck designs and fabricates multilayer electronic products, including antennas, sensors, switches, and wiring.

From military and defence applications to security packaging, RFID, and consumer wearable electronics, Vorbeck’s patented flexible electronic and antenna technologies can be embedded anywhere including; jackets, clothing, backpacks, briefcases, and other assorted wearables, and labeling--to improve communication in a digital world.

“Our strength is our ability to ‘connect the past with the future’,” Eric Spackey, CEO, Bluewater Defense, continued. “With Vorbeck’s next generation cellular antenna technology, we are moving information from the fabric of what we wear to the Cloud.”

Bluewater and Vorbeck are featuring a variety of apparel, backpacks, action packs, straps and other related products at their booth.

This blog will continue on our newssite: http://www.monch.com