BACN is a high-altitude, airborne communications and information gateway system that maintains operational communications support 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The persistent connectivity that BACN provides improves situational awareness and enables better coordination between forward-edge warfighters and commanders. BACN bridges and extends voice communications and battlespace awareness information from numerous sources using a suite of computers and radio systems.

After the BACN payloads have been integrated on the Block 20 Global Hawks, the aircraft will be designated as USAF EQ-4B unmanned systems, providing long endurance and high persistence gateway capabilities.

"The addition of two more BACN systems on Global Hawks will decisively enhance the required 24/7 gateway capability," said Claude Hashem, vice president of the network communications systems business at Northrop Grumman's Information Systems sector. "The EQ-4B unmanned systems will continue to provide long endurance and unsurpassed communications persistence to our warfighters."

Northrop Grumman is the prime contractor for the development, fielding and maintenance of the BACN system and the RQ-4 Global Hawk aircraft. The company was awarded the first BACN contract in April 2005 by the Air Force Electronic Systems Center, Hanscom Air Force Base, Mass. The Global Hawk program is managed by the Air Force Aerospace Systems Center, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio.

"This latest award continues the BACN program tradition of delivering new capability on compressed timelines that meets the operational needs," said Steve Zell, Northrop Grumman BACN program director.

Northrop Grumman's work on the BACN program is managed and performed in San Diego with Global Hawk integration performed in Palmdale, Calif.

Northrop Grumman is a leading global security company providing innovative systems, products and solutions in aerospace, electronics, information systems, and technical services to government and commercial customers worldwide.

Afterwards, there was another contract signed for the delivery of 36 unmanned drones - $100 million. In April 2010, it was reported that Russia was purchasing 15 more drones from Israel.

Russia's Defense Ministry does not mind purchasing more unmanned aircraft, but the relations between Israel and the USA did not let the plans materialize. Moscow then offered Israel to build a plant to make Israeli drones in Russia. In addition, Russian officials addressed to several European countries in an attempt to purchase unmanned aircraft from them. For example, Russia bought several drones from Austria. To crown it all, Gorizont, a Russian company, assembles Austrian S-100 drones in the city of Rostov-on-Don.

However, Russian Vice Prime Minister Dmitry Rogozin stated in January of this year that the country could purchase arms from foreign countries only in exceptional cases.

It appears that unmanned aircraft refer exactly to such cases. The orders to Russian defense enterprises are supposed to symbolize serious intentions of the Russian government to catch up and surpass competitors in the field of the creations of future generations of weapons. Unlike Israeli aeroplane-type unmanned aircraft, it goes about the helicopter-type drones.

The heavy unmanned helicopter Albatros appears to be the most interesting project from the point of view of combat actions of the future. The helicopter, weighing up to three tons, is designed by Russian Helicopters. This aircraft, the trial model of which is to be built in 2017, can be used as an attack or transport helicopter that will not require pilot's presence for performing specific tasks.

Under the order from the Defense Ministry, the company is working on the short-range drone with the takeoff mass of 300 kilos. The project is known as Ka-135, formerly known as "Roller." Trial models are to be built by 2015, Gazeta.Ru said.

At the end of 2011, Russian Helicopters received a third order to design Ka-175 unmanned chopper with the takeoff mass of 700 kilos and the range of up to 300 kilometers.

According to the publication, the ministry assigned five billion rubles within the scope of the state defense order. It is not ruled out that the company will receive the orders for two other projects, the details of which have not been unveiled yet. Officials with the Russian company evaluate the works in the amount of 10 billion rubles in total by 2020.

It is worthy of note that Russian infrastructure and natural monopolies may also act as consumers of new technological developments. However, they prefer to use aeroplane-type drones to control remote objects and lengthy communication systems. Nevertheless, officials with the holding say that enterprises of the domestic energy industry may need approximately 250 drones by 2025. In general, the global demand on this type of aircraft may reach 7,000 units.

Thus, Russian Helicopters have something to struggle for, taking into consideration remarkable positions of the company in the field of manned aircraft, the majority of which enjoy the reputation of "best in the world."

Source: Pravda

Joint Stand-off Weapon (JSOW) C -1, DoD’s first network-enabled weapon, completed developmental test (DT) in late 2011 at Point Mugu Sea Range, Calif. The completion of DT enables the program to transition into the integrated test ahead of schedule.

The air-to-ground, medium-range, precision-guided glide weapon employs a GPS/inertial navigation system and an imaging infrared seeker for terminal guidance.

“This weapon will provide a new and essential capability to the warfighters’ anti-surface warfare weapon inventory,” said Capt. Carl Chebi, JSOW C-1 program manager. “The recent free-flight test demonstrates the JSOW C-1’s effectiveness against moving maritime targets.”

The recent test conducted by Air Test and Evaluation Squadron (VX) 31 verified the weapon's characteristics meet design performance requirements. The weapon hit its designated target, a QST-35 Seaborne Powered Target (SEPTAR) vessel measuring only 56 feet in length and moving at 15 knots. The test also demonstrated the weapon’s ability to receive in-flight commands and proved its capability of handing off control of the weapon to a third-party platform.

Throughout 2012, VX-31 and VX-9 will conduct two additional maritime free-flight tests as well as two flights against land test in Point Mugu. Tests events will be similar to missions JSOW C-1 will execute when operational.

The maritime tests will refine the data collected, thus far, providing additional assurance of the weapon’s capability against moving maritime targets. The land-based regression testing will focus on verifying that the JSOW C-1’s updated seeker software retained the legacy JSOW C stationary land target capabilities.

“Integrated testing will provide the additional data points we need to refine the weapon’s capabilities, as well as to assess the JSOW C-1 in an operationally representative environment,” said Cmdr. Samuel Hanaki, JSOW deputy program manager.

After the integrated test phase, the program will enter into operational testing in fiscal 2013.

The talks focused on further billateral cooperation in the field of defence and current situation in the region of the Near East.

Minister Vondra at the press conference emphasized that even though the Czech Republic and the Republic of Iraq are geographically distant, both countries are connected by eighty-year long intensive diplomatic relations which are to be followed. “We laid foundations of future cooperation during a trip of (Czech) Prime Minister Petr Necas to Badgad last May and today we could elaborate upon specific possibilities of mutually advantageous cooperation. Simply said, it consists of three areas - aircraft, modernisation of the Iraqi military and education,” Minister Vondra said.

“There is a wide range of possibilities in military cooperation, it is not about aircraft only. The potential of the Czech Republic is really considerable and we are highly interested in cooperation with the Czech military,” Minister Sadoon Al-Dulaimi said.

The media were interested mainly in the sale of subsonic L-159 Advanced Light Combat Aircraft to the Republic of Iraq.

“It has been a years-long marathon and I hope that this day has again brought us closer to the finish. The Iraqi Defence Minister did assure me that the Republic of Iraq is still interested in this type of aircraft,” Vondra said, adding that besides the L-159s he offered support with training of ground and flying personnel, capabilities of VOP Sternberk, education of Iraqi students at the University of Defence in Brno and experience in the field of protection against mass destruction weapons, and demining capabilities as well.

The T-6C+, an enhanced version of the T-6 military trainer aircraft, is capable of carrying external stores and delivering practice weapons for training purposes. The first two of six contracted FAM T-6C+ aircraft will be delivered to an advanced training base in Mexico's northern region in early 2012. The new T-6C+ trainers will replace the FAM’s aging PC-7 fleet.

“We look forward to providing the Mexican Air Force with the highly effective, ultra-reliable and low-maintenance Beechcraft T-6C+,” said Jim Maslowski, president, HBDC. “We see this sale of six aircraft as just the beginning of a long and productive relationship with the FAM.”

The T-6C+ features hard-point wings, Heads-Up Display, Up-Front Control Panel, an integrated glass cockpit and an advanced Esterline CMC Cockpit 4000 avionics suite that greatly expands advanced training opportunities. The systems are integrated with a Hands-On Throttle and Stick (HOTAS), providing the student pilot and instructor with a simpler interface to the digital cockpit.

The CMC Cockpit 4000 avionics suite is the first in its class to incorporate a fully integrated and FAA-certified dual FMS/GPS navigation suite that meets the required navigation performance standards for current worldwide airspace equipment. The open architecture design of the Cockpit 4000 provides the flexibility to expand capabilities and continuously meet current and future training needs.

In addition to accommodating instruction in instrument flight procedures and basic aerial maneuvers, the T-6 delivers world-class training capability that is appropriate for teaching the most basic introductory flight training tasks through the more challenging and complex advanced training missions that could previously be accomplished only in far more expensive jet aircraft.

Deliveries of the T-6 began in 2000 after the aircraft was initially selected to fill the Joint Primary Aircraft Training System role for the U.S. Air Force and the U.S. Navy. Since then, additional military programs worldwide, including NATO Flying Training in Canada, the Hellenic Air Force of Greece, the Israeli Air Force, the Iraqi Air Force and the Royal Moroccan Air Force, have chosen the T-6 and its derivatives as their primary trainers. To date, the T-6 has been used to train pilots, navigators, and weapons systems operators from approximately 20 different countries.

Hawker Beechcraft is a world-leading manufacturer of business, special mission, light attack and trainer aircraft – designing, marketing and supporting aviation products and services for businesses, governments and individuals worldwide. The company’s headquarters and major facilities are located in Wichita, Kan., with operations in Little Rock, Ark.; Chester, England, U.K.; and Chihuahua, Mexico.

The SLATE system consists of a PILARw acoustic antenna for detecting gunshots, produced by 01dB-Metravib, which is connected to the Kongsberg TOP 12.7 (Protector M151) remote control weapon system and an interface for the crew.

When integrated into the VAB, this assembly allows very fast response times against sniper type of attack. As soon as a gunshot is detected, the VAB’s crew can decide to cue the turret automatically in the direction of the danger. The target can be identified and fire returned immediately.

New functionalities have been developed in partnership with the DGA and the end-users (French Army Technical Department, STAT) to enhance the protection of troops: the sensitivity of SLATE allows the threat level to be determined by indicating whether the weapon used is small or medium caliber. At the same time, the SLATE system stores the geographical location of the attacking shooters in memory, even after the VAB has moved.

The VAB can therefore move into cover when engaged. Thanks to the added reach provided by the armament of the TOP 12.7 weapon station (a 12.7 mm machine gun or a 40 mm grenade launcher), the crew can move away from the threat while retaining the option of neutralizing targets from a safe distance.

Ultimately, the SLATE system could be connected to information and command systems to improve the sharing of information gathered at tactical level.

Renault Trucks Defense, a reference manufacturer for the terrestrial armed forces, designs and develops a full range of armoured vehicles, with the SHERPA. Legacy supplier to the French Army, with more than 4,000 VAB armoured personnel carriers in service, Renault Trucks Defense can claim more than 65 customer countries across the world. Employing 600 people in France, RTD's 2010 revenues exceeded 300 million euros. Armoured vehicles represent more than 60% of its activity, but it also has a truck offering geared to a very full range of military uses. Renault Trucks Defense participates in programmes with Nexter, such as the Caesar artillery system and the VBCI infantry fighting armoured vehicle. It holds several brand names across the world, including ACMAT.

Kongsberg Protech Systems is the world's leading supplier of Remote Weapon Stations providing flexible solutions that meet our customer's specific requirements. Through world class innovation, program execution and customer understanding, we aim to provide high tech systems for enhanced situational awareness and protection of personnel and property in high-risk areas. As of October 2010 the Protector has been chosen by 17 nations and Kongsberg continues to be the world’s leading provider of Remote Weapon Stations.

01dB-Metravib has a global “products and solutions” offer in acoustics and vibrations: hardware production, software publishing, engineering, audits, services, research, and training. Dedicated to the Armed and Police Forces, 01dB-Metravib Defense and Security Division has designed a complete range of products for threat detection and localisation, including gunshot and RPs named PILARw. PILARw is a combat proven solution used by many countries all around the world and is already deployed in almost every ISAF Force in Afghanistan.

Thus, even in the era of defence spending cuts, countries are still looking to acquire counter-IED systems to address this persistent menace. This new study calculates that the global counter-IED market in 2011 amounted to $6.4bn.

Improvised explosive devices (IEDs) have proven to be an effective and increasingly preferred weapon by insurgents, primarily in Iraq and later in Afghanistan, along with many other places in the world.

Many of the world's leading armed forces have responded by spending heavily on equipment that will protect against IEDs, such as mine-resistant vehicles, jammers that block radio signals meant to detonate IEDs, detection and disposal systems, and robots and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) intended to detect the deadly menace.

While demand has peaked in recent years, spending on counter-IED spending remains significant. IEDs, being cheap and relatively easy to make with widely available material are expected to remain a threat in future conflicts.

The US remains the main spender on counter-IED systems although its share will decline slightly, albeit it will still be the leading market over the next decade.

A number of countries in Europe remain key markets and there are there are countries in Asia and the Middle East seen to significantly increase spending on counter-IED systems over the decade.

This report is packed with 71 tables, charts and graphs that show key trends in the counter-IED market. At the global level, Visiongain provides forecasts for the period 2011-2021 in terms of value (US$) for total sales also for four key submarkets - mine-resistant vehicles, electronic countermeasures, detection systems and unmanned systems.

Forecasts for total sales are also provided for 10 leading national counter-IED markets with comprehensive analysis of counter-IED programmes in each of the 10 leading national markets.

This defence report, The Counter-IED Market 2011-2021: Systems and Technologies for Force Protection, will be valuable to those already involved in this important defence sector, or who are looking to participate in this dynamic defence sector.

The JCG Explorer will also be supplied with a light-weight self-articulating ramp based launch and recovery system which will be installed on one of their ships. This will enable the Coast Guard to launch and recover their AUV in an elevated sea state. The launch and recovery ramp system is built by Hawboldt Industries of Chester, Nova Scotia.

ISE has partnered with Fukada Salvage and Marine Works Co. Ltd. of Osaka for the provision of local operations and maintenance support for the JCG Explorer AUV. ISE and Fukada Salvage have a long relationship; earlier in 2011 Fukada purchased an Explorer AUV for their own survey operations.

ISE was formed in 1974 to design and build underwater vehicles. Based just outside Vancouver, Canada, ISE has delivered more than 230 vehicle systems and 400 robotic manipulators to more than 20 countries around the world.

The Explorer family of AUVs was introduced in 2003 and follows previous ISE AUVs including ARCS and Theseus. Explorer is a modular vehicle that can be configured for commercial, scientific or military customers. It can carry a wide range of sensors and has endurance options ranging from 12 to 85 hours.

It has developed a reputation as a reliable, stable and flexible sensor platform and in total, ISE AUVs have completed more than 120,000 kilometres of surveys.

The new sensor successfully and repeatedly measured ammonia (NH3) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2) at concentrations as small as 20 parts-per-million. Made from continuous graphene nanosheets that grow into a foam-like structure about the size of a postage stamp and thickness of felt, the sensor is flexible, rugged, and finally overcomes the shortcomings that have prevented nanostructure-based gas detectors from reaching the marketplace.

Results of the study were published today in the journal Scientific Reports, published by Nature Publishing Group. See the paper, titled "High Sensitivity Gas Detection Using a Macroscopic Three-Dimensional Graphene Foam Network."

"We are very excited about this new discovery, which we think could lead to new commercial gas sensors," said Rensselaer Engineering Professor Nikhil Koratkar, who co-led the study along with Professor Hui-Ming Cheng at the Shenyang National Laboratory for Materials Science at the Chinese Academy of Sciences. "So far, the sensors have shown to be significantly more sensitive at detecting ammonia and nitrogen dioxide at room temperature than the commercial gas detectors on the market today."

Over the past decade researchers have shown that individual nanostructures are extremely sensitive to chemicals and different gases. To build and operate a device using an individual nanostructure for gas detection, however, has proven to be far too complex, expensive, and unreliable to be commercially viable, Koratkar said.

Such an endeavor would involve creating and manipulating the position of the individual nanostructure, locating it using microscopy, using lithography to apply gold contacts, followed by other slow, costly steps. Embedded within a handheld device, such a single nanostructure can be easily damaged and rendered inoperable. Additionally, it can be challenging to "clean" the detected gas from the single nanostructure.

The new postage stamp-sized structure developed by Koratkar has all of the same attractive properties as an individual nanostructure, but is much easier to work with because of its large, macroscale size. Koratkar's collaborators at the Chinese Academy of Sciences grew graphene on a structure of nickel foam. After removing the nickel foam, what's left is a large, free-standing network of foam-like graphene.

Essentially a single layer of the graphite found commonly in our pencils or the charcoal we burn on our barbeques, graphene is an atom-thick sheet of carbon atoms arranged like a nanoscale chicken-wire fence. The walls of the foam-like graphene sensor are comprised of continuous graphene sheets without any physical breaks or interfaces between the sheets.

Koratkar and his students developed the idea to use this graphene foam structure as a gas detector. As a result of exposing the graphene foam to air contaminated with trace amounts of ammonia or nitrogen dioxide, the researchers found that the gas particles stuck, or adsorbed, to the foam's surface.

This change in surface chemistry has a distinct impact upon the electrical resistance of the graphene. Measuring this change in resistance is the mechanism by which the sensor can detect different gases.

Additionally, the graphene foam gas detector is very convenient to clean. By applying a ~100 milliampere current through the graphene structure, Koratkar's team was able to heat the graphene foam enough to unattach, or desorb, all of the adsorbed gas particles.

This cleaning mechanism has no impact on the graphene foam's ability to detect gases, which means the detection process is fully reversible and a device based on this new technology would be low power-no need for external heaters to clean the foam-and reusable.

Koratkar chose ammonia as a test gas to demonstrate the proof-of-concept for this new detector. Ammonium nitrate is present in many explosives and is known to gradually decompose and release trace amounts of ammonia.

As a result, ammonia detectors are often used to test for the presence of an explosive. A toxic gas, ammonia also is used in a variety of industrial and medical processes, for which detectors are necessary to monitor for leaks.

Results of the study show the new graphene foam structure detected ammonia at 1,000 parts-per-million in 5 to 10 minutes at room temperature and atmospheric pressure.

The accompanying change in the graphene's electrical resistance was about 30 percent. This compared favorably to commercially available conducting polymer sensors, which undergo a 30 percent resistance change in 5 to 10 minutes when exposed to 10,000 parts-per-million of ammonia.

In the same time frame and with the same change in resistance, the graphene foam detector was 10 times as sensitive. The graphene foam detector's sensitivity is effective down to 20 parts-per-million, much lower than the commercially available devices.

Additionally, many of the commercially available devices require high power consumption since they provide adequate sensitivity only at high temperatures, whereas the graphene foam detector operates at room temperature.

Koratkar's team used nitrogen dioxide as the second test gas. Different explosives including nitrocellulose gradually degrade, and are known to produce nitrogen dioxide gas as a byproduct.

As a result, nitrogen dioxide also is used as a marker when testing for explosives. Additionally, nitrogen dioxide is a common pollutant found in combustion and auto emissions. Many different environmental monitoring systems feature real-time nitrogen dioxide detection.

The new graphene foam sensor detected nitrogen dioxide at 100 parts-per-million by a 10 percent resistance change in 5 to 10 minutes at room temperature and atmospheric pressure. It showed to be 10 times more sensitive than commercial conducting polymer sensors, which typically detect nitrogen dioxide at 1,000 part-per-million in the same time and with the same resistance chance at room temperature.

Other nitrogen dioxide detectors available today require high power consumption and high temperatures to provide adequate sensitivity. The graphene foam sensor can detect nitrogen dioxide down to 20 parts-per-million at room temperature.

"We see this as the first practical nanostructure-based gas detector that's viable for commercialization," said Koratkar, a professor in the Department of Mechanical, Aerospace, and Nuclear Engineering at Rensselaer. "Our results show the graphene foam is able to detect ammonia and nitrogen dioxide at a concentration that is an order of magnitude lower than commercial gas detectors on the market today."

The graphene foam can be engineered to detect many different gases beyond ammonia and nitrogen dioxide, he said.

Studies have shown the electrical conductivity of an individual nanotube, nanowire, or graphene sheet is acutely sensitive to gas adsorbtion. But the small size of individual nanostructures made it costly and challenging to develop into a device, plus the structures are delicate and often don't yield consistent results.

The new graphene foam gas sensor overcomes these challenges. It is easy to handle and manipulate because of its large, macroscale size.

The sensor also is flexible, rugged, and robust enough to handle wear and tear inside of a device. Plus it is fully reversible, and the results it provides are consistent and repeatable. Most important, the graphene foam is highly sensitive, thanks to its 3-D, porous structure that allows gases to easily adsorb to its huge surface area.

Despite its large size, the graphene foam structure essentially functions as a single nanostructure. There are no breaks in the graphene network, which means there are no interfaces to overcome, and electrons flow freely with little resistance. This adds to the foam's sensitivity to gases.

"In a sense we have overcome the Achilles' heel of nanotechnology for chemical sensing," Koratkar said.

"A single nanostructure works great, but doesn't mean much when applied in a real device in the real world. When you try to scale it up to macroscale proportions, the interfaces defeats what you're trying to accomplish, as the nanostructure's properties are dominated by interfaces.

Now we're able to scale up graphene in a way that the interfaces are not present. This allows us to take advantage of the intrinsic properties of the nanostructure, yet work with a macroscopic structure that gives us repeatability, reliability, and robustness, but shows similar sensitivity to gas adsorbtion as a single nanostructure."

Source: Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute

The drill took place in the Yellow Sea to test readiness against infiltrations by North Korean warships and submarines.

"Today's drill shows our strong will not to tolerate further provocations by North Korea," a ministry spokesman told AFP, referring to the deadly bombardment of a South Korean border island last year.

The drill was part of a broader exercise involving about 20 destroyers, frigates and patrol boats as well as helicopters and anti-submarine surveillance aircraft, he said.

South Korea last week held a major land, sea and air exercise near the disputed Yellow Sea border to mark the anniversary of the island attack on November 23, 2010.

Those manoeuvres triggered an angry reaction from North Korea, which threatened to turn the South's presidential palace into a "sea of fire" in response to any provocation.

Last year's shelling killed two Marines and two civilians and damaged scores of buildings. It was the first attack on a civilian-populated area since the 1950-1953 war and caused outrage in the South.

Tensions have eased slightly in recent months but the South vows to hit back hard with artillery and air power for any fresh attack.