The showcase event at Yeomanry House in London, organised by the Defence Industries Council and the Ministry of Defence, is part of an annual series of events celebrating science, engineering and technology.

The occasion gave an insight into current technologies being deployed in support of the Armed Forces, as well as a forward look at the scientific innovations which may one day add to the current impressive range of tools affording military personnel a 'battle-winning' edge.

Opening yesterday's event at Yeomanry House, Minister for Defence Equipment and Support, Quentin Davies, said:

"Today's event celebrates the vital work of scientists, engineers and inventors who have helped cement the UK's position as a world leader in science and research.

"Their discoveries are reaping benefits for the Armed Forces and civil society, helping to improve and protect lives."

Industry exhibitors at the event joined Armed Forces personnel who are already benefiting from the latest cutting-edge technologies in the field.

These included personnel from 29 EOD (Explosive Ordnance Disposal) and Search Group and RAF unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) specialists, who recently combined ground technology and UAVs in Afghanistan to continually guard against threats such as IEDs.

Rear Admiral Rees Ward (Retd), Chief Executive Officer of Aerospace, Defence and Security and Secretary of the Defence Industries Council, said:

"This event is an excellent opportunity for the defence industry and the Ministry of Defence to demonstrate how we are working together to use the best of British innovation and technology to provide the best possible protection to our Armed Forces.

"We also hope that young people reading about the high-quality, high-tech kit on display will be enthused and encouraged to get involved in science, technology and engineering and go on to pursue successful careers in the industry.

"The 'Defence Matters Campaign', which has worked with the Ministry of Defence in organising this event, aims to inform people around the UK about the contribution the defence industry makes not just in terms of supporting our Armed Forces with the best equipment and service support available but also in terms of its economic contribution."

Every year the UK Defence Sector recruits many hundreds of science and engineering graduates.

The MOD has a 13,000-strong workforce of engineers and scientists forming the Defence Engineering and Science Group (DESG). These specialists are involved at every stage, from the research and development of new technologies through to their procurement and readiness for the front line.

Indeed, the MOD has deployed more scientists to the front line in recent operations than at any time since the Second World War.

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The formal launch of the new organization is awaiting congressional approval of its commander, Air Force Gen. Kevin P. Chilton, the commander of U.S. Strategic Command, said in a written statement submitted to the House Armed Services Committee’s subcommittee on strategic forces.

Army Lt. Gen. Keith B. Alexander, currently the director of the National Security Agency at Fort Meade, Md., has been nominated to command U.S. Cyber Command, pending Congressional approval. Alexander would, if confirmed, command both the NSA and Cyber Command and be promoted to full general.

“We look forward to continuing to work with Congress and our agency partners as we move forward to establish U.S. CYBERCOM,” Chilton said.

In June 2009, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates approved the establishment of cyber command to assume responsibility for operating and defending the Defense Department’s information networks as a unified sub-division of strategic command.

Gates charged U.S. Strategic Command –- that’s based at Offutt Air Force Base near Omaha, Neb., and responsible for the United States’ nuclear arsenal and global deterrence, as well as space and information operations -- to stand up the new sub-command. Cyber Command will be constituted by adjoining strategic command’s joint task force for global network operations under the operational control of the joint functional component command for network warfare, which had previously separated offensive and defensive cyberspace activities.

“This segregation detracts from natural synergies and ignores our experience in organizing to operate in the air, land, sea, and space domains,” Chilton said. “The establishment of U.S. CYBERCOM will remedy this problem in the cyber domain.”

The Defense Department operates more than 15,000 computer networks across 4,000 military installations in 88 countries. Command and control, military intelligence and logistics, and the development and fielding of weapons technology, all depend on ready access to information networks, James N. Miller, principal deputy under secretary of defense for policy, said in prepared remarks to the subcommittee.

“Modern armed forces simply cannot conduct high-tempo, effective operations without resilient, reliable information and communication networks and assured access to cyberspace,” Miller said.

In anticipation of the joint cyber entity, and to better ease the integration of its operations, all four service branches consolidated their individual cyber forces and created new unified commands in the past year. The department also has begun training and equipping cyber security experts and expects to develop a readily available workforce of cyber specialists, Miller said.

Chilton highlighted the necessity of standing up Cyber Command as soon as possible, addressing ongoing vulnerabilities in the department’s information networks. He cited, without elaborating, a “serious intrusion” into the Defense Department’s networks last year.

Though corrective action was taken, “cyberspace is our least mature line of operation and it is likely to remain so for some time,” he said.

Yet, Chilton remains confident that the United States will be able to master this new realm of 21st century warfighting.

“When people first took to the skies, some wondered why we would ever need to fly,” he said. “But no one today can imagine life without air travel or national security without air forces …. Just as the U.S. mastered the air domain, we will continue to strive to preserve our freedom of action in cyberspace.”

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The Symphony systems are U.S. Government-approved for sale through the Foreign Military Sales program to allied, coalition and partner nations for operations in Iraq, Afghanistan and other nations.

"Symphony is mounted on convoy vehicles and has been proven in combat against Radio-Controlled IEDs," said Carl Bannar, vice president and general manager of Lockheed Martin's Radar Systems business. "The system was engineered and built to provide continuous electronic force protection against RC-IEDs in the most rugged, tactical and extreme environments."

Symphony is programmable and designed for easy installation, operation and maintenance on a diverse set of platforms used by security forces worldwide. It is compatible and interoperable with other communications systems and jamming devices.

Lockheed Martin performs Symphony system production, vehicle system integration, depot and logistic support and engineering work at facilities in Florida and Virginia, as well as in theater. Lockheed Martin has produced Symphony since 2006, has delivered more than 1,000 systems and, prior to the latest contract, had received orders totaling $126 million.

Headquartered in Bethesda, Md., Lockheed Martin is a global security company that employs about 140,000 people worldwide and is principally engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture, integration and sustainment of advanced technology systems, products and services. The Corporation reported 2009 sales of $45.2 billion.

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Representatives of the U.S. Navy and Air Force were on hand to commemorate the event, which took place at the company's facility in Rolling Meadows, Ill.

"Your IRCM system is a high priority inside the U.S. Marine Corps because it protects the pilots out flying important missions every day," said Dan Johnson, Integrated Product Team lead for the Department of the Navy's DIRCM Systems. "It allows us to go where we need to go, whenever we need to be there."

"Since the program's inception, our team members have been focused and dedicated to producing high-quality self-protection systems to protect our nation's warfighters," said Carl Smith, vice president of Infrared Countermeasures Programs at Northrop Grumman's Land & Self Protection Systems Division. "The work we do here provides the most robust, battle-proven capability to protect the warfighter on the battlefield today."

The only such aircraft protection system currently in full production, Northrop Grumman's DIRCM system is now installed or scheduled for installation on several hundred military aircraft to protect approximately 50 different types of large fixed-wing transports and rotary-wing platforms from infrared missile attacks. The system functions by automatically detecting a missile launch, determining if it is a threat and activating a high-intensity laser-based countermeasure system to track and defeat the missile.

Northrop Grumman Corporation is a leading global security company whose 120,000 employees provide innovative systems, products, and solutions in aerospace, electronics, information systems, shipbuilding and technical services to government and commercial customers worldwide.

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"We're morphing from a symptom-based approach in theater to an incident-based approach," a senior official said March 15 during a "DoDLive" bloggers roundtable.

"The tenet behind this is we strongly believe that early detection and early treatment decrease the complaints of post-traumatic brain injury after sustaining an injury," said Kathy Helmick, interim senior executive director for traumatic brain injury and director of TBI clinical standards of care at the Defense Centers of Excellence for Psychological Health and Traumatic Brain Injury.

The new protocol will go into effect soon and will make head injury evaluations mandatory for servicemembers who have been involved in incidents such as being close to explosions or blasts. In the past, Ms. Helmick explained, servicemembers simply decided for themselves whether to report symptoms. Moving forward, the medical staff will check everyone involved in such incidents.

To get the incident-based protocols going, officials are using an "educate, train, track and treat" sequence, Ms. Helmick said. This involves:

• Ensuring awareness at all levels in recognizing symptoms of brain injuries;
• Training health care providers in evidence-based treatments;
• Treating incidents early; and
• Tracking progress to yield metrics that would show where improvements are needed.

"We are fast-tracking our research portfolios so that we can translate the findings from research being done into clinical practice and improve care on the battlefield as soon as possible," Ms. Helmick said.

Researchers are looking at blast dynamics related to the direction of explosions and relationships between the magnitude of explosions in enclosed and open locations, Ms. Helmick explained. This could help in determining ways to decrease the incidents of brain injury along with examining the nature of attacks, she said.

Research also is under way to explore psychological health and TBI, Ms. Helmick said.

"We are trying to really help bring the disciplines together so that we can provide more clarity to the timing of treatment for specific psychological health conditions and how that marries up with traumatic brain injury," she said.

If a patient is being treated for post-traumatic stress disorder, she noted, traumatic brain injury clinicians need to be in sync so that therapy can be maximized.

The department also is working with National Football League representatives to share information on TBI research. Ms. Helmick noted that officials at both the NFL and the Defense Department have stepped up efforts to learn more about brain injuries and implement measures for prevention and treatment.

"So the groups are working on creating a change in attitude so that servicemembers, like athletes, don't discount symptoms but get early treatment, which will lead to early recovery," Ms. Helmick said.

Part of the Defense Department's effort focuses on educating commanders and supervisors.

"We've really stressed with the line command that this is not about taking someone away from mission," Ms. Helmick said. "This is about keeping them in the safe zone while they are vulnerable for a second injury, making sure they get checked out and then getting them back to doing what they love."

She added that one of the strongest initiatives in treating TBI is educating servicemembers about the importance of sharing their symptoms, knowing what to expect for a natural recovery and developing strategies to deal with the symptoms. This, she said, has been shown repeatedly to help in decreasing symptom reporting and enhancing recovery.

"Our real message to send out to everyone is, 'Protect your greatest weapon, your brain,'" Ms. Helmick said. "The cornerstone is early detection and early treatment, and that these are recoverable injuries."

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Lockheed Martin has begun start-up activities and procurement of long-lead components to support the earliest possible launch date for GeoEye-2. This effort will lead to a contract award for the design, engineering and manufacturing of the satellite and the associated command and control system.

Lockheed Martin Space Systems, a world leader in the most advanced space-based systems for government and commercial customers, designed and built the world's first commercial, high-resolution, Earth-imaging satellite, IKONOS, which has been providing 0.82-meter ground resolution imagery to GeoEye's customers around the globe for more than a decade.

These map-accurate images are used for applications in national security, environmental monitoring, state and local government, disaster assessment and relief, land management and for many other geospatial applications.

"GeoEye and Lockheed Martin have had a long and productive partnership since building and launching the first commercial remote sensing satellite," said Joanne Maguire, executive vice president, Lockheed Martin Space Systems. "Our GeoEye-2 solution will leverage our strong government and commercial satellite system expertise and focus on operational excellence and mission success to provide GeoEye with another world-class, high-performance spacecraft for its customers."

Matthew O'Connell, GeoEye's chief executive officer and president, said, "We look forward to working with Lockheed Martin again and eagerly anticipate the construction and successful launch of another cutting-edge satellite which will provide proven reliability and greatly enhanced imaging capabilities for our customers."

Lockheed Martin's GeoEye-2 solution will build on the company's deep heritage and ability to execute within cost and schedule in this mission area and offer increased agility, resolution and flexibility over IKONOS and GeoEye-1. This will enable the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) to provide critical geospatial situational awareness and global security information to intelligence analysts, war fighters and decision makers. Commercial users will also benefit from access to GeoEye-2's map-accurate color imagery. The spacecraft will feature a high-resolution ITT camera that has been in development for more than two years.

GeoEye, Inc. is an international information services company serving government and commercial markets. Headquartered in Dulles, Virginia, the Company has 535 employees dedicated to developing best-in-class geospatial information products and services. GeoEye is a public company listed on the NASDAQ stock exchange under the symbol GEOY.

Headquartered in Bethesda, Md., Lockheed Martin is a global security company that employs about 140,000 people worldwide and is principally engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture, integration and sustainment of advanced technology systems, products and services. The Corporation reported 2009 sales of $45.2 billion.

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The contract calls for installation of a power management system in a government-furnished High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle for test and evaluation by the Marine Corps in the summer of 2010. The Marine Corps is evaluating systems from two suppliers and plans to award a contract for five to 10 additional systems later this year.

The system will more than triple the HMMWV's electric power output and provide exportable power to support facilities such as forward-deployed command centers and field hospitals. It also can provide mobile emergency power during natural disasters. The contract award is part of the Marine Corps' Onboard Vehicle Power program, funded by the 2009 American Recovery and Reinvestment Act.

"BAE Systems recognizes the need for more electricity to power the equipment of the modern military," said Marion Van Fosson, general manager of military vehicle systems for BAE Systems. "Our system supports the Marine Corps' commitment to develop and field new solutions that reduce energy consumption and dependence on fossil fuels. Most importantly, the technology will help improve mission effectiveness."

BAE Systems will perform vehicle integration work that expands the HMMWV's power generation capability to 30 kilowatts of continuous mobile onboard power, directly supporting Marine Corps expeditionary units. The integrated, modular, scalable system generates and manages power for use on the vehicle and as an exportable power source, eliminating the need for towed generators and improving the HMMWV's mobility.

The system also manages electrified automotive accessory systems such as water pumps, engine fans, power steering pumps, and air conditioning. Electrifying these traditionally belt-driven systems improves mobility by providing more horsepower to drive the vehicle, improving fuel economy, and extending engine life.

BAE Systems' onboard power management system is currently used on the U.S. military's Paladin Integrated Management vehicle and demonstrated on the HMMWV, Family of Medium Tactical Vehicles, and Stryker vehicles.

BAE Systems is a global defense, security, and aerospace company with approximately 107,000 employees worldwide. The company delivers a full range of products and services for air, land, and naval forces, as well as advanced electronics, security, information technology solutions, and customer support services. In 2009, BAE Systems reported sales of £22.4 billion (US $36.2 billion).

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“The essence of Phantom Eye is its propulsion system,” said Darryl Davis, Boeing Phantom Works president. “After five years of technology development, we are now deploying rapid prototyping to bring together an unmanned aerial vehicle [UAV] with a breakthrough liquid-hydrogen propulsion system that will be ready to fly early next year.”

Phantom Eye’s entire propulsion system -- including the engine, turbo chargers and engine control system -- successfully completed an 80-hour test in an altitude chamber on March 1, clearing the way for the propulsion system and UAV to be assembled.

The twin-engine Phantom Eye demonstrator will have a 150-foot wingspan and be capable of flying for more than four days at altitudes up to 65,000 feet while carrying a payload of up to 450 pounds. Phantom Eye is designed to maintain a persistent presence in the stratosphere over a specific area, while performing missions that could include intelligence, reconnaissance, surveillance and communication. Boeing also is developing a larger HALE that will stay aloft for more than 10 days and carry payloads of more than 2,000 pounds, and building “Phantom Ray,” a fighter-sized UAV that will be a flying test bed for advanced technologies.

“We believe Phantom Eye and Phantom Ray represent two areas where the unmanned aerial vehicle market is heading, and rapid prototyping is the key to getting us there,” said Dave Koopersmith, Advanced Boeing Military Aircraft vice president. “These innovative demonstrators reduce technology risks and set the stage for meeting both military and commercial customers’ future needs.”

Phantom Eye evolved from Boeing’s earlier success with the piston-powered Condor that set several records for altitude and endurance in the late 1980s. Boeing, as the Phantom Eye system designer, is working closely with Ball Aerospace, Aurora Flight Sciences, Ford Motor Co. and MAHLE Powertrain to develop the demonstrator.

Phantom Ray evolved from the X-45C program. It is scheduled to make its first flight in December.

A unit of The Boeing Company, Boeing Defense, Space & Security is one of the world’s largest defense, space and security businesses specializing in innovative and capabilities-driven customer solutions, and the world’s largest and most versatile manufacturer of military aircraft. Headquartered in St. Louis, Boeing Defense, Space & Security is a $34 billion business with 68,000 employees worldwide.

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Future Immersive Training Environment, or FITE, is a virtual reality-based training system to improve team decision-making skills through a series of realistic scenarios that challenges warfighters to read and react to situations and signals they may encounter in combat.

Jay Reist, FITE operational manager, said the system has four scenarios drafted from warfighter experiences in Iraq and Afghanistan and designed by professional writers and medical professionals.

"We want to focus on how young men, ages 18 to 24, think in complex environments,” he said. “Through this virtual experience, we can engage that and prepare them for deployments. We want their first firefight to be no worse than their last simulation."

Marines from the 2nd Battalion, 8th Marine Regiment, participated in the training here. They were strapped into their gear, with sensors added to their helmets, weapons and knees to track their movement in the training world.

FITE organizers also tracked medical feedback, such as heart rate and other factors, so that experts could monitor how immersed they were becoming in the experience and how stressful or excited they became during the exercise.

Marine Corps 1st Lt. Stephen Lind, platoon commander, assessed the efforts of his Marines throughout the training by conducting after-action reviews following each scenario to explain what they did well and pointing out areas that needed improvement.

"They're doing well. They're doing a great job adapting and learning their [roles]," said Lind, who recently returned from Afghanistan. "This training is a good, valuable tool. I had my doubts about it, thinking that it was just going to be a video game. But I've been really impressed by what it brings to the table."

Lind said he was impressed by the realism of the digital towns, people, terrain, buildings and behaviors, adding that they closely resembled what he remembers from his experiences.

Marine Corps Lance Cpl. Craig Fazenbaker, who has served in Iraq and Afghanistan, said he thought some things missing from the scenarios, but that overall he thought they were a valuable training tool.

"There were a couple of things that I think they should add, [such as] more people in the towns, as well as the loudspeaker that called people to prayer. When that thing went off, no matter where you were, you heard it," he said, adding that grenades also would be a useful addition.

"Overall, my heart was pumping and the squad had really good communication with each other,” Fazenbaker said. “That last part we went through was really intense," he said, noting the realism of a direct engagement.

An additional testing of this first phase of testing is scheduled for later this month at Fort Benning, Ga. The next phase, scheduled for September at Camp Pendleton, Calif., will feature mixed reality programs in which trainees will interact in immersive environments and engage physical and mental obstacles, with more emphasis on live training instead of the virtual training experienced in the first phase.

(Army Sgt. Josh LeCappelain serves in the U.S. Joint Forces Command public affairs office.)

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Boeing Directed Energy Systems and wholly owned Boeing subsidiary Spectrolab have jointly developed the camera using their own research and development funding, and successfully tested it over the past two years by attaching it to mobile ground platforms and a Boeing AH-6 Little Bird helicopter. Equipped with advanced sensors that were developed by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Lincoln Laboratory and transferred to Boeing under a teaming arrangement, the cube-shaped camera is one-third the size and uses one-tenth the power of most comparable 3-D imaging cameras.

"Our three-dimensional camera fits a lot of capability into a small package," said Nasser Karam, vice president of Advanced Technology Products at Spectrolab. "Its compact design and modest power needs will allow it to be deployed on a wide range of platforms, including unmanned aerial and ground vehicles that don't have much room or power to spare."

The camera, which Boeing can customize for each customer, has many potential uses, including mapping terrain, tracking targets and seeing through foliage. To create a 3-D image, the camera fires a short pulse of laser light, then measures the pulse's flight time to determine how far away each part of the camera's field of view is.

"The camera combines cutting-edge sensor technology with Boeing's advanced pointing and tracking solutions and real-time processing to provide our customers with highly integrated 3-D imaging payloads for ground, airborne or space-based applications," said Joseph Paranto, Growth lead for Directed Energy Systems in Albuquerque.

Boeing is currently integrating the camera into compact 3-D imaging payloads on unmanned aerial vehicles and will be testing that capability this spring. The team will also add 3-D video capability to the camera soon to complement its existing still-image capability.

A unit of The Boeing Company, Boeing Defense, Space & Security is one of the world's largest defense, space and security businesses specializing in innovative and capabilities-driven customer solutions, and the world's largest and most versatile manufacturer of military aircraft. Headquartered in St. Louis, Boeing Defense, Space & Security is a $34 billion business with 68,000 employees worldwide.

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