If you have been around the US military for awhile you are probably familiar with the issue strobe light. Originally designed for use by downed Airmen and other isolated personnel, it is bulky and early versions were more suited to Civil Search and Rescue than Combat Search and Rescue. However, it does the job; marking friendly troops. In 1984 the Phoenix light came along, a no frills IR beacon that attached directly to a common 9-volt battery and a flash rate intentionally designed to avoid confusion with small arms fire. Weighing in at 1 ounce, the Phoenix light has seen duty marking personnel, perimeters, drop zones, and vehicles. Due to its low cost and simplicity, the Phoenix Jr is still the most widely used electronic combat ID marker in the world.
Later, a certain user community required a beacon with multiple pre-programmed flash patterns including an option to program unique patterns in the field. The Pegasus 2 was born. The form factor hasn’t changed much, but the capability has. The Pegasus 2 has three user-selectable six second flash patterns; the first code pattern is a fixed flash rate code identical to the Phoenix Jr., the second code pattern is a International Morse Code signal (S – O – S) and the third is installed as needed by the user in the field. Note the pins along the top of the beacon. By shorting across these pins the user can select pre-programmed patterns or input new ones.
So what’s next in the world of beacons? Cejay has just released a new beacon for working dogs, the K-9 Pegasus Warrior beacon. Designed to be worn on the dog’s collar, it is intended to help track working dogs while they are off-leash. In many situations, it is a major relief to know who the friendly K-9s are.
There are three models: Red, NVG Green, and IR.
You’ll be seeing a lot more of Cejay Engineering’s products in future articles here at Soldier Systems Blog.
For more information on the Phoenix Light as well as other products visit Cejay Engineering.
All photos are courtesy of Cejay Engineering. Note: Export Notification: Infrared Variants of the described products are regulated by the U.S. State Department in accordance with the guidelines of the International Traffic in Arms Regulation [ITAR] per title 22 code of federal regulations parts 120 – 130. Some Cejay products are available only to military and Law Enforcement personnel.
Tags: Beacon, Cejay Engineering, Combat ID