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Archive for the ‘International’ Category

Rheinmetall Supplying Ukraine with Automated Reconnaissance Systems – Order in the Two-Digit Million-Euro Range

Wednesday, March 1st, 2023

At the behest of the German government, Rheinmetall is supplying Ukraine with automated reconnaissance systems. These are primarily used for monitoring large areas of terrain with as few personnel as possible. Rheinmetall is cooperating in this project with the Estonian company DefSecIntel. Known as the SurveilSPIRE, these reconnaissance systems consist of mobile surveillance towers with day and night-capable camera equipment, autopiloted mini drones and a control system. The scope of delivery also includes transport vehicles. The order is worth a figure in the double-digit million-euro range. Delivery has already commenced.

Made by Estonia’s DefSecIntel, the SurveilSPIRE surveillance towers can be loaded onto trailers and quickly transported to their area of operation. Assembly requires three personnel; operation is fully automated. The system includes wireless links (4G and Starlink) for video transmission to a mobile command post. Solar panels enable sustained operation without power cables or a fuel source. The system relies on autopiloted reconnaissance drones that conduct patrols and mission-specific flights. This enables inspection of detected threats and lets the operator initiate necessary countermeasures.

Rheinmetall is already taking part in several projects in support of Ukraine. On behalf of the German government, for example, Rheinmetall subsidiary Zeppelin Mobile Systeme GmbH is supplying Ukraine this year with a turnkey field hospital. Moreover, along with other defence materiel to help it repel the Russian invasion, Ukraine is taking delivery of 26 brand new high-mobility HX swap-body trucks.

Furthermore, Rheinmetall is a partner in multiple multilateral “Ringtausch” transactions. This procedure, developed by the German government, is designed to support the Ukrainian war effort in cooperation with Germany’s European neighbours and NATO partners. Here, NATO member nations transfer Soviet-era equipment to Ukraine in exchange for surplus Western-made systems.

Enforce Tac 23 – DEFTEX

Tuesday, February 28th, 2023

Red Beard Tactical is working with DEFTEX to introduce the New Load Bearing System (NLBS), a lightweight, highly modular load carrying system.

With the basic components you can configure the rig multiple ways including chest and belt rigs, including dedicated magazine inserts for retention.

486th Birthday of the Spanish Marine Corps

Monday, February 27th, 2023

Longtime reader Jorge, from tirotactico.net asked us to give a shout out to the Spanish Marine Corps, the oldest Marine Corps in the world!

Happy Birthday!

HENSOLDT to Strengthen CAE Aviation Surveillance Fleet with High-Performance Radar

Saturday, February 25th, 2023

PrecISR multi-mission radar offers unique detection and tracking capabilities

Taufkirchen/Germany, 22 February 2023 – Sensor solutions specialist HENSOLDT will supply another multi-mission surveillance radar PrecISR™ to one of the biggest airborne surveillance providers, CAE Aviation, Luxembourg. CAE Aviation, which operates a large fleet of surveillance aircraft, has decided to renew its trust in HENSOLDT by awarding them with a contract to deliver another PrecISR™1000. This is the second order, after HENSOLDT having delivered the first PrecISR™ in 2021.

PrecISR™ radars are currently operated by experienced ISR operators from CAE Aviation in challenging areas of operations for various types of missions and for very demanding end-users.

PrecISR™ offers impressive Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) / Ground Moving Target Indicator (GMTI) capabilities, enabling its operators to detect and track, in real time, a very large diversity of small moving targets of interest (troops, convoys, suspicious vehicles, etc..). PrecISR™ technology ensures a reliable and accurate surveillance of static and moving threats, despite adverse weather conditions which might obstruct the EO/IR sensor results.

“We feel really proud that CAE Aviation keeps investing in new ISR capabilities by maintaining its trust in our plug-and-play high performance radar”, said Pierre Marquis, Sales Director Airborne ISR Radars at HENSOLDT.

“The versatility of the Hensoldt PrecISR™ 1000 radar allows us to meet the needs of our most demanding customers, regardless of the mission profiles we perform “, said David Attali, CEO at CAE Aviation.

PrecISR™ is the right solution for an operational and battle proven multi-mission radar system. Because of its compact design, the airborne platform integration of PrecISR™ is simplified significantly compared to other radars.

The superior performance of PrecISR™ enables airborne operators to accomplish large area surveillance in one flight pass and get top-notched results in real time up to 370km range. Even in the most difficult environmental conditions and sea states, PrecISR™ operators will take advantage of an unrivalled level of situational awareness with significant flight cost savings.

Camo Scrim Kit and Helmet Scrim from Finn-Savotta Oy

Thursday, February 23rd, 2023

Finland’s Savotta may not be the first company to produce a camo scrim kit, but man, those photos.

Savotta’s Camo scrim kit allows you to quickly fine tune the camouflage of your equipment to match your surroundings. Each kit includes five each 145 cm long strips of the same color.

Made from 500D Cordura, they are available in green, brown, white, M05 woodland, MultiCam and MultiCam Tropic.

All colors offer great NIR performance. They recommend you combine them to create multi-colored 3D camouflage patterns.

Savotta tells us these are made in Finland utilizing incredible space-age laser technology.

While you can most certainly camo up your helmet with the Scrim Kit, they’ve also made a dedicated Helmet Scrim which is specifically cut for high cut helmets, but can be used on most full/low cut helmets too.

The laser cut zig-zag pattern is positioned so that it creates an opening for NVG mounts at the front. Small slits are cut around the edges for the elastic cord.l which cinches it down.

The Helmet Scrim is available in the same colors as the DIY Scrim Kit and is made from the same material, cut utilizing the same incredible space-age laser technology.

www.savotta.fi

Tulmar Receives $2.68M Contract Award for Tactical Flotation Systems

Wednesday, February 22nd, 2023

Tulmar Safety Systems is pleased to announce that they have received a $2.68M contract award for solicitation number W8482-230492/A by the Canadian Department of National Defence for the supply of 2,000 Tactical Life Preserver Units (LPUs) and ancillary accessory items to the Royal Canadian Navy. 

‘We are honored that the men and women of the Royal Canadian Navy’s Tactical Operations Group, Naval Boarding Parties, and Naval Security Teams can put their trust in Tulmar to safeguard them while conducting operations’ says Matt Fisher, Director of Defense Business Development for Tulmar.  Since its founding in 1992, Tulmar has became a leading supplier of maritime and aviation survival and life support equipment to defense and tactical law enforcement organizations around the world. 

General Robotics Showcases New Integrations at IDEX/NAVDEX 2023

Tuesday, February 21st, 2023

Moshav Beit Nehemya, Israel, 20 February 2023:


170M DETECTOR USV

General Robotics, Israel’s leader in Light Weight RCWS Systems and tactical robotics, highlights advanced integrations of the company’s systems over platforms from several manufacturers. The systems are displayed by several leading integrators participating in the IDEX defense exhibition and NAVDEX naval expo opening today in Abu Dhabi.

SHARK – Naval Light & Smart RCWS

On display is the SHARK, a remotely controlled weapon system (RCWS) mounting an M2HB .50 machine gun. SHARK is installed over the 170M DETECTOR, an autonomous vessel developed by the ADSB company and IAI. (Stand 05-A05)

Built as a rugged, robust, seaworthy system, it is versatile enough to operate remotely on a cluttered deck, scoring direct hits at a sea state up to 3, where the platform and targets constantly move. With SHARK onboard, operators can benefit from advanced automation, stabilization, and platform integration functions such as the intuitive ‘Point & Shoot™ technology’. The AI-driven fire control runs a target prediction algorithm (TPA) to align the projectile’s path and the target’s expected location and points the weapon in that direction. Only then is a burst fired. This technique has demonstrated a hit accuracy of over 80 percent.


Pitbull RCWS mounting the Sig Sauer MG338

PITBULL RCWS

The latest version of the PITBULL lightweight RCWS is shown in two configurations. One is shown by the Abu Dhabi company EDT, mounted on Plasan’s ATEMM, a ground robotic vehicle that can be deployed as an unattended weapon system. The ATEMM on display carries a stack of loitering weapons, self-protected by General Robotics’ PITBULL RCWS mounting the .50 CAL H2MG. (Stand 11-C07). The PITBULL is also displayed with the new MG338 at Sig Sauer’s Stand 02-B14.


PITBULL RCWS mounted on Plasan’s ATEMM.


Teamwork – DOGO and CHAMELEON.

Robotic Teamwork

The teamwork of two operational robotic systems developed by General Robotics is also explored. DOGO, a small tracked armed reconnaissance robot optimized for operations indoors, is now geared to work with Chameleon as a marsupial robot carried on DOGO’s back or thrown up to a higher floor or roof to enhance situational awareness and extend communications link. DOGO and CHAMELEON are on display at International Golden Group (IGG) at Stand 04-C20


PITBULL provides the hard kill element of UAE’s Resource Industries’ C-UAS suite.

PITBULL Anti Drone

Another version of PITBULL highlights the system’s anti-drone capabilities. PITBULL can be equipped with electronic effectors from D-FEND Solutions or Droneshield for soft-kill or employ a firearm with its sophisticated automatic target recognition, tracking, and advanced target prediction capabilities for hard kill. Resource Industries (Booth CP-050) shows the PITBULL Anti-Drone in this configuration.

Milrem Robotics Exhibits Cutting-Edge Intelligent and Integrated Robotic Systems at IDEX 2023

Monday, February 20th, 2023

The leading European robotics and autonomous systems developer Milrem Robotics exhibits several cutting-edge intelligent and integrated robotic systems at IDEX 2023 launched today in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

The robotic systems on display are intended for a wide range of missions, including tactical intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR), and sophisticated combat operations.

Milrem Robotics’ unmanned systems are complemented with Milrem’s Intelligent Functions Kit MIFIK which provides autonomous capabilities and a command-and-control system intended specifically for robotic systems that integrates multiple dissimilar unmanned aerial and ground assets. Milrem Robotics’ solutions aim to facilitate manned-unmanned teaming, the synchronized deployment of soldiers, manned and unmanned air and ground vehicles, robotics, and sensors to achieve enhanced situational awareness, increased lethality, and improved survivability.

”In ten years Milrem Robotics has evolved from a vehicle developer into a system integrator in the robotics domain. We provide full system solutions including different ground and aerial systems with integrated command and control. Over the next years we will increase our product portfolio in terms of new autonomous ground systems and work on manned-unmanned teaming solutions,” said Kuldar Väärsi, CEO of MIlrem Robotics.

Altogether three Milrem Robotics’ systems can be found at IDEX.

The Type-X Robotic Combat Vehicle is an organic part of mechanized units that can take the most dangerous positions and provide equal or overmatching firepower and tactical usage compared to traditional Infantry Fighting Vehicles. Thanks to Vegvisir’s Mixed Reality Situational Awareness System Type-X operators have a 360-degree virtual dome with EO/IR sensor fusion for both close and medium proximity vision and target engagement capabilities in any condition.

In addition to a 30mm autocannon, the Type-X is equipped with Halcon’s Hunter 2S loitering munitions launchers. 

The two other displayed robotic systems are based on the multi-mission THeMIS unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) that is already delivered to 16 countries, including 8 NATO members and that has proven itself during a 12-month deployment in Mali during Operation Barkhane.

The THeMIS Combat UGV provides high-precision direct-fire support for manoeuvre units. With the self-stabilizing, dual-gun SCORPION Remotely Controlled Weapon Station (RCWS) by Saudi Advanced Technologies (Wahaj), advanced sensors and fire control system, the THeMIS Combat allows units to assess and engage the enemy at maximum standoff distances, increasing force protection and survivability. Additional security is provided with the Spexer 2000 radar, which can detect small and slow as well as fast manoeuvring targets on the move and operate in a high-clutter environment.

The THeMIS Observe is built for tactical reconnaissance missions. The system includes a variety of sensors for day and night operations, acoustic gunshot detector, smoke screen protection and a ground surveillance radar. Extra security is provided by the deFNder® Light RWS by FN Herstal. The combination of those systems allows units to do multi sensor identification on one platform and react faster on emerging targets.

The company’s products are on display with EDGE, one of the world’s leading defence groups, and an emerging leader in the development and manufacture of technologically advanced autonomous systems in stand A05 – C10.