31 March 2023
by Oishee Majumdar
BEL said it will deliver 12 units of the Swathi weapon locating radar (pictured) to the Indian Army by 2025, under a INR9.91 billion contract. (BEL)
Indian public sector undertaking (PSU) Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) has secured multiple contracts from the Indian Ministry of Defence (MoD) to supply systems related to communication, air defence, electronic warfare (EW), electronic support measures (ESM), and radars to all the three services of the armed forces.
BEL will supply three systems to the Indian Army, namely the Swathi weapon locating radar (WLR) under a INR9.91 billion (USD120.6 million) contract; the Automated Air Defence Control and Reporting System (Project Akashteer) under a INR19.82 billion contract; and the Instant Fire Detection and Suppressing System (IFDSS) for the T-72 tanks, BEL said on 30 March.
31 May 2023
by Olivia Savage
Lockheed Martin's AN/TPS-77 ground-based radar is a deployable version of the AN/TPS-117 radar that can be set up within 30 minutes. (Lockheed Martin)
The Danish Ministry of Defence Acquisition Logistics Organisation (Forsvarsministeriets Materiel: FMI) has contracted Lockheed Martin to extend the life of the Royal Danish Air Force's two AN/TPS-77 long-range transportable radars.
According to the FMI on 31 May, the two radars will receive a mid-life upgrade (MLU) that was planned as part of the Danish Defence Agreement 2018–2023. The MLU is expected to be completed by mid-2025.
Lockheed Martin was awarded a USD40 million contract in 2005 for the provision of two AN/TPS-77 radars to enhance Denmark's air surveillance capabilities. The systems are stationed at fixed sites within radomes but can be quickly redeployed when required.
The AN/TPS-77 is a 3D active electronically scanned array (AESA) transportable air surveillance radar operating in the 1,215–1,400 MHz frequency band. The system has a range of 470 km and a detection altitude of 100,000 ft. It is in service with a number of countries including Australia, Brazil, Estonia, Indonesia, Iraq, Jordan, Latvia, Malaysia, Pakistan, South Korea, the UK, and the US.
30 May 2023
by Olivia Savage
The AN/PRC-163 two-channel radio will be procured for the Dutch armed forces as part of a wider communications programme known as Foxtrot that seeks to develop an agile interoperable land force supported with secure communications. (Harris Corp)
The Netherlands will replace all of its existing portable ground-to-air radios as part of the broader EUR1.5 billion (USD1.6 billion) 10-year Foxtrot tactical communications programme.
The project, known as the ‘Replacement of Ground-Air Radios', will involve acquiring L3Harris Technologies Falcon III AN/PRC-117G and AN/PRC-163 radios, replacing existing AN/PRC-117F and AN/PRC-152 systems that have been in service with the armed forces since 2002, the Dutch Ministry of Defence (MoD) announced on 25 May.
A number of AN/PRC-167 radios integrated into specific vehicles will also be purchased.
A total of 1,200 new radios will be acquired with up to EUR250 million allocated for the programme, the MoD said.
26 May 2023
by Richard Scott
The quantum accelerometer has been developed by Imperial College London. (Imperial College London)
A prototype quantum sensor device developed by Imperial College London completed the first period of at-sea testing onboard the UK Royal Navy (RN) trials and experimentation vessel XV Patrick Blackett .
The experiment is seen as a potential first step in understanding the application and exploitation of quantum-enabled navigation, which could provide significant navigational advantages when operating in environments where global navigation satellite systems (GNSS), such as Global Positioning System (GPS), are degraded or denied.
The quantum sensor developed by Imperial College London is a type of accelerometer. While conventional accelerometers are used in many different devices such as mobile phones and laptops, these sensors cannot maintain precise accuracy over long periods of time without an external reference to correct ‘drift'.
Indian public sector undertaking (PSU) Bharat Electronics Limited (BEL) has secured multiple contrac...
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