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'.
14 March 2024
by Akhil Kadidal
The Chinese PLA conducted air operation over the Western Pacific, in the vicinity of the Japan's southwestern islands and Taiwan on 9–10 and 12 March 2024. (Japan Ministry of Defense/Taiwan Ministry of National Defense/Janes)
The Chinese People's Liberation Army (PLA) conducted a long-range operation over the Western Pacific with special mission and combat aircraft.
The operation, conducted over three days from 9 to 10 March and on 12 March, according to data from the Japan Ministry of Defense (MoD), was potentially an effort to gauge Japan's strengthening of air defences and military units on its southernmost islands, towards Taiwan. The air operations were also potentially part of an anti-access/aerial denial (A2/AD) drill.
According to MoD data, a PLA Shaanxi Aircraft Industry (Group) Corporation (SAIC) Y-8Q anti-submarine warfare (ASW) aircraft operated about 230 n miles west of Taiwan and about 115 n miles south of Miyako-jima from “morning to afternoon”. On the following day, the same Y-8Q (no 61) conducted a larger patrol sweep from “morning to the afternoon” over the same area, the Japan MoD data added.
11 March 2024
by Ajay Shankar Pandey & Jeremy Binnie
The airborne SAR was displayed on the Iranian stand labelled as both the S-811 and the larger S-813. (Janes/Ajay Shankar Pandey)
Iran displayed a synthetic aperture radar (SAR) that it has developed for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) during the DIMDEX 2024 show held in Doha from 4 to 6 March.
The SAR has a monopulse flat-plate slotted-array antenna and was labelled as both the S-811 and S-813, with Iranian officials refusing to identify which one it was.
An Arabic-language brochure provided details of both types, saying they can provide high-resolution images at long ranges in all light and weather conditions. It also claimed they have ground moving target indicator (GMTI) and micro-motion target indication (MMTI) modes.
Weighing 40 kg and drawing 500 W of power, the S-811 is the smaller one and was said to have a maximum detection range of 40 km, a resolution of 1 or 2 m, and a swath width of 1–5 km.
07 March 2024
by Richard Scott
A GQM-163 Coyote target overflies a mobile ship target. (Orbital Sciences)
The US Navy (USN) is looking to expand the kinematic envelope of the GQM-163A Coyote supersonic aerial target to enable more stressing and realistic threat representations.
US Naval Air Systems Command's (NAVAIR's) Aerial Targets program office (PMA-208) in February issued a pre-solicitation of its intent to contract Northrop Grumman for a 12-month study to increase the target's performance envelope. A contract award is anticipated in the first quarter of fiscal year (FY) 2025.
PMA-208 programme manager Greg Crewse told Janes on 4 March that the programme was seeking “a system-level solution that provides the [GQM-163A] vehicle with [a] higher cruise altitude, a steeper dive angle, vertical/combined manoeuvres, and a greater lateral acceleration capability”. He added that the enhancements package – intended to enhance testing of various ship self-defence systems – was “open to alternative propulsion systems”.
PMA-208 also confirmed that it approved the capability to employ chaff with the GQM-163A during FY 2023, intended to increase complexity presentation.
A prototype quantum sensor device developed by Imperial College London completed the first period of...
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