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Ultra violet

UV is a form of radiation generated by atomic transitions in chemical reactions such as those present in the Sun and in man-made equipment s...

Thursday, March 24, 2011

Thailand agrees to German submarine procurement

23 March 2011


The Thai government has agreed to buy two second-hand Type 206A diesel electric submarines from the German Navy, official sources have confirmed to Jane's .
Payment for the purchase - which is understood to be about USD220 million - has not yet been secured, although funds are expected to be sourced from the defence budget for Fiscal Year 2012 (FY12), which commences in October.
The German Navy decommissioned four Type 206A submarines in mid-2010. The boats are 35 years old and were originally due for decommissioning between 2011 and 2015. As part of a defence review carried out by Berlin, the German Navy brought the boats' retirement date forward to save operational costs.
A senior officer from the Royal Thai Navy (RTN) told Jane's on 21 March that officials from the German Navy visited the country in late 2010 and offered the submarines to Thailand. He added that German submarines had been selected ahead of those offered by South Korea and China, who had made available Type 209s and Type 039s respectively. The RTN also held discussions with Swedish shipbuilder Kockums about the availability of Gotland-class submarines.

187 of 655 words
Copyright © IHS (Global) Limited, 2011

Definition of Information Operations:


Definition of Information Operations:

'The integrated employment of the core capabilities of electronic warfare [EW], computer network operations [CNO], psychological operations [PSYOP], military deception, and operations security [OPSEC], with specified supporting and related capabilities to influence, disrupt, corrupt, or usurp adversarial human and automated decisionmaking while protecting our own.'

DOD Information Operations Roadmap, 30. October 2003

Sunday, March 20, 2011

48 killed by allied warplanes, missiles

arabnews - frontpage

48 killed by allied warplanes, missiles: Libyan state TV - TRIPOLI: At least 48 people had been killed and 150 wounded by allied bomb and missile strikes along the Libyan coast on Saturday, Muammar Qaddafi's armed ...
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Libya pounded: claims of 48 dead

The Sydney Morning Herald News Headlines

Libya pounded: claims of 48 dead - US and British warships follow up French air raid, firing at least 110 cruise missiles into Libya, as Gaddafi vows to launch retaliatory strikes in the Med...
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Libya: British Forces Launch Missiles from Submarine, UK-Based Jets

AllAfrica News: Latest

Libya: British Forces Launch Missiles from Submarine, UK-Based Jets - A Royal Navy submarine and RAF Tornado jets have participated in coordinated strikes against key Libyan military installations as part of the coalition pla...
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Friday, March 18, 2011

Personal radiation detector

Personal Radiation Detectors (PRDs) are pager size high sensitive devices for the search for the nuclear and radioactive materials. The high sensitivity and fast response time to the variations in the ambient radiation levels clearly distinguish PRDs from family of the electronic dosimeters which are mainly used for the precise dose and dose rate measurements.

The PRDs are carried in pockets or clipped to a belt. They automatically monitor environment and alert user in case of the radiation danger.

The main features of Polimaster’s Personal Radiation Detectors are:
* Gamma and gamma/neutron radiation detections;
* High sensitive, small and lightweight;
* Non-volatile memory to store history events data;
* Low power consumption;
* Easy-to-use, two-button interface;
* Reduced user training;
* PC communication interface;
* Capability to record gamma spectrum and transfer data to PC or PDA for radionuclide identification analysis



From:  http://www.directindustry.com/prod/polimaster/personal-radiation-detectors-23674-205340.html

Atoms Found to Act Like Lasers

CANBERRA, Australia, March 17, 2011 — An atom laser that behaves exactly like a light laser has been developed, opening up new possibilities in applications such as holograms. 

The research team, led by Dr. Andrew Truscott of the Australian National University Center of Excellence for Quantum-Atom Optics, showed that a beam of helium atoms can be made to have properties similar to a coherent laser light beam. 

“If you measure the time between the arrivals of the photons in a laser beam, you find that the photons are randomly spaced, with all arrival times between photons equally probable,” Truscott said. “On the other hand, incoherent sources — such as a lightbulb — exhibit what is called photon bunching, where it is more likely that photons arrive within a short space of time of each other. This bunching in an incoherent light source is manifested by photons arriving in pairs (second order) or in triplets (third order).” 

“Our experiment shows, for the first time, that the same second- and third-order coherence properties also apply to atoms,” added professor Ken Baldwin. “This very cold [within one-millionth of a degree of absolute zero] atom laser also had a random distribution of arrival times with no bunching — indicating that it was perfectly coherent.” 

Fellow team member Dr. Robert Dall added that, by warming up the atoms, the research team showed that the atoms no longer behaved coherently and once again exhibited bunching in pairs and triplets. 

The work was done with doctoral students Sean Hodgman and Andrew Manning, and the paper was published inScience. 

For more information, visit: www.anu.edu

From:   Photonics.com: News and Features

Image From :   http://www.uibk.ac.at/th-physik/qo/research/cavityqed.html

Surveillance Platforms & Kits that Utilize Night Vision and other Electro-Optical Components

Night Vision Equipment Expert

Surveillance Platforms & Kits that Utilize Night Vision and other Electro-Optical Components - An innovative new product line of Surveillance Platforms & Kits that give users new ways of integrating optical and electro-optical components and systems ...
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Thursday, March 17, 2011

Nuclear Plants - Does some nuclear waste have to be stored for 100's of years?

Ask Brian

Nuclear Plants - Does some nuclear waste have to be stored for 100's of years? Have some states banned nuclear plants? Which are more expensive to build, nuclear or coal pla...
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Problems in Laser Physics

WorkOptics

Problems in Laser Physics - This book presents the first comprehensive collection of solved problems in laser physics covering both fundamental and applied aspects of laser science ...
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Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Thermal sights for infantry weapons

The Thermal Revolution
March 4, 2011: Back in the 1990s, thermal sights for infantry weapons were unheard of. But now the second generation of these sights have been in combat for three years, and new models keep arriving with improvements in range, detail, zoom and reliability. Some of the latest models can be clipped on day sights, without requiring zeroing the combined sight all over again. 
It was only four years ago that the second generation of thermal weapons sights began reaching the troops. The new sights revolutionized the way troops fight at night, since "thermals" sense heat, and are effective anywhere (the old night sights depended on amplifying available light). Thermal sights are particularly popular because they also identify any warm machinery, at long distance, by detecting heat, and they can be used in caves (and other places that lack any light to amplify) as well as in situations like sandstorms and fog.
The U.S. TWS I (officially the AN/PAS-13 weapons-mounted thermal sight) has been around for a nearly a decade, but the new version addresses a long list of user complaints and suggestions. Basically, TWS II is lighter, easier to use, and easier to keep supplied with batteries. The TWS II comes in three sizes; light (for M-16 type rifles, weighs .86 kg/1.9 pounds and is good out to 550 meters), medium (for light machine-guns, weighs 1.27 kg/2.8 pounds and is good out to 1,100 meters) and heavy (for .50 caliber weapons and 40mm grenade launchers, weighs 1.73 kg/3.8 pounds and is good out to 2,200 meters). The light sight batteries last 5-25 hours, while the heavier models are good for 6.5-18 hours.
Compared to TWS I, the new versions are about a third lighter, and use standard AA batteries. This was something the troops were emphatic about. TWS I used special batteries, which, too often, the users could not get replacements for. But you can always get AAs. Even during combat, troops have found local Iraqi or Afghan shops selling AAs, and were able to keep their electronic gear going as a result.
Over 20,000 TWS II sights have been produced so far. And everyone wants one. The army alone expects to eventually spend over $2 billion on new thermal sights, and it will be another three years before production catches up with demand for helmet and weapons mounted thermals
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SWATS (Soldier Worn Acoustic Targeting Systems)

Hard Times For Snipers
March 4, 2011: The U.S. Army infantry in Afghanistan have begun receiving SWATS (Soldier Worn Acoustic Targeting Systems) sniper detectors. About 1,500 a month will be delivered through the end of the year. These 183 g (6.4 ounce) devices come in two pieces. One is the sensor, that is worn on the shoulder, while the cell phone size controller, with small LCD display, is worn in front, where it can be quickly glanced at. SWATS calculates (from the of the sound weapon fired) direction of fire in a tenth of a second. SWATS has been very popular with troops, and cost about $2,000 each. SWATS can also be mounted on vehicles, and still work when the vehicle is moving at speeds of 80 kilometers an hour or more.
Devices like SWATS have been around for several years now, and troops find the sniper detectors are a big help. Last year, 4,500 American troops were shot (most were wounded) by gunfire in Afghanistan. Without sniper detectors, there would be more such casualties. That's because, with a sniper detector, troops can quickly turn on the enemy shooter and deliver accurate fire of their own. American infantry are much more accurate shooters than your average Taliban gunman. That first shot from the Taliban usually misses, which is less likely when American infantry return fire. SWATS is more accurate and reliable than earlier gunfire detectors.
One of the first, and most useful, American systems was Boomerang. Back in 2004, it was developed in a few months, in response to a Department of Defense request for an affordable acoustic sniper detector. Testing delayed it entering service within two years. Boomerang was mounted on vehicles, was been around for five years, and cost about $5,000 each. Boomerang was effective enough to get orders for over 10,000 units, and lots of use from the troops who had it. There were two major upgrades, prolonging the service life of the system.
Acoustic gunfire (sniper) detectors, which have been in the field for over a decade, and have gotten better each year. Over 60,000 sniper detectors have been shipped to Iraq and Afghanistan, where they have been increasingly useful. Sniper detection systems provide directional information about where the snipers are. Several generations of these systems have showed up over the last decade. The usefulness of these anti-sniper systems has increased as the manufacturers have decreased the number of false alarms, and improved the user interface. There are other reasons for all this progress, including major advances in computing power, sensor quality and software development. One of the latest, and most useful, improvements is providing nearly instant, and easy to comprehend, location info on the sniper.
British, American, French and Israeli manufacturers have produced most of these systems, which are also sold to police organizations. The systems have varied greatly in capabilities, and price. Some of the first ones cost over $200,000, but prices have been dropping rapidly over the last five years, as the technology matured
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Turkish Pars For Malaysia

Turkish Pars For Malaysia

March 3, 2011: Turkey has sold Malaysia 257 wheeled Pars armored vehicles. The Turkish supplier, FNSS, is a joint venture with American company UDLP, and has been selling armored vehicles to the Turkish armed forces since the 1980s. Malaysia is buying the 24 ton 8x8 version of Pars, which can carry 14 (crew and passengers) and is armed with a 25mm autocannon and 7.62mm machine-gun in a small turret. The vehicle is amphibious and has a top road speed of 100 kilometers an hour. The Pars vehicles will be assembled in Malaysia. The is the largest military export deal to date for Turkey. The Turkish Army is considering a major purchase of the 18 ton 6x6 Pars.

A decade ago, Malaysia bought 211 tracked infantry fighting vehicles from Turkey. These 14 ton ACV-300 vehicles were based on the U.S. M-113 armored vehicle chassis, and over 2,000 were sold to the Turkish armed forces
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Monday, March 7, 2011

AN/APG-71 fire-control radar for the F-14D (United States), Airborne radar systems

Description (From Jane's Avionics)
AN/APG-71, in part derived from the AN/APG-70 FCR in the Boeing F-15E Strike Eagle, replaced the AN/AWG-9 radar originally fitted to F-14A/B aircraft.Compared with the AWG-9, the APG-71 provided for better overland performance, expanded velocity search capability, a larger target engagement zone, a raid assessment mode and programmable electronic countermeasures and clutter control features.The APG-71 introduced greatly improved ECM performance, acknowledging the new and vastly more sophisticated jamming technologies that appeared since design of the F-14 was frozen. New modes included medium-PRF all-aspect capability, monopulse angle tracking, digital scan control, target identification and raid assessment while the number of Line Replaceable Units (LRUs) reduced from 26 to 14. The system also employed elements developed by Hughes for the AN/APG-70; for example the APG-71 signal processor was 86 per cent common (in modules) with that in the APG-70. The AWG-9's transmitter, power supply and aft cockpit tactical information display were retained for the APG-71.The APG-71 also incorporated Non-Co-operative Target Recognition (NCTR), by which radar contacts may be identified as friendly or hostile, at beyond visual range, through close examination of the raw radar returns at high resolution; this technique alleviates problems with deficiencies and ambiguities in IFF equipment.The APG-71's antenna retained the gimbal system of the AWG-9 and added a new array with low sidelobes and a guard channel to eliminate sidelobe penetration of ground clutter and electronic warfare interference. The APG-71 also provided an improved radar master oscillator which significantly increased the number of radar channels and provided frequency-agile

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The AN/AWG-9 and AN/APG-71 radars are all-weather, multi-mode X-Band pulse doppler radar systems designed for the F-14 Tomcat. It is a very long-range air-to-air system with the capability of guiding several AIM-54 Phoenix or AIM-120 AMRAAMmissiles at the same time using its track while scan mode. The primary difference between the AWG-9 and APG-71 is the replacement of the former's analog electronics with all-digital units. Both the AWG-9 and APG-71 were designed and manufactured by Hughes Aircraft; contractor support is now being provided byRaytheon.
The AN/AWG-9 offers a variety of air-to-air modes including long-range continuous wave velocity search, range-while-search at shorter ranges, and the first use of an airborne track-while-scan mode with the ability to track up to 24 airborne targets, display 18 of them on the cockpit displays, and launch against 6 of them at the same time. This function was originally designed to allow the Tomcat to shoot down formations of bombers at long range.

The F-14 AN/AAS-42 IRST (Infrared Search and Track)


The F-14 AN/AAS-42 IRST (Infrared Search and Track) is a passive long-wave infrared sensor system that searches for and detects heat sources within its field of view. Operating in six discrete modes, the AN/AAS-42 provides the aircraft mission computer track file data on all targets while simultaneously providing infrared imagery to the cockpit display. The AN/AAS-42 gives the aircrew unprecedented on-board situational awareness while significantly enhancing the engagement range of modern high-performance weapons such as the AIM-120

Sunday, March 6, 2011

Indian Ballistic Missile Defence System Successfully Tested

LiveFist - The Best of Indian Defence

PHOTOS: Indian Ballistic Missile Defence System Successfully Tested -
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Saturday, March 5, 2011

Anti-tank Weapon

Defense Industry Daily

Rapid Fire: 2011-03-04 - RAFAEL's ASPRO-A/ Trophy active protection system records its 1st live kill against an enemy anti-tank weapon (reportedly an unguided RPG). The Israeli Mer...
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Visual Guidance System

From: nanohmics.com

Nanohmics, Inc. One of Ten Chief of Naval Research Challenge Winners - Austin, Texas (2/28/2011) – Nanohmics, Inc. was awarded the prestigious Chief of Naval Research (CNR) Challenge grant to design a visual guidance system to...
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Battle of Unmanned combat air vehicle (UCAV)

From: IDRW.ORG

Battle of Unmanned combat air vehicle (UCAV) - SOURCE : VINAYAK SHETTI FOR SECURITY MAGAZINE ISSUE OF FEB While United States of America was the first country to test fly world's first 5th generation st...
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