NovAtel’s GPS Anti-Jam Technology (GAJT) is a retrofittable antenna system that nulls jamming signals to ensure satellite signals required will be available. (novatel)
(Volume 24-10)
By David Pugliese
Counter-jamming systems from NovAtel Inc. of Calgary have been selected by the federal government for Canadian Army light armoured vehicles (LAVs).
The federal government has published an Advance Contract Award Notice, which is to inform other suppliers that the NovAtel equipment will be purchased unless there are any firms that can make the same systems.
The Department of National Defence has an initial requirement to buy 52 global positioning system (GPS) anti-jam antennas. The equipment will be outfitted on the LAV Observation Post Vehicle. The initial requirement includes the associated software.
“The GPS Anti-Jam Antenna must be capable of simultaneously nulling up to 6 individual jamming sources and be compatible with the Canadian Army’s inventory of 12,000 Defense Advanced GPS Receiver (DAGR) and LAV OPVs,” the government noted. Up to 50 additional GPS anti-jam antennas could be purchased in the future, it added.
The LAV Observation Post vehicle is expected to operate in forward positions, a situation that would “increase the likelihood that it will come under electronic attack (including GPS jamming) from opposing forces. Lack of anti-jam capability also makes GPS receivers more susceptible to potentially more dangerous spoofing attacks.”
Airbus Defence and Space has received an order for five Airbus A330 Multi-Role Tanker Transports (MRTT) from Europe’s organization for the management of cooperative armament programmes, OCCAR (Organisation for Joint Armament Cooperation). The order is on behalf of NATO Support & Procurement Agency (NSPA) and funded by Germany and Norway.
It follows the announcement on June 29 of a Memorandum of Understanding under which the two nations would join Netherlands and Luxembourg in the European/NATO Multinational Multi-Role Tanker Transport Fleet (MMF) program.
A contract amendment signed at the OCCAR headquarters in Bonn, Germany adds five aircraft to the two previously ordered by Netherlands and Luxembourg and includes four additional options to enable other nations to join the grouping. It also includes two years of initial support.
The program is funded by the four nations who will have the exclusive right to operate these NATO-owned aircraft in a pooling arrangement. The aircraft will be configured for in-flight refuelling, the transport of passengers and cargo, and medical evacuation flights.
The first two aircraft have already been ordered to be delivered from Airbus Defence and Space’s tanker conversion line at Getafe, near Madrid, and all seven are expected to be handed over between 2020 and 2022.
More than 3,300 people attended Seaspan’s Vancouver Shipyards’ open house in early October, where they got a first glimpse of the Sir John Franklin, the Canadian Coast Guard’s first Offshore Fisheries Science Vessel (OFSV).
(heath moffatt, seaspan)
Rheinmetall will soon be modernizing part of the Bundeswehr’s fleet of Leopard main battle tanks (MBTs), implementing a comprehensive array of upgrade measures, the company has announced.
The upgrade program will bring 104 Leopard 2 tanks up to state-of-the-art design status. The first serially retrofitted Leopard 2 A7V tanks will reach the German Army starting in 2020.
Rheinmetall will be transforming a total of 68 Leopard 2A4, 16 Leopard 2A6 and 20 Leopard 2A7 main battle tanks, bringing them up to A7V standard, the firm noted.
In addition, Rheinmetall will be supplying the new L55A1 gun for the 68 Leopard 2A4 MBTs to be modernized. These tanks will therefore be able to fire the latest generation of armour-piercing ammunition in the upper pressure zone. All 104 Leopard 2A7V tanks will be capable of using Rheinmetall’s new programmable DM11 multipurpose round.
More than 3,300 people attended Seaspan’s Vancouver Shipyards’ open house in early October. During the event, attendees received an up-close look at what Seaspan is calling the “most modern facility of its kind in North America.” They also saw the unveiling of the first vessel to be designed and built under the National Shipbuilding Strategy (NSS) — the Canadian Coast Guard’s first Offshore Fisheries Science Vessel (OFSV), the Sir John Franklin.
“Today is a historic day for the women and men of Seaspan Shipyards as we deliver on our commitments to the Canadian Coast Guard and Royal Canadian Navy,” Brian Carter, President & CEO – Seaspan Shipyards, told the audience. “In the unveiling of the first Offshore Fisheries Science Vessel, we are affirming our long-term commitment to Canada and our leading role in the growth of a West Coast centre of excellence in shipbuilding and ship repair.”
Saab intends to establish a manufacturing and production centre in the U.S. to handle the Swedish company’s work on the Boeing-Saab T-X trainer aircraft.
Both firms have set a goal of having more than 90 per cent of the T-X design built in the U.S., said Boeing Defence President Leanne Caret and Saab AB President and CEO Haken Buskhe. “Our T-X is designed and purpose-built for the U.S. Air Force training program, for today and for the future. Therefore, the aircraft, including our workshare, should also be manufactured here in the United States,” Buskhe recently told an audience at the U.S. Air Force Association’s annual conference.
QinetiQ Target Systems has received a new order from the Royal Canadian Navy to deliver more than 40 units of Hammerhead unmanned surface vehicle (USV) targets and several payloads. The latest $4.7-million order is part of an existing $35-million framework contract with the Department of National Defence, the firm noted.
The five-year contract was originally awarded in May last year and includes the supply of surface and aerial target systems. Hammerhead targets are equipped with a large variety of threat-emulating payloads and allow ship operators to train against piracy threats by simulating fast inshore attack craft. The targets can be controlled in large swarms in order to adequately replicate a coordinated attack by multiple naval ships.
“The Hammerhead is continually proving to be a cost-effective and high-performing surface target for the RCN and several other customers around the world,” QinetiQ Target Systems Managing Director Peter Longstaff said in a statement.
Héroux-Devtek Inc. has announced an agreement to acquire Compañia Española de Sistemas Aeronauticos, S.A. (“CESA”), a subsidiary of Airbus. The deal is worth $205-million.
“The acquisition of CESA marks a pivotal moment in Héroux-Devtek’s international expansion,” Gilles Labbé, President and Chief Executive Officer of Héroux-Devtek, said in a statement. “This transaction will allow us to increase our presence with Airbus, hence giving us better access to one of the largest aircraft manufacturers in the world.”
Headquartered in Madrid, Spain, CESA is a leading European provider of fluid mechanical and electromechanical systems for the aerospace industry. Its main product lines include landing gear, actuation and hydraulic systems.
