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2018-08-02

Eurosatory:Setting New Highs

Eurosatory has unquestionably established itself as the leading international exhibition in the field of land and air defence and security. The 2018 edition held at Paris was a high water mark in the history of the exhibition with 1,802 exhibitors from 63 countries and 57,056 professional visitors attending the event.

As a dominant concept, “innovation” characterised the 26th edition. This was accentuated by the presence of many start-up companies in the Eurosatory LAB and GENERATE incubator of GICAT. In total, more than 80 start-ups participated. The number of new products unveiled for the first time at the Eurosatory trade fair has been on the increase and reached a new high this year.

The field of security is now a full component of Eurosatory alongside the defence sector. The duality of technologies on many stands and the opening of a new hall mainly dedicated to this field, attest to the growing importance of security issues.

For live demonstrations, the real specificity of the show, the presence for the first time of security forces such as RAID, GIGN, Prefecture of Police (with the BRI and the BSPP), Special Forces and the Ground Forces, was a great success. Besides, there were no less than 71 conferences on varied and complex topics during the expo. On the last day, Eurosatory invited students to allow them a chance to discover the many jobs offered by the defence and security sectors. The participation of the following defence and security majors was the highlight of the show.

BAE Systems Highlights New CV90 MkIV
This fifth generation MkIV combat-proven Infantry Fighting Vehicle (IFV) combines improved battlefield speeds and handling with an upgraded Electronic Architecture to support future growth capabilities. The MkIV represents the next step in the evolution of the CV90 concept. Building on a legacy of best-in-class mobility and survivability spanning more than two decades, the CV90 MkIV brings superior technological capabilities and flexibility to today’s complex battlefield.

Sandcat Supports Wide Range of Missions
SandCat, Plasan’s family of 4X4 armoured vehicles, offer the flexibility and robustness needed for defence and security missions. While providing high-end protection, SandCat maintains its manoeuvrability and agility, even when equipped with surveillance and communications systems. The SandCat family has been designed to support a wide range of challenges and missions including: law enforcement, Special Forces, homeland security, border patrol and armed conflicts. SandCats are also used to transport troops, as command and control centres, and to transport VIPs though conflict zones. To date, there are over 15 variants of SandCats, tailored to meet specific field conditions.

AM General Unveils NXT 360
AM General introduced a next-generation light tactical vehicle that builds upon its M1100 series of Humvees. The NXT 360 officially debuted on the opening day of Eurosatory. The company said the truck would have increased survivability, off-road mobility and payload capacity. The vehicle includes increased kinetic energy threat protection and blast protection for the wheels. AM General also added blast seats and blast mats and boosted the transparent armour to a B7 ballistic protection level.

Thales Presents Defence Cloud Offering
Thales launched the first comprehensive private cloud infrastructure solution to improve the operational efficiency of the armed forces. With Nexium Defence Cloud, Thales is at the heart of the digital transformation of its customers and adapting to the specific needs of armed forces operating in constrained environments with stringent security requirements. Thales’ complete, resilient solution enables armed forces to stay connected with any device at any time and operate with complete autonomy in the field. It offers users private access to data in the constrained environment of military infrastructure networks, from central command to forces deployed in theatres of operation.

KNDS Presents Joint Franco-German Tank
KNDS exhibited its first joint product, the EMBT, less than three years after being created around KMW and Nexter. The hull, engine and entire chassis comes from the Leopard 2 A7 and were modified to host the compact and light turret with automatic loading from the Leclerc. Composed of proven and tested technologies, the EMBT is a short-term response to the operational need of the market for high-intensity battle tanks. By assembling a chassis, which is certified to MLC70, and a light turret operated by only two crew members instead of three, the EMBT brings together the best in the battle tank, with an exceptional growth potential (roughly 6t) which allows to integrate many evolutions.

Patria Showcases New 6x6 APC
At the show, Patria launched a new vehicle, Patria 6x6, which brings the basic principles behind its predecessor into the present day, with its multifunctional transport capacity and modularity that adapts easily to the customer’s needs. Patria 6X6 is a successor to the Pasi Armoured Personnel Carrier and to complement the vehicle fleets of customers of the legendary Patria AMV 8X8. Patria 6X6 is a multipurpose transport vehicle. The chassis structure is based on the same components as the AMV, but with one less axle. The vehicle is driven by all three axles and steered from the front two, or all three, depending on its equipage. Optional equipage can be added to bring the 6X6 closer to the AMV. For example, various ballistic and mine protection levels, weapon systems, self-protection systems and other interior equipment are available.

Safran Reveals Geonyx
Geonyx is one of the most compact, robust and reliable land inertial navigation and pointing system in the market. It combines high-grade autonomous or hybrid navigation, target geolocation, positioning and pointing accuracy in a SWaP system. Based on the HRG Crystal, the proven pioneering hemispherical resonator gyro, Geonyx offers a real breakthrough in terms of operational efficiency, integration and costs of ownership.

MBDA and Milrem Robotics to Collaborate
MBDA has teamed up with Estonian firm Milrem Robotics to begin developing the world’s first unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) specially designed for anti-tank purposes. The joint project will feature the Integrated MMP Precision Attack Combat Turret (IMPACT) system from MBDA that will be integrated onto the THeMIS UGV by Milrem Robotics. The system will be remotely operated and is in line with the system developers’ main aim of replacing humans on the battlefield with robots.

Lockheed Martin in Close Co-operation with Germany
At Eurosatory, Lockheed Martin’s Executive Vice President for Missiles and Fire Control, Frank St John, said that the company’s joint venture with MBDA Deutschland will take the lead in responding to the Request For Proposal (RFP) for the TLVS bid.

“The threat environment has changed since the Medium Extended Air Defense System (MEADS) programme first came to Germany,” St John said. “We have been working closely with the German government over the past year, helping them to shape the TLVS requirement.”

The company is aiming to respond to the proposal by the end of 2018, and hopes to secure a contract in early 2019. St John noted that the MEADS forms the technical foundation for the TLVS bid, with Diehl’s IRIS-T SL medium-range interceptor acting as the effector for the system.

Diehl Exhibits IRIS-T SLM System
Diehl Defence showcased, amongst others, its modern air defence system, IRIS-T SLM. A special feature of the system is the flexible software architecture that allows any national device to be added to it. For example, Sweden will use the system with national radars. This flexibility will also allow any future technologies to be added or any part exchange to be realised with low customisation effort. Another noteworthy feature is the realisation of system elements in standard containers. With this container based technology IRIS-T SLM is the first deployable air defence system totally autonomous of the vehicle. The containers might be added to any suitable national vehicle; also the vehicles might be changed during the lifetime.

FLIR’s Black Hornet 3 nano UAV Flies High
FLIR Systems, Inc presented the Black Hornet 3 nano- UAV for use by global militaries, government agencies, and first responders. The Black Hornet Personal Reconnaissance System (PRS) is one of the world’s smallest combat-proven nano- UAS, and FLIR’s next generation Black Hornet 3 nano-UAV adds the ability to navigate in GPS-denied environments, enabling the warfighter to maintain situational awareness, threat detection, and surveillance no matter where the mission takes them.

HENSOLDT Debuts 3D Multifunctional Radar
HENSOLDT showed its newly developed TRML-4D radar system for ground-based air defence for the first time. The 3D multifunctional radar, which belongs to the TRS-4D radar family, will deliver rapid response detection and tracking of approximately 1,500 targets in a radius of up to 250km and at an altitude of up to 30km.

TRML-4D uses the latest Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar technology, which enables the acquisition of targets after just one rotation of the antenna, thus improving the response time and hit probability even in a complex environment. According to the company, HENSOLDT has set up a precise coordination of all the antenna elements in the C band (NATO G band) and special signal processing modes, so the radar can provide extremely exact information on the targets, thus guaranteeing early and precise weapon assignment. An integrated secondary radar system for identifying friend or foe (IFF) has been integrated to prevent friendly fire. The system can be transported by air in an A400M or C130 transport aircraft, but can also be transported by rail. One customer has already placed an order for 10 systems.

Kärcher Displays Innovations
Kärcher Futuretech presented four novelties: The WTC 500 water purification system, the HWM 100 B hot water module with buffer tank, the MPDS 2 universal decontamination system and the MFK 2 mobile catering system. The modular concept of the MFK 2 field kitchen attracted interest, since it can be built up in a lot of different configurations and therefore covers almost every scenario. It is set up on an off-road trailer to allow transport with any suitable vehicle. Power and fuel are centrally supplied in a side storage box for all modules. As a result the MFK 2 is ready for use in less than 30 minutes, the company stated. Depending on the configuration, it is able to prepare complete meals for up to 250 persons or 600 simple dishes.

GDELS Vehicles Provide Tactical Mobility
At the show, General Dynamics European Land Systems (GDELS) presented the new Ascod IFV and Medium Main Battle Tank (MMBT) variants. Both versions are based on the common platform principle and designed with an open architecture to provide an optimum of tactical mobility, manoeuvrability and fightability. The two new vehicle variants were the result of consistent development efforts and investments in a common vehicle platform that was first implemented with the two early Ascod (Austrian-Spanish Cooperative Development) variants, namely Pizarro in Spain and Ulan in Austria, followed by the Donar SP artillery system and the repair/recovery versions through to the British AJAX variants. The MMBT version on display was based on the proven Ascod running gear and was equipped with a Hitfact 120 mm turret from Leonardo.

Spotlight on Turkish Anti-Tank Vehicles Project
The FNSS booth showcased the PARS III 8x8, PARS 4x4 Wheeled Armoured Vehicles (AMV) and the KAPLAN-20 New Generation Armoured Fighting Vehicle (NG-AFV). In fact, the PARS 4x4 with the turret made its debut at the show and the company is quite certain they will be able to present the it with a mortar turret within one month.

The presented unmanned, remote-controlled anti-tank turret on the PARS 4x4 has ballistic protection, two anti-tank missiles and a 7.62 mm machine gun. The turret recently performed its first firing test with the anti-tank missile, during which it successfully hit its target at maximum range.

The vehicles shown were part of the Turkish Anti-Tank Vehicles (ATV) project that was launched by the Turkish Undersecretariat for Defence Industries (SSM) and conducted with FNSS as the prime contractor. This project covers the development, qualification and delivery of a total of 260 vehicles that include the tracked KAPLAN-ATV and wheeled PARS 4x4 ATV platforms.

Insight into Colombian Aviation Expertise
Exhibiting as part of the Colombian Pavilion, the Corporación de la Industria Aeronáutica Colombiana highlighted its experience in the fabrication, repair and maintenance of aircraft in the civil and military sectors. Established in 1956, CIAC is a private-public organisation that undertakes MRO work on a wide range of aircraft, including many of the Colombian air force’s fleet.

It has been authorised by Airbus Defence and Space as a repair station for the CN-235 and C295 transport aircraft. Other types that have been worked on include the Boeing 737, Lockheed Martin C-130 and Embraer Tucano, plus a range of helicopters. CIAC is also working with Airbus on the co-development of the Atlante+ UAV as part of a programme overseen by the Colombian and Spanish governments.

Hexdrone Illustrates Modular Tundra-M Drone
Tundra-M is one of the most advanced and customisable professional drones created by Hexadrone for users specialised in defence and rescue. CRP Technology has manufactured the Tundra-M prototype via professional 3D printing using Windform Carbon-composite materials. Tundra-M is Hexadrone’s first fully modular and easy-to-use drone for industrial and multi-purpose tasks, made for extreme weather conditions thanks to rugged, waterproof design. The rapidly detachable arms and three quick release attaches make it extremely flexible to meet the needs of any profession, while making operational conditions easier to maintain.

Rheinmetall Launches Lynx KF41 IFV
Rheinmetall’s Lynx KF41 made its debut at the show as a command and control vehicle and this infantry-fighting vehicle (IFV) might be called “big brother” of the air-transportable Puma. One of its notable factors is that Lynx can switch within few hours from one role to the other. This becomes possible due to the mission modules Rheinmetall has invented.

A company statement said: “In the past, containers were used to store modules until whenever they were deployed. The modular option invariably resulted in unused resources and a waste of space and material. Rheinmetall mission modules can be directly deployed in standard ISO containers as a standalone solution, and thus play an active role in combat operations. And of course they can still be installed in the roof cut out of the Lynx as flexibly as ever, in the remarkable short time of just two to four hours.”

The Lynx IFV exhibited was equipped with the new Lance 2.0 turret, the same turret chosen by the Australian Army. On both sides this Lynx had a missile launcher with two Eurospike missiles.

Texelis’ New Platform Meets Stringent Requirements
Texelis launched a new chassis system at the show. The unit, called the Texelis Platform or TXP family, has been designed for armoured vehicles up to 18 tonne gross vehicle weight. The chassis includes everything from the wheels through suspension, steering, powerpack, transmission to the dashboard and all the vehicle mobility electronics. Combining proven, in-production subsystems from suppliers including Cummins, Powerline and Allison, the chassis provides customers with the ability to mount their own designed hull onto a chassis designed to meet the requirements of a rugged 4x4 off road vehicle.

Drone Volt’s Expert Drones
Drone Volt showcased its expertise on the development of new technologies based on its UAVs and UGVs used for civil applications since 2011. With its technical expertise and experience, Drone Volt, located in France and abroad (Denmark, Belgium, Canada, Switzerland, Italy and the U.S.), designs and manufactures innovative commercial service drones with applications for agriculture, audiovisual, building and civil engineering works and security.

Xtek Demonstrates Ballistic Armour
Australian defence tech company Xtek displayed its world-leading ballistic armour among a range of other defence equipment. Xtek’s ballistic plates and helmets, manufactured with Xtek’s proprietary patented XTclaveTM manufacturing technology, protect against 7.62x39mm mid steel core weaponry, but is up to 30 per cent lighter than traditional solutions. Other ballistic products are also available against higher threats using the same technology.

CNIM Group’s Innovative Systems
As a leading player in defence and security in France and internationally, the CNIM Group and its subsidiaries Bertin Technologies, Bertin IT and Exensor presented their innovative systems and equipment for the projection and protection of the Armed Forces. Bertin launched several solutions for the protection of the Armed Forces on land and cybersecurity, including SaphyRAD MS, an innovative multiprobe military radiation metre for harsh environment and emergency situations, CamSight, a family of compact and lightweight camera modules for night and day improved vision and Crypto Crossing, a highly secure email gateway solution designed by Bertin IT.

BRONCO 3: ST Engineering’s All Terrain Carrier
For the first time at Eurosatory, BRONCO 3, an all-terrain tracked carrier was displayed. A highly mobile twin-cabin vehicle, BRONCO 3 is fully capable of achieving mission objectives across challenging terrains; including soft ground, snow, desert, swamps, and inland waters. It combines the outstanding mobility of Bronco 1 and the proven high survivability of Bronco 2 (Warthog) for tactical manoeuvrability and superior protection in the field. Its smart design is modular to allow quick changing of rear mission modules, as well as network centric to enable future technology insertions.

ATOS Brings Tactical Information Solutions
Bull Battle Management System (Bull BMS) is the solution that ensures the sharing of tactical information available on the battlefield, especially the location of friends via blue force tracking. It is the functional and technical basis of SICS (SCORPION combat information system), at the heart of the SCORPION programme that will renew the equipment of the joint tactical battalions of the French army. Also presented was Auxylium, the information, control and communication solution used by the French Armed Forces for domestic operations, co-developed by Atos and the French Ministry of Defence (MoD).

Pyrotechnic Products From WesCom Defence
WesCom Defence, part of WesCom Signal and Rescue, a specialist in pyrotechnic products for signalling, illumination, training and simulation, displayed a range of high quality specialist pyrotechnic products for the defence industry and latest developments in pyrotechnic technology. These include, the ManPAD Simulator, MERS Illumination Rocket and MECoSt Simulator Impact/Thunderflash.

Arnold Defense Tests Laser Guided Rocket System
Arnold Defense, the St Louis-based manufacturer of 2.75-inch rocket launchers, announced successful test firing results of their “FLETCHER” land-based, 2.75-inch/70mm Weapon System. The FLETCHER system can be mounted on military vehicles as well as base defence platforms.

FLETCHER is a unique design that allows for ease of operation, maintenance and sustainment in support of combat operations. FLETCHER employs an existing suite of guidance modules, rockets and warheads, which are already used in well-known programmes and are readily available to global forces.

Mission-critical Comms Systems from Frequentis
Frequentis has been providing the defence market with mission-critical communication, information and surveillance systems for over seven decades. Frequentis’ fully redundant, highly-available communications framework is used by joint and combined forces in today’s command centre operations – be it in the air, at sea, or on land for a number of defence projects around the globe, including voice communications for the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD).

FlyEye: Ideal UAS for Combat Zones
FlyEye is a mini UAS that is used for intelligence, reconnaissance, and surveillance of the battlefield, sensitive areas, national borders, natural disasters, or large public events. The reliability and usability of the FlyEye System have been tested and proven during many field evaluations around the world, as well as during active service in combat zones with the Polish Armed Forces. The system has been subject to field evaluations during both day and night and in extreme environmental conditions such as high wind, high and low temperatures, increased humidity and altitude changes.

Reference Text/Photo:www.eurosatory.com

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