Feral Jundi

Wednesday, October 6, 2010

Technology: RRS Staring Array Radar Takes LEDS To New Level

     Thanks to Eeben for sending me this one. I really like these technologies because they have the potential to save lives. It would also help to defeat the very simple weapon system called the rocket launcher (like the RPG), which is in use by many of today’s forces throughout the world. These systems can also be used to locate and neutralize teams that are attacking the vehicle. It is all about minimizing the effectiveness of the very low cost weapon systems being used by combatants throughout the world.

     Now could we ever see a day where private industry would have the financing necessary to buy these systems and put them on their armored transports? Maybe. The cost and effectiveness would be factors.  It is definitely something that should be presented to potential customers as a way to supplement the defense of their personnel and facilities. Imagine an LEDS 300 system on a tower or on a Casspir/MRAP?

     Currently, I know the military sports all types of sensors on vehicles these days, but the pinnacle of these types of systems is their ability to zap RPG’s in mid-air and destroy that stuff in a way that doesn’t hurt the dismounted troops nearby.  With an ultra-fast radar detection system, it will give the other systems on the vehicle time to make decisions and arm/launch whatever munitions is required. Hence why the RRS news is key here. I believe there are multiple countries trying to achieve the same goal with these systems, and I hope they are able to effectively accomplish the task. –Matt

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LEDS

The CV90 sporting LEDS 150. Note the staring array radars at the front corners and the two high speed directed launchers containing multispectrals smoke and Mongoose missiles to the rear of the remote weapon station.  

Reutech staring array radar takes LEDS to new level 

06 October 2010

By Leon Engelbrecht

Reutech Radar Systems (RRS) says its new frequency modulated continuous wave (FMCW) staring array radar can detect a rocket propelled grenade (RPG) launch within 5.2 milliseconds (ms) and can provide an accurate track within 14.3ms. A millisecond is 1000th of a second and a RPG, fired at 20 metres, takes roughly 187 to impact.

Similar staring array technology forms the core of the radar systems supporting the US Navy’s Aegis and the US Army’s Patriot air defence complexes.The cost of developing this technology in South Africa is not known, but RRS was awarded a R643 970 contract in July “to demonstrate a frequency modulated continuous wave ranging radar concept.” RRS last month said it has been working on staring arrays for the “past three years.”

Colonel Cobus van der Merwe (Retired), SAAB Electronic Defense Systems’ Product Manager for Land Self-Protection Systems told a recent precision weapons solutions conference that with the radar his company’s Land Electronic Defense Systems (LEDS) can detect a RPG within 5ms and calculate whether the RPG will hit or miss the carrier vehicle within a further 10ms. The active defence controller then determines the validity of the threat within a further 10ms before taking less than 50ms to compute an intercept. It then takes 10ms to launch and a further 50ms for the “effects deployment”.

RRS’ Peter Bradshaw in a separate presentation at the South African Precision Weapon Solutions Conference held at the Africa Aerospace and Defence (AAD) exhibition in Cape Town two weeks ago, added that 5.2ms for first detection amounted to a “worst-case scenario” for the radar. He added that once detected and confirmed, track updates were given every 1.3ms.

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Tuesday, October 6, 2009

Weapons: Army Pushes Precision Mortar

Filed under: Military News,Weapons — Tags: , , , , — Matt @ 11:12 AM

   I tell you, if we could pump out little miniature JDAM style mortars, how cool would that be?  Every grunt out there, would be worshiping these things.  That means less mortar rounds to hump around and more lethality with each shot.  If you could use some kind of pointer system, like a IR pointer or some laser as a means for guidance, then that would really be cool. Or just use a GPS coordinate.  Either way, a precision mortar round would be awesome.

   The system must also be easy to use and durable.  Once we make accurate munitions like this, tactics could be modified to take advantage of that accuracy.  That accuracy has to be consistent and dependable…Hopefully. This is the kind of thing that would bring more capability to the ‘super empowered infantry’ that these guys keep talking about. Oh, and make it small and light. (I know that is a fantasy, but it doesn’t hurt to dream. lol)

   Another thing they could do, is to make a smaller Javelin type of system.  Imagine something the size of a LAW?

   Or how about a precision RPG round?  Now that would be really cool, because then you could use those rounds, as well as captured enemy RPG rounds in a fight.  That saves weight, and that increases the lethality of a unit. Hell, Airtronics made an American version of the RPG 7, why not make a precision round for it and use it to kill Taliban and Jihadists? I guess I could hint at the idea of precision 40mm, but that would be crazy talk. lol –Matt

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Army Pushes Precision Mortar

By Greg Grant

Tuesday, October 6th, 2009

Afghanistan is an infantryman’s war. Afghan insurgents have mastered fighting small unit actions in mountains terrain where they use skillfully prepared fighting positions on ridgelines and high ground. Springing ambushes from prepared positions, Taliban insurgents offer fleeting targets to direct fire weapons; which explains in part why the Army has received an urgent request from soldiers in the field for a precision guided mortar and has accelerated its efforts to develop and deliver the new weapon.

The “accelerated precision mortar initiative” is all about providing added firepower to the rifle platoon, said Army Maj. Gen. John Bartley, program manager for the Brigade Combat Team, who said the Army’s requirement is to precisely deliver indirect fire from as small a tube as possible. “You can hump a mortar, you can’t hump a Non-Line of Sight Launch System,” he said, referring to the “rockets in a box” missile system that came out of the now dead FCS program.

The Army is looking at a range of potential sizes for the round, from 60mm on up to 120mm, which is currently the most commonly used mortar “Ideally, you would like to give one to everyone… what is the art of the possible is to be determined.” The Army has not decided whether the precision mortar will be laser guided or will use GPS.

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