Military/Aerospace Electronics

GCHQ’s information security arm and the UK’s National Technical Authority for Information Assurance has appointed an accredited laboratory in the UK to perform Tempest first-of-type platform testing. In addition to performing first-of-type platform testing, the laboratory run by TÜV SÜD will perform in-service Tempest testing to Ministry of Defence (MoD) requirements. Tempest testing is used to measure the level of ...

Arrow Electronics has created a development kit based on a group of Microsemi ICs. It is designed for sensor-based system design. The SF2+ development kit incorporates Microsemi’s SmartFusion 2 system-on-a-chip FPGA, a Timberwolf audio processor and a number of LX series power devices. The FPGA is used for the PCIe Gen2 control plane, image processing, I/O expansion and bridging and its security features are increasingly ...

A large scale control system for fast and accurate switching of 1,800 solenoid valves with millisecond precision is at the heart of an innovative new research tool that has recently been developed by Aircraft Research Association (ARA) in Bedford, writes Tolga Aydemir A wind gust generator at the Aircraft Research Association (ARA) facility in Bedford is the first of its ...

Military grade electronic components such as FIFO, non-volatile memory, data converters, DRAM and processors can be offered over an extended temperature range or for particular environmental conditions using specialist device packaging, writes Sébastien Frasse-Sombet. As a specialist semiconductor manufacturer, e2v has worked with semiconductor companies such as Maxim, Micron, Everspin and Freescale Semiconductor to supply components with extended operating conditions ...

PXI-based test systems are replacing VXI-based systems in the aerospace and defence markets. This is the message from test system supplier Astronics Test Systems which has teamed up with National Instruments to bring a number of PXI-based automated test systems to aerospace and defence markets. Jim Mulato, president of Astronics Test Systems believes a move to PXI-based instruments will improve the long-term ...

UK companies are being given the opportunity to capitalise on the commercial opportunities in the aerospace sector at Aerodays 2015. European research in aeronautics and air transport is being showcased at Aerodays 2015 being held in London this week. The event features companies being funded by Innovate UK to develop technology enablers which will allow for the implementation of technologies and ...

For UAVs power/weight ratio is the all-important design consideration and this can be influenced by the selection of the electronic systems controlling motors and sensors, writes Steve Munns The origins of modern day UAVs (unmanned autonomous vehicles) stretch back more than 100 years however one might consider pilotless radio-controlled planes used for aerial target practice in the 1930s as the ...

Tomorrow sees the first launch of the two-satellite Sentinel-2 mission from French Guiana. The Sentinel-2A satellite will be launched on a Vega rocket from Europe’s Spaceport near Kourou. The event is scheduled to take place at 01:52 GMT. Sentinel-2 is the second mission for Europe’s Copernicus environment monitoring programme. According to the European Space Agency (ESA), it “carries an innovative ...

Roke Manor, Thales UK and  the air traffic control service Nats have used existing TV signals to track aircraft. They say they have tracked 30 aircraft simultaneously at altitudes up to 10,000ft, from a transmitter at Crystal Palace. Three special receivers were used to measure the directions of signals reflected off the planes and the differences in time compared to uninterrupted ...

e2V has announced QorIQ P1 PowerPC processors for avionics and defence electronics. Based on a PowerPC core architecture e500v2, they operate at up to 1.067GHz from -55 to +125˚C. “e2v ensures long-term continuity of supply with its Semiconductor Lifecycle Management (SLiM) programme, designed for aerospace and defence longevity requirements. The series of products includes: P1013 and P1022 with qualified production ...