Officials at Kongsberg Defense and Aerospace needed accurate, responsive, handheld electronic systems for remotely controlling weapon stations. They found their solution at Ultra Electronics Measurement Systems Inc. (MSI) in Wallingford, Conn.

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Ultra MSI won roughly $5 million in contracts from Kongsberg Defense and Aerospace to provide high-reliability hand-control systems for Protector Remote Weapons Stations.

The hand controls, part of Kongsberg’s Common Remotely Operated Weapon Stations (CROWS) program, are being mounted on various U. S. military vehicles for deployment in Iraq.

The CROWS systems acquire and engage targets in 360-degree coverage, while keeping the gunner safely protected inside the vehicle. Under this contract, Ultra MSI will deliver 1,650 hand control systems with options for additional units.

Protector Remote Weapons Stations (RWS) enable the operation of a vehicle’s weapons from inside the vehicle, increasing troop safety.

The U.S. Army’s CROWS unit is a stabilized, computer-controlled, all-weather firing platform mounted over the turret-gunner’s station of an up-
armored vehicle. It employs MSI’s hand controls for remote operation. The system provides a level of safety and combat-effectiveness previously unavailable to a gunner standing exposed in a turret, says a company representative.

Ultra MSI engineers incorporated the company’s patented Hall-effect transducer technology, which varies its output voltage in response to changes in magnetic field density, into the hand controls for Kongsberg’s Protector Remote Weapons Stations.

The hand control system passed stringent specifications to meet CROWS requirements, including water submergence. All circuitry and components are securely encapsulated in the Hall-effect device, making it immune to water, dirt, dust, lubricants, and shock and vibration.

For more information, visit Ultra Electronics Measurement Systems Inc. online at www.ultra-electronics.com.