In Brief

War on terrorism to boost military research spending by 41 percentU.S. military research spending for counter-terrorism technologies should rise by 41 percent over the next five years, from $22.6 billion in 2001 to $31.87 billion in 2007, according to a new study by Frost & Sullivan in San Antonio, Texas. This increase results in rising demand for technology that will keep the U.S. military ahead of terrorists while also defeating them on their own turf. The need for new weapons that can penetrate deep caves and hardened bunkers, for example, will lead the development of sophisticated munitions in the short term, Frost & Sullivan analysts say. Steady growth for a range of military projects, from command and control units to missiles, should drive research and development spending increases, analysts say. The current focus among research and development projects is on the need for interoperability, which will primarily influence communications, intelligence, and command and control areas. For more information contact Frost & Sullivan by phone at 877-463-7678, by fax at 888-690-3329, by post at 7550 West Interstate 10, Suite 400, San Antonio, Texas 78229-5616, or on the World Wide Web at http://Aerospace-Defense.frost.com/.DRS Technologies boosts power business by buying Eaton Navy ControlsDRS Technologies Inc. of Parsippany, N.J., is buying the Milwaukee-based Navy Controls Division of Eaton Corp. for $92.2 million in cash. The transaction was to close by June 30. Eaton Navy Controls supplies power-conversion, instrumentation, and control systems conventionally and nuclear-powered U.S. Navy warships. Products include electric propulsion, power electronics, networks, shipboard control panels, tactical displays, and reactor plant instruments. Eaton Navy Controls will become part of the DRS Electronic Systems Group, which "strongly complements our own presence in Naval advanced command and control computer display and other ship systems," says DRS President Mark Newman. Eaton Navy Controls, which resulted from the consolidation of Cutler-Hammer Inc. and Consolidated Controls Corp., has work on the Virginia-class submarine and the CVNX future aircraft carrier.Barringer Instruments rolls out non-invasive system to detect explosivesLeaders of Barringer Instruments Inc., a business unit of Smiths Detection in Warren, N.J., are demonstrating their new Sentinel II walk-through explosives detection portal that non-invasively screens people for explosives. The portal uses same technology currently used to screen luggage and freight. Barringer officials say the Sentinel II is primarily for airport security, but also is applicable for security at office buildings, sports arenas, and other high-traffic areas. The Sentinel II screens seven people per minute by performing a real-time chemical analysis and identifies a "fingerprint" of explosive materials. The technology is so sensitive that it detects even a minute concentration of explosives, drug residue, or a chemical agent on the skin or clothing, company officials claim. For more information contact Barringer by phone at 908-222-9100, by fax at 908-222-1557, by e-mail at [email protected], by post at 30 Technology Drive, Warren, N.J. 07059, or on the World Wide Web at http://www.barringer.com/security/index.htmlMotorola transfers MC12000 line of PLL devices to Lansdale SemiconductorOfficials of the Motorola Inc. Semiconductor Products Sector in Austin, Texas, are transferring their MC12000-series line of phase-locked loop (PLL) devices to aftermarket supplier Lansdale Semiconductor Inc. in Tempe, Ariz. Motorola's MC12000 series includes the 12002, 12009, 12011, 120113, 12040, and 12061 integrated circuits (ICs). Under the terms of this product acquisition agreement, Lansdale becomes the sole source semiconductor aftermarket supplier of the MC12000 line, says Lansdale president, R. Dale Lillard. Since 1985, Motorola has transferred more than 1,500 obsolete and end-of-life (EOL) ICs to Lansdale, which is an ISO 9002 and QML 38535 manufacturer. For more information contact Lillard by phone at 602-438-0123, by fax at 602-438-0138, by e-mail at [email protected], by post at 2412 W. Huntington Drive, Tempe, Ariz. 85282, or on the World Wide Web at http://www.lansdale.com.Military researchers seek to detect moving land targets from orbiting satellitesOfficials of the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory in Rome, N.Y., are looking to three companies — Harris Corp., Northrop Grumman Corp., and Raytheon Co. — to do research into advanced, space-based radar technology. Air Force researchers are awarding contracts on behalf of the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) in Arlington, Va. The project, called "Innovative Space-Based Radar Technology (ISAT), seeks new concepts in antenna design for a future space-based radar system that can track moving targets on the ground, says James Ryan, program manager in the Air Force Research Lab Sensors Directorate. The three contractor teams are working under terms of a $2.5 million contract to investigate innovative antenna designs and conduct antenna risk reduction efforts to prove the most challenging aspects of the design and technology, while meeting the requirements associated with a tactical ground moving target indicator from space. The study results will ultimately help government and industry engineers integrate space-based radar and a moving target indication from space-based system.DRS sells magnetic heads business unit to concentrate on defense workLeaders of DRS Technologies Inc. of Parsippany, N.J., sold the magnetic heads business assets of their DRS Ahead Technology unit to AheadTek of San Jose, Calif., in a management buyout. Terms were not disclosed. The sale was "a strategic decision to concentrate our resources on our core defense businesses," says DRS President Mark Newman. AheadTek develops and manufactures magnetic head components for television broadcast, video production, computer, and data-storage applications. Products include video heads for broadcast stations and video production facilities, specialty test heads for computer disk drive and thin-film media manufacturers, as well as servo write heads for certain data storage tape formats. For more information contact AheadTek by phone at 408-226-9800, by fax at 408-226-9194, by post at 6410 Via Del Oro, San Jose, Calif. 95119, or on the World Wide Web at http:// www.aheadtek.com/.Force Computers offers blade server for IP packet processingEngineers at Force Computers Inc. of Fremont, Calif., are announcing their CPCI-910 network processor blade for Internet Protocol (IP) packet processing in telecommunications and data communications. The blade has dual Intel IXP network processors, a 14-port multi-layer Gigabit Ethernet switch-fabric and CompactPCI form-factor. The CPCI-910 conforms to PICMG 2.16 standard CompactPCI Packet-Switching Backplane systems. The blade offers a switch-fabric that supports Layer 2 routing/Layer 3 IP forwarding as well as packet filtering/analysis, at interface speeds as fast as 10 gigabits per second Ethernet interfaces. For more information contact Force by phone at 510-445-6000, by fax at 510-445-6001, by post at 4305 Cushing Parkway, Fremont, Calif. 94538, or on the World Wide Web at http://www.forcecomputers.com/.Tracan Electronics to distribute Themis rugged computer systems in CanadaOfficials at Themis Computer in Fremont, Calif., are choosing Tracan Electronics Corp. of Mississauga, Ontario, to sell the Themis UltraSPARC-based Ruggedized Enterprise Servers and VMEbus single-board computers in Canada. Tracan supplies a wide variety of applications, such as the Canadian space program, aerospace, communications, telecommunications, medical, and automotive, Themis officials say. The Themis UltraSPARC-based servers and single-board computers "are excellent solutions for our customer's demanding applications," says Eric Loit, Tracan's chief operating officer. Themis provides embedded computers for mission-critical applications as well as rugged, scalable enterprise servers. For more information contact Tracan by phone at 905-890-6400, by fax at 905-890-6205, by post at 230 Watline Ave., Mississauga, Ontario, Canada L4Z 1P4, or on the World Wide Web at http:// www.tracan.com.VITA looking for balloters to help re-affirm board, communications standardsLeaders of the VME International Trade Association (VITA) in Scottsdale, Ariz., are looking for industry experts to help them re-affirm several different standards. VITA Technical Director John Rynearson says he needs at least 10 balloters per standard. Without re-affirmation, the standards will be withdrawn. Every five years ANSI/VITA standards must be revised, reaffirmed, or withdrawn. The VITA Standards Organization has judged the following standards to be technically current and free from significant errors, and has therefore decided to submit them to reaffirmation balloting: ANSI/VITA 3; Board Level Live Insertion ANSI/VITA 4; IP Modules; ANSI/VITA 6; SCSA ANSI/VITA 10; M-Modules ANSI/VITAI 12; and SkyChannel. Those interested may register to ballot these standards by going to http://www.vita.com/cb-solicit/cbsv0304061012-2002.html, and following instructions. For more information contact VITA's John Rynearson by phone at 480-837-7486, by e-mail at [email protected], by post at P.O. Box 19658, Fountain Hills, Ariz. 85269, or on the World Wide Web at http://www. vita.com/.Dy 4 introduces user-configurable, two-channel Fibre Channel PMCLeaders of Dy 4 Systems in Kanata, Ontario, are unveiling a Fibre Channel PCI Mezzanine Card (PMC) module that is user-configurable to operate in two-channel (dual independent) or single-channel (dual redundant) mode. The PMC-643 supports Class 2 and 3 Fibre Channel (FC) and also a broad suite of standards-based protocols that include SCSI, IP and VI (Virtual Interface). VI is an ANSI standard providing a lightweight, low-latency protocol for data communications and has strong industry support, Dy 4 officials say. In two-channel mode, the PMC-643 offers two independent Fibre Channel connections and supports SCSI and IP or SCSI and VI on each connection. In single-channel mode, the PMC-643 employs a port bypass switch for failover protection and is capable of supporting concurrent operation of all three protocols. Designed for defense and aerospace applications where high system throughput, speed and reliability are needed, the PMC-643 doubles the data transfer rate of many existing PMC modules to 400 megabytes per second by incorporating the Qlogic ISP2312 intelligent FC controller, Dy 4 officials say. Total throughput is 2 gigabits per second via the front panel or 1 gigabit per second through the backplane on rugged conduction-cooled models. Dy 4 is a division of Force Computers, a Solectron company. For more information contact Dy 4 by phone at 613-599-9199, ext. 5282, by fax at 613-599-7777, by e-mail at sales@ dy4.com, by post at 333 Palladium Drive, Kanata, Ontario K2V 1A6, Canada, or on the World Wide Web at http://www.dy4.com/.