SIDNEY, N.Y., 30 Aug. 2011. Amphenol Industrial in Sidney, N.Y., is introducing a high-amperage, single-pole, plastic circular power connector for outdoor power supply, control systems, and communications in applications such as hybrid and electric vehicles, heavy equipment, outer door LED lighting, and factory automation. The Amphe-PPC uses silver-plated 5.7-millimeter RADSOK crimp-termination contacts, with gold-plated available, and can carry a current as strong as 120 amps. The rugged connector has low insertion force and temperature rise for durability and use in high-current applications at a given temperature, Amphenol officials say. The power connector comes with waterproof cable glands.

ABERDEEN PROVING GROUND, Md., 28 Aug. 2011. U.S. Army researchers are asking for industry ideas on combining data networking router, network encryptor, firewall, and intrusion-prevention and -detection vetronics for armored combat vehicles to help disseminate surveillance, situational-awareness, and vehicle-health information to those nearby, as well as to authorities up the chain of command. The Army Communications-Electronic Command (CECOM) Contracting Center at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Md., issued a request for information (W15P7T-11-R-A651) Friday seeking industry's input on the feasibility of combining router, encryption, firewall, and information-assurance capability in a vetronics form factor suitable for tactical ground vehicles.

ASHBURN, Va., 26 Aug. 2011. Curtiss-Wright Controls Embedded Computing (CWCEC) in Ashburn, Va., is introducing two ALPHA series rugged aircraft video displays for air and ground surveillance in aerospace and defense applications. The ALPHA-3800-01 is a 15-inch display, and the ALPHA-2600-01 is a 10.4-inch display for size-, weight-, and power- (SWaP) constrained military, paramilitary, and search & rescue fixed-wing aircraft and helicopters. The bright full-color displays have dual LED backlighting technology to deliver direct sunlight readability in daylight, with optional night-vision-goggle-filtered backlighting for night flying.

ALPHARETTA, Ga., 25 Aug. 2011. Helicopter avionics subsystem integrators at Lockheed Martin Corp. needed 5-by-5-inch color active matrix liquid crystal display (AMLCD) assemblies for the U.S. Army's AH-64D Apache attack helicopter. They found their solution from the L-3 Communications (NYSE:LLL) Display Systems unit in Alpharetta, Ga. L-3 Display Systems won a Lockheed Martin contract to provide AMLCD assemblies to replace the AH-64D monochromatic display units to enhance the Apache's target acquisition and night vision sensor display capabilities. No dollar value for the contract was released.

THE MIL & AERO VIDEO BLOG, 24 Aug. 2011. Designers of small unmanned ground vehicles are taking small and rugged to extremes, almost bordering on unmanned vehicle abuse, as John Keller, Military & Aerospace Electronics chief editor, reports this week in the Mil & Aero Video Blog.

MORRIS TOWNSHIP, N.J., 24 Aug. 2011. Honeywell (NYSE: HON) in Morris Township, N.J., has completed its acquisition of EMS Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ:ELMG) in Norcross, Ga., to enhance Honeywell's expertise in rugged mobile computing and satellite communications. Honeywell bought EMS for $491 million, or $33 per share in cash. EMS provides ruggedized mobile computing products and services for transportation, logistics, and workforce management; secure satellite-based asset tracking and messaging technology for search and rescue, warehousing, and field force automation; communications terminals, antennas, in-cabin network devices, rugged data storage, and surveillance technologies for aircraft and related data gathering.

SALT LAKE CITY, 24 Aug. 2011. Parvus Corp. in Salt Lake city is introducing the DuraNET 3000 ruggedized Ethernet switch for military and civil IP networking upgrades and military situational awareness applications that must operate in demanding environmental conditions such as ground vehicles and aircraft. The DuraNET 3000 is a hardened version of the IE-3000 industrial Ethernet switch from Cisco Systems. Mechanical enhancements by Parvus help deploy data, video, and voice services in extreme temperatures, shock, vibration, humidity, dust, water, and electromagnetic interferences. The DuraNET 3000 requires no active cooling, is sealed in a rugged aluminum enclosure, and offers MIL-C-38999 connectors.

SUNRISE, Fla., 20 Aug. 2011. General Dynamics Itronix--part of General Dynamics C4 Systems, a business unit of General Dynamics (NYSE: GD)--introduces the GD400 rugged handheld computer, equipped with ultra-sensitive GPS, a barcode scanner/imager, a high-resolution camera with flash, and a daylight-viewable, water-=resistant, touch-screen display. The GD400 is IP54-certified against dust and water intrusion and built to withstand multiple drops onto concrete.

WASHINGTON, 18 Aug. 2011. The ITT Corp. Geospatial Systems segment in Rochester, N.Y., and Mercury Computer Systems Inc. in Chelmsford, Mass., are introducing the Federated Embedded inteL-server for Collaborative Operations (FELCO) processing solution to help transform raw sensor imagery and metadata from manned and unmanned surveillance aircraft into open-standards geospatial intelligence while the surveillance aircraft is still in the air. The sensor-processing tool helps reduce processing time lag and produces a DVR-like product that warfighters in the field can stop, rewind, review in slow motion, and resume live video.

WASHINGTON, 18 Aug. 2011. Unmanned ground vehicle (UGV) designers at the QinetiQ North America Technology Solutions Group in Reston, Va., have developed 10-pound Dragon Runner 10 micro unmanned ground vehicle (MUGV) for military and first responder applications that is rugged enough to throw into buildings in combat zones and other dangerous areas that pose risks to human lives. The manpackable UGV is for small-unit reconnaissance and surveillance missions and first-responder teams. QinetiQ unveiled the Dragon Runner 10 UGV this week at the this week at the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI) Unmanned Systems North America trade show in Washington.

WASHINGTON, 17 Aug. 2011. Pentek Inc. in Upper Saddle River, N.J., is introducing the RTR 2746 real-time data recording and playback instrument for avionics in manned and unmanned aircraft, as well as for other aerospace and defense applications in operation in harsh environments. The multi-channel data recorder can digitize analog inputs as quickly as 200 megasamples per second per channel and stream data to mass storage at an aggregate rate of 1600 megabytes per second. Pentek unveiled the RTR 2746 this week at the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI) Unmanned Systems North America trade show in Washington.

SANTA ANA, Calif., 16 Aug. 2011. ITT Interconnect Solutions in Santa Ana, Calif., is introducing a series of high-current/low-voltage rugged connectors suitable for aerospace and defense applications that are designed for harsh underwater conditions, including naval and other marine applications such as military field equipment, ships, and other sea-going vessels. The waterproof CIR Marine Bronze Series connectors meet IP67 specifications when mated, and are manufactured from an aluminum-bronze alloy that also contains iron, nickel, manganese, and lead to resist rust and corrosion.

ISSAQUAH, Wa., 15 Aug. 2011. Silicon Designs Inc., a supplier of rugged MEMS capacitive accelerometer chips and modules with integral amplification, has introduced its 60 Series with eight different models in single axis and triaxial versions with measurement ranges from 2g to 400g. The new rugged sensors are designed to provide reliable high-precision shock, vibration, and acceleration measurements across various aerospace, power generation, and test and measurement applications.

Product Intelligence, 12 Aug. 2011. Designers of rugged hand-held device for military systems such as tablets want the features that top every military engineer’s high-performance technology wish lists -- lower size, weight, and power (SWaP), but what they really need is something that can survive and perform consistently in a harsh battlefield environment.

FORT EUSTIS, Va., 12 Aug. 2011. The Boeing Co. Defense, Space & Security segment in Ridley Park, Pa., won an $8.4 million U.S. Army contract Thursday to provide flight-control avionics for U.S. Special Forces MH-47G Chinook twin-rotor heavy-lift and assault helicopters that enhance aircraft safety, precise control, and situational awareness at low altitudes and in poor visibility. Boeing will provide the Digital Automatic Flight Control System (DAFCS) for the Special Aviation MH-47G helicopter. The DAFCS uses modern control software algorithms to improve aircraft handling during hover and low speeds in poor visibility caused by sand and dust brownouts and snow whiteouts.

SCOTTSDALE, Ariz., 10 Aug. 2011. Use of the Universal Serial Bus (USB) 3.0 standard, or SuperSpeed USB, will grow by 178 percent each year through 2015, making up the majority of USB growth of 7.4 percent over the next four years, report market analysts at In-Stat in Scottsdale, Ariz. USB is a bidirectional, dynamically attachable interface for the PC. SuperSpeed USB is designed to move data as quickly as 5 gigabits per second. By contrast, USB 2.0, released in 2000, moves data at 480 megabits per second, while USB 1.0, released in 1996, moves data at 1.5 or 12 megabits per second. SuperSpeed USB is backward-compatible with previous generations of the interface.

BOHEMIA, N.Y., 10 Aug. 2011. Data Device Corp. (DDC) in Bohemia, N.Y., is introducing introduces the BU-65596F/M DO-254-certifiable MIL-STD-1553 avionics databus packaged as a PCI Mezzanine Card (PMC) for military applications in harsh environments. The 1553 databus PMC card uses DDC’s Enhanced Mini-ACE core packaged as an application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) for reliability, DDC officials say.

FAIRVIEW, Pa., 8 Aug. 2011. Spectrum Advanced Specialty Products has released a ruggedly constructed USB connector that meets MIL immersion and International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) seal requirements. Spectrum's new Type A, right-angle mounted connector features current ratings of 1.5 Amps, a contact resistance up to 30 mΩ and an operating temperature range between -40 ºC and +105 ºC. The new release, able to connect to USB 2.0 or 1.1 ports, boasts a heavy-duty design for demanding, high stress applications, according to a representative. The connector meets seal requirements of IEC-60529, Code IP67 on PCB side, and immersion requirements per MIL-STD-810F, Method 512.4 to 20 meters (unmated).

HERNDON, Va., 8 Aug. 2011. GTSI Corp. (NASDAQ:GTSI), an information technology systems integrator for federal, state, and local governments, won a U.S. Army Biometric Automated Toolset-Army (BAT-A) contract. Mobile biometric devices delivered to warfighters will assist in the real-time identification of persons of interest in the field based on biometrics—or measurable physical characteristics, such as fingerprints, iris scans, facial recognition, hand geometry, palm prints, handwriting, voice, and DNA.