RIDGEFIELD, Conn., 3 January 2005. Markland Technologies, Inc. has been contracted by the U.S. military to develop a new type of mobile scout surveillance vehicle employing the latest infrared and night-vision technologies to detect enemy force threats over wide areas of terrain.
Under the program, Markland's wholly owned subsidiary EOIR Technologies Inc. will complete development of a specially integrated sensor platform to create the next-generation Advanced Wide Area Surveillance (AWAS) scout vehicle. The AWAS scout and surveillance vehicles are scheduled for delivery to the US Army in the first quarter of 2005. They are to be deployed in forward combat operations to provide force protection and intelligence gathering capabilities.
"Markland is proud to be able to make this important contribution to the security of our troops in support of their missions around the world," said Robert Tarini, chairman and CEO of Markland.
"We are pleased to be selected to work with some of the most advanced technology development teams in the U.S. military and to make a positive difference in protecting troops and civilians through major development programs such as the Advanced Wide Area Surveillance system."
The company's AWAS sensor platform is designed to provide military personnel on patrol assignments in dangerous operational theaters such as Iraq and Afghanistan with highly mobile, long-range technologies for surveillance and detection of insurgent force threats.
The AWAS scout units will consist of a military Hummer vehicle equipped with a suite of sensor and detection technologies. The suite includes forward-looking infrared sensor, a high-resolution short wave infrared sensor and ground-target radar; the sensors are mounted on a gimbal-based system which has been modified to allow it to perform a wide-area scan. The scanned sensor data is then fed into an Automated Target Recognition software program, developed by EOIR Technologies Inc, for identifying and locating potential threats in real time.
The system is being developed in support of the Ground Systems Division of the U.S. Army's Night Vision Laboratory at Fort Belvoir, Va. The lab is part of the Night Vision and Electronic Sensors Directorate (NVESD), a leading military technology research and development entity. As systems integrator for the project, EOIR Technologies Inc. is responsible for software development, vehicle integration and data acquisition and processing functions. AWAS has been field tested at the United States Army's YUMA Field Test Site.
For more information, see www.marklandtech.com/technology_portfolio/ dod_force.html.
Markland Technologies, Inc. is committed to setting next-generation standards in defense and security through the provision of innovative emerging technologies and expert services. The company is engaged in the identification of advanced technologies currently under development in laboratories, universities and in private industry, and in the transformation of those technologies into next-generation products. Markland's solutions support military, law enforcement and homeland security personnel to protect the nation's citizens, borders and critical infrastructure assets from the threat of terrorism and other dangers. Through strategic development, Markland focuses on the creation of dual-use technology and products with applications in both the defense market and civilian homeland security and law enforcement fields. For more information, see www.marklandtech.com.
