Flatvision Industry News

The UK Royal Navy’s new Queen Elizabeth-class (QE) aircraft carrier HMS Queen Elizabeth has been fitted with the first Rolls-Royce marine gas turbine, MT30, at Babcock’s Rosyth shipyard in Scotland.

Rolls-Royce Marine president Tony Wood said the installation of the first MT30 engine marked a significant milestone in the Queen Elizabeth-class construction programme.

Each of the two Queen Elizabeth-class frigates, HMS Queen Elizabeth and HMS Prince of Wales, will be equipped with two 36MW MT30s to provide power equal to two thirds of the 109MW.

Designed to provide cost-effective propulsion, the compact, lightweight MT30 is a twin-spool, engine based on the Rolls-Royce Trent 800 aero engine technology.

Currently undergoing construction at shipyards around the country, the two aircraft carriers are scheduled to enter service in 2016 and 2018 respectively.

(For full article please see: http://www.naval-technology.com)

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Here at FlatVision we have the ability to offer a range of bespoke MIL-Spec Certified LCD monitors available in sizes from 8.4″ up to 15″, designed and engineered specifically for extreme environmental leading-edge avionics applications, providing service personnel with the most innovative display products improving safety, situational awareness and mission effectiveness.

Our ‘Combat’ series incorporate a range of ruggedised avionics grade LCD displays, designed to operate under the most extreme environments, that can be found in high performance jet aircraft, helicopters, tactical wheeled & tracked vehicles, marine and submarine vessels.

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As with all of our products, our displays are put through rigorous testing procedures to ensure full compliance with all applicable display standards, and in the case of our MIL-Spec displays, we also comply with the necessary military standards including MIL-STD-810F (envi ronmental) and MIL-STD-461E (EMC/EMI).

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As an additional feature dependant upon the application we are also able to offer a wide range of Touch screen options such as Resistive, Capacitive, surface Acoustic Wave and Infra Red with interface from RS232 to USB to suit a variety of applications where a touch screen is the essential input device to the monitor.

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* Flight Control & Navigation ECDIS & Radar Situational Awareness Applications

* UAV (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) navigation for intelligence and surveillance applications

* Target acquisition systems C4I (Command, Control, Communication & Computer Intelligence) operations

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For more information on our ‘Combat’ Series please refer to our website or feel free to give us a call on: (01782) 567979 to discuss any potentional questions or enquiries you may need our help with.

Our ‘StormVision’ display range has been designed specifically for harsh-duty demanding avionics applications, where the visual performance, power-efficient operation and low heat design provides increased reliability and longevity critical for extreme environment avionics applications.

These sunlight viewable monitors are shock and vibration tested, altitude-ready, light weight and water-tight, incorporating front-mounted controls and optional touch-screen technology providing a user-friendly monitor interface solution.

* Fully-sealed IP67/NEMA 6 black anodized milled aluminium casing including connectors provides water/dust proof protection

Babcock is undertaking a programme of work to the Royal Navy’s largest ship, HMS Ocean, to prepare the amphibious assault ship for her military support role to the London Olympics. HMS Ocean will be moored at Greenwich and will act as a maritime hub in support of police-led maritime security operations during the Olympic Games. The 21,500 tonne warship can house 1,100 people, and will operate a number of Royal Navy and Army helicopters.

Part of the work being undertaken by Babcock to prepare Ocean for her London role is the installation of a ‘London berthing arrangement’ to allow the ship to berth in the Thames and accept the ‘London Brow’ (a large pontoon moored alongside the ship with gangways providing access to the ship). This includes installing pontoon mooring eye plates and access platforms in the landing craft bays.

Other work being undertaken includes upgrades to fuel stowages, improvements to flight deck communication to support flying operations, an extensive habitability package (including installation of over 2,000 items) to accommodate additional personnel during the Olympics, a galley and laundry package, painting of the weatherdecks and superstructure, and maintenance to critical systems including aircraft lifts and the chilled water and salt water systems.

(To see full article please see: http://www.asdnews.com)

PATUXENT RIVER, Md. — Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) engineers are weaponizing the MQ-8B Fire Scout unmanned helicopter for an urgent request from the U.S. This is the first time the Navy has armed an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). Weapons planned for the Fire Scout include a laser-guided rocket, the Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System (APKWS).

Personnel from NAVAIR’s structures rotary-wing division worked with the Fire Scout engineers to run tests on the unmanned helicopter’s new hardware, which will measure how the new system performs in a shipboard environment.

Navy officials saw arming this aircraft as an urgent need, “so we are pressing forward as hard as we can to get it out there,” says Jeremy Moore, the Fire Scout weapons system integration lead.

The weaponization was fast, taking place in a little over 18 months, when it usually takes at least two to three years for such a process, Moore says. A guided rocket gives the Fire Scout the ability to engage hostile threats independent of air support from shore or carrier-based aircraft.

Flight and ground tests will be conducted later this year.

(For further details please view: http://mil-embedded.com)