"The so-called direct-support plan already has developed an add-on armor kit for light armored vehicles as well as an acoustic system to pinpoint the location of enemy gunfire, researchers said."
http://www.defensenews.com/story.php?F=957391&C=america Posted 07/11/05 07:37 Print-friendly version Canadian Agency Pushes Technology to Front Lines By DAVID PUGLIESE, OTTAWA Canada�s defense science agency is shifting part of its focus from longer-term research to deal with the more immediate technology needs of troops on the front lines. The plan would allow scientists with Defence Research and Development Canada (DRDC) to quickly produce and deliver innovative equipment that can be used in war zones like Afghanistan. The so-called direct-support plan already has developed an add-on armor kit for light armored vehicles as well as an acoustic system to pinpoint the location of enemy gunfire, researchers said. Denis Faubert, director-general of DRDC laboratories in Valcartier, Quebec, said that while the agency has done direct-support programs in the past, it will more aggressively seek out such technology projects that could be of immediate use to the Canadian Forces. He said the shorter-term programs will have �more of an engineering flavor� and see military personnel and the research scientists working more closely together. �We will have [military] engineers working on that direct support,� Faubert explained. �They�ll be working in collaboration with our top scientists in top facilities. That�s the way to go.� Faster Fielding Faubert cited the development of an add-on armor kit to protect the vulnerable undercarriage of the Canadian Forces� light armored vehicles from land-mine blasts. DRDC scientists started developing the kit 18 months ago after receiving a request from the Army, he said. The system is undergoing final tests before being fielded. Another DRDC project, the Ferret Small Arms Detection and Localization System, allows troops to pinpoint the location of enemy shooters using passive acoustic sensors. The system is composed of a 3-D microphone array mounted on the rear of the turret on a Coyote armored reconnaissance vehicle. A controller inside the vehicle turret processes the sound signals and displays the results on a hand-held terminal providing a graphical and numerical display. The Ferret was sent to Afghanistan after it was successfully demonstrated at Canadian Forces Base Gagetown, New Brunswick, in May 2003. The Army operates 11 Ferrets in Kabul, while another two are kept in Canada for training. The Ferret can detect gunfire from silenced weapons and determine the caliber of the bullet being fired. The system was developed by the DRDC�s Valcartier laboratories and MacDonald Dettwiler and Associates, Halifax, Nova Scotia. Also in widespread use in Afghanistan is a DRDC-developed device that allows troops to quickly attach night-vision goggles to their helmets. Hypervelocity Missiles Faubert stressed that the bulk of the DRDC�s work will continue to be long-term research projects, but noted that those not directly linked to the plans of the Canadian Forces could be dropped. An example he cited is the agency�s development of a hypervelocity anti-tank missile. DRDC researchers started work about five years ago on the development of the missile especially designed to be used by Canadian light armored vehicles. The project concentrated on designing a weapon that was lighter but exceptionally fast and capable of knocking out a main battle tank. But Faubert said the military�s recently released Defence Policy Statement emphasizes fighting in urban areas and in more complex terrain. �You don�t really need as a priority that kind of [missile] capability to strike at a couple of kilometers,� he said. But Faubert noted the program still produced valuable research. The hypervelocity project showed scientists how to increase the effectiveness of a projectile�s penetrator by 10 percent to 20 percent. �This same technology would be reused perhaps now to develop smaller caliber missiles for the kind of ammunitions used by the LAV-25,� he said. Defense analyst Martin Shadwick said the DRDC�s increased emphasis on direct support makes sense because of operations in war zones like Afghanistan. �The important part will be if DRDC can strike a healthy balance between the more shorter-term, operationally focused projects and those that are still much more glimmer-in-the-eye, down-the-road,� said Shadwick, a strategic studies professor at York University in Toronto. He said long-term research is still needed, even if the programs do not produce actual technology that is incorporated in equipment. �You still need an in-house expertise in various areas, particularly when it comes to understanding the revolution in military affairs,� Shadwick said. Faubert said DRDC has an annual budget of about 240 million Canadian dollars ($192 million). That will increase by 79 million Canadian dollars over the next five years, he noted. ⢠E-mail: [EMAIL PROTECTED] -------------------------- Want to discuss this topic? Head on over to our discussion list, [EMAIL PROTECTED] -------------------------- Brooks Isoldi, editor [EMAIL PROTECTED] http://www.intellnet.org Post message: osint@yahoogroups.com Subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] Unsubscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] *** FAIR USE NOTICE. This message contains copyrighted material whose use has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. OSINT, as a part of The Intelligence Network, is making it available without profit to OSINT YahooGroups members who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information in their efforts to advance the understanding of intelligence and law enforcement organizations, their activities, methods, techniques, human rights, civil liberties, social justice and other intelligence related issues, for non-profit research and educational purposes only. We believe that this constitutes a 'fair use' of the copyrighted material as provided for in section 107 of the U.S. Copyright Law. If you wish to use this copyrighted material for purposes of your own that go beyond 'fair use,' you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. For more information go to: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml Yahoo! Groups Links <*> To visit your group on the web, go to: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/osint/ <*> To unsubscribe from this group, send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] <*> Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to: http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
