U.S. Army Operational Test Command
Fort Hood, TX
254-287-9993
www.otc.army.mil

Forward observers, experts in directing artillery and mortar fire onto enemy targets, have been testing a new piece of targeting equipment recently. “Black Falcon” soldiers of Headquarters and Headquarters Battery, 2nd Battalion, 319th Field Artillery Regiment, put their hands on the Joint Effects Targeting System (JETS) — a modular, man-portable, hand-held, day/night, all-weather, target observation, location, and designation system. Components of the JETS include a Handheld Target Location Module (HTLM); a Laser Marker Module (LMM); and a Precision Azimuth Vertical Angle Module, all mounted atop a tripod.

Recent advancements in composite production and processing are making thermoplastics a viable option in a wider array of aerospace applications.

Joining of composites can be a challenging issue. If adhesives are used, the joints are permanent and cannot be undone. If they need to be undone, inserts are often used and these inserts increase cost and weight. Additionally, fibers can be cut in the process leading to a part with weakened mechanical properties.

Optics 1, Inc. (Safran)
Bedford, NH
603-296-0469
www.optics1.com

Optics 1, Inc. (Safran) recently announced that its Integrated Compact Ultralight Gun-mounted Rangefinder (ICUGR) has been selected by the United States Marine Corps (USMC). The I-CUGR is a small, lightweight, and rugged weapon-mounted laser rangefinder with integrated illumination and aiming lasers that will give USMC the ability to quickly range targets without taking hands off their rifles – providing more accurate first round hits.

In January 2015, the Center for Bio/Molecular Science and Engineering at the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) began an effort to evaluate and develop top-coat type treatments suitable for application to painted surfaces that would reduce retention of chemical threat agents following standard decontamination approaches. Four commercially available surface treatments were evaluated: NANOskin Hydro Express, Rust-Oleum^® NeverWet^®, Eagle One Superior NanoWax™, and Rust-Oleum^® Wipe New.

Boundary-Scan Test Hardware Interface

JTAG Technologies (Eindhoven, the Netherlands) announced the immediate release of a new JTAG/boundary-scan test hardware interface product compatible with the MAC Panel mass interconnect system. The JT2147/eDAK is a multi-function signal conditioning module that allows ‘ideal world’ connections from JTAG Technologies PXI and PXIe DataBlasters to the MAC panel ‘Scout’ connection system.

South West Metal Finishing has been working on an additive manufacturing surface treatment process for the last three years and believes it could be the future choice of aircraft manufacturers around the world, such as the likes of Safran, UTC Aerospace and Airbus.

Fujifilm Medical Systems U.S.A., Inc.
Stamford, CT
1-800-872-3854
www.fujifilmhealthcare.com

Fujifilm Medical Systems U.S.A., Inc., was recently awarded a new 10-year contract with a maximum value of $768 million as part of the Digital Imaging Network-PACS (DINPACS) IV project from the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Specifically, U.S. government healthcare providers can now purchase and install various technologies from Fujifilm’s Synapse enterprise imaging portfolio including Synapse 5 PACS, Synapse Mobility Enterprise Web Viewer, Synapse 3D, Synapse CV (Cardiovascular) and Synapse VNA (Vendor Neutral Archive).

Conventional composite materials, in which a matrix material is reinforced by particulates, whiskers, and/or continuous fibers, have long been of interest as potential materials solutions to engineering needs. Typically, the benefits of these reinforcements are observed for cases of tensile loading, with only minimal improvement for cases of compressive loading. As a result, recent attention has grown in the use of hollow spheres as a potential reinforcement in metallic systems.

Anthropomorphic test devices (ATDs) have been used in automotive safety research since the 1970s to predict injuries. ATDs must repeatedly perform under a dynamic range of loading rates and reliably distinguish between injuries ranging from minor to severe.