MBDA
Le Plessis-Robinson, France
+33 1 71 54 10 00
www.mbda-systems.com

At the end of 2018, MBDA successfully demonstrated the use of the Mistral missile against fast boats such as FIACs (Fast Inshore Attack Craft). A number of foreign delegations attended the demonstration firing that was performed from a SIMBAD-RC automated naval turret firing from the land against a fast moving remotely-controlled semi-rigid boat more than 3 kilometers off the coast. The scenario was intended to be representative of the self-protection of a vessel against an asymmetric threat (commando or terrorist attack).

Northrop Grumman Corporation
Falls Church, VA
703-280-2900
news.northropgrumman.com

Northrop Grumman Corporation successfully demonstrated advanced Vehicle Active Protection System technologies against Anti-Tank Guided Munitions during the U.S. Army Tank Automotive Research Development Engineering Center (TARDEC) sponsored Soft-kill Rodeo in Huntsville late last year. The month-long government sponsored “rodeo” was developed to demonstrate and test soft-kill capability against real world threats.

Drone Rescue GmbH Graz, Austria
+43 660 140 80 55
www.dronerescue.com

Drone Rescue Systems GmbH has developed a fast, efficient parachute safety solution for drones that can reduce the risk of harming people on the ground and safely bring down the drone when it malfunctions in the air. The parachute safety solution works autonomously and independent of the drone and ejects the parachute in a fraction of a second, enabling safe commercial and private drone usage even over crowded places.

Amprius, Inc.
Sunnyvale, CA
800-425-8803
www.amprius.com

Amprius, Inc., a manufacturer and developer of high-energy and high-capacity lithium-ion batteries, announced recently that it is supplying advanced lithium ion cells to the Airbus Defence and Space Zephyr Program. Using Amprius’ cells, which contain a 100% silicon anode, the Zephyr S flew more than 25 days, setting a new endurance and altitude record for stratospheric flight.

Airbus Helicopters
Marignane Cedex, France
+33 (0)4 42 85 60 51
http://helicopters.airbus.com

Airbus has begun shore-to-ship trials in Singapore with its Skyways parcel delivery drone. This marks the first time drone technology has been deployed in real port conditions, to deliver a variety of small, time-critical maritime essentials to working vessels at anchorage.

While FMC (FPGA Mezzanine Card) celebrated its 10th anniversary this year, it continues to provide a variety of benefits to the embedded system developer. These include sustained implementation and deployment in new technologies. Additionally, the release of FMC+ provides improved design capabilities. However, with data rates always on the rise and shrinking form factors, the question arises: Why does FMC continue to be so popular and what has sustained it over the years?

Modern radar systems are complex and depend heavily on advanced signal processing algorithms to improve their detection performance. At the same time, the radio front-end must meet challenging specifications with a combination of available components, implementation technologies, regulatory constraints, requirements from the system, and signal processing. This application example shows how NI's Visual System Simulator™ (VSS) system simulation software enables radar system architects and RF component manufacturers to design, validate, and prototype a radar system.