News

June 12th 2008 - General Dynamics shows global strength, unveils new combat vehicle systems at Eurosatory

General Dynamics will display its capabilities as a leading integrator of technology and systems, delivering decisive advantage for military and government customers, at Eurosatory in Paris from 16-20 June 2008.

Throughout Eurosatory , the General Dynamics media teams will be available on stand R020. and stand P030. The following media briefings will take place:

Monday 16 June 2008

10.00hrs, Room 510 - Bowman and the future Presented by General Dynamics UK

The briefing will cover the latest progress of General Dynamics UK’s Bowman CIP tactical communications and data system, integration of new and ongoing Urgent Operational Requirements, together with an update on the Company’s growing C4I export programme.

14.00hrs, Booth P030 - PIRANHA vehicle family update Presented by General Dynamics European Land Systems

The PIRANHA III HIGH PROTECTION wheeled armored vehicle provides excellent ballistic and mine protection, while maintaining a substantial payload capacity and outstanding mobility in all terrains. The LEDS active protection system enhances the survivability of the vehicle against omni-directional threats from symmetrical warfare, such as laser targeting, guided and unguided Rocket Propelled Grenades and other stand-off threats.

Tuesday 17 June 2008

10.30hrs, Room 510 - Mission and Security Systems: a look ahead
Presented by General Dynamics UK

The session will explain General Dynamics UK’s recently expanded capabilities, together with an update on the Company’s programme in the fields of Air Network Enabled Capability, Urban ISTAR, and the Security & Resilience field.

11.00hrs, Booth P030 - DONAR: New air-deployable, autonomous and remotely operated 155mm artillery system
Presented by General Dynamics European Land Systems

The DONAR will change conventional artillery methods because it reduces crew and logistics requirements and provides for autonomous operations. The system is intended to replace legacy systems such as the M109, AS90 and K9 weapon systems currently in service with modern armies. The DONAR is a joint effort between General Dynamics European Land Systems and Krauss-Maffei Wegmann. The development of the DONAR is indicative of the growing European trend toward enhanced multinational industry cooperation in the land-systems sector. Users of the DONAR will have precise indirect-fire capabilities that can supplement or even replace close-air-support operations previously conducted by costly fixed- or rotary-wing aircraft.

Wednesday 18 June 2008

14.00hrs, Booth P030 - REBS (Rapidly Emplaced Bridge)
General Dynamics European Land Systems

REBS (RAPIDLY EMPLACED BRIDGE) is a light air-transportable bridge system for mechanized forces that provides crossing capability for vehicles up to Military Load Classification 50 (MLC50) for dry and wet gaps up to 13 m (43 ft). Transport, launch and recovery is possible from any 10 to 15 ton palletized loading system (PLS) truck through a self-powered Bridge Adaptor Pallet. The launching and retrieving procedure itself takes less than 10 minutes. This bridge system has been designed for use by highly mobile mechanized infantry forces. It was successfully tested by the U.S. Army, receiving Type Classification and Full Material Release in April 2007, and has already been successfully fielded to the first operational U.S. Army units. The REB on display will be integrated on a PIRANHA III wheeled armored vehicle with the newly developed ADAPTABLE BRIDGE LAUNCHING KIT (ABLK), which enables mechanized infantry forces to operate the bridge under armor protection without losing its fighting capability.

Stand Information

Stand R020 and P030 are located together in Hall 5 of the Parc des Exposition Paris-Nord at Villepinte.

Stand R020

General Dynamics UK will display advanced C4ISTAR solutions and Armoured Vehicle capabilities on the stand, including:

• Armoured Fighting Vehicles - The ASCOD2 Armoured Fighting Vehicle, currently being offered by a General Dynamics UK-led team in partnership with General Dynamics European Land Systems. ASCOD 2 will incorporate Battle Field Management, Vetronics, improved protection and the C4I Bowman tactical communications system. The FRES Systems Integration Lab (SIL) has been used by General Dynamics UK to risk-reduce representative architectures for the FRES UV programme, including the integration of SA sensors and weapon systems with Bowman CIP. At Eurosatory the SIL will have a representative Battle Management System;
• Command, Control, Computing, Communications, and Intelligence (C4I) - General Dynamics UK’s latest offerings in the C4I export markets, including the Combat System, a Secure Tactical Communications capability;
• Air Network Enabled Capability - With assets now operating in a multi-network, multi-protocol communications environment, Netlink, developed by General Dynamic UK, provides a consolidated ‘linking’ capability to a range of datalink transmitter/receiver systems and enables seamless data transfer across the battlespace – air-to-air and air-to-ground. General Dynamics UK will demonstrate an embedded solution for managing and forwarding data across multiple links. At the show, data will be processed, displayed, and forwarded between LINK-16, Variable Message Format, and a tactical land network. Displays will include a maritime command and control application that provides correlation and fusion of information from multiple datalinks and aircraft sensors to provide a joint operational picture.
• Advanced container technology, a range of transportable, agile container-based solutions for deployed troops on operations in extreme and harsh conditions. These provide rapidly deployable sanitation, accommodation, headquarters and communications facilities for the first personnel arriving on the ground in an operational theatre.
• Urban ISTAR, the innovative Masthead capability that delivers a 3D geospatial map of the urban environment to commanders, giving them a full picture of tactical situations. This allows them to plan, rehearse and “fly through” scenarios in advance, identifying threats inside buildings using external sensor technology, and helping to reduce the time taken to make critical decisions.
• Security and resilience, technology and systems that improve the effectiveness of responses to permanent security threats and evolving incidents in both the military and civil spheres, from counter-terrorism operations to transportation, oil and gas facilities.

General Dynamics Canada will display voice and data distribution technologies including MESHnet v5 and EPICNet, together with the 4WARN Sentry 3000 Bio-Detection System, which provides real time detection and alarming, sampling, and alarm notification of aerosolized biological warfare agents in a compact case.

Itronix UK, part of General Dynamics C4 Systems, will display the latest advances in ruggedised computing technology.