Editorial

Improving visibility
The last thing U.S. Special Forces want is a “fair fight,” said Maj. Gen. Thomas Csnrko, commanding general of U.S. Army Special Forces Command Airborne to an audience of defense suppliers and Special Forces personnel as the keynote speaker of Special Ops East 2007 in Fayetteville, N.C.

News

Neutralizing improvised explosive devices with lasers
Officials at Boeing Integrated Defense Systems in St. Louis demonstrated that the company’s Avenger-mounted laser system can neutralize improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and unexploded ordnance (UXO) currently threatening U.S. troops in war zones.

Salvador Imaging to develop color night-vision camera for Army Future Combat System
Lockheed Martin Corp. is choosing Salvador Imaging in Colorado Springs, Colo., to design and manufacture the next-generation, night-vision camera system for the U.S. Army’s Future Combat Systems (FCS) program.

Army chooses Kopin’s instant-on LCD displays for new thermal weapon sights
U.S. Army officials needed displays for their latest thermal weapon sights. They found their solution from Kopin Corp. in Taunton, Mass.

CyOptics acquires Inplane Photonics; expands photonic integrated circuits
CyOptics Inc., a provider of Indium Phosphide (InP) optical chip and component technologies in Breinigsville, Pa., has acquired Inplane Photonics Inc. in South Plainfield, N.J., a manufacturer of Planar Lightwave Circuits (PLCs) for optical networks in defense and telecommunications applications.

nLight concludes acquisition of Liekki to boost presence in optical fiber market
Semiconductor laser maker nLight Corp. in Vancouver, Wash., has completed its acquisition of specialty optical fiber manufacturer Liekki Corp. in Lohja, Finland.

Global market for photonic crystals set for high growth through 2013
The global market for photonic crystals will grow from $13.9 million in 2007 to $32 million in 2008, and to $666.4 million by 2013—a compound average annual growth rate (CAGR) of 84 percent, predict analysts at BCC Research in Wellesley, Mass.

Tyco Electronics offers fiber-to-the-antenna ODC product under agreement with Huber+Suhner
Tyco Electronics in Harrisburg, Pa., has reached agreement with Huber+Suhner in Stockholm, Sweden, to become an alternative source for OutDoor connector (ODC) fiber optic connector cable assemblies.

GigaBeam gains Department of Defense order to support U.S. Navy with WiFiber technology
GigaBeam Corp. in Durham, N.C., won a U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) order for one WiFiber link from Solana Technologies (STI) in San Diego, to support the U.S. Navy.

Princeton Lightwave and id Quantique to develop a single-photon counting module for 1064 nanometers
Princeton Lightwave in Cranbury, N.J., and id Quantique in Geneva, Switzerland, are working together to develop a single-photon counting module optimized for 1064 nanometers by combining an avalanche photodiode with integrated biasing and quenching electronics.

RGB QuadView used for Air National Guard simulators
U.S. Air Force officials are using image processors from RGB Spectrum for new aircraft training simulators.

Features

Weapons at the speed of light
Laser weaponry will be a tool in the U.S. military’s arsenal much sooner than many think, with the first applications for missile defense from the ground and the air.

Product Intelligence

Night-vision devices to blend infrared technology, image intensifiers
The ability to detect and identify objects in nighttime darkness can come from a wide variety of sensors, but accepted methods involve those that sense light either in the longwave infrared, midwave infrared, or near infrared spectra.

Products

Products