Cubic Receives Contract for UK's WATCHKEEPER Program.SAN DIEGO San Diego (săn dēā`gō), city (1990 pop. 1,110,549), seat of San Diego co., S Calif., on San Diego Bay; inc. 1850. San Diego includes the unincorporated communities of La Jolla and Spring Valley. Coronado is across the bay. -- Cubic Defense Applications, the defense segment of Cubic Corporation (AMEX AMEX See: American Stock Exchange :CUB), has received a $52 million contract from UAV UAV Unmanned Aerial Vehicle UAV Unmanned Air Vehicle UAV Unmanned Aerospace Vehicle UAV Unmanned Airborne Vehicle UAV Uninhabited Air Vehicle UAV Urban Assault Vehicle UAV Unpiloted Aerial Vehicle (less common) Tactical Systems, a subcontractor to the Thales UK WATCHKEEPER Prime Contract Management Office, to supply its advanced data link technology for the UK Ministry of Defence's WATCHKEEPER program. Cubic has issued a subcontract to its UK design and manufacturing partner, Ultra Electronics Ultra Electronics is a British aerospace and defence company. Ultra was formed in 1993 by a management buy-out of seven Dowty Group plc companies from TI Group plc.[1] Dowty had been acquired by TI Group in 1992 for £500 million. , to assist in supplying the data links for this critical UK defense program. WATCHKEEPER will provide UK Armed Forces with an Intelligence, Surveillance, Target Acquisition and Reconnaissance capability based on an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle A powered, aerial vehicle that does not carry a human operator, uses aerodynamic forces to provide vehicle lift, can fly autonomously or be piloted remotely, can be expendable or recoverable, and can carry a lethal or nonlethal payload. (UAV) system and will be a key element of the UK military's Network Enabled Capability. This capability is expected to become operational in 2010. Cubic's spectrally efficient Tactical Common Data Link (TCDL TCDL Tactical Common Data Link (US DoD Joint) ) and High Integrity Data Link (HIDL) will be employed for this program. The TCDL will enable WATCHKEEPER to transfer time-critical information from multiple UAVs operating in the same geographical area without mutual interference. The HIDL, developed for command-and-control of UAVs, will provide WATCHKEEPER with a versatile, programmable back-up link. "WATCHKEEPER is a very important program for us, and we're thrilled to be part of the Thales UK team. This award firmly establishes our foothold in this market and proves that our newest data link technology is ideally suited for today's unmanned aerial vehicle programs," said Rick Lober, senior vice president of Cubic's Communication and Electronics Business Unit. WATCHKEEPER will provide the UK Armed Forces with 24/7 surveillance capability in all types of weather conditions without the need to deploy troops into sensitive or harmful environments. The unmanned air vehicles that will be used, the WK450, can stay airborne for up to 16 hours each. Cubic's high-speed TCDL provides the wireless connection for transferring data and images from WK450s to control ground stations. The Cubic Defense Applications group, one of Cubic Corporation's two major segments, is a world leader in realistic combat training systems, mission support services support services Psychology Non-health care-related ancillary services–eg, transportation, financial aid, support groups, homemaker services, respite services, and other services and defense electronics. The corporation's other major segment, Cubic Transportation Systems, designs and manufactures automatic fare collection systems for public mass transit mass transit, public transportation systems designed to move large numbers of passengers. Types and Advantages Mass transit refers to municipal or regional public shared transportation, such as buses, streetcars, and ferries, open to all on a authorities. For more information about Cubic, see the company's Web site at www.cubic.com. |
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