Digest.

Schiebel has reported that its Camcopter recently became the first vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) UAV system to deploy manually from a ship, demonstrating its suitability for naval and coast guard use. Off the coast of Florida, the Camcopter completed five successful take-offs and landings from the deck of the US Coast Guard cutter Valiant with up to 21 knots of wind over deck. Operated manually, the Camcopter was flown from the Valiant with no modifications to the ship and only minimal preparation. All take-offs, flight and recoveries were completed with the Camcopter operating under its own on-board systems.

A cruise engine-powered Taurus Kepd 350 completed a further test flight on 31 September 2000 at Vidsel test range in Sweden, launched by a Tornado. The test demonstrated safe aircraft separation, wing deployment and stabilisation during transition phase, engine start, low-level, long range cruise flight with precision manoeuvres at high subsonic speeds, pop-up and impact on target. The German Minister of Defence has recently announced that the Taurus 350 will not be affected by the national defence budget.

Lifting and levelling containers is not a job for the weak of heart, neither is it something those who wish to continue to walk upright would like to endeavour. Haacon has developed a system with which shelters and containers can be unloaded and levelled automatically. The levelling system can either be integrated into the support frame of a truck cab or attached to an ISO container's corners and then extended manually (up to 400 mm) for use. Four electric motors extend the supports until they are in contact with the ground, then lift the container/ shelter enough for the vehicle to be moved away. To make removal easier an incline measurement can be saved during the unloading process to be activated later. Haacon's system can be supplied both by an external power supply or direct from the transporting truck's electrical system.

The first of eight newly upgraded Super Lynx helicopters was handed over to the Royal Danish Navy in a ceremony at Vaerlose Air Base, Headquarters of Denmark's Air Material Command. The Lynx aircraft are being re-airframed under a 17 million [pounds sterling] contract that covers the manufacture, by GKN Westland, of replacement airframe structures into which the existing fleet's engines, flying controls, hydraulic systems, avionics and electrical systems will be transferred. Upgrades and modifications to the main rotor blades, tail rotor and fuel systems complete the conversion to Super Lynx Mk 90B standard.

The latest mine detection devices from Guartel, the MD8 Bravo and MD Mini8, feature innovative automatic ground rejection capabilities that discriminate against signals from highly mineralised soil, thus eliminating false alarms. The MD8 can detect the current inventory of deployed minimum metal anti-tank and anti-personnel land mines, yet rejects mineralised soil by applying specific algorithms that are embedded into its proprietary software. The unit analyses and identifies signals from conductive soil as being different from a mine by referencing its database of all known soil conditions, and then ignoring ground signals until a real mine is identified. More specifically, when the MD8 samples the soil it becomes the norm, thus nullifying the soil's signal.