Dépêches

Roke Wins Deal to Supply Black Kite MRAs

Dépèche transmise le 11 novembre 2010 par PRNewswire

ROMSEY, England, November 11, 2010 /PRNewswire/ -- Roke Manor Research has been awarded a GBP1.1 million contract by Cobham Aviation Services to integrate its Miniature Radar Altimeter (MRA) Type 1 into the Black Kite Target for the UK Ministry of Defence.

Black Kite is an airborne towed target that replicates a sea-skimming missile for air defence missile and gunnery training on board naval ships. Precise altitude measurements from Roke's MRA will allow accurate, low-level height positioning down to 25 feet above sea level at 300 knots.

Roke's MRA is the world's smallest radar solution for Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) and aerial targets, freeing up valuable space to maximise payload. It is also extremely lightweight, 1.5 kg lighter than traditional radar altimeters, and is designed to 'plug and play' for easy integration into all major UAV platforms.

Roke has also supplied Cobham with the Telemetry Command Avionics (TCA) that allow remote reporting and automatic transmission of data from the towed target back to a central base.

Donald Hardie, Product and Business Development Manager for Roke, said: "Our MRA technology really is unique as not only is it the smallest in the world, the feedback we receive is that it is also extremely accurate and reliable. Add to that the fact that these highly innovative systems are also 35 - 50 percent of the cost of other solutions and you can see why Roke's MRAs are leading the market in terms of product development and customer take-up."

About Roke

Roke is behind some of the most innovative technology in the defence sector. Working in collaboration with government agencies, consortia and industrial partners, it has a long track record of responding to changing operational requirements by developing and delivering battle-winning defence solutions. Roke is situated in Hampshire, UK and employs over 450 people with an annual turnover of approximately GBP45 million.

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About Cobham Aviation Services

Cobham Aviation Services operates more than 150 fixed and rotary wing aircraft globally. It operates the largest civil maritime surveillance contract in the world and trains all UK helicopter pilots for the Navy, Air Force and Army. The Division provides modern battlespace air warfare training and essential flight inspection services and air traffic control radar systems for civil and military airports in the UK, Europe and beyond. It also specialises in conversion and support of civil and military platforms including the RAF Sentry E3-D fleet. The Division has responsibility for overseeing Cobham's involvement in the Future Strategic Tanker Aircraft (FSTA) programme.

CONTACT: Contact: Sarah Miles +(44)01329836390,