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CASA FITS (fully integrated tactical system) is a system that is used on board aircraft from different coast guard services for tactical marine reconnaissance. FITS is predestined for this area of application due to its real-time display of navigation data. FITS was developed by the Spanish branch of the multinational Military Transport Aircraft Division of EADS.
In addition to tactical marine reconnaissance, FITS is deployed over a wide range of other operational areas: In internal security, border security or for coordination of police missions. It supports operational forces in drug investigations, immigration control and also in protecting natural resources. For example, FITS can be used to monitor fishing grounds or exclusive economic zones, to provide early warning of marine pollution incidents or to coordinate search and rescue services.
In missions of this nature, FITS integrates large volumes of information and also evaluates potential threats at the same time. An intuitive man-machine interface forms the core of the modular FITS. This interface significantly enhances mission efficiency. Apart from numerous operational sensors, this system comprises an aircraft navigation and communication system. Each system is controlled by an operator using one of four multifunction consoles. The consoles are linked together via a high-speed LAN (local area network) with central processors which facilitate fast processing of all incoming signals. Despite the high level of complexity, the acquisition costs for FITS are low, particularly as commercial hardware, standard interfaces and modular software are used. Something that initially sounds mass-produced is actually the trump card for this system. This is because using standardized components is the only way of integrating such a large number of sensors within a system of this nature. These standards also provide the potential for expansion and this is what ultimately ensures the projected service life of a marine reconnaissance aircraft over several decades. Depending on technical progress, this design allows numerous other sensors to be integrated within the FITS system in the future.
FITS is a proven system: The Spanish Armed Forces are already deploying it in the modernized P-3 Fleet and the Mexican Navy has installed the system in its C-212 aircraft. Since the start of 2001, this tactical system has also been in operation on board a C-295. Other FITS orders are for the CN aircraft of the Spanish “Sasemar” air-sea rescue service, the CN-235 operated by the Irish Air Corps and the C-295 aircraft of the Portuguese Air Force. But FITS is now part of the standard equipment of reconnaissance aircraft on the other side of the Atlantic: The CN-235 aircraft of the US Coast Guard are also equipped with FITS technology.
The key link between users and the information provided by the system is ILOG visualization technology, specifically ILOG Views. Apart from the symbology, ILOG Views provides the text menus for controlling the sensors, as well as the captured video data and the cartography of the mission area. The graphics can be easily adapted, intuitively controlled and hence form one of the keys for the flexibility of FITS. Without this flexibility, the reaction time of the crew would be substantially longer and the entire system would be much less suitable, for example, in the deployment of marine patrols. A key factor in the decision by EADS to adopt ILOG Views was the same reason governing the entire development of FITS. All the systems included are equipped with standard interfaces so that further development is possible at a later date with relatively little expenditure.
The Northrop Grumman RQ-4 Global Hawk is a high-altitude, remotely-piloted surveillance aircraft introduced in 2001. It was initially designed by Ryan Aeronautical, and known as Tier II+ during development. The RQ-4 provides a broad overview and systematic surveillance using high-resolution synthetic aperture radar (SAR) and electro-optical/infrared (EO/IR) sensors with long loiter times over target areas.
The Breguet Br.1150 Atlantic is a long-range maritime patrol aircraft designed and manufactured by French aircraft manufacturer Breguet Aviation.
The United States Marine Corps Reconnaissance Battalions are the special operations assets of Marine Air-Ground Task Force that provide division-level ground and amphibious reconnaissance to the Ground Combat Element within the United States Marine Corps. Division reconnaissance teams are employed to observe and report on enemy activity and other information of military significance in close operations. The Military Occupational Specialty code for Reconnaissance Marine is 0321.
The Foster-Miller TALON is a remotely operated, tracked military robot designed for missions ranging from reconnaissance to combat. It is made by the American robotics company QinetiQ-NA, a subsidiary of QinetiQ.
The Denel Dynamics Seeker is an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) manufactured in South Africa by Denel Dynamics. The system is designed to perform tactical reconnaissance in real time and can conduct day and night surveillance in all threat environments.
Air and Marine Operations (AMO) is a federal law enforcement component within U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), an agency of the United States Department of Homeland Security (DHS). AMO's mission is to protect the American people and nation's critical infrastructure through the coordinated use of air and marine assets to detect, interdict and prevent acts of terrorism and the unlawful movement of people, illegal drugs, and other contraband toward or across the borders of the United States. Air and Marine Operations Agents and Officers are endowed with the authority to enforce Title 8 and Title 19 (Customs) of the United States Code in addition to the general law enforcement powers bestowed upon federal law enforcement agents.
The Northrop Grumman MQ-8 Fire Scout is an unmanned autonomous helicopter developed by Northrop Grumman for use by the United States Armed Forces. The Fire Scout is designed to provide reconnaissance, situational awareness, aerial fire support and precision targeting support for ground, air and sea forces. The initial RQ-8A version was based on the Schweizer 330, while the enhanced MQ-8B was derived from the Schweizer 333. The larger MQ-8C Fire Scout variant is based on the Bell 407.
Advanced Tactical Airborne Reconnaissance System (ATARS) is a system for image acquisition, data storage, and data link used by the United States Marine Corps on its F/A-18D Hornet aircraft. It consists of the Advanced Tactical Airborne Reconnaissance System (ATARS) with infrared and visible light sensors, two digital tape recorders, and a Reconnaissance Management System (RMS); an interface with the APG-73 Radar Upgrade which records synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imagery; and a digital data link mounted in a centerline pod. ATARS fits in the nose in place of the nose gun, with a small datalink pod mounted on the centerline station. The digital data link will transmit imagery and auxiliary data to any Common Imaging Ground/Surface Station (CIG/SS) compatible system including the Joint Services Imagery Processing System (JSIPS) or Marine Tactical Exploitation Group (TEG) based ashore and Navy JSIPS (JSIPS-N) aboard ship.
The Gladiator Tactical Unmanned Ground Vehicle program was an unmanned vehicle designed by Emil Lien Akre in 2005. It was developed to support the United States Marine Corps conduct of Ship To Object Maneuver (STOM) missions through the use of a medium-sized, robotic system to minimize risks and eliminate threats to Marines during conflict. Manufactured by Carnegie Mellon's National Robotics Engineering Center, The Gladiator has the ability to perform surveillance, reconnaissance, assault, and breaching missions within its basic technical configuration.
The Airbus C295 is a medium tactical transport aircraft that was designed and initially manufactured by the Spanish aerospace company CASA, which is now part of the European multinational Airbus Defence and Space division.
A multirole combat aircraft (MRCA) is a combat aircraft intended to perform different roles in combat. These roles can include air to air combat, air support, aerial bombing, reconnaissance, electronic warfare, and suppression of air defenses.
Operations Specialist is a United States Navy and United States Coast Guard occupational rating. It is a sea duty-intensive rating in the Navy while most of Coast Guard OS's are at ashore Command Centers.
The 152nd Airlift Wing is a unit of the Nevada Air National Guard, stationed at Nevada Air National Guard Base, Nevada. If activated to federal service with the United States Air Force, the Wing is operationally gained by the 18th Air Force of the Air Mobility Command.
Signals intelligence operational platforms are employed by nations to collect signals intelligence, which is intelligence-gathering by interception of signals, whether between people or between machines, or mixtures of the two. As sensitive information is often encrypted, signals intelligence often involves the use of cryptanalysis. However, traffic analysis—the study of who is signalling whom and in what quantity—can often produce valuable information, even when the messages themselves cannot be decrypted.
The 192nd Airlift Squadron is a unit of the Nevada Air National Guard 152nd Airlift Wing located at Nevada Air National Guard Base, Nevada. The 192nd is equipped with the C-130H Hercules.
SSETI Express was the first spacecraft to be designed and built by European students and was launched by the European Space Agency. SSETI Express is a small spacecraft, similar in size and shape to a washing machine. On board the student-built spacecraft were three CubeSat picosatellites, extremely small satellites weighing around one kg each. These were deployed one hour and forty minutes after launch. Twenty-one university groups, working from locations spread across Europe and with very different cultural backgrounds, worked together via the internet to jointly create the satellite. The expected lifetime of the mission was planned to be 2 months. SSETI Express encountered an unusually fast mission development: less than 18 months from kick-off in January 2004 to flight-readiness.
The EADS HC-144 Ocean Sentry is a medium-range, twin-engined turboprop aircraft used by the United States Coast Guard in the search-and-rescue and maritime patrol missions. Based on the Airbus Military CN-235, it was procured as a "Medium Range Surveillance Aircraft." The HC-144 is supplied by Airbus Group, Inc, formerly EADS North America, and is built in Spain by Airbus Military.
The Boeing Insitu RQ-21 Blackjack, company name Integrator, is an American unmanned air vehicle designed and built by Boeing Insitu to meet a United States Navy requirement for a small tactical unmanned air system (STUAS). It is a twin-boom, single-engine monoplane, designed as a supplement to the Boeing Scan Eagle. The Integrator weighs 61 kg (134 lb) and uses the same launcher and recovery system as the Scan Eagle.
Airbus Defence and Space is a division of Airbus SE. Formed in 2014 in the restructuring of European Aeronautic Defence and Space (EADS), Airbus SE comprises the former Airbus Military, Astrium, and Cassidian divisions. Contributing 21% of Airbus revenues in 2016, it is the second largest space company in the world.