Interconnection I DSEi The joined up battlefield
This year’s DSEi, the defence and security show, saw a greater focus on the needs of soldiers and armoured vehicles and how they interact on the battlefield. Neil Tyler spoke with a number of connector companies on how they look to address the needs of this fast growing market
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ast month saw thousands of sharp suited and uniformed men and women converge on London’s docklands for DSEi 2011, the defence and security show. The variety of kit on display was extensive ranging from guns that could fire shells thirty miles but with unnerving accuracy, hitting targets within a few feet, to simple switches and connectors designed in order to make the life of fighting troops easier and safer. Over 45 countries advertised their wares at the show with the UK’s British Aerospace and Cobham in attendance, as well as the US giants Lockheed Martin, Raytheon and General Dynamics. Opening the show Liam Fox, the UK defence secretary, praised the role of UK arms firms in terms of their contribution to exports. He said: "For too long, export potential has been ignored when initiating projects for the UK's own use. That needs to change … Defence and security exports play a key role in promoting our foreign policy objectives: building relationships and trust, sharing information and spreading values."
Britain is the second largest exporter of
arms-related equipment in the world, after the US, and the clear focus of military spending in 2011, alongside that of designing unmanned vehicles, appears to be on the individual soldier in the field and on the armoured vehicles they use, and crucially how they interconnect. Talking to companies at the show it became apparent that the type of programmes that were gaining attention from cash-strapped governments were those that not only looked to improve the protection of individual soldiers but sort to enhance their effectiveness, and at the heart of these types of programmes was the importance of reducing the weight, size and cost of individual systems. The connector industry and the use of connectors was a case in point. “Soldiers are expected to carry more
and more equipment,“ explained Jonathon Beach, the European Director of Product
40 October 2011
Management, ITT Interconnect Solutions. “They are now expected to carry radios, cameras - which are increasingly being used on the battlefield - and now small rugged computers that connect all the equipment a soldier carries not only to his fellow soldiers but to a central command. As a result these devices all need to be interconnected and share - where possible - a common source of power. As a result they need new, smaller connectors that are able to offer the same performance and standards as their larger military-standard counterparts. “However, reducing their size and the types of material we use must not impact on their performance. Should we use aluminium or stainless steel, for example. Soldiers will only embrace equipment if it is acceptable to them and they have confidence in it. And it needs to be tough and resilient. They’ll cast it to one side on the battlefield if it’s of no use to them or hinders them. “There are a host of programmes under development around the world that use electronics to help soldiers know where they are, to communicate better, as well as to identify, locate and take out their enemies. But in order to meet the needs of this market we realised that we would have to develop a product specifically tailored to it. There have been numerous examples of equipment being developed that has used existing components and they just haven’t worked.” At DSEi ITT was demonstrating its Nemesis range of connectors which it has designed specifically for the defence market. On display was the Nemesis Space Saver lightweight, low - almost "no" - profile interconnect that the company has developed specifically for wearable and portable military equipment, such as portable computers, weapons, vision systems, headsets and radios, and that can be used in a wide range of different modern theatres of war. Weight is a crucial issue as Beach explained. Often front-line military
Components in Electronics
personnel have to carry in excess of 45 kg of wearable equipment on long and arduous missions. As a result reducing this weight burden was seen as a top priority. This device is the first interconnect of its type, it’s a compact, lightweight solution, that not only saves weight but can also effectively help shrink the overall size of the equipment being used. Not only is it small it is extremely rugged and with a high degree of sealing it is capable of withstanding very harsh conditions in the field and features an anti- reflective ROHS-compliant salt-spray resistant plating providing soldier concealability and is guaranteed for 500 hours.
Canted spring technology provides a unique snap-on/ripaway coupling to prevent front-line personnel from being endangered should a cable snag. Another part of the design consideration when it came to the safety of personnel was the use of a ribbed overmolding for secure grip under difficult conditions. One area of particular interest at the show was how companies were looking to replace the cables connecting devices. According to Beach a number of companies are looking at using fabric that can take an electric current. “Getting rid of cables would go a long way to reducing the weight problem we’re all having to address.“ However, that technology is five to ten years away. In the here and now it was the first time that Molex had taken a stand at DSEi. According to Stephen Webster, the company’s European Market Specialist, Military & Aerospace, “We have typically supplied into the automotive and white goods space but are looking to diversify into the growing medical and military markets. We’ve used our military footprint in the US to help us move into Europe.” Molex is using its existing product range to gain a foothold in the military market - in particular the UAV market. “The key to working in this market is making your products more rugged and
robust and of course making everything lighter and smaller. We have over 100,000 products in our portfolio and the challenge for us, “ Webster explains, “is identifying and selecting the best product lines to promote into the market. We have a broad range of RF and fibre connector solutions which, in small volumes, are being used by most of the big companies you see at this show.”
The use of fibre optics is a growing
trend in the military space as network systems, that are typically used in local area networks, are being pulled into the military space.
“Ethernet is playing a much bigger role in the military market, from a connectivity point of view, and that requires the connectors that we use to be much more rugged. Fibre optics don’t work well in a dirty and dusty environment, so the devices used need to be easily re-configurable should they be damaged in action.” An important element of the company’s move into this market is the ability to engage successfully with the design engineer and meet their needs in a very demanding space. As Webster says “Design engineers are very demanding and need detailed product information and good support when it comes to designing standard products for the military.”
In terms of future trends what are going to be the key demands placed on companies like Molex? “At the board level design engineers are looking to reduce board space but at the same time boost performance. The obsession is with size, weight and power and it’s a very hard circle to square. There’s also a very strong move towards COTs devices at a time when costs are rising and there just isn’t the money to fund programmes, however there will always be a need for products that are designed specifically for the military.” n
ITT Interconnect |
www.ittcannon.com Molex |
www.molex.com
www.cieonline.co.uk
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