Selex ES and Ultra CCS chosen for British Army Warrior situational awareness

Sep 12, 2013 ASDNews Source : Selex ES

Selex ES, a Finmeccanica company, and partner Ultra Electronics Command & Control Systems have been awarded a contract by prime contractor Lockheed Martin UK – Ampthill for the supply of driver’s and local situational awareness cameras for the Demonstration phase of the British Army’s Warrior vehicle upgrades.

As part of the £1 billion Warrior Capability Sustainment Programme (WCSP) to upgrade the Warrior vehicle, the new driver’s and local situational awareness cameras will provide the Warrior’s crew with an under armour capability to see 360 degrees around the vehicle and drive by indirect view under both day and night conditions.

The camera solution consists of a combination of the Selex ES Driver’s Night Vision System 4 (DNVS4) sensor and the Ultra CCS HUBE cameras fitted around the vehicle. The capability of the DNVS4 ensures that the vehicle can be safely and effectively manoeuvred during both day and night while the small and robust HUBE cameras provide full 360 degree peripheral coverage, improving the situational awareness of the driver and crew. Ongoing production programmes associated with both products has enabled Selex ES and Ultra CCS to meet the tight schedule requirements associated with the Demonstration phase.

Compliance of the Selex ES DNVS4 with the UK’s Generic Vehicle Architecture (GVA) ensures that the solution is future proofed against any further capability enhancements that may be required for the vehicle through its life.

Initially, the camera solution will be supplied for up to 13 Warrior vehicles. Following a successful Demonstration phase, a manufacturing contract is expected in 2016 which will see the camera system fitted to several hundred Warrior vehicles.

“Selex ES has previously provided night vision and vehicle situational awareness cameras for a majority of British Army vehicles including Viking, Challenger II, Mastiff, Ridgback, Wolfhound and Warthog”, said Mike Gilbert, SVP Optronics UK at Selex ES, adding: “Building on this heritage, our collaboration with Ultra CCS brings the best of both companies together to provide an exceptional visual capability for the Warrior crews”.

”Ultra CCS is proud to be involved on the Warrior Programme”, said Mike Williams, Managing Director at Ultra CCS. “The collaboration between Selex ES and Ultra CCS is a great example of two British companies working together and using their combined knowledge and experience to provide the optimum camera solution”.