Defence`s Feeds

Russian AK-15 Assault Rifle

Czech CZ 806 BREN 2 Assault Rifle

22 satellite imagery analysts and experts from seven EDA Member States (Austria, Belgium, Spain, France, Italy, The Netherlands, Poland) plus Denmark, as well as six analysts from the European Union Satellite Centre (EU SATCEN) and one from the European Border and Coast Agency (FRONTEX) met from 19-21 October at the SATCEN headquarter in Torrejón de Ardoz/Madrid for a REACT study implementation meeting.

The REACT (Radar imagEry Applications supporting ACTionable intelligence) study, initiated and managed by the European Defence Agency (EDA) in cooperation with EU SATCEN and participating Member States, aims at giving more value to imagery data, identifying areas where military imagery analysts can be assisted by tools/workflows to produce valuable and possibly actionable intelligence, according to users’ information requests. The study is focused on Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) imagery processes and in the combined use of SAR and electro-optical images. The study has been awarded to an international consortium composed by: e-GEOS, Telespazio Ibérica and INTA. The contract was signed in January 2016.

The aim of the REACT implementation session was to test, in a pseudo-operational environment, the workflows for the exploitation of satellite radar imagery defined during the previous phases of the study. Several workflows were tested: Monitoring, Damage Assessment, Search/Targeting. New algorithms, still in a research and development phase, were also presented. For each of programme topics, the operational experts received a “Request for Information” task.

The operators were tasked to perform imagery processing and imagery analysis in accordance with the workflows previously defined during the REACT study. Satellite radar imagery was provided by the EU SATCEN and by the industrial consortium.

The session proved to be extremely useful for the participating experts in many respects, especially because it helped them to face the intrinsic complexity of working with radar imagery and provided practical information in each step of the defined workflow. The expertise acquired during the session will also help the imagery analysts to establish effective working procedures for radar imagery exploitation, understand the pros and cons of using the several software suites available and evaluate the state of the art of new tools and algorithms for radar imagery exploitation (e.g Automatic Target Detection & Recognition).

An additional similar session will be organized in Rome in December for two scenarios typically encountered during FRONTEX activities: pre-frontier and coastal monitoring.

The results of the REACT activities will feed into the work of the forthcoming EDA Project Team Space Based Earth Observation. In addition to that, the lessons learned during the meeting on the new tools and algorithms may also be discussed in the relevant EDA CapTechs.

More information:

• EDA and EU Satellite Centre (SATCEN) formalize cooperation with exchange of letters (webnews July 2016)

EVENT Five suspected Islamists were yesterday (8 November) detained in co-ordinated counter-terrorism raids targeting several flats and a mosque in Germany's federal states of North Rhine-Westphalia and Lower Saxony. The detainees are accused of recruiting individuals and providing financial and

The election of Republican candidate Donald Trump as US president is likely to increase uncertainty among key US allies in the Asia-Pacific region about Washington's future level of commitment to security alliances, according to South Korean and Japanese media. The concerns are linked to statements

Key Points The GWS 35 Sea Ceptor fit for Type 26 will have separate magazines forward and aft for a total of 48 CAMM missiles GWS 35 is due to become operational in the RN in 2017 The UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) has confirmed a GBP100 million (USD124 million) Demonstration and Manufacture

Key Points Development expected to be completed within three years The PZ-6 will be manufactured by ZM Mesko if selected by the Polish armed forces CRW Telesystem-Mesko - a leading Polish research and development company which specialises in the design of missile guidance systems - in partnership

Indian company Adani Enterprises has set up a joint venture (JV) with Israel's Elbit Systems to produce unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) in India. Adani said in a filing to the Bombay Stock Exchange on 8 November that the JV, named Adani-Elbit Advanced Systems India Limited (AEASIL), was formerly

The German military contingent in Mali's first Heron 1 medium altitude long endurance (MALE) unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) unit performed its first operational flight on 1 November from its base of Gao. The Bundeswehr announced the flight lasted close to six hours and had shown excellent results,

Length of video : 108'
You may manually download this video in WMV (997Mb) format

Disclaimer : The interpretation of debates serves to facilitate communication and does not constitute an authentic record of proceedings. Only the original speech or the revised written translation is authentic.
Source : © European Union, 2016 - EP

The US Army has integrated PacStar's IQ-Core Software, currently deployed on the service's Warfighter Information Network-Tactical (WIN-T) increment 1 node, with the National Security Agency's (NSA's) Commercial Solutions for Classified (CSfC) plug-in to secure the management of army wireless

Batam-based shipbuilder PT Karimun Anugrah Sejati has launched two PC-40 patrol vessels on order for the Indonesian Navy (Tentara Nasional Indonesia - Angkatan Laut: TNI-AL), a company official told IHS Jane's at the Indo Defence 2016 exhibition in Jakarta. The boats, which have been named Torani

The F-35 programme will need an additional USD530 million to complete development, the Pentagon's Joint Program Office (JPO) for the effort confirmed on 8 November. "The JPO estimates an additional USD530 million is required to complete the F-35 [system design and development] SDD

The United States has conducted military equipment sales worth USD33.6 billion in fiscal year 2016 (FY 2016), the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) announced on 8 November, marking a USD13.5 billion decline from the previous year DSCA said the FY 2016 total sales include USD25.7 billion

Key Points South Korea's coastguard has unveiled plans to boost domestic shipbuilding and to improve maritime security Patrol fleet is also being strengthened, to counter illegal fishing activity South Korea is progressing plans designed to bolster the output of its coastguard force. Hanjin

The CM-302 missile exhibited at Airshow China 2016 is being marketed for export as "the world's best anti-ship missile", according to Chinese news media. The missile's manufacturer, state-owned China Aerospace Science and Industry Corporation (CASIC), reportedly justifies the claim on the

In the world of intensive deep-sea dredging, size matters, especially when it comes to the working fleet of one of the world's largest dredging companies.

Rockwell Collins has delivered the 40,000th ARC-210 radio to the US military strengthening the communication capabilities of the force.

The Indian Navy and the Republic of Singapore Navy (RSN) have conducted the annual Singapore-Indian Maritime Bilateral Exercise (SIMBEX) in India.

The US Navy's has decommissioned its Los Angeles-class fast-attack submarine, USS San Francisco (SSN 711), at Naval Base Point Loma, US.