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Modern battleships require rugged COTS computers and servers

29 November, 2021 av Expando

We’re seeing a focus on modernization of shipboard systems – which require more rugged, embedded-computing systems processing – as well as rugged, state-of-the-art displays.

Sweden begins high tech Visby II Class Corvette program

Sweden’s Defense Materiel Administration (FMV) has begun work on what will be four new battleships to be called Visby Generation II.

In January, Saab and FMV signed two agreements valued $23 million (190m SEK) to work on Visby-class corvette upgrades and acquisition of the next-generation of these ships. The contracts cover the Product Definition Phase for the Mid-Life Upgrades (MLU) of five Visby-class corvettes, as well as a Product Definition Phase for the next generation; Visby Generation 2 corvettes.

What do the needs of the future look like? The need for more vessels in the water has been established by both the Riksdag’s Defense Committee and by the Chief of the Navy, Ewa Skoog Haslum. But what challenges will these ships face? What tasks should they solve? And how should they be designed and equipped? It’s important to look 30-40 years ahead.

In addition to modifying the ships’ existing systems, an air defense missile system will be added as a new capability. The RBS15 anti-ship missile system will be upgraded to the latest version as well as the torpedo system with the new Saab Lightweight Torpedo.

Contact us for sales, service and support of electronic components and system products. Most are Commercial-off-the shelf (COTS) products.

Driving demand for rugged mobile computers

Today’s warfighter operates in remote, environmentally hostile and actively contested regions. Distanced from normal IT infrastructure. Their situation necessitates processing big data on-site or at the “tactical edge”. Tactical edge devices can be found on drones, aircraft, land vehicles and maritime vessels. On these platforms, hardware constraints such as size, weight and power (SWaP) and extreme environmental conditions must be taken into consideration.

Industry innovators like us are accomplishing breakthroughs with COTS solutions to tackle specialised problems in military systems that must operate in extreme conditions. The performance of electronic devices can be damaged in harsh environments such as extreme temperatures, high humidity levels, electrostatic discharge, electromagnetic interference, vibrations and shock.By using off-the-shelf components, manufacturers can merge affordable, proven technology into proprietary designs that can withstand the conditions of the modern battle whether it be on land, air or at sea.

Like SWaP, another significant rugged mobile computing trend is doing more with less. Not surprising as this is what drives the entire civilian industry and directly affects the defense industry’s demand for technology.

For example, combining a weapons system computer with the mission planning console such that the operator’s control console displays targets and friendly forces on a moving map. That same computer also calculates the fire control solution and/or aims a weapons array or computes the most efficient travel route while sending all that data up or down the chain of command on a secured, tactical local area network (LAN) or satellite communications (SATCOM).

Expando is the leading supplier in the rugged servers product category

We provide advanced systems and services for commercial, military and government customers worldwide. We provide electronic networking technologies that perform with high reliability when used in the most rugged places.

We collaborate with leading manufacturers whose engineers consider every specific environmental condition of the design and development that can affect the use of the product. You can get to know which suppliers we work with within the rugged mission computers, servers, routers and switched product segment here.

Expando AB is a regional expert offering planetary defence components and integration projects. We act as representative or distributor for first class suppliers and our aim is to be your long term reliable partner. Contact us to discuss your future projects at info@expando.se or call us at +46 (0)8-544 900 44.

Swedish Navy’s largest exercise gets underway 18-28 October

27 October, 2021 av Expando

Approximately 2,200 people will participate in Sweden’s largest naval exercise SWENEX-21, which runs for ten days and is organized off the southeast coast of Sweden.

(Image: Michaela Linge / the Swedish Armed Forces)

About SWENEX-21

SWENEX-21 is a Swedish naval exercise that the Swedish Air Force, the Coast Guard, and the Finnish Navy are all taking part in. This exercise is aimed at strengthening the Swedish defense capabilities in Sweden and the surrounding area.

By practicing, we maintain our preparedness and can act quickly if something unforeseen happens in our immediate area. The navy is constantly ready for action. Together with other armed forces and authorities, SWENEX-21 contributes to creating stability and security in the Baltic Sea region.

Finland is an integral part of the air defense of Sweden as part of the in-depth defense cooperation. This helps us to build security together and at the same time increases the Swedish operational capability in line with the government’s mission.

The SWENEX-21 training will take place primarily in the southern Baltic Sea and Hanö Bay. Approximately 25 warships will partake in the 10-day long exercise. These include corvettes, mine countermeasures vessels, auxiliary vessels, and submarines.

Some of the below exercises will be performed during the SWENEX-21 exercise:

Take and secure coastline to defend Sweden against an attacker
Maritime security, to secure imports and important ports
Practice logistics supply of the military units
Practice sea mining
Collaboration with other authorities, for example, the Coast Guard

The exercise has been accepted by the Ministry of Defence which is responsible for Sweden’s military defense and its support agencies is to be included in the Defence Forces’ international exercise programme 2021.

Air Defense Exercise 21

SWENEX-21 will be carried out at the same time as Air Defense Exercise 21 so, in addition to the ships, several helicopters and fighter aircrafts will perform. During the exercise, you can expect low-flying and supersonic flying to be performed within parts of the exercise area.

The airforce defends Sweden – in the air and from the ground. They work around the clock, all year round to contribute to the stability and security in our immediate area.

(Image: Linus Ehn / The Swedish Armed Forces)

An important exercise requires advanced systems and services

The security policy situation in our immediate area and the outside world has changed. Shifting demands requires new supplier strategies to deliver on time, on target, and on cost. Expando’s products help strengthen Sweden’s marine defense as we play an important link in the supply chain.

Expando AB is a regional expert offering defense components and integration projects. We act as representative or distributor for first-class suppliers and our aim is to be your long-term reliable partner. To discuss your future projects contact us.

Expando participates in deflecting asteroids with project Hera

29 September, 2021 av Expando

It’s been nearly half a century since humans left footprints on the moon and during that time, human space exploration has largely centered on manned low-Earth orbit missions and unmanned scientific exploration. But now, high levels of private funding, advances in technology and growing public-sector interest is renewing the call to look toward the stars.

We’re proud to highlight Expando’s participation in world renowned project Hera. A mission set on detecting near-Earth Objects (NEOs), such as asteroids and meteors, that pose a threat to earth. Here’s everything you need to know about planetary defense and the role we’re playing in it.

Planetary Defense and asteroid deflection

Planetary Defense involves detecting, monitoring, understanding, and mitigating, NEOs. Whether or not an object is classified as a NEO depends on its orbit, size, and composition. Take the very first discovered NEO, Eros for example. Eros, the first asteroid to be studied from orbit, has a length of about 16.8 kilometers.

For the NEOs that may impact Earth, Planetary Defense involves preventing or mitigating their impact. Prevention involves deflecting or disrupting the NEO’s orbit, and mitigation involves taking measures to protect people, such as evacuation, in cases where a NEO cannot be prevented from impacting Earth.

Discovering asteroids that may hit the Earth

There have been a number of academic and some technical studies that illustrate just how a devastating asteroid impact might be avoided. Asteroids outnumber comets 100 to 1 in the inner solar system, so asteroids pose more of a nearer-term threat to our planet.

To successfully mitigate a threatening asteroid we need to discover and physically characterize it in a timely manner that allows for the appropriate response.

If the object could be found far enough ahead of time and our space technology used to deflect it from its Earth threatening trajectory, it would be a tremendous demonstration of our space-faring capabilities!

Image: The European Space Agency

NEOs are a real risk

NEOs do hit Earth. A more recent impact did occur in 2013. An asteroid exploded over Chelyabinsk, Russia. The asteroid was about 20 meters long and it is known as the third largest impact event in recorded history. The energy of its explosion was 6 to 33 times as much energy released from the atomic bomb detonation in Hiroshima during World War II.

In the rare event that a NEO does hit Earth, we need to be prepared to prevent it from happening or mitigate its impact. This is where project Hera comes in.

Understanding the risk is vital – which is why the European Space Agency (ESA) is building state-of-the-art Flyeye telescopes that will scan the sky for new asteroids. In the case that we discover one on a collision course with Earth, even if it has a small chance of impact, mitigation will matter. The best way to mitigate an asteroid threat is to deflect its orbit.

ESA’s upcoming Hera Mission

ESA’s upcoming planetary defence mission Hera that is set to launch in October 2024. Its objectives are to follow behind NASA’s asteroid impactor, DART, after it has impacted the 160 meter Dimorphos asteroid (the smaller body, or Moon, of the Didymos binary asteroid system).

Altogether, DART’s impact and Hera’s data will help us understand whether this technique could be used in future to deflect an asteroid on a collision course with Earth. Extremely valuable information for future asteroid deflection missions and increases our understanding of asteroid geophysics as well as solar system formation and evolutionary processes.

Expando is a proud contributor of space components for the Hera mission. We work together with a network of organizations and projects contributing to the prevention efforts of this mission.

About Expando’s space technology

Expando provides advanced systems and services for commercial, military and government customers worldwide. With 20 years of experience, we have a broad portfolio that allows us to deliver high quality specialized solutions that push the boundaries in different environments, such as space, aerospace, defense, industrial and commercial avionics.