Archived Defence Sector News - 2009

Editors - please refer to the Notes to Editors for background information on Umeco plc and its operating divisions.

ACG Phenolic Prepregs used for Warthog Ballistic Protection

ACG Exhibits at DSEi 2009

ACG Carbon Prepregs Applied to AESIR’s Unmanned Autonomous Systems

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ACG Phenolic Prepregs used for Warthog Ballistic Protection - September 2009

Composite phenolic prepreg materials from Advanced Composites Group Ltd. (ACG), part of the Composites Division of Umeco plc, are being used by UK based Permali Gloucester Ltd to manufacture appliqué armour and spall liners for more than 100 military vehicles recently ordered by the Ministry of Defence (MoD) from ST Kinetics in a deal worth over £150M.

The project, which is dedicated to improving the protection of UK Armed Forces serving in urban environments of Afghanistan, will see the appliqué armour and spall liners used to ‘morph’ ST Kinetics' Bronco All Terrain Carrier into a variant that the MoD has designated the “Warthog”.

The contract for the armour, which will be completed by mid 2010, will be fulfilled by Permali Gloucester Ltd., a company with significant experience of applying ACG’s materials in this arena. Permali has developed the armour system to meet an exacting ballistic specification and to integrate with other essential equipment installed on the ST Kinetics’ Warthog vehicle. Permali will be using technologies developed around ACG’s ballistic phenolic prepreg materials, which Permali regards as being cost-effective and providing a solution that offers significant weight saving compared to traditional metallic solutions.

Permali will deliver sets of armour to ST Kinetics in Singapore and also to Thales in the UK, the latter of which is responsible for system integration for the programme.

The Warthog is a development of ST Kinetics' Bronco All Terrain Carrier, a robust and proven articulated platform with a payload of more than 5 tonnes. The platform's articulated design delivers exceptional mobility across a wide range of terrain and climate, and is extensively armoured. Described as a "beast of a vehicle", delivery of the Warthog will begin at the end of this year.

Image courtesy of: Singapore Technologies Kinetics Ltd (ST Kinetics).

For further information please contact:

Advanced Composites Group
Jon Stowell – Head of Marketing and Business Development
E-mail: jstowell@acg.co.uk

Mike Millward – Sales Manager
E-mail: mmillward@acg.co.uk
Tel: +44 (0)1773 766204 - Web site: www.acg.co.uk

Additional Notes to Editors:
Permali Gloucester Ltd. - founded in 1937 and is a world leader in the manufacture of composite materials for the defence, aerospace, rail, marine and medical markets. Products include composite armour systems, the range of Permaglass composite laminates, and Tuftane TPU films.

Singapore Technologies Kinetics Ltd (ST Kinetics) - the land systems and specialty vehicles arm of Singapore Technologies Engineering Ltd (ST Engineering). It is one of Asia's leading defence and specialty vehicles company, with sales of over $1.2 billion in 2008 and a strong portfolio of products and services for the defence, homeland security and commercial markets. Its capabilities include the design and development, systems integration, production, operations & support and through life management of a wide range of specialised land systems equipment and specialty vehicles.

ACG Exhibits at DSEi 2009 - August 2009

Advanced Composites Group Ltd. (ACG), part of the Composites Division of Umeco plc, will be exhibiting on Stand No.: 328 at the DSEi 2009 show in the ExCeL centre, London 8th to11th September 2009.

Prepreg products from the Advanced Composites Group are used extensively in a variety of Defence applications ranging from ballistic protection to structural components for aerospace applications, including UAVs, Naval applications, radomes and communication dishes.

To demonstrate its expertise in the ballistics arena, which encompasses vehicle and body armour, ACG will exhibit a spall liner manufactured at Permali Gloucester Limited using a hot press moulding technique with ACG’s MTM®82 phenolic resin/S2-Glass® prepreg. The moulded shape of the liner provides improved coverage by matching the contours of the vehicle interior, thus increasing the protected area while reducing overall component weight. The materials and process are now used in full-scale production, and parts have been supplied for fitment to an in-service fleet of vehicles.

ACG’s has significant expertise in the aerospace and marine sectors. In aerospace, Airbus’ qualification of ACG’s first Out-of-Autoclave (OoA) pre-impregnated advanced composite material, namely MTM®44-1, for structural applications, is seen as an endorsement of the Group’s capability. This has been further demonstrated by UK based AESIR Ltd. which uses ACG’s MTM®28 Series prepregs to manufacture the fuselage of the ODIN, HODER and VIDAR Vertical Take Off and Landing (VTOL) Unmanned Air Vehicles (UAVs). AESIR chose ACG’s MTM®28 Series prepregs because of their excellent impact resistance, autoclave curing capability, long out life, and flexible 85 to 120°C (185 to 248°F) cure range. In the marine sector, Lloyds’ Register of Shipping approval of ACG’s VTM® Series prepregs, and the abundance of success across marine in general, is confirmation of the Group’s established reputation for providing technologically advanced materials and a dedicated pre- and post-sales support service.

In the communications arena, ACG’s customers have had considerable success in the application of its composite materials for radomes and satellite dishes. ALMA (Atacama Large Millimeter Array – for astronomy), one of the largest ever ground-based array projects, uses ACG’s MTM® and ZPREG® product formats. L-3 ESSCO (ECL), the world's premier designer and manufacturer of ground-based radomes and antenna products, has applied ACG’s polyester prepregs with considerable success on a range of metal space frame (MSF) radomes.

For further information, please contact:

Advanced Composites Group Ltd:

Jon Stowell - Head of Marketing and Business Development. E-mail: jstowell@acg.co.uk

ACG Carbon Prepregs Applied to AESIR’s Unmanned Autonomous Systems - August 2009

Composite carbon prepreg materials from Advanced Composites Group Ltd. (ACG), part of the Composites Division of Umeco plc, are being utilised by Peterborough, UK based AESIR Ltd to manufacture the fuselage of its ODIN, HODER and VIDAR Vertical Take Off and Landing (VTOL) Unmanned Air Vehicles (UAVs).

Using patented AESIR technology, exploiting the Coanda* effect, named after the Romanian engineer, Henri Coanda, and designed to operate in both urban and rural environments, AESIR’s UAVs provide a platform suitable for a variety of uses, including surveillance and cargo lift.

ACG’s MTM®28 Series prepregs, which are based on a flexible 85 to120°C (185 to 248°F) curing toughened, epoxy matrix resins, and purposefully developed for the manufacture of components requiring high damage tolerance, were chosen by AESIR because of their excellent impact resistance, autoclave curing capability and long out life.

While AESIR opted to autoclave cure its UAV fuselages, ACG’s flexible processing MTM®28 Series prepregs also readily accommodate vacuum bag or press moulding.

AESIR’s ODIN VTOL UAV, which is the company’s median product, measures 1m in diameter, weighs 10kg, has a payload of 10kg, and is powered by a Wankel Rotary engine burning JP-8 jet fuel, giving it a 1 hour operational capability. The HODER VTOL UAV, which is currently at prototype stage, is a heavy lift craft capable of carrying a 1 tonne payload. Intended primarily for cargo transport and resupply of ground forces on the front line, HODER is being proposed as a replacement for piloted helicopters and ground convoys. Using a turbo shaft engine burning JP-8 jet fuel, the HODER weighs 1500kg and has an 8 hour operational capability. VIDAR, AESIR’s smallest UAV, which is a 300mm diameter hand-portable craft, has been developed to provide surveillance and situational awareness inside buildings and other confined areas. Weighing 400g and powered by an electric motor using a lithium-polymer battery, VIDAR can carry a payload of 100g for up to 15 minutes.

Typical operational roles covered by the AESIR range include: ISTAR (Intelligence, Surveillance, Target Acquisition and Reconnaissance), situation awareness, communications relay and electronic warfare, fixed and mobile asset protection, IED (Improvised Explosive Devices) detection, weapon or loitering munition, stores deployment and any other operation where using a manned craft might put a crew’s life at risk.

Image © Copyright and Courtesy of AESIR Ltd.

* The Coanda effect is the tendency of a fluid jet to stay attached to an adjacent curved surface that is very well shaped. The principle was named after Romanian aerodynamics pioneer Henri Coanda, who was the first to recognize the practical application of the phenomenon in aircraft development. Source: wikipedia.org.

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