Thales UK Selects Radstone For Watchkeeper Program

Dual processor SBC at heart of real time data processor Towcester, Northamptonshire:  1st August 2006:   Radstone Embedded Computing announced today that the company has been selected by Thales UK to provide a real time data processor (RTDP) for Watchkeeper, a complete, integrated surveillance solution for the UK’s armed forces.  The RTDP accepts compressed video from the Watchkeeper unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), processes it and distributes it to supervisory consoles within the ground control system.  Part of a mobile ground control system, the RTDP will include three Radstone PPCM2 6U VME dual processor single board computers;  a StarSwitch multipurpose StarFabric switch, together with a PMC-StarLite switched-fabric interconnect PMC to allow high speed communication between the three processors;  and a third party fibre channel PMC.  Total value of the order to Radstone is in excess of £1 million ( approx. $US1.8 million).  Development will commence immediately and deliveries will begin during 2008.  “We’re delighted to receive this award from Thales UK,” said Peter Cavill, President of Radstone Embedded Computing.  “We believe that there were three key factors in Thales UK’s decision.  First, Radstone products are already deployed in similarly sophisticated and demanding programs.  Second, we were able to demonstrate an ‘off the shelf’ solution that delivered the required operating characteristics, shortening the development cycle and reducing program risk.  And finally, we were able to offer a level of price/performance which meant that Thales UK, the British Ministry of Defence and the British tax payer received the best value for money.  We’re looking forward to working with Thales UK to ensure the success of this prestigious program.” Watchkeeper is the UK Ministry of Defence's Unmanned Aircraft Vehicle (UAV) program, which will provide the UK armed forces with essential Intelligence, Surveillance, Target Acquisition and Reconnaissance (ISTAR) capability, and will be a key component of the UK's drive for Network Enabled Capability (NEC).