RED HOT EXPO

More than 400 vendors descended on Las Vegas to display their latest and greatest

LAS VEGAS

Vendors-seasoned and start-up-from all over the country, gathered under one roof in September to display and share their wares and services at the exhibition that accompanied the 126th NGAUS General Conference in Las Vegas.

Most have been to several conferences in years past, but there were still quite a few new faces, like that of Blackhawk! Products Group, a company that designs, manufactures and distributes tactical nylon gear, equipment and accessories.

Divisional sales manager Greg Andersen says the comparry's focus this year is on upgrading existing products with newer technology for 2005 and increasing production of new and existing products like the STRIKE gear, which is "molly" compatible with more than 60 different pouches, six platforms and can be modified for whatever mission needs may be.

One of those new products is the CQC holster with SERPA Active Retention System. It allows the user to more easily and quickly re-holster the weapon securely alter use. "Using it, no one can just pull the gun out," Andersen says, adding that they hope to introduce an adaptable dropleg holster with the same capability in the near future.

Blackhawk! has been in business for 11 years but this is its lirst time as a vendor at the NGAUS conference.

"Hopefully we'll come back next year," Andersen says. "The National Guard is [on the] frontline of fire in the homeland as well as being deployed overseas. And I think it's important people realize they are our end-user."

Another new vendor this year was MadahCom, a company that produces digital wireless communications systems.

MadahCom is installed worldwide in places like the Statue of Liberty, the International Airport of Baghdad, the Smithsonian Institution museums and in the Oval Office, according to sales manager Chris Henderson.

The systems are useful for mass notification or alerts of civilian and military personnel.

They can be centralized and tailored to each base and are zone-able to specific locations within those bases.

The company introduced the WAVES (Wireless Audio Visual Emergency System) software, which uses frequency-hopping spread spectrum (FHSS) technology, this year.

It allows lor touch-screen computer control, chemical, radiological and biological weapon awareness alarms, advanced intrusion system alarms and LED sign controls and with the FHSS it is extremely secure, Henderson says.

The system, he says, is a "practical product for everyone" including small communities, malls and universities but comes with an added plus for military forces. The company has also developed a portable system that functions by digital wireless technology and can go anywhere.

Marketing Manager Maria Moran says the portable units, which have only been available for about a year, have only been sold to the military so far. Moran says there are a few units being used in theater currently.

Seasoned exhibitors like Sikorsky Helicopter and Northrop Grumman Corporation had very prominent displays. Northrop Grumman department representatives walked around talking with cun'ous walkers-by about their products and services.

Rick Wolaver, director of business development for NGC Airborne Ground Surveillance & Rattle Management Systems, says a big project his department is now working on is the E-8C Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System (JointSTARS).

JointSTARS is used on a modified Boeing 707-300 series commercial aircraft. According to the Northrop Grumman Capital Source Web site, "it detects, locates, tracks and targets hostile surlace movements, communicating real-time information through secure data links to U.S. Air Force and U. S. Army command centers"... and it "also has great utility in special operations, crisis management and peacekeeping operations."

The aircraft are based at Robins Air Force Rase, Ga., and assigned to the 116th Air Control Wing composed of members of the Georgia Air National Guard and the activeduty Air Force. It is the first blended wing in the U.S. Air Force. The wing will receive its final JointSTARS aircraft next year.

Since the 116th was just assigned the mission in 2002, the Guard is a new NGC customer.

Another new technology in the works at Northrop Grumman, is happening in the Navigations Systems department.

Robert Nomelli, the department's business development customer liaison, says the technology has been around lor several years bur is just now being put to use and at a low cost.

The new software, called RePlace or Reconligurable Processor for Legacy Applications Code Execution, is a generic soltware that can run older, legacy software on newer, state-of-the-art microprocessors.

The program handles all avionics as well as mission data like automatic flight systems, display graphics, video, control processors and data links, Nomelli says. It is essentially the "brain" of the entire aircraft.

The technology condenses mission computers to one module, making it ollthc-shell compatible.

"It's cost elective for any organization. Fit, form and function. The RePlace software alleviates parts obsolescence," he said. "We refined it and now it's the hottest software out on the market because it allows you to roll into new technology, as far as hardware, without missing a beat on software."

FATS, Inc., a firearms training systems designer, manufacturer and distributor also showed oil new software programs.

FATS' new I-FACT (Indirect Fire-Forward Air Control Trainer) simulation system is the first over-the-counter joint close-air support simulator, says FATS spokeswoman Nancy Mace. It is designed to train ground controllers in the tactics, techniques and procedures necessary to conduc joint close-air support operations.

Users are typically enclosed in a room or mobile trailer with a 180-degree screen. An operator controls different training scenarios from either a desktop or laptop computer. The software allows the operator to see how an individual, squad or team performed during each training session and it has the capability of networking with other training systems.

FATS, Inc. is not a newcomer to the conference, having come to many over the years, Mace says.

"FATS goals being at NGAUS are obviously to support the end user," she said. "Given the reliance today on training, I think that it's important to individuals serving and those getting ready to be deployed to know we're here for them."

Copyright National Guard Association of the United States Nov 2004
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