Roke's Miniature Radar Altimeter Becomes Standard Fit on Saab's Skeldar UAV

ROMSEY, England, November 20, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --

Roke Manor Research Ltd (Roke), a Chemring Group company, has worked with Saab to successfully integrate its Miniature Radar Altimeter (MRA) into Saab's Skeldar UAV for which it is now a standard fit.

Roke's Type 2 MRA will be integrated into the Skeldar landing system to enable the medium-range UAV to accurately determine its height above ground.

Jonas Carlsson, Senior Product Manager at Saab, said: "Roke's MRA will deliver the very high accuracy required in order to be a part of the avionics suite in Skeldar. This will effectively support Skeldar's high autonomy during landing to maximise the safe conclusion of missions. The MRA's compact size and light weight also allows us to free-up space on Skeldar and maximise payload."

The MRA Type 2 delivers a high level of flexibility to missions, reliably functioning over a wide variety of terrains including over water, which is often a challenge for traditional laser altimeters. Roke's MRA also provides continuously accurate measurements in the most challenging flying situations such as misty or dusty conditions, allowing missions to continue no matter what the environmental impact.

Paul Webb, Unmanned Systems Business Sector Manager at Roke, said: "Roke's MRA has been developed for easy installation onto all major UAV platforms, providing an outstanding solution in terms of capability, cost and ease of use. Saab's commitment is testament to the fact that, the MRA remains the most technologically capable in its class."

About Roke http://www.roke.co.uk

Roke, based in Romsey, Hampshire, is the principal electronics research and development centre of Chemring Group Plc. Founded in 1956, Roke is one of the UK's leading suppliers of innovative solutions and contract R&D, pioneering developments in electronic sensors, networks and communications technology. It employs 450 staff and has over 430 patents to its name.

About Chemring http://www.chemring.co.uk

• Chemring is a manufacturing business with facilities in eight countries selling high technology electronics and energetic products to over eighty countries.
• The Company has a diverse portfolio of products protecting military people and platforms against a constantly changing threat.
• Operating in high margin, niche markets with short product development timescales, Chemring has the agility to rapidly react to urgent customer needs.
• Chemring adopts a balanced strategy of organic growth and small bolt-on acquisitions, and maintains balanced geographic and market profiles, with a growing presence in non-NATO countries.
• Strong R&D investment for new products and improvements in technology continually allow Chemring to expand its addressable markets.

About Saab http://www.saabgroup.com

Saab serves the global market with world-leading products, services and solutions ranging from military defence to civil security. Saab has operations and employees on all continents and constantly develops, adopts and improves new technology to meet customers' changing needs.