SARBE G2R SAR/CSAR BEACON SELECTED BY ROYAL AIR FORCE OF OMAN AS THEIR NEXT GENERATION BEACON
Signature Industries, manufacturer of SARBE Personal Locator Beacons, is delighted to announce that it has been selected as the supplier of a new generation of beacons to the Royal Air Force of Oman (RAFO).
The high-performance SARBE G2R was selected based on superior technical capability. The delivery schedule of the SARBE G2R will mean replacing all the SARBE 6 beacons used by RAFO by the end of 2007. The Air Force’s current SARBE 6 beacons will become obsolete when existing analogue transmissions cease to be monitored by COSPAS-SARSAT on 1st February 2009, following which, only beacons capable of digital transmissions on 406MHz will be detected.
RAFO has been one of the first major air forces in the region to identify the risk to their pilots and will, by having placed this order, be in the forefront of nations benefiting from the 406MHz digital search and rescue network, to protect their airmen.
The technology within the G2R beacon provides outstanding performance, ensuring reliable operation and accurate positioning data, helping to provide rapid detection. This greatly reduces the time to initiate rescue and therefore significantly improves the survival prospects of the airman.
The order, valued at just over £870,000, illustrates the commitment by RAFO to air crew safety. The selection process of the new PLB by the Royal Air Force of Oman has taken a number of years with great care being taken to ensure selection of a product that will perform in the most demanding environments and integrate with the various aircraft that RAFO operate.
David Cairnie, CEO of Signature Industries commented, “The Royal Air Force of Oman has used SARBE beacons for over 30 years and we are very pleased that such a prestigious Air Force will continue to use our high performance equipment into the future”
Further information on PLB technology
Personal Locator Beacons (PLB’s) are routinely carried as standard survival equipment by air crew of fixed and rotary wing aircraft and are used to summon assistance following an ejection, ditching or other events resulting in crew having to evacuate a stricken aircraft.
A step change in the satellite monitoring of PLB distress transmissions has resulted in the need for military organisations to replace older style analogue equipment with more advanced digital beacons.
The new beacons offer significantly improved alerting capabilities with much higher levels of accuracy leading to the prospect of faster rescues and better survival prospects.
Signature Industries is working with customers around the world to help ensure SARBE beacons retain their position as market leader for this type of equipment.
About Signature Industries
SARBE is a major supplier of Search and Rescue (SAR) military air crew Personal Locator Beacons (PLBs), along with other military rescue beacons for use in the event of an ejection or other event requiring emergency evacuation of an aircraft in a remote, possibly hostile location. Now in its fifth decade of developing and manufacturing PLBs, SARBE is the chosen supplier of PLBs in more than 40 countries worldwide. Signature Industries is owned by Digital Angel Corporation.
For more information about Signature Industries, visit www.signatureindustries.com, and for SARBE visit www.sarbe.com.
For further details, contact:
Karen Mascarenhas, MPR, Tel: 020 8305 0650 Fax: 020 8305 9520
Email: karen@kmpr.co.uk Website: www.kmpr.co.uk