Croma Defence Systems Ltd
http://www.armedforces-int.com/categories/tactical-equipment/zeus-tactical-light.asp
The Zeus Tactical Light
By John Hall, Managing Director Croma Defence Systems Limited , Croma Group plc
The Zeus Tactical Light has been developed by Croma Defence Systems Limited (part of Croma Group plc) in close collaboration with the specialist surveillance unit of the UK MoD, primarily for use in OBUA (Operations in built up areas) roles.
Recent developments in the Middle East have confirmed the importance of such operations, and highlighted the stresses that such roles impose upon the soldier.
The primary application of Zeus is in building and room clearance, where traditionally, this function was carried out by the use of HE grenades and torches strapped to the stock of a soldier’s personal weapon.
Because of the restrictions imposed by darkness, the deployment of HE devices such as grenades can be extremely dangerous. They are very much “double- edged” weapons, and can lead to shrapnel injuries being self inflicted due to thin walls failing to offer the protection initially perceived by the clearance team. Supporting structures can also become damaged, particularly in basement areas, leading to the possibility of building collapse with potentially dire results.
As HE grenades can of course be used only once, the problem of re-supply can be a serious handicap to forces engaged in OBUA. In the case of torches attached to the fore stock of weapons, the major disadvantage is that the beam can be easily traced back to its source thereby compromising the operator’s safety, again with potentially dire results. Together, these two factors can result in a serious reduction in a soldier’s survivability.
A requirement therefore exists for a device which can provide sufficient illumination to detect persons and booby traps etc. in an urban environment, but is remote from the user whilst remaining under their control. Furthermore, on deployment of such a light, the enemies natural instinct would be to take cover, thus it is advantageous for the light to resemble an HE grenade as far as possible to reinforce this aspect.
The Zeus tactical light permits the soldier to control the illumination by means of an RF link. He carries a small hand held key fob sized device with both on and off controls. The device can therefore be illuminated whenever it is advantageous to the user. The link permits ranges up to 40 m. to be achieved within buildings, 100 m. line of sight.
The greatest asset of the Zeus tactical light is its ability to illuminate areas of concern whilst allowing the user to remain in the darkness, resulting in a very effective and user friendly illumination device.
The Zeus power is supplied from an internal and commercially available PP3 cell. Where time permits, Zeus can be recovered and reused thereby overcoming another of disadvantage of HE grenades. Zeus not only offers operational advantages but economy as well.
The OBUA environment can be very demanding; the Zeus has therefore been designed to offer the very highest levels of mechanical and electrical reliability even when, for example, it is thrown against concrete walls, down stairs and against cave walls etc.
Although the light has been primarily designed with the urban warfare environment in mind, it offers several additional features which render it invaluable in other scenarios such as;
Perimeter and local area protection
Emergency landing lights
Route markers
Ambush lights
River crossings, ( the Zeus devices can be immersed with total confidence)
In these roles, the Zeus can be mounted remotely on a ground spike at ranges up to 100 m. from the controller. An external trigger facility permits trip wires etc. to be connected to the device resulting in automatic illumination upon activation. The Zeus lights can also be activated in this mode by Remote Ground Sensors such as seismic, infra-red and magnetic transducers.
The Zeus light is also available with IR emitters, the advantage of this variant when users are wearing NVG’s are obvious, particularly in its external activation mode.
The Zeus has also been proven to offer advantages of distraction, and therefore offers operational advantages in such roles as hostage rescue operations. To further enhance Zeus for use in this role, an audible alarm feature will shortly be available on the device.
In conclusion, Zeus lights are adaptable to a wide number of theatres in addition to the primary function in urban warfare roles. Due to the uniquely severe environments in which the devices are likely to be used, the Zeus devices are manufactured to an extremely high level of robustness, and can therefore be used with total confidence in any environment world wide. The devices are extremely simple to operate, a most important consideration in the highly stressful OBUA environment.
Company Information - Croma Group plc
Croma Group plc is a group of companies devoted to the design, development and marketing of high performance surveillance equipment for civil, military and government agency applications.
Croma Defence Systems Limited manufactures and markets a wide range of surveillance and counter surveillance products including Zeus, a remote light source for urban warfare. The Wotan long range lens system, a comprehensive range of thermal reduction suits, covers and nets and the TDI range of superior arms accessories for use by elite army units and special law enforcement agencies. Croma’s range of “Keyghost” keyloggers now includes their new “Radio Keyghost” that can access a target computer from up to 200m.
R&D Design Services Limited designs and manufacturers a range of video enhancement monitors for use in airborne or maritime surveillance applications. R&D’s unique MIST video enhancement system allows targets to be viewed in weather conditions that would otherwise render target identification impossible. The company also gains significant competitive advantage from its ability to develop “black box” solutions for customers that allow various on board systems to talk to each other.The Shawley division of Croma is a renowned manufacturer of robust and reliable CCTV pan & tilt units, external and internal dome units plus a full range of ancillary equipment.Shawley is able to meet customer requirements technically and operationally.
