GPS World

Tag: shark

  • Ukraine receives Shark ultralights with EW capabilities

    Ukraine receives Shark ultralights with EW capabilities

    Ukraine has received its first Shark ultralight aircraft with electronic warfare (EW) capabilities from the Czech-Slovak company Shark.Aero, reports European Security and Technology (ES&T), a German publication. The Shark can detect and jam enemy drones and will strengthen the defense of Ukraine against Russian attacks.

    The Shark’s two-seat tandem configuration was originally designed as a high-performance ultralight aircraft for civilian use. Its main features are its high speed of nearly 300 km/h and its maneuverability.

    The military version of the ultralight is designed to detect and jam enemy drones. It offers the Ukrainian army a mobile, airborne defense option against loitering UAVs and reconnaissance drones.

    Electronic warfare system

    The first EW component suppresses GNSS navigation signals; the second suppresses video and remote control channels of enemy drones. The system is installed in a suspended container under the center of the fuselage so as not to affect the aerodynamics of the craft. From an altitude of 1800 m, the system can interfere with the operation of drones within a radius of up to 4.5 km.

    A Shark representative discusses the ultralight with EW capabilities below.

  • Shark in the Water! Find out Where

    Shark in the Water! Find out Where

    Did you just watch Jaws? Are you worried your trip to the beach might be interrupted by an unwelcome guest? Now you can go online and see if any great white sharks are visiting nearby waters (the tagged sharks, at least.)

    The Ocearch Global Shark Tracker is a global project to tag and track the navigational patterns of great white sharks in the world’s oceans. The team is currently tracking nearly 40 sharks. The team of scientists have 15 minutes to pull a shark from the water, tag it, and release it, a process which was highlighted in an ABC Nightline feature.

    Ocearch’s founder is Chris Fischer, former star of the History Channel reality TV show “Shark Wranglers.” Ocearch is “seeking to attain groundbreaking data on the biology and health of sharks, in conjunction with basic research on shark life history and migration,” according to its website.

    On the Shark Tracker, sharks that have been tagged appear as bright colored dots. Orange means a ping is less than 72 hours old, green means a ping is less than 30 days old and blue means a ping is more than 30 days old.