Following a competitive procurement the CREST consortium (Collaborative Research in Electronic Surveillance Technology) was chosen to deliver the CCCES programme, in close collaboration with Dstl. CREST is led jointly by QinetiQ and Roke Manor Research with QinetiQ also providing the overall programme management.

The programme has a primary focus on communications Electronic Surveillance but with elements encompassing radar transmissions. A key feature of the research will be to undertake field demonstrations to assist in the de-risking of advanced signal processing techniques.

Dr Giles Bond, CREST consortium co-lead and manager of QinetiQ's electronic warfare and radar business said
"CREST will deliver outputs across a range of technology readiness levels, spanning innovative research and technology demonstrator systems. The focus will be on using advanced signal processing hosted on software-reconfigurable hardware architectures to prove how future UK Electronic Surveillance requirements can be met more rapidly with reduced risk and at lower cost than is currently possible."

Chris Tarran, the co-lead for Roke Manor, added
'We are delighted to be at the hub of this important research and demonstration programme which will help to underpin the future of UK ES technology. In particular, we are focussing on the future challenges faced with urban operations, and the need for low Size, Weight and Power electronic surveillance solutions with a capability against the complex urban signal and propagation environments.'

The CREST consortium will also bring together the wider Electronic Surveillance community in the UK to gain access to a wide supplier base to deliver a research programme that satisfies the MoD's requirements. This will include Small and Medium sized Enterprises and a selection of universities.

Notes for Editors:

-Russell Searle of RJD technology is the CREST consortium's Associate representative
-The consortium includes Howard Wells a highly specialist independent technical coordinator. Howard has worked with the MOD as a senior EW specialist over the past 35 years.
-A FTSE250 company, QinetiQ uses its domain knowledge to provide technical support and know-how to customers in the global aerospace, defence and security markets. QinetiQ's unique position enables it to be a trusted partner to government organisations, predominantly in the UK and the US, including defence departments, intelligence services and security agencies.
-Roke 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.
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