TOKYO, May 28 (UPI) -- Companies affiliated with the European defense conglomerate EADS report separate contracts for helicopters and voice encryption devices.
A contract for four medium and light aircraft are being supplied to Japan's National Police under a contract signed with Eurocopter Japan, while EADS North America will deliver three units of ECTOCRYP Black high-capacity secure voice encryption devices to the U.S. Defense Information Systems Agency.
"The device, which recently was approved for operation by the National Security Agency and evaluated by the Joint Interoperability Test Command, helps DISA meet the U.S. government's requirements for next-generation secure voice services, including communications that are more agile," the company said.
Eurocopter Japan said the four helicopters are for the National Police units in the country's Hyogo, Hiroshima, Osaka and Fukuoka prefectures.
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Hyogo will receive the EC155 B1, a 5-ton twin-engine helicopter that can carry as many as 15 people when used as transport or can carry two stretchers in medical evacuation mode. It has a maximum speed of 175 knots and a maximum range of more than 400 nautical miles with optional auxiliary fuel tanks.
Hiroshima Prefectural Police will receive Eurocopter's AS365 N3+, Osaka Prefectural Police and Fukuoka Prefectural Police will receive EC135 P2e aircraft.
The EC155 B1 and AS365 N3+ come from Eurocopter's Dauphin family of aircraft. A total of 57 Dauphin family of helicopters are operating in Japan with various agencies.
"The ability to meet varying customer needs with a wide range of products, coupled with the availability of a total-support system in the country, have enabled Eurocopter Japan to increase its market share in the law enforcement sector over the years," the company said.
"NPA is currently operating a fleet of 29 Eurocopter light-twin and medium-class helicopters across the country, used for police activities including crime-prevention, investigative search and security patrols, as well as other public service missions such as life-saving operations and transportation."
Eurocopter Japan, established in 2009, is a subsidiary of Eurocopter, a division of EADS.
EADS North America said the Defense Information Systems Age will deploy its ECTOCRYP Black encryption units in two of its Defense Enterprise Computing Centers.
EADS North America has delivered one unit and supported its installation and integration in one of the centers, it said.
ECTOCRYP Black was developed by EADS' Cassidian division as part of a line of programmable cryptographic devices. It uses a common commercial off-the shelf hardware architecture that can be programmed for new features and technology standards for interoperability with different types of networks as current networks change.
"Voice communications in the commercial world are quickly evolving, and everything is becoming more mobile," said Sean O'Keefe, EADS North America chairman and chief executive officer. "ECTOCRYP Black enables top secret security for sensitive communications without sacrificing the flexibility that end users have grown accustomed to in their personal lives."
EADS said the system, with four T1 interfaces, allows 92 simultaneous, individual calls per unit plus the capability to store hundreds of cipher keys.
It also provides greater interoperability between classified and unclassified networks than any existing system of its size.
