Pretoria-based electronics company Etion Create unveiled a range of products, including cybersecurity systems, at the recently held World Defense Show in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

The company’s new Cheetah tactical router was debuted at the show. Built for tactical applications, the solution is both International Traffic in Arms Regulations-free and North Atlantic Treaty Organisation generic vehicle architecture compliant.

“It can be upgraded to mission computer with CM120 Intel ATOM or the NVIDA Jetson Nano VNX+ processing module,” explained Etion Create business development manager Tobie van Loggerenberg. “Importantly, it provides centralised security encrypted connectivity for situational awareness, and sensor and effector interfacing, communications internal and external to the vehicle, as well as tactical datalink functions.”

The company also displayed a compact and more cost-effective version of its CheetahNAV tactical vehicle navigation system, which is now being built in Saudi Arabia.

According to Van Loggerenberg, the navigation system was designed for compactness and space-efficiency, enabling integration into a range of vehicle platforms. It features advanced display technologies for optimum readability and clarity, despite its reduced size.

The system uses real-time moving map technology that provides continuous situational awareness information to the driver and crew. The compact version of the CheetahNAV provides dead-reckoning horizontal position accuracy of 0.2% of distance travelled in a Global Navigation Satellite System-, or GNSS-, denied situation, which translates to an accuracy of 200 m over 100 km travelled.

The integrated inertial measurement unit is designed to ensure jamming-free operation and functionality during emergency conditions where normal communication networks are compromised. Its multi-language option enables joint multinational operations.

Etion Create also showcased its cybersecurity offerings, including its new RQ11 system which is designed to provide a blanket layer of encryption onto an existing radio network.

“It is a strategic security terminal intended for use in command centres, base or shore stations, and even on naval vessels,” said Van Loggerenberg. “The RQ11 allows for secure, interoperable voice and data services across radios from diverse manufacturers.”

All over-the-air communications are encrypted and access to the unit is restricted through an access code. A dedicated crypto/plain switch and corresponding LEDs indicate the mode in which the device is functioning. A ‘zeroize’ functionality can be used to erase all data and keys. The company’s TQ5 secure modem module and the Nanoteq QCM-R radio cryptographic module enable the provision of auditability for the secure cryptographic architecture.