Thales secures initial order for Cougar Team Radio at Security & Policing

Key points

  • Pre-launch order has been placed by Dextera at the Home Office’s Security & Policing 2014.
  • A compact ‘smart radio’ with advanced features to ensure security and confidence in the most challenging situations.
  • Intuitive interface and simple design means it can be used straight from the box.

Thales today secured a pre-launch order for the new Cougar Team Radio due for release on the 31 March 2014. Dextera Global has placed an initial order at UK Home Office’s Security and Policing exhibition in Farnborough.

The new radio, being previewed at Security & Policing, has been developed to address the specific needs of teams working in critical and demanding situations. With a rugged but lightweight design and a range of advanced features, it supports more effective teamwork.

“Cougar Team Radio is an integrated solution for the security market, providing advanced radio features such as GPS positioning and secure connectivity. It tackles the key challenges faced by radio users such as security, flexibility and simplicity.” said Winston Mahaffy, Director for Radio Communication Products at Thales UK.

Cougar Team Radio offers built-in GPS positioning. When integrated with an Android smartphone, the GPS function allows all team members to be tracked and displayed on a real-time map; connect with an operation centre, and this data can be shared across multiple teams.

To extend its range, the radio can connect securely via 3G and WIFI. For operations in areas without a suitable infrastructure – or where the networks are unavailable, saturated or blocked – Cougar Team Radio can extend the range through its unique relay capability, which can quickly create a ‘daisy chain’ of radios to connect team members.

The ability to connect radios seamlessly together also provides the assurance that all team members are connected and active on the network; each radio that connects to the network is visible to the other team members.

Cougar Team Radio integrates easily with smartphones. Not only does this enhance the capability of the radio network, but it also allows team members to operate more discreetly via standard consumer devices. The radios are also designed with a small form-factor for discreet operation and to minimise the equipment burden on team members.

All communications made through Cougar Team Radio, including those delivered through smartphones and across other networks, are secured with high-level encryption.

“We have been following the development of Cougar Team Radio since DSEI last year and look forward to receiving the production units. It provides cutting-edge radio technology at a very competitive price. For us, reliable communication is essential for team working, safety of the team, and being able to deploy quickly and flexibly. We are particularly impressed by the battery life, small size and weight.”
Martin Dubbey, Managing Director at Dextera Global

Thales, at the forefront of radio technology
With our long history in digital communication, central to mobile phone design as we know it today, Cougar Team Radio is the next step in radio communications.
Relay Mode: A standard radio will communicate to all radios only if they are in range; this means that a radio at the edge of signal coverage may not hear everything. Cougar Team Radio creates its own network that connects all radios even if they are at the edge of coverage. It achieves this by using up to two radios as a relay to silently pass voice/data to the whole network. This feature can also be used to extend radio coverage into challenging environments like underground or complex buildings using a ‘breadcrumb’ technique.
GPS Location: With its built-in GPS feature, the location of each radio can be monitored using a connected smartphone or integrated operation centre. This information can be used to coordinate a team’s movement in dynamic and live situations, allowing real-time decisions to be taken and tracked on the device’s screen.
Challenging Environments are defined as locations where radio coverage is difficult. Examples are complex buildings and underground.
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Contact
Dorothée Bonneil - Security
+33 (0)1 57 77 90 89 dorothee.bonneil@thalesgroup.com
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