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Elliott's get Jaguar order
the uk Ministry of Technology's £5m order for the inertial navigation and weapon aiming system manufactured by Elliott Flight Automation Ltd for use with a large proportion of the RAF's Jaguars numerically represents the largest single order for digital computers ever placed for the UK armed forces.
The Elliott system is claimed to give the pilot the ability to select and locate his targets without any ground assistance, and to make extremely accurate attacks against targets of opportunity as well as pre-planned objectives. This capability has been achieved by combining the high-performance Elliott E.3R inertial system with the Marconi Elliott 920M miniature airborne computer. Instant visual access to navigation and aiming data is provided by a simple group of uncomplicated controls used in conjunction with pictorial and symbolic displays to allow him the fullest use of the system.
Elliott's E.3R is the third generation of an inertial system which started with the equipment for the Blue Steel standoff bomb. The basic E.3 is already in production for the HS Nimrod. The Marconi/Elliott 920M computer has also been proven and is on order for satellite launch vehicle control and for mobile air defence control centres. In the Jaguar system, it will perform all navigation calculations and produce weapon aiming and release commands for the pilot. With a basic store of 8,192 words and a two-microsecond store cycle time, the 920M occupies a fATR short box and is fully stressed for combat aircraft environment.
For navigation, a projected map display comprising a 35 mm colour film of topographical maps for an area of 750 n miles (863 miles; 1 388 km) square is presented to the pilot under the control of the computer. Data on geographical reference points, terrain features and targets can be inserted using a trigger and slew controls. Trials to date have proved an inertial navigation accuracy better than specified and production work is in hand.
Flying Review International, August 1970