Royal Signals and Radar Establishment
Encyclopedia
The Royal Signals and Radar Establishment (RSRE) was a scientific research establishment within the Ministry of Defence
of the United Kingdom
, located primarily at Malvern
in Worcestershire
. It was formed in 1976 in an amalgamation of earlier research establishments including the Royal Radar Establishment
(RRE). In 1979 it merged with the Services Electronic Research Laboratory (SERL) formerly at Baldock
and the Signals Research and Development Establishment (SRDE) formerly at Christchurch. There were out-stations at the ex-RAF airfields at Defford
and Pershore
.
In April 1991 RSRE amalgamated with other defence research establishments to form the Defence Research Agency
, which in April 1995 amalgamated with more organisations to form the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency
.
In June 2001 this became independent of the Ministry of Defence (MoD) with approximately two thirds being incorporated into a commercial
company, QinetiQ
, owned by the MoD and the remainder into the fully government owned laboratory, DSTL
. In 2003, the Carlyle Group
bought a private equity stake (~30%) in QinetiQ.
Some of the most important technologies developed from work at RSRE are radar
, thermal imaging, liquid crystal display
s and speech synthesis
.
Contributions to computer science made by the RSRE included ALGOL 68RS
(A portable implementation of ALGOL 68
, following on from ALGOL 68R
developed by RRE
), the VIPER
high integrity microprocessor, the ELLA
hardware description language, and the TenDRA C/C++ compiler.
The RSRE motto was Ubique Sentio (latin
for I sense everywhere).
Ministry of Defence (United Kingdom)
The Ministry of Defence is the United Kingdom government department responsible for implementation of government defence policy and is the headquarters of the British Armed Forces....
of the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, located primarily at Malvern
Malvern, Worcestershire
Malvern is a town and civil parish in Worcestershire, England, governed by Malvern Town Council. As of the 2001 census it has a population of 28,749, and includes the historical settlement and commercial centre of Great Malvern on the steep eastern flank of the Malvern Hills, and the former...
in Worcestershire
Worcestershire
Worcestershire is a non-metropolitan county, established in antiquity, located in the West Midlands region of England. For Eurostat purposes it is a NUTS 3 region and is one of three counties that comprise the "Herefordshire, Worcestershire and Warwickshire" NUTS 2 region...
. It was formed in 1976 in an amalgamation of earlier research establishments including the Royal Radar Establishment
Royal Radar Establishment
The name Royal Radar Establishment was given to the existing Radar Research Establishment following a visit by Queen Elizabeth II in 1957. Both names were abbreviated to RRE. The establishment had been formed, under its first name, in 1953 by merging the Telecommunications Research Establishment ...
(RRE). In 1979 it merged with the Services Electronic Research Laboratory (SERL) formerly at Baldock
Baldock
Baldock is a historic market town in the local government district of North Hertfordshire in the ceremonial county of Hertfordshire, England where the River Ivel rises. It lies north of London, southeast of Bedford, and north northwest of the county town of Hertford...
and the Signals Research and Development Establishment (SRDE) formerly at Christchurch. There were out-stations at the ex-RAF airfields at Defford
RAF Defford
RAF Defford was a Royal Air Force station in Worcestershire, England during the Second World War.Construction of RAF Defford was completed in 1941, and for a few months the airfield was used as a satellite station by the Wellington bombers of 23 Operational Training Unit , based a few miles away...
and Pershore
Pershore
Pershore is a market town in Worcestershire, England, on the banks of the River Avon. Pershore is in the Wychavon district and is part of the West Worcestershire parliamentary constituency. At the 2001 census the population was 7,304...
.
In April 1991 RSRE amalgamated with other defence research establishments to form the Defence Research Agency
Defence Research Agency
The Defence Research Agency , was an executive agency of the UK Ministry of Defence from April 1991 until April 1995. At the time the DRA was Britain's largest science and technology organisation...
, which in April 1995 amalgamated with more organisations to form the Defence Evaluation and Research Agency
Defence Evaluation and Research Agency
The Defence Evaluation and Research Agency was a part of the UK Ministry of Defence until July 2, 2001. At the time it was the United Kingdom's largest science and technology organisation...
.
In June 2001 this became independent of the Ministry of Defence (MoD) with approximately two thirds being incorporated into a commercial
Commerce
While business refers to the value-creating activities of an organization for profit, commerce means the whole system of an economy that constitutes an environment for business. The system includes legal, economic, political, social, cultural, and technological systems that are in operation in any...
company, QinetiQ
QinetiQ
Qinetiq is a British global defence technology company, formed from the greater part of the former UK government agency, Defence Evaluation and Research Agency , when it was split up in June 2001...
, owned by the MoD and the remainder into the fully government owned laboratory, DSTL
Dstl
The Defence Science and Technology Laboratory is a trading fund of the Ministry of Defence of the United Kingdom. Responsibility for Dstl lies with the Minister for Defence Equipment, Support and Technology, currently Peter Luff....
. In 2003, the Carlyle Group
Carlyle Group
The Carlyle Group is an American-based global asset management firm, specializing in private equity, based in Washington, D.C. The Carlyle Group operates in four business areas: corporate private equity, real assets, market strategies and fund-of-funds, through its AlpInvest subsidiary...
bought a private equity stake (~30%) in QinetiQ.
Some of the most important technologies developed from work at RSRE are radar
Radar
Radar is an object-detection system which uses radio waves to determine the range, altitude, direction, or speed of objects. It can be used to detect aircraft, ships, spacecraft, guided missiles, motor vehicles, weather formations, and terrain. The radar dish or antenna transmits pulses of radio...
, thermal imaging, liquid crystal display
Liquid crystal display
A liquid crystal display is a flat panel display, electronic visual display, or video display that uses the light modulating properties of liquid crystals . LCs do not emit light directly....
s and speech synthesis
Speech synthesis
Speech synthesis is the artificial production of human speech. A computer system used for this purpose is called a speech synthesizer, and can be implemented in software or hardware...
.
Contributions to computer science made by the RSRE included ALGOL 68RS
ALGOL 68RS
An extension of ALGOL 68 supporting function closures by the Royal Signals and Radar Establishment . It has been ported to Multics and VAX/VMS....
(A portable implementation of ALGOL 68
ALGOL 68
ALGOL 68 isan imperative computerprogramming language that was conceived as a successor to theALGOL 60 programming language, designed with the goal of a...
, following on from ALGOL 68R
ALGOL 68R
ALGOL 68-R was the first implementation of the Algorithmic language ALGOL 68.In December 1968 the report on the Algorithmic language ALGOL 68 was published. On 20–24 July 1970 a working conference was arranged by the IFIP to discuss the problems of implementation of the language, a small team from...
developed by RRE
Royal Radar Establishment
The name Royal Radar Establishment was given to the existing Radar Research Establishment following a visit by Queen Elizabeth II in 1957. Both names were abbreviated to RRE. The establishment had been formed, under its first name, in 1953 by merging the Telecommunications Research Establishment ...
), the VIPER
VIPER microprocessor
VIPER is a 32-bit microprocessor design created by Royal Signals and Radar Establishment in the 1980s, intended for use in safety-critical systems such as avionics...
high integrity microprocessor, the ELLA
ELLA (programming language)
ELLA is a Hardware description language and support toolset. Developed by the Royal Signals and Radar Establishment during the 1980s and 90s.Includes tools to perform:* design transformation* symbolic simulations* formal verification...
hardware description language, and the TenDRA C/C++ compiler.
The RSRE motto was Ubique Sentio (latin
Latin
Latin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
for I sense everywhere).
External links
- The history of the RSRE E H Putley article in 'Physics in Technology'
- Records of the Royal Signals and Radar Establishment, The National Archives
- QinetiQ - the commercial successor of DERA and RSRE
- DSTL - the MOD owned successor of DERA and RSRE