History - Page 1
For the past thirty-plus years Civil Defence Supply has been actively developing new concepts in officer safety with virtually every concept becoming the United Kingdom national standard.
Holding numerous UK and worldwide Patents CDS inventions are innovative and effective. CDS is entirely self-funded by the Bauer family with a massive R&D capability in a wide selection of technologies ranging from advanced battlefield ballistics to chemical devices such as the new Synthetic Pepper-Spray CapTor, which they created, patented and manufacture in their own filling facility. By having a strong engineering and hands-on approach theoretical concepts are rapidly prototyped into working demonstrators.
Civil Defence Supply became a Ministry of Defence manufacturer in Northern Ireland during the early Troubles from 1979 onwards when working with Bomb Disposal with 321 EOD ‘Felix’ teams when the World-Famous the Dragon Portable Searchlight was invented, replacing Sharkseye and Londesborough lamps. Working with Major Mike Stacey 321 EOD ‘Felix’ sponsored the Dragon to become fully UK MoD and NATO Stock Codified and to this day those original Codifications are still on inventory.
Bomb Disposal is a highly dangerous task and special remote control Dragon searchlights were developed to attach to the early Wheelbarrow ROV’s just entering service. The Royal Ulster Constabulary soon adopted Dragon as did a number of UK firearms teams.
The DRAGON Portable Searchlight was then adopted by Special Forces with the additional capability of covert illumination to early night vision using InfraRed filters to project onto long range targets not only for weapon aiming but identification by night photography and intelligence gathering using the then state-of-art Davin Modulux image intensifier which used the same First Generation EEV triple-cascade tube used in the in-service Individual Weapon Sight (IWS). Amazing results were achieved.
CDS had created an entirely new ‘family’ of specialised long-range portable lights that still today surpass most other products in the market. The durability, reliability and performance of DRAGON is legendary with many 15-year plus lamps still in front-line service.ine service.
May 1980 was followed by massive Governmental support for anti-terrorist preparations. Substantial numbers of DRAGON Portable Searchlights were purchased by the SAS, SBS and other military units, as well as most United Kingdom police forces and other agencies
Special DRAGON Searchlight vehicle fit-kits were designed for SAS Pink-Panther Land Rovers and even airframe charge/power kits created for military helicopters.
