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Crypto FILL
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Marconi SCIMITAR Fill Gun
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The device has two push-buttons. A green one on top,
marked FILL, which is used to initiate the transfer.
It can easily be operated by, say, the thumb of one hand.
A red button, located at the rear,
is used for zeroizing the device in case
security is compromised. It is marked as ERASE.
The image on the right shows a typical SCIMITAR fill gun, with its
6-pin military connector, that is used as data output as well as data input.
Note that this socket is different from the American
U-229 standard,
which is also used by NATO
on most modern radios
and encryption devices.
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SCIMITAR radios were developed and built by GEC Marconi with Private Venture Capital
funding, and were not adopted by the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD)
for its Clansman Combat Net radio communications network
[2],
although some units were reportedly used by the British Army [3].
SCIMITAR was also used by the armies of Portugal, Sweden, Türkiye and Jordan,
with prices of a single radio in the GBP 8000 range [3].
As SCIMITAR radios feature strong encryption – even by today's standards –
potential foreign customers had to obtain a
licence from GCHQ.
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HELP PLEASE —
At present, no further information about this fill gun is available.
If you have additional information about this device, please
contact us.
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Any links shown in red are currently unavailable.
If you like the information on this website, why not make a donation?
© Crypto Museum. Created: Monday 07 February 2011. Last changed: Wednesday, 25 January 2023 - 06:33 CET.
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![Scimitar Key Fill donated by Barry Wels [1]](img/301224/005/full.jpg)
