The royal air force of Oman has signed a $1.5 million contract with SARBE for new generation beacons to replace SARBE 6 beacons by the end of this year. The previous generation beacons will become obsolete on February 1, 2009, as analog transmissions will no longer be monitored by the COSPAS-SARSAT network. Beyond that date only 406MHz signals will be detected. SARBE is a division of Signature Industries, which in April purchased McMurdo Marine Electronics (previously part of Chemring) to create the world’s largest supplier of satellite communication survival radios.