Military Embedded Systems

MCKINNEY, Texas. Collins Aerospace, a division of RTX, will develop a platform-agnostic, Beyond-Line-Of-Sight satellite communications pod after winning a contract with the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory, according to the company's statement.

HUNTSVILLE, Alabama. Lockheed Martin has confirmed the designs of all components of the country's Next Generation Interceptor (NGI) in collaboration with the U.S. Missile Defense Agency (MDA), the company announced in a statement.

FORT BELVOIR, Virginia. The Army recently accepted the initial 20 prototypes of the Integrated Visual Augmentation System (IVAS) 1.2 variant, which is intended to provide situational awareness technology for soldiers, according to a statement from U.S. Central Command.

CARLSBAD, California. ViaSat Inc. has won more than $80 million in contracts for the development of Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) systems for ground, maritime, and space applications, according to a company statement.

In an era where technological advancements are driving innovations across various sectors, radiation-hardened (rad-hard) technology is forging new paths, especially in the realms of space, military, nuclear industries, and even burgeoning fields like 5G/6G communications. But what exactly is rad-hard technology, and why is it increasingly vital? This article aims to elucidate the essentials of rad-hard technology, its profound impact on military applications, and the intriguing role of rad-hard microcontrollers.

SAN DIEGO, California. General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI) completed multiple takeoffs and landings with its Mojave uncrewed aerial system (UAS) on a dirt strip near El Mirage, California, marking the first Short Takeoff and Landing (STOL) on an unimproved surface for the drone, according to a company statement.

WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio. A three-hour sortie led by the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) demonstrated the first flight of machine-learning (ML) trained artificial intelligence (AI) algorithms on an XQ-58A Valkyrie uncrewed jet aircraft, according to an AFRL statement. The mission took place on July 25 in the Eglin Test and Training Complex.

HUNTSVILLE, Alabama. IERUS Technologies has won a contract under the TETRAS II program from the Air Force Test Center that involves advancing weapons and cyber systems, the company announced in a statement.

OKLAHOMA CITY, Oklahoma. The U.S. Air Force has awarded the fifth option on a T-1A avionics upgrade contract to Field Aerospace. This option involves the upgrade of three Operational Flight Trainer simulators, along with the provision of one new Part Task Trainer simulator, reflecting the T-1A AMP aircraft configuration, according to a statement from the company.

HAIFA, Israel. The Israeli Navy, in collaboration with Elbit Systems, has successfully concluded sea trials for the DESEAVER MK-4 Counter Measure Dispensing System (CMDS) aboard Israeli Navy vessels, Elbit Systems announced in a statement. The trials marked the assessment of the fourth generation of maritime Electronic Warfare (EW) systems in real-world scenarios.

AMSTERDAM. The global growth in uncrewed aerial vehicle (UAV) usage is making the development and deployment of counter-UAV systems increasingly essential in order to detect, track, and neutralize unauthorized drones, states a new report from market research firm Market Forecast. 

AMSTERDAM, Netherlands. An upcoming surge in the global military avionics market is projected, with estimates suggesting it could reach $57 billion by 2030, a new report predicts.

GDANSK, Poland. The construction of the first of two new signal intelligence (SIGINT) ships for the Polish Navy is underway at Remontowa Shipbuilding S.A. The process was initiated with a keel-laying ceremony, marking a key stage in the shipbuilding process, according to a statement from Saab, who won the contract in November 2022.

DENVER, Colorado. Lockheed Martin has won a contract from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to develop and demonstrate a nuclear-powered spacecraft as part of the Demonstration Rocket for Agile Cislunar Operations (DRACO) project, according to a company statement.

SALT LAKE CITY, Utah. The Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) has expanded a contract for the development of artificial intelligence (AI) driven techniques for drone sensors to Sarcos Technology and Robotics Corporation, according to a statement from the company. This technology will be used for autonomously controlling a Heterogeneous Sensing Network (HSN).

ORLANDO, Florida. EIZO Rugged Solutions Inc. has launched the Condor GR2S-A4500-ETH, a 3U OpenVPX graphics card aligned with Sensor Open Systems Architecture (SOSA) standards and designed for compute-intensive sensor processing applications, the company announced in a statement.

WATERLOO, Ontario. Pixus Technologies has introduced new 1/2 to 3/4 size Air Transport Rack (ATR) enclosures, in line with the Sensor Open System Architecture (SOSA) technical standard, according to a company statement.

CAMP BUEHRING, Kuwait. U.S. Army Central (USARCENT) launched the "Green Sands" training session July 13-24 in Kuwait to allow U.S. soldiers to train in counter-UAS (C-UAS) operations, according to the agency's announcement.

As the defense industry grapples with exponential increases in mission data that must be collected, managed, and analyzed, the promise of artificial intelligence (AI) to harness the power of big data and drive strategic decision-making represents an unprecedented shift in the industry.

BOSTON, Massachusetts. Teledyne FLIR Defense has won a five-year contract to provide the U.S. Army with Black Hornet 3 Personal Reconnaissance Systems (PRS), the company announced in a statement.