Military Embedded Systems

AMSTERDAM, Netherlands. The Dutch Navy chose High Eye's Airboxer vertical take-off and landing uncrewed aerial system (VTOL UAV) for deployment in maritime operations, the company announced in a statement.

If a U.S. military helicopter pilot could time-travel from the year 1990 to today, that displaced pilot probably wouldn't recognize modern cockpits. Instead of switches and buttons, today's platforms increasingly use sleek displays and customizable dashboards, depending on the mission. Open systems and modular architecture are behind much of this shift.

RESTON, Virginia. Leidos and Elroy Air will collaborate on a demonstration of an autonomous aerial resupply vehicle for the U.S. Marine Corps called the Medium Aerial Resupply Vehicle – Expeditionary Logistics (MARV-EL) prototype, which is set for flight testing in July 2024 at the U.S. Army Yuma Proving Ground in Arizona, the companies announced in a joint statement.

NASHUA, New Hampshire. BAE Systems won a $12 million contract from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to enhance thermal management in electronic warfare and other radio frequency-based applications, the company announced in a statement.

WESTBOROUGH, Massachusetts. Kopin Corporation won a contract from an unidentified defense customer to develop a low-latency digital night vision system incorporating its organic light emitting diode (OLED) microdisplay technology, the company announced in a statement.

OSLO, Norway. Kongsberg, Diehl Defence, and MBDA Deutschland have entered an agreement to develop the Supersonic Strike Missile (3SM Tyrfing) aimed at enhancing long-range strike capabilities for Norway and Germany, the companies announced in a joint statement.

SAN DIEGO, California. General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI) is collaborating with the U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) to develop an Airborne Battlespace Awareness and Defense (ABAD) pod for the MQ-9A Block 5 Medium-Altitude, Long-Endurance Tactical (MALET) Extended Range Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA), the company announced in a statement.

HAIFA, Israel. Elbit Systems won a contract to supply Crossbow Unmanned Turreted 120mm Soft Recoil Mortar Systems for integration into General Dynamics European Land Systems' (GDELS) Pandur 6×6 APC wheeled armored vehicles on behalf of an unnamed European client, with the project set to span six years, Elbit announced in a statement.

SOF WEEK 2024 -- TAMPA, Florida. Teal showcased the Teal 2 at SOF Week, an small unmanned aerial system (sUAS) optimized for short-range reconnaissance missions with thermal imaging capabilities for nighttime operations.

SOF WEEK 2024 -- TAMPA, Florida. Arete showcased a modular drone detection system designed to track swarms of uncrewed aerial systems (UAS) at SOF Week.

SOF WEEK 2024 -- TAMPA, Florida. Curtiss-Wright showcased their latest tactical communications solutions at SOF Week, including a modular radio center and a series of snap-together ultra-compact tactical communications and processing modules.

SOF WEEK 2024 -- TAMPA, Florida. ZMicro showcased several new rugged computing solutions at SOF Week, including a fiber extender and a mission computer designed for aircraft.

SOF WEEK 2024 -- TAMPA, Florida. U.S. Special Operations Command wants industry to produce solutions that are simple and easy to use, but also versatile and capable of taking on multiple types of tasks, industry sources at SOF Week say.

SOF WEEK 2024 -- TAMPA, Florida. The rapid evolution and usage of inexpensive uncrewed aerial systems (UASs) and surface vessels (USVs) on the battlefield exposes a need for the U.S. Department of Defense and the defense industrial base to be more agile and able to field capabilities quicker, Gen. Charles Q. Brown Jr., Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said during his keynote at SOF Week.

SOF WEEK 2024 -- TAMPA, Florida. BlueHalo showcased Counter-Uncrewed Aerial System (C-UAS) platforms at SOF Week that are designed to defeat drones either through radio frequency, lasers, or kinetic effects.

SOF WEEK 2024 -- TAMPA, Florida. A mobile command center designed to allow analysts to digest and disseminate tactical intelligence was showcased by General Dynamics Information Technology (GDIT) at SOF Week.

SOF WEEK 2024 -- TAMPA, Florida. The U.S. Army's cancellation of the Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft (FARA) program in February will force the 160th Special Operations Aviation Regiment to make some adjustments to its future aviation plan, including having Black Hawks continue flying into the 2050s, the head of the rotary wing program executive office at U.S. Special Operations Command said at SOF Week.

ARLINGTON, Virginia and LONDON, United Kingdom. BlueHalo and Kraken Technology Group have formed a strategic partnership to advance autonomous maritime operations by integrating artificial intelligence and machine learning (AI/ML) technologies into uncrewed maritime vehicles, the companies announced in a statement.

SOF WEEK 2024 -- TAMPA, Florida. The program executive office for rotary wing programs at U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) is focused on ensuring a common cockpit on the Future Vertical Lift platform under development by the Army that uses the Modular Open Systems Approach (MOSA), the official in charge of the office told SOF Week.

SOF WEEK 2024 -- TAMPA, Florida. U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) is trying to expand the industry ecosystem it relies on for the development of new technology and platforms, said SOCOM Acquisition Executive Melissa A. Johnson at SOF Week.