Military Embedded Systems

WASHINGTON. The Space Development Agency (an agency within the U.S. Space Force) announced plans to acquire 20 satellites carrying a new type of payload to outfit a military communications network. 

MOBILE, Ala. The U.S. Navy launched its newest Overlord Unmanned Surface Vessel Vanguard (OUSV3) from Austal USA’s shipyard in Mobile, Alabama, on its way to join sister ships, dubbed OUSV2 Ranger and OUSV4 Mariner, as part of the Navy’s USV Division 1 (USVDIV 1).

SAN DIEGO. General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI) and several team members demonstrated a hardware-agnostic, open standards-based autonomy ecosystem for uncrewed combat air vehicles (UCAVs) on a GA-ASI MQ-20 Avenger as part of a battery of live flight tests during November 2023.

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. Wireless-communications provider Axnes Inc. will collaborate with the U.S. Army Program Executive Office, Ground Combat Systems (PEO GCS) to field-test and evaluate the Axnes PNG Wireless Intercom System (WICS) on the M88 armored recovery vehicle. 

PALMDALE, Calif. NASA and its design partners officially rolled out the X-59 quiet supersonic research aircraft on Friday, January 12, at prime contractor Lockheed Martin’s Skunk Works facility Palmdale, California. The X-59 is the centerpiece of NASA’s Quesst mission, which aims to make sonic booms quieter, one of the major challenges to supersonic flight over land.

AUSTIN, Tex. Firmware security company NetRise received an STTR [small business technology transfer] Phase 1 grant focusing on identifying and managing the risk in firmware and software of connected devices to address the most pressing challenges in the Department of the Air Force (DAF). 

STAFFORD, Va. BAE Systems delivered the first of its amphibious combat vehicle command and control (ACV-C) variants under a full-rate production contract with the U.S. Marine Corps.

BOSTON. Quantum-computing startup QuEra announced that it will accomplish error correction for quantum computing in two years, and enable useful computations using it, by 2026. 

WASHINGTON. The U.S. Space Force signed a deal with Microsoft worth $19.8 million under which the tech giant will develop a virtual and mixed-reality training environment for Space Force personnel.  

CAMBRIDGE, Mass. Engineering research laboratory Draper won a $26 million (with all options) contract from the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) to expand the capabilities of its uncrewed autonomous systems (UAS) software to perform chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) reconnaissance missions in collaborative teams and in unfavorable operating environments. 

ARLINGTON, Va. Intelligent robotic systems company AeroVironment reported that it -- together with Corvid Technologies and L3Harris Technologies -- successfully completed its first multi-drop of live-fire GPS-guided Shryke munitions from its VAPOR 55 MX electric uncrewed aerial system (UAS). 

SAN JOSE, Calif.  Lynx Software Technologies -- a provider of open architecture software for use on the mission-critical edge -- has acquired Thompson Software Solutions (TSS -- Atlanta, Georgia), which offers software development, engineering, and integration solutions to mission-critical aerospace and defense (A&D) platforms.

SELBYVILLE, Del. The worldwide market for displays used in military applications will experience a more than 5.5% combined annual growth rate (CAGR) between 2023 and 2032, according to a study by Global Market Insights, "Military Displays Market -- By Type (Computer Display, Smartphone & Handheld Display, Vehicle-mounted Display, Wearable Device Display, Simulator Display), By Technology, By Screen Type, By End-use Industry, Forecast 2023 - 2032."

NORTHBROOK, Ill. The global market for AI [artificial intelligence] in cybersecurity is projected to grow from $22.4 billion in 2023 to $60.6 billion by 2028, at a combined annual growth rate (CAGR) of 21.9%, according to a new report by MarketsandMarkets, "Artificial Intelligence in Cybersecurity Market -- Forecast to 2028." 

WASHINGTON. NASA chose its Phase 1 awardees in the 2024 NIAC [NASA Innovative Advanced Concepts] program, an endeavor that funds ideas NASA thinks could innovate for the greater good and transform future agency missions.

WASHINGTON. The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) published the anticipated updated rules for for the DoD’s Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) program on December 26, 2023, after announcing nearly two years ago that CMMC 2.0 was on its way. 

SUNNYVALE, Calif. Semiconductor memory company GSI Technology was tapped by AFWERX (the innovation arm of the Department of the U.S. Air Force and a directorate within the Air Force Research Laboratory) for a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Direct-to-Phase II contract totaling $1.1 million to demonstrate high-data computation/artificial intelligence (AI) use cases leveraging the in-memory architecture of its next-generation Associative Processing Unit-2 (APU2)

TUCSON, Ariz. Raytheon (an RTX business) won a $345 million contract with the U.S. Air Force (USAF) to produce and deliver more than 1,500 StormBreaker smart weapons, which are air-to-surface, network-enabled weapons that can engage moving targets in all weather conditions using a multi-effects warhead and tri-mode seeker.

ARLINGTON, Va. The U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) DARPA named three industry partners for its Underexplored Systems for Utility-Scale Quantum Computing (US2QC) program, which seeks to determine whether an underexplored approach to quantum computing can achieve utility-scale operation – in other words, that its computational value exceeds its cost – faster than conventional predictions.   

NASA--KENNEDY SPACE CENTER, Fla.  The U.S. Space Force successfully launched the X-37B orbital test vehicle (OTV), an autonomous spaceplane, into orbit aboard a SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket, marking the start of the OTV's seventh mission.