Military Embedded Systems

Op-Eds

Radar/EW

SOSA and VPX - Blog

April 30, 2020
Kontron  
EVENT HORIZON BLOG: I've been heavily involved in a standards effort called the Sensor Open Systems Architecture, or SOSA. SOSA is interesting because it’s a government/industry consortium formed with the goal to create a hardware/software standard aimed at making it much easier to integrate and maintain defense sensor systems. As it is a huge undertaking with something like 70 organizations participating and usually upwards to 150 people at each semi-monthly face-to-face, there is a lot to say about SOSA. Today I'll discuss VPX and SOSA, but I’ll be touching on different aspects of SOSA over the coming months as there is far too much to tackle in a single blog post.
Radar/EW

2020 State of the VITA Technology Industry - Spring Edition - Blog

April 30, 2020
Ray Alderman   VITA Technologies  
My report covers the state of the VITA technology industry in particular and of the board and system industry in general, in markets such as aerospace, defense, space, industrial, and more.
Comms

How the kill web manipulates time and space - Blog

March 31, 2020
Ray Alderman  
WARFARE EVOLUTION BLOG: The best way to start this essay is with a simple formula that shows how the kill web manipulates time and space, and then explain how it works: t= (d/s)/i. Time (t) is equal to distance (d) divided by speed (s), divided by intelligence (i). The more intelligence we have about the enemy, the more we can manipulate time and space.
Radar/EW

Military power conversion: the value of strategic customization (Part 1) - Blog

March 30, 2020
Mike Eyre   Milpower Source  
As the military-electronics industry continues to transition toward commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) products, established standards, and modular designs, the need for tailored solutions remains – there is a middle ground. In this, Part 1 of a two-part blog series, the benefits and drawbacks of custom parts are discussed.
Comms

POSTPONED dates announced for AEROSPACE TECH WEEK - Blog

March 24, 2020
Adrian Broadbent  
Despite not being able to proceed with Aerospace Tech Week this month in France we do at least now at last have some positive news. The event is now officially confirmed as being postponed to 24-26th March 2021 in Toulouse again at the same venue. We are therefore delaying the return to Munich until 2022.
A.I.

How can I teach my machine to learn? - Blog

March 10, 2020
Tammy Carter   Curtiss-Wright  
A.I.

What is a tensor and why should I care? - Blog

March 10, 2020
Tammy Carter   Curtiss-Wright  
Radar/EW

Event Horizon blog series - Blog

February 28, 2020
Kontron  
Hello and welcome to Event Horizon, my periodic blog about embedded technologies, defense systems, and anything generally tech-related that I might find interesting (and hopefully you as well). I’d like to thank the kind folks at OpenSystems Media, and especially John McHale, Editorial Director at Military Embedded Systems Magazine for giving me a little space where I can muse on various topics that strike my interests.
Avionics

6G stealth fighter planes: The quarterback of the kill web - Blog

January 31, 2020
Ray Alderman  
WARFARE EVOLUTION BLOG: There are 14 countries working on 6th Generation (6G) fighter planes these days: the U.S. (PCA, F/A-XX, NGAD); the United Kingdom, Sweden, Italy, and maybe India (Tempest); France, Germany, and Spain (FCAS); Japan (F-3); Taiwan (ADF); South Korea and Indonesia (KF-X); Russia (MiG-41); and China (J-XX). Before we get into the details, we need to define what a 6G fighter jet is. The F-35 and F-22 are 5G fighter planes. There are six aircraft generation classification charts out there: Hallion, Aerospaceweb, Air Force Magazine, Winchester, Air Power Development Center, and China’s Air Force. All these templates have been overcome by advances in technology and evolving mission requirements. So, we’ll be breaking new ground in this essay, by adding to the common 6G characteristics from the old charts and building an updated definition. Then, we’ll integrate those new aircraft into the kill web.
Cyber

Expanding hardware security trust - Blog

January 07, 2020
Joe Brand  
As security threats continue to grow and undermine the trust in systems performing critical operations, the ability to detect and prevent changes to vital system components is necessary to maintain system integrity. In order to get ahead of these threats, organizations need to deploy hardware roots of trust to monitor and defend critical systems. Hardware roots of trust use encryption and digital-signature technology to ensure only legitimate changes are made to system components.
A.I.

From gaming to the battlefield: the benefits of virtual reality in military training - Blog

December 11, 2019
Harry Buhl   Raytheon Company  
Today?s technology allows gamers to wage battles against players around the world through immersive, cross-platform play. Beyond entertainment, this type of cross-platform, virtual technology could revolutionize the way the U.S. Army trains.
A.I.

What is a tensor and why should I care? - Blog

December 09, 2019
Tammy Carter   Curtiss-Wright  

Over time, the definition of a tensor has varied across communities from mathematics to quantum physics. Lately, it has joined the machine learning community's lexicon. If you search the web for the definition of a tensor, you will likely be overwhelmed by the varying explanations and heated discussions. In 1900, Gregorio Ricci Curbastro and his student Tullio Levi-Civita first published their theory of tensor calculus, which is also known as absolute differential calculus.

Comms

Satellites and the kill web - Blog

November 25, 2019
Ray Alderman  
WARFARE EVOLUTION BLOG. In August 1990, Saddam Hussein invaded Kuwait. At that time, the US. .Defense Satellite Communications System (DSCS) had one communications satellite in geostationary orbit (GEO) operating over the Indian Ocean, covering the Middle East. Within the next few weeks, a satellite over the Atlantic Ocean was tilted to access the Persian Gulf. Another satellite in polar orbit was moved to 65 degrees East, and a reserve satellite over the Indian Ocean was activated. Some British satellites were linked-in, and these measures created the first space-based military communications network in history.
Comms

Giving Back - Blog

November 20, 2019
Lisa Daigle - Assistant Managing Editor, Military Embedded Systems  
Cyber

CSfC Technology Day 2019 recap - Blog

October 31, 2019
Jennifer Keenan   Mercury Systems  
On October 10, 2019 in Baltimore, Maryland, component suppliers, trusted integrators, the National Security Agency (NSA), the Department of Defense (DoD), defense primes and other companies assembled to discuss cutting-edge data security solutions to protect national security systems (NSS). The second annual Commercial Solutions for Classified (CSfC) Technology Day sponsored by Mercury Systems, with partner and trusted integrator, Tribalco, presented a comprehensive lineup related to the program and significant data security solutions.
Avionics
Story
Case study: LiDAR system provides helicopter pilots a clear line of sight in brownouts

June 24, 2008

More Avionics
Unmanned
Story
The U.S. Army's ability to "see first, shoot second" rolls on with UGVs

October 12, 2011

More Unmanned
Cyber
Story
Secure virtualization combines traditional desktop OSs and embedded RTOSs in military embedded systems

May 31, 2010

More Cyber
Comms
Story
Hermetic power packaging vs. PEMs for mil electronics: No power issues here

July 27, 2011

More Comms