TIME MACHINE 2020 AI SESSIONS. Fighter pilot shortages, operation security concerns, and the need for rapid experimentation in the military have acted as driving forces behind the implementation of artificial intelligence (AI) in the Department of Defense (DoD). These themes were discussed by military industry AI leaders and data scientists to highlight how AI can bolster mission readiness at SparkCognition Government Systems’ (SGS) virtual Time Machine 2020 AI Sessions event, held this week.

ASHBURN, Va. Curtiss-Wright’s Defense Solutions division, supplier of rugged ultra-small form factor (USFF) processing and networking solutions, announced that it won a contract to provide an electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft developer with a rugged avionics system and networking solutions for use on the company’s new aircraft.

LONDON. Britain’s Royal Air Force (RAF) is set to receive active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar to equip its Typhoon combat jets under a £317 million ($420 million) contract between the Ministry of Defense (MoD) and BAE Systems and Leonardo.

FALLS CHURCH, Va. Northrop Grumman Corporation has completed the critical design review (CDR) milestone for the Embedded Global Positioning System (GPS)/Inertial Navigation System (INS)-Modernization, or EGI-M, program.

Charles River Analytics Inc. (CRA), developer of intelligent systems solutions, has won a four-year, cross-disciplinary research effort. Under the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s (DARPA’s) Artificial Social Intelligence for Successful Teams (ASIST) program, CRA is creating a Prescient, Socially Intelligent Coach (PSI-Coach) that will aim to understand team behaviors and improve team performance.

BETHESDA, Md. Lockheed Martin and Ball Aerospace completed a phased array transmit test for a Multi-Band, Multi-Mission (MBMM) antenna. MBMM is designed to help enable multiple satellites to simultaneously connect with a single-phased array antenna system using multiple frequencies. It aims to increase throughput, while also shrinking the antenna’s footprint.

FALLS CHURCH, Va. Northrop Grumman Corporation has been selected by the Defense Innovation Unit and the U.S. Army Tactical Exploitation of National Capabilities (TENCAP) office to develop two prototype ground stations for the Tactical Intelligence Targeting Access Node (TITAN) system. The TITAN system will be a scalable and expeditionary intelligence ground station that will leverage space, high altitude, aerial, and terrestrial layer sensors to provide targetable data that allows commanders at all echelons to quickly assess threats to their forces.

WOKING, U.K. TT Electronics has won a contract from BAE Systems for the design, development, and qualification of a DC/DC Converter to support Project Tempest, the fighter-aircraft concept under development in the United Kingdom for the British Royal Air Force (RAF) and the Italian Air Force.

MADISON, Miss. The Naval Air Systems Command has awarded Vertex Aerospace LLC a $111,409,733 Contracted Maintenance, Modification, Aircrew, and Related Services (CMMARS) task order for the RESET of the U.S. Marine Corps' CH-53E Super Stallion fleet. The 5-year task order, with one base year and four option years, includes inspecting, rebuilding, and restoring the aircraft to a full mission capable status.

SAN DIEGO, Calif. The latest joint development effort between General Atomics Aeronautical Systems (GA-ASI) and technology firm SENER is a NATO Pod, designed and built by SENER Aeroespacial, part of the SENER Group. GA-ASI will integrate the NATO Pod onto the MQ-9 aircraft line to increase its configuration and payload options.

SAN JOSE, Calif. Security firm Forescout Technologies has won a multimillion-dollar award from the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) to expand cybersecurity across the DoD global enterprise; in this initial phase of the contract, the Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) chose Forescout’s technology as the foundation of the DoD’s “Comply to Connect” (C2C) initiative. 

GUELPH, Ontario, Canada. HEICO Corp. acquired Connect Tech, a producer of embedded computing and NVIDIA GPU solutions for military applications such as unmanned systems, communications, ISR (intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance), and more various form factors such as COM Express and PC104. As a subsidiary of HEICO Corporation, Connect Tech will continue to serve its global customer base.

FORT WORTH. Elbit Systems of America is supplying two variants of its intelligent and autonomous trailer-mounted surveillance tower systems -- aimed at reducing operator workload and increasing situational awareness and safety -- to the U.S. Customs and Border Protection Agency (CBP) and the U.S. Combating Terrorism Technical Support Office (CTTSO). 

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, Inc., a national security solutions provider, announced that the second flight of the X-61A Gremlins Air Vehicle (GAV), which took place in July, was a success, satisfying major technical and program milestones while significantly reducing risk.

WASHINGTON. The U.S. Air Force Institute of Technology has awarded Alion Science and Technology a $20 million task order with a 60-month period of performance to provide Autonomy and Navigation Technology (ANT) Development.