EUROPE. The European Commission has selected a consortium of companies and research institutes to study the design of the future European quantum communication network, EuroQCI (quantum communication infrastructure). It will aim to enable ultra-secure communication between critical infrastructures and government institutions across the European Union.

AMSTERDAM. The market revenue for the global military-communications market -- accounting for $28.5 billion as of 2020 -- is anticipated to reach a value of around $39.72 billion by the year 2029, a combined annual growth rate (CAGR) of about 3.38% over the forecast period, according to a new study by Market Forecast, "Global Military Communications Systems -- Market and Technology Forecast to 2029."

PORTUGAL. The Portuguese Army has awarded Rheinmetall an order for 1,500 LM-LowProfile laser modules. The contract, booked back in October 2020, calls for delivery of the devices in three lots. Delivery is to be complete by the third quarter of 2021. In carrying out the order, Rheinmetall is cooperating closely with its local sales partner, NT Group Portugal.

BETHESDA, Md. Lockheed Martin, in conjunction with the U.S. Navy, completed its first flight test integrating Sniper Advanced Targeting Pod (ATP) with the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet for the Kuwait Air Force.

ITHACA, N.Y. Researchers at Cornell University have improved their own high-powered microscope that now enables users to see atoms at record resolution, resulting in an ultraclose image with picometer (one-trillionth of a meter) precision.

ANDOVER, Mass.  Mercury Systems, Inc., continuing its run of acquisitions, purchased Pentek Technologies, LLC and Pentek Systems, Inc. (collectively, “Pentek”) in Upper Saddle River, N.J., for an all-cash purchase price of $65 million. Pentek, a competitor to Mercury's embedded signal-processing business, designs software-defined radio (SDR) solutions, FPGA single-board computers, data-acqusition boards, recording systems, and other products for radar, signals intelligence (SIGINT), electronic warfare (EW), and other high-performance defense applications.

CARLSBAD, Calif. Viasat Inc., a global communications company, demonstrated its cloud-based communications during the Naval Integration in Contested Environments (NICE) Advanced Naval Technology Exercise (ANTX) at Camp Lejeune, North Carolina.

WASHINGTON. Alion Science and Technology has won a $64 million task order with a 60-month period of performance for C-5M Super Galaxy Reliability, Integrity, Maintainability, and Engineering for the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center (AFLCMC)/WLS.

SAN DIEGO, Calif. The Italian Air Force has partnered with the U.S. Government and General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI) to provide a mid-life update to its fleet of MQ-9 Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA) and Ground Control Stations (GCS) as part of a Foreign Military Sales agreement.

NORWAY. The Norwegian Defense Material Agency (NDMA) has signed an agreement with the Netherlands Defense Material Organization (DMO) for the acquisition of five Thales Ground Master 200 Multi-Mission Compact radars (GM200 MM/C). The agreement also includes an option for three additional systems.

ANDOVER, Mass. and MUNICH, Germany. Mercury Systems and Airbus Defence and Space announced that they will cooperate in the area of autonomous and flight-control computer programs.

PORTLAND, Ore. The global electronic warfare (EW) market, which totaled $15.81 billion in 2020, is estimated to reach $23.56 billion by 2028 -- growing at a combined annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5.6% between 2021 and 2028 -- according to a new report published by Allied Market Research, "Electronic Warfare Market by Capability (Electronic Protection, Electronic Support and Electronic Attack), Equipment (Jammer, Countermeasure System, Decoy, Directed Energy Weapon, and Others), Product (EW Equipment, and EW Operational Support), and Platform (Land, Naval, Airborne, and Space): Global Opportunity Analysis and Industry Forecast, 2021–2028."

PALO ALTO, Calif. and YOKNEAM, Israel. Ramon.Space, company specializing in space computing solutions, has raised $17.5 million in Series A funding. The capital will be used to continue development of the company's computing solutions, support its rapidly expanding U.S. and Israel operations, and expand the team globally.

UNITED KINGDOM. The Expeditionary Robotics Center of Expertise (ERCoE) has been launched by Defense Equipment and Support (DE&S) in collaboration with the British Army. Officials claim the ERCoE will aim to bring together robotics and autonomous systems experts from across defense, government, academia, and industry and aligns with DE&S’ strategy to deliver the edge through people, technology, and innovation.

GERMANY. Saab has received an order from Panavia Aircraft GmbH to upgrade the radar warning equipment on the Tornado aircraft operated by the German Air Force. The order value is approximately $48.4 million (400 million SEK).