NORTHBROOK, Ill. The market for airborne optronics -- optical and vision equipment used by armed forces and security personnel for monitoring, identification, and classification purposes -- is projected to grow from $1.4 billion in 2020 to $2.5 billion by 2025, at a CAGR of 12.7% during the study period, according to a new study by MarketsandMarkets, "Airborne Optronics Market by End Use, System, Technology (Hyperspectral, Multispectral), Application (Commercial, Military, Space), Aircraft Type (Fixed Wing, Rotary Wing, Urban Air Mobility, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles) and Region - Forecast to 2025." 

DUBLIN. The global use of artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics in the defense arena, valued at $39.22 billion in 2018, is projected to grow at a combined annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5.04% to reach $61 billion by 2027, according to a study by Research and Markets, "Global Artificial Intelligence & Robotics for Defense, Market & Technology Forecast to 2027."

LEWISVILLE, Texas. MilesTek (an Infinite Electronics brand) announces the launch of a line of ruggedized USB 3.0 cables that are aimed at use in military, government,  and industrial connectivity applications.

RESTON, Va. Leidos announced that it has completed delivery of an autonomous vessel to the U.S. Navy, known as Seahawk. The Office of Naval Research awarded Leidos the cost-plus-fixed fee contract to build the vessel, with an approximate value of $35.5 million, in December 2017. Work was principally performed on the Mississippi Gulf Coast.

WESTFORD, Mass. Symetrica Inc., a radiation detection and identification business, announced that it has been awarded a $35 million multi-year contract by the U.S. Department of Defense to provide several hundred of its VeriFinder radioisotope identification devices (RIIDs) for deployment across all branches of the United States armed forces.

UNITED KINGDOM. HENSOLDT UK has announced the supply of Kelvin Hughes Mk11 X Band SharpEye navigation radars to two Polish minehunters. The two equipped vessels, ORP Albatros and ORP Mewa, were built by PGZ Stocznia Wojenna Shipyard in Gdynia, Poland.

ARLINGTON, Va. BAE Systems announced it has been selected to design mechanisms for the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) that will protect emerging wideband receivers from interference, intended to enable their use in contested and congested environments.

HANSCOM AIR FORCE BASE, Mass. The U.S. Air Force's Theater Battle Control Division, headquartered at Hanscom Air Force Base in Bedford, Massachusetts, awarded an $8.4 million integration contract to Lockheed Martin March 26 as part of the Air Force's Three Dimensional Expeditionary Long-Range Radar Rapid Prototyping program.

Program officials said the main intent of the integration effort is to develop, test and field interfaces allowing the radar system to transmit data to other command and control nodes.

DAVIDSON, N.C. Curtiss-Wright Corp. announced that it has won a contract with Lockheed Martin Aeronautics (a Lockheed Martin company headquartered in Fort Worth, Texas) to supply its rugged commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) processor module technology to upgrade the U.S. Air Force's F-22 Raptor tactical fighter aircraft. 

FALLS CHURCH, Va. Northrop Grumman Corporation’s Firebird multi-sensor aircraft showcased the optionally-manned autonomous system as it flew to various locations across the United States last month.

DAVIS MONTHAN AIR FORCE BASE, Ariz. BAE Systems flight tested its Small Adaptive Bank of Electronic Resources (SABER) technology, paving the way for a critical software upgrade to the EC-37B Compass Call, a next-generation electronic warfare aircraft.

AUSTIN, Texas. SparkCognition Government Systems (SGS) announced that it has won a contract with the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) through its SBIR program. Through this contract, SGS will leverage commercial and artificial intelligence (AI) technologies to explore the uses of machine learning (ML) to enhance aspects of readiness, including manpower planning and decision optimization.

WILMINGTON, Mass. Analog Devices Inc. (ADI) will collaborate with satellite and geointelligence firm MDA (Brampton, Ontario) to deliver the beamforming integrated circuit (BFIC) to be used in MDA’s sophisticated phased-array antenna for the Telesat Lightspeed low earth orbit (LEO) satellite constellation.

CHANTILLY, Va. Perspecta Inc., announced that its applied research arm, Perspecta Labs, received multiple awards for large-scale experimentation and prototyping of dual-use 5G technology for the Department of Defense (DOD).

ANCHORAGE, Alaska. Tyonek Native Corp. has been tapped by the U.S. Air Force Mobility and Training Aircraft Directorate to install avionics modifications -- worth as much as $92.8 million -- on the Air Force's C-5 Galaxy aircraft fleet, under an Alternate Modification Installation (AMI) contract.