Industry News

Comms

U.S. Army cuts ribbon on Northrop Grumman-built satcom training system - News

April 05, 2018

Lisa Daigle - Assistant Managing Editor, Military Embedded Systems Northrop Grumman

FORT GORDON, Ga. The U.S. Army officially opened a first-of-its-kind interactive training system -- developed by Northrop Grumman Corp. -- that supports the Wideband Global SATCOM (WGS) satellite communications program; the WGS constellation of military satellites delivers secure, reliable, and resilient communications worldwide for the U.S. and its partner nations.

Cyber

General Dynamics completes CSRA acquisition, U.S. Navy avoids conflict of interest - News

April 05, 2018

Lisa Daigle - Assistant Managing Editor, Military Embedded Systems General Dynamics

FALLS CHURCH, Va. General Dynamics has completed its previously announced acquisition of IT provider CSRA.

Radar/EW

Future USS Thomas Hudner passes builder's trials, moves on to acceptance trials - News

April 04, 2018

Lisa Daigle - Assistant Managing Editor, Military Embedded Systems U.S. Navy

BATH, Maine. The future USS Thomas Hudner (DDG 116), an Arleigh Burke-class destroyer, successfully completed Builder's Trials in late March after spending four days underway off the coast of Maine.

Avionics

Supersonic low-boom jet gets green light - News

April 04, 2018

Lisa Daigle - Assistant Managing Editor, Military Embedded Systems NASA

PALMDALE, Calif. Lockheed Martin's Skunk Works has won a $247.5 million cost-plus contract from NASA to design, build, and flight test the Low-Boom Flight Demonstrator, an X-plane designed to make supersonic passenger air travel a reality.

Avionics

Amended contract with Boeing supports RCAF Chinook fleet through 2023 - News

April 03, 2018

Mariana Iriarte - Technology Editor, Military Embedded Systems Boeing

OTTAWA, Ontario. Canadian government and Boeing officials are amending a previous performance-based logistics (PBL) contract to support the Royal Canadian Air Force's (RCAF) fleet of CH-147F Chinooks.

Unmanned

DARPA kicks off second swarm sprint in OFFSET program - News

April 03, 2018

Mariana Iriarte - Technology Editor, Military Embedded Systems U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA)

ARLINGTON, Va. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) officials are moving forward with Phase II of the OFFensive Swarm-Enabled Tactics (OFFSET) program, which envisions small-unit infantry forces using small unmanned aircraft systems (UASs) and/or small unmanned ground systems (UGSs) in swarms of 250 robots or more to accomplish diverse missions in complex urban environments.

Avionics

Flat-panel program worth $13 million signed between Navy, BAE Systems, Sparton - News

April 03, 2018

Lisa Daigle - Assistant Managing Editor, Military Embedded Systems Aydin Displays

BIRDSBORO, Pa. Sparton Corporation -- operating under its brand Aydin Displays -- has won a contract worth over $13 million to supply BAE Systems with ruggedized flat panel displays for a program supporting the Navy.

Unmanned

Modernized Trident missile passes demo, certifies sub for patrol - News

April 03, 2018

Lisa Daigle - Assistant Managing Editor, Military Embedded Systems Lockheed Martin

SUNNYVALE, Calif. The Navy submarine USS Nebraska recently demonstrated a successful launch of two Lockheed Martin-built and -upgraded Trident II D5 Life Extension missiles.

Comms

FAA WAAS will add 7th GEO satellite augmenting GPS navigation capabilities - News

April 02, 2018

Mariana Iriarte - Technology Editor, Military Embedded Systems Leidos

RESTON, Va. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) officials issued a task order to Leidos to develop the 7th Generation geostationary earth orbit (GEO) satellite used for the FAA Wide Area Augmentation System (WAAS). The task order has a four-year development phase, and one 10-year Operations and Maintenance phase with a total contract value of approximately $117 million.

Unmanned

Mars mission parachute test a success, says ESA - News

April 02, 2018

Lisa Daigle - Assistant Managing Editor, Military Embedded Systems European Space Agency

KIRUNA, Sweden. The ExoMars project -- a joint venture of the European Space Agency (ESA) and Russian governmental body Roscosmos -- reports that it has successfully tested the largest parachute ever to fly on a Mars mission; the test was the first in a series of trials to prepare for the upcoming ExoMars mission that will deliver a rover and a surface science platform to the Red Planet. The spacecraft that will carry them is due to launch in July 2020, arriving at Mars in March 2021.

Comms

Coast Guard signs $94 million advance procurement contract for national-security cutter - News

April 02, 2018

Lisa Daigle - Assistant Managing Editor, Military Embedded Systems Huntington Ingalls Industries

WASHINGTON. The U.S. Coast Guard has awarded shipbuilder Huntington Ingalls Industries a $94 million fixed-price contract to purchase long-lead materials for a tenth National Security Cutter (NSC).

Comms

Sensor monitoring system expected to increase defense depot worker's safety - News

March 29, 2018

Mariana Iriarte - Technology Editor, Military Embedded Systems Lockheed Martin Aptima

WOBURN, Mass. Lockheed Martin Aeronautics (LM-Aero) and Aptima are working together to improve worker's safety in the U.S. Air Force and other defense depots by developing a new Confined Space Monitoring System, which aims to deliver continuous real-time monitoring of worker locations, their vital functions, and surrounding environmental conditions, improving detection and injury prevention.

Unmanned

Thales, NASA work together to develop UTM system for NAS drone integration - News

March 29, 2018

Mariana Iriarte - Technology Editor, Military Embedded Systems Thales NASA

ARLINGTON, Va. Thales officials signed a Space Act Agreement with NASA to support development of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) traffic management (UTM) concepts, which will allow Thales to engage with NASA to refine the UTM concept architecture supporting drone integration into the U.S. National Air Space (NAS).

Comms

U.S. Army signs contract to synchronize geospatial technology systems - News

March 29, 2018

Lisa Daigle - Assistant Managing Editor, Military Embedded Systems General Dynamics

FAIRFAX, Va. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Army Geospatial Center has awarded General Dynamics its Geospatial, Research, Integration, Development and Support (GRIDS) III contract.

Comms

USAF orders additional M-Code GPS receivers for enhanced military navigation - News

March 29, 2018

Lisa Daigle - Assistant Managing Editor, Military Embedded Systems Rockwell Collins

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa. Rockwell Collins has received a follow-on order for 300 Military Code (M-Code) GPS receivers from the U.S. Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center (USAF SMC).