Industry News

Unmanned

U.S. Navy: Torpedo defense capability for LCS fleet completes testing - News

May 09, 2018

Mariana Iriarte - Technology Editor, Military Embedded Systems

WASHINGTON. Officials from the Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) Mission Modules (MM) program announced the completion of a two-day at-sea testing of the LCS's AN/SLQ-61 Lightweight Tow (LWT) Torpedo Defense Mission Module (TDMM).

Unmanned

U.S. Navy orders 7,000-plus additional APKWS laser-guided rockets - News

May 09, 2018

Lisa Daigle - Assistant Managing Editor, Military Embedded Systems BAE Systems

ARLINGTON, Va. BAE Systems has received a $175 million contract from the U.S. Navy for more than 7,000 Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System (APKWS) laser-guided rockets.

A.I.

DARPA chooses teams to develop approaches to machine learning, artificial intelligence - News

May 09, 2018

Lisa Daigle - Assistant Managing Editor, Military Embedded Systems U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA)

ARLINGTON, Va. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has selected teams to work on its Lifelong Learning Machines (L2M) program, which the agency says seeks to develop fundamentally new machine learning (ML) approaches that allow systems to adapt continually to new circumstances without forgetting what they have previously learned.

Avionics

Boeing enters agreement to purchase KLX Inc. in all-cash transaction for $63 per share - News

May 08, 2018

Mariana Iriarte - Technology Editor, Military Embedded Systems Boeing

CHICAGO. KLX, Inc. and Boeing officials entered a definitive agreement in which Boeing will acquire KLX Inc. to enhance its growing services business. The agreement comprises an all-cash transaction for $63 per share and the assumption of approximately $1 billion of net debt, totaling $4.25 billion.

Comms

DoD approves pilot program's second phase to prototype multimodem adaptor for future SATCOM operations - News

May 08, 2018

Mariana Iriarte - Technology Editor, Military Embedded Systems Hughes Network Systems

GERMANTOWN, Md. Broadband satellite networks and services provider Hughes Network Systems, LLC. received a follow-on contract to continue the second phase of a pilot study program to assess the feasibility of interoperability across multiple satellite communication (SATCOM) systems for the Department of Defense (DoD).

Unmanned

German navy will deploy Puma UAS to enhance safety and surveillance - News

May 08, 2018

Lisa Daigle - Assistant Managing Editor, Military Embedded Systems AeroVironment, Inc.

MONROVIA, Calif. Unmanned aircraft system (UAS) manufacturer AeroVironment and ESG Elektroniksystem-und Logistik -- a German system and software house -- announced that the German navy has acquired the AeroVironment Puma maritime UAS.

Comms

U.S. Air National Guard will get force options-training systems at every base - News

May 08, 2018

Lisa Daigle - Assistant Managing Editor, Military Embedded Systems Cubic

SAN DIEGO. Combat-training and communications company Cubic Global Defense will supply the United States Air National Guard (ANG) with PRISim Suite PortableTrainer systems.

Unmanned

U.S. Army grants Lockheed Martin $828 million contract to produce precision-strike rockets, equipment - News

May 08, 2018

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

DALLAS. Lockheed Martin will proceed on Lot 13 production of Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System (GMLRS) rockets and associated equipment under the terms of an $828 million (not-to-exceed) contract from the U.S. Army.

Unmanned

Optical seeker for precision-guided munitions to be developed by BAE Systems - News

May 07, 2018

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

NASHUA, N.H. Through the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) officials selected BAE Systems for a $13.1 million contract to demonstrate a new, optical seeker for precision-guided munitions for the Seeker Cost Transformation (SECTR) program.

Radar/EW

F-35 electronic warfare simulation testing solution delivered to U.S. Navy - News

May 07, 2018

Mariana Iriarte - Technology Editor, Military Embedded Systems Northrop Grumman

BUFFALO, N.Y. U.S. Navy officials at NAWCWD Point Mugu took delivery of Northrop Grumman's multispectral testing solution that recreates accurate mission-like conditions in the laboratory and on the range for the F-35 aircraft.

Radar/EW

Air Force moves ahead with defendable space missile-warning capabilities - News

May 07, 2018

Lisa Daigle - Assistant Managing Editor, Military Embedded Systems

WASHINGTON. The U.S. Air Force is moving to award two sole-source contracts for the Next-Generation Overhead Persistent Infrared (Next-Gen OPIR) program, as it implements rapid-procurement practices. It is targeting the first Next-Gen OPIR launch in 2023.

Unmanned

InSight lander on its way to Mars - News

May 07, 2018

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

VANDENBURG AIR FORCE BASE, Calif. The Interior Exploration using Seismic Investigations, Geodesy and Heat Transport (InSight) spacecraft -- built by Lockheed Martin and managed by NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory -- launched early in the morning on May 5 aboard a United Launch Alliance Atlas V 401 rocket and has officially begun its six-month long journey to Mars. The spacecraft is scheduled to arrive on the Red Planet on November 26, 2018.

Unmanned

U.S. Marine Corps signs $10 million contract for "throwable" robots - News

May 07, 2018

Lisa Daigle - Assistant Managing Editor, Military Embedded Systems Endeavor Robotics

CHELMSFORD, Mass. Endeavor Robotics -- a developer and manufacturer of small, lightweight unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs) -- has signed a contract worth $10 million with the U.S. Marine Corps to provide the Marines with its small, throwable FirstLook robots.

Comms

ESA, partners investigate space photons' role in secure cryptography - News

May 04, 2018

Lisa Daigle - Assistant Managing Editor, Military Embedded Systems SES Techcom

PARIS. The European Space Agency (ESA) has signed an agreement with satellite communications company SES Techcom (Luxembourg) to develop what they call "QUARTZ" [Quantum Cryptography Telecommunication System], a platform for quantum key distribution, and administer it from space.

Cyber

DARPA taps Charles River Analytics for space situational-awareness tool - News

May 04, 2018

Lisa Daigle - Assistant Managing Editor, Military Embedded Systems Charles River Analytics U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA)

CAMBRiDGE, Mass. Charles River Analytics (CRA) has won a contract from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) worth $1.3 million to help U.S. military commanders better understand different types of potential threats in space.