Industry News

Comms

DoD deputy CIO outlines spectrum sharing at MobileCon 2012 - News

October 11, 2012

Brandon Lewis - Technology Editor, Embedded Computing Design

Deputy CIO of the Department of Defense (DoD) Major General Robert Wheeler keynoted at CTIA MobileCon 2012 yesterday on the DoD’s plans to help free 500 MHz of wireless spectrum for the commercial market. The speech was centered on National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) findings that clearing the 1755 – 1855 MHz bands of high-value spectrum for commercial use could cost as much as $18 billion, and unveiled DoD proposals for spectrum sharing. In advance of his spectrum sharing proposal, Wheeler asserted that “there isn’t one solution to clearing [the 1755 – 1855 MHz] spectrum” but that “there will be some vacating” by the DoD, the largest licensee of government-owned spectrum.

Radar/EW

Office of Naval Research tasks Raytheon to develop new power architectures for surface ships and submarines - News

October 10, 2012

John M. McHale III - Editorial Director, Military Embedded Systems Raytheon Company

TEWKSBURY, Mass. Raytheon won two Phase 2 contracts under the Office of Naval Research’s (ONR’s) Compact Power Conversion Technologies (CPCT) program, which looks to improve fuel economy and architectural flexibility on critical mission systems fir future surface ships and submarines. The one-year programs for a Bi-Directional Power Converter and a Power Management Controller will help to reduce equipment footprint and personnel on future naval platforms.

Unmanned

Unmanned vertical takeoff and landing aircraft to get a boost by Lockheed Martin-led team - News

October 09, 2012

Alice Moss Lockheed Martin

Comms

Harris Falcon III radios ordered by NATO country - News

October 09, 2012

John M. McHale III - Editorial Director, Military Embedded Systems Harris Corporation

MELBOURNE, Fla. Harris Corp. won a $5.1 million order for their Falcon III multiband, multi-mission handheld radios from a NATO nation. The radios will enable line-of-sight and beyond-line-of-sight tactical communications for the country's armed forces personnel.

Unmanned

Two Global Hawk UAVs fly and refuel in close formation as part of DARPA program - News

October 08, 2012

John M. McHale III - Editorial Director, Military Embedded Systems Northrop Grumman

SAN DIEGO. Two NASA Global Hawk unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) completed the first autonomous aerial refueling between two high-altitude UAVs. Engineers at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), Northrop Grumman, and NASA Dryden Flight Research Center have completed these flight demonstrations as part of DARPA's Autonomous High-Altitude Refueling (AHR) program.

Comms

Tactical smartgrid proof of concept demonstrated by CERDEC - News

October 05, 2012

Brandon Lewis - Technology Editor, Embedded Computing Design U.S. Army

The U.S. Army’s Communications-Electronics Research, Development, and Engineering (CERDEC) Command has displayed a proof of concept for a smart grid supporting tactical operations. The data-gathering event was intended to develop solutions for the Department of Defense’s interests in reducing generators, preventing grid collapse and overloads, and a 25 percent minimization of manhours associated with fuel consumption and grid operation. To conform to these interests, a microgrid system was implemented as it is the only available solution that allows for energy storage, renewables, and other technologies that can simultaneously supplement traditional power.

Comms

Smartphone, tablets securely connected via collaboration from Raytheon, Twisted Pair Solutions - News

October 03, 2012

John M. McHale III - Editorial Director, Military Embedded Systems Raytheon Company

SAN DIEGO. Engineers at Raytheon and Twisted Pair Solutions in Seattle have joined hands to develop software that will enable hand held communications across multiple devices.

Avionics

Royal Danish F-16s get night-attack technology from VSI - News

October 02, 2012

John M. McHale III - Editorial Director, Military Embedded Systems Elbit Systems of America Rockwell Collins

SAN JOSE, Calif. Engineers at Vision Systems International (VSI), LLC, will supply the Royal Danish air force (RDAF) with their Night Vision Cueing and Display-Aviator’s Night Vision Imaging Systems (NVCD-ANVIS) technology, which is the night module for the Joint Helmet Mounted Cueing System (JHMCS).

Radar/EW

New B-2 radar system field installations completed - News

October 01, 2012

John M. McHale III - Editorial Director, Military Embedded Systems Northrop Grumman

WHITEMAN AIR FORCE BASE, Mo. Engineers at Northrop Grumman Corp. have completed all the field installations of a new radar system from Raytheon Space & Airborne Systems in El Segundo, Calif., for the U.S. Air Force's fleet of B-2 stealth bombers. The radar -- produced for the Air Force's B-2 Radar Modernization Program (RMP) -- has an Advanced Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) antenna, a power supply, and an upgraded receiver/exciter.

From The Editor

Report projects DoD spending on clean energy to reach $1.8 billion by 2025 - News

September 28, 2012

Brandon Lewis - Technology Editor, Embedded Computing Design

COLORADO SPRINGS – A report by Pike Research has published that by 2025 the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) is projected to spend $1.8 billion on clean energy annually. The clean energy programs, which include provisions for conservation that increase gradually over 12 years, are aimed at quelling the $20 billion in yearly expenditures on energy by the DoD’s various branches. Together, the branches consume roughly 120 million barrels of oil and 3.8 billion kWh of electricity annually, collectively making the DoD one of the world’s largest energy consumers.

From The Editor

DoD Comptroller Bob Hale testifies to House Armed Services Committee on sequestration - News

September 27, 2012

Brandon Lewis - Technology Editor, Embedded Computing Design

WASHINGTON – The House Armed Services Committee (HASC) heard statements from Department of Defense (DoD) Comptroller Bob Hale, as he testified that sequestration will “result in a less-capable, less-modern, less ready force and risks creating a hollow military.” His testimony, joined with those of the Assistant Commandant of the Marine Corps and Service Vice Chiefs of Staff, reinforced Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta’s position that sequestration’s effects on the U.S. military will be “devastating.”

Avionics

Lockheed Martin Apache helicopter M-TADS/PNVS team wins Army PBL contract - News

September 25, 2012

John M. McHale III - Editorial Director, Military Embedded Systems Lockheed Martin

ORLANDO, FL. U.S. Army officials awarded Lockheed Martin a $111 million Performance Based Logistics (PBL) contract for Modernized Target Acquisition Designation Sight/Pilot Night Vision Sensor (M-TADS/PNVS).

Radar/EW

US Army exercises option on 44 Northrop Grumman STARLite radar systems for MQ-1C Gray Eagle UAS - News

September 21, 2012

Brandon Lewis - Technology Editor, Embedded Computing Design Northrop Grumman

ROLLING MEADOWS, Ill. – An additional 44 Northrop Grumman AN/ZPY-1 Small Tactical Radar – Lightweight (STARLite) wide-area surveillance radars will be leveraged by the U.S. Army for the MQ-1C Gray Eagle Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS). The STARLite systems are composed of ground moving target and discount moving target indicator ability, as well as synthetic aperture radar, and have proved an effective instrument in providing aerial intelligence to warfighters. The deliveries that commence in April of 2013 and end in March of the following year, will bring the total number of contracted systems to 174.

Radar/EW

Shipboard interrogator sets for Aegis combat ships contracted to Northrop Grumman - News

September 21, 2012

Brandon Lewis - Technology Editor, Embedded Computing Design Northrop Grumman

U.S. Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) has inked an $11.5 million follow-on production contract with Northrop Grumman for fabrication, testing, and delivery of AN/UPX-24(V) interrogator sets. The firm-fixed-price contract will provide five open-architecture AN/UPX-24(V) processor sets to Aegis combat ships to enhance the vessels’ situational awareness and threat-detection capabilities.

A.I.

DARPA surveillance system uses EEG for image filtering - News

September 20, 2012

Brandon Lewis - Technology Editor, Embedded Computing Design U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA)

ARLINGTON – The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has released field test results of the Cognitive Technology Threat Warning System (CT2WS), a threat detection system utilizing a camera that interacts with operator brain waves to scan wide areas at extended distances. Test results revealed a 91 percent success rate in threat detection using the CT2WS, compared to the 53 percent successful detection rate of more traditional camera systems.