Industry News

Unmanned

Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System qualifies for use on Bell Helicopter 407GT platform - News

March 08, 2013

Brandon Lewis - Technology Editor, Embedded Computing Design BAE Systems

YUMA, AZ. A test of BAE System’s Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System (APKWS) in Yuma, AZ proved the weapon’s safety and sustainability on a Bell Helicopter 407GT, leading to Bell’s qualification of the rocket for use on the platform. Seven APKWS 70 mm rockets were fired from the 407GT as part of the testing.

Comms

Sixty-six military installations to benefit from SAIC/Navy contract - News

March 07, 2013

Alice Moss SAIC

Unmanned

Northrop Grumman designates five centers of excellence in consolidation effort - News

March 07, 2013

Brandon Lewis - Technology Editor, Embedded Computing Design Northrop Grumman

FALLS CHURCH, VA. Northrop Grumman has designated five U.S. centers of design and integration excellence as part of a long-term effort to reduce facilities and costs. The centers will consolidate work supporting the company’s Aerospace Systems sector in the areas of manned aircraft, unmanned systems, and electronic attack, and integrate work from elsewhere at sites in Florida, New York, and California. Northrop also announced plans to close its Dominguez Hills, CA, Information Systems sector facility, and complete the closure of the Norwalk, CT site.

Comms

Air Force Infrared surveillance satellites contract won by Lockheed Martin - News

March 06, 2013

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

SUNNYVALE, CA. Lockheed Martin won a $284.4 million fixed-price Air Force contract to supply long lead parts for the fifth and sixth Geosynchronous Earth Orbit (GEO) satellites that are in the Space Based Infrared System (SBIRS) missile warning constellation.

Avionics

FACE Edition 2.0 avionics standard approved and published - News

March 04, 2013

John M. McHale III - Editorial Director, Military Embedded Systems The Open Group

DAYTON, OH. Officials at the Open Group announced that the Future Airborne Capability Environment (FACE™), Edition 2.0, -- has been unanimously approved and published by organization's Governing Board. The FACE standard essentially enables software applications that have the common FACE API to have portability across multiple avionics platforms -- from rotary wing to fixed wing to unmanned aircraft.

Avionics

First MH-60 Digital Cockpit completed for Australian Romeo helicopter - News

March 04, 2013

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

AVALON, Australia. Lockheed Martin engineers finished the 400th Common Cockpit avionics suite for the U.S. Navy’s MH-60 Seahawk helicopter program. The digital cockpit will be integrated on the first of 24 MH-60R (Romeo) anti-submarine and anti-surface warfare helicopters to be procured by the Royal Australian navy through the U.S. Government’s Foreign Military Sales program.

Avionics

Boeing, Sikorsky X2 Technology proposed for Army's JMR FVL - News

March 01, 2013

Brandon Lewis - Technology Editor, Embedded Computing Design Boeing Sikorsky, a Lockheed Martin Company

WASHINGTON. Boeing and Sikorsky Aircraft Corp. will submit a joint proposal to build a demonstrator aircraft based on Sikorsky’s X2 Technology design for the U.S. Army’s Joint Multi-Role (JMR) Technology Demonstrator (TD) Phase 1 program, which supports the Army’s Future Vertical Lift (FVL) initiative.

Cyber

DHS/Raytheon collaboration to bolster cybersecurity for critical infrastructure - News

March 01, 2013

Brandon Lewis - Technology Editor, Embedded Computing Design Raytheon Company

WASHINGTON. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) will collaborate with Raytheon under the Enhanced Cybersecurity Services (ECS) program outlined in President Obama's recent “Improving Critical Infrastructure Cybersecurity” Executive Order. In a Memorandum of Agreement, Raytheon will receive information on active malicious cybersecurity threats from the DHS and use the indicators to protect sectors of critical infrastructure, including the defense industrial base.

Radar/EW

UK MOD Mode 5 Identification Friend or Foe system capability completes trials - News

March 01, 2013

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

HARLOW, England. Raytheon UK and Thales UK engineers conducted over-the-air Mode 5 Identification Friend or Foe (IFF) interoperability tests at Raytheon's Matching Green test range. The trials used the Thales TSA1412 Interrogator and Raytheon UK's IFF4810 Transponder, which also is the standard fit SIFF (Successor IFF) product, that features the Mode 5-enabled upgrade.

Comms

DoD GPS cost savings program to be continued by Rockwell Collins - News

February 27, 2013

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

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa. Rockwell Collins won a Defense Production Act (DPA) Title III Program from the Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Manufacturing and Industrial Base Policy to continue to the next phase of the Low Cost Military GPS program.

Cyber

CodeSonar Visualization gets new enhancements to help detect code defects - News

February 26, 2013

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

NUREMBERG, Germany. Engineers at GrammaTech, Inc., announced today at Embedded World in Nuremberg new enhancements their CodeSonar product's software architecture visualization features. They include a new treemap view that enables users to more easily see the hierarchical structure of code in a information-dense form. This view also uses colorization to highlight the density of defects in modules so users can identify the code's most problematic parts.

Avionics

Army helicopter upgrades delayed, virtual training trending - News

February 22, 2013

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

FORT LAUDERDALE, FL. Army Deputy Chief of Staff G-8 Lt. Gen. James Barclay III, , told audiences at the Association of the U.S. Army's (AUSA) Winter Symposium today that fielding of all combat lift and attack helicopters will be delayed due to the completion of a new modernization strategy based sequestration. The Army’s AH-64 Apache, UH-60 Black Hawk and CH-47 helicopter upgrade programs will be extended by as much as five years, as the Army prepares for a possible loss of $18 billion in maintenance and operations funding if the March 1 sequester takes effect.

Unmanned

Excalibur precision guided projectile to begin LRIP - News

February 20, 2013

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

ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates. Raytheon engineers will produce Excalibur Increment Ib precision-guided projectiles under a U.S. Army fiscal year 2012 contract. This contract -- worth $56.6 million -- marks the beginning of Excalibur Ib low-rate initial production (LRIP).

Avionics

F-35 carrier variant production model completes first sortie - News

February 19, 2013

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

FORT WORTH, Texas. Lockheed Martin's first F-35C carrier variant production model -- also known as CF-6 -- completed its first sortie. Once the jet fighter is delivered later this year, it will be assigned to U.S. Navy Fighter Attack Squadron 101 (VFA-101) located at Eglin AFB, FL.

Unmanned

FAA solicits SIR for UAS research and test sites, begins privacy policy comment period - News

February 15, 2013

Brandon Lewis - Technology Editor, Embedded Computing Design

WASHINGTON. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) solicited Screening Information Requests (SIRs) yesterday to develop six Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) research and test sites around the United States. As part of the FAA Modernization and Reform Act of 2012, the program will conduct critical research on the integrating UAS platforms into national airspace in the coming years, as well as the navigation and certification requirements needed for such integration. The FAA’s technical evaluation of proposals will consider climactic and geographic diversity, research needs and location of ground infrastructure, and population and air traffic density, among other specific goals and objectives.