
August 2019

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The McHale Report, by mil-embedded.com Editorial Director John McHale, covers technology and procurement trends in the defense and aerospace electronics community.

View our archive of recent and past issues of the McHale Report e-mail newsletter.

FEATURE

Obsolete and counterfeit electronics remain challenges for the military

Legacy military electronics systems are a frequent target of counterfeiters, a common problem driven by obsolescence. Nondestructive testing solutions are emerging, however, that can help detect counterfeits.

TOP STORY

Defense acquisition the focus of upcoming tri-service open architecture demo

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The Tri-Service Open Architecture Interoperability Demonstration – a new, exclusive event for the media, acquisition community, and industry influencers – will be held on January 29, 2020, hosted by the Georgia Tech Research Institute at the GTRI Conference Center in Atlanta, Georgia. The demonstration will immediately follow the conclusion of the Embedded Tech Trends industry forum.

Turnkey FMC & 3U VPX Data Acquisition Solution

The Model 5983 is a 3U VPX carrier board for FMC and FMC+ modules based on the high performance Xilinx Kintex Ultrascale FPGA. When combined with any of Pentek's Flexor® FMCs to create a FlexorSet®, it becomes a complete multichannel data conversion and processing subsystem suitable for connection to IF, HF or RF ports of a communications or radar system. The Model 5983-313 FlexorSet is a 4-Ch. 250 MHz A/D with DDCs, 2-Ch. 800 MHz D/A with DUC & Interpolator 3U VPX board. Its built-in data capture features offer a turnkey solution as well as a platform for developing and deploying custom FPGA-processing IP.

TOP STORY

Knifefish UUV production to be completed by General Dynamics

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The U.S. Navy's Knifefish Surface Mine Countermeasure Unmanned Undersea Vehicle (UUV) program has been approved to enter low-rate initial production, with the Pentagon awarding a contract for the work days later.

TOP STORY

F-35 fighter aircraft to get EW upgrades

BAE Systems has received a Block 4 Modernization contract award from Lockheed Martin to enhance the offensive and defensive electronic warfare (EW) capabilities of the F-35 Lightning II fifth-generation fighter aircraft.

EDITOR'S PERSPECTIVE

Open architectures and standards for space

Open architecture initiatives and open standards are regularly discussed in this space, but I don’t often get to discuss them with an open architecture guru such as Patrick Collier, one of the minds behind the Sensor Open Systems Architecture (SOSA) initiative and the OpenVPX standard, like I did in a recent podcast on “Open Architectures in Space.”

TOP STORY

Joint Light Tactical Vehicles ready for U.S. Marine Corps

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The U.S. Marine Corps announced that the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV) is officially ready to deploy, one year ahead of schedule. Marine Corps Combat Development Command, Combat Development and Integration said that the JLTV program had reached initial operational capability (IOC), making the vehicles ready for use worldwide.

TOP STORY

NRL study on barnacle glue could save U.S. Navy millions

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Researchers at the U.S. Naval Research Laboratory developed a new method for identifying the glue proteins that barnacles produce to adhere to ship hulls and other surfaces.

TOP STORY

British Dreadnought sub contract awarded to General Dynamics

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A $64.8 million contract to General Dynamics to support work on the inner hull of the British nuclear submarine HMS Valiant has been awarded by the U.S. Navy.

MARKETS/BUSINESS DEALS

Counter-UAV market to boom in next 10 years, study says

The $1.3 billion counter-unmanned aerial vehicle (C-UAV) market is expected to see large increases over the next 10 years around the world due to increasing security concerns and the need for advanced defense systems to tackle terrorism, according to a new study from Visiongain, "Counter-UAV (C-UAV) Market Report 2019-2029."

Digital Twins and Agile Practices for SmallSats.

Buckle up for the final leg of an epic voyage though #satellite tech. Catch the latest episodes of the podcast with host John McHale. Get your podcast.

MARKET/BUSINESS DEALS

DIA chooses 16 firms for massive $17.1 billion military intelligence support contract

The Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) has awarded spots to 16 companies on a potential 10-year, $17.1 billion contract to provide military intelligence support for national-security policymakers, defense planners, and warfighters in the field.

TOP STORY

Machine-learning contract for space scenarios won by BAE Systems

BAE Systems has been awarded a Phase 2 contract to develop machine-learning capabilities aimed to help the military gain better awareness of space scenarios for the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA).

TOP STORY

Hypersonic weapon defense system prioritized by DoD

To engineer the U.S. military’s next-generation missile defense system, Analytical Graphics, Inc. (AGI) and ANSYS are incorporating high-fidelity, multiphysics simulations with multi-domain mission-level modeling into early stages of missile defense system development. This could enable warfighters to combat high-speed, highly maneuverable hypersonic weapons.

Annapolis Micro Systems

TOP STORY

AI game theory tool to strengthen military cyber defense

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Charles River Analytics Inc., developer of intelligent systems solutions, has received additional funding from the U.S. Air Force to build a Game-Theoretic Reasoning and Analysis of Vulnerability (GRAVITY) tool.

MARKET/BUSINESS DEALS

Hypersonic-missile R and D poised to disrupt conventional defense market, report says

Ongoing research and development efforts in the hypersonic missile market is set to disrupt the defense market globally, according to recent data from Jane's/IHS Markit.

TOP STORY

AR technology to increase warfighter RF safety

A Naval Information Warfare Center (NIWC) Atlantic team is developing and refining a hands-free system to protect U.S. military members from inadvertently revealing their location via radio frequency (RF) waves.

TOP STORY

GPS III satellite launched from Cape Canaveral

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A United Launch Alliance (ULA) Delta IV rocket carrying the second Global Positioning System III (GPS III) satellite, designated Magellan, for the U.S. Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center lifted off from Space Launch Complex-37.

TOP STORY

Robotic Operations Center to introduce robotic process automation

BAE Systems announced the launch of its new Robotic Operations Center (ROC) to customize and deploy suites of software robots that automate high-volume, repetitive tasks in support of U.S. national security missions.

TOP STORY

Laser weapon systems to be developed by Raytheon for USAF

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Raytheon Company will deploy two prototype high energy laser weapon systems (HELWS) to troops overseas under a U.S. Air Force contract. The Air Force experimentation includes 12 months of in-field operation against unmanned aerial systems and operator training.

FEATURE

The big data battlefield

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Market-intelligence firm IDC predicts that the sum of the world’s collective data, estimated at 33 zettabytes currently, will eclipse 175 zettabytes by 2025. That’s equivalent to forty billion pounds of common one-terabyte storage disks. Intelligence and military applications rely on massive data pipelines to drive intelligence gathering and mission-critical decision-making. The speed at which the warfighter is able to collect, process, analyze, and understand data directly impacts mission success.

Making it Cool: Solving Thermal Management Challenges

Sponsored by: Atrenne Computing Solutions, Kontron, nVent Schroff
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TOP STORY

Missile sale to Japan approved by State Department

A proposed $3.3 billion missile sale to Japan was approved by the U.S. State Department, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency said.

COLUMN

Composite metal foam stops .50-caliber rounds as well as steel

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A hard armor system crafted from composite metal foam takes hits as well as conventional steel armor, but at half the weight, a development that could potentially help revolutionize the design of military vehicles by improving their armor protection, without making them heavier.