
May 2023

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The McHale Report, by militaryembedded.com Editorial Director John McHale, covers technology and procurement trends in the defense and aerospace electronics community.
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LCR Embedded Systems

SOF WEEK KEYNOTE

USSOCOM commander warns of 'decade of consequence' ahead

A "decade of consequence" is on the horizon due to growing competition from countries like China and Russia, and U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) must be ready to respond, said USSOCOM Commander Gen. Fenton in his keynote address at the SOF Week 2023 annual conference today.

SOF WEEK

DoD Tactical Assault Kit Director discusses TAK2030 strategy (video)

Ryan McLean, Director of the Tactical Assault Kit (TAK) Product Center, U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) details the strategy for TAK 2030 with the SOF Week Show Daily team during SOF Week 2023.

SOF WEEK

AI solutions dominate on SOF Week exhibit floor

From data collection to tactical-level edge processing, artificial intelligence (AI) solutions were proliferated on the 2023 SOF Week exhibition floor here throughout the week, with numerous companies highlighting how AI can be used at a practical level to assist the military.

SOF WEEK

Tactical diving vehicle showcased by JFD at SOF Week

Ahead of delivery to U.S. partner Blue Tide Marine (BTM) for demonstration and training purposes, underwater capability provider JFD (Aberdeen, UK) unveiled its advanced four-man tactical diving platform, Shadow Seal (MK1D), showing a prototype model of the vehicle at the SOF Week convention.

SOF WEEK

MOSA has “changed the culture” of USSOCOM software acquisition, official says

U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) has significantly altered its approach to software acquisition thanks in part to the Department of Defense’s (DoD’S) Modular Open Systems Approach (MOSA) mandate, according to Jim Smith, USSOCOM Acquisition Executive at SOF Acquisition, Technology & Logistics during a conversation with reporters in advance of the SOF Week event in Tampa, Florida, which starts May 8, 2023.

SOF WEEK

Ukraine will operate Northrop Grumman M-ACE C-UAS

Northrop Grumman is currently showcasing some of its cannons and ammunition at the SOF Week exhibition in Tampa, Florida, including its counter-unmanned aerial system (C-UAS) that features airbursting ammunition and proximity-fuzed ammunition when needed to defeat Classes I and II UASs.

SOF WEEK: PEO INTERVIEW

PEO SOF Digital Applications interview: goals and requirements (video)

Col. Rhea Pritchett, Program Executive Officer, PEO SOF Digital Applications (SDA), U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) in an interview with the SOF Week Show Daily team discusses her requirements and how she looks to connect with industry, academia, and other government agencies to solve digital gaps.

SOF WEEK INDUSTRY NEWS

Sig Sauer acquires General Robotics

SIG SAUER acquired General Robotics, a manufacturer of lightweight remote weapon stations and tactical robotics for manned and unmanned platforms and anti-drone applications.

SOF WEEK OVERVIEW

GSOF reflects on a successful first SOF Week (video)

Stuart Bradin, President and CEO of the Global SOF Foundation, looks back over the past four days of SOF Week and outlines plans for next year's event.

SOF WEEK USSOCOM INTERVIEW

Commander, Special Operations Command - Korea interview

Maj. Gen. Michael E. Martin, Commander, Special Operations Command - Korea, speaks to the SOF Week show daily team about how the RoK-U.S. alliance has evolved and how advanced military training has played a role in this evolution.

SOF WEEK KEYNOTE

C-130 that can land on water being explored by USSOCOM, official says

U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) is exploring a C-130 that can land on water, potentially turning the world's oceans into runways for the aircraft, Jim Smith, head of USSOCOM acquisition, said during his keynote address on Tuesday.

SOF WEEK INDUSTRY NEWS

Small Business Pavilion a big draw at SOF Week

From cyber security to rapid prototyping to Faraday bags, small defense contractors crowded into the Small Business Pavilion during the 2023 SOF Week annual conference throughout the week, with many describing the event as a success with higher booth traffic than expected.

SPONSORED CONTENT

PRODUCT OF THE WEEK: Omnetics Nano360 Series

This week’s product, the Omnetics’ .025-pitch Nano360 Series of rugged connectors reduce size and weight by as much as3x compared to standard .050” pitch circular connectors. This family of connectors is used in high-reliability applications such as helmet electronics, surveillance equipment, miniature robotic systems, and portable computer systems.

SOF WEEK INDUSTRY NEWS

Jetboots and other innovations improve the effectiveness of SOF teams

As the threats to the military continue to evolve, the requirements for equipment and technologies deployed by SOF teams to keep personnel safe and improve effectiveness also change. Defense companies at the SOF Week 2023 exhibition are featuring innovative products such as Jetboots for diver propulsion and solutions that can improve the effectiveness of operators.

Annapolis Micro Systems

SOF WEEK

AI, machine learning will be critical to USSOCOM’s future, official says

As previously promised, we are fearlessly embarking upon a challenging project here, to integrate the demand-side and supply-side data about the world military markets. The best method to attack this problem is from the top-down. Going from the bottom-up would create debilitating confusion, misconceptions, and illusions.

TOP STORY

UK Ministry of Defence boosts funding for future fighter jet program

The UK Ministry of Defence (MOD) has allocated more than £650 million to further the development of the next-generation fighter jet as part of the Global Combat Air Programme (GCAP), according to an MOD statement. This initiative is a trilateral collaboration with Japan and Italy, which aims to have the aircraft in service by 2035 to maintain the UK Armed Forces' advantage over adversaries.

TOP STORY

Airship for ISR missions to be provided to Navy, Marine Corps by Hybrid Air Vehicles

The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) is partnering with Hybrid Air Vehicles (HAV) to explore using HAV's Airlander aircraft to help with maritime logistics, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) operations, and communications in the Pacific, HAV said in a statement.

TOP STORY

Defense Dept. IT contract garners $889 million for SAIC

Science Applications International Corp. (SAIC) has won a contract worth $889 million with the U.S. Federal Systems Integration and Management Center (FEDSIM) in support of the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency (DCSA) to develop and implement One IT, which will modernize DCSA’s IT systems.

SPONSORED WHITE PAPER

Enabling the Migration to Software-Defined Platforms for Critical Infrastructure

Wind River

There is a growing need across multiple sectors for devices to be able to support the greater intelligence required to transition from automated to autonomous systems. This is driving technical requirements for open standards–based software-defined architectures to enable consolidation of multiple applications, including those at different levels of criticality and using multiple operating systems, onto common computing platforms.

SPONSORED WHITE PAPER

Real-Time Defense Systems Response Will Require PCIe 5.0

Mercury Systems

Today’s modern defense systems exploit massive volumes of data to provide warfighters with more accurate, complete intel. This paper examines the critically important interconnect technology and ecosystem built around Peripheral Component Interconnect Express (PCIe) standards and specifically, how the emerging PCIe 5.0 protocol benefits a new generation of rugged, deployable application platforms.

Turbocharging CI/CD: How Test Automation Drives Efficiency and Reliability

Sponsored by: Keysight Technologies
Date: June 13, 11:00 a.m. ET
REGISTER NOW