The Department of Defense has released the official budget request for Fiscal Year (FY) 2022, and it’s a big one. Among its hundreds of pages and multiple chapters, those interested can find information and statistics regarding where defense spending and funding may be headed come next year. However, looking through all of the dense material can be an arduous process, so Military Embedded Systems will help filter it a little. In the second episode of On the Radar, Emma Helfrich and John McHale discuss the first three of six total highlights pulled from the Innovation and Modernization chapter of the FY 2022 budget request and explain how they may influence the trajectory of military electronics. Topics covered include funding for science and technology research, advanced capability enablers, and space-based systems. With an overall goal of maintaining technological superiority over adversaries, Helfrich and McHale chat about how the DoD is preparing to innovate.
Military Embedded Systems
Podcasts
Hypersonic weapons, AI, and 5G funding outlined in FY 2022 defense budget request - Podcast
August 16, 2021Deep dive on Pentek acquisition by Mercury Systems and radar/EW market trends - Podcast
July 28, 2021This spring Mercury Systems acquired Pentek, a designer of FPGA single-board computers, data-acquisition boards, recording systems, and other products for radar, signals intelligence (SIGINT), and electronic warfare (EW) applications. In this podcast, Neal Austin, Vice President and General Manager of the Mixed Signal Business Unit within Mercury Systems and Rodger Hosking, co-founder and VP of Pentek Systems deep dive into the acquisition, where Pentek will fit within Mercury, and how the acquisition impacts the Mercury efforts within the Sensor Open Systems Architecture (SOSA) Consortium. They also cover design trends in the radar and electronic warfare markets, commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) procurement, the impact AI and 5G will have on military electronics, and tackle the engineering recruitment challenges defense companies face.
Discussing the trajectory of AI-powered military technology - Podcast
May 27, 2021Artificial intelligence (AI) is one of the hottest topics in modern technology, and defense electronics are no exception. In an industry where commercial automation has far outpaced that of the military, the Department of Defense (DoD) has found itself in a position that is neck and neck with the pace of adversaries. Base-patrolling robot dogs and algorithms designed to understand complex combat scenarios are currently in development, but that's just the beginning. In the debut episode of On the Radar, Emma Helfrich and John McHale of Military Embedded Systems discuss the current state of military AI and machine learning (ML), how these advancements are being financed, and the obstacles that stand in innovation's way. Also covered is the concept of defining the ethics of ML-powered systems and DoD research and development funding for AI.
Leveraging ARINC 818 for military avionics and sensor applications - Podcast
April 28, 2021The ARINC 818 digital video interface and protocol standard is used throughout commercial and military cockpits for avionics display applications. As military video systems continue to increase in complexity in and out of the cockpit, for example in intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) sensor systems, the demand for ARINC 818 solutions is growing. In this podcast, Tim Keller, Chief Operations Officer at Great River Technology discusses defines what ARINC 818 is, discusses common misconceptions about the standard, and describes its growing use in sensor applications and in training and simulation applications. Keller also details new ARINC 818 training for engineers and explores how the standard could potentially work within the Sensor Open Systems Architecture Technical Standard.
Short VPX and the military's demand for smaller form factors - Podcast
March 30, 2021Reduced size, weight, and power (SWaP) requirements are pervasive throughout defense electronics platforms. Electronic footprints continue to shrink so much that traditional small form factors like 3U VPX or 3U CompactPCI are considered too big. So, it's not surprising that the VITA Standards Organization (VSO) is looking at new form factors, such as Short VPX. In this podcast, Jay Grandin, Vice President of Product Development at Annapolis Micro Systems discusses demand for small form factors, how Short VPX can meet that demand and how it fits into the Open VPX ecosystem. Grandin also explores what military applications would be best suited for the new standard and how it could potentially work within the Sensor Open Systems Architecture (SOSA) Technical Standard, of which version 1.0 is expected to be completed this year.
Capturing data from ultra-wide band radar systems - Podcast
February 25, 2021Ultra-wide band radar systems are generating unprecedented amounts of data and require storage systems that can handle the high bandwidth and what can seem like information overload. In this podcast, Chris Tojeira, Recording Systems Director at Pentek discusses the Department of Defense's current ultrawideband radar requirements, how to capture signal data, PCI Express, FPGA advantages, and latency issues. He also takes a look at the future for signal recording and shares an old Commodore 64 story.
PODCAST: Counter-UAV advancements pull from commercial innovation to dominate the spectrum - Podcast
October 15, 2020Counter-Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) systems are pivotal players on the electromagnetic spectrum. In this podcast, Emma Helfrich, guest host and associate editor with Military Embedded Systems, talks with Ryan Hurt, vice president of business development at Liteye Systems, to discuss the C-UAV systems that equip the U.S. Army. Helfrich and Hurt cover the Electronic Warfare (EW) capabilities, like radar and sensors, that power C-UAV systems and further the idea that innovation is dependent on data processing and intelligent algorithms to reduce the sensor-to-shooter timeline and protect the Army from aerial threats.
PODCAST: Navigating GPS-denied environments and the perfect magnetic sensor - Podcast
October 13, 2020Modern battlefields present many complex challenges for Army soldiers, one of which is how to operate in GPS-denied environment. In this podcast, George Hsu, CTO, founder, and board member of PNI Sensor Corp., discusses the challenges in designing sensor solutions for warfighters in these environments like sensor stabilization for moving soldiers and power efficiencies as wel as how PNI leverages artificial intelligence (AI) for their sensor designs. He also describes the perfect magnetic sensor — that will provide longitude and latitude in any environment.
Avionics
A.I.
Comms
Radar/EW
Unmanned
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C-390 Millennium selected by Lithuania as next military transport aircraft
June 19, 2025
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Mission-training aircraft unveiled by Pilatus at Paris Air Show
June 19, 2025
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AdaCore and CodeSecure agree to merger
June 18, 2025
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Aeromedical evacuation system to be integrated onto Royal Netherlands Air Force C-390 aircraft
June 18, 2025
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Spectrum Control Introduces Connector Express Configurable Filtered Circular Connector that Reduces Size and Shortens Lead Times by 50%
June 20, 2025
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Singapore to test crewed-uncrewed teaming with H225M helicopter and Flexrotor UAS
June 19, 2025
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AeroVironment partners with UAS Denmark to support European drone testing and training
June 19, 2025
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54 eVTOL aircraft for U.S. and Brazil ordered from Eve Air Mobility
June 19, 2025
Radar/EW
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PRODUCT OF THE WEEK: Vicor's SOSA Aligned Power Supply
June 17, 2025
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Qorvo introduces new S-Band switched filter bank modules at IMS 2025
June 17, 2025
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RAF Typhoon's future radar gets more funding
June 16, 2025
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EW market to reach $34.1 billion by 2031, study predicts
June 16, 2025
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NSA approves Persistent Systems Wave Relay for classified information transfers
June 09, 2025
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Moving beyond the label: How U.S. defense can successfully adapt the Cyber Trust Mark Program
May 08, 2025
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Cubic launches DTECH Fusion Trust platform at SOF Week 2025
May 05, 2025
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Cybersecurity software firm Star Lab acquired by Mercury Systems
May 02, 2025