Military Embedded Systems

WASHINGTON. The U.S. Air Force (USAF) made progress on the joint U.S.-Australia effort to develop an air-breathing hypersonic cruise missile, with the USAF issuing round-two contract options to Boeing and Lockheed Martin as the next step of the so-called Southern Cross Integrated Flight Research Experiment (SCIFiRE), and an additional separate contract with Raytheon.

FORT HUACHUCA, Ariz. Raytheon Missiles & Defense reports that it successfully ran its first flight test of an air-launched effects (ALE) unmanned aerial system (UAS) -- based on the Raytheon Coyote uncrewed aircraft system design -- that it says satisfies the U.S. Army’s defined specifications for size, weight and power (SWaP) requirements for the Future Vertical Lift program.

FALLS CHURCH, Va. General Dynamics Information Technology (GDIT, a business unit of General Dynamics) announces a four-year, $136.5 million indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity (ID/IQ) contract to modernize and consolidate existing IT help desks for the U.S. Navy.

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa. Collins Aerospace reports that it has successfully demonstrated advanced communication, mission computing, and sensor technologies to support CJADC2 [Combined Joint All Domain Command and Control] and ABMS [Advanced Battle Management] technologies for the Utah Air National Guard at the Roland R. Wright Air National Guard Base in Salt Lake City. 

AUVSI XPONENTIAL 2021--ATLANTA. Unmanned-vehicle company Drone Nerds is showing its latest unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) technology at AUVSI Xponential -- held August 16-19 in Atlanta -- which includes the Parrot ANAFI Ai; Drone Nerds states that the UAV is the first 4G LTE-connected robotic drone.

NORTHBROOK, Ill. The deployment of small, reliable, and sophisticated C4ISR [command, control, communications, computers, intelliegence, surveillance, and reconnaissance] systems in a wide range of applications has increased their demand across the globe, a trend that will continue for at least the next few years, according to a new report from MarketsandMarkets, "C4ISR Market - Forecast to 2026."

AUVSI XPONENTIAL 2021--ATLANTA. Honeywell's Small UAV [unmanned aerial vehicle] satellite communications (SATCOM) system has been selected by small aircraft designer and manufacturer Pipistrel, as part of the new outfitting for three of Pipistrel'snew aircraft, including the fixed-wing Surveyor and both unmanned Nuuva platforms, the V300 and smaller V20.    

AUVSI XPONENTIAL 2021--ATLANTA. MKS Instruments, has announced the availability of the Ophir LightIR 16-180mm MWIR f/3.6 continuous zoom lens, the newest member of the LightIR family of lightweight, long-range, motorized continuous zoom lenses that can be optimized for use on small unmanned aerial systems (UASs), at the AUVSI Xponential event, held August 16-19 in Atlanta. 

ANDOVER, Mass. Mercury Systems has garnered an order worth $17 million order from the U.S. Naval Air Warfare Center’s Aircraft Division (NAWC-AD) for Advanced Data Transfer Systems (ADTS) intended for deployment across the Navy's multiple rotary-wing and tilt-rotor platforms.

LONDON. Adoption of integrated sonar suites on technologically advanced surface ships and submarines is expected to propel the sonar segment to garner the largest share (49%) of global spending on underwater warfare systems (UWS) over the next decade, according to a recent study from GlobalData.

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. Sensors placed in space that are able to track and detect advanced cruise missiles -- particularly hypersonic missiles -- should be a priority for the U.S. Department of Defense, stated Gen John Hyten, Vice Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, during an August 11 speech at the Space and Missile Defense Symposium held in Hunstville, Alabama. 

VENTURA, Calif. JetPack Aviation announced that its Speeder VTOL [vertical takeoff and landing] platform was chosen by the AFWERX High Speed VTOL (HSVTOL) Concept Challenge -- launched in partnership with the U.S. Air Force (USAF) and U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) -- which is aimed at fielding research, development, and testing, and procurement contracts to produce aircraft for the USAF.

SAN ANTONIO, Texas. Research and development organization Southwest Research Institute (SwRI) won an indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity (ID/IQ) contract valued at up to $34 million over five years to support the U.S. Army Ground Vehicle Systems Center in the area of R&D of autonomous and robotic vehicles.

BOSTON, Mass. Northeastern University has been designated as a "Spectrum Innovation Zone" by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), a status that will give researchers there new opportunities to build and test the next generation of 5G, 6G, and other wireless technologies. Northeastern is only the fourth such spectrum center in the U.S. 

FALLS CHURCH, Va. and BOULDER, Colo. A new sensor payload developed by Northrop Grumman and Ball Aerospace that is intended to equip satellites that detect missile launches has passed a critical design review.

AMSTERDAM. The number of advanced targeting pod (TGP) systems has increased over the last decade as defense departments around the globe aim to build their armed forces lighter, faster, and ready to deploy, according to a new report from Market Forecast, "Global Targeting Pods -- Market and Technology Forecast to 2028."

SYRACUSE, New York. Saab has won a $32.24 million contract with the U.S. Navy to implement its MK 9 Tracker Illuminator System Replacement Continuous Wave Tracking Illuminator that is aimed at upgrading the Raytheon MK 57 NATO Seasparrow surface-to-air missile system on board aircraft carriers and amphibious assault ships. 

Each issue, the editorial staff of Military Embedded Systems will highlight a different charitable organization that benefits the military, veterans, and their families. We are honored to cover the technology that protects those who protect us every day.

The Texas A&M University – founded in 1876 in Brazos County, Texas, to concentrate on the teaching of agriculture and mechanical arts (the “A” and “M” in the university’s name) – continues its push for innovation with recent program launches in tandem with the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD).

SEA-AIR-SPACE MARITIME EXPOSITION. Crystal Group, together with collaboration partner Matrox Video, has announced it will offer the industry’s first ruggedized video appliances (RVA) that combine critical, real-time 4K video streaming, recording, extension, and storage that hew to strict military and industrial standards.