Military Embedded Systems

SAN DIEGO. General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems (GA-EMS) has won a contract to supply the U.S. Space Force Electro-Optical Infrared (EO/IR) Weather System (EWS) satellite program under the Space Enterprise Consortium (SpEC).

HAWTHORNE, Calif. Radar antenna maker ThinKom Solutions has won a seven-month contract from the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) to test and evaluate one of the company’s commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) aeronautical phased-array antenna systems as a solution for next-generation communications on U.S. Navy ships, for instance on the DDG-1000 naval destroyer.

LONDON. The worldwide market for military electro-optical/infrared (EO/IR) systems, valued at $12.3 billion in 2020, will undergo an overall compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 2.32% to reach $15.5 billion by 2030, according to a new report from GlobalData, "The Global Electro-Optical/Infrared Systems Market 2020-2030."

INTERNATIONAL MICROWAVE SYMPOSIUM 2020. Altum RF -- an Eindhoven, Netherlands-based supplier of RF to millimeter-wave semiconductor solutions -- is introducing several new products at the virtual IMS 2020 conference that are aimed at use in radar, electronic warfare (EW), and test and measurement applications. 

INTERNATIONAL MICROWAVE SYMPOSIUM 2020. Three new wideband diode products -- the MASW-011111-DIE, the MAAV-011014-DIE and the MAAD-011038-DIE -- aimed at use in applications such as defense, aerospace, passive imaging, radiometry, and satellite communications -- were introduced by semiconductor maker MACOM  at the virtual International Microwave Symposium 2020. 

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. To back that up, our parent company – OpenSystems Media – will make a donation to every group we showcase on this page.

Autonomous vehicles in science fiction and lore – think Asimov’s “Sally” self-driving car, Arthur C. Clarke’s automatic cars, or Knight Rider’s KITT automobile with an attitude – are often able to operate independently and in concert with their humans. The phrase “no longer science fiction, but science fact” gets thrown around so much that it’s lost some of its punch, but in the case of the Army Research Lab’s work on artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled vehicles, it’s an apt observation.

INTERNATIONAL MICROWAVE SYMPOSIUM 2020. Tower Semiconductor (Migdal Haemek, Israel) introduced a new radio frequency (RF) switch technology aimed at the high-performance and 5G RF switch markets at the virtual International Microwave Symposium 2020. 

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa. Collins Aerospace Systems (a unit of Raytheon Technologies) has revealed that it is developing a software-programmable Open Mission Systems (OMS)-Compliant (SPOC) radio for the U.S. Air Force as part of a previously awarded $18.9 million contract. 

FARNBOROUGH, U.K. BAE Systems reports that it has completed its acquisition of the Collins Aerospace Military global positioning aystem (GPS) business from Raytheon Technologies, which was initially announced in January 2020. 

MCLEAN, Va. Engineering firm Alion Science and Technology has won a $75 million task order to support the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center's (AFLCMC) Fighters & Advanced Aircraft Directorate and Bombers Directorate (AFLCMC/WA and AFLCMC/WB, respectively), which provide state-of-the-art technical support for every U.S. Air Force (USAF) fighter and bomber weapon system currently in the USAF inventory supporting U.S. joint services and several foreign military partners. 

FAIRFAX, Va. Image-processing company Logos Technologies has won a $6.7 million contract from the U.S. Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) to develop, deliver, and perform proof-of-concept flight tests on a wide-area motion imagery (WAMI) sensor that will be integrated onto small tactical unmanned aircraft systems (UASs) by the Navy and Marine Corps.

AMSTERDAM. The total global defense budget -- estimated at around $1.8 trillion in 2020 -- is expected to grow to more than $2 trillion by 2028, at a combined annual growth rate of around 3%, according to a study by Market Forecast, "Global Defense Budget Analysis - Forecast to 2028."

CAMBRIDGE, U.K. and VIRGINIA BEACH, Vir. Radar-integration company Cambridge Pixel and maritime-autonomy contractor Spatial Integrated Systems (SIS) report successful trials of a suite of complementary and interdependent systems aiming at increased maritime autonomy and radar integration on U.S. Navy autonomous surface vessel (ASVs).

WASHINGTON. The U.S. Air Force's Digital Engineering Enterprise Office (DEEO) has awarded cybersecurity firm Corsha (Tyson's Corner, Virginia) a $1.5 million Phase II Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) contract for an initiative to deploy the Corsha cloud-native, scalable API Security Platform to secure mission-critical data-in-motion across U.S Air Force platforms.

LOUISVILLE, Colo. Small-satellite company ASTRA [Atmospheric & Space Technology Research Associates] has won a contract from the U.S. Space Force's (USSF) Space and Missile Systems Center (SMC) to develop and demonstrate an electro-optical/infrared (EO/IR) sensor-driven low Earth orbit (LEO)-based cloud characterization solution using commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) technology to support U.S. warfighter operations.

CICERO, N.Y. Technology and engineering firm SRC has won a contract from the U.S. Army -- worth up to $426 million over the next five years -- to supply the Army with mobile systems that use radar, cameras, jamming technology, and other sensors to detect, track, identify, and defeat hostile unmanned aerial systems (UASs) on the battlefield..

BURLINGTON, Ontario. L3Harris Technologies has received an eight-year, $380 million indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity (ID/IQ) contract from the Canadian government to procure additional WESCAM MX-Series electro-optic, infrared airborne technology products and services in support of U.S. Army surveillance and targeting operations around the world.

WASHINGTON The U.S. Air Force has chosen Boeing, Northrop Grumman, General Atomics and Kratos to move forward in the Air Force program to build an AI-enabled drone wingman known as Skyborg; each company will operate under an indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract worth as much as $400 million.

ROME. The operational version of the Leonardo M-346 Fighter Attack aircraft equipped with an optimized variant of Leonardo’s Grifo radar recently completed a successful initial flight, the company reports.