Defense Systems

Industry Recon

Harris provides a digital intercom system for Air Force ground vehicles. Exalt Communications offers a new series of ruggedized microwave radio systems. The National Security Agency certifies that the Sectéra Edge smart phone is compliant with the Secure Communication Interoperability Protocol. And Citrix supplies TCS with an applications accelerator to meet the needs of Army satellite communications.

Defense Systems

UAVs make Paris Air Show debut

A number of key developments concerning intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance were unveiled at the Paris Air Show last week.

Defense Systems

Warfighters get bandwidth boost from wideband satellites

Boeing has transferred control of the second Wideband Global Satcom satellite to the Air Force, company officials said June 15.

Defense Systems

DOD seeks $5.4B for unmanned systems in 2010

The Defense Department is seeking an increase of 18.4 percent, or $870 million, in funding for unmanned systems in fiscal 2010 over the amount spent for such systems in 2009, Defense Update reported.

Defense Systems

Air Force orders radio systems for ground vehicles

Harris Corp. will supply the Air Force with radios and a new digital intercom system for its ground vehicles through a $13.5 million order.

Defense Systems

General Dynamics builds ISR muscle

A General Dynamics unit will acquire Axsys Technologies Inc., a developer of electro-optical and infrared sensors and systems and surveillance and reconnaissance cameras, for $643 million.

Defense Systems

Air Force gets assistance with foreign aerospace intell

Northrop Grumman Corp. will help the Air Force develop intelligence products and technologies for warfighters under a $49.9 million contract.

Defense Systems

Sounding the cyber alarm

An April cyberspace symposium provided a forum for military and private-sector cybersecurity experts to discuss the challenges of cyber deterrence and raise awareness about the severity of threats to military networks.

Defense Systems

Satcom at a crossroads

The Defense Department wants to lock in commercial satellite support to sustain key military applications.

Defense Systems

DOD moves network security to the forefront

In response to persistent attempts to breach Defense Department networks, DOD officials are working in several areas to improve their ability to detect and respond to cyberattacks.

Defense Systems

Industry Recon

Marine Corps Expeditionary Fighting Vehicle gets liquid-cooled enclosures to protect electronics; Nortel’s Optical Multiservice Edge 6500 is approved for mission-critical networks; and the military orders more friend-or-foe digital transponders and towed decoys for aircraft.

Defense Systems

Data Packets

Top defense officials are moving to cancel the FCS program and transfer spinouts to a another program. GAO has warned of problems with GPS satellites. Intell community CIOs report progress on technology integration. The Air Force Personnel Center plans to move its personnel support applications to a software-as-a-service model. And a Marine Corps general urges tailoring C4ISR to small units.

Defense Systems

UAVs may have greener power source in solar cells

By integrating solar cells into the materials used to build unmanned aerial vehicles, the size and weight of the aircraft can be reduced and flight times increased.

Defense Systems

Humans and robots bond on the battlefield

The U.S. military has deployed thousands of robots on modern battlefields where they are now fighting side by side with humans who have grown to depend heavily on them for their assistance, reports LiveScience.com.

Defense Systems

Air Force to get additional communications systems

Boeing Co. has received a follow-on contract to provide the Air Force with 46 additional Combat Track II airborne satellite communications systems.

Defense Systems

Air Force to get nonlethal microwave defense system

Boeing Co. will develop a microwave defense system for the Air Force under a $38 million contract.

Defense Systems

Cyber deterrence dialog raises many questions

A conference hosted in April by the Armed Forces Communications Electronics Association International in Omaha, Neb., provided a forum for military and private-sector cybersecurity experts to discuss the challenges of cyber deterrence.

Defense Systems

Air Force picks site for cyber command

A new, numbered Air Force headquarters dedicated to cyber issues will likely be located at Lackland Air Force Base, Texas, officials said.

Defense Systems

Two up for top information warfare posts

The Obama administration has nominated Maj. Gen. Dennis L. Via to head up Army C4 Systems and Gen. William T. Lord to serve as chief of warfighting integration for the Air Force.

Defense Systems

Air Force award to promote modeling, simulation goals

Alion Science and Technology will provide modeling research and development to the Defense Department under a contract worth an estimated $14.4 million.