Defense Systems
Solar-powered drone would perform high-altitude missions
Boeing will develop and test a high-altitude unmanned aerial vehicle fueled by solar and electric power for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency as part of Phase 2 of the Vulture demonstration program, company officials said.
Defense Systems
Mobile relay system takes air combat training to sea
New mobile technology for the Navy and Marine Corps makes the TCTS air combat training system "rangeless," allowing for advanced training over water.
Defense Systems
Predators deliver smaller munitions to target
Predator unmanned aerial vehicles are being outfitted with smaller munitions to avoid collateral damage, reports John Barry in a Newsweek blog.
Defense Systems
Wideband satellites transform battlefield communications
The WGS satellite constellation gives battlefield commanders broader coverage and better access to intelligence data.
Defense Systems
Army readies missile-equipped drones for Afghanistan
The Army plans to deploy four versions of the Grey Eagle unmanned aircraft system outfitted with weapons to Afghanistan this fall in the wake of successful tests of the vehicle using Hellfire missiles, reports J.D. Leipold at Army News Service.
Defense Systems
Army gets out front on warfighter communications and intelligence
Maj. Gen. Randolph Strong, commander of the Army Communications-Electronics Command’s Life Cycle Management Command, discusses improved coordination among Army C4ISR organizations, the reset of communications and C4ISR hardware, and the need for interoperability between existing and new systems.
Defense Systems
DARPA alters the speed of light
Experimental optical chip uses quantum mechanics to slow light down for faster processing.
Defense Systems
Air Force buys new tools for intelligence workstations
Lockheed Martin Corp. will upgrade workstations for the Air Force’s Distributed Common Ground System under a new task order.
Defense Systems
Do UAVs really need HD cameras?
Industry seems to have solved the problem of how to outfit unmanned aerial vehicles with high-definition video, but the big question is what specific missions require such video clarity, reports Michael Hoffman at Defense News.
Defense Systems
Special operations forces to get manpack satcom systems
The U.S. Special Operations Command has awarded a five-year, $170 million contract to a unit of L-3 Communications for portable satellite communications systems that will give special operations forces high-speed transmission capacity for voice and data communications.
Defense Systems
Inmarsat addresses expanding military broadband needs
Inmarsat plans to construct a substantially faster broadband service in response to the needs of government and other customers, reports Michael A. Taverna at Aviation Week.
Defense Systems
New sensors hunt for fertilizer bombs in Afghanistan
A new military program under way in Afghanistan seeks to track fertilizer-based improvised explosive devices by sniffing them out from the air, reports Spencer Ackerman at Wired's Danger Room blog.
Defense Systems
Multisource intelligence empowers battlefield superiority
Dan Allen, of Northrop Grumman Information Systems, makes the case for why multisource intelligence solutions, which include sensors and fused data, should be aligned with winning the war, not just high-value targets.
Defense Systems
The making of a stealth UAV
The next-generation of unmanned aerial vehicles will have stealth attributes and other capabilities that would give them a higher chance of survivability against ground and air threats on long-range strike missions, reports Colin Clark at DOD Buzz.
Defense Systems
The shift to net-enabled warfare
Defense Systems adopts a more strategically targeted tagline beginning this month, as the defense magazine for knowledge technologies and net-enabled warfare rather than net-centric warfare.
Defense Systems
Advanced radio key to on-the-move comms
The Warfighter Information Network-Tactical program is developing technology that would provide backup on-the-move communications support through unmanned aerial systems. The JC4ISR radio under development is a key component of that effort.
Defense Systems
Boeing gains C4ISR systems specialist with Argon ST purchase
Boeing Co. has completed its $775 million acquisition of Argon ST Inc., a Fairfax, Va., developer of Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance systems as well as combat systems.
Defense Systems
Navy readies RQ-4 Global Hawk for maritime demo
Northrop Grumman Corp. will continue testing a maritime version of the Global Hawk unmanned aircraft system under a $29.7 million Navy contract.
Defense Systems
DOD moves to shift $3.9B to pressing wartime needs
Defense Department planners want to shift a significant chunk of funding away from programs that are struggling or of low priority to more pressing needs to support the war effort in Afghanistan, reports Kate Brannan at Defense News.
Defense Systems