Defense Systems

Burroughs to direct Navy PEO C4I

Rear Adm. Jerry K. Burroughs will take over as program executive officer for command, control, communications, computers and intelligence at the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command (SPAWAR) San Diego.

Defense Systems

Future warfare gets funding nod, but little prioritization

The Quadrennial Defense Review and the fiscal 2011 defense budget are in sync on the need for new strategies for programs such as unmanned aerial vehicles. But critics say they still focus too much on current conflicts and not enough on the future.

Defense Systems

Army turns to aerial sensors for battlefield precision

Col. Robert Carpenter, project manager for the Army’s Aerial Common Sensor Program, discusses the program's changing mission and near-term objectives.

Defense Systems

DARPA wants razor sharp optics for satellite surveillance

DARPA is looking to fund a new program that would develop a diffractive optics membrane and related equipment and structures for use in a geosynchronous orbit telescope.

Defense Systems

NETCENTS-2 stalls with new delays

A series of delays has kept the Air Force’s Network Centric Solutions-2 program in a holding pattern. Two of the four request for proposals expected at the end of January have still not emerged, and the remaining RFPs might be months away.

Defense Systems

DOD's reliance on commercial satellites hits new zenith

The military's ad hoc reliance on commercial satellites is prolonging efforts to meet warfighters' urgent demands for bandwidth.

Defense Systems

Army puts ground sensor program on fast track

The Army plans to bring networked sensors to the battlefield as part of the first stage of the Early Infantry Brigade Combat Team program.

Defense Systems

Army wants to soup up Shadow UAV

Army officials are contemplating issuing a solicitation to boost the capabilities of the Shadow RQ-7C unmanned aerial vehicle, reports Kate Brannen at Defense News.

Defense Systems

Navy schedules support for ship modernization

Alion Science and Technology will provide acquisition management support to the Navy for modernization of various ships under a new contract.

Defense Systems

Sensory overload: Military is dealing with a data deluge

Sensors provide invaluable information to the warfighter, but they produce an enormous amount of data.

Defense Systems

Leaner defense budget aims for realistic reform

The Defense Department's $708 billion fiscal 2011 budget request closely adheres to priorities set forth in the 2010 Quadrennial Defense Review.

Defense Systems

Natural selection: Defense contractors must adapt to survive

Contractors respond to shifting defense priorities with acquisitions, new marketing strategies and a never-ending push to get closer to their customers.

Defense Systems

Multi-National Force - Iraq gets tech assistance

A unit of DRS Technologies Inc. will provide technical assistance for command and control functions to the Multi-National Force – Iraq under a $77.8 million contract.

Defense Systems

Electronic warfare goes on the offensive

The effort to build and deploy a aircraft-jamming pod that contains electron pulses, information-scrambling data streams and invasive algorithms will see the pendulum swing toward using electronic warfare in the attack mode.

Defense Systems

Netted Iridium ‘radios’ prove indispensible in battlefield test

A yearlong test in Afghanistan of Netted Iridium phones that offer instant communications via satellite network has proved a major success.

Defense Systems

ManTech buy will increase Army recon work

ManTech International Corp. announced today that it completed the acquisition of Sensor Technologies Inc. on Friday, Jan. 15. The purchase price was $242 million in cash.

Defense Systems

Fire Scout completes video terminal interoperability demo

The Fire Scout vertical unmanned aircraft system has completed a successful demonstration of its ability to synchronize with the Army’s One System Remote Video Terminal.

Defense Systems

Air Force awards support work for Predator, Reaper

The Air Force has awarded General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc. a $266 million contract to provide an array of program and technical support for the MQ-1 Predator and MQ-9 Reaper unmanned aerial systems.

Defense Systems

Next-gen strike aircraft to have intell capabilities

The follow-on aircraft to the now-discarded Next-Generation Bomber is likely to have key intelligence-gathering capabilities and also be able to disrupt enemy networks and sensors, Aviation Week reports.

Defense Systems

Lack of Predator video encryption raises questions

Readers of Defense Systems were stunned that the military failed to encrypt Predator video feeds.