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.
Defense Systems
Encryption of Predator video feeds will take time
It could take as long as five years before video feeds from Predator and Reaper drones are fully encrypted and U.S. forces are able to keep enemy forces from intercepting the information, reports Ellen Nakashima in the Washington Post.
Defense Systems
DOD C4ISR programs to get boost
CACI International Inc. will provide a range of technological support services to the Defense Department under a two-year, $24 million task order.
Defense Systems
Military Predator video intercepted by Iraqis
Iraqi insurgents have used inexpensive off-the-shelf software to intercept video feeds from Predator unmanned aerial vehicles during the past year, the Wall Street Journal reports.
Defense Systems
Gorgon Stare to accompany Afghanistan surge
The Air Force plans to deploy the new Gorgon Stare sensor to Afghanistan in spring 2010 to enhance surveillance of insurgent activities and give U.S. forces a boost during anticipated spring offensives, reports Colin Clark at DOD Buzz.
Defense Systems
Airborne, maritime joint network passes key milestone
The component of the Joint Tactical Radio System intended for airborne and maritime platforms and installations has successfully completed a critical design review that capped more than six months of system and subsystem assessments.
Defense Systems
Air Force acknowledges stealth UAV
Air Force officials confirmed the existence of an unmanned aerial vehicle Dec. 4 that incorporates stealth design characteristics and has been sighted in Afghanistan, report David Fulghum and Bill Sweetman in Aviation Week’s 'Ares' blog.
Defense Systems
Navy funds autonomous submarine for coastal surveillance
The Navy is funding the development of an autonomous submarine that gathers military intelligence information in coastal waters and harbors by deploying and operating small unmanned underwater vehicles, reports John Keller at Military & Aerospace Electronics.
Defense Systems
Pair teams on naval sonar technologies
General Dynamics Canada and Marport C-Tech Ltd. have signed a memorandum of understanding that lays the foundation for collaboration on a line of new naval sonar products.
Defense Systems
Pros and cons of video from space
U.S. intelligence specialists and military officials currently are assessing a European-pioneered technology that would offer yet another way to monitor battlefields and areas of potential conflict around the globe, reports Ben Iannotta at Defense News.
Defense Systems
Politics wreak havoc on DOD's funding priorities
This year’s appropriations bill, perhaps more than usual, seemed to pit the military’s need to better provide for its warfighters against the pressures faced by lawmakers to protect jobs.
Defense Systems
Next-gen biometric ID system helps combat terrorism
Gary Winkler, program executive officer of the Army's Program Executive Office for Enterprise Information Systems, answers the question: What was the most important C4ISR development of the past year and why.
Defense Systems