August 23, 2018 | International, Land

Army EOD soldiers will soon get a whole new kit — and new robots

BETHESDA, Md. — The explosive ordnance disposal community has played a key role in operations in recent wars, and that role will only grow as the Pentagon shifts its focus to major combat operations against near-peer threats.

With that growing role, the equipment those EOD technicians carry with them will change, too.

At the National Defense Industrial Association's annual Global EOD Symposium recently, multiple speakers focused on how the community has spent the past two decades primarily working the improvised explosive device threat. But they cautioned that old and new threats will emerge in major combat.

Repeated throughout their comments was the admonition that the community must be “full EOD, not just IED.”

To meet that mission, the Army is turning to technology to help fill the gaps.

Pat McGrath, chief of the materiel development branch for Army Training and Doctrine Command's EOD concerns, laid out some of the new items in the works.

Army EOD teams will soon have three aerial drones, soldier-borne sensors, tiny “nano” helicopter drones and tethered Unmanned Aerial Sensors at their disposal.

The enhanced render safe kit will also include binocular night vision devices, lightweight dismounted X-ray machines, lightweight electronic countermeasures, and lightweight mobile detectors for radiation and chemicals.

The Army needs 176 kits and expects to have initial operational capability by 2021, McGrath said.

Full article: https://www.armytimes.com/news/your-army/2018/08/22/army-eod-soldiers-will-soon-get-a-whole-new-kit-and-new-robots

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October 7, 2020 | International, Naval, C4ISR, Security

DoD Taps Sea Machines for Autonomous VTOL Replenishment Vessels
Seapower Staff BOSTON — Sea Machines Robotics, a Boston-based developer of autonomous command and control systems for surface vessels, has been awarded a multi-year Other Transaction agreement by the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD)'s Defense Innovation Unit (DIU), the company announced in an Oct. 5 release. The primary purpose of the agreement is to initiate a prototype that will enable commercial ocean-service barges as autonomous Forward Arming and Refueling Point (FARP) units for an Amphibious Maritime Projection Platform (AMPP). Under this OT agreement, Sea Machines will engineer, build and demonstrate ready-to-deploy system kits that enable autonomous, self-propelled operation of opportunistically available barges to land and replenish military aircraft. The kits will include Sea Machines' SM300 autonomous-command and control systems, barge propulsion, sensing, positioning, communications and refueling equipment, as well as items required for global deployment. Each modular kit will meet U.S. Navy criteria and will be in compliance with classifications and regulations from the DoD's aviation bodies. The contract includes a concept demonstration phase, with an option for following phases to deploy SM300 Operational Kits. The live concept demonstration is scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2020, in Washington state, for which Sea Machines has teamed with FOSS Maritime, a leading maritime transportation and logistics provider based in Seattle. FOSS will provide naval architecture, support engineering and operations management to outfit a remotely commanded deck barge to land helicopters and host a scaled fueling station for aircraft, surface vessels and shore replenishment. Using the SM300, shoreside operators will have remote situational awareness and will be able to demonstrate the capabilities of remote command and control of the vessel, her operating systems and flight deck. Sea Machines is the prime contractor for the multi-year contract and is working closely alongside FOSS Maritime and other significant industry leaders, including Huntington Ingalls, America's largest military shipbuilding company and a provider of professional services, based in Newport News, Virginia, and Bell Flight, a producer of commercial and military, vertical-lift aircraft, based in Fort Worth, Texas, to ensure a successful demonstration. “The AMPP autonomous replenishment systems will solve critical logistics challenges of expeditionary missions. We are pleased to enable this innovative capability, which will increase the effectiveness and flexibility for the U.S. military,” said Sea Machines' Phil Bourque, director, sales. “With Sea Machines systems already working off the waters of four continents, this project is well suited for us and one that we look forward to delivering on for the U.S. government.” “Foss is excited about this new opportunity with Sea Machines.This contract has led to discussions with Sea Machines in a number of other areas where their expertise can help Foss, including bringing more technology to our tug fleet. What they are doing in automation is very interesting and that technology could help our mariners and our vessels safety,” said FOSS's Will Roberts, chief operating officer. DIU's work is part of the DoD's Resilient Expeditionary Agile Littoral Logistics (REALL) Joint Capability Technology Demonstration (JCTD) project. Funded by the Office of the Secretary of Defense Research & Engineering, the JCTD Program addresses Combatant Command and Joint warfighting gaps through prototyping and demonstration of innovative and game-changing technologies. The following offices are involved with defining performance requirements and developing capabilities for REALL: U.S. Central Command, U.S. Transportation Command, U.S. Marine Corps Warfighting Laboratory, Naval Facilities Engineering and Expeditionary Warfare Center, Army Engineer Research and Development Center, and the Naval Aviation Warfare Center – Lakehurst. https://seapowermagazine.org/dod-taps-sea-machines-for-autonomous-vtol-replenishment-vessels/
September 30, 2019 | International, Naval, Land

BAE awarded $50.3M for nuclear missile work for U.S., Britain
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January 31, 2020 | International, Aerospace

Stealthy UAS Unveiled For USAF Target, Loyal Wingman Needs
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