June 5, 2023 | International, C4ISR
Q&A: Maxar execs discuss US Army simulation, Project Maven
C4ISRNET reporters interviewed a pair of Maxar Technologies leaders on the sidelines of the GEOINT Symposium in St. Louis.
October 10, 2018 | International, Aerospace
Army seeks new tactical unmanned aircraft for demo, testing in brigade combat teams
By: Jen Judson
WASHINGTON — The Army is calling for ready-to-fly future tactical unmanned aircraft systems that it can demonstrate with a select group of brigade combat teams in an effort to ultimately replace its Shadow UAS with something that better meets the needs of units in the field, according to Brig. Gen. Thomas Todd, the program executive officer for Army Aviation.
The service dropped a solicitation to industry on Sept. 28 stating its desire to procure up to two non-developmental UAS that would fit either into the category of 21- to 55-pound drones or weigh under 1,320 pounds (UAS group 2 or 3), according to the document posted to the Federal Business Opportunities website.
The Army has been looking for UAS that could operate independently from a runway and perform better in austere conditions than its current system at the tactical level.
Earlier this year, the outgoing director of Army aviation in the Army's Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for operations, planning and training, told Defense News that the Army sees a potential “quick win” when it comes to replacing Shadow.
And the Army's Future Vertical Lift Cross-Functional Team — part of Army Futures Command — has already begun examining the possibility of new capabilities for both manned and unmanned future flight.
The Army has acknowledged there are likely quite a few ready-to-go options when it comes to a new tactical UAS.
So, it will take the approach of “buy, try, decide” to get after the possible replacement of Shadow, Todd told Defense News in an interview shortly after the solicitation was released.
The plan is to assess what is offered and choose three vendors to supply 12 UAS to six BCTs that will evaluate them for a period of time in realistic environments. Each BCT will be given two UAS from each of the three chosen vendors, Todd said.
On the same subject
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July 6, 2020 | International, Aerospace
La commande militaire, planche de salut de la filière aéronautique
Sur Europe 1, le chroniqueur économique Axel de Tarlé estime que la récente commande de munitions à Thales par l'armée australienne est une bonne nouvelle pour l'ensemble de la filière aéronautique qui travaille de fait à la fois pour le civil et le militaire, comme le montre l'exemple des Rafale de Dassault Aviation et de l'Eurofighter d'Airbus. « Ces commandes militaires vont permettre à la filière de garder nos compétences, nos ingénieurs, et donc, l'excellence de cette filière », conclut Axel de Tarlé en rappelant que l'aéronautique représente le plus gros poste excédentaire du commerce extérieur français en 2019. Europe 1 du 30 juin 2020
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April 30, 2020 | International, Aerospace
The Army is moving forward with its electronic warfare pod
Andrew Eversden The Army has moved the Lockheed Martin-made electronic warfare pod to the build and evaluation phase of the operational system, as it bolsters its electronic warfare capabilities. The second phase agreement is worth nearly $75 million, according to the Consortium Management Group's Jan. 30 award listing, which made the award on behalf of the Army. Lockheed Martin's electronic warfare pod, known as the “Air Large” piece of the Army's Multi-Function Electronic Warfare family of systems program, is mounted on an MQ-1C Gray Eagle drone. It provides commanders with jamming capabilities as well as electronic support, or sensing of the electromagnetic spectrum. The defense contractor developed a prototype as part of the first phase of the project it won in January 2019 under an $18 million contact. “Our internal research & development programs have resulted in first-of-its-kind converged technologies that are at the forefront of realizing our customers' urgent need and vision for combined cyber and electronic warfare (EW) capability and dominance,” Deon Viergutz, vice president of Lockheed's Spectrum Convergence division, said in a statement. The company has been testing the pod as part of the Army's Cyber Blitz exercise. Army officials plan to have the capability deployed to combat aviation brigades in 2022. The pods are expected to play a critical role on the battlefield with near-peer adversaries, such as Russia and China. “The air pod solutions are very important, especially when you start going against a near-peer competitor. The main reason why is because you start now dealing with more of an [electronic intelligence] ELINT threat than with a strictly commercial threat,” Col. Kevin Finch, program manager for electronic warfare and cyber within Program Executive Office Intelligence, Electronic Warfare and Sensors, told C4ISRNET in October last year. https://www.c4isrnet.com/battlefield-tech/c2-comms/2020/04/29/the-army-is-moving-forward-with-its-electronic-warfare-pod