November 13, 2020 | International, Naval
Posted on November 12, 2020 by Seapower Staff
MCLEAN, Va. — BAE Systems has been awarded contracts worth more than $30 million to produce and integrate a mission-critical information warfare platform for U.S Navy vessels to help Sailors execute their missions and remain connected while at sea, the company said in a Nov. 11 release.
The U.S Navy has issued two task orders for Consolidated Afloat Network Enterprise Services (CANES) for two Arleigh Burke-class destroyers, a Virginia-class submarine, and two Blue Ridge-class command ships.
“These two task orders permit us to continue our high-quality, high volume production and integration service, assembling and delivering CANES to the Navy safely and affordably,” said Mark Keeler, vice president and general manager of BAE Systems' Integrated Defense Solutions business. “CANES takes advantage of commercial-off-the-shelf insertion, which brings operational agility to the warfighter and savings to the U.S. Navy.”
Under the first task order from the Naval Information Warfare Systems Command (NAVWAR) San Diego, BAE Systems will produce fully integrated CANES racks for two command ships, which are expected to be completed by February 2022. Under the second task order, the company will produce fully integrated CANES racks for two destroyers and a submarine, which are expected to be completed by March 2022. Work will be performed at BAE Systems' 281,000 square-foot state-of-the-art production facility in Summerville, South Carolina.
CANES consolidates and enhances five existing legacy network programs and it serves as a single support framework for all command, control, communications, computers, and intelligence (C4I) applications that require dedicated infrastructure to operate.
March 18, 2021 | International, Aerospace
A company wants to prepare more Air Force fighter pilots to dogfight Chinese and Russian opponents by using artificial intelligence and augmented reality.
October 17, 2019 | International, Land
Jen DiMascio In its attempt to ensure that soldiers have access to GPS-like information, even when access to those U.S. Air Force satellites may be compromised, the U.S. Army is in the process of fielding an alternative system on certain ground vehicles. The Army began fielding the first iteration of the Mounted Assured Positioning, Navigation and Timing System (MAPS), an anti-jam GPS alternative, on General Dynamics Stryker vehicles in the 2nd Cavalry Regiment this year. The service will field 300 such systems to the 2nd Cav this year, according to Willie Nelson, director of the Army's Assured Positioning, Navigation and Timing Cross Functional Team. Thousands are supposed to be installed into vehicles in U.S. European Command by 2028. On Oct. 15, the U.S. Army announced it had chosen Collins Aerospace to provide a next-generation MAPS for manned ground vehicles. Collins will make MAPS Gen II, systems that will be evaluated for a year and potentially be fielded to 8,000 additional vehicles. The Collins Aerospace system combines the NavHub-100 navigation system and Digital GPS Anti-jam Receiver-100. The system adds a military code capability and modernized signal tracking to improve reliability and integrity, Collins says. The MAPS program is part of the U.S. Army's focus on modernization. But it is also a response to a request from commanders in Europe and Korea, according to Gen. John Murray, commander of Army Futures Command. The Army maintains that its effort to look for alternate means of positioning, navigation and timing is aligned with the U.S. Air Force's plans for GPS satellites. Asked about the threat from Russia, Brig Gen. Robert Collins, program executive officer for intelligence, electronic warfare and sensors, said the U.S. needs confidence not just in the ability of U.S. assets to withstand jamming attacks but to be able to fend off spoofing efforts as well. “The electromagnetic spectrum is becoming contested and people are operating in that space,” Collins said. “We recognize that our traditional GPS today is not where we need it to be from a survivability perspective. So we have looked at how to make it more hardened.” Along with those efforts, the Army has also planned an industry day for Oct. 29-31, as it seeks new inertial measurement unit and timing technologies. https://aviationweek.com/defense/us-army-pursues-alternatives-gps
March 14, 2024 | International, Land
RVS 2.0 will provide KC-46 boom operators a vastly improved 4k, 3D image of aircraft refueling — but its schedule has slid repeatedly.