Défense : Merkel et Macron trouvent un accord pour renforcer leur coopération

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  February 2, 2021 | International, Naval, Land

  BAE Systems to Sustain Air Traffic Control Systems Under $65.7M Navy Contract

  MCLEAN, Virginia – The U.S. Navy selected BAE Systems for a five-year $65.7 million single-award indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity contract for air traffic control (ATC) platform sustainment and engineering services, the company said in a Feb. 1 release. BAE Systems will continue to use its engineering, technical, and operational expertise to develop, produce, equip, test, evaluate, sustain, and update key expeditionary ATC aviation systems for the Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division's Webster Outlying Field. “With this win, BAE Systems will provide expeditionary forces with the capability to quickly establish an airfield with the radar and communications systems to safely recover and launch aircraft,” said Lisa Hand, vice president and general manager of BAE Systems' Integrated Defense Solutions business. “We serve as the automation expert and technical coordinator, responsible for development and improvement of real-time ATC computer systems. Our radar technicians deploy around the world to support the warfighter; their work is resulting in quicker turnover to the end user, improved hardware reliability, and more accurate installation and precision in the field.” This new contract continues BAE Systems' more than a decade of supporting critical work on key systems, including the Standard Terminal Automation Replacement System (STARS); Air Traffic Navigation, Integration, and Coordination System (ATNAVICS); Airfield Mobile Tactical Air Navigation System (AMTAC); and ATNAVICS Data Link System (ADLS). Under the contract, the company will develop and maintain operational software and supporting test beds, field change programs, and supplies for ATC systems. These systems are integral ATC tools that enhance platform flight safety, especially when end users are operating in new or rough terrain airfields with no existing military base. https://seapowermagazine.org/bae-systems-to-sustain-air-traffic-control-systems-under-65-7m-navy-contract

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  November 2, 2020 | International, Aerospace

  USAF issues RFI for directed energy C-UAS technologies

  by Pat Host The US Air Force (USAF) is requesting information from industry about directed energy (DE) capabilities for counter-unmanned aerial system (C-UAS) technologies. The Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Architecture and Integration Directorate (AFLCMC/XA) seeks to better characterise the technological, manufacturing, and performance capabilities of the industrial base to develop and produce upgrades to DE prototypes and related C-UAS subsystems. The directorate will use this information to inform its trade space analysis of solutions for engagement and mission level modelling and simulation (M&S), as well as programme cost estimates for potential future technical maturation of DE C-UAS systems. The USAF wants to research the industrial base for C-UAS capabilities related to fixed-site Air Base Air Defense (ABAD) against potential Group 1 and 2 UAS threats, which weigh 25 kg or less. These threats may have characteristics such as small size; low radar cross sections; low infrared (IR) or radio frequency (RF) signatures, or no RF signatures at all; the ability to hover; and low-altitude flight capabilities, which may render them difficult to detect and defeat. Additionally, these UASs are typically either controlled remotely from a ground control station (GCS) or can fly pre-programmed routes. Recent and pending procurements of DE C-UAS weapons require even further development and improvement, including connected and related, but not limited to, subsystems such as command-and-control (C2) suites, radar, and electronic warfare (EW). https://www.janes.com/defence-news/news-detail/usaf-issues-rfi-for-directed-energy-c-uas-technologies

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  July 27, 2018 | International, Land

  From shelters to vehicles to rucks, here’s how the Army is changing its command posts

  By: Todd South ABERDEEN PROVING GROUND, Md. — As the Army looks to shrink its battlefield footprint, its researchers and engineers are finding ways to make the nerve center of the battle — command posts — lighter, more capable and easier to set up and tear down. A recently concluded three-year program aimed to do just that, with everything from the shelter devices used to house a command post's gear, to refitting old and new vehicles, to moving an entirely vehicle-mounted communications system off the truck and into the ruck, cutting its weight by two-thirds in the process. These are some of the ways that experts with the U.S. Army Research, Development and Engineering Command's Communications–Electronics Center are finding to make command posts more mobile, resilient and effective against enemies that can quickly target and destroy massed formations. Some of the advancements include the Expeditionary Command Post shelter, a 20-foot box with integrated power outlets, air conditioning, network cabling and video distribution system. It's containerized so that it can be hauled on a truck or sling loaded under a helicopter. A four-soldier team can set up the structure within 30 minutes as the remaining command personnel hook up the computers, radios and other devices inside of the structure. Jim Bell, operations expert with RDECOM, told Army Times that soldiers with the 1st Armored Division's 2nd Brigade Combat Team set up the shelter in those time frames during field exercises. And during an experiment at Fort Hood, Texas, soldiers moved the shelter with a CH-47 Chinook helicopter. An even more mobile option that researchers have put together is the Light-Mobile Command Post, a pull-out table and tent combination that is installed in the back of a Humvee. It includes fixed TV monitors, built-in radio networks, cabling and computers. The system was designed primarily for light infantry units, but a similar configuration has also been installed on tracked command vehicles for armor units. This post can be voice comm and position location tracking operational within 15 minutes and fully operational in 30 minutes. Another Humvee-based answer to mobile command is a reconfigured command and control vehicle dubbed the Command Post Platform–Improved. It has a built-in power and cooling system and spots for two cases containing the capacity for six computer servers, enough to run a brigade's worth of data. The setup includes seven radio nets, HF, UHF, VHF and SATCOM, and links for fiber optic, standard and secret lines of communication. A small but important feature allows the user to power the systems from either vehicle or external power. The system also has a 15-minute power backup so that the servers can continue to run as power is switched. Beyond a structure or tent solution, researchers have also outfitted small and mid-size all-terrain vehicles, specifically the Polaris MRZR. The focus of these is to provide airborne or air assault operations with a full-fledged command post in a smaller package. The smaller MRZR uses a modular system that can be pulled and reinstalled quickly into another vehicle, should the ATV be disabled. And it has an extra-powerful alternator that can produce 120 amps, double the amperage of a Humvee alternator. It also includes a first-ever all-around handset that can plug in and communicate whether the speaker is using radio, Voice over Internet Protocol or VOIP, and other computer-based voice applications. On top of all these advancements, the Army also is working on reducing what was 60 pounds worth of gear that previously was only used during mounted operations into a much lighter, man-portable package. “They were ripping stuff off of vehicles and coming up with a power source,” said Brad McNeilly-Anta, command post consultant for RDECOM. “That wound up with a 60-pound item, and they were jumping with it at the 82nd Airborne.” Not the most convenient package to haul to the ground. The expeditionary Joint Battle Command Platform is a line of sight, two-way transmission that includes a tablet, battery, peripherals and a new fueled power source that allows it to run for more than 24 hours of continuous operations. Adjustments and replacements to the ruggedized computer, power source, transceiver and encryption device have trimmed the weight down to 23 pounds. Experimenters adapted a 1 L methanol power source to run the system but have also successfully experimented with windshield wiper fluid to run the system, McNeilly-Anta said. https://www.armytimes.com/news/your-army/2018/07/26/from-shelters-to-vehicles-to-rucks-heres-how-the-army-is-changing-its-command-posts