DoD SBIR/STTR Component BAA Open: Space Development Agency (SDA) HQ085021S0001

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  June 3, 2020 | International, Aerospace, C4ISR

  Royal Air Force to enhance tactical air command and control capabilities on the ground through Collins Aerospace FasTAK™ Gateway

  Cedar Rapids, Iowa, June 1, 2020 – The Royal Air Force (RAF) has selected the Collins Aerospace Systems FasTAK™ Gateway to advance its tactical data link capabilities on the ground as part of the RAF's Air Support Operations Squadron Digital Command and Control experimentation program. The FasTAK Gateway makes it possible to share a tactical view to all connected air, ground and maritime units. Collins Aerospace is a unit of Raytheon Technologies Corp. (NYSE: RTX). “The FasTAK Gateway provides an affordable, complete Link 16 data link picture to tactical ground users and its modular design and software-driven integration approach enables Collins to reconfigure the system to add new data links in the future,” said Heather Robertson, vice president and general manager, Integrated Solutions for Collins Aerospace. The FasTAK Gateway features the Collins Aerospace TacNet™ Tactical Radio Link 16 terminal along with data link processor software, running on mainstream laptop hardware, that manages the data links, radio frequencies and data forwarding for the equipment in a lightweight, transportable container. The ruggedized system transitions from transport to operational in 20 minutes. It delivers certified Link 16, Variable Message Format (VMF), Situational Awareness Data-Link (SADL) and Cursor on Target (CoT) communications with growth to integrate with a future all-domain operational environment. For more than 20 years, Collins Aerospace has provided data link and integrated system solutions for the U.S., NATO and coalition forces that have improved communication and speed for successful tactical operations. About Collins Aerospace Collins Aerospace Systems is a leader in technologically advanced and intelligent solutions for the global aerospace and defense industry. Collins Aerospace has the capabilities, comprehensive portfolio and expertise to solve customers' toughest challenges and to meet the demands of a rapidly evolving global market. With 2019 net sales of approximately $26 billion, the business has 78,000 employees across more than 300 locations globally. It is one of the four businesses that form Raytheon Technologies. About Raytheon Technologies Raytheon Technologies Corporation is an aerospace and defense company that provides advanced systems and services for commercial, military and government customers worldwide. With 195,000 employees and four industry-leading businesses ― Collins Aerospace Systems, Pratt & Whitney, Raytheon Intelligence & Space and Raytheon Missiles & Defense ― the company delivers solutions that push the boundaries in avionics, cybersecurity, directed energy, electric propulsion, hypersonics, and quantum physics. The company, formed in 2020 through the combination of Raytheon Company and the United Technologies Corporation aerospace businesses, is headquartered in Waltham, Massachusetts. MEDIA CONTACT Robert Edilson Mission Systems Email Robert Edilson View source version on Collins Aerospace Systems: https://www.collinsaerospace.com/newsroom/News/2020/06/Royal-Air-Force-enhance-tactical-air-command-control-capabilities-on-ground-Collins-FasTAK-gateway

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  April 9, 2018 | International, C4ISR

  Here’s what the Army wants in future radios

  By: Mark Pomerleau Advancements in electronics and tactics by high-end adversaries are forcing the Army to change the way it revamps and optimizes its communications network against current and future threats. The problem: adversaries have become more proficient and precise in the sensing and jamming of signals. “What we're looking for in terms of resilience in the future is not only making individual links more anti-jam and resilient, resistant to threats, but also having the ability to use multiple paths if one goes down,” Joe Welch, chief engineer at Program Executive Office Command, Control, Communications Tactical (C3T), told reporters during a network demo at Fort Myer in early March. “Your phones work this way between 4G and Wi-Fi and that's seamless to you. That's kind of the target of what we're intending to provide with next-generation transport for the Army's tactical network.” Members of industry are now looking to develop radios to these specifications outlined by the Army. “We have an extensive library of waveforms — 51, 52 waveforms that we can bring to bear — that we can say look we can use this waveform to give you more resilience with this capability,” Jeff Kroon, director of product management at Harris, told C4ISRNET during an interview at the AUSA Global Force Symposium in Huntsville, Alabama, in March. “Down the road, we need to talk about resilience and what's going on with the near-peer threats.” Next-generation systems, leaders believe, will be able to provide this necessary flexibility. “The radios that we're looking at buying now — the manpack and the two-channel leader radios — have shown themselves to be able to run a pretty wide range of waveforms and we think it postures us to run some changes to those waveforms in the future as we look at even more advanced waveforms,” Maj. Gen. David Bassett, program executive officer of C3T, told reporters at Fort Myer. While jammers have become more powerful and targeted in recent years, officials contend the entire spectrum can't be interrupted at once. The Army realizes links won't be jam-proof, Bassett told reporters at Fort Myer, so it is looking at how they can be either more jam-resistant or able to switch seamlessly across portions of the spectrum that are not being jammed. Kroon noted that one of the big developments within the radio community down the road will be radios that seamlessly switch frequencies or waveforms without direct user input. “I think, as we move forward, we'll start to have more cognitive capabilities that will allow [the radio] to adapt automatically, and keep the user focused on their own job and let the radio handle the rest,” he said. In addition to multiwaveform and a large range of spectrum coverage, Kroon said the Army is also really looking for multifunction capabilities within radios. Radios also have to have passive sensing capabilities to be able to understand the signals in the environment and provide some level of situational awareness of the spectrum environment. “They have to have visibility into what's going on around them ... not just for [electronic warfare] purposes but sometime just knowing what's going on in the spectrum around you as a planner is really important,” Kroon said. “What's actually going on out there, I don't know I was told this frequency was clear, how do I really know. Having a radio come back and say look what we hit ... it is actually very useful.” https://www.c4isrnet.com/show-reporter/global-force-symposium/2018/04/06/heres-what-the-army-wants-in-future-radios/

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  December 14, 2022 | International, Aerospace

  Germany clinches $8 billion purchase of 35 F-35 aircraft from the US

  Manufacturer Lockheed Martin is now set to seek local industry partners to help maintain the fleet later — if the base prep work gets done in time.