DoD SBIR/STTR Component BAA Pre-Release: Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) HR001121S0007-07

On the same subject

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  July 19, 2019 | International, Aerospace, Other Defence

  New Wright-Pat facility aims to improve cyber defenses of fighters and bombers

  By: Diana Stancy Correll The Air Force has opened a $1.5 million facility designed to improve the fighter and bomber fleets' cyber defenses against adversaries. The new work area will provide a collaborative space for acquisition professionals to learn about current and emerging threats and better protect against them. The Air Force Life Cycle Management Center's Fighters and Bombers Directorate at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio unveiled the facility during a July 9 ribbon cutting ceremony. “We are in an age where we have a very sophisticated threat and an adversary that is really trying to get into all of our systems,” Brig. Gen. Heath Collins, fighters and bombers program executive officer, said in a recent Air Force news release. “This facility is absolutely going to be at the core of how we protect our systems moving forward.” Joseph Bradley, director of the Cyber Resiliency Office for Weapons Systems, which provided funding and expertise for the project, called it a “key component of the CROWS mission” and said it will boost the Air Force's collaboration and ability to tackle challenges. The facility isn't the only one that CROWS intends to help launch. According to the Air Force, CROWS wants to set up similar facilities at development, acquisition and sustainment centers over the next five years. https://www.airforcetimes.com/news/your-air-force/2019/07/16/new-wright-pat-facility-aims-to-improve-cyber-defenses-of-fighters-and-bombers/

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  November 19, 2023 | International, Aerospace

  BAE Systems selected to enhance GPS technology on Eurofighter Typhoon

  DIGAR uses advanced antenna electronics, high-performance signal processing, and digital beamforming for significantly improved GPS signal reception and superior jamming immunity

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  January 11, 2019 | International, Land

  Textron finalizes acquisition of robotics company

  By: Valerie Insinna WASHINGTON — Textron's acquisition of robotics firm Howe & Howe Technologies stemmed from a late night channel surfing session, where a fortuitous viewing of “Jay Leno's Garage” turned into a big business deal. As its CEO Lisa Atherton watched the show at home with her husband, Howe & Howe's light tank drone wheeled across the screen. Textron had recently identified a gap in unmanned land vehicles, and this seemed to fit exactly the niche that the company was looking to fill. “I saw this tracked vehicle kind of flying through the woods and up and over the berms, and so I went and did a little research," Atherton told reporters on Jan. 10. Textron declared in October that it intended to purchase the Waterboro, Maine-based company. On Dec. 17, the deal was finalized, the company announced Thursday morning. The businesses have not disclosed the price or terms of the sale. Textron executives believe Howe & Howe, which specializes in innovative robotic ground vehicles, is a natural fit for their company, which is known for building unmanned systems — predominantly drones like the RQ-9 Shadow and maritime assets like the common unmanned surface vehicle that can deploy from a littoral combat ship to find mines. Meanwhile, Textron brings with it the ability to manufacture unmanned systems en masse and to support them in the field. Howe & Howe's senior vice president, Michael Howe, said his company's inventiveness, coupled with Textron's experience selling unmanned systems to the government, “makes for an extremely formidable combination.” Atherton said she is looking forward to getting Howe & Howe the investment dollars necessary to start work on new products and make existing ones more robust. “Mike and Geoff [Howe, the company's other founder] both have a ton of great ideas," she said. "They have ideas that they've sketched out in their books forever that they just haven't had the opportunity to do the investment for.” Several of Howe & Howe's robotic land vehicles have been evaluated by the U.S. Army. Its Ripsaw vehicle — the small unmanned tank seen on “Jay Leno's Garage” — has undergone testing at Picatinny Arsenal in New Jersey. But when sequestration slowed down funding of tests, the Howe brothers looked for other venues to promote it, landing the product a role in the 2015 classic “Mad Max: Fury Road.” “That speaks to their ingenuity, their ability to survive through sequestration as a small company,” Atherton said. Howe & Howe's RS2-H1 robot, invented to carry soldiers' gear, is competing against three other unmanned land vehicles for the Squad Multipurpose Equipment Transport program contract. Two Army infantry brigade combat teams and an undisclosed Marine unit are currently assessing the four contenders ahead of a downselect, Army Times reported last year. Atherton named that opportunity as one of the four big programs she's hoping Textron can win in 2019. Updated on 1/10/19 at 1:10 p.m with quotes from Textron CEO Lisa Atherton. https://www.defensenews.com/industry/2019/01/10/textron-finalizes-acquisition-of-robotics-company