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September 12, 2019 | International, Aerospace

DSEI :Raytheon anticipates international boom in counterdrone sales

By: Jen Judson

LONDON — Raytheon is expecting a boom in international sales of its counter-UAS system already battle-tested with the U.S. Army.

The Howler system — which includes a Ku-band Radio Frequency Sensor, a command-and-control system, and a Coyote unmanned aircraft system designed to take out enemy drones — could soon see an abundance of buyers. The system could also include a high-energy laser defeat solution and a high-powered microwave capability to provide a non-kinetic approach to knocking drone threats out of commission, according to company officials.

“We have experienced quite a bit of interest from our international friends, partners and allies,” James McGovern, Raytheon vice president of mission systems and sensors in its Integrated Defense Systems business, told Defense News during an interview at DSEI, a defense exposition in London.

“It's exploded: Counter-unmanned aircraft systems is the in-vogue discussion on weapon space and solution set at every trade show we've been to. It's a nonstop revolving door of interested customers in our solutions,” he added.

Over the past five years, drone threats — cheap, commercial off-the-shelf ones — have proliferated in use, posing a threat on the battlefield as well as to airports, sports stadiums, government buildings and urban areas.

Raytheon is preparing to reach initial operational capability with the U.S. Army of its Block II version of the Coyote, which is a variant that makes the Block more missile-like in appearance. The IOC goal is for the first quarter of 2020, according to Pete Mangelsdorf, director of the Coyote and rapid development programs within the land warfare systems portfolio at Raytheon.

In the meantime, the company is soon expecting congressional notification for a sale to its first foreign country, Mangelsdorf said. Raytheon expects to see roughly 15 more countries issue letters of request for the Howler system to include Block II Coyote rapidly following the first congressional notification, he added.

The company has license to separately sell sensors abroad, but generally customers are not just interested in what the sense-and-detect capability sensors would bring but rather want full-up systems that include all of Howler's elements.

Raytheon's Howler system is flexible and can integrate into other systems and platforms, according to McGovern. Currently, Howler is used on a U.S. Army truck, but it could be integrated onto a pallet at a fixed site or mounted on a different truck depending on customer needs, McGovern said.

The U.S. Army system was developed in response to a joint urgent operational need statement to find something that could counter drones as well as rockets, artillery and mortars, according to Mangelsdorf. The Block I version of the Coyote, which looks more like a plane or loitering munition than a missile, was the interim capability in response to the joint urgent operational need statement.

The system is scalable in size. McGovern said Raytheon has used its gallium nitride technology to scale down the radar array while maintaining range and detection sensitivity, and while fitting it onto a smaller vehicle in the event a customer has a need for increased mobility, like in the case of special operations forces.

The radar has the ability to see singular drones and identify drone swarms with high fidelity. Other radars might just pick up a drone swarm as one big blob, McGovern noted.

https://www.defensenews.com/digital-show-dailies/dsei/2019/09/11/raytheon-anticipates-international-boom-in-counter-drone-sales

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  • Fortem Technologies takes aim at ‘dark' UASs with SkyDome

    August 20, 2020 | International, Aerospace

    Fortem Technologies takes aim at ‘dark' UASs with SkyDome

    by Gerrard Cowan Counter-unmanned aerial system (C-UAS) specialist Fortem Technologies has seen a growing military interest in its systems, the company told Janes , with the US-based firm emphasising an interception approach to tackling potential UAS threats. Fortem Technologies' SkyDome is an end-to-end system encompassing several elements that can be operated separately or as part of an integrated approach. This comprises artificial intelligence (AI)-based software SkyDome Manager that includes ThreatAware, a capability that can analyse input from several sources and sensors. These sources include the company's TrueView radar, which can help to detect ‘dark' UASs that do not emit radio frequency (RF) or other signals. The overarching system also includes DroneHunter, a multirotor UAS that can intercept rogue UASs using a net tether. Adam Robertson, Fortem's co-founder and chief technology officer (CTO), said the company opted for the DroneHunter approach for several reasons. First, it can help to avoid collateral damage. Second, it means that the targeted UAV can be brought back for forensic analysis. ”That allows us to figure out where the source is - really we're interested in stopping the source of the threats, not the object that was threatening us,” said Robertson. The company sees potential for the systems in both fixed installations and mobile platforms, as well as on temporary sites, he noted. Robertson added that Fortem has been working to increase the autonomy of the system. While it still requires human supervision, the system can function independently to varying degrees depending on the rules of engagement. https://www.janes.com/defence-news/news-detail/fortem-technologies-takes-aim-at-dark-uass-with-skydome

  • Virtual Training becomes reality for Royal Netherlands Navy

    February 21, 2020 | International, Naval

    Virtual Training becomes reality for Royal Netherlands Navy

    February 20, 2020 - Technical students from the Royal Netherlands Navy can now make virtual acquaintance with naval ships. They do this with a Virtual Reality (VR) programme that Damen Schelde Naval Shipbuilding (DSNS), Thales Nederland and the maritime innovation cluster Extended Reality developed for them. The programme was commissioned by the Royal Dutch Navy last Wednesday, prior to the signing of the contract for a new supply vessel. The so-called Intro-TD-OPV experience was created for students of the Royal Navy Technical Training. Supported by game techniques and a narrative, the student moves over the HNLMS Holland, a patrol ship of the Holland class and learns, playfully, the functional design of the ship and the location of the systems on board. The idea is that VR technology, game technology and gamification contribute to innovative education. With this, the Royal Netherlands Navy tries to fascinate and bind the technical target group. After all, the defence sector in general, and the Royal Navy in particular, nowadays need all the tools to recruit and retain suitable personnel. The VR programme was developed in close collaboration with the maritime innovation cluster Extended Reality. This cluster is largely run by naval personnel from the Simulation Center Maritime (SimCenMar). Here experiments are performed with all kinds of possibilities of extended reality. For the realisation of this VR project, DSNS worked closely with students from the Media Designer course at Scalda in Vlissingen. They participated in the course 3D models and graphics. To date, more than ten trainees have been involved in DSNS's ever-growing VR/AR department. View source version on Damen: https://www.damen.com/en/news/2020/02/virtual_training_becomes_reality_for_royal_netherlands_navy

  • Contract Awards by US Department of Defense - April 21, 2020

    April 22, 2020 | International, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security

    Contract Awards by US Department of Defense - April 21, 2020

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