August 9, 2019 | International, Aerospace, Naval, Land

Final hypersonic missile contract awards imminent as US Army preps to shoot one in FY21

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — The U.S. Army is just weeks away from awarding the final contracts related to the development of its mobile, ground-launched hypersonic missile.

The Army will award a contract within the next three weeks to a company to develop a launching system for the hypersonic missile in co-development across the services, Lt. Gen. L. Neil Thurgood, the service's Rapid Capabilities and Critical Technologies Office director, said Aug. 7 at the Space and Missile Defense Symposium.

RCCTO's job is to serve as a bridge between the science and technology community and the program executive offices, helping bring technology out of development and into soldiers' hands, first on a small scale and then a larger scale when passed off to program offices. The office is primarily focused on hypersonics and directed energy.

While the missile is under joint development, the Army needs a special launcher to make the missile road-mobile. The contract will encompass the design and integration of a vertical launcher onto a trailer, Thurgood said.

Additionally, the RCCTO is preparing to award a contract, also in the next three weeks, to a vendor to produce the glide body for the hypersonic missile, Thurgood said.

The Navy will own the design of the glide body, but the Army will own its production, he said.

“We have a company that we are in the final process of negotiating an [other transaction authority contract],” Thurgood said.

An OTA is a contract that allows for rapid prototyping by bypassing the usual red tape associated with acquisition.

“What is interesting about the glide body technology is we also have to create an industrial base to do this. There is no industrial base in the United States for glide bodies,” Thurgood said.

The technology is owned by the government labs, he noted, “so we are transitioning that out of the labs into the commercial marketplace. That is a really hard thing to do, but there's a lot of energy and a lot of momentum behind that outcome.”

Unlike other programs, Thurgood said, there is not a single company that can produce a hypersonic missile and its equipment alone. “It actually takes a collaborative effort amongst the industry partners,” he added.

The first contract will be awarded to one company, but there will be follow-on contracts for other vendors to learn how to make the glide body at the federally funded lab where it was developed. The methodology energizes the supply chain from the prime contractors all the way to sub-contractors should the service decide to make a large number of the weapons, Thurgood told Defense News in an interview at the symposium.

Thurgood noted that in order to bring industry closer to the RCCTO's endeavors, the office established an industry board in addition to its board of directors to promote “horizontal communication.”

The Army plans to field a hypersonic missile and launcher to a unit in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2021. The unit will train for an entire year without live rounds, Thurgood said, adding that the canisters the unit will use will be cement-filled to match the weight.

The first live-round test will take place in FY22 and will be conducted by a battery led by a captain.

Thurgood was tasked Feb. 14 to come up with a plan for hypersonic development, and given 30 days to do so. Now, almost six months later, the RCCTO is about to award all associated contracts to move forward in building prototypes that will be in soldiers' hands in just a couple of years, Thurgood said.

https://www.defensenews.com/digital-show-dailies/smd/2019/08/07/final-hypersonic-missile-contract-awards-imminent-as-army-preps-to-shoot-one-in-fy21/

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December 9, 2019 | International, Aerospace

Germany in talks with Lockheed Martin over ‘fragile’ missile defense program
By: Sebastian Sprenger COLOGNE, Germany – German defense officials are negotiating with contractors Lockheed Martin and MBDA Deutschland about a bid proposal for a next-generation antimissile program that the government believes is missing crucial components, according to a new defense ministry report. Information about the status of the high-profile TLVS program, short for Taktisches Luftverteidigungssystem, is included in the latest, unclassified portion of a biannual assessment by the defense ministry on the progress of key military acquisition programs. The document constitutes the defense ministry's first public evaluation of the U.S.-German industry consortium's second and final bid, submitted in June. “The analysis of the second offer shows that the proposal still falls short of the government's requirements because key elements and services were not included, some of which had been previously agreed,” the document states. Additionally, some performance requirements, which are left unexplained in the report, were not addressed in the industry bid, it adds. Talks with the companies are ongoing to clarify outstanding issues by the end of 2019, the defense ministry wrote. Overall, the government considers the program to be “fragile” based on a high degree of technological and managerial complexity. That is compared to a more upbeat assessment in the previous report, dated June, which found “significant progress” had been made over the previous six months. The defense ministry did not respond to a request for comment on what elements the Lockheed Martin-MBDA proposal was lacking. A Lockheed spokesman referred questions to the German government, writing in an email, “It is a matter for the German MoD to comment on the content of its latest project report and position relating to TLVS.” The report offers an explanation for why defense officials have been unable to articulate a time table for submitting the multibillion-dollar program to the German parliament for consideration. For one, the government must first wait for a foreign military sales process to play out with the United States over access to key performance data of the Lockheed-made PAC-3 MSE interceptor, the primary missile of the TLVS system. Germany launched the petition for the requisite goods and services in April 2019. In addition, officials are unable to formulate a path for integrating a secondary interceptor into the system, the IRIS-T SL, to be made by Germany's Diehl Defence, officials wrote. That is because the most recent Lockheed-MBDA proposal lacks the detailed interface documentation that would be needed to integrate such an interceptor into TLVS. Without that information, however, officials are unable to solicit a bid from Diehl, according to the report. German officials consider the ability to use IRIS-T missile a must-have for TLVS because those missiles are domestically made and because they are cheaper. Amid the runaway program complexity giving officials headaches, the government still appears to believe in the promise of the TLVS system as a replacement of the country's fleet of Patriot batteries. If it can be made to work, the military expects a “technological advantage” that will position the country as a NATO leader in missile defense, the report states. Officials will make decisions about the way ahead after ongoing talks with industry come to an end, it adds. https://www.defensenews.com/global/europe/2019/12/06/germany-in-talks-with-lockheed-martin-over-fragile-missile-defense-program
August 27, 2019 | International, Aerospace, C4ISR

Hughes Partners with Startup to Create New Solutions for Extending LTE Coverage Using Helicopters, UAVs
Hughes Defense connects the ground user with the helicopter giving over the horizon cellular comms from air-to-ground. Hughes Network Systems, LLC (HUGHES), the global leader in broadband satellite networks and services, in partnership with Virtual Network Communications, Inc. (VNC), today announced new joint solutions to extend mobile network connectivity using an integrated combination of VNC's deployable LTE technology with Hughes JUPITER™ and HM satellite systems. The new solutions support various global applications for government, militaries, first responders, and commercial Mobile Network Operators (MNOs). “We're excited to work with Hughes to help expand high speed 4G services cost-effectively in underserved parts of the world, as well as providing the tactical edge for military and first responders,” said Mohan Tammisetti, chief executive officer of VNC. “VNC developed this innovative, edge-centric approach to positively impact lives and keep critical missions connected. Additionally, a new 5G solution is on our development roadmap and we look forward to integrating it with the Hughes JUPITER platform.” For Government & Military: Designed to provide wireless coverage for soldiers or first responders, the new Hughes HeloCell™ Solution integrates VNC's LTE technology with the Hughes HeloSat™ Solution, which provides Beyond Line of Sight (BLoS) communications on rotary-wing aircraft. For military and emergency applications, the Hughes and VNC technologies combine to form an “airborne cell tower” when installed aboard a helicopter or an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV). The solution provides an extended cellular coverage radius of tens of kilometers, with the satellite terminal backhauling the mobile traffic to and from the network core. The solution can also scale to support more than 100 simultaneous active users on a single, layered system architecture. “Adaptable for rotary-wing aircraft and UAVs, the HeloCell Solution is ideal for extending mobile connectivity in a disaster area or warzone,” said Wayne Marhefka, senior director of business development for Hughes Defense Division. “Together with VNC, Hughes can extend connectivity to soldiers and first response teams who need wireless communications to carry out their missions, especially in remote and disconnected environments. Integrating with our innovative HM and JUPITER Systems technology, these new cellular capabilities will help the DoD build a layered and unified communications network architecture for faster and more-informed decision-making.” For Commercial Mobile Network Operators: The VNC LTE technology can also be integrated with the JUPITER System to backhaul mobile traffic, enabling MNOs to quickly and cost-effectively provide 4G access to people in areas unserved or underserved by terrestrial connectivity – especially in remote and hard-to-reach areas. In tests, the integrated solution sent 4G LTE traffic to the core network at speeds of 200 Mbps. “An economically efficient way for mobile network operators to reach new customers is by backhauling 4G LTE traffic over satellite in areas where it's too expensive to build terrestrial infrastructure,” said Vinay Patel, senior director, International Division at Hughes. “Now, we can offer VNC's innovative 4G LTE technology integrated with our Hughes JUPITER™ System to offer operators a new and cost-effective option to expand their networks.” For more information about Hughes defense solutions, please visit defense.hughes.com For more information about Hughes cellular backhaul solutions, please visit www.hughes.com About Virtualnetcom Virtual Network Communications, Inc. designs, develops, manufactures, markets, and supports a line of network products for wireless network operators, mobile virtual network operators (MVNO), cable TV system operators, and government and business enterprises that enable new sources of revenue and reduce capital and operating expenses. Our vision is to reinvent how wireless networks service mission critical communications for Public Safety, Homeland Security, Department of Defense and commercial Private Network users. We envision the future of virtualized MICRO networks blanket the Globe, without expensive Terrestrial based Radio Towers and Building installations. For more information, please visit the Virtualnetcom website at www.virtualnetcom.com About Hughes Network Systems Hughes Network Systems, LLC (HUGHES) is the global leader in broadband satellite technology and services for home and office. Its flagship high-speed satellite Internet service is HughesNet®, the world's largest satellite network with over 1.3 million residential and business customers across the Americas. For large enterprises and governments, the company's HughesON™ managed network services provide complete connectivity solutions employing an optimized mix of satellite and terrestrial technologies. The JUPITER™ System is the world's most widely deployed High-Throughput Satellite (HTS) platform, operating on more than 20 satellites by leading service providers, delivering a wide range of broadband enterprise, mobility and cellular backhaul applications. To date, Hughes has shipped more than 7 million terminals of all types to customers in over 100 countries, representing approximately 50 percent market share, and its technology is powering broadband services to aircraft around the world. Headquartered outside Washington, D.C., in Germantown, Maryland, USA, Hughes operates sales and support offices worldwide, and is a wholly owned subsidiary of EchoStar Corporation (NASDAQ: SATS), a premier global provider of satellite operations. For additional information about Hughes, please visit www.hughes.com and follow @HughesConnects on Twitter. About EchoStar EchoStar Corporation (NASDAQ: SATS) is a premier global provider of satellite communication solutions. Headquartered in Englewood, Colo., and conducting business around the globe, EchoStar is a pioneer in secure communications technologies through its Hughes Network Systems and EchoStar Satellite Services business segments. For more information, visit www.echostar.com. Follow @EchoStar on Twitter. https://dronescrunch.com/hughes-partners-with-startup-to-create-new-solutions-for-extending-lte-coverage-using-helicopters-uavs/
November 7, 2019 | International, Aerospace

Airbus reveals classified LOUT stealth testbed
Airbus Defence & Space has revealed a more than decade-long research and demonstration effort into very low observable (LO) technologies, conducted as a classified effort for the German defence ministry. Showing its LO UAV testbed – or LOUT – platform at Manching on 4 November, Airbus future combat air system (FCAS) programme manager Mario Hertzog said the company began initial concept work in 2007. This led to a contract award in 2010 to refine configuration and material choices, and the production of a diamond planform demonstrator was completed in 2014. Pointing to the company's long involvement with LO reseach, Hertzog says: “Bringing all our experience into one programme was a logical conclusion.” The chosen configuration used for aerodynamic and anechoic chamber testing since 2014 has a roughly 12m (39.3ft) wingspan and similar length, and is described as a 4t-class vehicle. The subsonic design would use a conventional engine concealed behind a diverterless inlet, and has twin intakes blended into its upper fuselage. A cockpit transparency and sensor apertures also formed part of the testing. The aircraft's exhaust nozzle also is shielded from beneath, with Hertzog noting that such a vehicle would be optimised for use against ground-based air-defence systems. This mission requirement also led the company to hone LO techniques for the vehicle's landing gear doors and centerline internal weapons bay, Hertzog notes. Focus areas have included testing LO materials, including a radar absorbent structure for engine intake ducts, and on assessing radar frequency and infrared signature performance. Modelling work has also been conducted to analyse the likely acoustic characteristics of such a design. Airbus confirms that it has completed contracted work on LOUT, but says additional activities could be conducted. However, Hertzog declines to say whether Berlin could seek a flight-test campaign with such a system. Lessons learned from the LOUT programme will be available for potential adaptation during a long-term evolution activity on the Eurofighter Typhoon, and on a proposed French-German-Spanish FCAS development, Hertzog says. "Stealth is and will remain an enabler for survivability," he notes. https://www.flightglobal.com/news/articles/pictures-airbus-reveals-classified-lout-stealth-tes-462003/

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