May 7, 2019 | International, Aerospace, C4ISR
Highlights:
Harris Corporation (NYSE:HRS) has been awarded a contract by The Boeing Company to partner with Boeing AvionX in supplying the mission management open systems processor for the MQ-25 unmanned aerial refueling program.
“Harris and Boeing have invested substantial R&D to develop affordable, high-performance solutions that allow for faster and easier upgrades,” said Ed Zoiss, president, Harris Electronic Systems. “This contract reaffirms Harris' strategy to leverage open systems processors into new platforms.”
The mission management processor is based on an advanced open systems architecture solution and commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) technology. The mission management processor manages sensor and communications functions on the MQ-25, providing the onboard processing capacity necessary to support advanced computing needs. Harris will provide hardware and firmware in conjunction with Boeing's open systems architecture solution.
The MQ-25 is the U.S. Navy's first operational carrier-based unmanned aircraft and is designed to provide a much-needed refueling capability. The contract supports Boeing's engineering and manufacturing development program to provide four MQ-25 aircraft to the U.S. Navy for Initial Operational Capability by 2024.
Harris has been a supplier to Boeing since the 1980s on a wide range of military aircraft, munition, and satellite programs. This latest contract will continue job growth for Harris in Florida, which is a supplier of mission management processors to Boeing and other major aircraft programs.
“The MQ-25 program is vital because it will help the U.S. Navy extend the range of the carrier air wing, and Boeing and our industry team is all-in on delivering this capability,” said Dave Bujold, Boeing's MQ-25 program director. “The work we're doing is also foundational for the future of Boeing – where we're building autonomous systems from seabed to space.”
October 5, 2023 | International, Aerospace
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August 6, 2020 | International, Aerospace
Nathan Strout WASHINGTON - The U.S. Air Force has completed critical design review of an experimental navigation satellite, clearing the way for fabrication to begin and keeping the launch on track for 2022. The Air Force Research Laboratory's Navigation Technology Satellite 3 (NTS-3) is one of the Air Force's first Vanguard programs — platforms that can delivers remarkable new capabilities to the war fighter. NTS-3 is being developed to demonstrate new positioning, navigation and timing (PNT) technologies that will inform how future GPS satellites work. AFRL plans to operate the satellite in geosynchronous orbit for one year to experiment with new PNT signals and test new architectures. Beyond the space-based test vehicle itself, NTS-3 will also demonstrate new ground-based command and control as well as new software-defined radios. And, once on orbit, NTS-3 could provide immediate support to the war fighter. The experimental satellite will augment the GPS constellation from geosynchronous orbit, providing a geographically focused signal. “The NTS-3 Vanguard is an experimental, end-to-end demonstration of agile, resilient space-based positioning, navigation, and timing,” Arlen Biersgreen, the NTS-3 program manager, said in a statement. “It has the potential for game-changing advancements to the way the Air Force provides these critical capabilities to war fighters across the Department of Defense.” L3Harris is the prime contractor on NTS-3, and was awarded an $84 million contract for the experimental satellite in 2018. With the critical design review complete, the company can now move forward with fabrication, demonstration and testing. The NTS-3 contract includes a follow-on option for production of an entire constellation, if the Air Force chooses to exercise it. “Collaboration with our customers has enabled us to move rapidly through important milestones to design this experimental satellite,” said Ed Zoiss, president of space and airborne systems at L3Harris. “Our goal is to deliver new signals to support rapidly evolving warfighter missions.” Due to scheduling, NTS-3 technology is unlikely to be included on the any of the GPS III satellites in production, but it will likely inform aspects of the subsequent GPS IIIF satellites which are set to go on orbit in the late 2020s. L3Harris is developing the payloads for those satellites as well. https://www.c4isrnet.com/battlefield-tech/space/2020/08/04/the-air-forces-experimental-navigation-satellite-cleared-for-fabrication
September 14, 2021 | International, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security
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