High-tech French army truck maker sees demand for low-tech artillery components

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  September 25, 2019 | International, Aerospace

  Raytheon developing advanced high-power microwave system for US Air Force deployment

  TUCSON, Ariz., September 24, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Raytheon Company (NYSE: RTN) will deliver a prototype high-power microwave system to be deployed to troops overseas under a U.S. Air Force contract. Troops will use the HPM system to destroy hostile drones. Raytheon's HPM system uses directed energy to take down drones. HPM's wide beam can disable multiple targets at one time. The contract follows a separate Air Force contract in which Raytheon will build two prototype high-energy laser systems, also to be deployed overseas. The HPM and HEL systems can be used independently or together to counter-unmanned aerial system threats. "There's more than one way to defeat a drone," said Dr. Thomas Bussing, Raytheon Advanced Missile Systems vice president. "We are delivering the world's first defensive directed energy systems that can be used alone or in tandem to defeat enemy drones at the speed of light." The HPM and HEL contracts follow successful demonstrations of Raytheon's directed energy systems for the Air Force and the U.S. Army. About Counter-UAS Raytheon Company is integrating multiple proven technologies to counter the unmanned aerial system threat across a wide range of scenarios – from commercial airports to forward operating bases to crowded stadiums. Raytheon's portfolio of sensors, command and control systems, and kinetic and non-kinetic effectors covers all aspects of the UAS threat. To learn more, visit Counter-UAS. About Raytheon Raytheon Company, with 2018 sales of $27 billion and 67,000 employees, is a technology and innovation leader specializing in defense, civil government and cybersecurity solutions. With a history of innovation spanning 97 years, Raytheon provides state-of-the-art electronics, mission systems integration, C5I® products and services, sensing, effects, and mission support for customers in more than 80 countries. Raytheon is headquartered in Waltham, Mass. Follow us on Twitter. Media Contact Carri Karuhn +1.520.746.2018 rmspr@raytheon.com http://raytheon.mediaroom.com/2019-09-24-Raytheon-developing-advanced-high-power-microwave-system-for-US-Air-Force-deployment?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=organic&utm_campaign=INNOVATIONS&utm_content=RMS___HPM_____*N/A*_&utm_id=2657439865_2672985718_4&li

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  September 20, 2018 | International, Naval

  Navy divers to have automated logging from worn dive computers

  By Bobby Cummings, Office of Naval Research, ARLINGTON, Virginia (NNS) -- For U.S. Navy deep-sea divers, time is of the essence. While operating 100 feet down, with little to no natural light—often in frigid temperatures and limited oxygen—time is everything. But for divers, time remains a precious commodity on the surface as well. For years, military divers have had to manually write and log information from dives while at sea into a system known as the Dive/Jump Reporting System (DJRS). Manual entries can be time-consuming and allow human error. Enter the Office of Naval Research (ONR) Global TechSolutions program, a rapid-response science and technology program focused on solutions to problems submitted by Sailors and Marines. ONR TechSolutions and industry partners have created a new tool called the Scuba Binary Dive Application (SBDA) 100 to digitally plan, record and report dive-profile information to DJRS. The application will accelerate the process of logging and uploading dive information, and will help eliminate potential data-entry mistakes. The idea originated from Force Master Diver Scott Brodeur, Naval Expeditionary Combat Command. “Scott has completed over a thousand dives during his career and he recognized the need to make the logging and reporting process more efficient for his peers,” said Jason Payne, TechSolutions acting program manager. The SBDA 100 is a software application on a ruggedized tablet used to log, compute and accurately compile dive-profile data. The data, collected from a wrist watch that divers wear during operations called a Navy Diver Computer, includes dive site conditions, equipment used by the divers, dive events, such as, when a diver left the surface or left the bottom of the ocean floor, and if the dive required decompression stops. SBDA 100 syncs this information and automatically uploads it to DJRS. “For years, I witnessed how many hours it takes to manually log dives—watching the young guys that have to—at the end of a long 12 to 14-hour-day—come back and manually go through the dive logs and write everything down, and double check it and triple check it,” said Brodeur. During a recent training exercise in the Gulf of Mexico, Brodeur, the Naval Experimental Dive Unit and other U.S. Navy divers stationed around the globe had the opportunity to test the technology for the first time. “The designers gave me a crash course on how to operate the technology,” said Chief Navy Diver Marshall Goble, ship repair facility, Yokosuka, Japan. “I used the device as a primary but still used the ‘old school' way and wrote down the information as well. Both calculations came out 100 percent accurate. I found the tablet easier to use, and I have no doubt it's going to streamline efficiency.” Throughout the process of the development of the SBDA 100, ONR TechSolutions has worked in conjunction with Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command (SPAWAR) Atlantic; industry partner Intelligent Automation Inc.; and Naval Surface Warfare Center (NSWC) Panama City, which is the home of the U.S. Naval Diving and Salvage Training Center. SPAWAR served as the principal investigator and NSWC Panama City provided technical support and hosted the training and demonstration of the SBDA 100 at sea. “The technology has tested very well,” Brodeur said. “It's a testament to the value of the ONR TechSolutions program and everyone who worked on this project. Witnessing this idea come to fruition and have it be built, demonstrated, designed and ready for use is pretty exciting.” Watch a video of the demonstration. Bobby Cummings is a contractor for ONR Corporate Strategic Communications. Get more information about the Navy from US Navy facebook or twitter. For more news from Office of Naval Research, visit www.navy.mil/local/onr/. https://www.navy.mil/submit/display.asp?story_id=107125

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  November 23, 2018 | International, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR

  Killing of Khashoggi tests U.S. defense industry as backlash builds on Capitol Hill

  By Beth Reinhard ,Tom Hamburger and Emma Brown The powerful U.S. defense industry is facing a rare challenge to its influence on Capitol Hill as support for arms sales to Saudi Arabia has rapidly eroded following the killing last month of journalist Jamal Khashoggi at the hands of Saudi government operatives. The defense industry's typically aggressive lobby has gone quiet as gruesome details of Khashoggi's death have leaked and American intelligence officials have laid blame at the feet of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Even as President Trump has reiterated his support for continued sales of U.S. weapons to the kingdom, congressional opposition to those sales and to U.S. support for the Saudi-led war in Yemen has mounted in recent weeks — testing the power of an industry that has sold tens of billions of dollars' worth of weapons systems to the kingdom since the 1950s. Growing bipartisan support for Senate legislation to cut off the arms sales marks a historic disruption in a seemingly inviolable arms-for-oil trade relationship that stretches back decades and is an unusual setback for one of the most influential lobbies in Washington. In the coming weeks, key senators are expected to push for a vote on a measure that would impose sanctions on Saudi officials responsible for Khashoggi's death and suspend many weapons sales to Saudi Arabia until it ceases airstrikes in Yemen that have killed tens of thousands of civilians. The bill represents one of the first major breaks between congressional Republicans and the White House, which has embraced Saudi Arabia as a key Middle Eastern ally — a strategy driven by Jared Kushner, Trump's son-in-law and senior adviser, who forged a strong personal relationship with the crown prince. Full article: https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/killing-of-khashoggi-tests-us-defense-industry-as-backlash-builds-on-capitol-hill/2018/11/21/15a1df52-dc7d-11e8-aa33-53bad9a881e8_story.html