Intelligent Waves Awarded $43 Million VETS2 Task Order

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  June 12, 2019 | International, Aerospace, Naval

  The US Navy is seeking upgrades for the F-35 radar’s sea-search mode

  By: David B. Larter and Valerie Insinna WASHINGTON — The U.S. Navy wants more from the F-35 jet's radar, which in sea-search mode is limited to what is directly in front of the aircraft, according to documents exclusively obtained by Defense News. According to the documents, the radar, Northrop Grumman's AN/APG-81 active electronically scanned array radar, can either hone in on a sector based on a specific point on the ground, or work in what is commonly known as “snowplow mode,” which, as the name suggests, searches everything in front of the aircraft. The Navy wants to be able to scan a wider area when in sea-search mode, something that the radar is currently not set up for, according to officials who spoke to Defense News. Officials also said the problem is on track for a solution, but may not be implemented until as late as 2024 with the Block 4 upgrades, notably adding that a solution will not be in place before a full-rate production decision on the F-35 this year. Ultimately, giving the Navy what it wants will be a matter of boosting computing power and upgrading software, officials explained. The issue is listed as a category 1 deficiency, according to the documents, which further define the limitation as something that means “adequate performance [is] not attainable to accomplish the primary or alternate mission(s).” The issue dates back to 2012, according to the documents. In this scale, category 1 represents the most serious type of deficiency. It's unclear why the issue is listed as a deficiency. The system is working in accordance with design specifications, according to both the documents and a statement from a Lockheed Martin executive. “The F-35's current radar sea search function meets the enterprises' expressed required specification," said Greg Ulmer, Lockheed Martin's general manager of the company's F-35 program. “As we modernize the F-35, we are bringing enhanced search capabilities, which represent an increase from the original requirements, and we stand ready to integrate the upgrade in the future, based on customer priorities and direction.” In an interview with Defense News, the head of the Pentagon's F-35 program office, Vice Adm. Mat Winter, said the issue was being resolved by software and computing upgrades, and there would be no requirement for a new radar. “We're not mechanically scanning, we're electronically scanning,” Winter said. “And being able to accurately scan the maritime environment, it just takes increased computing power, and that's what we're doing. ... It's a software fix, and then an allocation of computing power.” Winter may be referring to a planned bundle of computer upgrades called Tech Refresh 3, where the jet will get more modern computing systems that will increase the jet's processing power and memory. According to one document obtained by Defense News, TR3 is a prerequisite for a future radar fix. Those TR3-equipped jets won't roll off the production line until 2023. Defense News submitted written questions to the Defense Department's F-35 program office concerning these and other deficiencies, but it did not respond by press time, despite multiple follow-ups over a period of months. A retired fighter pilot, who reviewed the documents for Defense News and agreed to speak on condition of anonymity, agreed with Winter's assessment that the fix was likely software-based. Early on in the F/A-18's APG-79 AESA radar, there were glitches in the operation, but software updates smoothed out the system. Fixing the APG-81 should follow a similar track as the aircraft progresses, the pilot explained. “As long as the array itself is technically sound, I suspect over time they'll be able to find ways to continue to build out capability through software updates,” the retired fighter pilot said. https://www.defensenews.com/smr/hidden-troubles-f35/2019/06/12/the-us-navy-is-seeking-upgrades-for-the-f-35-radars-sea-search-mode/

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  June 17, 2019 | International, Aerospace

  GE Sees Military as Driving Next-Gen Technology

  John Morris PARIS - “Military is where the commercial business was 10 years ago,” says GE Aviation president and GEvice chairman David Joyce. With commercial now set after a decade of renewal (the CF6 replaced by the GEnx, GE90 by GE9X, CFM56 by Leap, CF34 by Passport, and the emergence of the Catalyst turboprop engine), hundreds of engineers and research and development resources are being tasked with creating future generations of military powerplants. Now that the commercial side has proved that new materials such as ceramic matrix composites and technologies such as additive manufacturing are viable, affordable and producible, the military has the confidence to lead the march into new territory. Technologies developed for commercial engines have enabled new military capabilities; in turn, military research and development will enable even newer commercial engines decades into the future. It's a virtuous cycle, Joyce explains. GE is on a roll: it has won the U.S. Army's ITEP competition to replace all T700 engines in Black Hawk and Apache helicopters with the ultra-fuel-efficient single-shaft ITEP next-gen helicopter engine, and it won contracts worth a billion dollars to develop its AETD three-stream adaptable fighter engine as far as demonstrating it on the ground in an F-35. Flight tests could follow, as could eventual reengining of the F-35 fleet. But in any case, GE will be ready with an engine for sixth-generation fighters. In addition, the ubiquitous F404/F414 is being upgraded and continues to win new competitions, including the USAF's new Boeing-Saab T-X trainer and several foreign future fighter programs; the T408 turboshaft powers the new Sikorsky CH-53K King Stallion; and a team is working full time on competing to reengine the B-52 bomber. Business is growing “at really good rates” on both manned and unmanned “black” programs, says Joyce, and hybrid electric is being studied for future applications including UAVs, he adds. He believes GE already has the enabling technologies for the next decade, “but industrializing them is a different thing.” The company has already invested “billions of dollars” in developing a manufacturing and supply chain of materials and technologies for its commercial engines, and this will continue, “Additive manufacturing may be the most disruptive technology that I've seen in the industry in a long time,” says Joyce, “as it opens up a space for designers and for manufacturing that is on a different dimensional plane. It takes a long time to learn how to design with additive. It takes even longer to learn how to manufacture with additive at speed and high rate from a quality standpoint of view. “We are jumping in with both feet because the results on the back end when you get it right are extraordinary,” he adds. “It's going to pay off a whole load more in the next 20 years. This is going to be the best [real return on investment] that we've ever done.” https://aviationweek.com/paris-airshow-2019/ge-sees-military-driving-next-gen-technology

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  February 16, 2022 | International, Aerospace

  Epirus debuts high-power microwave pod for drones

  Epirus has taken its ground-based, high-power microwave capability to counter drone swarms and put it on a drone.