June 25, 2019 | International, Naval
By Ed Adamczyk
June 24 (UPI) -- Leidos Inc. was awarded a $72.8 million contract for work on submarine detection sonar for the U.S. Navy, the Defense Department announced.
The company, based in Reston, Va., will perform work on the Transformational Reliable Acoustic Path System, or TRAPS, one of two prototypes developed by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, the Defense Department agency responsible for the development of emerging technologies military applications.
Leidos' Leidos' work on TRAPS comes under an indefinite quantity, cost-plus-fixed-fee contract with a three-year ordering period and no options, the Defense Department announced on Friday.
The TRAPS system uses a fixed sonar mode placed on the ocean floor, exploiting advantages of operating from the seafloor, to achieve large-area surveillance of the area surrounding the submarine. Each node communicates back to a floating "stationary surface node" through a wireless acoustic modem when the ocean floor node detects a sound.
The other prototype, called Submarine Hold at Risk [SHARK], has an unmanned underwater vehicle as a mobile platform to track enemy submarines. Both are part of DARPA's Distributed Agile Submarine Hunting [DASH] program.
Leidos' work on the contract will be done at the company's Long Beach, Miss., facility, with an expected completion date of June 2022.
July 10, 2023 | International, C4ISR
Through the Hybrid Space Architecture, DIU and its partners want to create a diverse network of commercial and government satellites and ground systems.
July 28, 2023 | International, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security
The U.S. State Department has approved the potential sale of 16 Assault Amphibious Vehicles and related equipment to Romania for an estimated cost of $120.5 million, the Pentagon said on Thursday.
August 5, 2019 | International, Aerospace, Naval
Aircraft First Entered Service With The USMC In 1981 The CH-53E Super Stallion helicopter reached a major milestone this year by logging more than one million flight hours since it first entered service with the Marine Corps in 1981. The CH-53E is a versatile machine used for amphibious assault and long-range insertion, delivering troops, vehicles and supplies. This rapid resupply vehicle is still one of the most used aircraft in the United States military air arsenal. “The CH-53E has seen more work than was ever anticipated it would see,” said Major Matthew Baumann, H-53 In-Service, Naval Air Systems Command Heavy Lift Helicopter program office (PMA-261) co-lead. Currently, there are 142 CH-53E Super Stallions in service. Though out of production, the CH-53E is in the middle of a “RESET” – a rolling period of rebuilding, upgrading and increasing safety, reliability and capabilities to lengthen its service life through 2032. According to Baumann, the first 25 helicopters have completed their RESET process, “allowing the squadron commanders to plan for training, operations and maintenance with renewed confidence,” he said. Resetting of the CH-53E fleet is an important segue from the current platform to the new CH-53K King Stallion, which will be its heavy-lift replacement. “The CH-53K is the most powerful helicopter ever built by the United States military,” said Colonel Perrin, PMA-261 program manager. “It will be safer, faster and more capable than any previous heavy lift helicopter in the battlespace.” Its development is currently in the testing and capability requirements phase, with a goal of bringing the CH-53K to fleet Marines by 2024. “It's a game-changer,” said Perrin. “We can't wait to have the K available for fleet use. But for now we've got a capable, reliable and safe helicopter doing heavy-lift for our Marines.” http://www.aero-news.net/index.cfm?do=main.textpost&id=8e63f37f-9874-4fb9-acf1-72e67d6a9cbd