June 10, 2020 | International, Aerospace

Light as a form of defence? Laser brings down unwanted drones

June 8, 2020 - Almost 300,000 km per second. That's the speed of light, and also the speed of laser light. Faster than any projectile. A laser is also accurate and always hits its target. This means it should be possible to bring down unwanted drones quickly and cheaply. In a laboratory set-up for weapon systems, TNO is already seeing promising test results with a high-energy laser.

From an innocent toy to an offensive weapon: that's what happens when malicious people attach explosives to drones. The fact that improvised explosive devices like this can inflict significant damage was confirmed yet again last September, during the attacks on Saudi Arabian oil installations.

GATWICK AIRPORT PLAGUED BY DRONES
Even without explosives, drones can still cause major problems. In 2018, at Braitains Gatwick airport, a few simple and inexpensive drones proved capable of causing hours of disruption to air traffic.

“The Netherlands has its own counter-drone research programme. The problem is being taken very seriously.”

COUNTER-DRONE RESEARCH PROGRAMME
Several countries across the world, including the Netherlands, are developing solutions for the problem of drones. Last year the Netherlands launched its own counter-drone research programme, spearheaded by the Ministry of Defence, the National Police and the National Coordinator for Counterterrorism and Security (NCTV). The problem is being taken very seriously and is therefore high on the agenda.

UTMOST CARE
“The first challenge is to quickly detect and identify an incoming drone”, says Patrick Keyzer, who heads up TNO's research programme. “If a drone appears to represent a genuine threat, we have to disarm it as quickly as possible. Of course, it must be done with the utmost care and we need to ensure that we inflict as little unintentional damage as possible.”

“TNO is testing a high-energy laser capable of burning a hole in thick steel plate in just a few seconds”

ENOUGH FIREPOWER
Using a laser is one of the possibilities for disabling drones. “It's a highly effective method”, confirms Federica Valente, Business Developer for TNO's high-energy laser research. In a heavily-secured bunker, her colleagues are testing a high-energy laser capable of burning a hole in thick steel plate in a matter of seconds. “That's obviously more than enough firepower to bring down drones.”

LESS THAN A EURO A SHOT
“This kind of laser is also extremely accurate and cost-effective”, she continues. “To fire it, you only have to pay for the energy: less than a euro each time. A laser is also very flexible, enabling you to monitor the drone's every movement at relatively low cost.”

“In addition to using a laser, we can also take control of the drones or use jammers”

TOOLBOX
“A laser weapon certainly has numerous advantages”, agrees Keyzer. “But we need to carefully assess the setting and situation in which a drone appears. It's important to have several options at our disposal for disabling drones responsibly. This is why we're currently developing and researching several different solutions. In addition to using a laser, we can also take control of the drones or use jammers. So, it's not a case of ‘one solution fits all'. Nevertheless, the emergence of a laser weapon will help enormously in combating the threat of drones.”

The laser weapon is just one of the weapon systems that TNO is researching. The aim of these innovations is to protect those who protect us. Read more about it on the ‘Weapon Systems' page.

View source version on TNO: https://www.tno.nl/en/tno-insights/articles/light-as-a-form-of-defence-laser-brings-down-unwanted-drones/

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November 12, 2020 | International, Aerospace

Pentagon awards $734.8M to Boeing, Raytheon for support of Qatar's F-15s
By Christen McCurdy Nov. 10 (UPI) -- The Pentagon this week awarded two contracts totaling $734.8 million for infrastructure and equipment for the Qatar Emiri Air Force. The larger of the two deals, announced on Monday, is a $657.2 million contract for Qatar's F-15 program. Per this week's deal, Boeing will provide sparing and support for the F-15QA aircraft once they are delivered to Qatar, as well as logistical support and administrative costs. Boeing is contracted to deliver 36 F-15QA aircraft to Qatar, with the first arriving in 2021. The U.S. Air Force announced in October that it is working with the QEAF to prepare for the aircraft's arrival. A Tuesday press release from the contractor announced the deal along with two other recent contracts to support the QEAF: a previously unannounced $240 million, five-year contract for F-15QA program management, and a $68 million contract announced in April to provide maintenance and logistics support for the QEAF during their pre-delivery training for the F-15QA. "The tailored training and sustainment delivered by our team, coupled with Boeing's platform expertise, allows us to deliver a holistic solution to our Qatari customer so they can optimize the full capability of their fleet with high availability rates," said Tim Buerk, director of Middle East defense services for Boeing. "We look forward to our continued partnership with Qatar and further supporting their mission readiness needs," Buerk said. Under the second deal, valued at $77.6 million, Raytheon will upgrade the Qatar Air Operations Center. That includes the procurement and installation of hardware and software, as well as testing, end-user training and help desk support. The F-15QA, which performed its maiden flight in April, has been described as the most advanced variant of the F-15 and is based on the F-15SA, which is currently in production for Saudi Arabia. https://www.upi.com/Defense-News/2020/11/10/Pentagon-awards-7348M-to-Boeing-Raytheon-for-support-of-Qatars-F-15s/4551605034794
February 12, 2020 | International, Aerospace

Space Software Startup To Pursue SDA Contracts
NewSpace Networks will bid against Lockheed Martin for bankrupt Vector Launch's GalacticSky software-defined satellite assets, says co-founder Shaun Coleman. By THERESA HITCHENS WASHINGTON: Three of the founders of bankrupt Vector Launch have created a new startup, NewSpace Networks, to develop space software products for applications such as data analysis, cybersecurity, and the Internet of Things (IoT). As one of their first forays into the market, the company intends to respond to the Space Development Agency's January call for “leap-ahead technologies” for its evolving DoD space architecture. The new San Jose-based company is eyeing SDA's top two priorities: the so-called ‘transport layer' for Internet and communications connectivity and the ‘tracking layer' that will also cover hypersonic missiles. NewSpace Networks leadership believe they could provide capabilities to the ‘battle management layer,' and the ‘support layer' to enable ground and launch segments to support a responsive space architecture. “We could occupy several of those layers,” Robert Cleave, formerly Vector's chief revenue office, told me in a phone conversation today, which included NewSpace Network co-founders Shaun Coleman and John Metzger. Coleman was the first investor in Vector Launch; Metzger was vice president of software engineering. As we reported, the SDA's Jan. 21 Broad Area Announcement gives interested vendors one year to pitch their ideas. Coleman said that NewSpace Networks is the only company focused on creating a software-based infrastructure in space. Rather than building satellites, Cleave explained, “we see ourselves as a provider of software that makes the satellite smarter.” The idea is to move the aerospace industry from its current hardware focus to a focus on software, as has happened at big tech firms across Silicon Valley and is recognized by many of the Air Force's leadership. NewSpace Networks intends to target military and defense-related customers, along with commercial firms and civilian government agencies. This includes pitching to be a part of DoD's efforts to develop and use 5G high-speed communications capabilities and to provide connectivity to Army vehicles. But it also is looking at potential sales outside of the traditional aerospace community, such as vendors of autonomous vehicles, city governments interested in infrastructure monitoring, and even direct consumer sales of healthcare devices and entertainment services. The wide variety of potential customers is based on the fact that NewSpace Networks' planned products are focused on computing, data storage and processing capabilities at the edge, ones that have a wide variety of potential uses. According to today's announcement, NewSpace Networks's initial products will focus on “the unique challenges of edge computing via space connectivity.” But the company's tech also could be used with aircraft, drones or aerostats serving as the connectivity node, the co-founders explained. The company also intends to work on: Data analytics and analysis; Cloud integration; Network optimization; Virtualization & Hyperconvergence (the latter is industry jargon for combining computing, storage and networking in a single system); Space and air integration; Security and encryption; Application lifecycle management; and IoT enablement. Tuscon-based Vector was one of three commercial space firms chosen in April by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency for its DARPA Launch Challenge, a $12 million competition to rapidly launch small satellites to Low Earth Orbit (LEO), until its surprise withdrawal in September due to financial difficulties. The other two companies were Virgin Orbit, which withdrew in October to concentrate on more lucrative customers, and the secretive California-based startup Astra, that first went public in early February via a website. According to a Feb. 3 profile in Bloomberg Businessweek, the firm intends its first launch on Feb. 21. Vector declared Chapter 11 bankruptcy in December, and as colleague Jeff Foust reported on Jan. 24 announced it would auction off its assets. Vector already has a $4.5 million bid from Lockheed Martin for its GalacticSky software-defined satellite technology — essentially a computer on orbit that can be configured for various satellite missions that will be accepted if no other firms issues a bid by Feb. 21. If others throw their hats in the ring, there will be an auction for GalacticSky on Feb. 25. And guess what? NewSpace Networks intends to do just that. “We will be bidding for GalacticSky as well,” Coleman said, noting that I was the first reporter they have told. The founders believe that GalacticSky's technology, that allows a satellite to act more like a cloud node than a mainframe computer, would be complementary to their own developments. Even if they don't win the auction, they hope to work with whoever wins. https://breakingdefense.com/2020/02/space-software-startup-to-pursue-sda-contracts
March 5, 2019 | International, Aerospace

Singapore moves to buy four F-35s, possibly eight more afterward
By: Mike Yeo MELBOURNE, Australia — Singapore will seek to buy four Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighters for a start, with an option to purchase eight more, according to the southeast Asian nation's defense minister. Speaking in Parliament on Friday, Ng Eng Hen said Singapore will submit a letter of request to the United States for the purchase, adding that “Singapore has the endorsement of both the U.S. administration and the Department of Defense for our proposed purchase of F-35s.” He did not disclose which version of the F-35 Singapore will request when asked by lawmakers, although he was quoted as ruling out buying the “aircraft-carrier version” of the F-35, and told Parliament that the unit price of the aircraft “ranges from U.S. $90 million to U.S. $115 million.” The prices he quoted are the respective unit prices of the F-35A conventional-takeoff-and-landing version and the F-35B short-takeoff-and-vertical-landing version under the latest LRIP 11 contract signed in September 2018 between the DoD and manufacturer Lockheed Martin. Earlier reports suggested the land-scarce island nation is keen on the F-35B for its ability to operate from short runways. He also told Parliament that the total cost of ownership of an F-35 fleet including maintenance across its lifespan will be similar to Singapore's current fleet of Boeing F-15SG Eagles. He added, however, that the Defence Ministry “will continue to work with the U.S. Department of Defense to optimize operating and maintenance costs.” Singapore currently operates a fleet of 60 Lockheed Martin F-16C/D Block 52/52+ Fighting Falcons and 40 F-15SGs. It wants the F-35 to replace the former, starting from around 2030. The country typically makes its combat aircraft acquisitions in small, incremental batches, so the relatively small order is not much of a surprise. If the option for the additional aircraft is picked up, Singapore will have the numbers to launch a training detachment, likely based in the United States, to train pilots and maintainers. This is similar to the acquisition structure Singapore adopted for its F-15s and F-16s, with the country currently maintaining a joint U.S. Air Force-Republic of Singapore Air Force training unit for each of those aircraft types in the U.S. made up of personnel from both countries, in Idaho and Arizona respectively. https://www.defensenews.com/digital-show-dailies/avalon/2019/03/01/singapore-moves-to-buy-four-f-35s-possibly-eight-more-afterward/

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