March 16, 2020 | International, C4ISR
By: Nathan Strout
The Department of Defense is seeking 5G prototypes related to the development of smart warehouses, the National Spectrum Consortium announced March 12.
The department has released a Request for Prototype Proposals through the consortium and is looking for a variety of smart warehouse enabling 5G technologies to test at the Marine Corps Logistics Base in Albany, Georgia. The department has divided the prototype technologies its interested in into three broad categories: A 5G network, enhancements to that network, and applications enabled by that network. Here is how the National Spectrum Consortium explains it:
The request is the first of four 5G RPPs the department is planning to release as it prepares to begin testing a variety of technologies at four military bases. The Pentagon has previously said that they plan to test 5G enabled augmented reality and virtual reality at Joint Base Lewis-McChord, dynamic spectrum sharing at Hill Air Force Base, and smart warehouses at Marine Corps Logistics Base and Naval Base San Diego.
The RPP is available to members of the National Spectrum Consortium, an acquisition vehicle created via a five-year, $1.25 billion Other Transaction Agreement by the Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense, Emerging Capabilities and Prototyping.
“This is the first of four proposals that the DOD has released. We encourage our membership, which is made up of traditional contractors and innovative startups, to collaborate and respond to these incredibly important RPPs,” said Joseph Dyer, chief strategy officer of the National Spectrum Consortium.
August 21, 2018 | International, Naval
The U.S. Navy's aircrew systems program office intends to host an industry day in late September for a real-time physiological monitoring and alerting ... http://aviationweek.com/defense/us-navy-seeks-real-time-physiological-monitoring-system
January 19, 2021 | International, Aerospace
By: Jen Judson WASHINGTON — Aerovironment, a leading supplier of unmanned aircraft systems to the U.S. military, has purchased Arcturus UAV for $405 million. Arcturus is currently competing for a $1 billion Army contract to replace the Shadow tactical unmanned aircraft system. Arcturus, which was founded in 2004 in California, specializes in Group 2 and 3 UAS, which run the gamut between drones over 20 pounds and under roughly 1,300 pounds. Army units are evaluating Arcturus' Jump 20 UAS. The drone is competing against Martin UAV and Northrop Grumman's V-Bat, Textron's Aerosonde HQ, and L3Harris Technologies′ FVR-90. The Jump is a multimission, medium-endurance, vertical-takeoff-and-landing system that can become airborne independent of a runway. Arcturus also makes the T-20, a multimission, medium-endurance, catapult-launched system. The Army is moving toward a final request for proposals with its Future Tactical UAS program that will replace the Shadow UAS, so the sale of Arcturus to a much larger UAV company is timely. Aerovironment did not have a path to Group 3 UAS, and bringing Arcturus into the fold fills that gap. According to those following the industry, Aerovironment has products that, when integrated into Arcturus' capabilities, could make for attractive future systems. Being acquired by a larger company like Aerovironment would also help the company become a more serious contender in the Army competition by building up its manufacturing capability to radidly produce UAS in large quantities, which the Army would require if the Jump is selected. The total purchase price of the sale is a combined $355 million in cash and $50 million in Aerovironment stock, according to a Jan. 13 news release. Arcturus previously supplied UAS to U.S. Special Operations Command's $1.4 billion MEUAS III and IV programs, the release noted. “We are excited about the opportunities for value creation through our acquisition of Arcturus UAV, which will enable us to accelerate our growth strategy and expand our reach into the more valuable Group 2 and 3 UAS segments,” Wahid Nawabi, AeroVironment president and CEO, said in the statement. “Group 2 and 3 UAS and services, collectively, potentially represent more than one billion dollars in annual contract value, according to an independent forecast,” he added. “Combining our highly complementary products and technologies will enhance our portfolio, deliver top and bottom-line growth, and enable us to provide customers with a complete set of Group 1 through 3 UAS, tactical missile systems, high-altitude pseudo-satellites and unmanned ground vehicle solutions.” With Aerovironment, “we will have greater scale, expanded resources, cutting-edge technology and superior capabilities to meet the growing global demand for our products and solutions,” D'Milo Hallerberg, Arcturus UAV president and CEO, said in the statement. “We are confident that with AeroVironment, we can accelerate our growth as part of a larger, more diverse company and look forward to working closely with the team to complete this exciting transaction.” The transaction is expected to be complete by the final quarter of fiscal 2021, and Arcturus will operate as a wholly owned subsidiary of Aerovironment. https://www.defensenews.com/land/2021/01/15/aerovironment-buys-arcturus-uav-405m-deal/
May 24, 2023 | International, Aerospace
Norway will support training programmes for Ukrainian pilots to fly F-16 fighter jets, Norwegian Defence Minister Bjoern Arild Gram said on Wednesday.