June 16, 2020 | International, Aerospace, C4ISR
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency has awarded Raytheon $37 million to develop sensors for Project Blackjack, according to a June 12 contract announcement.
Project Blackjack is a demonstration constellation being developed and fielded by DARPA to show the military utility of an on-orbit mesh network made up of satellites operating in low Earth orbit. The agency expects to launch flight demonstration satellites this fall before beginning to launch the full constellation of about 20 Blackjack satellites in 2021.
As part of the June 12 contract, Raytheon will research, develop and demonstrate Overhead Persistent Infrared (OPIR) sensors that will be integrated into the Blackjack constellation and the Pit Boss system, an autonomous, space-based command and data processor which is the brains behind Blackjack. Work is expected to be completed in April 2023.
DARPA has awarded a number of Blackjack contracts as it prepares for its first Blackjack launches in 2021. In April, the agency selected SEAKR Engineering as the prime contractor to develop Pit Boss. That same month, Lockheed Martin announced that it has been awarded a contract for the first phase of satellite integration for Blackjack, which entails defining and managing interfaces between the bus, payload and Pit Boss.
Blue Canyon Technologies was awarded a $14 million contract for phase 2 and 3 work on the Blackjack buses on June 9, and on June 10 was issued a $16 million contract for phases 2 and 3 work on the payload side of Blackjack. Blue Canyon had received a phase 1 award for spacecraft design work in 2018. The payload effort is expected to be wrapped up in March 2021, with the bus work completed in June 2021.
September 17, 2023 | International, C4ISR
China will impose sanctions against U.S. aerospace and defence firms Northrop Grumman and Lockheed Martin for providing weapons to Taiwan, the Chinese foreign ministry said on Friday.
November 1, 2019 | International, Land
By: Jen Judson WASHINGTON — The U.S. Army has selected General Dynamics Land Systems' Multi-Utility Tactical Transport, or MUTT, for its Squad Multipurpose Equipment Transport unmanned ground system program of record. The initial contract for the eight-wheel drive robotic vehicle totals $162.4 million and includes support hardware, user training and technical support. The contract will wrap up at the end of October 2024, according to an Oct. 30 Defense Department announcement. GDLS will produce 624 systems for the Squad Multipurpose Equipment Transport, or SMET, program under the contract and will begin delivery in the second quarter of fiscal 2021, an Army spokesperson confirmed to Defense News. Four companies were chosen at the end of 2017 to compete to build the robotic vehicle that will help troops carry equipment on the battlefield. A team of Applied Research Associates and Polaris Defense; General Dynamics Land Systems; HDT Expeditionary Systems and Howe & Howe were selected to build 20 platforms each that were issued to two infantry brigade combat teams for testing and analysis of utility in the field. Polaris' MRZR X was evaluated as well as HDT's six-wheel drive Global Hunter WOLF, or Wheeled Offload Logistics Follower. Textron-owned Howe & Howe offered its Grizzly unmanned vehicle, which is powered by an electric engine. HDT's Global Hunter WOLF was recently picked, along with three other teams to include Textron and QinetiQ North America, to compete to build vehicles for the Robotic Combat Vehicle-Light effort. The Army selected those teams from an array of companies chosen to participate in a demonstration event in the fall of 2017 at Fort Benning, Georgia. Other companies that participated in that demonstration included American Robot Company; Lockheed Martin; AM General; Robo-Team NA; and QinetiQ North America. For the SMET program, the Army was looking for a vehicle that can carry about 1,000 pounds worth of soldier equipment. This equates to lightening the load of nine soldiers across an infantry squad. The Army wanted the robots to be able to travel 60 miles over three days and to be able to provide a spare kilowatt hour of power while moving and at least 3 kilowatt hours while stationary. https://www.defensenews.com/land/2019/10/31/heres-the-robotic-vehicle-that-will-carry-equipment-for-us-troops/
February 13, 2019 | International, Naval
By Allen Cone Feb. 12 (UPI) -- The U.S. Navy has awarded Lockheed Martin a $212 million contract for additional work on the development and integration of the Aegis system for Japan. The contract is for incorporation of remaining Baseline J7 scope in support of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force, the U.S. Department of Defense announced Monday. https://www.upi.com/Defense-News/2019/02/12/Lockheed-awarded-212M-for-work-on-Aegis-combat-system-for-Japan/7451549977469/