December 3, 2020 | International, Aerospace, Naval, C4ISR

Raytheon wins pair of Air Force and Navy IT contracts

WASHINGTON — Raytheon's intelligence and space business announced Wednesday it was awarded a five-year basic ordering agreement for software services by LevelUP, a U.S. Air Force software factory.

The award to the defense giant comes after the company announced a $70 million contract for submarine communications sustainment with the Navy. A Raytheon spokesperson was unable to provide a contract value for the Air Force deal.

According to Raytheon, the basic ordering agreement will be the “primary avenue” for the Air Force's Platform One system, which serves as the service's primary platform for software development. The deal also impacts the development of the Advanced Battle Management System, the Air Force's platform to enable the Joint All-Domain Command and Control concept.

“To combat increasingly fast, capable and agile threats, we must be able to deliver services within hours, or even minutes,” said David Appel, vice president of defense and civil solutions for space and C2 systems with Raytheon Intelligence and Space. “This agreement provides an avenue for the Air Force to achieve that. We're now positioned to rapidly deliver agile cyber solutions to the Air Force and the Department of Defense.”

The Air Force decided to create the LevelUP factory after its work developing U.S. Cyber Command's Unified Platform, the combatant command's first major weapons system. The Air Force wanted the factory to help other components with similar software projects.

Submarine communications

Meanwhile, below sea level, Raytheon was awarded a $70 million contract to provide sustainment services to Navy submarines, the defense giant announced Dec. 1.

Under the five-year, indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity contract, Raytheon will provide test, inspection, evaluation and restoration services of Submarine High-Data Rate, or SubHDR, mast components.

SubHDR connects submarines to the Defense Department's Global Broadcast Service, a network that allows for one-way communication of data and video files. The SubHDR systems relies on a special mast antenna that connects the subs to networks above the sea. The Global Broadcast Service relies on the Milstar satellite constellation and Defense Satellite Communication System.

According to a Raytheon news release, SubHDR “vastly improves a submarine's mission capability and the quality of life for submariners by affording them high-data rate communications with the world outside of the sub.”

“The SubHDR system was created to support protected high-data rate communications for submarines,” said Denis Donohue, vice president for communications and airspace modernization systems for Raytheon Intelligence and Space. “SubHDR mast is a protected, secure and survivable system to support all communications needs, from day-to-day messaging to ensuring the commander-in-chief can stay connected with his commanders.”

Naval Undersea Warfare Center awarded the contract.

https://www.c4isrnet.com/battlefield-tech/it-networks/2020/12/02/raytheon-wins-pair-of-air-force-and-navy-it-contracts/

On the same subject

December 6, 2019 | International, Aerospace

Australian Defence Force Selects GA-ASI MQ-9B for Project Air 7003
San Diego – December 4, 2019 – General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA‑ASI), the world's leading manufacturer of Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS), has been advised that the Australian Government has selected GA-ASI's MQ-9B SkyGuardian® variant to provide the Armed RPAS for the Australian Defence Force (ADF) under Project Air 7003. This follows the Government's announcement in November 2018 that GA-ASI would provide Armed RPAS to the ADF. The ADF expects to take first delivery in the early 2020s. “We have worked closely with the ADF to determine the right RPAS to meet their needs,” said Linden Blue, CEO, GA-ASI. “MQ-9B will provide the all-weather, multi-mission support, and interoperability that the ADF requires. We look forward to working closely with our Australian industry partners to provide a highly capable RPAS to the ADF, while creating high-tech jobs in Australia.” The ADF joins other top-tier military forces in choosing a GA-ASI RPAS because of its proven multi-role combat performance. MQ-9B is part of GA-ASI's Predator® series of RPAS, which is the world's most trusted and capable armed Medium-altitude, Long-endurance (MALE) RPAS, and hails from a family of aircraft that has flown more than six million flight hours. The UK Royal Air Force (RAF) is acquiring the MQ-9B as part of its Protector RG Mk1 program and is scheduled for first delivery in the early 2020s. The Government of Belgium has approved Belgian Defense to negotiate for the acquisition of MQ-9B to meet the nation's RPA requirements. MQ-9B development is the result of a five-year, company funded program to deliver an unmanned aircraft system to meet the stringent airworthiness type-certification requirements of NATO and civil aviation authorities throughout the world. MQ-9B is provisioned for the GA-ASI-developed Detect and Avoid (DAA) system, which consists of air-to-air radar, Traffic alert and Collision Avoidance System (TCAS II), and Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B). The MQ-9B is built for all-weather performance with lightning protection, damage tolerance, and de-icing system. GA-ASI announced its intention to offer a MALE RPAS to the ADF during AVALON 2017 with the launch of Team Reaper Australia, a robust group of Australian industry partners. The team currently consists of ten world-class Australian companies providing a range of innovative sensor, communication, manufacturing and life-cycle support capabilities including Cobham (lead industry partner), CAE, Raytheon, Flight Data Systems, TAE Aerospace, Quickstep, AirSpeed, Collins Aerospace, Ultra, and SentientVision. Hi-resolution images of the MQ-9B SkyGuardian are available to qualified media outlets from the GA-ASI media contact list. About GA-ASI General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI), an affiliate of General Atomics, is a leading designer and manufacturer of proven, reliable Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA) systems, radars, and electro-optic and related mission systems, including the Predator® RPA series and the Lynx® Multi-mode Radar. With nearly 6 million flight hours, GA-ASI provides long-endurance, mission-capable aircraft with integrated sensor and data link systems required to deliver persistent flight that enables situational awareness and rapid strike. The company also produces a variety of ground control stations and sensor control/image analysis software, offers pilot training and support services, and develops meta-material antennas. For more information, visit www.ga-asi.com Predator, SkyGuardian and Lynx are registered trademarks of General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. For more information contact: GA-ASI Media Relation General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. +1 (858) 524-8108 ASI-MediaRelations@ga-asi.com View source version on GA-ASI: http://www.ga-asi.com/australian-defence-force-selects-ga-asi-mq-9b-for-project-air-7003
July 5, 2021 | International, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security

Kubasik starts new role as chief executive at L3Harris
Chris Kubasik replaces Bill Brown and becomes the second CEO in the history of the U.S. company, which formed in mid-2019 when Harris Corporation and L3 Technologies merged into a single business.
January 12, 2021 | International, Aerospace

PARROT ÉQUIPERA L'ARMÉE FRANÇAISE DE SES MICRO-DRONES DE RECONNAISSANCE ET DE RENSEIGNEMENTS
Pascal Samama Le 12/01/2021 à 15:08 Les armées commandent des centaines de micro-drones au fabricant français Parrot. La DGA a passé une première commande de 300 micro-drones qui seront livrés en juin prochain. C'est finalement Parrot qui fournira aux trois armées (terre, air, mer) des micro-drones de reconnaissance et de surveillance. La DGA (direction général de l'armement) vient d'annoncer qu'elle a sélectionné le modèle Anafi. Conçu en France, il est fabriqué aux Etats-Unis, mais "aucun composant ne provient de Chine", précise Parrot dans un communiqué. Parrot est une société historique de la French Tech. Elle a été fondé en 1994 par Henri Seydoux. Parrot est aujourd'hui le premier groupe de drone Européen. Une première commande de 300 appareils a été passée et seront livrés dès le mois de juin. Le contrat, qui comprend aussi des équipements complémentaires et la formation de pilotes, s'étend sur 5 ans a indiqué le ministère des Armées sans préciser le nombre total de la commande, ni le nombre de livraison annuelle, ni le montant du contrat. Il a seulement précisé que 60% de la commande ira à l'armée de Terre, 28% pour la Marine nationale et 12% pour l'armée de l'Air et de l'Espace. Un véritable espion volant L'Anafi ne pèse que 500 grammes ce qui permet de le transporter facilement dans un paquetage. Il est équipé de deux caméras 4K de 21 mégapixels avec un zoom 32x. Cette puissance optique lui permet de détecter de jour comme de nuit des cibles de taille humaine jusqu'à deux kilomètres de distance. Son point fort est aussi la sécurité des informations recueillies et de la liaison. Une signature numérique protège son logiciel de modification malveillante. De plus, l'enregistrement est réalisé au sol par une connexion sécurisée. Le drone permet d'enregistrer les données de la mission uniquement sur le segment sol, et non dans le vecteur aérien, puis de les extraire pour analyse, par connexion physique. Le drone dispose d'une connexion WPA2 sécurisée et de protocoles ouverts qui garantissent la confiance dans l'interopérabilité des données enregistrées pour des missions sensibles. https://www.bfmtv.com/economie/parrot-equipera-l-armee-francaise-de-ses-micro-drones-de-reconnaissance-et-de-renseignements_AN-202101120234.html

All news

Raytheon wins pair of Air Force and Navy IT contracts

On the same subject

Kubasik starts new role as chief executive at L3Harris Chris Kubasik replaces Bill Brown and becomes the second CEO in the history of the U.S. company, which formed in mid-2019 when Harris Corporation and L3 Technologies merged into a single business.

Kubasik starts new role as chief executive at L3Harris
Chris Kubasik replaces Bill Brown and becomes the second CEO in the history of the U.S. company, which formed in mid-2019 when Harris Corporation and L3 Technologies merged into a single business.