Space Force eyes ‘outernet’ for better data flow in orbit

On the same subject

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  February 5, 2020 | International, Naval, C4ISR

  BAE Systems Wins Two Awards to Support the U.S. Navy with Enhanced Radio Communications and C5ISR Capabilities

  February 3, 2020 - The U.S. Navy's Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division (NAWCAD) has awarded BAE Systems, Inc. a prime position on a $212 million contract to integrate and sustain its critical communication systems. The company will design, acquire, integrate, and test radio systems for newly constructed Guided Missile Destroyers (DDG) and other U.S. Navy and U.S. Coast Guard ships. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200203005039/en/ Additionally, the company was awarded a separate $104.7 million contract by NAWCAD to provide engineering and technical services to support production, lifetime-support, and in-service engineering for the radio communications C5ISR (command, control, communications, computers, combat systems, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance) systems aboard U.S. Navy surface combatants and at associated shore sites. The work will be focused primarily on the CG 47 Class and DDG 51 Class AEGIS ships. “Maintaining reliable lines of communication and situational awareness for those at the forefront of national security is a mission-critical priority for BAE Systems and our customers,” said Mark Keeler, vice president and general manager of BAE Systems' Integrated Defense Solutions business. “We're proud to continue supporting the integration of combat systems and solutions for the U.S. Navy as they defend against advanced air, surface, and subsurface threats.” BAE Systems has been a trusted partner to the U.S. Navy for over 45 years, with decades of experience working to develop next-generation solutions for critical shipboard systems. The company's electronics experts have experience providing custom, tailor-made solutions to help close communications capability gaps for the U.S. military, including existing work with U.S. Navy C5ISR capability modernization. BAE Systems delivers a broad range of services and solutions enabling militaries and governments to successfully carry out their respective missions. The company provides large-scale systems engineering, integration, and sustainment services across air, land, sea, space, and cyber domains. BAE Systems takes pride in its support of national security and those who serve. NAVAIR Public Release 2020-79. Distribution Statement A – “Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited” View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200203005039/en/

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  January 20, 2022 | International, Naval

  Navy, Lockheed Haven’t Reached Cost Deal on LCS Combining Gear - USNI News

  The Navy and Lockheed Martin are still negotiating the cost breakdown for a fix to the Freedom variant Littoral Combat Ship that has restricted the operations of most ships in the class, a service official said last week. Capt. Andy Gold, the program manager for the Navy’s Littoral Combat Ship, told reporters at the annual …

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  June 10, 2020 | International, Aerospace

  Is China already inside America’s hypersonic industrial base?

  By: Aaron Mehta WASHINGTON — As the Pentagon focuses on developing new technologies such as artificial intelligence and directed energy, department officials have declared the need to ensure foreign nations are not buying their way into the defense-industrial base. But a new report warns China may already have ownership over a key focus: hypersonic weapons. Hypersonic missiles, which are capable of going faster than five times the speed of sound, are expected to become a backbone of the U.S. military in the coming decades. As part of its annual Federal Scorecard, data and analytics firm Govini found that tier one suppliers in the hypersonic supply chain — seven major companies that are working most closely with the Department of Defense on the technology development — has done a good job of keeping Chinese-owned companies out of the process. But at the tier three level, where companies provide smaller but still critical components, the exposure to Chinese suppliers jumps to nearly 10 percent. And that exposure grows slightly by the time it reaches tier five suppliers, with Govini seeing signs of overlap among companies at those lower levels. “This does not necessarily mean that Chinese parts are ending up in DoD'a hypersonics,” explained Jim Mitre, Govini's senior vice president for strategy and analysis. “However, China may have opportunities to jeopardize the development [of] hypersonics through engagement in the supply chain, and it's critically important for DoD and industry to ensure that's not the case.” That is “an area that we're regularly working with the department on exploring and unpacking” to understand the challenges in the supply chain, Mitre added. A series of Pentagon reports in the last two years have raised concerns about the defense-industrial base, particularly when it comes to high-end materials and design knowledge for missiles. In some cases, the only supplier for critical materials come from China, the exact country the U.S. is looking to counter by investing in hypersonic weapons. In March, the Pentagon announced it was launching a deep dive into the hypersonic industrial base specifically to understand the vulnerabilities at the lower-tier suppliers. That study is ongoing. Meanwhile, officials have acknowledged that smaller suppliers have been impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Govini also found that the U.S. is under investing compared to China in the realm of quantum technologies, with the Pentagon's fiscal 2021 research, development, testing and evaluation budget for quantum-related programs decreasing by nearly 10 percent from the previous year. The department has requested $3.2 billion for RDT&E funds related to hypersonic weapons in FY21. https://www.defensenews.com/pentagon/2020/06/09/is-china-already-inside-americas-hypersonic-industrial-base/