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November 6, 2024 | International, Naval

Thales Naval DRAKON solution enhances interoperability and secure connectivity for naval forces

Naval DRAKON was specifically developed to provide high-data-rate, robust and secure communications between naval vessels, airborne sensors and command centres.

https://www.epicos.com/article/885674/thales-naval-drakon-solution-enhances-interoperability-and-secure-connectivity-naval

On the same subject

  • US Space Force developing a strategy to improve satellite communications

    September 14, 2020 | International, Aerospace, C4ISR

    US Space Force developing a strategy to improve satellite communications

    Nathan Strout WASHINGTON — As the U.S. Space Force builds out its fiscal 2022 budget, the nascent service is developing a new strategy to govern how it builds and leases satellite communications and services, Lt. Gen. Bill Liquori explained during the Defense News Conference Sept. 9. The strategy follows the Enterprise SATCOM Vision the Space Force released in February. That document formally laid out the military's desire to have a single satellite communication architecture capable of keeping war fighters connected even in contested, degraded and operationally-limited environments. Currently, the Department of Defense relies on a loose federation of stovepiped, government-built satellites and commercial providers to provide connectivity. But moving forward, the Space Force wants war fighters to seamlessly roam from one signal to another to maintain their connection. “At the end of the day, anyone who's using satellite communications doesn't really care where that information comes from,” explained Liquori, the Space Force's deputy chief of space operations for strategy, plans, programs, requirements and analysis. “They really want to know that when they need to use their radio they can use it, and if there's somebody trying to counter them using that radio, that there's an ability for them to pivot to an alternative communications mechanism, because what they care about is getting their message across.” While the service was able to include some aspects of that Enterprise SATCOM Vision in the fiscal 2021 budget, that budget process was already well underway when the Space Force was formally established in December. That budget request included $43 million in research, development, test & evaluation funding to develop the Fighting SATCOM Enterprise, a new designation emphasizing the ability to roam between various communications satellites, regardless of whether they are commercial or government operated. Liquori emphasized that more would be done in the fiscal 2022 budget. “The '22 budget is now the next step if you will, and we've continued to lay in both budget line items for being able to maintain a common operating picture of our SATCOM links in theater as well as continuing on prototypes,” he explained. “There are certainly inputs there for Protected Tactical Waveforms so that we can do protected communications with more than just our traditional military purpose-built systems, but ideally to use that waveform on other systems as well.” Simultaneously, the service is developing a strategy that will govern how the Enterprise SATCOM Vision is implemented. “Obviously the '22 budget submission is big for any service," Liquori said. “We're working on an Enterprise SATCOM strategy that will follow from the vision document, if you will.” Commercial providers have expressed cautious optimism with the Space Force's approach, while arguing that the effort needs more funding and more specifics. https://www.c4isrnet.com/smr/defense-news-conference/2020/09/09/space-force-developing-a-strategy-for-implementing-its-enterprise-satcom-vision/

  • Three European air forces approve performance benchmarks for next-gen fighter jet

    May 28, 2020 | International, Aerospace

    Three European air forces approve performance benchmarks for next-gen fighter jet

    By: Sebastian Sprenger COLOGNE, Germany — The air forces of Germany, France and Spain have agreed on a set of performance benchmarks to help their governments guide the development of a next-generation fighter jet set to fly in 2040, the German military announced Tuesday in a statement. The document, approved earlier this month, is meant to help officials identify what features from a collection of 10 possible system architectures are worth keeping when the time comes to settle on a path forward for the Next-Generation Weapon System, or NGWS. That system, with the manned next-gen fighter at its heart, is slated to become the central element of the Future Combat Air System, or FCAS, the most ambitious and expensive weapons program in mainland Europe. As envisioned, a small fleet of attack and surveillance drones, or “remote carriers,” would accompany each jet, and all elements would be interlinked by an artificial intelligence-powered “combat cloud,” according to a project description. The 10 different system architectures for NGWS currently in the mix lean in different directions — for example, when it comes to armaments, maneuverability and range of the main jet and its companion drones, the German Bundeswehr statement explained. The three air force top officials — Lt. Gen. Ingo Gerhartz of Germany, Gen. Philippe Lavigne of France and Javier Fernandez of Spain — also agreed on a “Common Understanding Connectivity,” a guide for connecting national systems into the future FCAS scenario. The document will enable the program's partner nations to “synchronize” their respective development programs, according to the German statement. The industry leads for the Future Combat Air System program, Airbus of Germany and Dassault of France, unveiled a mock-up of the future fighter jet at the Paris Air Show last year. The plan is to begin testing a prototype in 2026. Earlier this year, France and Germany formally kicked off the next phase of the overall program, with each government contributing $85 million toward the development of technology demonstrators. German lawmakers, who fear an overtly strong French industry influence in the FCAS program, have linked the project to progress on the Main Ground Combat System, another highly visible bilateral program aimed at building a common battle tank. France has the lead on the next-generation fighter, while Germany leads the tank project. The German parliament's strategy of keeping a close watch on the aerial program by approving only relatively small tranches of money has Dassault CEO Eric Trappier worried about the ability to hit deadlines, French newspaper La Tribune reported last week. Speaking before a French Senate committee in mid-May, Trappier proposed a Franco-German programming law to ensure a more rapid development pace, according to the newspaper. https://www.defensenews.com/global/europe/2020/05/26/three-european-air-forces-approve-performance-benchmarks-for-next-gen-fighter-jet/

  • Leidos awarded $249 million U.S. Army force protection contract

    October 13, 2024 | International, Land

    Leidos awarded $249 million U.S. Army force protection contract

    The follow-on contract has a six-year period of performance with a total ceiling value of $249 million.

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