The Army is looking for industry to help shape its future SATCOM needs

On the same subject

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  November 28, 2018 | International, Naval

  BAE rolls out augmented-reality suite for the Royal Navy

  By: Andrew Chuter LONDON – BAE Systems hopes to begin operational trials of an augmented-reality system onboard a Royal Navy warship next year as part of a £20 million ($27 million) investment the defense contractor is making in advanced combat systems technology. Company officials said at a briefing in London Nov. 22 that they planned tests of augmented reality for a bridge watch officer role early in 2019 and expected the technology to be tried operationally during the second half of the year. “We have taken the navy through this and they are really excited. What they want to do is to take the technology into operation as soon as next year if they can,” said Frank Cotton, head of combat systems technology at BAE. The augmented-reality glasses would allow the officer of the watch to blend real-world visuals with data generated by sensors, like radars and sonars, laid over the top in a similar fashion to digital helmet displays used by combat jet pilots. Cotton said BAE is using technology from its new Striker II pilot's helmet to help develop the system for the Royal Navy. Microsoft's commercially available HoloLens augmented-reality headset, meanwhile, is set to feature in the Information Warrior 2019 exercise between March 25 and April 11. HoloLens, though, is better suited to gamers and software developers than for military use. Affordable, lightweight glasses, more suitable for the military environment are being developed by BAE, and the company hopes to take these to sea for operational testing in the second half of the year. Cotton said the Royal Navy is expected to use a Type 23 frigate for the sea trials. Full article: https://www.defensenews.com/global/europe/2018/11/26/bae-rolls-out-augmented-reality-suite-for-the-royal-navy

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  May 2, 2019 | International, Aerospace

  Advanced Avionics Computer Introduced for Unmanned Vehicles

  Mike Rees GE Aviation has announced the introduction of a new advanced avionics computer specifically built for military and commercial unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). This new computer provides an open architecture design that integrates vehicle management and advanced mission processing into a compact, lightweight design. “Our customers have told us that they require an integrated vehicle and mission processing solution that is secure, rugged, low size, weight and power and capable of meeting the needs of demanding autonomous platforms,” said Alan Caslavka, president of Avionics for GE Aviation. “This new system hits it out of the park in this regard and then builds from there in terms of bringing new capabilities to the next generation of unmanned systems.” This new system incorporates the processing power required for mission functions such as sensor processing at the edge and hosting autonomy enabling algorithms and then also embeds an inertial/GPS package, software defined radio, datalink and an optional solid-state storage device. Caslavka added, “The new system incorporates diverse processing that's capable of performing safety critical and non-critical functions while bringing a new level of security to legacy and future platforms.” The system integrates the functionality traditionally provided by up to six separate electronic units into a single package which drives out weight, power, and cost while meeting the security, exportability, ruggedness and processing needs of customers. GE's advanced avionics computer has undergone flight testing and is in use by a number of military and civil customers. The computer incorporates a hardware and software open architecture approach that offers flexibility and scalability. This design also provides the capability to host GE, customer and third-party software applications to maximize its versatility. https://www.unmannedsystemstechnology.com/2019/05/advanced-avionics-computer-introduced-for-unmanned-vehicles/

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  October 10, 2018 | International, Aerospace

  Army seeks new tactical unmanned aircraft for demo, testing in brigade combat teams

  By: Jen Judson WASHINGTON — The Army is calling for ready-to-fly future tactical unmanned aircraft systems that it can demonstrate with a select group of brigade combat teams in an effort to ultimately replace its Shadow UAS with something that better meets the needs of units in the field, according to Brig. Gen. Thomas Todd, the program executive officer for Army Aviation. The service dropped a solicitation to industry on Sept. 28 stating its desire to procure up to two non-developmental UAS that would fit either into the category of 21- to 55-pound drones or weigh under 1,320 pounds (UAS group 2 or 3), according to the document posted to the Federal Business Opportunities website. The Army has been looking for UAS that could operate independently from a runway and perform better in austere conditions than its current system at the tactical level. Earlier this year, the outgoing director of Army aviation in the Army's Office of the Deputy Chief of Staff for operations, planning and training, told Defense News that the Army sees a potential “quick win” when it comes to replacing Shadow. And the Army's Future Vertical Lift Cross-Functional Team — part of Army Futures Command — has already begun examining the possibility of new capabilities for both manned and unmanned future flight. The Army has acknowledged there are likely quite a few ready-to-go options when it comes to a new tactical UAS. So, it will take the approach of “buy, try, decide” to get after the possible replacement of Shadow, Todd told Defense News in an interview shortly after the solicitation was released. The plan is to assess what is offered and choose three vendors to supply 12 UAS to six BCTs that will evaluate them for a period of time in realistic environments. Each BCT will be given two UAS from each of the three chosen vendors, Todd said. Full article: https://www.defensenews.com/digital-show-dailies/ausa/2018/10/10/army-seeks-new-tactical-unmanned-aircraft-for-demo-testing-in-brigade-combat-teams