THEON SENSORS awarded program for NV binoculars for the U.S Marine Corps

On the same subject

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  May 29, 2020 | International, Aerospace

  Comparative SWOT & Program Strategy Assessment of the World's Top 6 Western Combat Aircraft (4/4.5 Gen) Programs - Boeing, Lockheed Martin, Dassault, Eurofighter and SAAB - ResearchAndMarkets.com

  Combat jets have formed the core of the force structure of Air Forces globally since their advent in the piston engine powered form on to the battlefields during the World War I with technological evolution having heralded the age of jet powered combat aircrafts by the end of World War II with the usage of turbojet powered combat aircrafts by both sides towards the later part of the war. The radical shift in the prevailing, traditional rule based world order with the rapid build-up of military capabilities by China and resurgence of Russia on the world horizon having already propped up defense spending across most regions & parts of the world. Additionally, ongoing conflicts & unrest across some parts of the world, especially, the Middle East has also led to a spurt in defense spending over the recent years driving demand for western origin military hardware by most nations. The global defense spending reached the $1.9 trillion level for 2019, growing by over 3% year on year to reach its highest level since the Cold war era, accounting for around 2.2% of the world GDP for 2019. Fighter jets have remained a core focus area for nations around the world with their significant role & capabilities in aerial combat, interdiction, penetration of enemy air defenses, ground attack and air dominance/superiority roles. The 21st century has marked the mainstream shift towards the 5th generation aircrafts with the U.S. maintaining the lead as always, with its F-22 Raptor program in late 1990s and with the F-35 Lightning II in the 21st century, while similar 5th generation programs are being developed and produced by Russia, China & South Korea. The quest towards the development of 6th generation aircrafts, poised to enter service in the 2030s, has also begun, led by the European FCAS & the British Tempest programs. This report, however, focuses on the key fighter jet program from the perspective of competition for pursuit of international exports opportunities, which has mostly been led by 4 or 4.5 generation aircrafts so far with the same mostly aimed at capabilities expansion or fleet replacement. The study, thus, takes a close look at the Top 6 4/4.5 generation fighter jet programs currently in production from the international markets perspective with focus on comparative assessment of respective programs along with a comparative SWOT analysis on these programs which have on multiple occasions have come to face off each other in multiple international competitions over the recent years. The report provides a comprehensive, comparative analysis of the Strengths & Weaknesses of these combat jet programs relative to each other while scanning out environmental opportunities & threats for these in a rapidly evolving post COVID-19 world scenario (which is likely to see pressures on defense spending across most parts of the world over near term) which further enhances the relevance & usefulness of this report. https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200527005384/en/Comparative-SWOT-Program-Strategy-Assessment-Worlds-Top

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  September 1, 2020 | International, Aerospace, C4ISR

  Space Development Agency orders its first satellites

  Nathan Strout WASHINGTON — The Space Development Agency has selected Lockheed Martin and York Space Systems to build the satellites for the first tranche of its transport layer ― an on-orbit mesh network that is key to the Pentagon's plans to connect on orbit sensors with terrestrial shooters ― the agency announced Aug. 31. Each company will build 10 satellites for SDA, though at vastly different prices. While York Space Systems will receive $94 million to build its 10 satellites, Lockheed Martin will receive $188 million for the same number. According to SDA Director Derek Tournear, that difference reflects the agency's firm-fixed-price contract approach to this solicitation, where they asked companies to give them a price point to meet SDA's detailed specifications. “We have two providers roughly providing the same thing at different prices. How does that work? It works simply as we put out a solicitation that gave requirements and gave a schedule, and we asked for firm-fixed-price bids based on those requirements and schedule,” explained Tournear in a media call following the announcement. “We had several providers that bid that came back with a range of different technical solutions and a range of prices. “We awarded them based completely on the technical merit and what we thought was their ability to be able to make schedule and provide a solution, and then price was factored into that,” he added. “That's what led York and Lockheed Martin to come out on top.” The satellites will comprise Tranche 0 of the agency's planned transport layer, a constellation of satellites that can transfer data globally through optical intersatellite links. Tournear has previously noted the space-based mesh network will form the space component to the Defense Department's Joint All-Domain Command and Control enterprise, or JADC2. “The transport layer, which is what the draft [request for proposals] and the industry day was talking about today, is going to be the unifying effort across the department. That is going to be what we use for low-latency [communications] to be able to pull these networks together, and that, in essence, is going to be the main unifying truss for the JADC2 and that effort moving forward. That is going to be the space network that is utilized for that,” Tournear explained in April. Six of the 20 satellites will have Link-16 transmitters, allowing them to connect to warfighters through the military's tactical network. The contracts include on-time delivery of space vehicles and paths to optical intersatellite link interoperability. Work is expected to kick off within 30 days, said Tournear. While Tranche 0 will be made up of just 20 satellites in low Earth orbit, SDA plans to add more satellites every two years as part of a spiral development approach. The transport layer will serve as the base for the new multi-layered National Defense Space Architecture, which will be made up of hundreds of interconnected satellites serving a number of missions — including tracking hypersonic weapons and providing beyond-line-of-sight targeting--primarily from low Earth orbit. SDA plans to launch Tranche 0 into orbit in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2022. “We're looking about this time in exactly two years, we will be launching 20 satellites from two different performers to make up the nucleus of our Tranche 0 transport layer,” said Tournear. According to the May 1 contract solicitation, the agency has six goals for its Tranche 0 transport layer: Demonstrate low-latency data transport to the war fighter over the optical cross link mesh network. Demonstrate the ability to deliver data from an external, space-based sensor to the war fighter via the transport layer. Demonstrate a limited battle management C3 functionality. Transfer Integrated Broadcast System data across the mesh network to the war fighter. Store, relay and transmit Link 16 data over the network in near real time. Operate a common timing reference independent of GPS. https://www.c4isrnet.com/battlefield-tech/space/2020/08/31/space-development-agency-orders-its-first-satellites/?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=EBB%2009.01.20&utm_term=Editorial%20-%20Early%20Bird%20Brief

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  October 18, 2021 | International, Land

  A future Bradley replacement and a new troop vehicle | Defense News Weekly Full Episode, 10.16.21

  See the newest tech and hear from leadership in this special episode of Defense News Weekly covers the Association of the U.S. Army conference.