July 24, 2018 | International, C4ISR
By: Maddy Longwell
Persistent Systems, a New York City-based global communications technology company, has introduced a portable antenna system to incorporate unmanned aerial vehicles into a networked battlefield.
The auto-tracking antenna system is an easily collapsible ground-to-air antenna that operates on the Wave Relay mobile ad hoc network (MANET), which Persistent Systems manufactures, a news release said.
Persistent Systems hopes the antenna could be used in Special Operations Command's Mid-Endurance Unmanned Aircraft Systems III program.
The 5-foot parabolic dish is designed to be deployed within 15 minutes and can track and rotate to follow MANET-connected technology in the air, expanding the network bubble. Persistent Systems predicts this will reduce costs by decreasing dependence on satellite communications.
“The antenna helps connect far-flung forces, acting like a cheaper, locally controlled low-Earth satellite with a greater data rate,” Erik Schechter, a Persistent Systems spokesperson, said in an email.
The IP67-rated antenna system, designed for any weather environment, has interchangeable S-Band, L-Band and C-Band MIMO feeds and supports high data rates, video and voice communications up to 130 miles, yet can be stored compactly and fit into a standard-sized SUV, according to the Persistent Systems press release.
Schechter also said that the antenna can also be used for longer-range chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear and explosives command missions, like ones in Syria.
The auto-tracking antenna system is expected to improve full-motion video and sensor data transmission from drones and is automatically calibrated to reduce user error.
“The idea is for the Army, Navy, [Special Operations Command] and foreign customers to use it for better communications relays,” Schechter said.
SOCOM announced in May that UTC Aerospace Systems had been selected for its MEUAS III program and would provide SOCOM with flight management and imaging systems. Previously, SOCOM had selected Insitu, a company owned by Boeing and Textron Systems, to provide technology for intelligence and surveillance.
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Aaron Mehta WASHINGTON — BAE Systems announced Thursday it is investing more than $100 million in new infrastructure to support its navigation and sensor systems business, which was acquired from Collins Aerospace over the summer. The new campus, located in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, will condense the company's military GPS capabilities from around the country into one location. Included in the project is a 278,000-square-foot factory and research and development center, located on a 32-acre site just minutes from Eastern Iowa Airport. The building will include a large factory, several hundred offices, workstations, and both classified and unclassified labs, according to a company release, with the ability to add 50,000 square feet of space if needed. BAE spent $1.9 billion to land the business unit, which primarily focuses on military GPS technologies, in a deal that was completed July 31. The acquisition followed the merger of defense contracting giants United Technologies Corp. and Raytheon into Raytheon Technologies Corporation in June 2019. The U.S. Department of Justice approved that merger in March 2020, but only on the condition the companies divest UTC's military GPS and large space-based optical systems businesses, as well as Raytheon's military airborne radios business. In March, BAE's chief executive Jerry DeMuro told Defense News that the purchase, along with $275 million spent to purchase the airborne radio business, positioned the company well under the National Defense Strategy. The military GPS business includes a workforce of 700 employees that design and build advanced, hardened, secure GPS products, including devices that can utilize M-Code, a more secure U.S. military GPS signal. The business boasts more than 1.5 million GPS devices installed on more than 280 weapons systems. “Our world-class military GPS business is built on the rich talent pool in Greater Cedar Rapids,” John Watkins, vice president and general manager of precision strike and sensing solutions at BAE Systems, said in a statement. “This investment will provide our high-tech engineering and manufacturing experts with a world-class workspace and the tools to enhance operational excellence.” https://www.c4isrnet.com/industry/2020/11/05/bae-building-new-campus-for-recently-acquired-gps-business