July 18, 2023 | International, Other Defence
“We have learned that staying ahead of the threat and gaining strategic advantage can be achieved through novel and creative means."
June 11, 2021 | International, Naval
ARLINGTON, Va. — Raytheon Intelligence & Space, a Raytheon Technologies business, will provide logistics and repair services for all U.S. Marine Corps ground equipment under a five-year, $495 million contract, the company announced in a June 8 release. The company...
July 30, 2018 | International, Land
By: Kyle Rempfer Wheels are faster on hard surfaces, while a tracked design performs better on soft ground. Rather than pushing a ground combat vehicle through terrain it doesn't perform well on, why not just slap on some shape-shifting wheels? A team from Carnegie Mellon University's National Robotics Engineering Center demonstrated the feasibility of such shape-shifting wheel-track mechanisms for the Defense Department recently. The new technology, dubbed a “reconfigurable wheel-track,” can transition from a round wheel to a triangular track and back again while the vehicle is in motion — allowing for an instant improvement in tactical mobility on shifting terrain. The wheel-track is part of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency's Ground X-Vehicle Technologies, or GXV-T, program, which aims to improve mobility, survivability, safety, and effectiveness of future combat vehicles without piling on more armor, according to a June 22 press release. “We're looking at how to enhance survivability by buttoning up the cockpit and augmenting the crew through driver-assistance aids,” said Maj. Amber Walker, the program manager for GXV-T in DARPA's Tactical Technology Office. “For mobility, we've taken a radically different approach by avoiding armor and developing options to move quickly and be agile over all terrain.” The DARPA initiative is looking to build a future in which combat vehicles can traverse up to 95 percent of off-road terrain, including slopes and various elevations. The new wheel-track design is just one of the contract awardees that recently demonstrated advances on a variety of potentially groundbreaking technologies that meet the program's goals. DARPA also showcased a new “multi-mode extreme travel suspension” system that allows for "high-speed travel over rough terrain, while keeping the vehicle upright and minimizing occupant discomfort,” the agency said in its statement. The suspension can move 42 inches upward and 30 inches downward, and keeps itself level on steep grades by adjusting each wheel. Other enhanced mobility designs include an electric in-hub motor built by QinetiQ, which puts motors directly inside the wheels, offering heightened acceleration and maneuverability with optimal torque, traction, power, and speed over rough or smooth terrain. “QinetiQ demonstrated a unique approach, incorporating three gear stages and a complex thermal management design into a system small enough to fit a standard military 20-inch rim,” according to the release. Another new development could impact a vehicle crew's awareness. Most combat vehicles have small windows. This improves the protection offered to troops, but limits their visibility to spot threats and targets. The GXV-T program is looking at sensor technologies to give mechanized troops their eyes back. One design by Honeywell International boasts an enhanced 360-degree awareness suite through virtual windows. The company showed that capability off in a windowless cockpit of an all-terrain vehicle with an opaque canopy, according to the DARPA release. “The 3D near-to-eye goggles, optical head-tracker and wrap-around Active Window Display screens provide real-time, high-resolution views outside the vehicle,” the release reads. “In off-road courses, drivers have completed numerous tests using the system in roughly the same time as drivers in [ATVs] with full visibility.” No fielding date has been announced by DARPA's offices for the new mobility technologies, but the program could help solve many of the ongoing mobility issues troops have experienced in recent conflicts. For a full breakdown of the technologies being vetted through DARPA's GXV-T program, check out this YouTube video by the agency. https://www.militarytimes.com/news/your-air-force/2018/07/27/dod-researchers-literally-reinvented-the-wheel-with-shape-shifting-tracks/
July 8, 2020 | International, C4ISR
July 2, 2020 - TNO has signed a contract with ESA to demonstrate cutting-edge optical communication technologies for future terabit-per-second telecom satellites. The TOmCAT project (Terabit Optical Communication Adaptive Terminal) will enable high-throughput laser communication between ground stations and satellites. This project is Phase 2 of TOmCAT, which started in 2017. It brings together key players in the Space and High-Tech industries, including: TNO, Airbus Defence & Space Netherlands, FSO Instruments (consortium partner Demcon), Hittech Multin (NL), Celestia-STS (NL), MPB Communications (CA), Airbus DS SAS (FR) and Eutelsat (FR), SES (LU). TOmCAT is a co-funded activity in which TNO, the companies involved, the Canadian Space Agency and the Netherlands Space Office invest through the ESAs ARTES Strategic Programme Line ScyLight. Key technologies include high-bandwidth adaptive optics, thermally stable opto-mechanics, high-power photonics, and high-throughput optical transceivers. TNO Space aims to enable secure broadband connectivity that will support the growing demand for data and increase communication efficiency. We also help stimulate economic growth in the Netherlands and Europe by enabling companies to realise new products, generate new business and improve their competitive position. TOmCAT is one example of these goals in practice. HOW DOES TNO CONTRIBUTE TO TOMCAT? TNO brings all parties together and integrates all expertise to: 1) Design the end-to-end Optical Feeder Link for high-throughput satellites. 2) Build and test cutting-edge technologies required for future Terabit Optical Ground Stations. 3) Build an end-to-end Optical Ground Terminal demonstrator and test it in a 10 km ground-to-ground link. This will show the technical feasibility of future terabit-per-second laser communication between ground and satellite terminals. TNO considers development in the TOmCAT project to be a major and important step towards the realisation of commercial Optical Ground Terminals and Optical Ground Stations for high-throughput Optical Feeder Links. Furthermore, TNO will work in the coming period, in parallel with TOmCAT phase 2, with Airbus Defence & Space Netherlands on business development and, in collaboration, position Airbus DS NL as future Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEMer) of these Optical Ground Terminals and Optical Ground Stations. TECHNOLOGY AND APPLICATION TOmCAT is a technology development project with the end goal of developing a commercial optical ground station product. With high-data-rate laser links, this ground station can communicate with the next generation of Very High Throughput Satellites. One of the innovative elements of TOmCAT is its ability to pre-correct the laser light with adaptive optics. When light moves between the surface of the Earth and space, it gets distorted due to the fluctuations in the atmosphere. TOmCAT measures the distortion of the received laser light from the satellite, and by applying the inverse of this distortion to the transmitted light, a robust communication link can be established. In order to enable this, high speed adaptive optics is required. An important objective for the project is to build a demonstrator to test and prove this concept. View source version on TNO: https://www.tno.nl/en/about-tno/news/2020/7/tno-has-signed-a-contract-with-esa-to-start-phase-2-of-tomcat/