U.S. GOVERNMENT AWARDS LOCKHEED MARTIN CONTRACT TO BEGIN PRODUCTION OF MULTI-MISSION SURFACE COMBATANT FOR KINGDOM OF SAUDI ARABIA

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  February 15, 2020 | International, Aerospace

  Singapore Airshow 2020: IAI takes aim at Singapore's next-gen UAV requirement with Heron MKII

  Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) has taken the opportunity at Singapore Airshow 2020 to showcase its Heron MKII medium altitude long endurance unmanned aerial vehicle (MALE UAV) to the public for the first time, and has declared its intention to pitch the new air vehicle at a Singaporean requirement for next-generation UAVs. Moshe Levy, IAI's executive vice president and general manager of its Military Aircraft Group, told Jane's that the Heron MKII builds on the experience gained from developing the incumbent Heron 1 UAV and will offer improved performance via several airframe design and propulsion updates, although its general physical characteristics remain unchanged with an overall length and wingspan of 8.5 m and 16.6 m, respectively. Newly incorporated enhancements include a widened fuselage pod designed to accommodate a greater number of sensors and/or more powerful mission systems as well as a new propulsion configuration comprising the fully certified Rotax 915 iS 1,352 cc turbocharged four-stroke engine, which has a time before overhaul (TBO) rating of 1,200 hours. It also produces up to 135 hp at maximum continuous power and is coupled to a three-bladed variable-pitch pusher propeller. IAI claims that the new engine will provide the Heron MKII with a 50% improvement on the rate of climb over that of the Heron 1, as well as a 16.6% boost over the current maximum speed of 120 kt to 140 kt, although it retains a comparable loiter speed profile of between 60 and 80 kt. The new air vehicle's maximum take-off weight (MTOW) has also increased to 1,350 kg with a corresponding uptick in payload capacity to 470 kg. In contrast, the Heron 1 has a MTOW of about 1,200 kg and is powered by a 1,211 cc four-stroke Rotax 914 F engine that can develop up to 100 hp at maximum continuous power, which in turn drives a two-bladed pusher propeller. https://www.janes.com/article/94282/singapore-airshow-2020-iai-takes-aim-at-singapore-s-next-gen-uav-requirement-with-heron-mkii?from_rss=1

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  February 11, 2021 | International, Naval

  Boeing Is Refurbishing Harpoon Missiles for U.S. Navy Submarines

  Posted on February 9, 2021 by Richard R. Burgess, Senior Editor ARLINGTON, Va. — Boeing has begun work to return the Harpoon cruise missile to operational status in the U.S. Navy's submarine force after a more than 20-year absence. Boeing received an $10.9 million Naval Sea Systems Command contract late last month to refurbish 16 Harpoon missile capsules and four all-up rounds of encapsulated Block 1C Harpoon missiles for the Navy's submarines. Work is scheduled for completion by December 2022. The UGM-84A Harpoon Block 1C missiles will be integrated on the Navy's Los Angeles-class submarines. The UGM-84A is encapsulated to be fired from a torpedo tube and has a rocket booster to propel it above the surface of the water and into flight. “I am happy to report that we will have the first refurbished [Harpoon] missiles delivered to the fleet in [fiscal] ‘21,” said Rear Adm. Thomas Ishee, director of undersea warfare in the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, speaking Nov. 7 at the Naval Submarine League's annual symposium in Arlington. In a demonstration in the 2018 Rim of the Pacific exercise, a Harpoon was fired from the Los Angeles-class attack submarine USS Olympia at a target ship, the first time one was fired from a U.S. Navy submarine since the UGM-84A Harpoons were withdrawn from the force in 1997. The UGM-84A is encapsulated to be fired from a torpedo tube and has a rocket booster to propel it above the surface of the water and into flight. “The Navy has a deep inventory of Harpoon Block IC missiles,” said Sally Seibert, director, Cruise Missile Systems at Boeing, in a statement. “These missiles can be refurbished and reintegrated into the fleet in a shorter timeframe, and at a fraction of the cost, compared to purchasing new missiles — and that is exactly what our team is doing.” The Harpoon cruise missile is a combat-proven, all-domain anti-ship missile used by the Navy and more than 30 international customers, a statement from Boeing said. “Evolving over the years to keep pace with emerging threats, the Harpoon Block II includes a GPS-aided guidance system that allows for autonomous, all-weather capability — and can execute both anti-ship and land-strike missions. The more advanced Harpoon Block II+ adds a data link that allows for in-flight targeting updates.” “The shelf life of the Harpoon missile allows us to maximize existing capability by bringing this weapon back to the submarine fleet,” Seibert said. “Customers who currently have Harpoon missiles in their inventory are prime candidates for refurbishments, or even upgrades, to add this extremely viable and cost-effective weapon to their arsenal.” Currently, more than 600 ships, 180 submarines, 12 different types of aircraft and several land-based launch vehicles across the world are integrated with Harpoon missiles, Boeing said. https://seapowermagazine.org/boeing-is-refurbishing-harpoon-missiles-for-u-s-navy-submarines/

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  December 20, 2018 | International, C4ISR

  DARPA Awards Six Teams During Final Spectrum Collaboration Challenge Qualifier

  On December 12, DARPA held the second preliminary event of the Spectrum Collaboration Challenge (SC2) – the world's first collaborative machine-intelligence competition to overcome spectrum scarcity. Fifteen teams represented by members from across the academic, commercial and defense landscapes gathered at Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) to pit their intelligent radio designs against each other in a head-to-head competition. At the event's conclusion, six of the eight top-scoring teams walked away with $750,000 each in prize money. While not all competitors received interim prizes, all 15 teams have an opportunity to move on to the next stage and compete in the 2019 Spectrum Collaboration Challenge grand finale, which will be held in conjunction with MWC19 Los Angeles, in partnership with CTIA, on October 23, 2019. The six prize-winning teams from the second preliminary event are: Zylinium, a team of independent researchers MarmotE from Vanderbilt University Sprite from Northeastern University Erebus, a team of independent researchers Gator Wings from University of Florida SCATTER from IDLab, an imec research group at Ghent University and University of Antwerp, and Rutgers University "During the second preliminary event we witnessed a technological shift," said Paul Tilghman, the DARPA program manager leading SC2. "For the first time, we saw autonomous collaboration outperform the status quo for spectrum management." Starting in early December, each team's radio participated in 105 matches against competitors in the Colosseum, a massive RF testbed that was developed specifically for SC2. The matches were held in a round-robin fashion where each radio network – working in groups of threes, fours or fives – had multiple opportunities to compete against every other radio design in the competition. Roughly 400 matches were held in total to determine the final team rankings and the prize recipients. During the PE2 matches, teams were put through six different RF scenarios designed to mimic the challenges that collaborative, autonomous radios will face in the real world. These scenarios challenged the radios to collaboratively mitigate interfering with an incumbent radio system, sense and adapt to the spectrum demands of high-traffic environments, handle the data demands of the connected soldier of the future, and beyond. Each scenario was designed to pressure test various elements of the teams' approaches and, in particular, their ability to successfully collaborate with the other radios operating within the same environment. “The six different scenarios were closely aligned to actual situations that our defense and commercial systems face in the field. The Wildfire scenario, for example, replicates the complex communications environment that surrounds an emergency response situation, while the Alleys of Austin scenario was designed to mimic what's needed to help dismounted soldiers navigate and communicate as they sweep through an urban environment. This real-world relevance was critical for us as we want to ensure these technologies can continue to develop after the event and can transition to commercial and/or military applications,” said Tilghman. The sixth scenario of the competition was used to determine the six prize winning teams. This scenario explored the essential question of the SC2 competition: can the top teams' collaborative SC2 radios outperform the status quo of static allocation? Each of the six teams that received awards at PE2 demonstrated that their radio was capable of carrying more wireless applications without the aid of a handcrafted spectrum plan, while simultaneously ensuring four other radio networks operating in the same area had improved performance. In short, each of these six radio networks demonstrated the autonomous future of the spectrum. To aid with decision making, teams applied AI and machine learning technologies in various ways. Some leveraged the current generation of AI technologies like deep learning, while others used more conventional optimization approaches. There were also a few teams that used first wave, rule-based AI technologies. “We're very encouraged by the results we saw at PE2. The teams' radios faced new and unexpected scenarios but were still able to demonstrate smart, collaborative decision making. PE2 showed us that AI and machine learning's application to wireless spectrum management creates a very real opportunity to rethink our current century-old approach,” said Tilghman. The competition now enters its third year and moves closer to the finale, which will be held at one of the country's largest annual technology and telecommunications shows – MWC19 Los Angeles. More than 22,000 attendees from the broad mobile ecosystem and adjacent industry sectors will convene at this three-day event to discuss the current opportunities and future trends shaping the industry. The SC2 championship event will be held on the keynote stage of MWC19 Los Angeles on October 23, 2019. At the conclusion of SC2's finale, three teams will be awarded $2 million, $1 million and $750,000, respectively, for first, second and third place. The real prize, however, will be the promise of a more efficient wireless paradigm in which radio networks autonomously collaborate to determine how the spectrum should be used moment-to-moment, helping to usher in an era of spectrum abundance. For more information about DARPA's Spectrum Collaboration Challenge, please visit: https://spectrumcollaborationchallenge.com/ https://www.darpa.mil/news-events/2018-12-19