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November 12, 2019 - In partnership with Thales, Rheinmetall successfully completed modernization of the flight simulators for the Tiger combat helicopter just a few weeks ago. The contract was awarded to ARGE TATM (consisting of Rheinmetall Electronics GmbH and Thales AVS France SAS) in December 2014 through the Organisation Conjointe de Coopération en Matière d'Armement (OCCAR), an organization that fosters cross-border defence procurement cooperation in Europe. With the completion of this programme, French and German armed forces are now able to train their crews in a state-of-the-art virtual environment that ensures full-mission readiness and strengthens flight safety. For Rheinmetall Electronics and its partners, the contract to modernize the simulators in Le Luc, Fritzlar and Pau meant modifying them to match current configurations of the original aircraft: the Tiger Hélicoptère d'Appui et Destruction (HAD) Block 2 (France) and Kampfhubschrauber Tiger UHT Step 2 Krypto (Germany). In addition, two new simulators were installed in Phalsbourg, France in a record 10-month timeframe, bridging a training capability gap for the French 1st Helicopter Regiment. Now that the modernization programme is complete, a total of twenty flight simulators are in operation at various locations: eight full-mission simulators (FMS) and twelve cockpit procedure simulators (CPT). The contract encompassed modernization of the software for the basic management system, the updated ETCM navigation system and the mission equipment systems, together with new cockpit hardware. Other measures included integration of the German Operational Support System (OSS), into the simulator for mission preparation and tactical training, coupled with modernization of the existing simulator technology by means of a new visual system, new visual data bases, new projectors for the display systems, and the replacement of obsolete computer technology. The upgrade process culminated in a binational joint exercise at the École Franco-Allemande (EFA, binational school for aircrew training) in Le Luc, involving six simulated helicopters in twelve networked simulators. Tiger simulators number among the world's top-performing full-mission simulators for attack helicopters. The multipurpose Tiger combat helicopter is a highly sophisticated weapon system whose replication in a simulator makes immense demands on both hardware and software. At the school in Le Luc, the focus is on flight and weapons training, while in Fritzlar, Pau and Phalsbourg, the primary emphasis is on tactics. Cooperation between Rheinmetall Electronics GmbH and Thales AVS France SAS continues with ongoing support of the twenty upgraded Tiger simulators. “The updated system supplied by Thales and Rheinmetall offers full immersive conditions. It combines a genuine Tiger cockpit, accurate aircraft behaviour and a tactical environment reflecting current operational missions. The completely transformed system architecture points the way to future trends in aircraft development”, declares Bertrand Cornet, Project Manager for Germany and France at OCCAR. View source version on Rheinmetall : https://rheinmetall-defence.com/en/rheinmetall_defence/public_relations/news/latest_news/index_21952.php

Cambridge, Mass., November 12, 2019 /PRNewswire/ - Raytheon (NYSE: RTN) is using synthetic biology science to create a new method for detecting buried explosives, using bacteria as sensors. Under a contract from the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, Raytheon and partner Worcester Polytechnic Institute will program two bacterial strains to monitor ground surfaces for explosive materials. The first strain will detect the presence or absence of explosives buried underground. If the first strain detects explosives, the second strain will produce a glowing light on the ground's surface. Remote cameras or unmanned aerial vehicles can then be used to survey large areas for the telltale luminescence. "We already know that some bacteria can be programmed to be very good at detecting explosives, but it's harder underground," said Allison Taggart, Ph.D. and principal investigator for the Bio Reporters for Subterranean Surveillance program at Raytheon BBN Technologies. "We're investigating how to transport the reporting bacteria to the required depth underground, and then pushing the luminescence up to the surface so it's easily visible." Synthetic biology combines principles of electrical engineering with computer science to modify DNA. The Subterranean Surveillance program is one example in which advances in synthetic biology are being used to develop sensors that can reveal a variety of subterranean phenomena at a distance. "Using bio sensors underground could help us save lives as well as detect threats to air quality and the water supply," Taggart added. "The modular design of the system we're developing will allow us to swap in different components as needed to detect various kinds of threats and contaminants." About Raytheon Raytheon Company, with 2018 sales of $27 billion and 67,000 employees, is a technology and innovation leader specializing in defense, civil government and cybersecurity solutions. With a history of innovation spanning 97 years, Raytheon provides state-of-the-art electronics, mission systems integration, C5I™ products and services, sensing, effects, and mission support for customers in more than 80 countries. Raytheon is headquartered in Waltham, Massachusetts. Follow us on Twitter. Raytheon Company Space and Airborne Systems BBN Technologies Cambridge, Mass. Media Contact Joyce Kuzmin +1.617.873.8120 joyce.kuzmin@raytheon.com SOURCE Raytheon Company View source version on Raytheon: http://raytheon.mediaroom.com/2019-11-12-Raytheon-developing-microscopic-bomb-detector

Industry winners of three annual awards recognizing aerospace achievement, innovation, and excellence were honoured at the Aerospace Industries Association of Canada's Canadian Aerospace Summit. The 2019 winners are: James C. Floyd Award – Marc Parent, CEO of CAE Industry Excellence Award for Lifetime Achievement – John Saabas Industry Excellence Award for Small Business Innovation and Technology – Avior Integrated Products “The winners of this year's awards are champions of Canadian aerospace whose vision and achievements have strengthened the industry, making it more innovative and competitive both in Canada and in the global marketplace,” said Jim Quick, president and CEO of AIAC. “We are proud to celebrate their achievements, and on behalf of AIAC's board of directors and members, I thank them for their leadership and dedication to our industry.” About the Winners: James C. Floyd Award – Marc Parent, CEO of CAE Marc Parent is the CEO of CAE Inc. Under his leadership, CAE went from a company that was heavily in debt and trailing its competitors to one that is today the foremost provider of aviation and healthcare training services in the world. A true Canadian success story on the world stage, CAE has customers in 190 countries and over 10,000 employees around the world (nearly half of them in Canada). Parent is also a passionate champion for Canadian aerospace success. He has served as chair of AIAC and Aero Montreal, and he has participated in numerous government round tables and advisory boards to promote Canadian aerospace growth and achievement. Under his leadership CAE has offered nearly 3,000 co-op and internship positions to Canadian students, and through his efforts as part of the Business-Higher Education Roundtable (BHER), it is estimated that 2,500 students across the country will have access to similar work-integrated learning opportunities. His efforts to create a culture of openness and diversity resulted in Randstad naming CAE Canada's 2nd best employer brand in 2018, and in 2019 CAE launched Women in Flight, a scholarship program that encourages more young women to become pilots. Named after the chief designer of the Avro Arrow, the James C. Floyd Award recognizes visionary individuals or teams whose outstanding achievements have contributed to the success of the Canadian aerospace industry. The 2019 award was sponsored by Bell Helicopter Textron Canada. Industry Excellence Award for Lifetime Achievement – John Saabas Holding a PhD in aerodynamics from McGill University, John Saabas spent 35 years at Pratt & Whitney Canada, including the last ten years as president, until retiring from the company earlier this year. His legacies of innovation, sustainability, and collaboration have had a profound impact on Canada's aerospace industry. Under his leadership, Pratt & Whitney Canada achieved a leadership position in all markets, with a portfolio of more than 64,000 engines in service and 13,000 customers worldwide. It certified over 100 engines during a 25-year period, and it expanded and transformed its global manufacturing capabilities, developing operations in China, Poland, the Mirabel Aerospace Centre, and the advanced manufacturing cells. Over the 10-year period of Saabas' leadership, his visionary commitment to greener, more sustainable aviation industry led to significant reductions by Pratt & Whitney Canada in greenhouse gas emissions and industrial process waste, non-recycled waste and water consumption. The company also launched the PW800 business aviation engine, which achieved double-digit improvements in fuel burn, emissions, and noise. As an industry leader, Saabas sought to leverage innovation and research to advance change in aerospace, and championed collaboration between all players of the Canadian aerospace cluster – including small and medium sized companies and universities — as an essential part of the industry's competitiveness. The Lifetime Achievement award is presented to an individual whose distinguished lifetime achievement through the exploration, development or utilization of aviation, space, or defence have led to their wide recognition as a “champion” of aerospace industry. Winners are celebrated for their outstanding leadership, commitment, promotion and consistent contribution to the continuous development of aerospace in Canada. The 2019 award was sponsored by L3Harris. Industry Excellence Award for Small Business Innovation and Technology – Avior Integrated Products Avior Integrated Products is a full-service manufacturer of lightweight structures and complex mechanical assemblies. The company has leveraged its fabrication capabilities in advanced composite details and complex machined components to become a competitive Tier III/II integrator of aircraft structures. Avior customers include leading aerospace manufacturers including Boeing, Bell Helicopter, Bombardier, Mitsubishi and Viking. In providing a competitive solution for its customers the company has invested significantly in creating a culture of innovation and introducing new technologies. In the last two years Avior commissioned its first robotic machining center, with another to follow shortly; launched its own Business Intelligence software system; converted two of its three business units into paperless production environments; and more recently, installed a collaborative robot to assist with certain shop-floor operations. The company's culture of innovation is supported by a dynamic team focused on execution and providing nimble and effective solutions. The transformation of the business is an on-going process and will include the introduction of AI technology in the administration areas of the company in the coming year. Avior has grown by 35 per cent in 2019 and is forecasting 20 per cent growth in 2020 in large part due to the benefits of transitioning to an Industry 4.0 business. https://www.skiesmag.com/press-releases/winners-of-2019-aiac-awards-honoured-at-canadian-aerospace-summit

By: Aaron Mehta WASHINGTON — The U.S. Air Force is preparing an experiment it hopes will link the F-22 and F-35 fighter jets, the first in a series of experiments that service acquisition head Will Roper has dubbed “connect-a-thons.” The experiments are to happen every four months, starting in December. The goal is to identify a fleet of aircraft with a communications issue, invite voices from inside and outside the Pentagon to offer solutions, and then test those offerings in a live experiment. “We're making it up as we go, right? There's never been anything like this,” Roper said at a breakfast hosted by the Defense Writers Group. “We need a way for people to propose connections and get into the pipeline. So I wouldn't be surprised at all if it ends up being like a pitch day ... having a proposal process where we review the maturity of the tech versus the benefit to the war fighter. We would do the former, our operators would do the latter." “And what I love about this is it's kind of a competition within the joint force," he added. "We're going to be looking for the fast movers to volunteer, then we'll be looking at the fast followers.” The first event, hosted by North American Aerospace Defense Command and U.S. Northern Command, will feature an attempt to allow the F-22 and F-35 to share battlespace — a long-sought capability. The F-22 was built with an older data link that can't match up with the Multifunction Advanced Data Link, or MADL, system used on the newer F-35; while the F-35 can receive data through Link 16, it can't share the data back — a key capability given the envisioned role of the F-35 as a major sensor for the future Air Force. For the test, the service will use what Roper called a “Babel Fish-like translator” under the working name of GatewayOne to serve as a “universal translator” for the two jets. The first test, in December, will feature the equipment on a pole on a test range, with the jets pinging their information back and forth from that fixed location. Should that system work well, in four months Roper plans to put GatewayOne onto a Valkyrie drone, a system designed by Kratos to be cheap enough to be disposable in a battlefield situation. It's not the first time a drone has been used as a link between the two fighters: In 2017, Northrop Grumman pitched its Global Hawk unmanned system, equipped with a new radio, to act as a translator between the aircraft. Future connect-a-thons currently planned include linking SpaceX's Starlink satellites with KC-135 aerial refueling aircraft in an effort to show commercial communications can work with military aircraft; Roper said the KC-135 community volunteered because the tanker aircraft is perpetually seeking more bandwidth. Roper also expects the F-16 community — which he called “very innovative, agile operators” who understand they need to keep an aging plane relevant — to “sign up wholesale” for tests in the future. The acquisitions chief said he is committed to keeping the four-month schedule going, in part because it means if the technology isn't satisfactory, the service will know quickly and be able to move onto something else. “The good news about that is [Congress and the Pentagon] don't really have to believe us for very long. Just let us get through a few connect-a-thon cycles,” Roper said. “And if we're failing miserably, then that should tell you something about the future of the program.” https://www.c4isrnet.com/air/2019/11/12/us-air-force-to-link-f-35-with-f-22-in-connect-a-thon-experiment/

By: Andrew Eversden The Department of Defense is working with a unnamed company to mitigate cybersecurity vulnerability discovered in a technology used by the Pentagon, the DoD's Deputy Chief CIO Michele Iversen said Nov. 12. Without going into specific detail, Iversen said the department is working to remove the product. “The company was compromised [and] had a big cybersecurity vulnerability,” said Iversen, speaking at Fifth Domain's annual CyberCon conference. “And we have seen bad things coming from those products, so we are looking at how to use our authorities ... [to] block those products or companies for national security systems.” This highlights a broader issue facing the DoD: how to protect its supply chain. To mitigate supply chain risk, Iversen said that she is working on a supply chain illumination tools. She said that these are useful because its made up of publicly available information that doesn't need any level of classification. Specifically, she said she's working on a decision support tool where she can expose a “bare minimum set of publicly available supply chain information.” “So when people are going to look and make their purchases, they have information available to them,” she said. She said, ultimately, she wants the DoD CIO's office to offer that tool as a service. The National Institute of Standards and Technology is also starting to develop cybersecurity tools. NIST's Jon Boyens, acting deputy chief of the computer security division, said that his team at the standards agency is working on a supplier inter-dependency tool “to look at different suppliers and their criticality” to allow for government to be more effective in asking for capabilities during the procurement process. “Industry is saying, ‘You know, we've invested in this but we're not getting any incentives' ... and so they're kind of looking for incentives for investing in technology,” said Boyens. Iversen said that technology research and development also presents its own attack surface with which it needs to grapple. If the research and development was done in a foreign country, that presents a unique set of threats. For example, Iversen pointed to back-up software being placed into a nuclear command-and-control system. “Maybe you just say anything where the R&D ... [is] done in those countries is just off limits,” Iversen said. “It just makes common sense. It's fixing stupid.” https://www.fifthdomain.com/smr/cybercon/2019/11/12/here-are-some-new-tools-coming-to-protect-the-supply-chain/

By: Martin Banks BRUSSELS — The European Union has unveiled the latest batch of projects under its flagship defense-cooperation scheme, boosting the areas of training, cyber operations and naval warfare. The decision, announced on Tuesday, brings to 47 the number of projects that are currently in place under the Permanent Structured Cooperation, or PESCO, initiative. The first two batches were adopted in the spring and fall of 2018. Finnish Prime Minister Juha Sipilä, whose country is the current holder of the EU's rotating presidency, welcomed the bloc's progress in security and defense cooperation, saying the PESCO schemes are “steps in the right direction.” “We should now concentrate on implementation and reaching results,” he said. The eventual aim of PESCO is to develop and deploy forces together, backed by a multibillion-euro fund for defense research and development Two of the 13 new projects relate to efforts to counter cyber threats. An envisioned EU Cyber Academia and Innovation Hub (EU CAIH), for example, could enhance the creation of an innovative web of knowledge for cyber defense and cybersecurity education and training. The aim of another scheme, the Cyber and Information Domain Coordination Center (CIDCC), is to create a “standing multinational military element” where the participating member states “continuously contribute with national staff but decide sovereignly on case-by-case basis,” reads an EU announcement. The Integrated European Joint Training and simulation Centre (EUROSIM) will integrate tactical training and simulation sites in Europe into a “real-time, networked, connected system.” Another of the new PESCO projects, the European Union Network of Diving Centres (EUNDC), will coordinate and enhance the operation of EU diving centres in order to better support defense missions, while the European Patrol Corvette (EPC) will design and develop a prototype for a new class of military ship. The Maritime Unmanned Anti-Submarine System (MUSAS), meanwhile, aims to develop and deliver an advanced command, control and communications service architecture for anti-submarine warfare. Elsewhere, the Special Operations Forces Medical Training Centre (SMTC) will focus on medical support for special operations and expand the Polish Military Medical Training Centre in Łódź. One other new scheme is the CBRN Defence Training Range (CBRNDTR), which intends to accommodate what the EU calls a “full spectrum of practical training, including live chemical agents training.” The Airborne Electronic Attack (AEA), also included in the latest batch, will allow European and NATO air forces to safely operate within EU territories while the Timely Warning and Interception with Space-based TheatER surveillance (TWISTER) scheme seeks to strengthen the ability of Europeans to better detect, track and counter air threats. A scheme called “Materials and Components for Technological EU Competitiveness” (MAC-EU) will develop the European defense technology and industrial base while the EU Collaborative Warfare Capabilities (ECoWAR) initiative hopes to increase the ability of the EU armed forces to face “collectively and efficiently the upcoming threats that are more and more diffuse, rapid, and hard to detect and to neutralize.” Jamie Shea, former Deputy Assistant Secretary General for Emerging Security Challenges at NATO, said the new projects “are good news for the EU at a time when President Macron is calling for the EU to step up its defense efforts and stand on its own feet. They show that PESCO is gaining traction in EU capitals and nations are buying in to the long overdue need to pool and share capability programs.” https://www.defensenews.com/global/europe/2019/11/12/eu-unveils-new-cooperation-projects-in-training-cyber-operations-naval-warfare/

By: Aaron Mehta WASHINGTON — A long-term continuing resolution will result in delays for modernizing America's nuclear warheads, while putting at risk an already challenging plan to build plutonium pits needed for the next generation of U.S. intercontinental ballistic missiles, nuclear officials are warning. The National Nuclear Security Administration is a semiautonomous agency under the Department of Energy that handles the manufacturing and maintenance of America's nuclear warheads. Like other government agencies, NNSA would be limited to fiscal 2019 funding limits under a continuing resolution, and it would be unable to start new contracts. The current continuing resolution, or CR, is set to end Nov. 21, but there is little expectation that regular budgeting will then resume. Congress is debating the merits of pushing the CR through December, but analysts are concerned the CR could extend into next year. “We are in a situation right now where we have single-point failures throughout our enterprise,” Lisa Gordon-Hagerty, the NNSA administrator, said during a Defense Writers Group breakfast earlier this month. “It's necessary for us, for the NNSA and for the nuclear security enterprise to receive consistent and robust funding to modernize our infrastructure as well as continue ongoing operations.” “We're looking at where we can move funding insofar as CRs will allow us to do so,” she added. “We're working very closely with OMB and the administration to see what we can do to continue our important programs to modernize the infrastructure as well as the stockpile and our workforce initiatives and our endeavors.” Gordon-Hagerty did not go into detail about specific CR-related worries, but according to an NNSA source, the agency has identified three main areas of concern under a longer CR. The first is, broadly, keeping the warhead modernization efforts on schedule. Two of those modernization programs — the B61-12 gravity bomb and W88 submarine-launched ballistic missile warhead — already face program delays thanks to an issue with a commercial part that has to be redesigned. Gordon-Hagerty said a CR should not impact that particular issue, as the funding for a solution is coming from a realignment of other warhead modernization programs. But a delay to one program caused by a CR “does affect all of the other modernization programs and all of the other work that we have ongoing throughout our nuclear security enterprise,” she said. The second major area of concern is the surplus plutonium disposition program, which is supposed to dispose of 34 metric tons of excess plutonium at a South Carolina facility. That program emerged as the successor to the controversial MOX program, and has faced opposition from South Carolina Sen. Lindsey Graham. Construction on that facility could be delayed under a CR. The NNSA source said that the agency requested extra funding for the surplus plutonium disposition program through the budget anomaly process, but was not given the resources it requested. The third area of concern is a 10-year plan to develop a native plutonium pit in the United States. The NNSA has been charged with producing 80 plutonium pits a year by 2030, a target that Gordon-Hagerty acknowledged is a tight window for the agency to hit, even with stable funding. “We are again rebalancing, looking at our budget across the entire enterprise to see what it is we need to do to meet the scope and schedule of that 2030,” she said. “Am I confident we can get there? Yes. Is it fraught with — probably a bad way of saying it — land mines? It is.” Construction costs Construction featuring prominently on this list should not be a huge surprise; NNSA officials are quick to point out in public events that they are still using some buildings that date back to the Manhattan Project. According to Gordon-Hagerty, more than 50 percent of NNSA facilities are more than 40 years old, and over a third of those are about 70 years of age. The looming CR extension comes as the agency launches a number of construction projects, and a CR could lead to major delays in standing up those facilities. While that's an issue for every agency under a CR, the NNSA is concerned that the specialty construction talent needed to build those facilities may not available if a contract is frozen and then picked up again later. There could also be high-dollar costs. Responding to a lawsuit by environmental groups trying to halt the construction of the Y-12 facility in Tennessee, NNSA said a six- to 12-month delay in construction at that location could result in almost $1 billion in extra costs for taxpayers and the agency may have to lay off 1,000 construction personnel. Those numbers, first reported by the Exchange Monitor, likely have resonance with other potential delays at construction sites caused by a CR — meaning construction delays at one or more sites could quickly become costly for an agency whose facilities and construction needs have traditionally been underfunded. “It's been on schedule and on budget for the last six years. It will be finished in 2025 for approximately $6.5 billion,” Gordon-Hagerty said of the Y-12 facility. “If that funding somehow fails to materialize, then we've got over 1,000 crafts [personnel] working at the site right now. Crafts personnel are hard to come by, especially those that are qualified. So if they see a question about funding or funding gets pulled back, they're going to find positions elsewhere.” https://www.defensenews.com/smr/nuclear-arsenal/2019/11/12/heres-how-a-cr-could-hurt-americas-nuclear-weapons-modernization/

By: Sebastian Sprenger COLOGNE, Germany — French and German officials celebrated the signing of a new defense export agreement last month as a watershed moment, but political and industrial mistrust remains a wild card for the Future Combat Air System program — an envisioned sixth-generation fighter jet. The export pact, which entered into force in late October with the formal exchange of government notes, is meant to streamline a contentious process that has clouded bilateral defense cooperation for some time. Namely, the agreement dictates that joint government programs, like FCAS fighter jet, be free from interference by partner nations when it comes to eventual exports. The clause is mainly aimed at Germany, where politicians and lawmakers tend to scrutinize weapons deliveries to countries with known or suspected human rights abuses more heavily than their French colleagues. The situation has grown more tense since the October 2018 death of journalist Jamal Khashoggi, who Western officials believe was murdered by order of Saudi Arabia. Germany has since frozen all exports to the kingdom, prompting an outcry from France, where companies had to stall deliveries of equipment to Saudi Arabia in all cases where even a small number of components originated from Germany. The new agreement ensures “nobody can throw a wrench” into the other's export planning, says Matthias Wachter, chief defense analyst at the Federation of German Industries lobbying group. Having such a guarantee in writing is good news for FCAS and its ground-focused sister project, the Franco-German future main battle tank known as the Main Ground Combat System, he added. The language of the export pact is reminiscent of the 1971 Schmidt-Debré agreement, named for the German and French defense ministers at the time and panned in the left-leaning Spiegel magazine as an “embarrassing pact” when reporters found out about the then-secret understanding a year later. Fast-forward almost 50 years, and defense cooperation remains a thorny subject between the two countries destined to spearhead Europe's envisioned military autonomy in the coming decades. And there are also long-standing cultural differences that linger. There is a perception among some German lawmakers, for example, that cooperation with Paris inevitably means ceding power to French influence to the point that Germany plays only second fiddle, according to Wachter. That sentiment has led appropriators to craft a package deal for FCAS that would release funding for the next phase — building subcomponent demonstrators — only when there are assurances that Germany's tank makers, namely Rheinmetall, play a prominent role in the Main Ground Combat System effort. With armored vehicles traditionally being a strong suit for German industry, some here have privately complained about the 50-50 division of responsibility. “It's an emotional issue here in Germany,” Wachter said. Once the money begins to flow for an additional set of contracts early next year, there is a litany of questions yet to be sorted out. The fate of intellectual property rights, for example, remains unsorted, according to the analyst. In addition, as of late October, there was no agreement on Spain's industrial work share. Spain is something of a junior partner in the FCAS project, though officials in Madrid have said they expect equal treatment as a full member of the trinational project team. The Spanish government in the summer designated defense electronics company Indra as the national lead for the fighter program. The move angered Airbus, where officials were hoping to give their Spanish subsidiary a role that would satisfy Madrid's demands for industrial participation. Another potential point of contention has to do with military requirements for the future fighter. Perhaps the most prominent issue is that French officials want a carrier-capable jet, which Germany does not need. https://www.defensenews.com/air/2019/11/11/can-a-new-franco-german-export-agreement-clear-the-air-for-europes-future-fighter/

By: Jen Judson WASHINGTON — BAE Systems plans to demonstrate an interim advanced radar jamming technology next summer for helicopters and unmanned aircraft systems that is lighter and smaller than systems available now. The company issued a statement Nov. 12 announcing the U.S. Army awarded it a research and development contract to bring the technology to bear. The system “aims to improve air survivability and mission effectiveness” for aircraft “by detecting and defeating complex and unknown threats in electronic combat," the statement read. BAE will demonstrate the technology in July 2020. The technology is under development within BAE Systems' FAST Labs and combines adaptive radio frequency jamming and sensing capabilities into one system, a company statement noted. “Whereas today's electronic countermeasure systems are too bulky and heavy for most rotary-wing and UAS platforms, BAE Systems technology will combine multiple, software-programmable antennas into a digital phased array that will enable simultaneous functions, exceeding existing capabilities while reducing the size, weight, and power of current systems,” according to the British company's statement. As the Army looks to modernize its capabilities to fight across multiple domains in highly contested environments, the technology, the company said, will enable the aircraft to fly closer to threats and remain protected. Lighter and smaller systems are also crucial, as existing aircraft continues to be weighed down by additional capabilities for fighting near-peer threats. “With the continuously evolving threat landscape, it's critical to provide the next-generation of digital phased array technology to better defend our armed forces in electronic warfare,” Chris Rappa, product line director for radio frequency, electronic warfare and advanced electronics at FAST Labs, said in the statement. “Our technology will give the Army's rotary-wing aircraft and UAS a new, low SWaP [size, weight and power] system to securely and drastically increase their range of movements in future missions,” he added. BAE is planning flight tests within the next few years, FAST Labs Program Manager Ben McMahon told Defense News. https://www.defensenews.com/land/2019/11/12/bae-is-bringing-advanced-radar-jamming-tech-to-us-army-aircraft/