Contract Awards by US Department of Defense – October 14, 2020

Sur le même sujet

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  22 janvier 2020 | International, Aérospatial

  Leonardo flies new Falco Xplorer drone

  By: Tom Kington ROME — A new 24-hour-endurance drone built by Italy's Leonardo has made its maiden flight in trials run in cooperation with the Italian Air Force, the firm said. The Falco Xplorer, an evolution of earlier Falco models, flew for 60 minutes from Trapani Air Base in Sicily on Jan. 15 in a dedicated flying area before landing safely, Leonardo reported. First launched last year at the Paris Air Show, the Xplorer offers a maximum payload of 350kg, a maximum takeoff weight of 1.3 tons, and it can operate above 24,000 feet. The Italian firm is offering the drone with its Gabbiano T-80 radar, SAGE electronic-intelligence system, an electro-optical turret and a hyperspectral sensor for monitoring pollution and agriculture. Aimed at both civilian and military customers, the Xplorer will feature satellite navigation, while pending flight tests will aim to certify the aircraft to NATO'S STANAG 4671 standard. In its statement, Leonardo said the Xplorer was not subject to International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR) restrictions, making it widely available for export around the world. The drone is the third evolution in the Falco family, which includes the Falco and the larger Falco EVO, which offers 15 hours endurance. Before its launch last year, Leonardo CEO Alessandro Profumo said the Xplorer will “overlap with the Predator A - it would be a new product for Predator A customers.” The UN and the European Union's frontier protection agency Frontex are among existing customers of the Falco, while national customers are thought to be Jordan, Saudia Arabia, Pakistan and Turkmenistan. https://www.defensenews.com/global/europe/2020/01/20/leonardo-flies-new-falco-xplorer-drone

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  23 novembre 2020 | International, Aérospatial

  Unmanned systems, anti-drone tech featured at South Korean arms expo

  By: Brian Kim SEOUL — Unmanned defense systems and advanced weapons to counter drone threats dominated an arms exhibition held outside of Seoul, South Korea, this week. During the biennial DX Korea event, which ran Nov. 18-20, local defense companies showcased their cutting-edge unmanned and counter-drone technologies. Hanwha Corporation, a leading developer of guided-missile technology and subsidiary of Hanwha Group, displayed its new family of laser weapons systems. The company unveiled two types of anti-drone laser weapons: one for installation on light tactical vehicles, and the other a laser-based anti-aircraft weapon gun in a container configuration. The latter, designated as Block I, can be modified to a Block II self-propelled system, but specifications were not disclosed. Hanwha Corporation is a partner in an anti-drone laser weapons development project led by the government's Agency for Defense Development. “The laser-based anti-aircraft weapon is a new concept of armament to shoot down small aerial targets, including drones and multi-copter with a light source laser,” the company said in a news release. “Prototypes of the laser weapon variants are under development jointly with the ADD.” The company also displayed anti-jamming equipment that can be fitted in tactical guided missiles as well as on military vehicles and naval vessels. Hanwha Systems — also an affiliate of Hanwha Group — displayed a mock-up of its personal air vehicle, Butterfly, under development with U.S. air taxi startup Overair. In partnership with Overair, Hanwha Systems plans to fully develop the electric vertical-takeoff-and-landing, or eVTOL, vehicle by 2040, with an eye toward military sales. “With technologies to be accrued from the development of commercial eVTOL, we will push for developing a military variant capable of conducing multiple missions, including special operations, transport and assault,” the company said in a news release. Meanwhile, Hyundai Rotem presented its HR-Sherpa unmanned ground vehicle designed to support infantry troops. The six-wheel drive vehicle can move autonomously or via remote control to perform missions such as surveillance, medical support and chemical detection. It has a payload of 600 kilograms and a combat weight of 1,800 kilograms. It is equipped with airless tires and powered by a battery with an operating time of six hours when traveling at 5 kph. LIG Nex1 showcased the third version of its Sea Sword unmanned surface vessel for riverside defense, following other naval variants. The vessel adopts a high-speed monohull design and is constructed with fiber-reinforced plastic. Equipped with a diesel engine and a waterjet propulsion system, the boat can sail at a maximum speed of 40 knots and has an operational endurance of up to eight hours at 15 knots. An indigenously developed autonomous navigation system enables the vessel to carry out surveillance and reconnaissance missions based on a preprogrammed route. Hanwha group was ranked 32nd in Defense News' list of the top 100 defense companies in the world. LIG Nex1 was ranked 68th, while Hyundai Rotem was ranked 95th. https://www.defensenews.com/industry/techwatch/2020/11/20/unmanned-systems-anti-drone-tech-featured-at-south-korean-arms-expo

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  26 novembre 2020 | International, C4ISR

  Could soldiers silently communicate using brain signals in the future?

  Andrew Eversden WASHINGTON — A breakthrough in decoding brain signals could be the first step toward a future where soldiers silently communicate during operations. New research funded by the U.S. Army Research Office successfully separated brain signals that influence action or behavior from signals that do not. Using an algorithm and complex mathematics, the team was able to identify which brain signals were directing motion, or behavior-relevant signals, and then remove those signals from the other brain signals — behavior-irrelevant ones. “Here we're not only measuring signals, but we're interpreting them,” said Hamid Krim, a program manager for the Army Research Office. The service wants to get to the point where the machine can provide feedback to soldier's brains to allow them to take corrective action before something takes place, a capability that could protect the health of a war fighter. Krim pointed to stress and fatigue signals that the brain gives out before someone actually realizes they are stressed or tired, thus letting troops know when they should take a break. The only limit to the possibilities is the imagination, he said. Another potential future use is silent communication, Krim said. Researchers could build on the research to allow the brain and computers to communicate so soldiers can silently talk via a computer in the field. “In a theater, you can have two people talking to each other without ... even whispering a word,” Krim said. “So you and I are out there in the theater and we have to ... talk about something that we're confronting. I basically talked to my computer — your computer can be in your pocket, it can be your mobile phone or whatever — and that computer talks to ... your teammate's computer. And then his or her computer is going to talk to your teammate.” In the experiment, the researchers monitored the brain signals from a monkey reaching for a ball over and over again in order to separate brain signals. But more work is to be done, as any sort of battle-ready machine-human interface using brain signals is likely decades away, Krim said. What's next? Researchers will now try to identify other signals outside of motion signals. “You can read anything you want; doesn't mean that you understand it,” Krim said. “The next step after that is to be able to understand it. The next step after that is to break it down into into words so that ... you can synthesize in a sense, like you learn your vocabulary and your alphabet, then you are able to compose. “At the end of the day, that is the original intent mainly: to have the computer actually being in a full duplex communication mode with the brain.” The Army Research Office-backed program was led by researchers at the University of Southern California, with additional U.S. partners at the University of California, Los Angeles; the University of California, Berkeley; Duke University; and New York University. The program also involved several universities in the United Kingdom, including Essex, Oxford and Imperial College. The Army is providing up to $6.25 million in funding over five years. https://www.c4isrnet.com/battlefield-tech/it-networks/2020/11/25/could-soldiers-silently-communicate-using-brain-signals-in-the-future/