9 août 2018 | International, Aérospatial, C4ISR

MDA director provides rough sketch of possible space-based missile defense sensor layer

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. — Missile defense leaders within the Pentagon as well as Congress are pushing for more missile defense capability in space and the Missile Defense Agency Director Gen. Samuel Greaves laid out a rough idea of what a space-based missile defense sensor layercould look like.

The missile defense community has been talking “seriously” about a sensor layer in space “actively over the last year,” Greaves said in an August 8 speech at the Space and Missile Defense Symposium.

While many decisions still have to be made regarding requirements definitions, development paths and the acquisition process, “the key thing,” Greaves said, “is that there is serious consideration and support being given to the need to deploy these space sensors because we must do so.”

Greaves laid out a very rough sketch of what the agency is looking for to build a robust sensor layer.

First, the MDA might use something like a current system from the U.S. Air Force — the Overhead Persistent Infrared OPIR Global Scanning system — to alert and characterize activity in space, essentially “to be the bell ringer if something is going on,” Greaves said.

Full Article: https://www.defensenews.com/digital-show-dailies/smd/2018/08/08/mda-director-provides-rough-sketch-of-possible-space-based-missile-defense-sensor-layer/

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16 juillet 2020 | International, Terrestre

US Army awards $179M missile warning contract to BAE Systems
By: Aaron Mehta WASHINGTON — The U.S. Army has awarded BAE Systems a contract for the first two production lots of its Limited Interim Missile Warning System, or LIMWS. The contract, which is worth $179 million, also includes funding to field the next-generation Missile Warning System, an upgrade on the Army's Common Missile Warning System. “Threats are evolving and proliferating at a rapid pace and our aircrews who fly into harm's way need the most advanced protection systems available,” Chris Austin, director of threat detection solutions at BAE Systems, said in a statement. “These orders follow an intensive two-year development and qualification program, made possible by a strong industry-government partnership focused on achieving an aggressive schedule.” The company won an initial $98 million contract to produce the systems in April 2018, with the goal of putting the capability onto 400 Black Hawk helicopters. A BAE spokeswoman this week declined to comment on what systems the LIMWS might deploy on. The Army competitively awarded that initial contract to BAE through a quick reaction capability mechanism, which bypasses the traditional lengthy acquisition process. The core of the upgrade is BAE's 2-Color Advanced Warning System, or 2CAWS, which the company says includes “an open system processor, two-color infrared sensors for increased range, and a fiber optic A-kit for faster data transmission.” Put simply, the 2CAWS should allow pilots to receive signals of incoming threats more quickly than before, and should be compatible with existing Army missile warning systems. Work will occur at the company's Merrimack, New Hampshire, and Huntsville, Alabama, facilities, the latter of which is undergoing upgrades for the project. https://www.defensenews.com/land/2020/07/15/us-army-awards-179m-missile-warning-contract-to-bae-systems/
5 septembre 2019 | International, C4ISR

Raytheon-FlexRadio team to develop airborne high-frequency radio
FORT WAYNE, Ind., Sep. 4, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Raytheon (NYSE: RTN) will develop and qualify a high-frequency radio under a $36 million Project Agreement through an Other Transaction Agreement with Consortium Management Group. The OTA is on behalf of Consortium for Command, Control and Communications in Cyberspace, in support of requirements from the U.S. Air Force Life Cycle Management Center. The new radio will provide beyond line-of-sight, long distance communications for aircrews. "High-frequency radios provide the military with secure communications in an increasingly complex and congested threat environment," said Barbara Borgonovi, vice president of Integrated Communication Systems. "Raytheon's partnership with FlexRadio combines commercial innovation with advanced military hardening techniques to rapidly deliver a next-generation operational capability that supports strategic and tactical missions." The Raytheon-FlexRadio team is one of two recipients for this development program. After the 31-month period of performance, one team will be named to move on to production. "Worldwide high-frequency communications is what our commercial customers do every day using virtually every mode of operation and type of propagation," said Gerald Youngblood, CEO of FlexRadio. "Our partnership brings together the vast resources and experience of Raytheon in airborne tactical communications systems with FlexRadio's commercial off-the-shelf high-frequency Software Defined Radios to deliver a modular, extensible, and flexible communications platform for the warfighter." About CMG The mission of Consortium Management Group, Inc. on behalf of Consortium for Command, Control, and Communications in Cyberspace (C5) is to speed development of technologies to improve U.S. Government capabilities required to sustain U.S. military supremacy in weapon systems information technologies. For more information on CMG and its uniquely rapid, cost-effective and collaborative acquisition vehicle for companies, nonprofits and academic organizations seeking to do business with the Federal Government, contact Mary Reinecke at mary@cmgcorp.org, 202-466-4211 About FlexRadio FlexRadio Systems is a leader in technologically advanced software defined radio systems for the consumer, commercial and government markets. Founded in 2003, FlexRadio has customers in more than 30 countries with a wide range of products spanning consumer HF radio systems, government geolocation sensors and signals intelligence platforms. FlexRadio Systems is headquartered in Austin, Texas. For more information, please visit www.flexradio.com. 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, C5ITM 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. Media Contact B.J. Boling +1.972.952.4761 saspr@raytheon.com http://raytheon.mediaroom.com/2019-09-04-Raytheon-FlexRadio-team-to-develop-airborne-high-frequency-radio
2 octobre 2020 | International, C4ISR, Sécurité

MDA and Army see successful Patriot and THAAD test after failure
Jen Judson UPDATED — This story has been updated to include a statement from Lockheed Martin. WASHINGTON — After a failed test in February, the U.S. Missile Defense Agency and the Army successfully intercepted a target in an Oct. 1 test using a Patriot air and missile defense system as well as a Terminal High Altitude Area Defense, or THAAD, system integrated together, according to an MDA statement. In the test at White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico, the THAAD AN/TPY-2 radar detected and tracked a Black Dagger target missile and provided that information to the Patriot system. The Patriot launch system deployed a Patriot Advanced Capability-3 Missile Segment Enhancement missile and destroyed the target. In February, the AN/TPY-2 detected and tracked a Black Dagger and supplied the information to the Patriot system, but the missile missed the target “due to an interceptor software upgrade error,” according to the MDA statement. The error “has since been corrected, as demonstrated by today's successful intercept,” the statement noted. The success of the test "validates the interoperability of the Patriot and THAAD weapon systems,” MDA Director Vice Adm. Jon Hill said in the statement. “This capability is vital to the Ballistic Missile Defense System to defend against rogue threats to our homeland, deployed forces and allies.” “We're proud to support the Missile Defense Agency and U.S. Army Program Executive Office Missiles and Space to provide this vital capability within the Ballistic Missile Defense System,” Scott Arnold, Lockheed Martin vice president of integrated missile defense in the company's Missiles and Fire Control business, said in statement. Lockheed Martin manufactures the THAAD weapon system. The missile tests this year meet a congressional requirement for the Army and the MDA to test integration and interoperability of the THAAD and Patriot weapon systems annually. Last year, the first-ever test of THAAD's ability to remotely fire an interceptor was a success, a significant milestone in proving the ability to decouple launchers from radars and fire control systems. The Army's work to integrate the Patriot and THAAD systems was born out of an urgent operational need on the Korean Peninsula. The effort uses some of the principles of decoupling launchers and radars so an operator, for instance, can use a THAAD radar — which can see farther than a Raytheon-made Patriot radar — but decide to engage a Patriot interceptor depending on the threat picture. The ability to use the THAAD radar also gets more out of the Patriot Advanced Capability-3 Missile Segment Enhancement weapon fired from Patriot units, which outperforms the organic Patriot radar. In another test last year at White Sands, a Patriot Advanced Capability-3 Cost Reduction Initiative interceptor took out an air-breathing threat at a record distance. That test also showed it can be integrated into the Northrop Grumman-made Integrated Air and Missile Defense Battle Command System, which is the command-and-control system of the Army's future air and missile defense architecture. https://www.defensenews.com/land/2020/10/01/mda-and-army-see-successful-patriot-and-thaad-test-after-failure/

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