ATK supplying missile warning systems for U.S. and allied military aircraft
The U.S. Navy awarded ATK a $48-million production contract for the manufacture of the AAR-47 Missile Warning System. The award encompasses production of new assemblies, including optical sensor converters and computer processors, as well as options for retrofitting weapon replaceable assembly upgrades and delivery of ATK's Countermeasures Signal Simulator (CSS) to test the systems operability. The AAR-47 missile warning system, believed to be the only system in use today that integrates missile, laser, and hostile fire threat warning into a single system, is installed on fixed and rotary-wing aircraft flown by the U.S. and its allies in more than 16 countries. The systems are installed on aircraft such as the A-10, C-5, C-17, C-130, MC-12W, P-3, CH-53, CH-46, HH/SH-60, AH-1W/Z, UH-1N/Y, and MV-22.
Raytheon to design new military imaging satellites
Raytheon Co. was awarded a $1.5 million Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) contract for phase one of the agency's Space Enabled Effects for Military Engagements (SeeMe) program. During the next nine months, the company will complete the design for small satellites to enhance warfighter situational awareness in the battlespace. The SeeMe program will provide useful on-demand imagery information directly to the warfighter in the field from a low-cost satellite constellation launched on a schedule that conforms to U.S. Department of Defense operational tempos. For this contract, Raytheon has teamed with Sierra Nevada Corp., University of Arizona, and SRI International to assist with design work and eventually production. Next year, in phase two of the SeeMe program, the Raytheon team would build six satellites for ground testing.
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DARPA’s SeeMe program aims to give mobile individual U.S. warfighters access to on-demand, space-based tactical information in remote and beyond- line-of-sight conditions.
U.S. Air Force selects Raytheon to develop future Protected SATCOM System
The U.S. Air Force awarded Raytheon Co. $8.7 million to participate in development of the future protected tactical military satellite communication system. The USAF's objective is to identify cost-effective architectures and component development paths for the future SATCOM system that will follow the Advanced Extremely High Frequency (AEHF) system. Raytheon will design and demonstrate affordable terminal components as well as support the waveform development for the USAF. Raytheon will leverage its long history and deep understanding of protected SATCOM developed from AEHF programs such as the U.S. Navy Multiband Terminal, the U.S. Army's Secure Mobile Anti-jam Reliable Tactical Terminal and the USAF's Minuteman Minimum Essential Emergency Communications Network Program Upgrade to meet the government's objectives. All three of Raytheon's AEHF terminals have passed production acquisition milestone decisions and have successfully tested with the on-orbit AEHF satellite.
Acquisition strengthens Lockheed Martin’s unmanned systems capabilities
Lockheed Martin has acquired Chandler/May Inc., a company that specializes in the design, development, integration, manufacturing, and support of fully integrated mission critical systems for unmanned aerial systems (UAS) and Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance, Reconnaissance (C4ISR) missions. Terms of the agreement were not disclosed and are not material to Lockheed Martin's results of operations. Chandler/May has delivered hundreds of integrated command and control shelters and portable ground control stations in support of U.S. Army UAS programs. It has produced more than 2200 UAVs, including the Desert Hawk UAV, a program for which Chandler/May is a supplier to Lockheed Martin. Chandler/May, which has facilities in Huntsville, AL, and San Luis Obispo, CA, will become part of Lockheed Martin's Mission Systems & Sensors (MS2) business.
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Chandler/May Inc. has developed a fully integrated UAS, consisting of the Fury UAV (shown), SharkFin Mission & Flight Control System, and Tactical Air Vehicle Control System (TACS) ground control station.
Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force awards contract to SAIC
Science Applications International Corp. (SAIC) has been awarded a contract to provide the Mine Warfare and Environmental Decision Aids Library (MEDAL) tactical decision aid in support of the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) MCH-101 helicopter. In addition to providing the MEDAL software system, SAIC will be assisting with engineering and training services as MEDAL is integrated within the broader MCH-101 ground support system, being developed by NEC Corp., the prime contractor in Japan. The JMSDF is expanding the capabilities of its MCH-101 aircraft to include airborne mine countermeasures (AMCM) capabilities. MEDAL will be used in the mission planning, evaluation, and command and control of AMCM missions. In addition to supporting planning and evaluation of the MCH-101 AMCM systems, the JMSDF MEDAL system will provide capability for an increased level of interoperability with the U.S. Navy. The JMSDF MEDAL is fully compatible with the U.S. Navy MEDAL system.
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The MCH-101 helicopter for airborne mine countermeasures systems will include the AN/AQS-24A mine hunting side scan sonar, the AN/AES-1 airborne laser mine detection system, and the MK-104 acoustic minesweeping system.
Lockheed Martin to help Royal Jordanian Air Force control, defend its airspace
The U.S. Air Force awarded Lockheed Martin a $26 million foreign military sales contract to modernize the Royal Jordanian Air Force's national air command, control, and communications infrastructure. Lockheed Martin will provide the Kingdom of Jordan with an integrated, real-time air picture across multiple command centers and many remote sites to better protect the country's airspace. The system, known as Omnyx, will combine sensor, voice, and data communications to provide interoperability throughout the Royal Jordanian Air Force and other elements of Jordan's armed forces. With input from radars and other data links, the system will assist in detecting incoming air traffic and also provide the capabilities needed for airspace management, air sovereignty and air defense missions. Lockheed Martin successfully fielded similar command and control systems in Iraq, Kazakhstan, and Taiwan, in addition to 10 North Atlantic Treaty Organization countries.
Rockwell Collins to develop GPS jamming and spoofing detection technology
The Office of Naval Research awarded Rockwell Collins a contract to develop technology to locate and classify an adversary’s attempts to interfere with GPS signals and disrupt military operations. The three-year contract for the Modernized Integrated Spoofer Tracking (MIST) program calls for Rockwell Collins to develop technology and prototype system concepts to detect and locate the sources of transmitted signals that are intended to disrupt the warfighter’s ability to navigate and communicate. In the first year, Rockwell Collins will develop advanced algorithms. During the second and third years, the company will conduct, validate, and refine the capability through lab testing and demonstrations.
Elbit Systems of America to redesign, upgrade Apache Block III AH-64D Mission Processor
Boeing awarded Elbit Systems of America LLC a $17.5 million contract to redesign and upgrade the Apache Block III AH-64D Mission Processor. The Block III Mission Processor provides the aircraft with an open-system computing architecture that will be expected to integrate with both current and next-generation technologies. The new configuration will provide performance and technology improvements and solutions for component obsolescence. The new Mission Processor contains 48 processing cores and future growth to 80 cores for general purpose processing, four graphics processors, enhanced video processing, and additional encoding/decoding capabilities. The Mission Processor will provide the Apache Block III avionics and mission equipment with the ability to perform sophisticated "networking" and onboard computing tasks and will allow the Apache Block III aircraft to more easily accommodate emerging capabilities. This new mission computer underwrites a set of established technical standards through a "system-of-systems" approach so that new systems, sensors, applications and electronics can be easily integrated. Work will be performed over five years.
Lockheed Martin awarded F-16 upgrade contract for the Republic Of China Air Force
Lockheed Martin was awarded a contract valued up to $1.85 billion by the U.S. Government to initiate the upgrade of 145 Block 20 F-16A/B aircraft for the Republic of China. This retrofit program will include the addition of an Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radar, embedded global positioning, as well as upgrades to the electronic warfare and other avionics systems of Taiwan's F-16s. Lockheed Martin has upgraded more than 1000 existing F-16s for a combination of the U.S. Air Force (USAF) and international customers. Most recently, Lockheed Martin was named the prime integrator to upgrade the USAF F-16 fleet. Both new upgrade programs will be based on the F-16V configuration announced by Lockheed Martin earlier this year.
Lockheed Martin-led team to develop new autonomous technology
The Office of Naval Research awarded a $13.5 million contract to an industry team led by Lockheed Martin to explore highly advanced autonomous technologies aboard an unmanned vertical take-off and landing aircraft. Under the contract, Lockheed Martin and a team of industry, government, and academic partners will develop a technology that will enable aircraft to operate under supervisory control. A human operator will interact with the system at a high level while low-level control is left to the automation. During this first, 18-month phase of the five-year effort, the team will demonstrate the capabilities of its Open-Architecture Planning and Trajectory Intelligence for Managing Unmanned Systems (OPTIMUS) architecture.
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Open-Architecture Planning and Trajectory Intelligence for Managing Unmanned Systems (OPTIMUS) is designed to be platform-agnostic, drawing from Lockheed Martin's experience with the unmanned K-MAX (shown) cargo resupply program and the combined teams' expertise in the fields of sensing, autonomy, and human-machine interaction.
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