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Results for "jlens"
Beyond Patriot: The MEADS Program SD&D Phase
06-Aug-2009 11:11 EDT |
Related Stories: ABM, Alliances, Americas - USA, Budgets, EADS, Europe - Other, FOCUS Articles, Issues - International, Lockheed Martin, MBDA, Missiles - Surface-Air, New Systems Tech, Northrop-Grumman, R&D - Contracted
MEADS: air view
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The Medium Extended Air Defense System (MEADS program aims to replace Patriot missiles in the United States, the older Hawk system in Germany, and Italy’s even older Nike Hercules missiles. MEADS will be designed to kill enemy aircraft, cruise missiles and UAVs within its reach, while providing next-generation point defense capabilities against ballistic missiles. MBDA’s SAMP/T project would be its main competitor, but MEADS aims to offer improved mobility and wider compatibility with other air defense systems, in order to create an linchpin for its customers’ next-generation air defense arrays.
The German government finally gave their clearance in April 2005, and in June 2005 MEADS International (MI) formally signed a contract worth approximately $3.4 billion to design and develop the tri-national MEADS system. This DID FOCUS Article covers that program, which is about to add a second missile to the mix…
The USA’s RAID Program: Small Systems, Big Surveillance Time
19-Jul-2009 13:49 EDT |
Related Stories: Americas - USA, Blimps & LTA Craft, Contracts - Awards, Delivery & Task Orders, New Systems Tech, Other Corporation, Other Equipment - Land, Radars, Raytheon, Sensors & Guidance, Spotlight articles, Transformation
TCOM 17M RAID Aerostat
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The RAID program is a combination of cameras and surveillance equipment positioned on high towers and aerostats, in order to monitor a wide area around important locations and bases. Aerostats differ from blimps in that blimps are powered, while aerostats are anchored to the ground via a cranked tether that also supplies electrical power. Because the aerostats are not highly pressurized, bullets won’t burst them and they can actually remain buoyant for hours after suffering multiple punctures.
The RAID concept began with a smaller TCOM 17M aerostat as the base platform, instead of the TCOM 71M JLENS aerostats used for cruise missile and air defense. Its sensors were also optimized for battlefield surveillance, rather than JLENS’ focus on powerful air defense radars. The result is a form of survivable and permanent surveillance over key areas that has been deployed to Afghanistan & Iraq. “Aerostats” has actually become something of a misnomer, however – RAID can also be deployed as a tower system, and this “Eagle Eye/ GBOSS” deployment is turning out to be the preferred mode.
Raytheon continues to receive contracts from the US Marine Corps and US Army for new towers, as well as maintenance of existing systems. FLIR Systems is another prominent RAID contractor, who has just received another order…
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JLENS: Co-ordinating Cruise Missile Defense - And More
09-Jun-2009 15:32 EDT |
Related Stories: ABM, Americas - USA, Asia - Central, Blimps & LTA Craft, FOCUS Articles, Middle East - Other, New Systems Tech, Other Corporation, Radars, Raytheon, Sensors & Guidance, Transformation
JLENS Concept
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Experiences in Operation Iraqi Freedom showed that even conventional cruise missiles could have important tactical uses in the hands of a determined enemy. Meanwhile, the proliferation of cruise missiles and associated components, combined with a falling technology curve for biological, chemical, or even nuclear agents, is creating longer-term hazards on a whole new scale. Intelligence agencies and analysts believe that the threat of U.S. cities coming under cruise missile attack from ships off the coast is real, sophisticated and evolving.
Aerial sensors are the best defense against low-flying cruise missiles, because they offer far better detection and tracking range than ground-based systems. The bad news is that keeping planes in the air all the time is very expensive, and so are the aircraft themselves. As cruise missile defense becomes a more prominent political issue, the primary challenge becomes the development of a reliable, affordable, long-flying, look-down platform. One that can detect, track and identify incoming missiles, then support over-the-horizon engagements in a timely manner. Hence JLENS.
DID’s FOCUS articles offer in-depth, updated looks at significant military programs of record. This article covers the JLENS system, from key capabilities to program structure to ongoing procurements. Per DID practice, new materials will be highlighted in green type. The most recent news is R&D work a key technology: lightweight Cooperative Engagement Capability antennas…
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Aerovironment’s Global Observer: Flying High, Again
03-Jun-2009 15:58 EDT |
Related Stories: Americas - USA, Contracts - Awards, Design Innovations, FOCUS Articles, Forces - Special Ops, New Systems Tech, Other Corporation, R&D - Contracted, Transformation, UAVs
ISR
CONOPS
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The late Dr. Paul McReady’s Aerovironment, Inc. has achieved just renown for the success of its small UAVs like the Army’s RQ-11 Raven and the US Marines’ RQ-14 Dragon Eye/Swift. Outside the military sphere, however, it is best known for civil successes like the human-powered Gossamer Condor, the giant, solar-powered Pathfinder and Helios aircraft, and the flying Quetzalcoatlus northropi ornithopter on display in the Smithsonian museum.
Now the firm’s tradition of military successes and aerial innovation are about to fuse, as it receives a major Advanced Concept/Joint Capability Technology Demonstration (ACTD/JCTD) contract for a UAV that runs on hydrogen fuel cells and can cruise at 55,000-65,000 feet for up to 7 days at a time, while carrying a 1,000 pound payload. Meet Aerovironment’s Global Observer, which promises formidable advantages in roles as diverse as communications relay, persistent ISR, maritime patrol, even storm tracking and weather applications…
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Indian AWACS Moving Forward on 2 Fronts
26-May-2009 11:28 EDT |
Related Stories: Asia - India, C4ISR, Contracts - Intent, Middle East - Israel, New Systems Tech, Other Corporation, Partnerships & Consortia, R&D - Contracted, Radars, Russia, Specialty Aircraft, Testing & Evaluation, Transformation
IL-76 Phalcon:
first delivery
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In February 2006, “India’s Air Force Looks to Enhance Its Reach With Upgrades & Force Multipliers” discussed India’s growing shift toward aircraft that would give it the ability to patrol and act at extended ranges. In January 2004, India and Israel signed a $1.1 billion contract for 3 Phalcon airborne warning and control system (AWACS) aircraft, as part of a $1.5 billion tripartite agreement with Russia.
Now reports are surfacing that India will implement its AWACS capabilities on 2 platforms, in order to provide broader coverage. With the arrival of its first IL-76 Phalcon in India, the country joins the global ranks of AWACS operators…
- India’s AWACS: Platforms & Programs
- Updates and Developments
- Additional Readings & Sources
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Flying LTTE Tigers, LET Terrorist Boats Help Spur India’s Aerostat Radar Buys from Israel
21-Jan-2009 17:35 EST |
Related Stories: Asia - India, Asia - Other, Blimps & LTA Craft, Coastal & Littoral, Contracts - Awards, Domestic Security, Issues - International, Middle East - Israel, Other Corporation, Radars
Ripple effect
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“Sri Lanka: Fulcrums & Lions to Battle Tigers?” discussed the Tamil Tigers’ (LTTE) attacks on Sri Lankan military bases and oil facilities using an unusual weapon for guerrillas and terrorists: aircraft. The implications of those attacks are becoming regional in scope, which should probably be expected given that the LTTE was responsible for assassinating Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi in 1991. The Indian military’s reaction suggested that they were not taking the Tigers lightly, and approval would eventually follow for a follow-on IAF buy of advanced Israeli surveillance radars mounted on tethered aerostat blimps
India’s purchase involved strategic concerns that reach far beyond the Tamil Tigers. In time, that fact would be driven home by another surprise, this time from the LET terrorists that operate from Pakistan. The additional aerostat systems had yet to arrive from Israel when the 2008 Mumbai Massacres took place, but the gaps it revealed in India’s defenses, and the deployment of the existing systems to protect critical areas in the attack’s aftermath, strongly underlined the systems’ value. So much so, that India’s Navy is now buying them, too…
- Flying Tigers, and Unease in India
- The Aerostat Solution
- Updates and Developments
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CEC: Cooperative Engagement for Fleet Defense (updated)
18-Dec-2008 15:17 EST |
Related Stories: ABM, Americas - USA, Contracts - Modifications, Electronics - General, FOCUS Articles, IT - Software & Integration, Protective Systems - Naval, Radars, Raytheon, Sensors & Guidance, Support & Maintenance, Support Functions - Other, Surface Ships - Combat, Transformation
CEC Concept
(click to enlarge)
Cooperative Engagement Capability (CEC) is a sensor netting system that allows many ships to pool their radar and sensor information together, creating a very powerful and detailed picture that’s much finer, more wide-ranging, and more consistent than any one ship could generate on its own. The data is then shared among all ships via secure frequencies.
Yet CEC is far more than a mere data-sharing program, or even a sensor fusion effort. Indeed, it may well be the most revolutionary capability available to the modern US Navy. This DID FOCUS Article explains CEC’s mechanics and implications; it will also track ongoing research, updates, and contracts related to CEC capabilities from 2000 forward. The latest item is a an order from the US Navy…
The Hunt for the Affordable Weapon(TM)
25-Nov-2008 11:23 EST |
Related Stories: Americas - USA, BAE, Boeing, Contracts - Awards, Contracts - Modifications, Design Innovations, FOCUS Articles, L3 Communications, MBDA, Missiles - Precision Attack, New Systems Tech, Other Corporation, R&D - Contracted, Sensors & Guidance, Signals Radio & Wireless, Transformation, Warfare - Trends
Cheap boost
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It’s a threat that makes modern defense planners shiver. Small turbojets are not uncommon, even as basic GPS receiver technology has become cheap, and guidance systems sophisticated enough to fly unmanned aerial vehicles are being developed all over the world. If fuel efficiency, speed, range, and pinpoint accuracy aren’t driving concerns, they wonder, how hard and how cheap could it really be to slap together a cruise missile from nearly off-the-shelf parts, then fire it from a container ship offshore, flying 200 miles or more to its designated target area? And in an age of falling technology curves, what cargoes might such a weapon contain?
Radar: height matters.
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Just as anti-ballistic missile technology is developing itself for the coming age of the rogue state, America’s nets are slowly being drawn up against the cruise missile threat from those states… and one day, of less-than-states. Persistent surveillance is reaching beyond the limitations of aircraft, and into constant surveillance using lighter-then-air platforms like JLENS tethered aerostats, HAA airships with huge flexible IRIS radars, and even Navy blimps. Fighters are being fitted with AESA radars as their cost of manufacture drops and new generations are bought, and interlocking land and naval defenses that include SM-2/3 missiles, mobile SLAMRAAM and MEADS missile launchers, and longer-range systems like THAAD that can be used against air-breathing threats in a pinch. All this is being networked into a single net via developments like Cooperative Engagement Capability, and more. In time, logic will also demand investments like very long-range supersonic ramjet air-air missiles to extend the intercept circle of patrolling aerial platforms, or threaten key enemy assets like AWACS and tankers behind the front lines. All this and more lies ahead, born of necessity in America – and beyond.
The scope of this threat makes for a daunting scenario when one considers the long coastlines of nations like the USA/Canada, India, Australia, Britain, et. al. Beyond the threat, however, some American military planners looked into this crystal ball and saw something more – an opportunity. It’s also an opportunity for 3 firms…
- Deep Strike, and the One Punch Syndrome
- Affordable Weapon: Contracts & Key Events [updated]
- Additional Readings
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NCADE: An ABM AMRAAM - Or Something More?
20-Nov-2008 16:21 EST |
Related Stories: ABM, Americas - USA, Contracts - Awards, Design Innovations, Missiles - Air-Air, Missiles - Surface-Air, New Systems Tech, Other Corporation, Partnerships & Consortia, Raytheon, Sensors & Guidance, Transformation, Warfare - Trends
SM-3 seeker: target!
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A lot has been written in recent years about the improvements in air-air missiles. Short-range air-air missiles (SRAAMs) have received particular attention due to their vastly improved wide-angle seekers, computer processor improvements driven by Moore’s Law, and the ability to pull several times more ‘gs’ than manned fighter aircraft when maneuvering. Some analysts now believe that close-in aerial combat may at last be threatening to fulfill missile engineers’ old claims of “see, fire, and kill” – a development that would make cheap aircraft with new missiles a very significant threat, if true. Medium range AAM (MRAAM) designs have also made significant strides in performance.
How big are these strides? Normally, hitting a missile in the atmosphere or in the lower echelons of space requires large mid-course interceptor rockets, or theater defense missiles like IAI/Boeing’s Arrow 2 or the USA’s THAAD, or the naval SM-3. But what if all the energy required to get off the ground and up to speed was already taken care of, line of sight was expanded considerably by being at altitude, and the defensive missile could be moved very close to the enemy launcher? If that was true, could you take an in-service medium range air-air missile (MRAAM), turn it into a 2-stage rocket with a complementary infared seeker from an in-service SRAAM, and use it as a first line of defense to counter, say, a ballistic missile during its early launch phase?
Raytheon, and the US Missile Defense Agency, think the answer may be “yes.” Allied pilots in Desert Storm could sometimes see Iraqi SCUD missile launches – but in 1991, they were powerless to do anything about them. By 2006, technology had advanced enough that Raytheon and the US MDA introduced NCADE, the “Network Centric Airborne Defense Element.” Its potential may be even greater than its sponsors have considered…
- The NCADE Proto-Program, and How It Works [updated]
- NCADE: Implications and Scenarios [updated]
- NCADE: Contracts & Key Events
- Additional Readings
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Time for TARS Along USA’s Southern Borders
13-Jul-2008 15:21 EDT |
Related Stories: Americas - USA, Blimps & LTA Craft, C4ISR, Contracts - Awards, Other Corporation, Radars, Support & Maintenance, Support Functions - Other, Warfare - Trends
TARS aerostat
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ITT Systems Division of Colorado Springs, CO received a $33.7 million fixed-price, cost-plus award fee with cost reimbursable line items contract for the Tethered Aerostat Radar System (TARS). ITT will operate, maintain, and support 8 operational TARS sites 24 hours a day/ 7 days per week, and also provide cradle-to-grave support for the entire TARS network. At this time $1.5 million has been obligated. ACC AMIC/PKC in Newport News, VA manages this contract (FA4890-08-C-0005).
An aerostat is a lighter-than-air craft that relies on a ground tether for movement and often for power as well, as opposed to blimps which are self-powered, free-flying craft. The US military has slowly come around to the benefits of aerostats in an era that requires persistent surveillance, but features high fuel prices. The RAID program has morphed into the tower-centric GBOSS, and progress on the naval front remains low, but the $1+ billion JLENS advanced aerial surveillance program is still moving ahead, and Lockheed Martin has delivdered its PTDS aerostats to the front lines for ground surveillance duties. Now ITT’s TARS can be added to the mix…
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