US “Chair” Force?
(click to view full)

UAVs have played a crucial role in gathering intelligence in the US military’s wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. There are thousands of UAVs gathering and distributing valuable data on the enemy, but each system uses its own proprietary subsystem to control the air vehicle as well as receive and process the data. Yet commanders need access to information gathered by all types of UAVs that are flying missions in their area of operation.

Recognizing this shortcoming, the Pentagon began an effort in 2008 to break down the proprietary barriers between UAV systems and create a single GCS that will fly all types of drones.

This free-to-view DID Spotlight article examines the problem of proprietary UAV systems and efforts to break down barriers to sharing vital UAV-generated information.

• Ground Control to Major Tom: The Role of GCS
• Come Together: The Pentagon’s UCS-WG
• Are You Going STANAG?: NATO’s Standard
• One is the Loneliest Number: AAI’s OneSystem
• Red ROVER, Red ROVER: The ROVER Datalink
• Masters of the Universe: Raytheon’s UCS
• Too Close to the Sun: ICARUS and Autonomy
• Contracts and Key Events
• Additional Readings
  
  Continue Reading… »

FRES-U finalists:
There can be… none?
(click to view full)

FRES-SV weapon agreement; Shake, rattle & roll testing; BAE shifts course in bid to win FRES-SV contract. (March 12/10)

Many of Britain’s army vehicles are old and worn, and the necessities of hard service on the battlefield are only accelerating that wear. The multi-billion pound “Future Rapid Effects System” (FRES) aims to recapitalize the core of Britain’s armored vehicle fleet over the next decade or more, filling many of the same medium armor roles as the Stryker Family of armored wheeled vehicles and/or the Future Combat Systems’ Manned Ground Vehicle family. Current estimates indicate a potential requirement for over 3,700 FRES vehicles, including utility and reconnaissance variants. Even so, one should be cautioned that actual numbers bought usually fall short of intended figures for early-stage defense programs.

The FRES program was spawned by the UK’s withdrawal from the German-Dutch-UK Boxer MRAV modular wheeled APC program, in order to develop a more deployable vehicle that fit Britain’s exact requirements. Those initial requirements were challenging, however, and experience in Iraq and Afghanistan led to decisions that changed a number of requirements. In the end, GD MOWAG’s Piranha V won the utility vehicle competition. FRES-U is not the end of the competition, however, or the contracts. In fact, FRES-U had the winning bidder’s preferred status revoked; that entire phase will now take a back seat to the FRS-SV scout version…

• FRES: The Program
• FRES: Contracts & Key Events [updated]
• Additional Readings [updated]
• Appendix 1 – The British Army’s Armored Vehicle Fleet, late 2006
• Appendix 2 – A New Procurement Approach: System House Challenges
• Appendix 3 – FRES: Key Challenges for the Contractors
• Appendix 4 – FRES Experiments: Electronic Architecture Contracts
• Appendix 5 – FRES Experiments: Vehicle-Related Contracts
  
  Continue Reading… »

(click to view full)

In February 2009, the USA’s Missile Defense Agency instituted the Missile Defense Advanced Technology Innovation (ATI) Program to:

”...identify and develop innovative concepts, stimulate technology innovation, and exploit breakthroughs in science to offer robust technology improvements to all elements of the [missile defense system].... The MDA contracts with private industry, educational institutions, and nonprofit organizations for research in those areas covered in this BAA…. MDA does not have a specified amount of funding available for BAA awards, however, if MDA decides to pursue a concept the appropriate level of funding will be identified, and a final proposal will be requested by a MDA Contracting Officer in writing.”

That was pretty vague and non-committal, but it did lay out key research areas, and invite ideas. A February 2010 update to the solicitation has added some clarification around the involvement of “foreign persons.”

Continue Reading… »

Cray to supply 3 DoD supercomputers. (Feb 24/10)

The US Department of Defense (DoD) High Performance Computing Modernization Program (HPCMP) was set up in 1992 to modernize DoD’s supercomputing capabilities. The HPCMP was assembled out of a collection of small high performance computing departments run by the services, each with supercomputing capabilities independent of the others.

The HPCMP brings these capabilities together. The program provides supercomputer services, high-speed network communications, and computational science expertise that enables the DoD labs to develop new weapons systems, prepare US aircraft for overseas deployments in Afghanistan and Iraq, and assist long-term weather predictions to plan humanitarian and military operations throughout the world…

Continue Reading… »

MQ-8B Fire Scout
(click to view full)

Fire Scout’s resupply capability demonstrated during US Army high-tech exercise. (Feb 15/10)

The USA’s RQ/MQ-8 Fire Scout Unmanned Aerial Vehicle has had a colorful history. The program was begun with promise by the US Navy, canceled, adopted by the US Army, and finally revived by the Navy as well. The MQ-8B Fire Scout is linked with two major defense programs: the Future Combat Systems program and the USA’s Littoral Combat Ships (LCS). The Pentagon decided to cancel the FCS in 2009 and rolled parts of the program into the Ground Combat Vehicle (GCV) program. The troubled LCS, however, is moving ahead with the Jan 26/10 release of a request for proposal to build 10 LCS over the next 5 years. Meanwhile, the US Coast Guard is testing the Fire Scout for its National Security Cutter program.

Fire Scout-related awards to Northrop Grumman and Raytheon have been quite varied. DID lists them, along with budgetary figures from official DoD documents, and also explains the Fire Scout’s history and capabilities…

• MQ-8: The Platform
• MQ-8: The Program
• Fire Scout Program Budgets
• Fire Scout Contracts & Key Events, full history [updated]
• Additional Readings & Sources
  
  Continue Reading… »

Sun Tzu

The great Chinese military strategist Sun Tzu observed, “If you know the enemy and know yourself you need not fear the results of a hundred battles.”

This appears to the thinking behind the US Defense Advanced Research Agency’s (DARPA) new National Cyber Range (NCR) program.

DARPA is teaming with industry to develop technologies that will enable US personnel to simulate attacks on the USA’s cyber networks, which include most IT and computer systems as well as the infrastructure that depends on those systems, and devise strategies to thwart those attacks. By constructing advanced simulations, DARPA hopes the NCR will enable US defenders to anticipate attackers moves and outthink the enemy.

DARPA began the program in January 2009 with the award of 7 contracts for phase I NCR development; the agency recently awarded contracts for phase II…

Continue Reading… »

Fill ‘Er Up
(click to view full)

University of Dayton Research Institute in Dayton, OH received a $49.5 million contract to conduct jet fuel research under the Fuels and Combustion Technologies for Aerospace Propulsion program.

The institute will investigate and evaluate advanced fuels and fuel technologies, fuel systems component development, advance combustor and augmenter designs, advanced fuel properties measurement, fuel system component development and safety, combustion emissions and their integration into advanced aerospace applications.

The institute received its 1st USAF contract for the fuel research program in 2003…

Continue Reading… »

The US Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) awarded a $31 million contract to a team lead by Lockheed Martin to develop a network protocol to improve the confidentiality, integrity, and security of US military networks.

In developing this new protocol, Lockheed Martin’s team will develop router technologies that include strong authentication and self-configuration capabilities to improve security and bandwidth allocation and lower overall life cycle costs for network management.

Lockheed Martin’s team includes Microsoft, Juniper Networks, Anagran, Stanford University, and LGS Innovations, which has been quite active in securing military IT business on its own…

Continue Reading… »

ICT FlatWorld Simulation
(click to view larger)

A decade ago, the US Army turned to the University of Southern California, the gaming industry, and Hollywood to develop virtual reality systems to simulate the battlefield situations and cultural interactions that soldiers would face in deploying overseas. The result was the establishment of the Institute for Creative Technologies (ICF).

The institute uses technologies in artificial intelligence, graphics, and immersion to create interactive simulations that help soldiers not only see the training situation but also interact with virtual soldiers, insurgents, and civilians.

To continue that work, the Army awarded the institute a $78.5 million, 7-year indefinite delivery/ indefinite quantity contract…

Continue Reading… »

EMALS Components
(click to view full)

As the US Navy continues to build its new CVN-21 Gerald R. Ford Class carriers, few technologies are as important to their success as the next-generation EMALS (Electro-MAgnetic Launch System) catapult. The question is whether that technology will be ready in time, in order to avoid either costly delays to the program – or an even more costly redesign of the first ship of class.

Current steam catapult technology is very entertaining when it launches cars more than 100 feet off of a ship, or gives naval fighters the extra boost they need to achieve flight speed within a launch footprint of a few hundred feet. It’s also stressful for the aircraft involved, very maintenance intensive, and not really compatible with modern gas turbine propulsion systems. At present, however, steam is the only option for launching supersonic jet fighters from carrier decks. EMALS aims to leap beyond steam’s limitations, delivering significant efficiency savings, a more survivable system, and improved effectiveness. This free-to-view spotlight article covers the technology, the program, and its progress to date.

The latest developments include additional costs and continued testing, which is not yet finished…

• From Steam to Magnets: EMALS vs. Current Approaches
• Program Teams [NEW]
• Contracts and Key Events [updated]
• Additional Readings
  
  Continue Reading… »