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Archives by category > IT – Networks & Bandwidth (RSS)

The USA’s NGJ Strike Jammers: Raytheon’s Mid-Band Win

Mar 03, 2022 04:58 UTC

Latest updates[?]: Boeing won a $17.7 million contract modification, which increases the scope to procure the necessary test and engineering support to complete the development of the Next Generation Jammer – Mid-Band system and the phased replacement of the AN/ALQ-99 Tactical Jamming System currently mounted to the EA-18G aircraft. The AN/ALQ-99 intercepts and automatically processes radar signals and power manages the system's transmitters to effectively jam large numbers of diverse radar threats with very high effective radiated power. The AN/ALQ-249(V)1 Next Generation Jammer Mid-Band (NGJ-MB) system is part of a larger NGJ system that will augment, and ultimately replace the legacy ALQ-99 Tactical Jamming System (TJS) currently used on the EA-18G Growler aircraft for Airborne Electronic Attack. Work will take place in Missouri and Maryland. Estimated completion will be in February 2023.

Shadowhawks EA-18G on CVN 73:

EA-18G Growler

The US Navy owns the only operational tactical jamming fighters in the world, but the AN/ALQ-99 pods they depend on use analog technologies, are hard to maintain, and have reliability issues. All-digital technologies and modern transmit/receive electronics offer huge leaps ahead in capability and availability, which is why the US military is working on a Next-Generation Jammer (NGJ) replacement for the pods on its tactical strike aircraft.

The EA-18G Growler will be the NGJ’s first platform, but the flexibility of modern technologies mean that it may not be the last.

Continue Reading… »

CyberCatch Sponsors Webinar on New Compliance Requirements

Oct 28, 2020 14:16 UTC

Sponsored:
Cyber security firm CyberCatch will host a free webinar on November 18 to review current threats and soon-to-be-required compliance requirements.

Bringing Home the BACN to Front-Line Forces

Jan 24, 2020 04:58 UTC

Latest updates[?]: Northrop Grumman won a $217.2 million modification, which provides for Battlefield Airborne Communications Node payload operation and support for payload equipment and services. Under the contract, Northrup Grumman will support payload equipment and services for the Battlefield Airborne Communications Node, a US Air Force relay and gateway system carried by the EQ-48 and Bombardier E-11A aircraft. The node enables real-time information flow across the battlespace in line-of-sight and beyond-line-of-sight operations. Work will take place in San Diego and at undisclosed overseas locations, with an expected completion date of January 23, 2021.
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E-11A, Kandahar

E-11A BACN

In late June 2009, the USAF awarded Northrop Grumman Defense Mission Systems Inc., of San Diego, CA an urgent requirement contract for its Battlefield Airborne Communications Node (BACN) System. Under current plans, Northrop Grumman will help the USAF deploy BACN in up to 4 “E-11” Bombardier BD-700 Global Express (see also BACN-modified photo) ultra-long-range business jets, and in up to 4 EQ-4B Global Hawk Block 20 UAVs, for sustained deployment through 2015.

BACN is an airborne communications relay that extends communications ranges, bridges between radio frequencies, and “translates” among incompatible communications systems. That may sound trivial, but on a tactical level, it definitely isn’t.

Continue Reading… »

WIN-T: US Army’s Connection to the Global InfoGrid

Mar 27, 2019 04:56 UTC DII

Latest updates[?]: The Defense Logistics Agency contracted General Dynamics $93 million for the Warfighter Information Network-Tactical (WIN-T) Increment 1 system. The WIN-T Increment 1 was originally known as the JOINT Network Node Network program and is the Army’s high-speed, high-capacity tactical communications network to distribute classified and unclassified information by means of voice, data, and real-time video. Increment 1 is a stationary network for command posts and units. It provides a full range of at-the-halt data, voice, and video communications. Work under the five-year-contract will take place in Massachusetts and is scheduled to be completed by March 24, 2024.

WINT-T slide

WIN-T concept
(click to view larger)

As the Army’s tactical portion of the USA’s Global Information Grid (GIG) network, Warfighter Information Network-Tactical (WIN-T) is designed to help deployed forces tap into that global network and its databases, collectors, and connections to national agencies. At present, this requires multiple private networks, or outright forward deployment of representatives from the agencies in question. If it can be done at all.

WIN-T has absorbed the program formerly known as the Joint Network Node, and another 3 fielding increments will gradually add key capabilities to the system. Increment 1/ JNN is widely fielded, Increment 2 is being fielded, and R&D contracts are beginning fleshing out Increment 3.

Continue Reading… »

Keep A Spare Handy: US Navy Orders its 5th MUOS COMSAT

Mar 07, 2019 04:58 UTC

Latest updates[?]: The US Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command awarded Lockheed Martin a $92.9 million contract modification for engineering services on the Mobile User Objective System (MUOS). The modification also includes interim logistics services, spares and associated material. MUOS is a narrowband military satellite communication system designed to secure ultra-high frequency satcom activities for mobile force. The system employs radio terminals built to link up with the Global Information Grid and support mobile and tactical operations on the ground, at sea or in the air. It supports a worldwide, multiservice population of users, providing modern netcentric communications capabilities while supporting legacy terminals. The MUOS satellite network is expected to achieve full operational capability in 2017 and ensure the availability of UHF narrowband communications for the US Navy past 2025. The MUOS is also expected to serve the Australian defense forces. Work under the modification is scheduled to be finished in October 2020 and will take place in Arizona and California.

MUOS

MUOS concept

Lockheed Martin recently announced a $339.6-million contract option from the U.S. Navy for the 5th and final planned satellite in the Mobile User Objective System (MUOS) constellation. Under the current plan, the 5th satellite would serve as an on-orbit spare, and the capstone of a $3.26 billion acquisition program – though schedule slips have delayed the launch of even the 1st MUOS satellite from 2009 to December 2011.

Continue Reading… »

Despite Problems, UK Moves Ahead with $376M Bowman Radio Upgrade

Apr 10, 2017 00:52 UTC

Latest updates[?]: General Dynamics has been picked by the UK to design and develop next-generation battlefield communication systems. The $409 million contract is part of the MoD's Morpheus Project, an effort launched to address critical system obsolescence and procure more advanced Tactical Communication and Information Systems for the British Army; allowing British warfighters to integrate new radios and other communication platforms faster and more easily. Under the agreement, GD will implement the Evolve to Open approach, which will modify existing Bowman communication systems into an open, modular platform.
ELEC_Bowman_Radios_on_British_Army.jpg

Bowman radios

The UK’s Bowman tactical communications system, which replaced the aging Clansman system, has encountered some problems with troops deployed in Afghanistan. The Bowman radios carried by the soldiers have a short battery life and are heavy. There is also a shortage of ancillary equipment, such as antennas and speakers, according to a May 14/09 report by the UK National Audit Office (NAO).

As DID reported earlier, a 2006 NAO report had identified a number of serious problems with the Bowman system resulting from the radical changes in communications technology and needs since the program was conceived in the 1980s. The report identified as issues the vast growth in bandwidth requirements due to UAVs et. al. transmitting video, the need for far greater capabilities without providing more money, the lack of robustness and modifiability in its closed architecture software systems, the effects of Bowman’s lack of definition on training and doctrine, and the effects of the program on the decimated British tactical radio industry.

Despite these problems, the UK Ministry of Defence (MOD) recently awarded 2 contracts worth £231 million ($376 million) to prime contractor General Dynamics UK to upgrade the Bowman system.

DID has more on the Bowman system upgrades…

Continue Reading… »

Israel’s AMOS-6 Dual-Use COMSAT

Sep 06, 2016 00:50 UTC

Latest updates[?]: Israel's Space Communication Ltd may seek either $50 million or a free flight from SpaceX, following the destruction of a Spacecom communications satellite last week by an explosion at SpaceX's Florida launch site. The failed launch has had a profound impact on Spacecom with its equity expected to decline by $30 million to $123 million following a 9% dip in its share price on Thursday, followed by a further 34% drop when trading resumed. SpaceX said on Friday that it would shift flights to a second launch site in Florida, which is nearing completion and which was last used to launch NASA's space shuttles.
Signed: AMOS-6 COMSAT

AMOS-6 signing
(click to view larger)

In November 2012, Israel Aerospace Industries signed a minimum $185 million contract with Israel’s Spacecom satellite company. In return, IAI will build and operate the dual-use AMOS-6 communications satellite, covering Africa, the Middle East, and Europe. The launch contract will be a separate transaction.

Like most providers, Spacecom has already sold capacity on the satellite, including a $20 million lifetime contract from the Israeli government, who will receive a beam in an agreed-upon frequency band…

Continue Reading… »

Jordan’s JBSP Border Security Program

Jun 02, 2016 00:59 UTC

Latest updates[?]: A US funded Jordan Border Security Project with the government of Jordan and US contractor Raytheon is entering its final phase . The $100 million program aims to secure the Hashemite Kingdom against infiltrators from the Islamic State and other extremist organizations operating beyond its border with Syria and Iraq. Under the program, Raytheon and Jordanian subcontractors have been deploying and testing the sensor-fused border barriers while, in parallel, training other Jordanian partners to maintain and operate the system. As well as the barriers, patrol paths and watchtowers, the system is integrated with day and night cameras, ground radars, and a full command, control and communications suite. The system will be completed by the end of next year.
Jordan

Jordan

In May 2008, the U.S. Army’s Communications and Electronics Command (CECOM) chose DRS Technologies, Inc. in Gaithersburg, MD (since acquired by Italy’s Finmeccanica) for the initial phase of the Jordan Border Security Program. The overall system will include Distant Sentry(TM) mobile and fixed surveillance towers that utilize a variety of Commercial Off-The-Shelf (COTS) sensors, communications between the towers and mobile and fixed Command and Control (C2) Centers, and electronic infrastructure, software, and computing systems for the centers themselves. The Iraqi border is reportedly the focus of the JBSP program, but that country’s borders with Syria are also a concern.

A number of other countries are building or have built similar virtual and/or physical systems, from Saudi Arabia along the Iraq border, to India in Kashmir, to Israel along its hostile borders with Lebanon and the Palestinian Authority. Note, however, that these systems are not a panacea. Israel’s high-tech systems did not detect or prevent the cross-border Hezbollah kidnappings that led to the 2006 war in Lebanon, however, and the US GAO has been less than complimentary concerning Team Boeing’s SBInet system along the USA’s southern border.

Continue Reading… »

All Together Now: Integrating the US Army’s Disparate Air and Missile Defenses

Apr 20, 2016 00:25 UTC

Latest updates[?]: The US Army has successfully carried out a dual engagement flight test of the Integrated Air and Missile Defense (IAMD) Battle Command System (IBCS). Developed by Northrop Grumman, the system has the ability to identify, track, engage, and defeat ballistic and cruise missile targets. The April 8 test built upon previous testing and validated the ability of IBCS to manage multiple threats. A Milestone C (production and deployment) decision is anticipated for later this fall.
ELEC_Army_Integrated_Battle_Command_System_Concept.jpg

Army IBCS Concept
(click to enlarge)

Interim design review for IBCS completed. (April 26/10)

The US Army awarded a Northrop Grumman-led team a $577 million, 5-year, cost-plus-incentive-fee/ cost-plus-fixed-fee contract to develop the Integrated Air and Missile Defense Battle Command System (IBCS).

Northrop Grumman beat out a team led by Raytheon. The two teams competed in the preliminary design phase of the program.

IBCS is intended to transform the Army’s disparate air and missile defense systems — each with independent sensing, command-and-control and launching capabilities — into an integrated defense capability. The system will enable the Army to manages all of its air and missile defense systems from 1 command-and-control center.

Northrop Grumman’s winning IBCS design is based on a non-proprietary, open architecture approach…

Continue Reading… »

Korea’s KDX-III AEGIS Destroyers

Jun 11, 2015 00:36 UTC

Latest updates[?]: South Korea has requested the sale of the Aegis Combat System through a Foreign Military Sale. The potential sale of three of the systems, as well as auxiliary equipment, could be worth $1.9 billion and comes weeks after the North tested a "submarine-launched" missile. The ACS comprises the SPY-1 radar, Display System and Underwater Countermeasure System, with the Aegis system also capable of operating in a Ballistic Missile Defense capacity.
ROKS King Sejong the Great at RIMPAC 2010

KDX-III: DDG-991

The Korean Destroyer eXperimental (KDX) surface combatant shipbuilding program involves 3 individual classes of ships. The 3 KDX-I Gwanggaeto Great Class ships are called destroyers, but at 3,800 tons, their size and armament more properly rank them as small frigates. The last ship of class was commissioned in 2000. The next 6 KDX-II Chungmugong Yi Sun-sin Class ships are indeed destroyers at 6,085 tons full load, with a hull design licensed from Germany’s IABG, and more advanced systems that include SM-2 air defense missiles. They were commissioned between 2003-2008.

With that experience under their belts, Korea entered the 3rd phase of the program. Their KDX-III King Sejong Great Class destroyers weigh in at 8,500 tons standard displacement and 11,000 tons full load. That’s heavier than the USA’s CG-47 Ticonderoga Class cruisers, making them the largest ships in the world to carry Lockheed Martin’s AEGIS combat system. They will form the high end of South Korea’s Navy, while offering a premium showcase for some of the new weapons and electronic systems developed by South Korea’s defense sector.

Continue Reading… »
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