Space radiation effects conference set for July
The IEEE Nuclear and Space Radiation Effects Conference (NSREC) will be July 24-28, 2000 at the Silver Legacy Resort Hotel in Reno, Nev. This annual meeting of engineers and scientists presents techniques for enhancing the performance of microelectronic devices and circuits in radiation environments such as spacecraft. The majority of research papers presented at NSREC are published in the December issue of the IEEE Transactions on Nuclear Science. Sessions topics include photonic devices with complex and multiple failure modes, radiation effects testing of mixed-signal microelectronics, and radiation effects testing of programmable logic devices. To register, or for more information, contact NSREC by phone at 303-770-2055, by fax at 303-741-5890, or on the World Wide Web at http://www.nsrec.com/.— J.K.
DRS to provide Tempest UltraSPARC workstations to U.S. government
The DRS Technologies Inc. Advanced Programs unit in Columbia, Md., won a $2.8 million U.S. government contract to provide third-generation Tempest UltraSPARC computer workstations and peripherals for worldwide deployment. The contract includes $5.6 million in options. DRS will provide workstations and servers with commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) components designed for unique government applications. The rack-mounted workstations will include the company's color 18.1-inch flat panel displays with 1,280-by-1024-pixel resolution, and will be expandable to 72 gigabytes of data storage. The servers will use as many as four 450 MHz UltraSPARC processors with as much as 432 gigabytes of removable storage. For more information contact DRS on the World Wide Web at http://www.drs.com/. — J.K.
FGM to conduct command and control research
Scientists at FGM Inc. of Dulles, Va., are investigating advanced simulation, human-systems interfaces, and integration technologies for next-generation command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (C4ISR) systems and command centers. The FGM specialists are doing the work under a $13.8 million contract from the U.S. Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center in San Diego. Work will be completed by April 2005. FGM develops custom software applications, systems software, and provides systems integration services. For more information contact FGM on the World Wide Web at http://www.fgm.com/. — J.K.
Northrop Grumman to supply infrared targeting pods
Engineers at the Northrop Grumman Corp. Defense Systems Division in Rolling Meadows, Ill., are providing 15 Low Altitude Infrared Targeting and Navigating II pods for the U.S. Marine Corps Boeing AV-8B jump jet, as well as for AV-8B jets in Italy and Spain. They are doing the work under a $24.5 million contract from the U.S. Air Force Aeronautical Systems Center at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. The work, which will be at Northrop Grumman in Rolling Meadows, and at the Rafael Missile Division in Haifa, Israel, will be finished in March 2002. For more information contact Northrop Grumman on the World Wide Web at http://www.northgrum.com/. — J.K.
Intersil partners with M.S. Kennedy in power hybrid microcircuits
Intersil Corp. of Palm Bay, Fla., is teaming with M.S. Kennedy Corp. of Cicero, N.Y., to develop a family of DC-DC converters for satellite-based broadband communications. The agreement calls for M.S. Kennedy to assemble, screen, and test Intersil's Star*Power space qualified metal-oxide semiconductor field effect transistors (MOSFETs) and power management integrated circuits, collectively known as Intersil's Star*Power family. "The alliance enables Intersil to participate in the next level of integration, where multiple devices are included in a single unit," says Andy Khayat, product marketing manager at Intersil. M.S. Kennedy is certified to Class K and Class H of MIL-PRF-38534 and ISO-9001 by the Defense Supply Center, Columbus. — J.K.
Lockheed Martin to install PowerPC computers aboard B-52H bombers
Engineers at the Lockheed Martin Electronics Platform Integration division in Owego, N.Y., are set to upgrade the mission computers aboard the U.S. Air Force Boeing B-52H long-range jet bomber. The upgrade revolves around the Lockheed Martin SP-103A single-board computer, which is based on the Motorola PowerPC 603e/604e/740 microprocessor. The project is to install new B-52H avionics control unit mission computers aboard 27 aircraft. The new computer not only will increase the power and memory of the B-52H avionics unit by 50 times, but it also will reduce its number of circuit cards from 21 to three. The new mission computers will replace the B-52H's current AP-101C computers, and will perform navigation, weapons delivery, controls, and displays management. The project also calls for Lockheed Martin designers to install power supplies, Fibre Channel PCI mezzanine card, and input/output modules. For more information contact Lockheed Martin-Owego on the World Wide Web at http://www.owego.com/.
Raytheon to provide special-operations radios
Raytheon Co. of Fort Wayne, Ind., won a four-year contract to provide Multi-Band Multi-Mission Radio (MMBMR) systems based on Raytheon's PSC-5D radio to the U.S. Special Operations Command at MacDill Air Force Base, Fla. Raytheon will provide two vehicular and 227 manpack systems. The MBMMR replaces several single-band radio systems currently used to communicate on different networks and includes the radio capabilities of Have Quick II, the improved Single Channel Ground and Airborne Radio System (SINCGARS SIP), an enhanced key management system, 30 to 512 MHz frequency coverage, and high-speed, line-of-site data transmission. Raytheon's team includes GroupTech of Tampa, Fla.; and ViaSat of Carlsbad, Calif. — J.K.
II-VI to supply NASA with radiation detectors
II-VI Inc. in Saxonburg, Pa., won a $700,000 contract from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to provide 22,000 cadmium zinc telluride (CdZnTe) radiation detectors for the new SWIFT research satellite. NASA following completion of the initial contract may award additional quantities of 18,000 and 5,000 detectors. II-VI manufactures optical and electro-optical components, devices and materials for infrared, near-infrared, visible light, x-ray, and gamma-ray instrumentation. The Company's infrared products are used primarily in high- power CO2 (carbon dioxide) lasers. For more information contact Jim Martinelli, II-VI's treasurer and chief financial officer by phone at 724-352-4455, by e-mail at [email protected], or on the World Wide Web at http://www.ii-vi.com/. — J.K.
MultiGen-Paradigm offers expanded sensor simulation suite
MultiGen-Paradigm Inc. of San Jose, Calif., is introducing a correlated sensor suite on Windows NT. Company officials say the tools SensorVision, SensorWorks, RadarWorks, TMM, and MAT can help users build an application that simultaneously renders correlated out-the-window, radar, night-vision, and infrared visuals using one material-classified database. SensorVision and Vega Marine also can help produce similar maritime simulation applications. The suite runs on IRIX and Windows NT. SensorVision simulates electro-optical and infrared visuals including night-vision, medium- and long-wave infrared, and monochrome video devices. SensorWorks simulates sensor effects for night-vision goggles and infrared sensors, including effects such as NVG halos/blooming, persistence, fixed-pattern and random temporal noise, blurring, saturation, and sampling artifacts. RadarWorks simulates imaging radar systems such as synthetic aperture radar, real-beam ground mapping, and Doppler beam sharpening. For more information contact MultiGen-Paradigm on the World Wide Web at http://www.multigen-paradigm.com/. — J.K.
Engineered Support to provide Navy avionics testing system
Engineered Support Systems Inc. in St. Louis won a $9.2 million order from the U.S. Navy to build aircraft avionics testing subsystems for the Consolidated Automated Support Systems (CASS). Engineered Support will build 31 high-power device test systems. These systems use liquid cooling to test high-power radio frequency transmitters, high-voltage power supplies, and other components of radar and electronic warfare systems for the AV-8B, EA-6B, F-14, F/A-18, and S-3 aircraft. The U.S. Navy and Marine Corps will deploy the system on aircraft carriers and amphibious assault ships, as well as in depots and flight training facilities. — J.K.
Vicor offers COTS DC-DC converters for military use
Designers at Vicor Corp. of Andover, Mass., are introducing a low-operating-temperature second-generation DC-DC converter. The new M-Grade devices are for military temperature ranges of -55 to 100 degrees Celsius. The Vicor M-Grade devices meet the MIL-I-45208 quality standard. The Vicor second-generation DC-DC converters, come in 48-volt, 300-volt, and 375-volt versions. Each device has three packaging choices — MaxiMod, MiniMod, and MicroMod. For more information, contact Vicor Corp. by phone at 978-470-2900, by fax at 978-475-6715, by post at 25 Frontage Road, Andover, Mass. 01810, or on the World Wide Web at http://www.vicr.com/.— J.K.
Lockheed Martin to build new Navy acoustic processor
Systems engineers at the Lockheed Martin Federal Systems division in Owego, N.Y., are designing a new acoustic processor subsystem for the prototype SH-60R multi-mission helicopter. The processor, which is to be based on the PowerPC 603e/604e/740 microprocessor family, represents a shift from the special-purpose, custom-designed processors that Navy operators previously used for airborne sonar signal processing. The new processor will give the U.S. Navy the ability to upgrade sonar-processing capability to accommodate new technology without extensive reprogramming. The Lockheed Martin SP-103-A single-board computer also is the basis of the SH-60R multi-mission helicopter's flight and mission computers. — J.K.
Space radiation effects conference set for July
The IEEE Nuclear and Space Radiation Effects Conference (NSREC) will be July 24-28, 2000 at the Silver Legacy Resort Hotel in Reno, Nev. This annual meeting of engineers and scientists presents techniques for enhancing the performance of microelectronic devices and circuits in radiation environments such as spacecraft. The majority of research papers presented at NSREC are published in the December issue of the IEEE Transactions on Nuclear Science. Sessions topics include photonic devices with complex and multiple failure modes, radiation effects testing of mixed-signal microelectronics, and radiation effects testing of programmable logic devices. To register, or for more information, contact NSREC by phone at 303-770-2055, by fax at 303-741-5890, or on the World Wide Web at http://www.nsrec.com/.
DRS to provide Tempest UltraSPARC workstations to U.S. government
The DRS Technologies Inc. Advanced Programs unit in Columbia, Md., won a $2.8 million U.S. government contract to provide third-generation Tempest UltraSPARC computer workstations and peripherals for worldwide deployment. The contract includes $5.6 million in options. DRS will provide workstations and servers with commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) components designed for unique government applications. The rack-mounted workstations will include the company's color 18.1-inch flat panel displays with 1,280 by 1024-pixel resolution, and will be expandable to 72 gigabytes of data storage. The servers will use as many as four 450 MHz UltraSPARC processors with as much as 432 gigabytes of removable storage. For more information contact DRS on the World Wide Web at http://www.drs.com/. — J.K.
FGM to conduct command and control research
Scientists at FGM Inc. of Dulles, Va., are investigating advanced simulation, human-systems interfaces, and integration technologies for next-generation command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (C4ISR) systems and command centers. The FGM specialists are doing the work under a $13.8 million contract from the U.S. Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center in San Diego. Work will be completed by April 2005. FGM develops custom software applications, systems software, and provides systems integration services. For more information contact FGM on the World Wide Web at http://www.fgm.com/. — J.K.
Northrop Grumman to supply infrared targeting pods
Engineers at the Northrop Grumman Corp. Defense Systems Division in Rolling Meadows, Ill., are providing 15 Low Altitude Infrared Targeting and Navigating II pods for the U.S. Marine Corps Boeing AV-8B jump jet, as well as for AV-8B jets in Italy and Spain. They are doing the work under a $24.5 million contract from the U.S. Air Force Aeronautical Systems Center at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio. The work, which will be at Northrop Grumman in Rolling Meadows, and at the Rafael Missile Division in Haifa, Israel, will be finished in March 2002. For more information contact Northrop Grumman on the World Wide Web at http://www.northgrum.com/. — J.K.
Intersil partners with M.S. Kennedy in power hybrid microcircuits
PALM BAY, Fla. — Intersil Corp. of Palm Bay, Fla., is teaming with M.S. Kennedy Corp. of Cicero, N.Y., to develop a family of DC-DC converters for satellite-based broadband communications. The agreement calls for M.S. Kennedy to assemble, screen, and test Intersil's Star*Power space qualified metal-oxide semiconductor field effect transistors (MOSFETs) and power management integrated circuits, collectively known as Intersil's Star*Power family. "The alliance enables Intersil to participate in the next level of integration, where multiple devices are included in a single unit," says Andy Khayat, product marketing manager at Intersil. M.S. Kennedy is certified to Class K and Class H of MIL-PRF-38534 and ISO-9001 by the Defense Supply Center, Columbus. — J.K.
Lockheed Martin to install PowerPC computer aboard B-52H bombers
Engineers at the Lockheed Martin Electronics Platform Integration division in Owego, N.Y., are set to upgrade the mission computers aboard the U.S. Air Force Boeing B-52H long-range jet bomber. The upgrade revolves around the Lockheed Martin SP-103A single-board computer, which is based on the Motorola PowerPC 603e/604e/740 microprocessor. The project is to install new B-52H avionics control unit mission computers aboard 27 aircraft. The new computer not only will increase the power and memory of the B-52H avionics unit by 50 times, but it also will reduce its number of circuit cards from 21 to three, according to a Lockheed Martin announcement. The new mission computers will replace the B-52H's current AP-101C computers, and will perform navigation, weapons delivery, controls, and displays management. The project also calls for Lockheed Martin designers to install power supplies, Fibre Channel PCI mezzanine card, and input/output modules. For more information contact Lockheed Martin-Owego on the World Wide Web at http://www.owego.com/.
Raytheon to provide special-operations radios
Raytheon Co. of Fort Wayne, Ind., won a four-year contract to provide Multi-Band Multi-Mission Radio (MMBMR) systems based on Raytheon's PSC-5D radio to the U.S. Special Operations Command at MacDill Air Force Base, Fla. Raytheon will provide two vehicular and 227 manpack systems. The MBMMR replaces several single-band radio systems currently used to communicate on different networks and includes the radio capabilities of Have Quick II, the improved Single Channel Ground and Airborne Radio System (SINCGARS SIP), an enhanced key management system, 30 to 512 MHz frequency coverage, and high-speed, line-of-site data transmission. Raytheon's team includes GroupTech of Tampa, Fla.; and ViaSat of Carlsbad, Calif. — J.K.
II-VI to supply NASA with radiation detectors
II-VI Inc. in Saxonburg, Pa., won a $700,000 contract from the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to provide 22,000 cadmium zinc telluride (CdZnTe) radiation detectors for the new SWIFT research satellite. NASA following completion of the initial contract may award additional quantities of 18,000 and 5,000 detectors. II-VI manufactures optical and electro-optical components, devices and materials for infrared, near-infrared, visible light, x-ray, and gamma-ray instrumentation. The Company's infrared products are used primarily in high- power CO2 (carbon dioxide) lasers. For more information contact Jim Martinelli, II-VI's treasurer and chief financial officer by phone at 724-352-4455, by e-mail at [email protected], or on the World Wide Web at http://www.ii-vi.com/. — J.K.
MultiGen-Paradigm offers expanded sensor simulation suite
MultiGen-Paradigm Inc. of San Jose, Calif., is introducing a correlated sensor suite on Windows NT. Company officials say the tools SensorVision, SensorWorks, RadarWorks, TMM, and MAT can help users build an application that simultaneously renders correlated out-the-window, radar, night-vision, and infrared visuals using one material-classified database. SensorVision and Vega Marine also can help produce similar maritime simulation applications. The suite runs on IRIX and Windows NT. SensorVision simulates electro-optical and infrared visuals including night-vision, medium- and long-wave infrared, and monochrome video devices. SensorWorks simulates sensor effects for night-vision goggles and infrared sensors, including effects such as NVG halos/blooming, persistence, fixed-pattern and random temporal noise, blurring, saturation, and sampling artifacts. RadarWorks simulates imaging radar systems such as synthetic aperture radar, real-beam ground mapping, and Doppler beam sharpening. For more information contact MultiGen-Paradigm on the World Wide Web at http://www.multigen-paradigm.com/. — J.K.
Engineered Support to provide Navy avionics testing system
Engineered Support Systems Inc. in St. Louis won a $9.2 million order from the U.S. Navy to build aircraft avionics testing subsystems for the Consolidated Automated Support Systems (CASS). Engineered Support will build 31 high-power device test systems. These systems use liquid cooling to test high-power radio frequency transmitters, high-voltage power supplies, and other components of radar and electronic warfare systems for the AV-8B, EA-6B, F-14, F/A-18, and S-3 aircraft. The U.S. Navy and Marine Corps will deploy the HPOC system on aircraft carriers and amphibious assault ships, as well as in depots and flight training facilities. — J.K.
Vicor offers COTS DC-DC converters for military use
Designers at Vicor Corp. of Andover, Mass., are introducing a low-operating-temperature second-generation DC-DC converter. The new M-Grade devices are for military temperature ranges of -55 to 100 degrees Celsius. The Vicor M-Grade devices meet the MIL-I-45208 quality standard. The Vicor second-generation DC-DC converters, come in 48-volt, 300-volt, and 375-volt versions. Each device has three packaging choices — MaxiMod, MiniMod, and MicroMod. For more information, contact Vicor Corp. by phone at 978-470-2900, by fax at 978-475-6715, by post at 25 Frontage Road, Andover, Mass. 01810, or on the World Wide Web at http://www.vicr.com/. — J.K.
Lockheed Martin to build new Navy acoustic processor
Systems engineers at the Lockheed Martin Federal Systems division in Owego, N.Y., are designing a new acoustic processor subsystem for the prototype SH-60R multi-mission helicopter. The processor, which is to be based on the PowerPC 603e/604e/740 microprocessor family, represents a shift from the special-purpose, custom-designed processors that Navy operators previously used for airborne sonar signal processing. The new processor will give the U.S. Navy the ability to upgrade sonar-processing capability to accommodate new technology without extensive reprogramming. The Lockheed Martin SP-103-A single-board computer also is the basis of the SH-60R multi-mission helicopter's flight and mission computers. — J.K.
Green Hills named MIPS preferred tools provider
Leaders of Green Hills Software in Santa Barbara, Calif., are teaming with MIPS Technologies Inc. of Mountain View, Calif., to port the Green Hills Multi 2000 software development environment to the new MIPS32 Jade and MIPS64 5Kc Opal 32- and 64-bit processor cores. In turn, MIPS will introduce Green Hills as a "MIPS Technologies preferred tools provider." The Multi 2000 environment, together with the Green Hills C, C++, EC++, and Ada 95 compilers, will automate all aspects of embedded software development for MIPS processors. For more information, contact Green Hills by phone at 805-965-6044, by fax at 805-965-6343, by post at 30 West Sola St., Santa Barbara, Calif. 93101, or on the World Wide Web at http://www.ghs.com/. — J.K.
Boeing emphasizes quality in meeting with suppliers
Leaders of the Boeing space transportation businesses unit are requiring their suppliers of flight-critical hardware to implement the same management and configuration control disciplines that Boeing uses as vehicle integrator. Boeing officials made the announcement in a meeting with their top 150 suppliers to discuss the results of the Boeing Mission Assurance Review (BMAR) and its findings in terms of supplier expectations. Boeing chartered the BMAR to review the company's expendable launch vehicle programs and make recommendations to improve mission success. The review board recommended that Boeing increase its focus on launch vehicle quality in every phase, from design through manufacturing to operations, in the belief that a strong quality-first focus will lead to increased reliability at reduced cost. From the BMAR recommendations, Boeing established a mandatory certification program for all suppliers of flight-critical launch vehicle hardware. Suppliers are required to complete the certification process by December 31, 2000. For more information contact Boeing on the World Wide Web at http://www.boeing.com/. — J.K.
TRW tests take another step toward deploying a space-based laser
REDONDO BEACH, Calif. — Engineers at the TRW Inc. Systems & Information Technology division in Redondo Beach, Calif., have demonstrated a 25 percent increase in the output power of the Alpha high-energy laser, company officials say. The test, backed by the U.S. Air Force and Ballistic Missile Defense Organization (BMDO), was a step toward an experimental, space-based Air Force missile defense system that employs a cylindrical, hydrogen-fluoride chemical laser, TRW officials say. Building the space-based laser is a team of TRW, Lockheed Martin, and Boeing. For more information contact TRW on the World Wide Web at http://www.trw.com/.
Boeing tests F-22 software aboard flying laboratory
SEATTLE — Engineers from Boeing in Seattle began flight testing an updated F-22 avionics software package called Block 3S April 24 on the company's 757 test bed aircraft. The tests are the first airborne evaluation of the F-22's planned radar and electronic warfare capabilities, as well as the jet's sensors for communications, navigation, and identification. To date, F-22 avionics software has undergone more than 15,000 hours of testing in the laboratory and more than 400 hours on the test bed aircraft. The F-22 Raptor is the future U.S. Air Force front-line air-superiority jet fighter. Boeing is teaming with Lockheed Martin and Pratt & Whitney to build the F-22. Boeing supplies the F-22's wings, aft fuselage, radar, mission software, avionics integration and testing, as well as training and life-support systems. For more information contact Boeing on the World Wide Web at http://www.boeing.com/.
California Microwave to upgrade RC-7B reconnaissance avionics
BELCAMP, Md. — Designers at California Microwave Systems in Belcamp, Md., are set to provide new airborne sensors for three U.S. Army RC-7B reconnaissance aircraft under a $3 million U.S. Army contact. California Microwave, a unit of Northrop Grumman Electronic Sensors and Systems Sector in Baltimore, is to finish modifying the aircraft next September. The RC-7B is a modified De Havilland DHC-7 aircraft equipped with imagery, radar, communications intelligence, data links, and communications systems. The aircraft will receive the Wescam M-20 forward-looking infrared sensor and the wideband tactical common data link. These upgrades will enable the aircraft crew to transmit synthetic aperture radar images in real time. For more information contact California Microwave on the World Wide Web at http://www.calmw.com/.
Litton uses "camera-on-a-chip" technology for new night-vision sensor
GARLAND, Texas — Scientists at the Litton Industries Electro-Optical Systems Division in Garland, Texas, are using advanced "camera-on-a-chip" technology into the company's newest image intensifiers. This work, which Litton is doing under contract to the U.S. Army Communications-Electronics Command Night Vision and Electronic Sensors Directorate, is to help develop small, inexpensive, low-power, low-light night-vision cameras. Litton experts are using CMOS "camera-on-a-chip" technology on the project from Sarnoff Corp. of Princeton, N.J. Managers say the program should be able to support future broad-based common module technology insertion. Its low power requirements, light weight and compact design should be suitable for aerial and ground based applications such as goggles and observation devices, unmanned aerial vehicles, the Driver's Viewer Enhanced program, and future driving devices. For more information contact Litton on the World Wide Web at www.litton.com/.
