In Brief

Lockheed Martin wins Royal Netherlands navy P-3C capabilities upkeep programExperts at Lockheed Martin Naval Electronics & Surveillance Systems -Tactical Systems are providing an integrated sensor, communication, and mission system upgrade as the prime contractor for the Royal Netherlands navy (RNLN) P-3C Capabilities Upkeep Program (CUP). The program is based on the company's prime systems integration experience with the U.S. Navy's P-3C AIP (Anti-surface Warfare Improvement Program) and P-3C Block Modification Upgrade Program. The RNLN P-3C CUP is a Foreign Military Sale contracted through the U.S. Navy's PMA-290 office. RNLN P-3C CUP avionics improvements include installation of new electronic support measures, radar, acoustics, and survivability sensors that will be integrated with existing electro-optical sensors. Mission systems upgrades include a newly designed data management system in a ruggedized commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS)-based architecture that will be presented on high-resolution color displays, Lockheed Martin officials say. The CUP will also install a new secure communications suite enabling the new data management system to share data and imagery with other systems outside the aircraft using secure line-of-sight and SATCOM communications, company officials say. The 10 RNLN P-3C aircraft to be upgraded will be used in support of maritime patrol and coast guard operations, Lockheed Martin officials say. Tactical Systems will provide the engineering and major contract work for the program.DARPA chooses RSIS for information technology supportInformation technology experts at the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) in Arlington, Va., are choosing RS Information Systems Inc. (RSIS) of McLean, Va., to provide information technology for important DARPA initiatives. DARPA officials awarded RSIS a $65 million "managed seats" contract for expert technology assistance and network infrastructure support with various types of workstations, servers, and applications, RSIS officials say. "This contract will allow this important and challenging mission to continue under an IT paradigm shift — a seat management approach intended to allow DARPA to more closely focus on core business," says Rodney Hunt, the RSIS president and chief executive officer. "The RSIS contract provides DARPA with a wide range of information technology services that will allow the agency to efficiently and effectively accomplish its mission, while also contributing to DOD's small business goals," says Mark Schaeffer, DARPA's deputy director for management operations.Evans & Sutherland image generator to upgrade Navy F-14 fighter simulatorsU.S. Navy training experts needed visual systems to help them upgrade flight simulators for the F-14 jet fighter. They found their solution from Evans & Sutherland in Salt Lake City. Evans & Sutherland simulator engineers will supply four of their ESIG-4530 image generators and two sets of TV 200 color target projectors. Delivery, installation, and integration at a simulator facility at Oceana Naval Air Station in Virginia Beach, Va., continue through 2002. Navy officials chose the ESIG-4500 series image generators for their image quality, reliability, and overall compatibility with previous F-14 simulator projects, company officials say. Designed for air combat training, the Evans & Sutherland TV 200 color target projector places computer-generated target imagery onto the interior of a domed display. The TV 200 produces a bright, high-contrast, full-color image at eye-limited resolution, providing realistic target appearance, company officials say.War on terrorism to bump-up defense electronics budget, GEIA saysU.S. military spending for electronics and electronic components will increase substantially over the next decade, say experts from the Government Electronics and Information Technology Association (GEIA) in Arlington, Va. "GEIA forecasts significant new funding for sophisticated combat and combat-support materiel such as command and control; communications; computers; and intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance systems," according to a GEIA announcement. Primary drivers in anticipated military and space funding increases include strengthening homeland security, carrying out a war on terrorism, and moving to new 21st century military and aerospace challenges, GEIA officials say. Association leaders were to give their annual 10-year forecast of markets, programs, and budgets of the U.S. Department of Defense and National Aeronautics and Space Administration last month. "We expect that companies with expertise in advanced electronics technologies will be called upon to provide weapons, munitions, and services significantly beyond those planned in the amended 2002 budget," says GEIA President Dan Heinemeier. "We also project a strong, continuing emphasis on information superiority and information assurance — areas that inherently rely upon considerable electronic content," Heinemeier says. For more information on the GEIA 10-year forecast, contact the GEIA's Jim Serafin by phone at 703-907-7585, by fax at 703-907-7968, by e-mail at [email protected], by post at 2500 Wilson Blvd., Arlington, Va. 22201-3834, or on the World Wide Web at http://www.geia.org/.L-3 Communications to buy Canada's Spar Aerospace Ltd.Top executives of L-3 Communications in New York are set to buy Spar Aerospace Ltd. in Toronto for $116 million. L-3 and Spar leaders signed an agreement by which L-3 would buy all outstanding common shares of Spar for about $9.88 per share in cash, L-3 announced. There is significant opportunity for pull-through sales of L-3's high-end avionics products, including aviation recorders, displays and Traffic Alert and Collision Avoidance Systems (TCAS) and transponders, L-3 officials say. "We also see synergistic opportunities to introduce L-3's sonar, shipboard communications, and F-18 [jet fighter-bomber] simulators to the Canadian defense marketplace," says Frank Lanza, chairman and chief executive officer of L-3 Communications. Spar provides turnkey aviation life cycle management services, upgrades for military and commercial aviation programs, component repair and overhaul, and support services. Of Spar's total revenues, approximately 75 percent are derived from military customers, L-3 officials say. For more information contact L-3 by phone at 212-697-1111, by fax at 212-805-5353, by post at 600 3rd Ave., New York, N.Y. 10016, or on the World Wide Web at http://www.L-3Com.comLansdale to supply Motorola military-grade IC wideband amplifier devicesLeaders of the Motorola Inc. Semiconductor Products Sector in Phoenix are signing over rights to produce and sell a military-grade linear monolithic wideband amplifier to aftermarket supplier Lansdale Semiconductor Inc. in Tempe, Ariz. The integrated circuit at issue is the MC1590(5962-8765701GA) linear monolithic integrated circuit wideband amplifier with automatic gain control, which serves as a radio frequency/intermediate frequency audio amplifier in military and aerospace communications, Lansdale officials say. The part is certified to operate in the full-military temperature range of -55 to 125 degrees Celsius, and comes in mil-spec metal packaging. For more information contact Lansdale President R. Dale Lillard by phone at 602-438-0123, by fax at 602-438-0138, by e-mail at dale @lansdale.com, or on the World Wide Web at http://www.lansdale.com/.Elbit to supply security surveillance computer systems at Israeli entry pointsPolice security experts in Israel needed computers to help them maintain security at the nation's border crossings. They found their solution from Elbit Systems Ltd. in Haifa, Israel. The Israeli Police awarded Elbit an $8 million contract to develop a computerized system for registration and control at all the border crossing points of the State of Israel. The BCR 2000 system, which will be deployed at all the airports, sea ports, and land entry points throughout Israel, will support border inspectors, and help control the flow of vehicles and goods. For more information contact Arie Tal, corporate secretary of Elbit, by phone at 011-972-4-831-6632, by fax at 011-972-4-831-6659, by e-mail at [email protected], by post at P.O. Box 539, Haifa, Israel 31053, or on the World Wide Web at http://www.elbit.co.il.TRW to support DOD's joint simulation and mission-rehearsal activitiesU.S. military leaders needed simulation and training support for the Joint Warfighting Center (JFWC) at Fort Monroe, Va. They found their solution from TRW Systems in Reston, Va. Officials in the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) awarded TRW a $11.5 million contract — with a potential to be $262 million — to provide exercise and event support for the Joint Warfighting Center (JWFC) at Fort Monroe. TRW and its industry team will support local, distributed, and remote events, including planning, scheduling, logistics, simulation, intelligence, scenario development, database building, distributed learning, courseware development, technical and facility support, as well as all other elements associated with the Joint Training Program, company officials say. For more information contact TRW by phone at 703-848-5000, by post at 12011 Sunset Hills Road, Reston, Va. 20190-3285, or on the World Wide Web at http://www.trw.com/.Nortech Systems cable assemblies to be used in MILES programEngineers at the Aerospace Systems division of Nortech Systems in Wayzata, Minn. are supplying cable assemblies for the MILES 2000, or Multiple Integrated Laser Engagement System, military training program. MILES is an advanced force-on-force tactical engagement simulation system using laser pulses instead of bullets to simulate weapons firing, Nortech Systems officials say. MILES replicates the actual range and lethality of specific weapons systems, including small arms, antitank weapons and tanks. In addition, the performance of soldiers, weapons and vehicles can be recorded and analyzed. For more information on Nortech Systems aerospace technology contact the company by phone at 507-235-3355, by fax at 507-235-6088, by mail at 1007 East 10th Street, P.O. Box 998, Fairmont, Minn. 56031, by e-mail at [email protected], or on the World Wide Web at http://www.nortechsys.com.Hamilton Sundstrand to boost instruments capability with Orbital sensors acquisitionLeaders of the Hamilton Sundstrand unit of United Technologies Corp. are making plans to add new sensors and instruments capability to the company's Hamilton Sundstrand Space Systems unit in Windsor Locks, Conn. Hamilton's new industrial prowess comes from the acquisition of he Orbital Sciences Corp. Sensor Systems Division, formerly based in Pomona, Calif. Hamilton completed the acquisition of Orbital's sensors unit. The new Hamilton business unit serves customers in NASA, Boeing, and the U.S. and British navies, company officials say. Orbital's sensors unit builds sophisticated sensors and analytical instruments for space, defense, and industrial applications. Major products are space instruments, atmospheric monitors, chemical and biological agent detection devices, and commercial process analyzers. For more information contact Hamilton Sundstrand by phone at 860-654-6000, by post at One Hamilton Road, Windsor Locks, Conn. 06096-1010, or on the World Wide Web at http://www.hamiltonsundstrandcorp.com.NASA chooses Sutron satellite data transmitter for Earth observation workEarth-observation experts at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., needed satellite data transmitters to help them monitor changes in Earth's global climate. They found their solution from Sutron Corp. in Sterling, Va. NASA-Goddard officials made their first purchase of a Sutron SatLink high-data-rate satellite transmitter. SatLink is to be part of AERONET, the Goddard's global network of 165 remote-sensing aerosol-monitoring stations. AERONET's automatic data acquisition, transmission, and processing help build local, regional, and global databases. This information is to help global climate scientists understand how atmospheric aerosols influence climatic change. NASA and its international partners plan to replace existing transmitters with Sutron's SatLink transmitters in all 165 stations in the near future, Sutron officials say. For more information contact Sutron by phone at 703-406-2800, by fax at 703-406-2801, by post at 21300 Ridgetop Circle, Sterling, Va. 20166, or by e-mail at [email protected].AAI, CAE, and CACI to provide simulation and training support to U.S. Air ForceU.S. Air Force officials needed a wide variety of computer simulation and training systems. They found their solution from AAI Corp. in Hunt Valley, Md. Leaders of the Air Force Materiel Command at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio, awarded a contract to a partnership of AAI Corp. as well as CAE Electronics in Toronto and CACI International in Arlington, Va. The indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity contract for the Training System Acquisition Two (TSA II) program. AAI is one of several contractors that will provide services in support of the TSA II program over the next 15 years. The program has a total value of as much as $3 billion. The TSA II program provides training system products and services to support the Air Force, other U.S. Department of Defense organizations, and foreign military sales. AAI's work will involve the design, development, testing, production, modification, upgrade, delivery, and maintenance of these training systems. For more information contact AAI Corp. by phone at 800-655-2616, by post at P.O. Box 126, Hunt Valley, Md., 21030-0126, or on the World Wide Web at http://www.aaicorp.com/.Cole Computer gets nod from DOD for personal computer componentsOfficials of the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) needed components for personal computers. They found their solution from Cole Computer Corp. in Oklahoma City, Okla. Cole received a $100,000 DOD contract for components to upgrade and build personal computers, announced Brad Cole chief executive officer of Cole Computer. With this order, Cole Computer continues to expand its presence in the military market for computer hardware, Cole says. Cole Computer builds and "ready-to-go" and customized personal computers, as well as components to repair, upgr°ade, or build personal computers. For more information contact Cole President Brad Cole by phone at 405-491-7300, by fax at 405-491-7361, by e-mail at [email protected], by post at 11711 S. Portland Ave., Oklahoma City, Okla. 73170, or on the World Wide Web at http://www.colecomputer.net/.Primagraphics launches Sentinel high-resolution VME video grabber cardLeaders of Primagraphics of Litlington, England, released an original-equipment-manufacturer version of their Sentinel high-resolution video grabber and encoder card. The 6U VME single-slot card, which uses a Motorola ColdFire processor, was previously available only as part of the Sentinel commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) video recorder system, launched earlier this year, Primagraphics officials say. The card records data from high-resolution screens by using the Primagraphics pixel rate conversion technique, which maintains the original screen resolution by slowing the replayed content update rate. The Sentinel card connects directly between the computer workstation and its high-resolution color display. The card's very high-speed digitizer and framestore captures video frames typically every 250 milliseconds. The card converts the screen frame into PAL or NTSC format and output at standard TV video rate to a conventional video recorder, Primagraphics officials say. For more information contact Primagraphics by phone at 802 362 4655, by fax at 603 908 6122, by post at Webster House, 30 Boltwood Walk, Amherst, Mass., 01002, or by e-mail at [email protected].Motorola to give away reference design for passive infrared detection systemOfficials of the Motorola Inc. Semiconductor Products sector in Austin, Texas, are giving away their Passive Infrared Detection System reference design, which provides specifications on how to develop security peripherals and remote networks. The Passive Infrared Detection System is the first in a series of new reference designs based on 68HC908 Flash microcontrollers that the company intends to release, company officials say. The reference design is available for download from the World Wide Web free of charge at http://www.motorola.com/mcu. It includes full code listings, necessary PC drivers, schematics, a bill of materials for the hardware components, and instructions on all aspects of the design. For more information contact Motorola Semiconductor by phone at 512-895-2000, by post at 6501 West William Cannon Drive, Austin, Texas 78735-8523, or on the World Wide Web at http://www.motorola.com.MITRE offers network-security software for free download from Open Channel FoundationLeaders of the MITRE Corp. in McLean, Va., are giving away their Spitfire hacker-detection software free of charge through the Open Channel Foundation. The software is available for download on the World Wide Web at http://www.openchannelfoundation.org/projects/Spitfire. Originally developed for military use, Spitfire helps users detect and counter hacker attacks. Spitfire interfaces with commercially available intrusion-detection systems and sends the output of these systems into a database to provide historical and trend analysis of attempted network break-ins. The goal of MITRE's technology transfer program is to ensure that MITRE technology is broadly applied for the benefit of our government sponsors and the public, company officials say. For more information on Spitfire, as well as other available technologies, contact Gerard Eldering of the MITRE's technology transfer office by phone at 703-883-6053, or on the World Wide Web at http:// www.mitre.org/tech_ transfer/.DRS Technologies to provide thermal imaging systems for Abrams tanksDRS Technologies, Inc. was awarded a contract this month from the U.S. Army to provide Second Generation Forward Looking Infrared (SG FLIR) Thermal Imaging Systems (TIS) for the gunner's sighting system on the Abrams M1A2 System Enhancement Package (SEP) program. The M1A2 SEP extends the customer's investment in the Abrams M1A2 Main Battle Tank, which was the Army's first fully digital software-driven ground combat vehicle, DRS officials say. The $3.8 million award was received by DRS from the U.S. Army's Communications-Electronics Command (CECOM) in Fort Monmouth, N.J. Work associated with this contract will be accomplished by the company's DRS Sensor Systems unit in Torrance, Calif. The TIS provided by DRS increases the sighting systems' imaging resolution, targeting range, detection capability, and reliability, DRS officials claim. For more information on DRS Technologies products contact the company by phone at 973-898-1500, or on the World Wide Web at http://www.drs.com/.Air Force asks Raytheon to upgrade AN/ALR-69 airborne radar warning receiversEngineers at the Raytheon Co. Electronic Systems division in Goleta, Calif., won a $26 million U.S. Air Force contract to develop a radar warning receiver subsystem for C-130 turboprop aircraft. The job, called the AN/ALR-69 Upgrade program, is to develop a receiver to provide threat detection, identification, and situational awareness to Air Force pilots. Optional increments may include geo-location, improved azimuth accuracy, and determination of specific emitter identification of detected threats, Raytheon officials say. The basic AN/ALR-69 Upgrade program calls for three prototype units and five pre-production units for flight testing on C-130 turboprop and F-16 jet fighter aircraft. AN/ALR-69 radar warning receiver alerts the pilot of hostile or foreign radar activity by comparing radar signatures to its database of threats. The new system will involve small, modern components requiring less volume than the existing AN/ALR-69 radar-warning receiver, while enhancing situational awareness to the aircrew, Raytheon officials say. The award came from the U.S. Air Force Air Material Command's Warner Robins Air Logistics Center at Robins Air Force Base, Ga.U.K. Ministry of Defence looks to Comtech for troposcatter communications gearComtech Systems Inc. of Orlando, Fla., won a $5.9 million order for tactical over-the-horizon microwave troposcatter communications equipment for the United Kingdom's Ministry of Defence. The equipment will be part of an overall communications network being developed by Cogent Communications for the U.K.'s Rapid Reaction Force — otherwise known as the JRRF. The Cogent system includes voice, data, and ATM switching and network management subsystems, as well as a miniature GSM mobile communications system and a long-range over-the-horizon microwave troposcatter system. The Comtech order is for six shelter-mounted tactical digital over-the-horizon microwave systems to include over-the-horizon microwave troposcatter radio modems, high-power amplifiers, antenna systems, and trailer-mounted electric-generating equipment.Air Force researchers choose Northrop Grumman for information security projectU.S. Air Force researchers needed industry expertise to help them learn how best to recover data after information warfare attacks. Engineers at the Northrop Grumman Corp. Information Technology (IT) sector (formerly Logicon) in Herndon, Va., met their needs. Officials of the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) in Rome, N.Y., are asking Northrop Grumman to develop real-time information and systems recovery for distributed command and control systems such as airspace management, air defense, and air traffic control systems. Data Resiliency in Information Warfare 2.0 (DRIW2) is the successor program to several AFRL recovery efforts. This award is the third in a series of real-time recovery programs, Northrop Grumman officials say. DRIW2 is to demonstrate that the DRIW technology is applicable and transferable to distributed systems, and to reduce the time and the amount of data, required for reconstitution. Information hardening is how to guarantee the accuracy and trust of the information. A resilient system can withstand malicious attacks and continue to operate. The DRIW2 program employs agent technology to monitor, prepare for, and respond to system attacks, and uses intrusion- detection triggers to time the selection and gathering of essential data. DRIW2 will also integrate advanced recovery concepts for distributed systems with selected, robust "soft computing" technologies such as agents and fuzzy logic.Raytheon uses advanced radar systems to track moving ground targets in dynamic clutterRadar experts from the Raytheon Electronic Systems division in El Segundo, Calif., demonstrated how they could use radar-track-specific moving targets on the battlefield amid other moving targets that can confuse conventional RF sensors. Raytheon engineers used fused stand-off radar data to redirect a modified missile in flight to precisely track and target a moving ground vehicle in tests at the U.S. Navy's Air Warfare Center (NAWC) at China Lake Naval Air Station, Calif. This test was part of the Affordable Moving Surface Target Engagement (AMSTE II) program to target and destroy moving time-critical targets with little or no collateral damage. Funding AMSTE II is the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), and contracted through the Air Force Research Laboratory in Rome, N.Y. Two airborne standoff radar platforms and associated ground stations were used in the test. A Raytheon Maverick missile was modified to enable it to receive positional updates on the moving vehicle and correct its trajectory to engage the target.Peregrine Semiconductor to provide rad-hard capability for DMEALeaders of the U.S. Defense Microelectronics Activity (DMEA) in Sacramento, Calif., are tapping Peregrine Semiconductor Corp. of San Diego to provide radiation-hardened integrated circuit manufacturing capability. Under terms of a $4.8 million contract, DMEA officials are asking Peregrine to develop, implement, and demonstrate a sub-micron radiation-hardened ultra-thin silicon-on-sapphire semiconductor manufacturing process for use within the DMEA foundry in Sacramento. — J.K.Harris to supply network-management software to U.S. Army STRICOMU.S. Army communications experts needed a network management system to support the communications infrastructure at the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico. The NetBoss Manage.IT module from Harris Corp. in Melbourne, Fla., met their needs. Officials of the Army Simulation, Training and Instrumentation Command (STRICOM) in Orlando, Fla., awarded Harris a $2.27 million contract for the network management system that will monitor, manage, and provide continuous network surveillance of the entire White Sands communications network, which covers the more than 4,000-square-mile test range. The initial installation of the White Sands system will provide the capability for mission configuration, activation of mission elements, application integration, network inventory, workforce management, accounting for test range users, service provisioning, trouble management, and fault management.Navy looks to ATK and Northrop Grumman for mini-submarine batteriesSystems designers at the U.S. Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) in Arlington, Va., needed lithium-ion batteries for the U.S. Special Operations Force's new Advanced SEAL Delivery System (ASDS). They found their solution from the Northrop Grumman Corp. Oceanic & Naval Systems business unit in Annapolis, Md., and the ATK Precision Fuze Co. of Horsham, Pa. Engineers from ATK Precision Fuze and Northrop Grumman and are developing lithium-ion battery technology for the ASDS under terms of a $4 million contract. The ASDS is a mini-submarine that clandestinely carries Navy SEAL teams and their combat gear to and from hostile shores. This first-of-its-kind system moves to a mission area atop a nuclear attack submarine, or by airlifter with its land transport vehicle by C-5 or C-17 aircraft.Boeing installs new computer hardware and software aboard Saudi AWACS aircraftAvionics engineers from The Boeing Co. in Seattle are installing new mission computers and other hardware and software on the Royal Saudi Air Force's (RSAF) fleet of five Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) radar surveillance aircraft. The first two Saudi AWACS will be retrofitted this year, and the next three in 2002. Under the contract, Boeing will upgrade the aircraft's mission computer and software to the same level of the U.S. Air Force AWACS fleet. Boeing also will train Saudi air force operators. AWACS is carried on-board militarized 707 and 767 aircraft for airborne surveillance and command and control functions for tactical and air defense forces.AAI Corp. set for production of standard U.S. military EW test systemAAI Corp. of Hunt Valley, Md., won a $26.3 million U.S. Air Force contract to produce 96 Joint Service Electronic Combat Systems Tester systems — better known as JSECST. U.S. Department of Defense leaders designated JSECST as the standard flight line electronic warfare test system, supporting all branches of the U.S. military. Military flight-line testers in the U.S. Air Force, U.S. Navy and Marine Corps will use the system to test electronic warfare and avionics systems in a wide range of aircraft. Under the contract, AAI will provide 96 JSECST core test set (CTS) systems, including test program sets, training, and spare parts. AAI participated in this process through previous contracts, supporting the development of test program sets used with the JSECST system to test electronic warfare equipment installed in F/A-18 fighter-bomber, F-15 and F-16 jet fighters, AV-8B jump jet, and the A-10 close air support aircraft.