Radstone to open engineering center in U.S.
Radstone Technology, the Towcester, England-based manufacturer of rugged and mil-spec single-board computers, is set to open an engineering center in Billerica, Mass. “The large majority of our business derives from customers in the United States,” says Jeff Perrin, chief executive of Radstone Technology. “Our strategic vision for the future sees us continuing to develop our presence still further in North America in the coming years.” The 3,000-square-foot facility will house design and development engineers and customer service and support staff. The new facility is expected to be operational by the end of 2004, and will complement the existing Radstone sales and support offices located in Woodcliff Lake, N.J. For more information contact Radstone online at www.radstone.com.
First production Global Hawk UAV arrives at its new base
The first production RQ-4A Global Hawk unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) for reconnaissance arrived at its new home, Beale Air Force Base, Calif. Designated AF-3, the UAV flew to Beale from the Birk Flight Test Center at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif. Northrop Grumman in San Diego produces Global Hawk for the U.S. Air Force. The unmanned aircraft is joining the 9th Reconnaissance Wing at Beale. “AF-3’s arrival at Beale symbolizes Global Hawk’s transition from a development program to an operational system,” says Carl O. Johnson, Northrop Grumman’s Global Hawk vice president and integrated product team leader. To date, the Global Hawk system has logged more than 5,000 flight hours in test flights over the Western U.S; on deployments to Florida, Australia, and Germany; and while conducting combat missions supporting the war on terrorism.
DRS gets orders for advanced military communications systems
DRS Technologies Inc. in Parsippany, N.J., received orders to provide tactical data link and high-frequency (HF) data communications systems for U.S. and allied military applications. These products will be installed on ships, aircraft, and land bases for real-time information exchange among commanders and ground, sea and air forces to support integrated battle operations. The contracts, with a combined value of $11.7 million, came from U.S. government, international military, and commercial customers. For these orders, DRS will provide newly designed data link processors, AN/USQ-125 and AN/USQ-130 Link 11 data terminal sets, common shipboard data terminal sets, Link 22 adjunct processors and signal processor controllers, and other HF data communications equipment. For more information contact DRS online at www.drs.com.
Acterna and TestMart ink government services partnership
Acterna, a provider of test and network management equipment in Germantown, Md., is partnering with TestMart Inc., a service provider for the test and measurement industry in San Bruno, Calif., to provide government marketplace services for Acterna’s handheld platforms for copper and multiservice testing, measuring and quality assurance. The deal authorizes TestMart to present a catalog of Acterna’s HST-3000 modular products to government and military markets. The HST-3000 product line will be offered exclusively to all branches of the federal government, U.S. military, and authorized prime contractors, as well as under a set of General Services Administration (GSA) multiple award schedules. For more information, contact TestMart online at www.testmart.com.
RAE Systems wins military contract for fuel tank monitors
RAE Systems Inc. a multisensor chemical and radiation detection monitor provider in Sunnyvale, Calif., won a $500,000 contract with the U.S. military for MultiRAE Wing Tank Entry Kits. Under the terms of the contract, RAE Systems will provide toxic and flammable gas-monitoring units used while servicing military aircraft. Aircraft fuel tanks contain many serviceable parts, and require toxic gas monitoring for worker safety during regular repair and maintenance. RAE Systems’ Wing Tank Entry Kit uses photoionization detectors instead of traditional Wheatstone bridge lower explosive limit (LEL) sensors for measuring jet fuel vapors. The kits also include an oxygen sensor and a traditional LEL sensor that provide backup. MultiRAE Plus has two additional toxic gas sensor sockets that may be filled with carbon monoxide, hydrogen sulfide or any two of RAE Systems’ 10 toxic gas sensors. For more information contact RAE Systems online at www.RAESystems.com.
Hewlett-Packard teams with Lockheed Martin for supply chain solutions
Hewlett Packard and Lockheed Martin are joining hands on projects involving enterprise logistics worldwide. The alliance will focus on three major initiatives: enterprise logistics, where HP will provide its global supply chain “best practices” to enable Lockheed Martin to streamline its existing supply chain process; intelligence, where HP and Lockheed Martin will deliver solutions focused on information integration and sharing, security and systems management; and international opportunities, where the companies will deliver homeland security, intelligence, supply chain, and other defense and security technologies. HP and Lockheed Martin anticipate the alliance will expand over time to include other areas of importance to customers such as Homeland Security and Joint Command and Control. In the past three years alone, the companies have partnered on more than $500 million worth of business, including the FBI’s national Integrated Automated Fingerprint Identification System, the U.S. Department of Defense Civilian Personnel Data System, and the Postal Service’s Integrated Data System.
Northrop Grumman achieves SEI Level 5 software rating
Northrop Grumman Corp. achieved its 12th Software Engineering Institute Capability Maturity Model Integrated (CMMI(r)) Level 5 rating, the highest possible for benchmarking commercial and defense industry best practices for management and engineering. The Electromagnetic Systems Laboratory (ESL), part of Northrop Grumman’s Mission Systems sector, has attained the rating. The achievement marks the seventh CMMI(r) Level 5 rating for the company’s Mission Systems sector. This rating ranks Northrop Grumman within the top 10 percent of the industry. The rating was achieved after an assessment at the company’s Sacramento and San Jose facilities. To date, the Mission Systems sector’s Battlefield Command & Control and Logistics Automation, Battlefield Digitization and Communications Systems, Systems Development Operations, Data Systems Operations, Missile Defense Division, and Defense Mission Systems business areas also achieved CMMI(r) Level 5.
DOD chooses Honeywell to provide defense technologies engineering
Honeywell in Phoenix has been selected by the U.S. Department of Defense to participate in the Advanced Technology Support Program III (ATSP3), a contracting program to provide U.S. government agencies with streamlined access to advanced technologies and engineering capabilities. The initial five-year contract has two five-year options and will be administered by the Defense Microelectronics Activity (DMEA), the defense department’s center for microelectronics acquisition, transformation and support. Other ATSP3 companies are BAE Systems, The Boeing Co., General Dynamics, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, and Raytheon. For more information contact Honeywell online at www.honeywell.com.
Honeywell to provide electrical power for U.S. Air Force E-10a
Officials at Boeing in Seattle chose Honeywell in Phoenix to supply the Supplemental Electrical Power System (SEPS) for the U.S. Air Force E-10A aircraft. “We will use our proven T55-GA-715A turboshaft engine and a Honeywell-designed gear box that mounts six Hamilton-Sundstrand 180-kVA generators and controls to provide the electrical power for the new network centric radars that will be used on this aircraft,” says Nasos Karras, vice president, Honeywell Helicopter and Military Engine business. “The system supplies approximately one megawatt of power up to altitudes of 41,000 feet and we are also supplying the heat exchangers for cooling the entire power system during operation.” The SEPS will supply electrical power for the new Multi Platform-Radar Technology Insertion Program radar (MP-RTIP) and the Battle Management Command and Control (BMC2) system to be installed on the E-10A. It is part of the U. S. Air Force MC2A (Multi-sensor Command and Control Constellation) network centric warfare concept.
