DRS Technologies receives Army contract for next-generation thermal weapon sights
Officials at DRS Technologies, Inc. in Parsippany, N.J., will produce next-generation Medium Weapon Thermal Weapon Sights (TWS II) for U.S. Marine Corps applications. DRS received the new order from the U.S. Army’s Communication-Electronics Life Cycle Management Command (CELCMC) in Fort Monmouth, N.J., acting on behalf of Program Executive Office (PEO) Soldier-Sensors and Lasers for the Marine Corps Systems Command. The Medium TWS II will use DRS uncooled infrared technology. Work for this contract will be at the DRS Optronics facilities in Palm Bay and Melbourne, Fla., and DRS Infrared Technologies facility in Dallas. Product deliveries will be from June 2006 through May 2007. The Light, Medium and Heavy TWS from DRS will mount onto a variety of weapons, including M2, M240, M249 and MK19 machine guns, M4, M16, and M82 assault rifles, M24 and M82 Sniper Weapon Systems, M107 anti-materiel guns, M136 rocket launchers, and M203 grenade launchers. For more information about DRS Technologies, visit www.drs.com.
Carolina Unmanned Vehicles receives contract for aerostat system
Carolina Unmanned Vehicles in Raleigh N.C., announced a contract for a version of the Helikite Elevated Platform (HEP) with Sandia National Laboratories in Albuquerque, N.M. The contract will develop a communications relay version of HEP, called HEP-CR, to carry a Sandia-supplied communications payload and a camera. The system includes a carrier, a 1,050-cubic-foot Helikite blimp, and a stabilized camera. The carrier from Carolina Unmanned Vehicles is a trailer with helium tanks, winch, and launch equipment for the Helikite. It mounts all the handling equipment on one trailer towed by a sport utility vehicle or pickup truck. Many comparable aerostat-handling systems are five to ten times as large, and require several trucks for carriage. The HEP-CR will be able to launch in 30-mile-per-hour winds and to continue operations in 40-mile-per-hour winds. The camera payload by Hood Technology in Hood River, Ore., is a stabilized turret originally built for the Insitu Corp. SeaScan UAV, which is used on Boeing’s ScanEagle UAV. It is also part of the SeaFox Unmanned Surface Vessel, which is being prepared for Iraq. Its gyro-stabilized mounting allows detailed surveillance of people and vehicles around the HEP deployment, out to several miles.
Elbit Systems to supply the Army ANVIS/HUD system
EFW Inc., an Elbit Systems of America company in Fort Worth, Texas, will supply the Aviator’s Night Vision/Head-Up Display (ANVIS/HUD) for U.S. Army utility helicopters and other Department of Defense helicopters. Under this contract, which will cover as long as five years, the Army may buy ANVIS/HUD systems from time to time from EFW for as much as the aggregate amount of the contract. The ANVIS/HUD system increases situational awareness and safety by enabling the pilot to fly “head out of the cockpit” during night operations by projecting critical flight information into the night vision goggles’ view, Elbit officials say. This system has been in operational use by U.S. Army, Navy, Marine Corps, and Air Force helicopter pilots since the mid 1990s and is installed on most of these utility and special operations helicopter fleet, including the H-60, CH-53 CH-47, CH-46, H-1, and V-22.
NASA selects SecureInfo RMS software for certification & accreditation
SecureInfo Corp. in San Antonio, Texas, announced that NASA has selected the company’s Risk Management System (RMS) as enterprise-wide information-security compliance solution for certification and accreditation (C&A). NASA’s Office of Security and Program Protection is leading the agencywide effort to automate the documents that information technology system owners need to maintain and report compliance with regulations, such as NIST Special Publication 800-37, and aid in standardizing C&A preparation across NASA enterprise systems. SecureInfo RMS will deploy at all NASA centers to mission directorates develop an approval-ready security compliance document set that demonstrates NASA adherence to federal government regulations and requirements. “SecureInfo RMS allows us to centrally manage and streamline the compliance process, keep the flexibility needed for the vast array of systems we have at NASA, and still ensure the agency’s overarching information security policy is adhered to,” says Jamil Farshchi, C&A program manager at the NASA Office of Security and Program Protection. For more information visit www.secureinfo.com.
Spectrum Signal Processing supports Globalstar upgrade
Spectrum Signal Processing US in Columbia, Md., announced a $1 million contract with Globalstar LLC as the first stage of a satellite gateway upgrade to provide Globalstar’s customers with enhanced asset tracking. The initial contract for SDR-3000 hardware, software, and related application engineering services is to be complete by early 2006. “Spectrum’s software-defined radio expertise will assist us immeasurably in accommodating the advanced waveforms required by our customers,” says Anthony Navarra, president of Globalstar. Spectrum’s flexComm SDR-3000 software-defined radio transceiver is for dynamically reconfigurable, high-density CompactPCI-based software-defined radios. For more information visit www.spectrumsignal.com.
Dynamics Research Corp. to develop Coast Guard universal task list
Officials at Dynamics Research Corp. (DRC) in Andover, Mass., announced that the U.S. Coast Guard awarded the company a new five-year blanket purchase agreement for more than $3 million to develop a Coast Guard Universal Task List (UTL)-Mission Essential Task List (METL) process for Coast Guard missions. The UTL will provide a common language for communication and coordination to help the Coast Guard manage workflow, productivity, and risk management. To achieve these goals, DRC will do project management, focused research, mission analysis, and technical and documentation support. DRC has performed similar task list management work for the U.S. Navy’s Navy Warfare Development Command. For more information, see www.drc.com.
Saft delivers 300th battery pack for U.S. Army’s TOW ITAS
Saft in Baltimore delivered its 300th advanced lithium-ion (Li-ion) battery pack to provide battlefield power for the U.S. Army’s Tube-Launched, Optically Tracked, Wire-Guided Missile (TOW) Improved Target Acquisition System (ITAS) from Raytheon Network Centric Systems. The rechargeable 28-volt battery packs are based on Saft high-energy VLE series cylindrical cells and incorporate electronic control systems and health monitoring software. Batteries are deployed in U.S. Army missions, such as Operation Enduring Freedom. Battlefield power for the ITAS comes from the 28-volt battery pack, and as part of a general systems upgrade, Raytheon switched to Saft’s Li-ion batteries because they provide high-power performance over a wide range of temperatures, and are easily customizable to suit Raytheon’s design, Saft officials say. The Saft battery pack helps reduce maintenance, lengthen run time, and overall life compared with the batteries they replace, company officials say. For more information, visit www.saftbatteries.com.
Lockheed Martin awarded $119.4 million Advanced Display System contracts
The U.S. Navy is awarding Lockheed Martin in Eagan, Minn., two contracts totaling $119.4 million to continue producing advanced naval displays. The awards are a follow-on to the AN/UYQ-70 Advanced Display Systems program contract initially awarded to Lockheed Martin in 1994. This indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity contract covers a five-year period and has an estimated value of $500 million. Under the original AN/UYQ-70 contract, Lockheed Martin and industry partner DRS Technologies developed and provided ruggedized, commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS)-based tactical display and computing systems that support common operating environments in surface, subsurface, and airborne platforms. These workstations are installed on Aegis-equipped surface warships, Virginia- and Los Angeles-class attack submarines, E-2C Hawkeye aircraft, aircraft carriers, amphibious assault ships, and ground mobile units. In partnership with the Navy, the industry team continues to upgrade these units with the latest commercial technologies through an ongoing technical refresh program. The use of COTS equipment in place of specialized hardware and software has reduced program costs by more than $1.5 billion over 11 years, Lockheed Martin officials say.
Raytheon wins contract for CLAWS development
Raytheon Integrated Defense Systems in Tewksbury, Mass., will provide the fifth and sixth production systems for the U.S. Marine Corps Systems Command’s Complementary Low Altitude Weapon System (CLAWS)-an air-defense guided-missile-system launcher. It mounts combat-proven Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missiles (AMRAAM) on the High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicle. This expeditionary air defense system will complement current Marine Corps Avenger-based systems by providing beyond-visual-range air defense against cruise missiles, unmanned aerial vehicles, and other advanced threats. CLAWS combines critical low-altitude air defense with rapid deployment, high firepower, all-weather standoff capability to defeat threat aircraft, cruise missiles, and unmanned aerial vehicles in global, regional and littoral conflicts beyond the range and capabilities of currently fielded U.S. Marine Corps air defense systems. CLAWS is currently undergoing government operational tests. Work will be in Raytheon’s Integrated Air Defense Center in Andover, Mass., and is to be completed June 2006.
SAIC awarded Navy Automatic Identification Technology Program Office contract
Science Applications International Corp. in McLean, Va., will provide program management, engineering, and technical services in support of the Navy Automatic Identification Technology (AIT) Program Office. The contract includes four one-year options that could bring the total estimated value of the contract to $104,920,784. Automatic Identification Technology (AIT) is a basic building block in the Department of Defense’s (DOD) efforts to provide timely total asset visibility. AIT gives the DOD the capability to track and control items over their life cycle, support knowledge-enabled logistics and readiness, increase inventory accuracy and reduce redundant requirements. According to the contract, SAIC will provide all necessary personnel, management, administrative and technical services and incidental materials required to meet the requirements of the Navy AIT Program Office. For more information visit www.saic.com.
General Dynamics acquires rugged supplier Tadpole Computer
General Dynamics in Falls Church, Va., acquired Tadpole Computer Inc., a rugged-computer manufacturer in Cupertino, Calif. Tadpole will become part of General Dynamics C4 Systems in Scottsdale, Ariz. Tadpole makes Unix-based mobile, secure, and battlefield-tested computing platforms for mission-critical military, government, and commercial operations. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed. Tadpole Computer’s principal military applications involve secure technologies incorporated into mobile platforms that deliver crucial information to and from the battlefield or mission. Tadpole Computer provides notebooks and servers in support of joint command and control operations for distributed battlefield management, collaborative briefings, reconnaissance and intelligence gathering. The company has a strategic partnership with Sun Microsystems Inc. in Santa Clara, Calif., and supports the Sun operating system for SPARC computers. “Tadpole Computer’s products, services and capabilities are synergistic with our growing operation and complement our existing rugged computing platform offerings for tactical environments requiring mobile, reliable and secure solutions,” says Mark Fried, president of General Dynamics C4 Systems. General Dynamics C4 Systems makes secure communication and information systems and technology, and specializes in command and control, communications networking, space systems, computing and information assurance for defense, government and select commercial customers in the United States and abroad. For more information contact the company online at www.generaldynamics.com.
Microcontroller mates with MRAM for two-chip 300-kilorad space device
Silicon Laude in Austin, Texas, is offering radiation-hardened and radiation-tolerant MCS8051 instruction-compatible microcontrollers that interface with Honeywell’s HXNV-0100 64k by 16 radiation-hardened magnetic RAM (MRAM). The combination creates a microcontroller that operates in 300 kilorads total ionizing-dose radiation. Dubbed the SL80RT051-AX001 for the radiation-tolerant version, and SL80RH051-AF001 for the radiation-hardened version, the microcontrollers are implemented in Actel space-qualified RTAX-S and Aeroflex radiation-hardened UT6325 field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), respectively). Engineered for space, the microcontrollers offer 256 bytes of triple module redundancy (TMR) internal data RAM, 1,536 bytes of on-chip, TMR extended data (XDATA) RAM, memory soft-error detection and correction capability, quad pulse-width modulator (PWM) modules that can operate in stochastic DAC output mode, and Silicon Laude’s proprietary Hardware Monitor and Data eXchange (HMDXTM) technology for real-time monitoring and debugging via an IEEE 1149.1 compatible test port. For compatibility with Honeywell’s synchronous, 16-bit MRAM, as well as traditional asynchronous, 8-bit EEPROMs and SRAMs, the basic 8051 model was redesigned to include a 16-bit, synchronous/asynchronous external interface, selectable with an external mode pin. SL80RX051 applications include general instrumentation and control, launch vehicle vibration monitoring, tunable diode laser (TDL) spectrometers, and general data acquisition. Non-radiation-tested emulator versions of the SL80RX051 are available for evaluation, prototyping, and software development. For more information contact the company online at www.siliconlaude.com.
