Northrop Grumman receives contract for Airborne and Maritime/Fixed Station Joint Tactical Radio System
Lockheed Martin awarded Northrop Grumman Corp. a $240 million contract to provide technologies for the Airborne and Maritime/Fixed Station (AMF) Joint Tactical Radio System (JTRS). An initial $186.7 million subcontract was for the software-defined radio portion AMF JTRS. As Lockheed Martin’s teammate, Northrop Grumman has the responsibility for leading the Joint Tactical Radio (JTR) integrated product team, as well as for the co-development of the JTR small airborne (JTR-SA) hardware and software. The JTR is combined with the other elements in the program, including communications automation, networking, and platform solutions. Northrop Grumman will also provide common JTR software for two JTR form factors, wideband power amplifiers, and the use of Northrop Grumman’s Advanced Communications Test Center in San Diego as the integration and test site for the JTR-SA radio, waveforms, and ancillaries. The development activities will take place in San Diego, and supportability studies will be conducted in Sierra Vista, Ariz. AMF JTRS will develop a communications capability, which includes two software-defined, multifunction radio form factors for use by the U.S. Department of Defense and for potential use by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. AMF JTRS will enable operations of military tactical networks—connecting air, land, and sea forces and enabling them to communicate in a network-centric environment.
Raytheon delivers 100th AESA radar for Super Hornet and Growler jet aircraft
Raytheon has delivered its 100th APG-79 active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar system to Boeing and the U.S. Navy for use on both F/A-18 and EA-18G aircraft. The company marked the occasion with a ceremony on July 1 that attracted senior customers and local dignitaries to its consolidated manufacturing center in Forest, Miss. The first operational deployment of an APG-79-equipped F/A-18 Super Hornet Block II squadron is in progress. The first EA-18G Growler to sport the radar was delivered to the Navy last month. Raytheon is under contract to deliver a total of 437 of the systems to the Navy. The company’s multi-role APG-79 is considered the radar of choice for the F-15C, F-15E, F/A-18E/F, and EA-18G. It is approved for export to international customers in such areas as Singapore and Australia and is a candidate for the F/A-18 entry in India’s fighter competition.
PrismTech to provide waveform portability support and expertise to U.S. Navy
PrismTech Solutions Americas Inc. will provide waveform portability support to the U.S. Navy’s software-defined radio (SDR) systems. The work is part of a support services contract overseen by the U.S. Navy’s Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command (SPAWAR). Scientific Research Corp. (SRC) serves as the prime contractor. PrismTech will work closely with SRC to provide the Navy with support and expertise related to the authentication of Joint Tactical Radio Services waveforms and Software Communications Architecture (SCA) compliance. SRC is providing technical and logistical support. PrismTech has provided SDR and JTRS product and services—under its Spectra 2 product line—to companies such as ITT Corp., Rockwell Collins, Indra, and SELEX Communications. The company also has completed work for the Joint Program Executive Office (JPEO) for JTRS to help define waveform portability industry guidelines. PrismTech’s Spectra 2 product line is a collection of products, services, partner programs, and development tools for SDR OEMs, system integrators, and independent software vendors.
Boeing GPS IIF Satellite completes environmental tests
Engineers at Boeing Integrated Defense Systems completed environmental tests on the first of 12 Global Positioning System (GPS) IIF satellites. The tests confirm the mechanical integrity of the spacecraft. The program is on track to deliver the first satellite to the U.S. Air Force this year, company officials say. The GPS IIF team completed a series of acoustic tests that replicate the noise levels expected during the spacecraft’s launch into orbit. Officials with the Air Force, the Aerospace Corp., and experts at Boeing’s satellite factory in El Segundo, Calif., supervised the tests. Boeing officials also completed mechanical solar array deployment tests for the GPS IIF program and delivered upgraded software for the control segment that will support the first and subsequent GPS IIF launches.
BAE Systems, Micromem to develop nano-sensor technology
BAE Systems and Micromem Applied Sensor Technologies have joined hands to co-produce nano-sensor technology. As a foundry and business development partner with Micromem Applied Sensor Technologies, BAE Systems’ Microelectronics Center in Nashua, N.H., will further develop Micromem designs and manufacturability for advanced magnetic random-access memory (MRAM) products. BAE systems engineers will bring the designs to maturity and begin production of gallium arsenide-based nano-sensors that offer features such as high-speed and low-power capability, radiation-hardness, and overall robustness. “Foundry facilities are expensive, and development work on products is capital-intensive,” says Gino Manzo, foundry director at BAE Systems in Nashua. “This arrangement will advance technology and design maturity for products developed by Micromem by giving both companies the means to produce devices for a wide range of commercial and military uses.” Micromem Applied Sensor Technologies’ submicron nano-sensor, based on MRAM technology, also can be designed for accurate magnetometers—instruments used to measure the strength and/or direction of magnetic fields—and for threat-detection solutions for defense and homeland security.
GSA awards SAIC $28 million task order for Defense Security Service
Science Applications International Corp. (SAIC) in McLean, Va., won a task order from the U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) to provide sustainment and operational support of legacy applications for the Defense Security Service (DSS). The task order has a one-year base period of performance, two one-year options, and a contract value of more than $28 million if all options are exercised. The task order was awarded under the Applications ’N Support for Widely-diverse End-user Requirements (ANSWER) contract. SAIC’s work for this task order will be performed primarily in Columbia, Md. DSS, an agency of the Department of Defense, provides the military services, defense agencies, 23 federal agencies, and cleared contractor facilities with security support services. Under the task order, SAIC will provide services to support three agency programs, including the Defense Central Index of Investigations, which is an automated central index of investigations conducted by Department of Defense investigative agencies. SAIC will also support the Industrial Security Facilities Database, which maintains facility clearance information, and the Improved Investigative Records Repository, which is a repository of legacy personnel security investigative records. SAIC will provide support services, including change, problem, performance and capacity management, sustainment engineering, and system health analysis. SAIC engineers will also analyze and recommend potential solutions to improve system performance.
Marine Corps, Northrop Grumman team completes G/ATOR design review
The U.S. Marine Corps’ Ground/Air Task Oriented Radar (G/ATOR) moved closer to production with the conclusion of the program’s formal Preliminary Design Review (PDR) at Northrop Grumman Corp.’s Electronic Systems sector headquarters in Baltimore. The mobile G/ATOR system supports the Marine Corps’ expeditionary warfare requirements. The radar system will provide enhanced capabilities to detect, track, and provide target quality data to engage hostile aircraft, cruise missiles, and unmanned air vehicles. The delivered data will include such elements as the location of hostile rockets, mortars, and artillery. Intended as a replacement for five existing Marine Corps radars, G/ATOR will provide air traffic control capabilities as well. The PDR consisted of a government review and subsequent approval of the G/ATOR system and subsystem design for hardware and software, including a program management review of cost and schedule. The PDR was attended by more than 70 officials from organizations such as the Marine Corps, U.S. Navy, U.S. Army, and other U.S. Department of Defense officials and civilian subject matter experts. Northrop Grumman is the G/ATOR prime contractor under a $256 million contract awarded by Marine Corps Systems Command. Other key team members include Sensis Corp. in Syracuse, N.Y.; CEA Technologies Inc. in Canberra, Australia; Stanley/Techrizon in Lawton, Okla.; and Caterpillar Logistics in Morton, Ill.
General Dynamics demonstrates ground-based aircraft-protection technology
General Dynamics Armament and Technical Products in Charlotte, N.C., conducted a system demonstration of its ground-based, Counter Man-Portable Airspace Protection System (CMAPS) against several unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) at the Naval Air Systems Command test facility in China Lake, Calif. CMAPS detected, tracked, and destroyed various UAVs by targeting critical aircraft components during the test. General Dynamics Armament and Technical Products is a business unit of General Dynamics. The counter-UAV demonstration at China Lake follows a series of CMAPS technology demonstrations conducted since March 2006 in which CMAPS demonstrated capability in defeating Man-Portable Air Defense Systems (MANPADS). To date, the system has detected, tracked, and defeated MANPADS, in addition to defeating small UAVs. CMAPS is a ground-based system that employs a network of sensors to detect and track a threat, whether it is a missile or UAV. Once identified, high-power, infrared countermeasures are directed to the target to defeat the threat. CMAPS is portable and can be rapidly deployed to virtually any airfield. The system is able to operate safely in remote and densely populated areas.
