Combat UAV, AWACS, radio upgrades on Rapid Fire

NASHUA, N.H., 16 April 2014. Competition to build a carrier-based combat UAV, software-defined radio upgrades to a venerable military communications system, and attention turning to potential major upgrades to the AWACS surveillance aircraft highlight this week's Rapid Fire interview with John Keller and Ernesto Burden of Military & Aerospace Electronics.

Each week the Military & Aerospace Electronics exclusive Rapid Fire interview at Google Hangouts highlights and discusses the top three stories of this week, chosen by John Keller, chief editor of Military & Aerospace Electronics.

Today's Headlines

DC-DC converters with as much as 10 Watts output power in 2-by-1-inch case introduced by ConTech

CONCORD, Calif., 16 April 2014. ConTech in Concord, Calif., is introducing the TMR series of DC-DC converters, which offers as much as 10 Watts of regulated output power in a 2-by-1-inch case with an industry-standard footprint.

Big opportunities for automation in a reduced-manpower Navy

THE MIL & AERO BLOG, 15 April 2014. U.S. military campaigns in South Asia are winding down, which is translating into noticeable reductions in numbers of soldiers, sailors, airmen, and Marines. The fiscal 2015 Pentagon budget calls for a reduction 36,700 active-duty military personnel next year to bring the total force down to about 1.31 million.

On your marks: UCLASS competion set to begin

Navy gets wheels in motion to start official competition to build carrier-based combat UAV

PATUXENT RIVER NAS Md., 15 April 2014. Four U.S. designers of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) are set to square-off in a do-or-die competition to build the first deployable carrier-based combat UAV. U.S. Navy officials have signaled the imminent release of a soliciation to design the Unmanned Carrier Launched Airborne Surveillance and Strike (UCLASS) aircraft.

BAE Systems wins $6.7 million Navy IFF contract

Navy orders shipboard IFF interrogators from BAE Systems in $6.7 million contract

PATUXENT RIVER NAS, Md., 15 April 2014. U.S. Navy aviation experts needed identification-friend-or-foe (IFF) interrogators for surface ships and land installations to help identify friendly and potentially hostile aircraft. They found their solution from the BAE Systems Electronic Systems segment in Greenlawn, N.Y.

High-speed data converter XMC FPGA module for software-defined radio introduced by Pentek

UPPER SADDLE RIVER, N.J., 15 April 2014. Pentek Inc. in Upper Saddle River, N.J., is introducing the Onyx model 71741 high-speed data converter Express Mezzanine Card (XMC) FPGA module for software-defined radio applications that require extremely wideband signals.

Army chooses aerial drone control stations from Micro Systems in $4 million contract

FORT WALTON BEACH, Fla., 14 April 2014. U.S. Army target drones experts needed unmanned aerial drone command and control systems. They found their solution from Micro Systems Inc. in Fort Walton Beach, Fla.

Bluefin wins $7.1 million Navy advanced UUV deal

Bluefin Robotics wins $7.1 million contract to develop Navy's next-generation underwater drones

STENNIS SPACE CENTER, Miss., 14 April 2014. U.S. Navy researchers needed next-generation unmanned underwater vehicles (UUVs) for research programs in anti-submarine warfare (ASW) and mine countermeasure (MCM) missions. They found their solution from Bluefin Robotics Corp. in Quincy, Mass.

Ability to verify multicore systems to safety-critical standards offered by LDRA

ATLANTA, 14 April 2014. LDRA Technology Inc. in Atlanta is introducing the ability in the company's software engineering tools to provide verification of multicore systems to safety-critical standards.

SEAKR to build space lasercom digital processor

NASA awards $6.5 million contract to SEAKR to build space digital processor for lasercom

GREENBELT, Md., 13 April 2014. Laser communications (lasercom) experts at the NASA Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Md., needed a space-qualified digital processor to support an optical communications relay between Earth and geosynchronous orbit over an extended period. They found their solution from SEAKR Engineering Inc. in Centennial, Colo.

Rugged DC-DC converters for electric vehicle applications introduced by Green Watt Power

CONCORD, Calif., 13 April 2014. Green Watt Power in Concord, Calif., is introducing the rugged 300 Watt EVD series of DC-DC converters for electric vehicle applications. Green Watt is a division of Calex Mfg. Co.

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Hot on the Wire

Market Action Table: Total Shanghai Market close April 16, 2014

April 16, 2014

MTN Government Announces New Advisory Board; Senior Military and Industry Business Leaders to Provide Strategic and Market Guidance

April 16, 2014

Celestica receives 2014 Assemblies Supplier of the Year Award from Rockwell Collins

April 16, 2014

Airbus Defence delivers air traffic control network to German Air Force

April 16, 2014

U.S. Air Force Selects Cubic for Moroccan P5 Air Combat Training System.

April 15, 2014

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The Innovation That Matters™ Quiz

Innovation is one of the key drivers in the Defense industry. View this short video on the role of innovation. Then, simply answer 4 multiple-choice questions correctly to be entered into a drawing to win an Eddie Bauer fleece jacket!

CONGRATULATIONS TO OUR THREE MOST RECENT WINNERS. Eric from L3, Alan from ATK, and Terry from the University of California

Webcasts

On Demand Webcasts
Engineering the VPX high-speed data path for physical and signal integrity Join Arrow Electronics and TE Connectivity, for an overview webinar of the standards, technologies and trends involving VITA and TE. February 12, 2014 Sponsored by Arrow Electronics TE Connectivity
Design Strategy Considerations for DO-178C Certified Multi-core Systems Join Wind River to learn how system architecture and design choices can minimize your DO-178C certification challenges. December 11, 2013 Sponsored by Wind River
Flying, Sailing or Driving - The Rugged, Embedded Intel-based Server that goes where you need it!Flying Sailing or Driving Leveraging the power of server-class processors is no longer relegated to the confines of data centers. Through several innovations, Mercury Systems has ruggedized Intel’s server-class ch... December 10, 2013 Sponsored by Mercury Systems

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Executive Briefings

The signal processing challenges in radar and software-defined radio

March 19, 2014 Digital signal processing (DSP) for digital communications and software-defined radio, as well as for advanced radar systems, can be a difficult task. Getting it right can ...

Electronic warfare takes precedence in era of shrinking military budgets

October 3, 2013 Electronic warfare has become one of the few prominent growth areas in an otherwise shrinking U.S. Department of Defense budget over the past several years, and its promine...

On cutting edge of the world’s next battlefield: cyber warfare

September 11, 2013 Cyber warfare is one of the most important and dynamic technological disciplines in the aerospace and defense industry. It boils down to the ability to deny an adversary’s ...

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White Papers

The Benefits of Integrated Video Management

The most effective video management systems (VMS) for airborne law enforcement surveillance enable a platform’s crew members to control their video options–such as sensor inputs, screen configuration, underlay maps and video recording–directly from their touchscreen display.

Other Curtiss-Wright Controls Defense Solutions white papers:

Techniques for Precision Validation of Radar System Performance in the Field

This application note provides an overview of field testing radar systems and Line Replaceable Units (LRU) using high-performance FieldFox combination analyzers having multiple measurement modes including a peak power analyzer, vector network analyzer, spectrum analyzer and vector voltmeter.

This application note will show several measurement examples of pulsed and secondary radar signals and also reviews the basics of monopulse radar.

New! Software Defined Radio Handbook

The folks at Pentek, who wrote the book on software radio, are pleased to announce their recently released and expanded Software Defined Radio Handbook. Recently updated to its 10th edition, the handbook covers the principles of sampling, the inner workings of the SDR, actual board- and system-level implementations, and available COTS products. Downloaded thousands of times, this handbook has proved to be an invaluable technical reference for engineers.

Beyond DVE: Options for Improving Situational Awareness

There are technologies available today that vastly improve the current DVE (driver vision enhancement) systems most commonly deployed.

This paper explores options for closing the gap between natural vision and indirect vision in all conditions, allowing deployed forces to see, understand, and react to their surroundings in safety even when visual integrity is compromised.

Contract Manufacturing Pitfalls: What the Wrong Production Process Could Really Cost You

In the military and aerospace electronics industry, contract manufacturing has long been a strategy for reducing time to market and simplifying project oversight.

Other Sparton white papers: