Posted by John Keller
WRIGHT-PATTERSON AFB, Ohio, 23 April 2010.Aircraft radar experts at General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc. in Poway, Calif., will receive a contract to upgrade the Predator and Reaper unmanned aircraft systems (UASs) to better identify and track vehicles and other moving targets in heavy and congested traffic.
Officials of the U.S. Air Force Aeronautical Systems Center at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, announced plans Wednesday to award a sole-source delivery order to General Atomics to integrate kinematic tracker technology and feature-aided tracking based on high range resolution profiles to the Lynx Block 20 synthetic aperture radar (SAR) and ground moving target indicator (GMTI) tracker on the Predator and Reaper UAVs.
The amount of the contract has not yet been determined. The project is called Lynx Block 20 SAR GMTI Tracker Integration Phase I and II (solicitation number FA862005G30280063).
Kinematic tracker technology and feature-aided tracking capability will give the Lynx Block 20 radar system better ways to identify and track selected targets, and to keep track of critical targets in dense target environments.
Among the subcontractors on the Lynx Block 20 radar program is Mercury Computer Systems Inc. in Chelmsford, Mass., which provides rugged computing modules for Lynx Block 20 radar signal processing. Mercury has provided signal processing for versions of the Lynx radar since 1998.
General Atomics is the sole designer and manufacturer of the Predator and Reaper UAVs, and is the only company with the experience and technical data for the Lynx Block 20 SAR GMTI Tracker Integration Phase I and II effort, Air Force officials say.
Companies interested in subcontracting opportunities on this program should contact Paula Hodgetts at General Atomics by phone at 858-312-3615, or by e-mail at [email protected]. The Air Force point of contact on this project is Lt. Gerald O'Farrell, who can be reached by phone at 937-674-8024, or by e-mail at [email protected].
For more information contact General Atomics Aeronautical Systems online at www.ga-asi.com, or the Air Force Aeronautical Systems Center at www.wpafb.af.mil/asc.
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