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10 Feb 22. Manufacturing futures through new research partnership. To coincide with the UK’s National Manufacturing Summit 2022 – A Net Zero Future, the University of Birmingham and the Manufacturing Technology Centre (MTC) have launched a new research group, which will lead a sustainable manufacturing revolution.
The group will bring together the expertise of each institution across the R&D and product development lifecycle, and working with a range of industrial partners will establish a world-leading research group firmly focused on the decarbonisation of the sector.
Researchers within the group will work across both organisations as well as with industrial partners to apply fundamental science, engineering and thought leadership to transform the sector through sustainable future growth.
The group will include a new Chair in Sustainable Manufacturing and five manufacturing research fellows. It will lead research within the field of manufacturing engineering with a focus on sustainable and decarbonising processes including:
- Intelligent manufacturing
- Life cycle analysis
- Data-driven predictive manufacturing
- Manufacturing digital twins
- Product control and management
- Cyber-physical embedded systems and industrial internet of things
- Industrial photonics
Professor Stephen Jarvis, Head of the College of Engineering and Physical Sciences at the University of Birmingham, says: “The decarbonisation of manufacturing is a significant global energy challenge and one which we will need to address if we are to meet our 2050 net-zero goals. The opportunities and potential impact of this partnership are immense and it is fitting that this initiative launches in the Midlands, a region recognised worldwide for its industrial heritage.”
The University of Birmingham has made significant recent investment in engineering, and the new group will be based in the state-of-the-art £85m engineering complex, which includes the new School of Engineering, the world-class centre for rail research and education (UKRRIN), and the National Buried Infrastructure Facility.
MTC chief executive Dr Clive Hickman said, “As an organisation, the MTC is prioritising support for sustainable manufacturing as a key factor in the delivery of net zero. We are actively helping the development of the next generation of green manufacturing technologies which will deliver clean growth. As an example to industry we are targeting our own operations to ensure sustainability in everything we do in our own operations or with our supply chain.
“This is a win-win for the UK. Not only does it help decarbonise manufacturing activities, it also has the potential to provide many thousands of jobs. In this country we have a rich advanced manufacturing resource and there’s no reason why the UK cannot take the lead in low carbon and sustainable manufacturing. Manufacturing businesses themselves can benefit enormously, both directly and indirectly, either by producing green components like fuel cells or electrolysers for hydrogen, or indirectly by having clean fuels for boilers and furnaces. The overall impact on society of a low carbon and sustainable manufacturing sector is considerable.”
This new collaboration builds on the University’s well-established partnership with the MTC in manufacturing technology and materials, and signals the intent of both institutions to collaborate on a number of world-leading manufacturing initiatives.
The MTC is part of the High Value Manufacturing Catapult, supported by Innovate UK, and was established to prove innovative manufacturing processes and technologies in an agile environment in partnership with industry, academia and other institutions. Housing some of the most advanced manufacturing equipment in the world, and with facilities in the Liverpool City Region, the Midlands and the South East, the MTC provides a high quality environment for the development and demonstration of new technologies on an industrial scale, supporting skills, productivity and growth across the UK manufacturing industry.
08 Feb 22. White House recognizes hypersonics, directed energy as critical technologies. The White House has added five new technology areas to its list of critical and emerging technologies — including hypersonic capabilities, directed energy, renewable energy generation and storage, nuclear energy and financial technology.
The list of critical and emerging technologies, or CETs, was released Tuesday by the National Security Council and the National Science and Technology Council’s Fast Track Action Subcommittee on Critical and Emerging Technologies.
The update follows — and closely reflects — the key technologies included in the Pentagon’s new science and technology vision, which was signed Feb. 1 by Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering Heidi Shyu.
It also comes just days after top Pentagon leaders convened a meeting with defense industry executives to discuss the importance of moving quickly to field hypersonic technology.
The CET list is not meant to be a strategy but will inform a future strategy for U.S. technological competitiveness and national security, the report notes. It also serves as a resource to “promote U.S. technological leadership” and for cooperation with international allies.
Within each CET, the report highlights core technologies or subfields. Under hypersonic technologies, it identifies propulsion, aerodynamics and control, materials, defense, and detecting, tracking and control as key focus areas. For directed energy, those core technologies include lasers, high-power microwaves and particle beams.
Along with the additions to the list, the White House update eliminates several technologies included in the Trump administration’s 2020 National Critical and Emerging Tech Strategy. Those deletions include: Advanced conventional weapons technology; agricultural technology; chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear mitigation technologies, and distributed ledger technologies. (Source: glstrade.com/Defense News)
09 Feb 22. ColdQuanta to support Compact Rubidium Optical Clock programme. The new portable atomic clocks be more stable and have a high technology readiness level (TRL). Quantum technology firm ColdQuanta has secured a five-year contract to support the Compact Rubidium Optical Clock (CROC) programme. The company will serve as a subcontractor to Vescent, which is under contract to develop portable atomic clocks.
In December 2021, Vescent was awarded the $15.6m Broad Area Announcement (BAA) optical clock development contract by the Office of Naval Research (ONR).
With development inputs from the Atomic Devices and Instrumentation Group, ColdQuanta will offer the physics package at the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).
ColdQuanta research and security solutions president Chester Kennedy said: “ColdQuanta is pleased to work alongside our partners to advance innovation for critical defence technologies used by the US Navy.
“The CROC programme demonstrates how ColdQuanta’s technology is evolving as the enabler of a broad ecosystem around quantum. By bringing all of the critical elements together, we can more rapidly bring the benefits of quantum technology to the world.”
The CROC programme will be carried out in three phases through 2026.
Under the first phase, all key technology components will be upgraded to technology readiness level (TRL) 6 and showcased in a modular clock.
The phase two involves engineering and verification to incorporate the individual components into prototype clocks.
In the last phase, ten final prototype clocks will be manufactured and evaluated by the ONR in relevant platforms.
For better performance and stability, this CROC programme will conduct a two-photon optical clock transition in a warm vapor of rubidium (Rb) atoms. (Source: army-technology.com)
08 Feb 22. DOD Releases Software Modernization Strategy. Defense Department officials briefed the news media on the department’s Software Modernization Strategy, which was signed by Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen H. Hicks last week.
Danielle Metz, deputy chief information officer for information enterprise, said the strategy is about harnessing the power of cloud and developing software applications in the cloud in order to provide continuous incremental capability for the department and the warfighters.
The ability to deliver software at the speed of relevance will include explicit support for artificial intelligence and Joint All-Domain Command and Control, she said.
Also, the strategy addresses transforming business processes to ensure greater efficiencies in contracting, acquiring, testing, evaluating and delivering software in an agile and continuous manner, she said.
The department’s research and engineering and acquisition and sustainment organizations, along with the DoD CIO played pivotal roles in developing this strategy over the last two years, she added.
The implementation plan for this strategy will be released in 180 days, Metz said.
“Software touches every part of our lives today, and it also touches the warfighter as the modern battlefield becomes a software-defined environment,” said Jason Weiss, chief software officer.
“Our competitive advantage as a department, both today and tomorrow, is really reliant on the strategic insight and proactive innovation and effective technology integration. And all of that is enabled through software defined capabilities. Software modernization recognizes that our warfighters require high quality and highly secure software running against trusted data sources,” he said.
“In this era of competition and the race for digital dominance, we simply cannot settle for incremental change anymore. The department must come together to deliver software better and operate as a 21st century force,” he said.
Beyond the technology, the strategy reinforces the need to attract and retain workforce talent, he said. (Source: US DoD)
07 Feb 22. New Pentagon strategy wants to elevate software factories. The Pentagon’s new software modernization strategy calls for establishing an enterprise-level software factory ecosystem to make the tools and applications used by its development hubs a more regular part of doing business.
The document, released late last week, says the 29 software factories that exist today across the military services have made significant progress, but the Department of Defense needs to better take advantage of that innovation. Danielle Metz, deputy chief information officer for the information enterprise, told reporters on Monday the goal is to harness the success of those factories and “inculcate that into the DNA of the department.”
Today’s software factories serve as centralized teams that provide software development services to various program offices. Well-known hubs include the Air Force’s Kessel Run, the Navy’s Overmatch Software Armory and the Army’s Coding Resources and Transformation Ecosystem.
Metz and Pentagon Chief Software Officer Jason Weiss told reporters the department doesn’t necessarily want to make changes to how the factories operate, but instead wants to hear from those organizations about what policy changes and standardization might be most helpful.
Weiss said the department expects to gain efficiencies and cost savings by being more strategic about how the factories operate and ensuring any redundancies aren’t inhibiting economies of scale.
“If we can achieve that, then that allows the software factory ecosystem to continue to grow, but to operate with higher degrees of scale and precision without having to start from scratch at every point,” he said.
Beyond establishing an enterprise-wide development ecosystem, the strategy identifies two other goals: accelerating the DoD enterprise cloud environment and transforming processes to enable resilience and speed.
As part of the cloud acceleration focus, the strategy calls for an “innovative portfolio of cloud contracts” to offer better access to cloud services. It also emphasizes the need to secure data in the cloud and improve infrastructure outside the continental United States to ensure those installations can take advantage of cloud capabilities.
To improve its software development and acquisition processes, the department must reevaluate its policies and guidance to make sure they’re not overly restrictive and continue to support flexibility in the way it acquires and funds software, the strategy says.
A memo accompanying the strategy, signed by Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks, says the department will develop an implementation plan over the next six months. A newly formed Software Modernization Senior Steering Group will coordinate and prioritize efforts under the strategy and will develop a yearly action plan. The group will also create a software capability portfolio to inform budget decisions and make sure efforts are integrated across DoD. (Source: C4ISR & Networks)
07 Feb 22. Nova joins Team AUStringer to pursue RAAF’s Project AIR 5428 Phase 3. The Aviation Mission Training System will be used to provide training for the RAAF’s mission aviators. Nova Systems has joined Team AUStringer, which will pursue the Royal Australian Air Force’s (RAAF) Project AIR 5428 Phase 3 Aviation Mission Training System (AMTS). Team AUStringer is led by CAE, the prime contractor, in partnership with Cobham. Nova Systems will offer professional and engineering services as part of the teaming agreement, which will also cover the company’s extensive experience gained from its involvement in the AIR 5428 Phase 1 programme.
CAE Australia Indo-Pacific managing director Matthew Sibree said: “We are honoured to have Nova Systems as part of Team AUStringer because they bring a wealth of experience supporting the delivery of complex defence programmes.
“We are well aware of their solid reputation, particularly in East Sale, as a result of their successful participation in the RAAF’s new pilot training programme.
“With both Cobham and Nova Systems now part of Team AUStringer, we are demonstrating our commitment to developing a sovereign Aviation Mission Training System that builds Australia’s industry capability.”
The RAAF’s AMTS will be used to train electronic warfare officers, maritime patrol and response officers, air battle managers, air traffic controllers and other mission specialists.
It will be installed at the Air Academy situated at RAAF Base East Sale in Victoria.
The comprehensive training solution will include ground-based and airborne training, along with a digitally supported integrated learning environment.
Nova Systems managing director Adam Smith said: “As a 100% Australian-owned and controlled engineering services and technology solutions company, Nova Systems has partnered with the Royal Australian Air Force for more than two decades.”
CAE currently provides training to RAAF aircrew on platforms, including the C-130J, KC-30A, AP-3C, and Hawk Mk127.
Germany’s BAAINBw recently signed a deal with CAE for providing initial training services for the German Air Force aviators. (Source: airforce-technology.com)
05 Feb 22. DoD Software Modernization Strategy Approved. The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) Software Modernization. Strategy was approved Feb. 1. The DoD Software Modernization Strategy sets a path for technology and process transformation that will enable the delivery of resilient software capability at the speed of relevance. It is one in a set of sub-strategies of the DoD Digital Modernization Strategy and builds upon, evolves, and replaces the 2018 DoD Cloud Strategy. The strategy lists three long-term goals that aim toward achieving the Department’s vision to deliver resilient software capability at the speed of relevance. The objectives of each goal are near-term targets focused on providing the technical enablers and transforming the critical processes required to meet the Department’s software modernization goals. Ref: https://media.defense.gov/2022/Feb/03/2002932833/-1/-1/1/DEPARTMENT-OF-DEFENSE-SOFTWARE-MODERNIZATION-STRATEGY.PDF (Source: glstrade.com)
07 Feb 22. Russian Researchers Patent Counter-Drone Swarm Design. Specialists of the Military University of the Ministry of Defense have invented a new way to deal with a swarm of small drones. Its essence lies in spraying a field of fragments from a quadrocopter over a protected object, follows from a document published on the website of Rospatent. According to the information contained in the abstract of the invention, this is a miniature aircraft equipped with a control unit, a multi-barrel weapon station and four telescopic rails that face horizontally to the sides and are interconnected by a network. The latter “sprays” the ammunition into small fragments flying in different directions. Military scientists explain the feasibility of the invention by the growing threat of attacks by swarms of drones on important military and civilian infrastructure.
Swarm “intelligence” provides for the coordinated actions of a large number of “agent” drones that locally interact with each other and with the environment. Despite the simplicity of such a technique, collectively these drones exhibit “exceptionally complex” behavior, acting as a single large organism.
Due to its stealth, a swarm can have a great influence on the course of hostilities, conducting reconnaissance and delivering air strikes against combat vehicles, command posts, clusters of equipment and people, even in the face of opposition from air defense systems and electronic warfare.
According to the experts of the Military University, the existing means of counteracting swarms of drones (air defense, electronic warfare, barrage systems, fighter and army aviation, small arms) are not able to adequately cope with this task, besides, their operation requires significant funds.
The system described in the document will be able to cover protected objects with a fragmentation field. In a combat position, this drone hangs in the air above an object with a net open on the rails. Network sensors read the movement of the attacking “swarm” and send a signal to the electric capsules of the charges of the multi-barrel combat module. After that, all of its barrels fire at the same time, and the fragmentation field created in this way destroys enemy drones. (Source: UAS VISION/RIA Novosti)
07 Feb 22. Verizon 5G & Caltech to Enable Drones to Navigate Weather. Verizon engineers are exploring how its 5G Ultra Wideband, mobile edge compute and artificial intelligence (AI) can help drones detect, interpret and respond to changing weather conditions in real time. Verizon deployed its 5G Ultra Wideband network and edge compute platform at the Caltech Center for Autonomous Systems and Technologies (CAST). Researchers are currently testing how the low latency, high speeds and massive capacity of 5G and edge compute can be used to offload the heavy computing hardware that AI usually requires from a drone to the edge of the network, allowing for near real-time interpretation of weather data and near instantaneous in-flight adjustments.
To recreate the ever-shifting environmental conditions that drones face in the real world, the lab features a three-story-tall aerodrome with more than 2,500 tiny computer-controlled fans that allow engineers to simulate everything from a light gust to a gale. It can also be tilted 90 degrees to simulate vertical take offs and landings.
The custom fan wall, designed and built by Caltech graduate students, was also used as the blueprint for building the fan wall that tested the Mars Ingenuity helicopter at JPL, which Caltech manages for NASA. Verizon is providing funding for the one-year drone research project, as well as, several 5G devices and consultation on 5G technology and hardware.
“By collaborating with CAST researchers, we hope to accelerate the innovation process and development of unmanned aerial vehicles that can autonomously navigate using 5G, edge compute and AI,” said Nicki Palmer, Chief Product Development Officer at Verizon. “This research project is just the tip of the iceberg of what we hope to see tested. The facility and areas of exploration that CAST is working on represent the types of use cases that 5G can really take to the next level.”
This engagement is part of Verizon’s broader strategy to partner with enterprises, startups, universities, national labs and government/military to explore how 5G can disrupt and transform nearly every industry. Verizon operates five 5G Labs in the U.S. and one in London that specialize in developing use cases in industries ranging from healthcare to public safety to entertainment.
In addition, Verizon is collaborating with several customers to establish 5G Innovation Hubs on-premises as part of an ongoing initiative to co-innovate and create new 5G applications. (Source: UAS VISION)
04 Feb 22. US Navy looks to 3D printing for submarine parts to ease burden on strained industrial base. Among the top risks to the critical Columbia-class ballistic missile submarine program is fragility in key parts of the industrial base. Additive manufacturing, better known as 3D printing, could fix that. The Navy plans to pair suppliers who cannot keep up with demand with additive manufacturing companies who can print parts around the clock to boost the supply, a Navy program official said this week. This effort would be aimed at the most fragile parts of the submarine industrial base: companies that do castings, forgings and fittings, in particular.
Matt Sermon, executive director of the Program Executive Office for Strategic Submarines, said this would help these companies — some of them the sole sources of components to the Navy — by removing pressure to increase their production rates even as they’re struggling to keep up with the current workload.
The industrial base today builds two Virginia-class attack submarines a year, is working through construction of a single Columbia-class SSBN and helps maintain the in-service submarines in the fleet.
But fabrication has already begun on the first Block V Virginia with a mid-body Virginia Payload Module that increases the construction workload by about 25%. And the Navy will buy its second Columbia SSBN in 2024 and start one-a-year production in 2026, meaning a huge spike in work for the prime shipyards and their supply base. The Navy has started referring to this time of consistently buying one SSBN and two SSNs every single year the “1-plus-2″ years.
If the demand for parts can’t be reduced, then “let’s go additively manufacture the components in that space, such that by the time we get to the 1-plus-2 years, we will have reduced demand signal in castings, forgings and fittings,” Sermon said in his remarks at an American Society of Naval Engineers event.
Today, the Navy certifies individual parts to go on submarines. That part-by-part qualification won’t work going forward, Sermon said, advocating for the Navy to instead qualify materials and processes used for additive manufacturing rather than the parts that result from it.
But the Navy has struggled to do this in the past. For aviation programs, additive manufacturing advocates sought permission to print non-critical parts — but the Navy wouldn’t allow it. Aircraft carrier John C. Stennis hosted the first-ever Advanced Manufacturing Lab onboard, but used the laser scanning and additive manufacturing tools to print parts for the ships in the strike group, not the aircraft.
Putting printed parts on a submarine is as risky a proposition as putting them on aircraft, with both communities having strict safety standards to keep sailors safe in the air and under the ocean. But Sermon said the engineering community is now on board. The technical warrant holders are part of ongoing discussions, and Naval Sea Systems Command’s engineering and logistics directorate has accompanied the program office on site visits to companies that demonstrate additive manufacturing best practices.
“Additive manufacturing gives you a better material, a better steel, than [working with raw materials],” he said. “It is complicated, and microstructures … are complicated and do change some fundamental concerns of ours. We will have to change how we do non-destructive testing in many cases — not because it’s bad, but because it’s different, and we have to understand that.”
The effort to put printed parts on submarines began in November, and Sermon said the Navy would install the first parts on an in-service submarine this calendar year.
He told Defense News after his remarks the program office has a ranked list of six to 10 components they’d like to print, based on a list of “trouble components” consistently unavailable at the public shipyards when they’re needed for a submarine maintenance availability.
The vendors who make the parts won’t be cut out of the process. Rather, they’ll help with the engineering and have the option to do the printing if they have the capability — though Sermon said most of the companies involved don’t. If the original manufacturer can’t do the additive manufacturing themselves, the Navy will pair them with a small business that can.
Sermon noted during the panel the multiple benefits of embracing additive manufacturing. First, it addresses capacity issues during the 1-plus-2 years, when not having enough parts could put construction or repair timelines at risk. In the longer run, though, he said working through the processes and the certification of printed parts will enable the Navy and industry to design the next-generation SSN(X) with additive manufacturing in mind — potentially reducing the program’s cost or generating a better or more survivable part. (Source: Defense News)
03 Feb 22. Bell Completes Successful APT Demonstration for Ground-Based Detect-and-Avoid. Bell Textron Inc., a Textron Inc. company, announced the Autonomous Pod Transport’s (APT) successful demonstration of a ground-based Detect-and-Avoid (DAA) flight, fulfilling an extension for its NASA Systems Integration and Operationalization (SIO) project. The APT DAA demonstration showcased the aircraft’s ground radar system integration and its capabilities when navigating airspace traffic and requirements, a critical component needed for future advanced air mobility (AAM) vehicles. The objective of the SIO demonstration was to execute a Beyond Visual Line of Sight mission in complex airspace utilizing DAA technology to monitor the airspace for “natural intruders” using Bell’s 429 commercial helicopter and APT unmanned aircraft. Bell’s QuantiFLYTM system, a new aircraft communication unit (ACU) powered by Truth Data, offering a true low-cost, lightweight, and fully automatic flight data monitoring (FDM) solution, was used on the Bell 429 to record aircraft telemetry data.
“We are excited to demonstrate the effectiveness of ground-based monitoring solutions as part of UAS infrastructure,” said Matt Holvey, director, Intelligent Systems, Bell. “Radar monitoring, whether airborne or ground-based, may become an important part of drone delivery, air taxi services and other aspects of the ever-expanding AAM ecosystem.”
Bell utilized radar systems to monitor the complex airspace within the AllianceTexas Mobility Innovation Zone (MIZ) and track manned and unmanned aircraft systems. The MIZ provides one of the most unique environments in the nation for partner organizations to test, scale and commercialize emerging technologies in air and surface mobility. Hillwood also provided multiple sites for radar set up, and testing was conducted at the AllianceTexas Flight Test Center, located approximately four miles north of Fort Worth Alliance Airport.
“We are honored to partner with Bell to launch the testing initiatives as they work with NASA to lay the foundation for the future of budding air technologies,” said Christopher Ash, senior vice president of aviation business development for Hillwood. “The data they receive from these efforts will enable the industry to advance the commercialization of this technology across multiple platforms.”
Along with Hillwood, Bell has collaborated with Northwest Independent School District (NISD) to provide a site for Bell to install a radar at their Outdoor Learning Center.
In addition, Microsoft provided AirSim, a simulation tool for training Autonomous systems, which gave Bell a Digital Twin environment to model the NASA SIO Extension flight in the virtual world before flying through the corridor. This allowed the team to conduct simulated real-world tests of the APT aircraft across a broad range of scenarios without any safety risks and at a fraction of the cost and time needed. (Source: UAS VISION)
04 Feb 22. DoD Software Modernization Strategy Approved. The Department of Defense (DoD) Software Modernization Strategy was approved Feb. 1.
“Delivering a more lethal force requires the ability to evolve faster and be more adaptable than our adversaries,” said Dr. Kathleen H. Hicks, the deputy secretary of defense, in the memorandum approving the strategy. “The Department’s adaptability increasingly relies on software and the ability to securely and rapidly deliver resilient software capability is a competitive advantage that will define future conflicts. Transforming software delivery times from years to minutes will require significant change to our processes, policies, workforce, and technology.”
The DoD Software Modernization Strategy sets a path for technology and process transformation that will enable the delivery of resilient software capability at the speed of relevance. It is one in a set of sub-strategies of the DoD Digital Modernization Strategy and builds upon, evolves, and replaces the 2018 DoD Cloud Strategy. Given the pervasiveness of software across all aspects of mission capabilities and supporting infrastructure, the successful implementation of this strategy will rely heavily on partnerships across the Department.
The strategy lists three long-term goals that aim toward achieving the Department’s vision to deliver resilient software capability at the speed of relevance. The objectives of each goal are near-term targets focused on providing the technical enablers and transforming the critical processes required to meet the Department’s software modernization goals. Goal 1: Accelerate the DoD Enterprise Cloud Environment
Objectives: Mature an Innovative Portfolio of Cloud Contracts; Secure Data in the Cloud; Accelerate Cloud Adoption through Automated Design Patterns; Prepare OCONUS Infrastructure for Cloud
Goal 2: Establish Department-wide Software Factory Ecosystem
Objectives: Advance DevSecOps through Enterprise Providers; Accelerate Software Deployment with Continuous Authorization; Drive Reciprocity of Tools with an Enterprise Repository; Streamline Control Points for Seamless End-to-End Software Delivery; Speed Innovation into the Hands of the Warfighter.
Goal 3: Transform Processes to Enable Resilience and Speed
Objectives: Evolve Policy, Regulations, and Standards; Make Acquisition More Agile; Advance Technical Competencies; Empower the Broader Workforce as Contributors to Technology; Manage commercial off the shelf (COTS) Software for Efficiencies and Effectiveness; incentivize the Use of Enterprise Services.
The strategy document concludes by saying DoD, “must take steps to lead in software modernization. The DoD Software Modernization Strategy is the first step, providing overarching principles, a common framework for understanding, and initial goals and objectives. It builds upon current momentum and leans on the invention and successes of DoD organizations. The Department, as an enterprise, must continue to work together to implement the vision of this strategy, deliver resilient software capability at the speed of relevance.” (Source: US DoD)
04 Feb 22. Royal Navy QEC carriers receive ‘super release’ of software updates. The updates will support the aircraft carriers during their deployments this year and beyond. BAE Systems’ Combat Systems teams have provided software updates to the British Royal Navy’s two Queen Elizabeth Class (QEC) aircraft carriers. The ‘super release’ software updates have been delivered as part of a seven-year Joint Service Support 2 (JSS2) contract. The company’s teams collaborated with the UK Defence Equipment and Support (DE&S) and the Royal Navy to provide the updates to the fleet’s combat mission systems. The newest capability and availability will keep the Carrier Strike Group and NATO flagships prepared for deployments this year and in future. The core updates delivered include shared infrastructure (SI) system updates to back supplementary mission system capabilities, and combat management system updates to improve safety and performance. The teams also provided Tactical Data Links integration updates to expand interoperability with task force platforms.
Combat Systems equipment delivery director Steve Carter said: “These last few months have been incredibly busy preparing this ‘super release’. Our teams have worked tirelessly to collectively develop, integrate, and deliver the required upgrades and updates to the Royal Navy in a short space of time, to bring detailed, complex changes to the mission systems of the QEC Carriers.
“The most crucial of these updates has been to the Tactical Data Link interfaces, which are critical to enabling the ships’ to communicate and share data with other Royal Navy platforms and allies, essential for ensuring interoperability.”
The capability updates will now be delivered to the UK Type 45 destroyers, which will join the deployments of the two QECs.
The destroyers with the new upgrades have already completed their Factory Acceptance Testing.
Currently, they are undertaking Combat System Integration at the company’s Maritime Systems Integration centre. Following this, platform harbour and sea trials will be performed.
In 2019, BAE Systems reached an updated integration services agreement with the Royal Navy to deliver essential mission system support to QEC aircraft carriers. (Source: naval-technology.com)
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