NEW TECHNOLOGIES, AVIONICS AND SOFTWARE

Sponsored By Oxley Developments

www.oxleygroup.com

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22 Sep 23. Systematic, Janes join forces to deliver critical insight to the battlefield.

Systematic and Janes are pleased to announce the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) at the DSEI trade show to work on the delivery of Janes open-source defence intelligence to users of the SitaWare suite of C4ISR technology.

Under the MoU, Systematic will develop an application programming interface (API) to allow for the seamless integration of Janes data into its decision-support tool SitaWare Insight. The API will mean that subscribers to Janes Intara will be able to access Janes foundational military open-source intelligence (OSINT) from a single platform, and incorporate known data into a variety of command post products, including opposition orders of battle, equipment data, and more.

“In an era of big data and rapid manoeuvre on the battlefield, information superiority is becoming a key facet of successful military operations. The linking of Janes OSINT with SitaWare Insight will allow commanders to have a greatly expanded pool of intelligence at their fingertips when they are making critical battlefield decisions,” said Henrik Sommer, Director, Defence Operations at Systematic said.

“Ensuring structured data can be easily delivered through an API will mean that there is a significant decrease in the latency in decision-making, allowing users to gain the advantage of the observe-orient-decide-act (OODA) loop,” Sommer added.

“I am truly excited to work with Systematic. As the trusted global agency for open-source defence intelligence, our goal is to support our customers’ missions through the delivery of verified and validated intelligence in a world crowded with increasingly unreliable information. This agreement with Systematic enables us to deliver our assured OSINT to those that need it, when they need it.” Ben Conklin, Chief Product Officer at Janes said.

“Our ability to now interface directly with military planning and operations teams through the SitaWare suite will mean that commanders can readily leverage our assured OSINT to make the best decisions when time is critical.”

Systematic’s SitaWare suite allows the seamless integration of a wide range of C4ISR data and intelligence to deliver a comprehensive common operational picture to battlefield commanders – from those in a headquarters or joint operations centre, to vehicle-mounted troops and units on the ground. SitaWare Insight is a complete repository of data used to support intelligence units with their operations in the intelligence cycle, providing an integrated digitised solution to ensure that all the data available on the battlefield can be utilised by commanders and planners to make informed decisions. In combination with the SitaWare suite, equipment data can be easily shared across the battlefield, allowing for rapid threat analysis and assessment to be undertaken by commanders at all levels.

Trusted by over 45 countries, SitaWare is used by a variety of nations and organisations, including NATO, the US Army, the British Army, Australian Army, German Bundeswehr, Danish armed forces, Swiss Armed Forces, Defence Forces Ireland, and more.

19 Sep 23. LDRA, a leading provider of software analysis and testing tools, and Frontgrade Gaisler, a world leader in embedded computer systems for harsh environments, today announced a new collaboration to advance software development for critical systems. The collaboration brings together LDRA’s expertise in software analysis and testing with Frontgrade Gaisler’s microprocessors to offer customers a solution that maximizes software reliability, safety and compliance.

Increasing capabilities in space require new processors, and Frontgrade Gaisler provides significant processing power in harsh environments. Frontgrade Gaisler’s GR740, GR712RC and GR716 microprocessors, known for their radiation-hardened design and fault tolerance capabilities, offer a robust computing solution for space missions and other high-reliability applications. Additionally, Frontgrade Gaisler’s tool chain is based on gcc, allowing developers to move from commercial microprocessors to radiation hardened processors with minimal rework. LDRA’s software analysis and testing tools offer a comprehensive suite of capabilities, including static and dynamic analysis, requirements traceability, unit testing and code coverage analysis. In addition, the LDRA tool suite supports object code verification and worst case execution time analysis, along with its patented data and control coupling analysis.

The collaboration between LDRA and Frontgrade Gaisler offers customers in the space industry a range of valuable benefits. By integrating LDRA’s software analysis and testing tools with Frontgrade Gaisler’s radiation-hardened microprocessors, customers can streamline their software development processes, improve reliability and ensure compliance with industry standards including ECSS-E-40 and NASA NPR 7150.2. This integrated solution reduces development time and effort, enhances software quality, and reduces the risk of system failures. Additionally, LDRA’s tools enable early detection and resolution of software defects, leading to cost reductions and increased confidence in software performance.

Notably, Frontgrade Gaisler’s TSIM3 instruction level simulator has already been integrated with the LDRA tool suite. As TSIM3 can accurately simulate Frontgrade Gaisler’s microprocessors, the integration allows developers to test their software before the availability of real flight hardware, ensuring thorough validation and reducing risks associated with in-flight issues.

“Through this collaboration, Frontgrade Gaisler and LDRA combine their strengths to offer a unified solution that addresses the critical needs of our customers,” said Daniel Hellström, Software Section Head at Frontgrade Gaisler. “The integration of LDRA’s tools with our processors empowers our customers to achieve the highest levels of reliability, safety and compliance in their software development.”

“Collaborating with Frontgrade Gaisler enables us to deliver an even more comprehensive solution for software analysis and testing in critical systems,” said Ian Hennell, Operations Director, LDRA. “With the integration of the LDRA tool suite and the TSIM3 simulator, developers can automate software lifecycle compliance tasks and produce well-constructed, documented and tested software—all with the benefit of significant time, cost and operational savings.”

The collaboration between LDRA and Frontgrade Gaisler represents a shared commitment to continuous innovation and delivering top-quality solutions. Through product enhancements as well as research and development efforts, both companies will continue to meet the evolving needs of customers in space systems development.

21 Sep 23. DOD Harnessing Emerging Tech to Maintain Enduring Advantage. The Defense Department remains committed to strengthening its technical advantage in a strategic environment that is increasingly being shaped by high-tech competition, a senior Pentagon policy official said yesterday.

Mara E. Karlin, performing the duties of deputy undersecretary of defense for policy, said DOD’s ability to accelerate innovation and adoption of key technologies is a critical piece of the United States’ strategy to build an enduring military advantage.

Karlin said the department’s proposed budget for fiscal year 2024, which includes $145bn for research and development and $170bn for procurement, is a clear indication of its commitment to stay on the cutting edge.

“That’s a huge percentage of a budget that would be $842bn, and I would note the largest commitment ever in these areas,” she said during a panel discussion hosted by the Ronald Reagan Institute in Washington.

Karlin said those investments in advanced technology, in addition to the department’s ability to leverage capabilities of U.S. allies, is critical for deterring and preventing conflict in the future.

Spotlight: Science & Tech

She added that the approach is directly in line with the 2022 U.S. National Defense Strategy which compels DOD to accelerate innovation and technology adoption to further shore up its military advantage.

In addition to making targeted investments in proven technologies, Karlin said DOD is also “bringing emerging capabilities to fruition.”

“We’re not just saying, ‘Hey in the future, we’re going to spend the money and go do these things,’ we’re actually making it a reality,” she said, noting DOD’s efforts to rapidly place promising prototypes in the hands of the warfighters under the rapid defense experimentation reserve initiative.

In order to stay at the cusp of these emerging technologies, Karlin said DOD is making institutional reforms to remove barriers to quickly field new capabilities.

Karlin noted Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks’ announcement last month that DOD would field thousands of autonomous systems across multiple domains within the next 18 to 24 months under the replicator initiative.

“Now is the time to take all-domain, attritable autonomy to the next level: to produce and deliver capabilities to warfighters at the volume and velocity required to deter aggression, or win if we’re forced to fight,” Hicks said in announcing the initiative.

Attritable capabilities refer to platforms that are unmanned and built affordably, allowing commanders to tolerate a higher degree of risk in employing them.

Karlin also underscored U.S. leadership in artificial intelligence and highlighted the key ways in which DOD is setting the standard for the responsible development of the emerging technology.

“We are seeing emerging technology, including artificial intelligence-enabled tools, already reshaping the world in any number of ways, seemingly moreso each day,” Karlin said.

She said it was imperative that the U.S. not only seize the opportunity that artificial intelligence presents for warfighters, but to lead in its responsible development.

In January, DOD updated its 2012 directive that governs the responsible development of autonomous weapon systems to the standards aligned with the advances in artificial intelligence.

In 2020, the department also published its Responsible AI Strategy and Implementation Pathway, which Karlin said serves as a key example of American leadership in promoting responsible stewardship of the rapidly emerging technology.

The U.S. has also introduced a political declaration on the responsible military use of artificial intelligence, which further seeks to codify norms for the responsible use of the technology.

Karlin said that while the rapid advances in emerging capabilities present immense opportunity for DOD, they also risk eroding the global balance of power if in the hands of the United States’ strategic competitors.

“So, we’ve been trying really hard to lead the way in the responsible development and use of these technologies,” she said. (Source: U.S. DoD)

21 Sep 23. Rheinmetall Canada and Quaze Unveil Revolutionary Wireless Drone Charging System. Rheinmetall Canada and Quaze have launched an innovative wireless charging solution for drones at DSEI 2023. The Drone Swarm Tactical OverWatch (DSTOW) module developed for Rheinmetall’s Mission Master UGV offers a unique solution enabling continuous, unattended and uninterrupted drone operations.

Although recent drone technologies have made strides in ISR operations, these aerial vehicles remain limited in range and endurance and need frequent replacement of batteries or lengthy recharging, requiring extensive human intervention. Current technologies can only charge one drone at a time. To address these issues, Rheinmetall and Quaze have developed the DSTOW module, a wireless surface charging solution that can power multiple drones at once. Using inductive charging, the technology does not require precise alignment; nor does drone size matter.

DSTOW was developed for the Rheinmetall Mission Master family of unmanned ground vehicles, and is compatible with all Mission Master configurations, it can also be fitted to the Polaris MRZR D4. It eliminates the need for cumbersome power cords, delivering uninterrupted power regardless of equipment or climate. Even when covered with water, sand, dust, snow, or ice, the charging surface technology works because of its volumetric power, enabling drones to be recharged up to 4 inches above the charging surface.

By automating the drone rotation and relay process, the DSTOW maintains fully charged drones that can remain in the sky, providing continuous surveillance – a critical advantage on modern battlefields where real-time persistent information is essential for superior situational awareness. The DSTOW system also includes an automated landing and take-off feature, similar to valet parking, allowing for uninterrupted operations. The system’s user interface is designed to control multiple drones in an automatic operation, making it possible to operate several drones simultaneously with a single device. Rheinmetall’s dedicated tablet and integrated soldier systems are both compatible with the DSTOW system, allowing for easy control of Mission Master vehicles, drones and their integrated payloads.

The DSTOW recharges all drones on the Blue UAS-Cleared List, enabling fully unmanned drone operations. It can charge as many drones as the surface’s power allows. For instance, if the surface capability is 500w, the DSTOW can power one drone or 500 1w micro drones. Furthermore, since the technology can deliver a high voltage charge, the system can support larger drone using high voltage systems. (Source: UAS VISION/Defense Update)

20 Sep 23. Australia to focus R&D on asymmetric warfighting, chief scientist says. Australia has two defining military efforts taking shape — the implementation of its Defence Strategic Review at home and the kickoff of a trilateral technology-sharing agreement — that are changing the way the nation’s defense and innovation ecosystems interact.

The Defence Strategic Review, released publicly in April, “is a significant change in posture for Australia” that asks the country to take an asymmetric approach to deterring or winning a conflict in the Pacific, Tanya Monro, the chief defence scientist at the Australian Department of Defence, said Wednesday during a Center for a New American Security event in Washington, D.C.

Instead of focusing on capability gaps, the review instead asks what Australia can invest in that would cause a potential adversary to question its approach or incur more cost, she said.

The review highlighted innovation, science and technology as priorities, with six areas of focus: long-range fires; directed energy; hypersonics; trusted autonomous systems in all domains; quantum technologies, such as quantum-assisted precision navigation and timing and quantum-aided communication tools; and information warfare and automated intelligence systems.

“All of these areas have the potential to disrupt the way our forces operate now, and allow us to leap ahead technologically so that we can do things differently when we work with our allies,” Monro said.

But as part of the defense review, Australia has also shifted to a mindset where “warfighter problems are at the center of what we do, that they’re crafted as problem statements that are technology-agnostic, and then allow us to harness the creativity and good ideas of our whole ecosystem.”

And that approach doesn’t quite line up with the Australia, U.K. and U.S., or AUKUS, Pillar 2 effort that includes working groups devoted specific advanced technology areas rather than warfighting problems.

‘Star shots’

That’s leaving Australia to determine what development priorities it has that it wants to pursue with its closest allies, and which it would like to pursue on its own, to make the most of its limited innovation resources.

In 2020, Australia released a “More, Together” science and technology strategy that included eight “star shots,” or specific warfighting capabilities the service chiefs wanted to have by 2030. The star shots defined the end capability, such as undersea surveillance or resilient satellite constellations, not the technology solution that would get the military there; with this strategy, “our aim has been to align the work done in our universities and in our industry” so these researchers would help address national needs, rather than develop technology for technology’s sake.

Monro said Australia’s innovation sector, unlike in the U.S., largely resides in university labs and with small- and medium-sized companies, rather than large prime contractors that can devote attention to future tech — so Australia determined it was important to focus its limited resources on the most important needs of the military.

The Defence Strategic Review doubles down on this, with the creation of an Advanced Strategic Capabilities Accelerator that officially began its work July 1. Monro described this new organization as “quite a bit of [Strategic Capabilities Office] flavor, a lot of [Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, and a sprinkling of [Defense Innovation Unit].”

ASCA, which will receive $3.4bn in funding over the next decade, will take tech-agnostic military problems and look to solve them within two or three years.

To get an early win, Monro said, the group put out a call to Australian industry to create a sovereign drone ecosystem, after the government determined it was not safe to use Chinese-made DJI small drones for military or government purposes. Monro said ASCA received more than 250 responses, from companies offering drones to components to software, all of which will be pulled together to help address small unmanned aerial system needs in the Australian Defence Force.

Though this example is one where Australia needed to pursue the effort alone, Monro called out autonomy more broadly as an area where close coordination among the AUKUS allies is critical: she highlighted an early effort the countries already demonstrated, where they not only operated autonomous systems side by side but also passed control of the vehicles among different users.

More information on the Pillar 2 effort and the tech areas it includes will be released this fall. Monro said it would be important to get problem statements, or warfighting requirements, from each of the three militaries to contextualize the need for these advanced tech areas — “and make sure that technology development done under each of those working groups aligns with our warfighters’ highest priority problems. That has been a bit of a forcing function for winnowing down what we do.”

More information on ASCA’s focus areas, too, will be released shortly, Monro said.

“We’re working through the process of which of the problem statements [for ASCA] press an AUKUS button, or another bilateral or multilateral piece. So you can understand there’s a little bit of work between us deciding what’s most important to us, and us deciding what we’re doing alone and what we’re doing together,” she said. (Source: C4ISR & Networks)

20 Sep 23. DOD Names 8 Locations to Serve as New ‘Microelectronics Commons’ Hubs. Under the CHIPS and Science Act, the Defense Department today announced the award of nearly $240m dollars to eight regional “innovation hubs” around the United States which will be a part of the Microelectronics Commons, and which will benefit both the department and the United States by spurring development of a domestic microelectronics manufacturing industry.

“The Microelectronics Commons is focused on bridging and accelerating the ‘lab-to-fab’ transition, that infamous valley of death between research and development and production,” said Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks during a briefing today at the Pentagon. “While America is a world leader in the innovative research and design of microelectronics, we’ve lagged in the ability to prototype, manufacture and produce them at scale. That’s what the CHIPS Act is meant to supercharge.”

The eight regional hubs include:

The Northeast Microelectronics Coalition Hub. This hub is led by the Massachusetts Technology Collaborative in Massachusetts, has 90 hub members, and has been awarded $19.7m.
The Silicon Crossroads Microelectronics Commons Hub. This hub is led by the Applied Research Institute in Indiana, has 130 hub members, and has been awarded $32.9 million.
The California Defense Ready Electronics and Microdevices Superhub Hub. This hub is led by the University of Southern California in California, has 16 hub members and has been awarded $26.9m.
The Commercial Leap Ahead for Wide Bandgap Semiconductors Hub. This hub is led by the North Carolina State University in North Carolina, has seven hub members and has been awarded $39.4m.
The Southwest Advanced Prototyping Hub. This hub is led by the Arizona Board of Regents on behalf of Arizona State University in Arizona, has 27 hub members and has been awarded $39.8m.
The Midwest Microelectronics Consortium Hub in Ohio. This hub has 65 hub members and has been awarded $24.3m.
The Northeast Regional Defense Technology Hub. This hub is led by the Research Foundation for the State University of New York in New York, has 51 hub members, and has been awarded $4 m.
The California-Pacific-Northwest AI Hardware Hub. This hub is led by the Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University in California, has 44 hub members, and has been awarded $15.3m.

The eight hubs will focus on microelectronic development in areas like electromagnetic warfare; secure computing at the tactical edge and the internet of things; artificial intelligence hardware; 5G and 6G wireless; and quantum technology, Hicks said.

“Consistent with our warfighter-centric approach, the Microelectronics Commons will get the most cutting-edge microchips into systems our troops use every day: ships, planes, tanks, long-range munitions, communications gear, sensors and much more … including the kinds of all-domain, attritable autonomous systems that we’ll be fielding through DOD’s recently announced Replicator initiative,” Hicks said.

Today, the United States is responsible for only about 12% of microelectronics production globally, with most production now in Asia. The U.S. also lacks much of the capacity to confirm the viability and marketability of new microelectronics technologies in ways that might convince American industry to invest in them.

The Defense Department-led Microelectronics Commons aims to close the gaps that exist now which prevent the best ideas in technology from reaching the market.

With the Microelectronics Commons, novel technology developed domestically will have a better chance of making it from lab to market entirely inside the United States. The commons will ensure American ingenuity stays inside the U.S. and isn’t stolen by adversaries and that the nation rebuilds the capacity to do on its own what it must now depend on foreign nations to do.

“These hubs are not just vital to American scientific, manufacturing and economic competitiveness,” Hicks said. “They will also directly contribute to this Department’s national defense mission.” (Source: U.S. DoD)

20 Sep 23. Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks Announces $238m CHIPS and Science Act Award. Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks announced the award today of $238m in “Creating Helpful Incentives to Produce Semiconductors (CHIPS) and Science Act” funding for the establishment of eight Microelectronics Commons (Commons) regional innovation hubs.

This is the largest award to date under President Biden’s CHIPS and Science Act.

“The Microelectronics Commons is focused on bridging and accelerating the lab-to-fab transition, that infamous valley of death between R&D and production,” said Deputy Secretary Hicks. “President Biden’s CHIPS Act will supercharge America’s ability to prototype, manufacture, and produce microelectronics scale. CHIPS and Science made clear to America — and the world — that the U.S. government is committed to ensuring that our industrial and scientific powerhouses can deliver what we need to secure our future in this era of strategic competition.”

The eight awardees are:

Northeast Microelectronics Coalition (NEMC) Hub

Awardee (Hub Lead): The Massachusetts Technology Collaborative (MassTech)

Hub Lead State: Massachusetts

FY23 Award: $19.7m

90 Hub Members

Silicon Crossroads Microelectronics Commons (SCMC) Hub

Awardee: The Applied Research Institute (ARI)

Hub Lead State: Indiana

FY23 Award: $32.9m

130 Hub Members

California Defense Ready Electronics and Microdevices Superhub (California DREAMS) Hub

Awardee: The University of Southern California (USC)

Hub Lead State: California

FY23 Award: $26.9m

16 Hub members

Commercial Leap Ahead for Wide Bandgap Semiconductors (CLAWS) Hub

Awardee: North Carolina State University (NCSU)

Hub Lead State: North Carolina

FY23 Award: $39.4m

7 Hub members

Southwest Advanced Prototyping (SWAP) Hub

Awardee: Arizona Board of Regents on behalf of Arizona State University

Hub Lead State: Arizona

FY23 Award: $39.8 M

27 Hub members

Midwest Microelectronics Consortium (MMEC) Hub

Awardee: MMEC

Hub Lead State: Ohio

FY23 Award: $24.3m

65 Hub members

Northeast Regional Defense Technology Hub (NORDTECH)

Awardee: The Research Foundation for the State University of New York (SUNY)

Hub Lead State: New York

FY23 Award: $40.0m

51 Hub members

California-Pacific-Northwest AI Hardware Hub (Northwest-AI Hub)

Awardee: The Board of Trustees of the Leland Stanford Junior University

Hub Lead State: California

FY23 Award: $15.3m

44 Hub members

In all, over 360 organizations from over 30 states will be participating in the Commons.

With $2bn in funding for Fiscal Years 2023 through 2027, the Microelectronics Commons program aims to leverage these Hubs to accelerate domestic hardware prototyping and “lab-to-fab” transition of semiconductor technologies. This will help mitigate supply chain risks and ultimately expedite access to the most cutting-edge microchips for our troops.

Six technology areas critical to the DoD mission were selected as focus areas for the Commons. Each Hub will be advancing U.S. technology leadership in one or more of these areas:

Secure Edge/Internet of Things (IoT) Computing
5G/6G
Artificial Intelligence (AI) Hardware
Quantum Technology
Electromagnetic Warfare
Commercial Leap Ahead Technologies

Hubs are expected to spur economic growth across their respective regions and the economy at large. Hubs are charged with developing the physical, digital, and human infrastructure needed to support future success in microelectronics research and development. This includes building education pipelines and retraining initiatives to ensure the United States has the talent pool needed to sustain these investments. Hubs are expected to become self-sufficient by the end of their initial five-year awards.

“Consistent with our warfighter-centric approach to innovation,” said Deputy Secretary Hicks, “these hubs will tackle many technical challenges relevant to DoD’s missions, to get the most cutting-edge microchips into systems our troops use every day: ships, planes, tanks, long-range munitions, communications gear, sensors, and much more… including the kinds of all-domain, attritable autonomous systems that we’ll be fielding through the Department’s recently-announced Replicator initiative.”

The Microelectronics Commons program has been spearheaded by the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering, in conjunction with the Naval Surface Warfare Center, Crane Division and the National Security Technology Accelerator. On 30 November 2022, the Request for Solutions was released, with a deadline of 28 February 2023. The DoD received over 80 submissions, with over 600 unique organizations included as prospective team members. The DoD pulled together an interagency team of technical experts, including representatives from the Commerce Department, to make selections.

The Microelectronics Commons program will soon move into the project stage, at which point organizations can work with the Hubs to tackle key challenges. This includes organizations which were not selected for Hubs today. More information on the program will be shared at the Microelectronics Commons Annual Meeting on 17-18 October 2023 in Washington DC. Learn more at https://microelectronicscommons.org/. (Source: U.S. DoD)

20 Sep 23. US DoD $7.9bn contract leverages AI for rapid procurement of IT infrastructure. Leidos aims to allow the US Army to overcome supply chain disruption through artificial intelligence despite America’s developing chip resilience. Leidos has won a prime contract that will allow the US Army to rapidly procure IT hardware at a time of supply chain disruption using artificial intelligence (AI) solutions. This contract will provide the US Department of Defense (DoD) with operational visibility and flexibility – allowing the Army to monitor its systems to ensure readiness, availability and performance, all in support of its Joint All Domain Command and Control (JADC2) programme.

If all options are exercised, the contract will be worth $7.9bn. The indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity contract will last four years with two three-year options.

The DoD needs to manage supply chain risks

Leidos has latched onto a significant problem within the DoD that the company believes it can remedy: supply chain risk.

In May 2023, the US Government Accountability Office (GAO) called for the DoD to “fully implement foundational practices to manage supply chain risks.”

The regulatory body explained that IT and communications technologies use parts and services from around the globe.

“Emerging threats in the supply chain for these technologies can put federal agencies – including the DoD – at risk. For example, communications hardware with compromised components could lead to the loss of sensitive data.”

An AI paradox?

Gerry Fasano, Leidos Defense Group president, explained that “Recent events highlighted the devastating effect of supply chain disruptions, making resilience a national priority.

“By combining flexible solutions with [AI] and predictive analytics to increase visibility into operations, we will work to provide a uniquely resilient rapid fulfillment model.”

This may be slightly problematic as the US President Joe Biden is still in the process of securing America’s semiconductor chips – a critical component in powering AI systems.

While the Biden administration has made some headway in securing its domestic chip supply chain, as indicated by the $166bn investment American companies have made in manufacturing semiconductors in the past year, the chip market is not totally secure.

America’s debilitating tech war with China may halt the Asian superpower’s chip development, however some industry commentators are concerned that the policy of decoupling will not stop China’s AI advances in the long-term. This is indicated in the Financial Times when it reported that China is set to surpass Japan as the world’s leading car exporter this year – another system that relies on semiconductor chips.

Although Leidos’ AI and predictive analytics will, certainly in theory, help to secure American supply chains for the rapid procurement of IT hardware, the American defence tech prime may find its job slightly harder than anticipated given the AI supply chain paradox. (Source: army-technology.com)

19 Sep 23. Teledyne e2v HiRel Releases Best-in-Class, Ultra-Low Noise Amplifier for Space Applications. New product provides the Space RF engineering and design community with an off-the-shelf L- and S-band RF LNA for the most challenging high-reliability space applications.

Teledyne e2v HiRel Electronics announces the availability of an industry leading, rad-tolerant, L- and S-band, low noise amplifier, model TDLNA002093SEP that is ideal for use in demanding high-reliability space and radar applications where low noise figure, minimal power consumption, and small package footprint are critical to mission success. This new LNA, developed on 0.15 μm, InGaAs, pHEMT technology, is available in a 6-pin dual-flat no-lead (DFN) 1.5 mm x 1.5 mm x 0.8 mm plastic surface mount package. It is now available for immediate shipment from our DoD Trusted Facility. The TDLNA002093SEP LNA leverages monolithic microwave integrated circuit (MMIC) design techniques that deliver exceptional performance across both the L- and S-band communication channels. This amplifier delivers a gain of 21 dB from 1 GHz to 6 GHz while maintaining a noise figure of less than 0.37 dB and an output power (P1dB) of 19 dBm. The device utilizes application-specific biasing and can be biased over a VDD range of 2.7 to 5.0 volts and an IDDQ range of 30 mA to 100 mA. A Class-K evaluation kit is also available for customer evaluation.

“Today we’re releasing our lowest noise figure LNA optimized for space and radar applications,” said Mont Taylor, Vice President and Business Development Manager at Teledyne e2v HiRel. “With a noise figure of less than 0.37 dB coupled with ease of use from a positive single-supply voltage, we believe this new product will enable system designers with a superior solution for both space-based communication, phased array radar, and communications system applications.”

The TDLNA002093SEP is TID radiation tolerant to 100 krad (Si) making it an excellent choice for satellite communication systems by increasing the power of radio signals with minimal noise and signal distortion. For more information on all of Teledyne e2v HiRel’s space offerings, review our portfolio of semiconductors, converters, processors, and related services here on the Teledyne e2v HiRel website.

Devices are available for ordering and shipment today, from Teledyne e2v HiRel or an authorized distributor, in commercial versions and with the option of Classes H and K-equivalent screening. They are shipped from our DoD Trusted Facility in Milpitas, California. (Source: BUSINESS WIRE)

20 Sep 23. Huawei unit ships Chinese-made surveillance chips in fresh comeback sign. A Huawei Technologies unit is shipping new Chinese-made chips for surveillance cameras in a fresh sign the Chinese tech giant is finding ways around four years of U.S. export controls, two sources briefed on the unit’s efforts said.

The shipments to surveillance camera manufacturers from the company’s HiSilicon chip design unit started this year, according to one of the sources, and a third source familiar with the industry supply chain. One of the sources briefed on the unit said at least some of the customers were Chinese.

Hauwei also unveiled new smartphones in recent weeks that use advanced chips, which analysts say are domestically made. The developments indicate the Chinese tech giant is overcoming Washington’s export controls, which since 2019 have barred it from obtaining components and technology from U.S. firms without approval.

“These surveillance chips are relatively easy to manufacture compared to smartphone processors,” said the source familiar with the surveillance camera industry’s supply chain, adding that HiSilicon’s return would shake up the market.

A key factor is that the company appears to have worked around U.S. restrictions on chip design software. Huawei in March announced it had made breakthroughs in design tools for chips produced at and above 14 nanometres – two to three generations behind leading-edge technology, but an advance for the company.

HiSilicon mainly supplies chips for Huawei equipment but has had external customers such as Dahua Technology (002236.SZ) and Hikvision (002415.SZ). Before the U.S. export controls, it was the dominant chip supplier to the surveillance camera sector, with brokerage Southwest Securities estimating its global share in 2018 at 60%.

By 2021, HiSilicon’s global market share plummeted to just 3.9%, according to data from consulting firm Frost & Sullivan.

One of the sources briefed on the unit’s efforts said that HiSilicon had shipped some low-end surveillance chips since 2019 but that its focus was on the high-end arena and reclaiming market share from the likes of Taiwan’s Novatek Microelectronics Corp (3034.TW).

All three sources declined to be named because of the sensitivity of the matter.

Huawei declined to comment.

HIGH-END TOOLS

Huawei drew attention in late August when it rolled out the Mate 60 Pro, a new smartphone that uses an advanced chip and that users said was capable of 5G speeds. The event was cheered by Chinese state media and the public as a comeback for Huawei’s smartphone business after it was crippled by the U.S. sanctions.

Research firm TechInsights, which examined the Mate 60 Pro, found that it was powered by a new Kirin 9000S, an advanced chip it said was most likely made in China by China’s top chip foundry, Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp (SMIC) (0981.HK).

Huawei has not commented on the phone’s 5G capabilities or how it produced the advanced chip. The Kirin series has historically been designed by HiSilicon, and before the U.S. sanctions Huawei, worked with Taiwan’s TSMC (2330.TW) to manufacture it.

The launch prompted calls from U.S. lawmakers to put additional pressure and “more effective export controls” on Huawei and China’s top chip foundry, Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corp (SMIC) (0981.HK).

The United States has no evidence that Huawei can produce smartphones with advanced chips in large volumes, U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo said on Tuesday.

The U.S. sanctions have strangled HiSilicon’s access to electronic design automation (EDA) software from Cadence Design Systems Inc (CDNS.O) and Synopsys Inc (SNPS.O), and Siemens AG’s (SIEGn.DE) Mentor Graphics. The three companies’ products dominate the chip-design sector, which produces blueprints for chips before they are mass manufactured.

TechInsights analyst Dan Hutcheson said their analysis of the Mate 60 Pro and other components such as its radio frequency power chip also suggested that Huawei had access to sophisticated EDA tools that “they are not supposed to have”.

“We don’t know if they got them illicitly, or more probably the Chinese developed their own EDA tools,” he said. (Source: Reuters)

20 Sep 23. Kongsberg Geospatial Integrates uAvionix FlightLine truSky ADS-B Data for IRIS Terminal Customers. Kongsberg Geospatial and uAvionix, providers of software services for UAS Command and Control (C2) and Uncrewed Air Traffic Management (UTM) systems respectively, announced the planned availability of uAvionix’s validated FlightLine ADS-B data from cooperative aircraft as an optional sensor feed for Kongsberg Geospatial IRIS Terminal users.

The collaboration will provide enhanced situational awareness to Uncrewed Aircraft System (UAS) operators by visualizing and deconflicting the airspace around their flights. Reliable and trusted traffic feeds, from both cooperative and non-cooperative aircraft, are key inputs that enable the replacement of Visual Observers with Electronic Observers in the ongoing pursuit of safe and scalable BVLOS operations.

Thomas Jimenez, Market Director for UAS at Kongsberg Geospatial says,

“Adding FlightLine to the suite of tools available to IRIS Terminal users provides an entirely new level of versatility and airspace information. The FlightLine system is increasingly being used in airspaces throughout North America and this new integration allows for a seamless ‘plug and play’ visualization for our IRIS Terminal users. We couldn’t be happier about deepening our relationship with the aviation professionals at uAvionix to benefit our clients.”

The uAvionix FlightLine service provides validated ADS-B track data from a first-of-its-kind high integrity surveillance network of dual-band ADS-B receivers. FlightLine’s truSky validation score provides UAS operators confidence in the track data for key Detect and Avoid (DAA) functions. The cloud-based system performs at low latencies with redundancy to ensure timely and reliable delivery of ADS-B data from cooperative aircraft. With traceability to certified avionics for ADS-B, the FlightLine surveillance-as-a-service network is a trusted data feed for Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) operations.

As with other air-traffic data feeds in the IRIS Terminal, FlightLine tracks will enjoy the same track correlation functionality available to other sensors feeds to ensure a clutter-free user interface and a reduction in cognitive load on the operator or airspace manager. (Source: UAS VISION)

19 Sep 23. Department of Defense Enters an Agreement to Expand Domestic Manufacturing to Strengthen U.S. Supply Chains for Rare Earth Magnets. The Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Industrial Base Policy, through its Manufacturing Capability Expansion and Investment Prioritization (MCEIP) office, issued an award to E-VAC Magnetics, LLC (E-VAC) to establish a domestic rare earth permanent magnet manufacturing capability. E-VAC is part of VAC Group, a manufacturer of rare earth permanent magnets

The agreement will provide $94.1 m to E-VAC to acquire and install manufacturing equipment, operationalize technical infrastructure, and engineer production lines. E-VAC will perform this work to establish high volume rare earth permanent magnet production by 2025.

Rare earth permanent magnets are essential components in the F-35, Unmanned Aerial Vehicles, and numerous other defense systems. These national security related uses, represent a small part of the US commercial need for rare earth element magnets. As a result, MCEIP is dedicated to using its resources to help stimulate private capital as evidenced by the E-VAC investment.

“We’re building on previous DoD awards, that augment or complement other Agency investments for rare earth minerals to help establish an integrated, domestic rare earth supply chain from mine to magnet,” said Dr. Laura Taylor-Kale, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Industrial Base Policy. “IBP is reinforcing the Administration’s goal to build a rare earth industrial base fully capable of meeting our national defense requirements.”

About the Department of Defense’s Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Industrial Base Policy

The Assistant Secretary of Defense for Industrial Base Policy is the principal advisor to the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment (USD(A&S)) for developing Department of Defense policies for the maintenance of the United States defense industrial base (DIB), executing small business programs and policy, and conduction geo-economic analysis and assessments. The office also provides the USD(A&S) with recommendations on budget matters related to the DIB, anticipates and closes gaps in manufacturing capabilities for defense systems, and assesses impacts related to mergers, acquisition, and divestitures. IBP monitors and assesses the impact of foreign investments in the United States and executes authorities under sections 2501 and 2505 U.S.C. Title 10. (Source: U.S. DoD)

19 Sep 23. Driving Reform for Hypersonic Drone Regulation: Hypersonix Leading the Way. Hypersonix Launch Systems, an Australian company at the forefront of hypersonic unmanned aerial systems, is spearheading a crucial initiative to reshape the regulatory landscapes around the world.

Hypersonic drones, poised to revolutionize aerospace, space, and defence, have the potential to redefine industries such as cargo delivery, emergency response, surveillance, transportation, and satellite launches. Yet, outdated regulations may threaten to hinder their full potential.

Joe Urli, Head of Regulatory Affairs at Hypersonix Launch Systems, and a former Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) air transport safety inspector, is an experienced aviation regulatory reform expert and staunch advocate for adapting regulatory frameworks and policies to match the rapid evolution of hypersonic aircraft technology. Joe participated in NASA’s airspace operations safety program in the USA which uses NextGen methods to improve safety.

Streamlining regulatory and air traffic control processes for uncrewed aircraft, initially designed for slower, lower altitude, and piloted systems, and fostering collaboration among governments, regulatory bodies, and industry stakeholders, is imperative to harness the true potential of hypersonic technology.

Hypersonix underscores the critical importance of regulatory reforms to fully unleash the promise of hypersonic drones in Australia. Failing to address this pressing need could impede domestic industry growth and stifle innovation. Harmonizing concepts like FAA’s ETM cooperative separation are key to establishing hypersonic corridors that can safely integrate into national airspace systems.

And the appetite for hypersonic speeds does not stop there. Since the Concorde stopped flying passengers in the early 2000’s, the interest for supersonic and hypersonic air travel remained strong. Airlines such as American airlines, United airlines and Virgin Atlantic have placed orders with Boom Supersonic and expect to carry their first passengers in 2029.

We can expect hypersonic travel to become a reality in the 2030’s and should prepare to have the necessary regulations in place now- to not miss out on this opportunity for Australia to play a major role.

Adaptive reforms, infrastructure development, and standardized guidelines are essential to unlock the transformative potential of this aerospace breakthrough.

To address the unique challenges posed by high-speed aerial operations, Hypersonix proposes specialized regulatory teams be established, in collaboration with governments and industry experts, to harmonise practical rule sets and standards. This includes the integration of high-altitude hypersonic corridors into national airspace infrastructures, ensuring seamless cooperation with high altitude pseudo satellite constellations, high altitude balloons, and other stratospheric airspace users. (Source: ASD Network)

21 Sep 23. SBQuantum, the first company developing diamond quantum magnetometers capable of providing vector measurements of both the amplitude and the orientation of Earth’s magnetic field, today announces it has been selected as a participant in the final phases of the MagQuest Challenge, along with its partner, Spire Global.

Led by the U.S. National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, MagQuest is a multi-million dollar competition to find more accurate and efficient ways to map the earth’s electromagnetic field, also known as the World Magnetic Model (WMM). Aircraft, ships, cars and trucks, along with bns of smartphone users rely on the WMM every day for navigational purposes. However, as shifts in the Earth’s magnetic field continue to accelerate, the WMM must be monitored more closely, and updated more often to ensure the model’s accuracy, while keeping people and goods flowing safely.

“It is an honor for us to be invited to participate in the final phase of this prestigious competition. We see this as a validation of our years of unwavering work in developing our diamond-powered quantum magnetometer and compensation algorithms,” said David Roy-Guay, CEO and Co-Founder of SBQuantum. “Testing the instrument in space represents a fantastic opportunity to show the entire industry what we have built, and to highlight the tremendous potential of quantum-enabled sensors not only for aerospace, but for various other industry verticals as well.”

The MagQuest Challenge resumes this month for its final phase, which includes testing of the 3 remaining solutions. SBQuantum’s offering combines its diamond-powered quantum magnetometer with a suite of reference sensors to train a machine learning algorithm, which compensatesa green laser and microwaves to the diamond, a red glow is generated which translates directly to the magnetic field vector measurements at the basis of the WMM.

The final phase of the MagQuest Challenge runs from September 2023, with a launch of all the finalists’ solutions into space for testing purposes, planned for mid-2025.

About SBQuantum

Founded and based in the quantum technology hub of Sherbrooke, Canada, SBQuantum is producing leading edge hardware in the field of quantum sensing, combined with advanced interpretation and compensation algorithms to bring magnetics to new heights. SBQ has obtained significant sums of non-dilutive financing to help propel it forward on its mission to bring to market the power of advanced sensors leveraging quantum effects. Its quantum magnetometer has already been tested at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center as part of NASA Tournament Lab. Beyond testing its equipment in space via the MagQuest Challenge, the company also intends to bring its miniaturized sensors to unmanned vehicles and a range of other deployment scenarios today’s sensors cannot perform. For additional information, visit sbquantum.com.

19 Sep 23. LDRA and Frontgrade Gaisler Collaborate to Enhance Software Development for Critical Systems. New partnership integrates LDRA’s software analysis and testing tools with Frontgrade Gaisler’s radiation-harden microprocessors, delivering a robust computing solution for high-reliability applications.

LDRA, a leading provider of software analysis and testing tools, and Frontgrade Gaisler, a world leader in embedded computer systems for harsh environments, today announced a new collaboration to advance software development for critical systems. The collaboration brings together LDRA’s expertise in software analysis and testing with Frontgrade Gaisler’s microprocessors to offer customers a solution that maximizes software reliability, safety and compliance.

18 Sep 23. Mercury Introduces the First Space-qualified FPGA Processing Board Powered by AMD Xilinx Versal® Technology. Mercury Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ: MRCY, www.mrcy.com), a technology company that delivers processing power for the most demanding aerospace and defense missions, today introduced the first space-qualified FPGA processing board to use AMD’s Xilinx Versal® AI core. The SCFE6933 is a radiation-tolerant, 6U SpaceVPX board that will make high-performance computing more accessible for a broad range of space applications and customers.

Mercury’s SCFE6933 allows data to be processed on orbit faster, more efficiently, and more reliably. Optimized for size, weight, and power, the SCFE6933 performs in a single board what previously required three boards, simplifying mission architectures, and reducing costs. The Versal AI core drives heterogeneous processing efficiencies never before available as an off-the-shelf product for space systems, allowing more data to be processed in less time. It is also software-defined, bringing the ability to dynamically add application-specific IP and customize its functions in orbit, extending spacecraft utility as mission objectives evolve over time.

Mercury’s first customer for the SCFE6933 is Ball Aerospace, with whom the product is being co-developed. Mercury will make lab development models available to commercial customers this year with flight units available in 2024.

Mercury has a strong legacy in space, having delivered more than 20,000 space-qualified devices with no in-flight failures and solutions used on more than 65 satellite and launch vehicle programs. Our space systems and components are purpose-built for harsh, radiation-intense environments:

Cockpit displays allow commercial space vehicle crews to operate safely
Solid-state data recorders leverage the VPX form factor for agile interoperability and accelerated system design
Memory modules enable sophisticated in-space applications and manage exploding volumes of data
RF components including filters, amplifiers, and ferrites support high-performance, high-reliability space missions

Why It Matters

The demand for advanced data processing in orbit has never been greater—from keeping satellite costs low by using software-defined satellite architectures, to minimizing latency for rapid response to emerging threats, to having the ability to pre-process sensor data and downlink only mission-relevant information. Mercury’s unique position at the intersection of high-tech and defense allows it to serve as the semiconductor industry’s partner of choice to supply COTS and modified COTS processing hardware and a trusted partner to aerospace and defense customers that want to leverage the latest commercial technologies in their space architectures.

“For more than 40 years, Mercury has designed and manufactured hardware compliant to space quality standards, and we understand the challenges of mission power, computing, and storage at the edge,” said Roger Wells, EVP and President of Mercury’s Microelectronics division. “The demand for advanced processing power in space has never been greater, and the SCFE6933 will enable a new generation of space missions to turn data into real-time decisions.”

Mercury’s SCFE6933, an AI-ready FPGA board designed for high-performance processing in space

6U SpaceVPX board built with Versal ACAP
Radiation tolerant for use in space
Designed to the SpaceVPX open standard that allows for rapid technology insertion, interoperability, and reuse
Performance improvements of up to 20x over today’s fastest FPGA implementations
Performance improvements up to 100x over today’s fastest CPU implementations
Utilizes Mercury’s space-qualified DDR memory with electronic code correction, which can detect, correct, monitor, and reduce data corruption for increased data reliability

19 Sep 23. British troops to get new hi-tech drone software that ‘improves safety of soldiers.’ Farsight uses drones to create high-definition 3D maps on smartphones and tablets in minutes. British troops are to be armed with new hi-tech software that works with drones to create 3D models of maps within minutes. As part of the British Army Warfighting Experiment, which is working with future technologies to prepare soldiers to fight on increasingly complex battlefields, the Army will trial new software that enables drones to capture near-real-time footage of areas of interest and processed it into a high-definition 3D map on a smartphone or tablet in less than 10 minutes.

The Farsight software, made by the American cyber technology company Reveal, uses photogrammetry collected by drones to create 3D digital models.

Photogrammetry, made by overlapping photographs of an object, structure or space before converting them into 3D is “drone agnostic”, so that it can work across any unmanned aerial vehicles.

Previously, developing drone footage to this standard could take up to a week, meaning that troops lacked critical situational awareness when deploying into contested areas.

However, Farsight, which does not rely on an internet connection for cloud processing because it computes directly on a soldier’s hand-held device, means maps can be available almost instantly. It also reduces the opportunity of footage being intercepted or having the drone jammed by adversaries.

Once the software has been downloaded onto a hand-held device, they obtain line of sight analysis and soldiers can evaluate friendly and enemy positions and highlight them on the map. They can also assess terrain and suggest ideal landing zones for aircraft capabilities.

Meanwhile, the Android Team Awareness Kit (ATAK) compatibility allows soldiers to share models instantaneously with friendly units.

Owen Cahill, special projects manager at Reveal Technology, said that Farsight speeds up decision making for the “most vulnerable tactical echelons and exponentially increases survivability”.

He added: “With the hardware the soldiers carry internally to their tactical units, drones and phones, those units now do not have to rely on external agencies, their processing timelines, or strategic level assets to provide critical information soldiers need to out-cycle the enemies’ decision making,” he told the Telegraph.

“As we’ve seen in recent conflicts, data and the ability to rapidly exploit and make sense of that data directly translates into not just tactical, but operational and strategic level victories.”.

Mr Cahill said that Farsight had been used in Ukraine in 2022 to disprove Russian claims that it had targeted what it believed to be a weapons depot in the Kyiv region. (Source: Daily Telegraph)

18 Sep 23. DoD Launches Energy Storage Systems Campus to Build Domestic Capacity. The Department of Defense’s Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Industrial Base Policy, through its Manufacturing Capability Expansion and Investment Prioritization (MCEIP) office, has awarded a three-year, $30m project to establish an energy storage systems campus. The project will accelerate transition and scaling of next generation batteries, while reducing dependence on scarce critical materials.

The University of Texas at Dallas spearheaded the successful bid, with a diverse consortium comprising multiple universities, emerging and established businesses, and four national laboratories. The energy storage systems campus is part of DoD’s Scaling Capacity and Accelerating Local Enterprises (SCALE) initiative which stimulates commercial investment and builds robust, sustainable markets in technologies that are essential to national security. It is part of a portfolio of new MCEIP programs designed to lower barriers for emerging domestic companies, while making it easier for commercial industry to expand their production in support of DoD and other national security customers.

“The SCALE initiative is built on robust research that indicates market pull is needed to transition innovative technologies into new domestic industrial base capability and capacity,” said Dr. Laura Taylor-Kale, Assistant Secretary of Defense for Industrial Base Policy. “Our approach of aggregating demand across national security and commercial markets will generate that market pull, drastically reducing timelines to transition and scale emerging technologies.”

The energy storage systems campus will leverage and stimulate over $200 m in private capital, to accomplish three complementary objectives: optimizing current lithium ion-based battery performance, accelerating development and production of next generation batteries, and ensuring the availability of raw materials needed for these batteries. It incorporates workforce development as a key pillar, bringing together universities, trade schools, and businesses to create job growth while upskilling the domestic workforce.

About the Department of Defense’s Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Industrial Base Policy:

18 Sep 23. Exiger Unveils 1Exiger, A Comprehensive New UX Designed to Make Supply Chain Management Simple, Intuitive and Accessible. Exiger, the SaaS company revolutionizing the way corporations, government agencies and banks manage supply chains, today announced the launch of 1Exiger, a comprehensive, new supply chain platform and UX. 1Exiger houses Exiger’s integrated suite of award-winning artificial intelligence solutions within a single platform, and makes available to the market the first end-to-end supply chain resilience environment that’s designed to empower confident, auditable and rapid decisions informed by real-time insights.

“Supply chain officers, procurement officers, CISOs, compliance leaders and counterintelligence officers are drowning in a deluge of risk alerts and data,” said Exiger CEO Brandon Daniels. “We’ve invested over the last two years to develop a seamless, intuitive solution to this problem. More than a single pane of glass, we’re creating a single operating picture that automates decision flows, highlights only relevant insights and empowers users to make decisions within policy without fear of missing risk. This is a revolutionary departure from what’s available in the market today and it’s going to transform the way companies make decisions.”

1Exiger offers seamless access to Exiger’s products – DDIQ, Insight 3PM, Ion Channel, SDX and Supply Chain Explorer – and brings together the world’s largest corporate and supply chain dataset, data partner network, state-of-the-art mapping, industry-leading AI and Exiger’s entire expert community. In doing so, 1Exiger is democratizing supply chain insights and decision-making. Its risk scoring and thresholding capability is designed to be accessible to everyone, regardless of experience or expertise, and enables more collaborative decision-making environments, empowering procurement professionals while providing visibility to compliance stakeholders who supervise risk.

“When we embarked on this process, our goal was to create a customer experience that didn’t feel like using a business platform or one of these AI black boxes, but instead felt more like using your favorite consumer-facing app,” said Exiger Chief Product Officer Brendan Galla. “Our customers were excited to contribute to the process and their feedback allowed us to design user journeys tailored to how they use Exiger’s tools on the job.”

1Exiger rolls out to the public sector this month and commercial markets in October. Exiger plans to continuously scale 1Exiger over the next decade as the supply chain, geopolitical, economic and risk landscape evolves and has developed a long-term roadmap to introduce new capabilities to the supply chain ecosystem.

The launch of 1Exiger comes at a time of incredible momentum for the fast-growing company. In May, the company completed its acquisition of Ion Channel, a best-in-class software supply chain risk management platform, following last year’s acquisition of Supply Dynamics.

18 Sep 23. Elma Electronic has released a rugged, short 1/2 ATR that is designed for deployable applications requiring alignment with The Open Group Sensor Open Systems Architecture™. The ATR-3600S is a six-slot chassis that accepts 3U plug-in cards (PICs) as well as a VITA 62 power supply, all aligned to SOSA.

Mark Littlefield, director of system products for Elma Electronic, noted, “The increased availability of plug-in cards aligned to SOSA is accelerating the speed of integration and enabling more rapid field testing of complex sensor systems. The ATR-3600S builds on that by giving integrators a COTS-based, ready-to-deploy, SOSA aligned chassis to host a range of SOSA plug-in cards.”

Adding to the systems flexibility, the ATR-3600S can be integrated with plug-in cards such as compute- or I/O-intensive processors, Ethernet and PCIe switches, PNT and RF transceivers, and a wide range of interface connections are supported.

The modular chassis offers a robust set of features for reliable and easy operation. It is designed to meet MIL-STD-810 and can be configured for any number of mission-critical applications such as tactical communications, C5ISR, EW, SIGINT and more. A USB-based maintenance aggregator port on the front panel facilitates simplified servicing. The aluminum dip-brazed exterior meets rugged requirements.

The lightweight unit can be used in compact, low load applications and includes several military grade components, such as MIL-STD-38999 connectors and high-altitude fan tray that operates under extreme conditions. The power supply and line filter combination provides EMC shielding compliant to MIL-STD-461E.

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Oxley Group Ltd

Oxley offer a range of Military Marine NVG friendly LED lighting that includes navigation lights and controls, flight deck landing lights and interior compartment lighting. Our lighting products are used by Navies around the world including our own Royal Navy on UK Aircraft Carriers, Canadian Frigates, Swedish Submarines, Australian Surface vessels and Submarines, on board French Naval Carriers and in Naval Gun Turrets.

https://oxleydevelopments.cmail20.com/t/t-l-cdhkulk-yujhutkljd-r/

The technology is extremely energy efficient and built robustly, with proven long life. The lighting is NVG friendly, dimmable and programmable to allow for operations with aircraft pilots using military night vision goggles. They offer superior design giving high reliability for the most demanding environments with high sealing and the ability to meet the most stringent EMC standards.

https://oxleydevelopments.cmail20.com/t/t-l-cdhkulk-yujhutkljd-y/

Oxley are proud to say that we are working in partnership with SeaKing to enable a control panel to be offered with our LED Navigation Lighting. All of Oxley navigation lights have been specifically developed for vessels over 50 metres.

Contact Marcus Goad on 07850 917 263 for more information or to arrange samples.

Oxley specialises in the design and manufacture of advanced electronic and electro-optic components and systems for air, land and sea applications within the military sector. Established in 1942, Oxley has manufacturing facilities in the UK and USA and enjoys representation worldwide. The company’s products include night vision and LED lighting, data capture systems and electronic components. Oxley has pioneered the development of night vision compatible lighting. It offers a total package incorporating optical filters, equipment modification, cockpit and external lighting along with fleet wide upgrade services including engineering, installation, support, maintenance and training. The company’s long experience of manufacturing night vision lighting and LED indicators, coupled with advances in LED technology, has enabled it to develop LED solutions to replace incandescent and fluorescent lighting in existing applications as well as becoming the lighting option of choice in new applications such as portable military hospitals, UAV control stations and communication shelters.

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