Sponsored By Oxley Developments
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23 Oct 24. L3Harris and Palantir Announce Strategic Partnership. L3Harris Technologies (NYSE: LHX) and Palantir Technologies Inc. (NYSE: PLTR) today announced a strategic partnership to propel advanced technology development and accelerate L3Harris’ digital transformation.
The companies’ complementary capabilities – including L3Harris’ sensors and software-defined systems and Palantir’s Artificial Intelligence Platform (AIP) – will together enable new levels of capability and resilient connectivity across the joint-all-domain network, ensuring warfighters can make more informed decisions faster to protect our nation’s security and that of our allies.
“As the industry’s Trusted Disruptor, we are committed to collaborating with innovative partners to deliver unmatched value to our global customers,” said Christopher E. Kubasik, Chair and CEO, L3Harris. “Our work to date has demonstrated the meaningful impact of integrating our capabilities, and we will build upon these efforts to enhance performance across domains.”
“Palantir exists to support the West’s most important institutions,” said Alex Karp, co-founder and chief executive officer of Palantir. “We’re partnering with L3Harris to ensure that the U.S. and its allies combine the West’s two greatest assets — AI dominance and cutting-edge hardware — on the battlefield.”
L3Harris and Palantir’s strategic partnership encompasses a variety of ongoing initiatives, including collaboration on U.S. Army programs like TITAN and efforts aligned with the U.S. Army’s Unified Network Strategy; leveraging Palantir AIP internally at L3Harris for enterprise-wide digital transformation initiatives; and development and demonstration efforts with sensors, radios and other advanced technologies. Together, Palantir and L3Harris are investing in novel solutions that will push computing to the far edge, from radios as sensors to orbital processing on satellites that will help lead the future of communication and tactical decision-making.
The companies most recently integrated L3Harris’ WESCAM MX-20 EO/IR system with Palantir’s Sensor Inference Platform (SIP), which provided edge AI for improved target detection and delineation during a live fly test. Having SIP integrated onto the MX-20 provided increased situational awareness, automatic target identification, and communication, resulting in reduced operator workload with increased effectiveness. (Source: ASD Network)
23 Oct 24. General Micro Systems’ X9 Spider modular, scalable and distributed architecture for aerospace and defense applications continues to collect accolades, this time with two 2024 Military + Aerospace Electronics (MAE) Innovators Awards. This week, MAE recognized the X9 Spider Server as a platinum honoree for “superb innovation, characterized by a groundbreaking approach to meeting a need, and/or a new level of performance, efficiency, ease-of-use or other beneficial quality.” As a gold honoree, the X9 Spider Workstation I/O was recognized as an “excellent innovation” that makes a substantial improvement over previous methods employed, approaches taken, or products/systems used.
The X9 Spider Server is part of GMS’ family of palm-sized X9 Spider modules that reduce barriers to developing applications that require rugged high-performance computing, high-definition video, sensor processing, AI, battlefield edge processing, storage, display and Workstation I/O.
The X9 Spider Server and the X9 Spider Workstation I/O are among the family of palm-sized X9 Spider modules (6” x 4.75” x2” and 2.1 pounds) that reduce barriers to developing applications that require rugged high-performance computing, high-definition video, sensor processing, artificial intelligence (AI), battlefield edge processing, storage, display and Workstation I/O in a rugged enclosure with unprecedented performance per dollar per watt. All X9 Spider products use the GMS Thunderbolt™ 4 technology and a patented LightBolt™ 40Gbps connection in copper or fiber, with optional 100W per port power for up-/down-stream sensors and system expansion.
“These two X9 Spider systems offer more capabilities in an ultra-small, lightweight yet extremely rugged package, meaning they can power and connect all sorts of systems to share data to and from the battlefield without taking up much space,” said Ben Sharfi, General Micro Systems’ CEO and chief architect. “Not only do these modules offer numerous industry firsts in terms of hardware, mechanical, interconnect and thermal innovations, but they are the smallest, most dense and most portable systems available for these applications. These awards for innovation and technology advancement are further validation that we’re providing what no one else can.”
X9 Spider Server: The world’s smallest, fully rugged server with vast I/O expansion
With over 26 patents pending, the X9 Spider Server’s ultra-small, high performance CPU board, I/O bandwidth (455Gbps) and unique stackable mechanical design enable the X9 modules to be configured into any system imaginable. The X9 Spider Server features include:
- An Intel® Xeon® D processor and an NVIDIA’s flagship GPU RTX-A4500 MXM module
- Dual 100GigE ports for RDMA data transfers from sensors or between X9 Servers
- Two Thunderbolt 4 ports, each providing 40 Gbps of I/O to displays, network and peripherals that can be daisy chained while providing 100W to power to peripherals such as displays, disc drives and I/O up to 50 meters away.
- Patented RuggedCool™ technology to provide four-sided cooling for balanced heat transfer and low thermal gradient for full operation at up to +85°C
X9 Workstation I/O: Ultra-compact, fully rugged workstation system with vast I/O and removable storage
The X9 Workstation I/O (WSIO) is an integral function of the X9 system architecture. Whether on battlefield, lab or command and control stations, a user interface with features such as displays, network, input devices, local dedicated secure storage and custom application specific I/O is needed. Further, those I/O ports must accommodate over industry standard connectors, yet be rugged, sealed, dust and waterproof, to withstand the rugged environment for years of reliable operation.
The X9 WSIO is connected to the X9 Spider Host computer via a Thunderbolt 4 interface and may be powered directly from the Host up to 50 meters away. Further, these WSIO workstations may be daisy chained to an unlimited number of stations. The WSIO features include:
- A vast array of expansion I/O that provide up to twelve expansion sites for additional I/O and sensors.
- A single removable U.2 storge device that may be a 2.5” NVMe™ drive, SATA, 2x M.2 or a secure NSA approved SSD. This drive may be encrypted and can be easily removed to archive the data.
- Two Thunderbolt 4 ports for daisy chain and for user I/O and system expansion. The user interfaces are one 10GBase-TX via a sealed RJ-45 connector, mini display port, five USB-C (3.2) ports each with 10Gbit/s data transfer, and up to 15W (5V @ 3A) of power delivery to the peripherals.
Datasheets with all features for the X9 Spider Server and X9 Workstation I/O can be found at the links here:
X9 Spider Server
X9 Workstation I/O
NOTE: 2024 MAE Innovators Award winners are chosen by the qualified judging panel chosen by the editorial staff at Military + Aerospace Electronics.
22 Oct 224. Universal Avionics ClearVision Solves New LED Approach Lighting Challenge. Universal Avionics (UA), the global leader in advanced avionics, today announces that its ClearVision™ Enhanced Flight Vision System (EFVS) mitigates changes recently reflected by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to Approach Lighting Systems. The EVS-5000 multispectral camera seeks to ensure pilots can identify Light-Emitting Diodes (LED) to land safely in low-visibility conditions.
In March 2024, the FAA announced that due to a dwindling supply of the incandescent lamps used in approach light systems, airports would have to replace these lamps with energy-efficient LEDs, following a similar runway lighting transition. While this shift increases efficiency, it renders many current IR-based EVS sensors ineffective at identifying runways.
Dror Yahav, CEO of Universal Avionics, says: “Our EVS-5000 camera does not rely solely on thermal sensors to detect lighting on approach; it uses five sensors in addition to the thermal imager. This technology – which we started to develop 15 years ago – was designed to meet the most stringent requirements, including detecting LED lights and ensuring that our customers can continue to operate confidently without disruption. Our EVS-5000 is the only camera that received the maximum allowable credit of 50% visual advantage by the FAA on top of those unique LED support characteristics.”
“Our forward-thinking approach and commitment to innovation set us apart from other EVS manufacturers, many of whom have been slow to address the challenges posed by LED lights and are now feeling the heat from customers in North America who will likely soon run into issues when they land at an airport and are unable to see the required lightings.”
About ClearVision EFVS
- ClearVision significantly enhances situational awareness, displaying clear, high-definition imaging of the aircraft’s external environment in a wearable head-up display for pilots, even in challenging weather conditions. It enhances the pilot’s ability to see and interpret the surroundings accurately, allowing for better object recognition, and improving safety during takeoff, landing, and taxi operations.
- The EVS-5000 uses multispectral imaging with six sensors rather than a single heat-detecting sensor. Five sensors use a combination of millimeter wavelengths across the light spectrum to detect and display terrain features, runways, taxiways, and other obstacles that may not be visible to the naked eye. The sixth sensor is high-resolution infrared to capture thermal images of the environment.
- ClearVision offers a 50% visual advantage over the naked eye, compared to the traditional EFVS offering of 33%. The system’s FAA compliance enables operators to take advantage of operational credits when landing.
- Installed on the aircraft nose, the EVS-5000 is designed to seamlessly integrate with a wide range of aircraft types, from business jets and regional airliners to helicopters and light aircraft, where the smaller EVS-4000 version is suitable. (Source: ASD Network)
21 Oct 24. Curtiss-Wright’s Defense Solutions Division today introduced two miniature avionics bus data acquisition unit (DAU) modules that enable flight test engineers to capture 100% of a test program’s digital MIL-STD-1553 and IEEE-1394 data and support selected data capture for insertion into the PCM telemetry stream. The MDAU-1553 and MDAU-1394 modules are designed for use with Curtiss-Wright’s MnACQ-2700, its industry-leading miniature network data acquisition (MnACQ) encoding system. The high data rate (HDR) modules significantly reduce the complexity, module count and cost of simultaneously capturing bulk digital avionics bus data and telemetering select data during flight tests. For example, capturing eight (8) channels of MIL-STD-1553 bus data with our traditional solution would require nine (9) modules with a height of 3.6”. The MDAU-1553 can perform the same operation with only three (3) modules and a height of 1.2”. These new DAU modules expand the capabilities of the MnACQ-2700 product line, which retains 100% backward compatibility with the MnACQ-2600 and is supported by over 200 I/O modules.
“Our new high data rate MIL-STD-1553 and IEEE-1394 avionics bus data acquisition modules for the MnACQ-2700 system enable flight test engineers to process more data in the same amount of space, which can help reduce the number of costly test flights,” said Brian Perry, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Curtiss-Wright Defense Solutions. “These miniature modules add next-generation capabilities to the MnACQ product line while retaining full backward compatibility with the industry’s largest catalog of data acquisition modules.”
The MDAU-1553 is an 8-channel MIL-STD-1553 miniature bus acquisition module and the MDAU-1394 is a 3-channel IEEE-1394b acquisition module. The modules enable selected data to be captured and inserted into a PCM format at rates up to 40 Mbps. This PCM format can be multicasted over Ethernet and transmitted as a traditional clock/data PCM. Simultaneously, 100% of the MIL-STD-1553 or 1394b data can be bulk captured and transmitted over dual Gigabit Ethernet (GbE) ports as multicast packets. Ethernet data can be encoded using IRIG-106 Chapter 10/11, IRIG-106 TmNS Chapters 21-26, or DARv3 encapsulation. Additional status and performance information is also available for insertion into the PCM format or transmission over Ethernet.
About the MnACQ-2700 Data Acquisition System
The MnACQ-2700 enables an Ethernet-based network data acquisition solution for analog and bus data capture and system safety monitoring applications. With dual GbE ports that support both 100Base-T and 1000Base-T, the MnACQ-2700 provides bulk data and selected data to an FTI network for demanding applications such as new aircraft development and technology refresh programs. The MnACQ-2700 also provides pulse-code modulation (PCM) outputs up to 40 Mbps for real-time telemetry of mission and safety-critical data. The MnACQ-2700 is configurable using IRIG-106 metadata description language (MDL) and by Curtiss-Wright’s TTCWare software utility.
18 Oct 24. Honeywell, Merlin partner to advance military aircraft autonomy. Initially, the partners aim to retrofit current fixed-wing military aircraft using Merlin’s advanced automation technology.
The partnership aims to retrofit existing fixed-wing military aircraft with Merlin’s automation system. Credit: © Honeywell International Inc.
US company Honeywell and Merlin, autonomous flight technology developer, have partnered to advance autonomy across a range of military and commercial aircraft platforms.
This partnership, marked by signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU), will see the integration of Merlin Pilot, a non-human pilot system, with Honeywell Anthem’s avionics suite.
Initially, the partners aim to retrofit current fixed-wing military aircraft using Merlin’s advanced automation technology to support the warfighter.
This initiative is designed to reduce crew operations and pave the way for eventual uncrewed flight, without compromising on safety.
The collaboration follows after Merlin received a $105m production contract from the United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) in June 2024.
The company will work towards bringing its autonomy technology to production and onboard the Special Operations Forces’ C-130J Super Hercules transport aircraft and other additional aircraft.
In February 2024, Merlin also established partnerships with the Air Mobility Command (AMC) and Air Force Materiel Command (AFMC) to integrate the Merlin Pilot on the KC-135 aircraft.
The integration of Honeywell Anthem’s user-friendly interface and flight management with Merlin Pilot’s automation system will offer a suite of automated flight tasks, enhancing operational efficiency for special missions.
The MOU underlines Honeywell’s aim to align its portfolio with the megatrends of automation and the future of aviation.
It also empowers Merlin to further its mission of improving pilot efficiency and flight safety across both commercial and military sectors.
Honeywell Aerospace Technologies Electronic Solutions Bob Buddecke president said: “This collaboration will benefit the military significantly, as this autonomy solution helps alleviate the pilot shortage by reducing the number of pilots required for certain aircraft operations.
“By enabling single-pilot operations and automating key tasks, this partnership provides a scalable and safe solution to ease pilot workload and optimise fleet operations for both the military and commercial aviation industry.”
Honeywell disclosed in February2024 that it will supply 105 T55-GA-714A engines to support Germany’s acquisition of new CH-47F Chinook helicopters. (Source: airforce-technology.com)
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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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