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06 Apr 22. NATO unveils tech accelerator footprint, with plans for over 60 sites. NATO is set to establish a new trans-Atlantic initiative meant to speed up the development of critical technologies, with one Euro-centric headquarters stationed in London and more than 60 partner sites around its alliance. Last summer at the 31st annual NATO Summit in Brussels, Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg announced plans to establish the Defence Innovation Accelerator of the North Atlantic, or DIANA, based on the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency.
Nearly a year later, NATO’s foreign ministers are ready to approve a formal charter for DIANA and commit to providing an initial €1bn (U.S. $1.1bn) innovation fund. The ministers will approve DIANA’s charter during their April 6-7 meeting in Brussels, Stoltenberg said April 5 during a pre-ministerial press briefing.
The initiative comes with more than 60 innovation sites. That includes a headquarters in Europe and another in North America, about 10 “accelerator sites” that provide financing, mentorship and exposure to business opportunities to participating startups, and more than 50 dedicated test centers hosting labs and equipment.
“Altogether, the initial footprint will cover 20 NATO nations, representing a true trans-Atlantic endeavor, and we expect it will continue to expand in the future,” Stoltenberg said.
The technology accelerator will be a new NATO body, tasked to bring innovative civilian and military organizations closer together to develop cutting-edge solutions in the realms of emerging and disruptive technologies, said David van Weel, NATO assistant secretary general for emerging security challenges.
The plan is for allies to agree upon a new strategic direction every two years, which will then dictate critical defense and security problems as well as the desired solutions.
“This provides strong signals of market demand and opportunity for innovators,” van Weel said at a Tuesday press briefing.
From there, startups, academic institutions and nontraditional industry members can participate in so-called challenge programs that work to solve real-world problems — such as operating in a GPS-denied environment — and submit proposals to participate in DIANA’s accelerator effort.
Member nations submitted proposals for more than 90 institutions to be part of the DIANA footprint; after evaluations, NATO pared it down to more than 10 accelerator sites and over 50 test centers, with many already in existence, van Weel said.
Among those selected sites are the Niels Bohr Institute at the University of Copenhagen in Denmark, which will focus on quantum technologies, and a new site in Turin, Italy, which will be dedicated to the space domain.
Imperial College London will host the European headquarters along with a DIANA accelerator, in a space currently housing the U.K.’s Defence and Security Accelerator, according to the British government. The U.K.’s program will be “twinned” with a new accelerator based in Tallinn, Estonia, to help share expertise, test cyber innovations and explore the viability of “virtual sites” to trial new tech such as autonomous vehicles.
“The UK and Estonia are two of the most innovative countries in NATO, and our hosting of DIANA will harness that innovation for the benefit of all allies tackling future military threats,” British Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said in a news release.
While the centers on the European side have all been selected, the North American footprint will be announced at the NATO Summit in June in Madrid, Spain. The goal is to have DIANA reach its full operational capability by 2025, said van Weel.
Alongside the tech accelerator is a nascent venture capital fund, dubbed the NATO Innovation Fund. “Ultimately, reimagining NATO’s engagement with civilian innovators is only credible if we also provide the right funding mechanisms,” van Weel noted.
Twenty-one members worked together to establish the underlying framework of the fund — outlining the investment strategy, the pool of capital, and determining the fund’s structure and governance. They also provided initial financial support. The Innovation Fund will invest €1 bn into “deep-tech startups” over 15 years. These are public funds that participating nations can allocate, either from their existing defense budgets or established innovation funds, a senior NATO official said Tuesday.
The participating nations in DIANA’s innovation fund currently include Belgium, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Montenegro, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Turkey and the United Kingdom.
Other member nations can decide to contribute to the Innovation Fund at a later date, but they would have no say over its framework, the NATO official said. A key aspect of DIANA will be to support NATO’s work in harnessing critical technology areas known as emerging and disruptive technologies, or EDT. The alliance recently identified propulsion and new materials as two new EDTs the deserve attention, joining artificial intelligence, autonomy, big-data processing, quantum-enabled technologies, biotechnology, hypersonic technology and space-related systems. NATO has released public strategies for several of these EDTs — for space, AI and big-data processing. The alliance’s strategy on autonomy is expected to be released this year, and one on quantum-enabled technologies will come the following year, the official said. (Source: glstrade.com/Defense News)
06 Apr 22. Boeing and Google Cloud Partnership Takes Flight, Aims to Transform Aerospace Industry. Google Cloud and Boeing today announced a partnership that will support the leading aerospace company’s cloud transformation by migrating hundreds of applications across multiple business groups and aerospace products to Google Cloud. The partnership will enable Boeing to address challenges that come with traditional on-premises IT implementations, taking advantage of the scalability and flexibility of the cloud, along with the ease-of-use and innovation of Google Cloud’s data analytics and artificial intelligence/machine learning (AI/ML) tools.
“Today’s announcement represents a significant investment in Boeing’s digital future. Google Cloud will help us modernize our applications; empower our people with the latest technology, tools and expertise; and continuously innovate with rapid software changes,” said Susan Doniz, Boeing chief information officer and senior vice president of Information, Technology & Data Analytics. “With Google Cloud’s years of cloud leadership, data analytics, and AI/ML experience, we are looking forward to driving advanced digital aerospace solutions together.”
Under the partnership, Boeing will enable its aerospace product software and internal developers’ abilities to design and deploy applications and solutions across the company to solve problems, create new digital products, and support its business partners. Google Cloud’s automation will enable Boeing application owners to accelerate provisioning services for projects. Developers will also be able to leverage new data analytics and AI/ML tools for additional business impact, including offering insights that can improve Boeing’s efficiencies in airplane manufacturing.
In line with Boeing’s commitment to maintain net-zero emissions within their operations, Boeing will deploy apps and workloads in Google Cloud regions with the lowest carbon footprint. Google Cloud matches 100% of the electricity that powers cloud workloads with renewable energy, making it the cleanest cloud in the industry. This ensures when customers like Boeing move an application from a self-managed data center or collocation facility to Google Cloud, the net operational emissions are zero.
“Boeing is a global aerospace icon, and we’re proud to partner and apply the best of Google Cloud’s capabilities, including AI, data analytics, and clean infrastructure,” said Thomas Kurian, CEO of Google Cloud. “We look forward to working together to transform Boeing’s business and help them continue to build innovative aerospace services that help airlines run efficiently and in an environmentally friendly way.” (Source: PR Newswire)
07 Apr 22. Saab’s Digital Tower Achieves Significant Approval from UK Military Regulator. Saab has achieved a regulatory approval required to supply the United Kingdom’s Armed Forces with Digital Tower technology. Saab has been successfully accredited under the Air Traffic Management (ATM) Equipment Approved Organisation Scheme (AAOS) by the UK Military Aviation Authority and is approved to develop, provide, install and maintain ATM equipment for customers in the UK Ministry of Defence under Regulatory Article 1027. (https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/list-of-maa-approved-organisations) This is an important step required to be able to deliver ATM equipment to the UK Armed Forces. The AAOS approval was achieved following a year-long effort of working alongside the UK’s Military Aviation Authority (MAA). It is noteworthy as being the first AAOS ever issued for a delivery organisation for military Digital Tower ATM equipment, a unique achievement for Saab.
“This is an important step for us to support the UK MOD with the expansion of digital towers and we are proud to have the only accredited solution that complies with their regulations,” says Per Ahl, CEO of Saab Digital Air Traffic Solutions.
The MAA, established in April 2010, is one of the world’s premier defence aviation safety bodies, recognised globally for its high standards and risk-based safety focus. This approval further strengthens Saab’s UK credentials, building on the Civil Aviation Authority’s approval gained in 2018. Other Saab Digital Air Traffic Solution approvals include certification to provide Air Traffic Services and MET-observation services according to EU-regulation (EU) 2017/373, providing digital ATC as a service at four Swedish airports. Saab Digital Air Traffic Solutions also holds ISO certification 9001, 14001 and 27001.
05 Apr 22. Deputy Secretary of Defense Dr. Kathleen H. Hicks Meets with Software Industry, Academia in Mountain View, California. Department of Defense Spokesman Eric Pahon provided the following readout: Deputy Secretary of Defense Dr. Kathleen H. Hicks visited locations around Mountain View, California, today, where she met with software industry leaders, researchers and academia to discuss Department of Defense priorities under the National Defense Strategy and historic investments into innovation and modernization ($130.1bn) under the Fiscal Year 2023 budget request.
In Menlo Park, Deputy Secretary Hicks toured the Stanford University SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory – as one of 17 Department of Energy national labs, SLAC pushes the frontiers of human knowledge and drives discoveries that benefit humankind. At SLAC, she observed the Linac Coherent Light Source, the Legacy Survey of Space and Time (LSST) Camera Assembly and autonomous vehicle technology.
Visiting with researchers, observing, and discussing these types of advances in innovation will help achieve a greater understanding of the best practices to move the department toward Secretary Austin’s priorities; to include implementing the National Defense Strategy, advancing modernization at speed and scale, and aligning priorities and investing strategically for the future.
Following the tour, the deputy secretary hosted a roundtable with Stanford students, faculty, and military fellows to discuss the Gordian Knot Center’s unique approach to national security and innovation, and how their curriculum trains the next generation of Innovators. The Deputy also heard from them ways the Department can better partner with and leverage the U.S. innovation ecosystem to solve national security challenges.
During the roundtable, Dr. Hicks told attendees that one of her key priorities is to accelerate innovation adoption across DoD, including organizational structure, processes, culture, and people.
She said our innovation workforce is an important priority for as a part of our modernization efforts, and that the realities of today – changing geopolitical dynamics, coupled with rapid technological innovation, require different skills in our workforce and closer relationships with the US innovation ecosystem.
At Microsoft’s Silicon Valley campus, Deputy Secretary Hicks met with about a dozen software companies to discuss how industry can continue supporting national security priorities, and how DoD can improve its relationship with software suppliers.
“Because of its sophistication, diversity, and capacity to innovate, the U.S. Defense Industrial Base remains the envy of the world,” said Deputy Secretary Hicks. “Every day, people like you are designing, building, and producing the critical materials and technologies that ensure our armed forces have what they need.”
Dr. Hicks also highlighted DoD programs designed to foster disruptive innovation efforts with defense industrial base suppliers, to include the Rapid Defense Experimentation Reserve (RDER) and Competitive Advantage Pathfinders.
On Wednesday, April 6, Deputy Secretary Hicks will meet with space-industry small businesses and faculty, students and researchers in the Los Angeles area.
05 Apr 22. Defense Production Act Title III Presidential Determination for Critical Materials in Large-Capacity Batteries. On March 31, 2022, the president signed a determination permitting the use of Defense Production Act (DPA) Title III authorities to strengthen the U.S. industrial base for large-capacity batteries. With this action, the president gave the Department of Defense (DoD) the authority to increase domestic mining and processing of critical materials for the large-capacity battery supply chain.
The United States depends on unreliable foreign sources for many of the strategic and critical materials necessary for the clean energy transition, such as lithium, nickel, cobalt, graphite, and manganese used in large-capacity batteries. Demand for such materials is projected to increase exponentially as the world transitions to a clean energy economy.
The DPA Title III authorities enables DoD to undertake actions, including but not limited to, feasibility studies and modernization projects for mature mining, benefication, and value-added processing projects to increase productivity, environmental sustainability, and workforce safety. It also allows for by-product and co-product production at existing mining, mine waste reclamation, and other industrial facilities.
This determination reiterates the administration’s commitment to sustainable development, and provides an example of how other nations can responsibly produce and process critical materials for large-capacity batteries.
The department continues to work with key stakeholders to use DPA Title III authorities to address risks and challenges across supply chains for large-capacity batteries. These authorities expand options and opportunities to accelerate and scale critical investments across key markets. More information about DPA Title III is available here; https://www.businessdefense.gov/ai/dpat3/index.html?source=GovDelivery, and the presidential determination may be accessed here. https://www.businessdefense.gov/ai/dpat3/index.html?source=GovDelivery(Source: US DoD)
05 Apr 22. DOD Building Largest 3D-Printed Structures in Western Hemisphere. The Defense Department, in partnership with the private sector, is building three transient training barracks using advanced 3D printing technology. The project, which is being spearheaded by the Defense Innovation Unit, is expected to be completed within 10 months. At more than 5,700 square feet each, these barracks will each be the largest 3D-printed structures in the Americas.
“Constructing facilities using this cutting-edge technology saves labor costs, reduces planning time, and increases the speed of construction of future facilities,” Gabram said. “We are looking at other ways to use this innovative technique for rapid construction of other types of facilities beyond barracks.” said Army Lt. Gen. Doug Gabram, commander of U.S. Army Installation Management Command.
The barracks will be the first 3D-printed structures that comply with the DOD’s newly released Unified Facilities Criteria for additive concrete construction, which provides guidance for DOD construction.
Previously, the Unified Facilities Criteria did not include specifications for 3D-printed concrete wall systems, preventing any companies that used this novel approach to construction from bidding on DOD construction projects and preventing DOD from leveraging the efficiencies gained from this technique.
This change to UFC by DOD’s Structural Discipline Working Group further enhances the technology transition led by the U.S. Army Engineer Research and Development Center and DIU to leverage commercial innovation and incorporate novel, timesaving manufacturing methods within the DOD.
ICON, a construction technology company based in Austin, Texas, was selected to do the work. The company had previously done 3D construction work with DIU for the Marine Corps.
Also, in 2021, the Texas Military Department partnered with ICON to design and 3D print an innovative training barracks at the Camp Swift Training Center in Bastrop, Texas.
The material used in the barracks construction is ICON’s proprietary Lavacrete, which is a type of high-strength concrete with a compressive strength of 2,000 to 3,500 pounds per square inch, according to ICON.
This material can withstand extreme weather and greatly reduce the impact of natural disasters, while providing maximum efficiency. It can be printed at high speeds while retaining form, enabling structures to be built faster while keeping construction projects on schedule and on budget, according to ICON.
Also, the building material will last longer than traditional construction materials and methods, according to ICON.
“We are proud to collaborate with the U.S. Army and continue our partnership with DIU to see diverse use cases for ICON’s technology across the DOD and to deliver resilient, comfortable 3D-printed barracks for soldiers at Fort Bliss,” said Brendan O’Donoghue, vice president of public sector at ICON. (Source: US DoD)
04 Apr 22. Curtiss-Wright’s Defense Solutions division, a leading supplier of Modular Open Systems Approach (MOSA) based solutions engineered to succeed, announced that it will present a wide range of processing, communication, and machine/human-interface technology demonstrations at the Army Aviation Mission Solutions Summit, April 4-5, 2022, Gaylord Opryland Hotel & Convention Center, Nashville, TN. The demonstrations will feature best-in-class support technology from partner companies, and highlight how MOSA interoperability is driving transformational change across Army Aviation systems. Demonstrations will include Curtiss-Wright’s Fortress family of rugged flight data recorders, safety certifiable COTS hardware solutions for reliable deterministic airworthiness, moving map systems, and the TCG HUNTR tactical data link (TDL) hub and translator for air to ground communications with Link 16, VMF, CESMO, and Cursor-on-Target.
“At this year’s Army Aviation Mission Solutions Summit, in support of MOSA principles and innovation, we will highlight our compatibility with other hardware and software from trusted third-party partners,” said Chris Wiltsey, Senior Vice President and General Manager, Curtiss-Wright Defense Solutions. “In addition to showcasing interoperability for high-performance processing, tactical battlefield communications, networking, and secure data storage, we will also host numerous demos, including our TCG HUNTR Tactical Data Link Hub and Network Translator and our DO-254 DAL A safety certifiable T2080-based VPX3-152 3U OpenVPX single board computer.”
Curtiss-Wright Army Aviation Mission Solutions Summit Demonstrations
In its booth, Curtiss-Wright will demonstrate a broad range of rugged MOSA solutions that showcase interoperability for high-performance processing, tactical battlefield communications, networking, secure data storage, and more. A Curtiss-Wright Parvus DuraCOR® 311 mission computer, serving as the workstation for the demos, will be supported by Curtiss-Wright rugged GVDU touchscreen displays.
- Curtiss-Wright’s TCG HUNTR TDL Hub and Network Translator will be shown supporting TDLs, including Link 16, VMF, CESMO, Cursor-on-Target, and situational awareness. Simulation software will provide visibility into real-world links with air, sea and ground platforms on a local map.
- Curtiss-Wright’s DO-254 DAL A safety certifiable T2080-based VPX3-152 3U OpenVPX single board computer (SBC), integrated with a DO-254 DAL A safety certifiable E8860 based V3-717 DO-254 safety-certifiable graphics processor will be demonstrated running a Digital Cockpit Flight Display application.
- The Curtiss-Wright CMOSS Starter Kit, a small form factor 3-slot system, will be shown integrated with Curtiss-Wright VPX3-1260 SBC (SOSA IOI profile 14.2.16), VPX3-687 Gigabit Ethernet (SOSA Switch profile 14.4.14), and VPX3-673 SBC/Timing Card (SOSA Radial Clock [A-PNT]) modules.
- Curtiss-Wright PacStar IQ-Core Software for Configuration, Management and Monitoring, will provide a unified user interface for simplifying the convergence of SOSA, MOSA, and CMOSS capabilities. Also on display will be the PacStar SAVE Hybrid solution for MOSA and CMOSS, which supports the Army’s Standardized A-Kit/Vehicle Envelope (SAVE) standard. The SAVE system demo will feature the PacStar 400-Series of tactical communications and processing modules and the VPX SMART Chassis.
- An LCR Embedded Systems 800 Series AoC3U-821 Chassis will be shown integrated with a Curtiss-Wright VPX3-1260 SBC (SOSA IOI profile 14.2.16), VPX3-E320 software defined radio module (SOSA Payload profile 14.6.11), and VPX3-687 GbE switch (SOSA Switch profile 14.4.14) modules.
- VMWare software will be shown running on the VPX3-1260 SBC to support flexible, modular, rapid deployment of virtual machines with operating systems and preloaded applications.
- 3dB Labs SCEPTRE software will be shown interoperating with Curtiss-Wright’s VPX3-E320 software defined radio (SDR) module to show live RF spectrum and demodulation.
- L3Harris FACE conformant FliteScene software will be shown supporting a tactical moving map for small airborne platforms with awareness of terrain and threats.
These demos will highlight how the interoperability of MOSA-based solutions enable a system built for one specific mission to be leveraged to support new missions, with little or no modification.
Curtiss-Wright Partner Booths:
- Annapolis Micro Systems (Booth #2117) will demonstrate their SOSA-aligned WILD100™ Multi-Vendor 100GbE System, featuring a Curtiss-Wright VPX3-1260 SBC.
- New Wave Design and Verification (New Wave DV) (Booth #1009) will show the Curtiss-Wright CHAMP-XD1 digital signal processor engine integrated with a New Wave DV XMC V1153 ARINC 818 module, which will run multiple ARINC-818 channels simultaneously
Broadest Range of MOSA Solutions for Aerospace & Defense Programs
Curtiss-Wright Defense Solutions offerings are based on the Modular Open Systems Approach (MOSA). These open architecture solutions eliminate proprietary interfaces through the use of widely supported consensus-based standards for the major system interfaces between systems and components. From rugged COTS components and modules to ready-to-integrate subsystems, our full suite of solutions, and our product road map, all adhere to MOSA.
Curtiss-Wright MOSA Solutions include fully integrated CMOSS/SOSA aligned systems, as well as 3U and 6U OpenVPX system building blocks. For system development we offer complete system architecture services, Quick Reaction Capabilities, and development platforms such as our 3U OpenVPX CMOSS/SOSA-aligned enclosures and CMOSS/SOSA Starter Kits.
We offer the most comprehensive range of open standards based small form factor subsystems and modules, including the PacStar® 400 Series of modular Tactical Battlefield Communications solutions, the ultra-compact Parvus® family of processing and network line replaceable units (LRUs), and a complete line of data acquisition solutions. Our MOSA based rugged data solutions support high-density secure data storage protected with either Type 1 Top Secret or NSA-certified Commercial Solutions for Classified (CSfC) encryption. Designed for use on platforms that experience intense shock and vibration, such as helicopters and ground vehicles, our family of video management systems and rugged touchscreen LCD displays delivers optimal performance in harsh environments.
Whether in the air, on the ground, or at sea, Curtiss-Wright Defense Solutions MOSA technologies deliver high reliability and performance for the most demanding deployed applications, such as Battle Command, Mission Analysis & Planning, SIGINT, RADAR, EW, Flight Test, Jamming, Comms, Fire Control, Vehicle Electronics and Human Machine Interfaces.
04 Apr 22. Collins Aerospace teams up with Intel to redefine the future of flight computing.
- Collins next-gen Perigon computer will be first certified aviation solution to use Intel’s Atom x6400E Series processor
Collins Aerospace today announced its Perigon™ computer will be the first certified aviation solution to use the Intel Atom x6400E processor. The advanced processor will underpin Perigon’s ability to support customers’ next-gen flight control and vehicle management needs across a broad range of commercial and defense platforms.
To bring advanced capabilities like single pilot and autonomous operations to life, future aircraft will require an order of magnitude increase in onboard computing power. Supported by Intel’s Atom x6400E, Perigon will deliver 20 times the processing power of Collins’ existing flight control computers and allow customers to load a variety of complex software applications, including fly-by-wire and autonomous flight control.
In addition, since the Atom x6400E delivers some of the highest processing power per watt of any processor on the market, it will strengthen Perigon’s ability to operate in harsh aircraft thermal environments by minimizing its power consumption and heat generation. The Intel Airworthiness Evidence Package will also help make Perigon FAA certifiable to facilitate aircraft level certification.
“Perigon connects decades of experience in flight control computing from Collins with industry-leading processing expertise from Intel,” said Henry Brooks, president, Power & Controls for Collins Aerospace. “This powerful combination of cutting-edge technologies will provide customers with a unique, next-gen solution to enable new performance capacity in future commercial and defense platforms.”
“We’re pleased to expand our longstanding relationship with Collins, as we work together to enable and simplify the certification of safety-critical aviation systems,” said Tony Franklin, GM of the Federal and Aerospace Division for Intel Corporation. “The Atom x6400E’s enhanced computing capabilities with Intel’s Airworthiness Evidence Package will play an integral role in enabling Perigon’s support of flight safety and time-critical applications for the next generation of aircraft, allowing customers to modernize their flight control and vehicle management for today’s and tomorrow’s aviation applications.”
With its unique combination of performance and flexibility, Perigon will enable customers to meet the flight computing requirements of tomorrow—with broad potential applications from commercial air transport, to sixth-gen fighters, to the U.S. Army’s Future Vertical Lift program, to aerial firefighting. Depending on the customer’s needs, Perigon can be configured as simplex, duplex or triplex redundant, and will be available for commercial or military rotary and fixed wing platforms. (Source: ASD Network)
04 Apr 22. At Northrop Grumman Creativity Guides Innovation. Imagine a place where ideas are transformed into advanced operational prototypes years ahead of existing technology. That’s just what happens in Northrop Grumman’s Navy-focused innovation centers, where creativity guides innovation.
Two research and development teams inside the Maritime/Land Systems & Sensors Division support the U.S. Navy: Dolphin Works™ on the company’s Annapolis, Maryland campus and Dragon Works™ on the Sunnyvale, California campus. Both teams are focused on advancing and extending the nation’s vital undersea superiority to solve some of the world’s most complex technical challenges.
Dolphin Works – Disrupting Technology on Next-gen Sensors
Dolphin Works, the company’s sonar innovation lab, focuses on high-end sensors for unmanned underwater systems. Following a long legacy of Northrop Grumman sonar products, the lab first developed the AN/AQS-24 minehunter’s high speed synthetic array sonar (HSSAS) – a game-changing system for the Navy. Building off that success the lab developed µSAS™ (pronounced “microSAS”), a first of its kind, platform agnostic synthetic aperture sonar (SAS). These successes demonstrate the pioneering spirit of Dolphin Works.
This multi-disciplined team applies a “spiral” development process. This approach focuses on first tackling the most pressing and foundational challenges, and then moving incrementally to second, third, and subsequent iterations, based on the successful completion at each stage. “This culture and workflow of continually chipping away at the problem has, in essence, lit a fire inside the hearts of members of the team that continues to burn to this day,” said Dave Smallwood, a Northrop Grumman fellow in Annapolis. “The drive to get to the next level was fueled by a continuous effort to disrupt their own technology.”
The AN/AQS-24B/C minehunter is considered the fastest mine hunting system on the market and is used all around the world. The µSAS system is an open architecture software-defined, state-of-the-art SONAR. It is modular in design, scaling in applications from small man-portable unmanned underwater vehicles (UUVs) to submarines, and is considered by customers to be the industry standard in mission-ready, high-performing synthetic aperture sonar.
Artificial Intelligence and machine learning play a key role in the software driving these wide range and high-resolution sensors, identifying targets to facilitate informed decisions by the operators. The system’s algorithms select the most relevant data from the vast interferometric data sets, which enables industry leading, real-time, automated target recognition (ATR). ATR not only greatly reduces human analysis time, but truly enables our warfighters with decision superiority.
“The environment at Dolphin Works has always been highly conducive to finding creative solutions,” said Shane Healey, technical director of the Dolphin Works lab. “Diverse thought and creative solutions are part of the mix that makes this work.”
Dragon Works- Sunnyvale Stretches its Wings
On the opposite coast, Dragon Works is focused on advanced development projects to support both the launcher and power and propulsion machinery operating units within Marine Systems located in Silicon Valley.
After Northrop Grumman was awarded key COLUMBIA-class development and production contracts, the Marine Systems business unit needed to rebalance engineering talent to accommodate the additional development work.
Jeff Zerbe, senior director of Dragon Works, considered several different approaches before converging on a small core team concept with matrixed engineering support. “We wrapped in all non-contractual technical activity as well as capital management into Dragon Works to ensure we were looking at the future holistically from an investment, sustainment and site capacity perspective.”
Dragon Works began initial operations in 2018 and the key to success was building an advanced development culture to be inclusive of both the launcher and machinery teams. “We started bringing in contract research and development contracts for the next-generation submarine and several Strategic Capabilities Office projects,” Zerbe said.
Currently Dragon Works conceives and manages both internally funded development projects and customer funded projects. These projects mature and de-risk critical technologies key to their future business while providing the U.S. Navy and other DoD customers leading edge technology as well as capabilities that advance the nation’s defense.
As a Navy focused innovation center for submarine launched missile systems and extremely quiet submarine propulsion and power generation systems, Dragon Works program managers and design engineers are actively engaged in several projects simultaneously. Key priorities include enhanced capabilities onboard the existing VIRGINIA-class fast attack submarines, guiding the architecture of the next generation of fast attack submarines (also known as SSN(X)), and breaking into key adjacent market opportunities through the use of novel missile launch technologies.
“Our innovation hubs to ensure we remain ahead of the curve,” said Gary Huff, operations senior director of Dragon Works. “The next generation of fast attack submarines, the SSN(X), will feature innovative propulsion and power generation concepts for increased speed and stealth, in addition to advanced future launch system concepts to enable increased payload capability. This is why the Navy and their shipbuilders have turned to Dragon Works.”
In addition to innovating the next generation of submarines, Dragon Works is paving the way to adjacent markets for Marine Systems’ launcher products, such as surface ships. With Marine Systems’ conventional prompt strike (CPS) system, originally designed for SSN use, it is now also planned to be fielded onto the DDG-1000 class destroyers. Northrop Grumman is poised to expand our eject launch technology into the surface combatant market. Dolphin Works, Dragon Works, and µSAS are wholly-owned trademarks of Northrop Grumman Corporation.
01 Apr 22. Graphite One Comments on White House Defense Directive Designating Graphite as “essential to National Defense.” Graphite One Inc. (TSXV: GPH) (OTCQX: GPHOF) (“Graphite One” or the “Company”) offers the following comments on President Joe Biden’s announcement today that graphite and other critical battery materials are designated as “essential to national defense” under the Defense Production Act (DPA) of 1950. Graphite and other battery minerals – lithium, manganese, cobalt and nickel – join rare earth materials the only U.S. Government-listed Critical Minerals eligible for the comprehensive support provided by the DPA. Unlike Presidential Executive Orders, designations under the DPA, first passed during the Korean War, carry the full force of U.S. federal law.
“With this new defense designation under U.S. law, graphite joins a select group of ‘super-critical minerals’ that are essential to commercial technology and national security applications,” said Anthony Huston, CEO of Graphite One. “This action by President Biden validates Graphite One’s strategy of creating a full supply chain for advanced graphite materials located in the United States.”
According to the Department of Defense, the (DPA) “provides the President a broad set of authorities to ensure the timely availability of essential domestic industrial resources to support national defense and homeland security requirements.”
According to the White House statement, President Biden: “…issue[d] a directive, authorizing the use of the Defense Production Act to secure American production of critical materials to bolster our clean energy economy by reducing our reliance on China and other countries for the minerals and materials that will power our clean energy future. Specifically, the DPA will be authorized to support the production and processing of minerals and materials used for large capacity batteries–such as lithium, nickel, cobalt, graphite, and manganese—and the Department of Defense will implement this authority using strong environmental, labor, community, and tribal consultation standards. The sectors supported by these large capacity batteries—transportation and the power sector—account for more than half of our nation’s carbon emissions. The President is also reviewing potential further uses of DPA – in addition to minerals and materials – to secure safer, cleaner, and more resilient energy for America.”
Earlier this month, U.S. Senators Lisa Murkowski (R-AK) and Joe Manchin (D-WV), former and current Chairs of the Senate Energy and Natural Resource Committee, sent a letter to President Biden urging him to make a DPA Title III designation to “invoke the Defense Production Act to accelerate domestic production of lithium-ion battery materials, in particular graphite, manganese, cobalt, nickel, and lithium.” Mr. Huston commented: “All of us at Graphite One want to thank Senator Murkowski, the Senate’s undisputed expert on critical minerals, and Chairman of the Senate ENR Committee, Joe Manchin who made such a compelling case for President Biden to take this step. Giving graphite and the battery materials the DPA Title III designation – as ‘essential to national defense’ – is a strong signal that the full force of the U.S. federal government will now be behind domestic development of these ‘super-critical minerals’. With the USGS recognizing Graphite One’s Alaska deposit just last month as being America’s largest known graphite deposit, and adding to that our plan to produce battery-ready anode material, Graphite One is ready to answer the call, and create a complete advanced graphite supply chain solution for the U.S.”
Dean of the House, the Honorable Don Young
“I also want to single out a real leader, a great patriot and friend who we mourn and miss: Congressman Don Young, Dean of the House,” continued Mr. Huston. “Congressman Young was a supporter of Graphite One from the first moment I had a chance to meet him, and he was an advocate of DPA Title III being used to drive domestic production of graphite and other critical minerals. We talked about the issue the last time we met. On a personal level, all of us at Graphite One want to express our deepest condolences to Mrs. Young and the Young family. When you were talking to him, it didn’t matter what huge issues of government were in play on Capitol Hill, Don Young had a way of making you feel like the conversation you were having with him was the most important thing he could be doing. He was a happy warrior – and Alaska and all of America were lucky to have him.”
Graphite One’s Supply Chain Strategy
With the United States currently 100 per cent import dependent for natural graphite, Graphite One is developing a complete U.S.-based, advanced graphite supply chain solution anchored by the Graphite Creek resource near Nome, Alaska. The Graphite One project plan includes an advanced graphite material and battery anode manufacturing plant expected to be sited in Washington State1 with the development of the Graphite Creek resource.
As announced on March 7th2, Graphite One Inc.’s Graphite Creek resource in Alaska has been cited as the largest known graphite deposit in the United States by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) in its updated U.S. Mineral Deposit Database (USMIN).
The USGS report confirms Alaska Governor Mike Dunleavy’s statement in support of Graphite One’s designation as a U.S. government high-priority infrastructure project, stating, “Graphite Creek is the largest deposit of graphite in the nation and would be a superior domestic supply of this critical mineral.
About Graphite One Inc.
GRAPHITE ONE INC. (GPH: TSXV) (GPHOF: OTCQB) continues to develop its Graphite One Project (the “Project”), whereby the Company could potentially become an American producer of high-grade anode materials that is integrated with a domestic graphite resource. The Project is proposed as a vertically integrated enterprise to mine, process and manufacture high grade anode materials primarily for the lithium‐ion electric vehicle battery market. As set forth in the Company’s Preliminary Economic Assessment, potential graphite mineralization mined from the Company’s Graphite Creek Property, is expected to be processed into concentrate at a graphite processing plant. The proposed processing plant would be located on the Graphite Creek Property situated on the Seward Peninsula about 60 kilometers north of Nome, Alaska. Graphite anodes and other value‐added graphite products would be manufactured from the concentrate and other materials at the Company’s proposed advanced graphite materials manufacturing facility expected to be located in Washington State. The Company intends to make a production decision on the Project once a feasibility study is completed. (Source: PR Newswire)
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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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