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21 Apr 22. Teledyne FLIR helps to keep airspace surrounding Swedish critical infrastructure free of drones. Teledyne FLIR successfully completed an installation of a long-range drone detection system for a critical infrastructure site in Sweden. A smart slew-to-cue system, combining radar, thermal imaging and visual sensors, makes sure no unmanned aircraft system goes undetected. The FLIR Ranger HDC MR uses thermal imaging technology to detect threats in all conditions, including nighttime, low-visibility, and poor weather such as fog, rain, and clouds.
As drones are becoming commercially available to a wider audience, effective drone detection and monitoring has become increasingly important, especially for critical infrastructures and sites, such as power plants, utility centers and airports.
However, effective and accurate drone detection is challenging. In contrast to land-based monitoring and detection, aerial detection has a much wider, dome-shaped area to cover, with no real reference points. In addition, today’s drones are fast and small, and they can demonstrate erratic flying behavior. Visual detection systems have an additional challenge, in that they need to detect objects in variable sky and weather conditions.
Drone detection for critical infrastructures
Teledyne FLIR recently provided a robust drone detection system for a Swedish critical infrastructure customer. The project – completed early 2022 – was also made possible by Teledyne FLIR’s longtime distributor and integration partner CCTV-Systems AB, a company which has been in the video surveillance systems business since 1982. Just like Teledyne FLIR, CCTV-Systems AB has vast experience in providing threat detection systems for industrial and security sectors all over the world.
Teledyne FLIR offered an integrated drone detection system based on radar and a combination of thermal and visible sensors. The system uses a so-called slew-to-cue feature, where a radar will continuously scan the sky, detect the drones from a long distance and automatically point the FLIR PTZ camera to the exact position of the detected drone, whereupon the camera will continue to track the moving object using its pan/tilt mechanism.
20 Apr 22. Liteye Delivers First SHIELD Systems to RCCTO C-SUAS HEL Program. Liteye Systems, based in Denver Colorado, has announced the delivery of the first SHIELD system to the US Army (RCCTO) HEL (High energy laser) effort. The system was delivered on time and will now be readied for deployment. Liteye was awarded the multiple-year contract to integrate its SHIELD payload into the HEL C-sUAS effort last year.
The Army, acting as the Executive Agent for C-sUAS remains focused on the elimination of UAS threats. In a May 2021 Senate Armed Services Hearing, SECARMY, Christine Wormuth, said: “The Army needs to be very attentive to challenges like counter UAS for example.…those are absolutely areas that we need to be working on in terms of developing our capabilities and obviously being able to test our capabilities.”
The objective of the C-sUAS HEL prototype effort is to develop, integrate, manufacture, and ultimately test a prototype HEL System(s) in an operationally relevant environment. This contract enables the rapid prototyping of a near-production representative, cost-effective HEL System(s), which will be integrated with current military battle management systems.
Liteye’s SHIELD payload will provide the detection, tracking, and identification of Group 1 & 2 UAS in a range of combat environments which will utilize the new 3D SPYGLASS Radar developed in Colorado by Numerica Corporation. The HEL “hard kill” capability will be provided by a partner company and integrated with Liteye’s SHIELD payload to be tested and demonstrated during operational tests and evaluations. The platform integration of SHIELD will support the US Army’s maneuver capability in the Brigade Combat Teams and will also be compatible with robotic vehicles like Pratt & Miller’s Expeditionary Modular Autonomous Vehicle (EMAV).
“This effort represents months of focused effort by our engineering team and renews our strategic partnership with the US Army dating back to 2016 when we sent our first C-sUAS systems downrange to Iraq,” said Kenneth Geyer, CEO, and Co-Founder of Liteye Systems. “The current drone warfare raging in spots around the globe such as Ukraine and the middle east makes this delivery all that timelier.”
Liteye’s C-sUAS solutions can be layered with multiple effectors and battle management systems to Detect, Track, Identify and Defeat, threats operating in the Air, on the Ground, on the Surface, and in the Electromagnetic Spectrum. These solutions can be configured for customized Mission Platforms; fixed/semi-fixed, light vehicle/man-portable, mobile, and unmanned/uncrewed robotic vehicles. The Liteye services team provides 24/7 reach-back support, training, and system updates to ensure that the systems remain effective against the threats that are continuously increasing in complexity.
“On behalf of the Liteye team, we thank the US Army for their trust in our systems and our team as we move rapidly through the evolution of systems. We also thank our partners Numerica and Pratt & Miller along with a long list of other external stakeholders who played a part in bringing this contract to fruition,”
said Geyer. Liteye is expecting additional contracts for the SHIELD systems in the coming weeks. *Liteye is the exclusive provider of SPYGLASS Radar.
About the Joint C-sUAS Office (JCO): In November 2019, the Secretary of Defense designated the Army as the executive agent for Counter-small Unmanned Aircraft Systems (C-sUAS) and in turn, the Secretary of the Army stood up the Joint C-sUAS Office (JCO) under a 2-Star Director within Army G-3/5/7 to address UAS threats while eliminating duplication and redundancies across the DoD.
About the Rapid Capabilities and Critical Technologies Office (RCCTO): The SECARMY assigned the Army Rapid Capabilities and Critical Technologies Office (RCCTO) as the material and acquisition support for the JCO. The JCO and RCCTO work to develop, detect, track, identify, and defeat sUAS hazards and threats using synchronized solutions across the joint service domains.
About Liteye Systems, Inc.: Colorado-based, Liteye Systems, Inc. is a world leader and technology solutions manufacturer and integrator of military and commercial Counter Unmanned Aerial Systems (CUAS) systems, manufacture of US AUDS, Drone Sense and Warn Systems, rugged high-resolution head-mounted displays (HMD), augmented sights, thermal surveillance systems, covert surveillance systems, electronic warfare packages, radar systems, and fire control software solutions. With offices in the UK and sales affiliates worldwide, Liteye is protecting critical infrastructure from real-world threats. (Source: UAS VISION)
22 Apr 22. DoD audit says Army’s $22bn ‘mixed reality’ goggle needs more soldier input. The Pentagon Inspector General chided the Army over its augmented reality goggle program in a new report Friday, saying at one point in the document that the service risked “wasting up to $21.88bn in taxpayer funds to field a system that Soldiers may not want to use or use as intended.”
The report focuses primarily on the fact that neither the Army nor Program Executive Office-Soldier defined “minimum user acceptance levels to determine whether IVAS would meet user needs.”
That’s a jargony way of saying that, despite dozens of “soldier touch points,” the Army didn’t actually lay out how it would measure whether the goggle met soldiers’ standards or if it would be used effectively when fielded, according to the audit.
PEO-Soldier spokesman David Patterson told Army Times that the Army defined prototype metrics for IVAS requirements.
Army officials “recognized the importance of Soldier Acceptance as a factor, but not the only factor in developing the capability and determining the path forward,” Patterson said in an email response.
The soldier-centered design was heavily influenced early prototypes, he wrote.
Much of the report, including feedback from soldiers, was redacted in the officially released version, which was posted online Friday.
Soldiers with the 3rd Infantry Division test the Integrated Visual Augmentation System use the device with the Bradley Fighting Vehicle at Camp Roberts, California. (Courtney Bacon/Army)
Developers have relied on soldier surveys to gather feedback and input on later IVAS designs. But “it is difficult to determine specific cause and effect as there are many variables that influence soldier acceptance,” Patterson wrote.
Those variables include survey sample size, continuity, system performance, and even soldier morale based on poor weather versus bad weather, he added.
“It is important to also note, that IVAS represents a disruptive technology in the night vision space and the adoption of new technology is often slow,” Patterson wrote.
The IVAS program began as a named program in 2018. It started with a partnership with Microsoft, using the company’s HoloLens platform as the base for an augmented reality goggle for field use.
Over the next two years, developers flowed various technology into the device. In early demonstrations for media, the device allowed for target acquisition tied to an individual weapon, thermal day sight operation, night vision, navigation and biofeedback for the user.
The system would also allow for cloud computing access on the battlefield and connect to larger command and control systems for individual soldier monitoring by higher echelons of command.
Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics and Technology Douglas R. Bush pushed back on some of the IG’s findings, according to the audit.
Soldiers use the Integrated Visual Augmentation System to train with the Squad Immersive Virtual Trainer. (U.S. Army)
The IG recommended that Bush develop an “Army-wide policy” that requires program officials to define user acceptance measurements for testing and evaluation.
No such policy existed for IVAS or other such programs, according to the audit.
Bush argued that a policy governing the measurement of user acceptance already existed in Army regulations. The IG pushed back, saying the application of the policy Bush referenced with IVAS was not clear and needed to be refined.
More specifically, the IG also recommended that PEO-Soldier “define clear measures of user acceptance levels to meet user needs before Soldier Touch Point-5 testing of IVAS.”
Soldier touch points allow different troops to try out equipment prototypes and give feedback to developers on changes they might make and how they would use the gear in their jobs.
Patterson confirmed that Soldier Touch Point 5 has already been conducted. That event had soldiers using equipment in an operational environment.
Patterson said that releasing equipment performance results would “violate our security classification guidance.” But he noted that the system’s performance improved from the previous soldier touch point. And there are no further touchpoints currently scheduled.
The program was on schedule to have the IVAS through development and begin fielding by this spring. However, as early as summer 2021, limitations with the device’s field-of-view, which involved image warping for the wearer, caused developers to pause the timeline so they could find a fix.
Maj. Gen. Anthony Potts, PEO-Soldier commander, told Army Times that the program was “pushing the boundaries” of existing technology. Developers sought to more than double the field-of-view for the IVAS compared to existing night vision goggles.
Some devices also suffered from moisture control problems, Potts said.
Current night vision devices offer about a 40-degree field-of-view. IVAS sought an 80-degree view. But Potts told Army Times the final version of the device will still have a 70-degree field-of-view, far wider than that of existing technology.
The needed fixes were not fatal to the program, only requiring a tech pause, according to Potts. The team has pushed forward with other parts of the program, including an evaluation in January.
Program officials, as of early this year, still expected the IVAS to field before the end of fiscal year 2022, or by October.
It’s unclear what, if any, further delays might now be needed as PEO-Soldier and the Army define how to best measure user needs. (Source: Army Times)
21 Apr 22. BlueHalo delivers LOCUST system for P-HEL programme. The P-HEL programme is designed to combat the threat of small unmanned aircraft systems (sUAS) with a counter-sUAS prototype. BlueHalo has said that it has delivered its LOCUST Laser Weapon System (LWS) for integration with the Palletized High Energy Laser (P-HEL) system. The US Army Rapid Capabilities and Critical Technologies Office (RCCTO) devised the P-HEL programme to combat the threat of small unmanned aircraft systems (sUAS) with a counter-sUAS (C-sUAS) prototype. The programme is supported by the Joint Counter-small Unmanned Aircraft Systems Office (JCO). As part of the initiative, the JCO seeks to test the P-HEL in a relevant environment at the Yuma Proving Grounds (YPG). This will be followed by further assessments and the potential deployment of the system overseas. The company said that the LOCUST system, after integration, performed well during a recent event.
BlueHalo sector president Dan Gillings said: “Our laser weapon is a key part of BlueHalo’s LOCUST family of products that leverage decades of experience on a wide variety of directed energy weapon programs, dating back to the Airborne Laser, Airborne Tactical Laser, and High Energy Laser Mobile demonstrator, culminated by our investments in the laser weapon system.”
The LOCUST LWS is based on modular, open-systems architecture. It can detect targets and features an electronic warfare standoff capability, along with a scalable high energy laser (HEL) effector, to support interception.
BlueHalo CEO Jonathan Moneymaker said: “BlueHalo’s mature LOCUST system provides proven ‘laser quality’ precision electro-optic/infrared, pointing, tracking, identification, and hard-kill against a wide variety of Unmanned Aerial Systems. (Source: army-technology.com)
20 Apr 22. Silent Sentinel expands EVO2 thermal core range. British threat detection specialist Silent Sentinel (www.silentsentinel.com) has announced the expansion of its EVO2 range of Uncooled LWIR thermal sensors to complement more of its existing platforms.
The EVO2 range of uncooled Long-Wave Infrared (LWIR) thermal sensors, formerly only available within the Oculus and Aeron platforms, can now be installed on the Osiris and Jaegar camera platforms. EVO2 represents the very latest in both thermal core and lens technology, providing advanced detection capabilities in the most extreme conditions.
The introduction of EVO2 to the Osiris and Jaegar platforms means that all of Silent camera platforms are now capable of capturing thermal images either in 640×512, 1024×768 (XGA resolution) or 1280×1024 (HD resolution), all with 12μm pixel pitch as standard. The range also offers zoom lenses from 25-75mm up to 28-300mm, providing full-spectrum surveillance at both short and long ranges. These lenses are all paired with a secondary HD visible sensor with lens options up to 1000mm.
The EVO2 Uncooled cameras are all available within Silent Sentinel’s hard anodised, rugged housing which is tested to an IP67 level of environmental protection. The EVO2 thermal cameras are also capable of operating within a temperature range from -30°C to 65°C.
James Longcroft, Sales Director at Silent Sentinel said: “We introduced the EVO2 range of thermal sensors last year and are pleased to announce its expansion into compatibility with the Jaegar and Osiris camera platforms as well. We are proud to be an early adopter of innovative technologies typically unavailable in the wider market, and the expansion of the EVO2 range exemplifies our ambition to provide best-in-class thermal imaging technology as standard.”
19 Apr 22. USAF, Boeing lock down design for KC-46 vision system upgrade. Boeing and the U.S. Air Force have agreed on a plan to replace the KC-46 Pegasus’ troubled Remote Vision System with an upgraded version.
Air Force spokeswoman Capt. Samantha Morrison said in a Tuesday statement that the preliminary design review for RVS 2.0 — the proposed replacement for the KC-46′s vision system — was officially closed April 11, meaning the service had accepted the completed design.
Morrison also said Boeing will cover the costs of all RVS 2.0 efforts under the engineering and manufacturing development contract.
Breaking Defense first reported the design review was closed and that Boeing would pay for the replacement system.
The months-overdue agreement sets a path forward for resolving one of the most significant, lingering problems with the Air Force’s newest refueling tanker.
Unlike its predecessors, the KC-10 Extender and the KC-135 Stratotanker, boom operators on the Pegasus use a network of cameras and sensors to guide the boom into the aircraft being refueled.
Under certain lighting conditions, the imagery captured by the original RVS can be distorted or difficult to see, running the risk of the boom accidentally scraping the receiving aircraft. This problem was deemed a category I deficiency, or one of the most serious issues remaining with the aircraft.
In April 2020, the Air Force and Boeing decided to replace the vision system with a redesigned version, scheduled for completion by mid-2024.
But the Air Force and Boeing had trouble coming agreeing on the design of RVS 2.0. The preliminary design review was held in May 2021, and Air Mobility Command originally expected it to conclude last fall.
That didn’t happen, and the command said in January that it recommended the review remain open until a plan is in place to fix problems with the panoramic visual system.
Troubles with the vision system led to a $402m charge for Boeing in the last quarter of 2021, bringing the total in cost overruns the company has paid on the KC-46 to more than $5.4bn.
The Air Force said the new vision system’s design includes several “marked improvements,” including a new, full-color, 4K resolution virtual view display.
It also includes improved and redundant visual cameras, improved infrared cameras, a full redesign of the aerial refueling operator station, redesigned image processors, and upgraded panoramic sensors, the Air Force said.
In a statement provided to Defense News, Boeing said the upgraded cameras will provide “seamless field of view day and night” and include three pairs of panoramic visible cameras for daytime operations and long-wave infrared cameras for nighttime.
“The KC-46A evolves with the needs of the mission and these upgrades are an example of how Boeing and the Air Force partner to incorporate state-of-the-art technology directly into the KC-46 production line,” Boeing said. “Generations of service members will benefit from these new capabilities as they operate the world’s most advanced aerial refueler.”
The program is still on schedule, the Air Force said, and the service expects the redesigned system to help resolve “significant portions” of two category I and six category II deficiencies.
In the next few weeks, the Air Force said, it and Boeing will update the engineering and manufacturing development contract with the product baseline design specification, which will document the new design agreed upon.
Boeing will continue RVS 2.0 efforts at its own cost, Morrison said. But in the future, the government will likely have to cover the costs of any further design changes it requests, she said.
Boeing has delivered 57 KC-46s to the U.S. Air Force, and another two to the Japan Air Self-Defense Force. Earlier this month, Air Mobility Command chief Gen. Mike Minihan approved the KC-46 to start refueling the F-35A and F-22 Raptor fighters during U.S. Transportation Command-tasked missions. Air Mobility Command said this means the Pegasus is now cleared to support almost 85% of Transportation Command’s air refueling tasks.
(Source: Defense News Early Bird/Defense News)
20 Apr 22. Sentient Vision Systems launches ViDAR Land. Melbourne-based Sentient Vision Systems has launched ViDAR Land, a system which can conduct Wide Area Surveillance on land with an extremely high probability of detecting moving man-size targets. The company has done the development work under a $5m Defence Innovation Hub (DIH) contract awarded by the Australian Department of Defence.
ViDAR stands for Visual Detection And Ranging and is said to be the world’s first true Optical Radar. This is a Wide Area Motion Imagery (WAMI) system whose technology has already been proven at sea in service with the U.S. Coast Guard, Royal Australian Navy (RAN), Australian Maritime Safety Authority (AMSA) and other agencies worldwide. ViDAR uses Sentient AI, a combination of Artificial Intelligence and Computer Vision, to examine every pixel in every frame in an optical sensor’s imagery feed – in real time – and detect targets that a human operator would miss, regardless of the resolution of the sensor.
Thanks to its Sentient AI, ViDAR Land can autonomously detect, track, classify and filter thousands of objects and help the operator focus solely on targets of interest, from columns of vehicles to individual humans trying to be inconspicuous. It’s designed to provide real-time Situational Awareness (SA) in a range of applications including wide area monitoring, Intelligence Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR), force protection, border security and law enforcement.
ViDAR Land can be packaged in an external pod or integrated into a crewed or uncrewed fixed- or rotary-wing platform. And it’s scalable, so Size, Weight and Power (SWaP) aren’t issues. ViDAR Land’s data output is STANAG 4609-compliant so can be shared with other advanced Processing, Exploitation and Dissemination (PED) systems, enhancing data fusion to help commanders’ decision-making.
The Australian Department of Defence has invested in ViDAR Land with two particular tactical surveillance projects in mind: Project LAND 129 Ph 3, in which the Insitu Integrator has been named the preferred solution, to replace the Army’s existing Textron Shadow 200 RPAS system with a new Tactical Uncrewed Aerial System (TUAS); and Project AIR 7003 which, until it was cancelled in March 2022, was intended to see the introduction of a fleet of MQ-9A Sky Guardians for the RAAF’s Medium Altitude Long Endurance (MALE) armed RPAS requirement.
Although this project has been terminated, Sentient Vision Systems’ development work means that ViDAR Land could be integrated with MALE RPASs fielded by other operators. Adding ViDAR Land to each of these systems would enhance their ISR capabilities enormously. Maritime ViDAR already equips the Integrator’s stablemate, Insitu’s ScanEagle, in both USCG and RAN service. (Source: Rumour Control)
20 Apr 22. Argentina’s FixView reveals new FV-200 multisensor turret. Argentina’s FixView unveiled its new FV-200 gyrostabilised multisensor turret – developed for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), light aircraft, and other platforms – based on the bigger FV-300. The FV-300 has been acquired by the Argentine Army, Coast Guard, Buenos Aires City Police, and some private operators. The new device is smaller to fit on UAVs with up to 7kg of payload. It weighs 5 kg and can carry a TV camera with 30× zoom, a thermal camera, and a laser rangefinder capable of detecting a 2.3×2.3m target up to 7km, Marcelo Buteler, CEO of FixView, told Janes.
The FV-200 has video autotracking and can geolocate targets. The system will be also equipped with real-time transmission, using a system from SVP Broadcast Microwave, with a range of 80 km via a portable receiver terminal or 150 km with a larger terminal, both equipped with a control console with a joystick and a display for images and a moving map, Buteler said. (Source: Janes)
18 Apr 22. New Chinese radar looks toward Japan, satellite image shows. A satellite photo has revealed that China has built a new long-range, early-warning radar that can be used to detect ballistic missiles from thousands of miles away, likely giving it coverage of all of Japan.
The image, taken on February 2022 by commercial satellite imagery company Maxar Technologies and published on Google Earth, show that a new Large Phased Array Radar, or LPAR, has been built at an existing mountaintop site in Yiyuan County, Shandong Province, some 70 miles southeast of the provincial capital Jinan. The new array is pointed in a northeasterly direction and was built sometime after November 2019. Its completion can potentially give China early warning of ballistic missile launches from North and South Korea, most of Japan and even parts of Russia’s Far East.
The first LPAR at the site, located at 36°01′30″ N, 118°05′31″ E, is some 2,300 feet above sea level. It was finished sometime in 2013-2014 according to Google Earth’s historical imagery and is oriented toward the south-southeast, almost certainly to provide radar coverage of Taiwan.
China is also known to operate additional LPAR sites at Lin’an in Zhejiang Province and Heilongjiang Province. These sites enable early warning coverage of Japan, the Korean Peninsula and Taiwan from multiple angles.
Another site at Korla in Xinjiang Province provides early warning coverage of India. In addition to providing warning against ballistic missile launches, LPARs can also be used for satellite tracking and general space surveillance.
The capabilities of the Chinese LPARs are not known, although the beam of the similar AN/FPS-115 radar found in the U.S. Pave Paws network can be deflected up to 60 degrees from the array’s central boresight axis, allowing each array to cover an azimuth angle of 120 degrees.
Previously released photos of China’s LPARs show that the array is also sloped, similar to that of the AN/FPS-115 which is sloped at an angle of 20 degrees, allowing the beam to be directed at any elevation angle between 3 degrees and 85 degrees.
The range of the Pave Paws radar network has not been officially published, although Encyclopedia Britannica says that the system “is supposed to detect targets with a radar cross section of 10 square meters at a range of 3,000 nautical miles (5,600 km)”.
China has invested considerably in advancing its capabilities for strategic situational awareness as part of its sweeping overall military modernization program. The country’s LPARs are an integral part of China’s early-warning, missile-defense and space-tracking network, which also includes a growing number of space-based sensors and a network of over-the-horizon radars. (Source: Defense News)
18 Apr 22. US Army seeks C-UAS industry support for strategic NGIA programme. The United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM), Program Manager Special Programs (PMSP) has issued a tender for for state of the art technologies and capabilities for the Next Generation Identification and Awareness Initiative (NGIA). NGIA is established to meet requirements in the following focus areas:
Focus Area 1: TAGGING, TRACKING AND LOCATING (TTL): Having knowledge of when, where and what the enemy is doing is crucial to mission planning and eventual success. USASOC is looking to fill technology gaps in special technical capabilities for Tagging, Tracking, and Locating of High Value Individuals and Targets (HVI&T). Tailored solutions should provide Over The Horizon (OTH) and Line of Sight (LOS) day and night target tracking capabilities for extended periods, in all terrain/weather conditions, using ground based, airborne, or satellite receive methods. Specific desired characteristics include LPI/LPD communications, non-traditional means of exfiltration, and ability to survive in austere, near/peer operational environments.
Focus Area 2: RECONNAISSANCE & SURVEILLANCE (R&S): USASOC must provide operators with the ability to gain intelligence in areas that are not easily accessible due to terrain/weather restrictions, political sensitivities, and hostile forces. Special, unattended ground base sensors will provide, “orbits without orbits”, giving commanders situational awareness where traditional ISR systems are either non-existent or units are operating in unfamiliar environments where traditional collection may fail. Specific efforts that include OTH Audio/Video sensors, novel sensor modalities, and passive audio, machine vision object recognition sensors and can bypass adversarial countermeasures are highly desirable.
Focus Area 3: UNMANNED SYSTEMS (UMS): Remotely controlled ground and aerial based systems have become a significant contested technology focus area for USASOC. Multiple solutions are required for the US military to win in the next fight. The solutions include the creation of denied/degraded GPS, anti-RF C2 link jamming capabilities that are manufactured by US companies using parts, and able to be integrated on group 1 and/or group 2 UAS. Additionally, we require the ability to manage and reduce the RF control link signature in order to protect the UAS from opposition EW exploitation. Autonomy is increasingly important and will allow operators to keep focus on mission tasks and decrease the amount of “eyes on screen” time required to operate remotely controlled drones, reducing troop to task requirements. With the increased proliferation of commercial and enemy drone platforms, the ability to deny, control, exploit and counter those platforms is required to survive in the current and future operating environment.
The NGIA’s purpose is to form a sphere of technological excellence made up of participants from industry, non-profit organizations, and not-for-profit entities able to rapidly and efficiently propose and carry out, the development of prototype solutions that sustain and expand strategic superiority within broadly stated special operations focus areas of interest. It is intended that participants will perform a strategically important role in developing systems focused on the development, demonstration and transition of resilient and dynamic technological capabilities critically necessary for the Nation’s special operation forces. Prototype projects awarded as a result of this announcement may result in follow-on production Other Transaction Agreements or Contracts in the quantities specified within any particular project announcement released within the NGIA competitive environment.
Deadline: April 1, 2025
Tender number: W911SR-22-S-NGIA
Responsible organisation: US Army
For more information: https://sam.gov/opp/42397f9cd1e74fa7b66ebf24ed511aad/view (Source: www.unmannedairspace.info)
18 Apr 22. US Navy seeks C-UAS capabilities at part of JCREW protection programme. The Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) Program Executive Office Unmanned and Small Combatants (PEO USC), Expeditionary Missions Program Office (PMS 408) has issued a competitive Request for Proposal (RFP) for the Joint Counter Radio-Controlled Improvised Explosive Device Electronic Warfare (JCREW) Increment One Block One (I1B1) and DRAKE.
The JCREW I1B1 system, which includes three different form factors (mounted, dismounted, and fixed site), provides long term protection to U.S. forces against Radio Controlled IEDs, and a variant referred to as DRAKE provides a Counter–Unmanned Aircraft System (C-UAS) capability to afloat and ashore forces.
JCREW utilizes an open architecture System of Systems design, with common hardware and software. JCREW fulfills the Navy Expeditionary Combat Command (NECC), Naval Beach Group (NBG), United States Air Force (USAF), Foreign Military Sales (FMS), and other agency requirements to replace legacy CREW systems that lack worldwide applicability. DRAKE expands the Navy’s C-UAS capability to high priority Navy installations and ships under U.S. Fleet Forces Command, Military Sealift Command and Strategic Systems Programs.
Deadline: May 4, 2022
Tender number: N00024-22-R-6427
Responsible organisation: US Navy
For more information: https://sam.gov/opp/617b2515a9eb43b890dba339c6ebdcea/view
(Source: www.unmannedairspace.info)
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Blighter Surveillance Systems is a world-leading designer and manufacturer of best-in-class electronic-scanning ground-based radars, surveillance solutions and Counter-UAS systems. Blighter’s solid-state micro-Doppler products are deployed in more than 35 countries across the globe, delivering consistent all-weather security protection and wide area surveillance along borders, coastlines, at military bases and across critical infrastructure such as airports, oil and gas facilities and palaces. Blighter radars are also used to protect manoeuvre force missions when deployed on military land vehicles and trailers, and its world-beating multi-mode radar represents a great leap in threat detection technology and affordability for use in a variety of scenarios.
The Blighter range of radar products are used for detecting a variety of threats, from individuals on foot to land vehicles, boats, drones and low-flying aircraft at ranges of up to 32 km. Blighter Surveillance Systems employs 40 people and is located near Cambridge, UK, where it designs, produces and markets its range of unique patented solid-state radars. Blighter prides itself on being an engineer-led business committed to providing cost-effective and flexible solutions across the defence, critical infrastructure and national security markets.
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