Sponsored by Blighter Surveillance Systems
www.blighter.com
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30 Apr 20. Liteye Expands Counter UAS Layered Approach with Raytheon Missiles & Defense’s Phaser. Together with its Colorado based teammate Numerica, Liteye Systems, Inc. has seen significant success in approaching the UAS problem-set through a collaborative and layered strategy.
“We recognize a need for our systems to integrate with higher level C2 networks, but we also appreciate the need for our systems to work effectively by itself or directly with other systems and sub-systems depending on the mission,” said Ken Geyer, CEO of Liteye Systems.
Liteye’s US AUDS (Anti UAS Defense System) is a combat proven Counter UAS solution with multiple layered technologies to detect, track, identify and defeat malicious threats. Portions of this layered approach have been used to push critical information through higher-level networks to improve situational awareness and has also been purpose-linked directly to other weapon systems to cue them on to a target.
Recently, Liteye has provided Raytheon Missiles & Defense in Albuquerque NM, a purpose-built system to visually identify, target and cue Raytheon Missiles & Defense’s Phaser High Powered Microwave system to an intended target. Raytheon Missiles & Defense’s Phaser system is a state-of-the-art system capable of permanently damaging UAS before it damages critical infrastructure or personnel.
“We were pleased to be a chosen supplier to Raytheon Missiles & Defense and look forward to providing them the additional layers needed to be effective against all types of small UAS,” said Geyer.
In past events held by the US government, Liteye’s layered Counter UAS solution has also been used to successfully place the 30mm x 113mm Cannon system on a positively identified UAS target.
“In combination with other weapon systems like the 30mm Cannon, or Raytheon Missiles & Defense’s Phaser, Liteye continues to be extremely successful in eliminating a drone, even in difficult flight engagements,” said Geyer.
Liteye Systems, Inc., is a Colorado-based, world-leader in Counter Unmanned Aerial Systems (CUAS). Liteye manufacturers multiple combat proven configurations for the US DoD that are highly effective in protecting lives and critical infrastructure around the globe. With over $100m in Government contracts, Liteye is a leader in the Counter UAS market. (Source: UAS VISION)
30 Apr 20. NVK Iskra finishes test of 90K6E radar. NVK Iskra (a subsidiary of Ukroboronexport) has successfully completed testing export models of its 90K6E 3D mobile surveillance radar. Two days of tests confirmed the ability of 90K6E to detect UAVs at low, medium and high altitudes for a variety of ranges, using its circular surveillance radar and transistor transmitter.
Yuri Pashchenko, director of the Iskra Scientific and Production Complex, said: ‘The positive results of these tests open to us the undeniable prospects of 90K6E to be exported. We already have a potential customer from one of the countries in the Middle East, for which the ability to determine UAVs is one of the basic requirements.’
The 90k6E radar was first unveiled in 2019 and is designed for use by anti-aircraft missile units. During testing, the radar was able to identify a Raybird 3 small tactical UAV which reached an altitude of 3000m and a speed of 160km/h. (Source: Shephard)
29 Apr 20. Lithuania acquires Wingman and Watchdog C-UAS systems. The Lithuanian Ministry of National Defence (MoD) has purchased an undisclosed number of counter-unmanned aircraft systems (C-UAS) to support operations both at home and abroad, defence sources told Jane’s.
Following a two-year programme, the MoD selected several systems from Danish C-UAS specialist MyDefence Communications to support dismounted and vehicle operations as well as the protection of main and forward operating bases. Selections include the Wingman-105 Small Handheld/Wearable Drone Detector and Watchdog 200 Networked RF Sensor. Deliveries of both C-UAS products are expected to be completed by September 2020, industry sources added.
The latest variant in the Wingman series, the 105 model, has been designed as a standalone UAS detection system for special operations forces, according to MyDefence Communications.
The company’s CEO, Dan Hermansen, said the Wingman-105 is an upgrade of the Wingman-100 and designed for a wider range of “operating temperatures to match the harsh mission environments all over the globe”. He also confirmed Lithuania would be the first customer for the Wingman-105.
The Wingman-105 comprises a smaller form factor and lower all-up weight over the legacy 100 model, enabled in part through the design of an internal battery supply that can be charged by an AC/DC net adaptor, a company official told Jane’s .
Designed to provide personnel with an alert of UAS activity during an evaluation period, the Wingman-105 demonstrated its capability to detect UASs at ranges in excess of 1 km depending on environmental conditions, defence sources explained.
The Wingman-105 includes 60° directional 2.4 GHz and 5.8 GHz ISM band antennas and can be networked to command-and-control (C2) devices including the US Department of Defense’s Android Tactical Assault Kit (ATAK).
The system can also be upgraded with the AA100 External Active Antenna (AA100) omnidirectional antenna for 360° coverage, depending on end-user requirements. Hermansen revealed to Jane’s that the company is also designing a new accessory for the Wingman-series of products. (Source: Jane’s)
29 Apr 20. Ascent Vision Technologies announces new CUAS release. Ascent Vision Technologies (AVT) has released its newest variant of the eXpeditionary Mobile Air Defence Integrated System (XMADIS) which provides on-the-move, next-generation and portable sUAS capabilities.
The XMADIS uses radar with a radio frequency detection sensor to allow the user to detect, classify and locate commercial sUAS using CUAS Suite software via a touchscreen interface.
Lee Dingman, president of AVT, said: ‘This latest X-MADIS version is the result of three years of development, testing and integration of new and improved features and components. Our Counter UAS is responsive to our customers demands and we constantly evaluate the future threat to keep our customers ahead of their enemies.’
Two gyro-stabilised optics can be integrated into the CUAS such as the CM262 4-configuration, 11.5kg payload and CM202U 5.5kg payload. (Source: Shephard)
29 Apr 20. Liteye Systems Announces SIGNUM – Threat Detection & Targeting System. Liteye Systems, Inc. has announced the introduction of the SIGNUM, Threat Detection & Targeting System to provide accurate and effective targeting data to weapon systems capable of kinetically defeating UAS or similar targets.
Additionally, SIGNUM supports multi-domain Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) missions along with accurate 3-dimensional targeting.
Working closely in partnership with Numerica, SIGNUM builds upon the backbone developed for the combat proven AUDS CUAS system. SIGNUM detects movement within an operationally significant range for CUAS kinetic kill systems. It tracks each individual object, allows an operator to positively ID an object as a target, and provides a 3-dimensional cue at a high refresh rate to a higher-level network, or directly to an integrated weapon station.
“SIGNUM integrates combat proven Radar, Optics, RF Surveillance and Control System components for Multi-Domain Support” said Ryan Hurt, VP of Business Development. Mr. Hurt also explained “Liteye provides a significant layer of the overall solution to Countering UAS and engaging other targets of interest. Effectiveness increases greatly when Signum is used to cue a kinetic kill weapon to a Positive ID target. We’ve demonstrated the capability on multiple kinetic systems ranging from High Powered Microwaves to 30mm Cannons and expect these systems to provide significant capability to the warfighter in the future”.
Liteye Systems, Inc. is a world leader in Counter Unmanned Aerial Systems (CUAS) with over $100m in Government contracts. (Source: UAS VISION)
29 Apr 20. Saab Delivers the First GlobalEye. Saab delivered the first GlobalEye Swing Role Surveillance System aircraft to the United Arab Emirates on 29 April 2020. The United Arab Emirates has ordered three GlobalEye aircraft, with the initial contract signed in late 2015. In November 2019 the country also announced its intention to complete a contract amendment for the purchase of an additional two systems.
“The delivery of the first GlobalEye is a major milestone for Saab, but also an important step in the history of airborne early warning and control. We have set a new standard for the market and I am proud to say that we have delivered the most advanced airborne surveillance solution in the world to the United Arab Emirates”, says Micael Johansson, President and CEO of Saab.
GlobalEye is Saab’s new airborne early warning and control solution. It provides air, maritime and ground surveillance in a single solution. GlobalEye combines Saab’s new Erieye Extended Range Radar and a range of additional advanced sensors with the ultra-long range Global 6000 aircraft from Bombardier.
28 Apr 20. Army tweaks new goggles to scan for fevers. Researchers made adjustments to the digital thermal sensors on their Integrated Visual Augmentation System, or IVAS goggles, so the devices can now detect a fever, service officials said this week. A version of the IVAS goggles are now being used at Fort Benning, Georgia, on hundreds of soldiers arriving each day to train at the post, which hosts basic combat training, Airborne School and Ranger School.
Five seconds was all it took for the goggles to detect the forehead and inner eye temperature of troops as they filed in through a processing center. The temperature of a soldier is registered through the goggle-wearer’s heads-up display. Those who registered a fever were moved to a medical station for further evaluation.
The goggle screening system cleared a group of about 300 soldiers in roughly 30 minutes, according to the Army. The process could also be more sanitary than traditional screening measures, which require closer contact between medical personnel and patients.
“We’ve always planned for an agile software system and a digital platform that can be upgraded and adapted to use against emerging threats in the future. No one anticipated the next threat to emerge would be a virus, but that’s the enemy we face today,” said Tom Bowman, director of the IVAS Science and Technology Special Project Office, who helped orchestrate the thermal tweaks to the devices.
However, even though fevers are a known symptom of coronavirus, it’s far from an absolute predictor. Up to 25 percent of people with the virus may never show symptoms, Centers for Disease Control director Dr. Robert Redfield has previously warned publicly, meaning symptoms could be a less effective gauge of troop health than originally hoped. (Source: Defense News)
28 Apr 20. Multi-million pound contract awarded to secure life-saving weapon locating radar systems. DE&S have awarded a £46m contract to extend the British Army’s use of its Mobile Artillery Monitoring Battlefield Asset (MAMBA) weapon-locating radar systems. The contract secures the continued use of the life-saving critical operational counter-fire capability that has been in service since 2003, supporting operations in both Iraq and Afghanistan. The contract, awarded to SAAB by the Artillery Systems team at Providing the best possible equipment to our troops is what we do best, and I am delighted that we have now secured the future of MAMBA for the next six years Colonel Jeremy Sharpe, team leader DE&S, will see the company work with the Royal Artillery’s 5th regiment based in Catterick, to ensure the capability remains in service until 2026. Team leader Colonel Jeremy Sharpe, said: “Providing the best possible equipment to our troops is what we do best, and I am delighted that we have now secured the future of MAMBA for the next six years.” The MAMBA system works by giving advanced warning signals to troops on the front line by detecting incoming hostile fire. It is a highly-mobile weapon locating system, used for tasks including counter-battery missions and fire control, tactically deployed close to the forward line of troops. Within the battlefield sectors or other areas of interest, MAMBA rapidly detects and tracks artillery projectiles and calculates points of origin and points of impact. Based on the calculations produced by MAMBA, priorities are made and directions are provided for effective counterbattery fire.
In fire control mode, MAMBA will track the projectiles of own fire and extrapolate the points of impact. In sense and warn mode, extrapolation of points of impact of incoming fire will trigger a timely warning to its own troops. Deliveries of the MAMBA mid-life extension will take place between 2022 and 2023, with the support contract covering 2020 to 2026. SAAB will carry out the work in Gothenburg, Sweden, with support also taking place at 5th Regiment Royal Artillery’s Barracks in Catterick, UK. Jeremy Quin, Minister for Defence Procurement, said: “MAMBA has long proven itself as a battle-winning capability, protecting civilians and troops on operations for many years. Our troops in Catterick will work alongside our counterparts at SAAB to ensure this life-saving piece of equipment remains in service for the next six years.” Work is already underway to explore which capability will replace MAMBA when it goes out of service. Currently, the Army is considering SERPENS – a next generation weapon locating system with a digitally-networked suite of sensor systems that detect hostile mortars, artillery and rockets. This is still in the early stages of its concept phase and subject to further research and development. (Source: U.K. MoD desider)
28 Apr 20. South Korea completes deliveries of KM-SAM Block-1 system to RoKAF. South Korea’s Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) announced on 28 April that deliveries of the Cheongung Korean medium-range surface-to-air missile (KM-SAM or M-SAM) Block-1 system to the Republic of Korea Air Force (RoKAF) have been completed.
In a statement DAPA said the final units of the self-propelled system, which has a stated maximum range of 40 km and – along with the Block-2 variant – is intended to replace the RoKAF’s MIM-23 HAWK (locally known as Cheolmae) SAM systems, were handed over in April.
The Cheongung Block-1, which was first was deployed with the RoKAF’s Air Defense Missile Command in 2015 in an anti-aircraft role, is armed with eight SAMs per launcher.
The 4.6m-long, cold-launched missiles – each of which costs an estimated KRW1.5bn (USD1.2m) – are capable of reaching a top speed of Mach 4.5 and an altitude of between 15 and 20km.
A Cheongung SAM battery typically consists of a command-and-control centre, a multifunction radar, and four transporter-erector-launchers – all of which are mounted on separate 8×8 trucks. Development of the system was completed in 2011, with production of the Block-1 missiles beginning in 2013.
In June 2017 South Korea announced the beginning of mass-production of the Cheongung Block-2 variant to better counter North Korea’s growing missile threats. The Block-2, deliveries of which are ongoing, is a hit-to-kill (HTK) missile interceptor designed to engage incoming ballistic missile targets at an altitude of about 20km.
It was rated fit for combat operations after meeting all the requirements at a test conducted in early June 2017. The move marked the completion of the development of the improved HTK missile, which was led by the country’s Agency for Defense Development in co-operation with South Korean companies such as LIG Nex1. (Source: Jane’s)
27 Apr 20. The team in charge of restoring overmatch to the Close Combat Force repurposed emerging technologies to combat COVID-19 last week using a prototype of the Integrated Visual Augmentation System (IVAS).
“A week ago, we were talking about the potential impacts of the pandemic on the IVAS program. Today we’re talking about the potential impacts of IVAS on the pandemic,” said Brig. Gen. Dave Hodne, the director of the Army Future Command’s Soldier Lethality Cross Functional Team (SL CFT) at Fort Benning, where Hodne also serves as the Infantry Commandant.
The system is being employed today to rapidly assess the temperature of hundreds of Soldiers each day as they prepare for training on an installation that hosts thousands of Soldiers in dozens of courses, including basic training and Ranger School. As the commandant of the Infantry School, Hodne is responsible for these Soldiers and eager to use IVAS to mitigate training delays where possible and to stem the spread of the virus when detected.
“That’s the genius of this system; we can use this technology today to fight the virus, even as we shape it into the combat system our Soldiers need tomorrow. This shows the extensibility of the IVAS technology and the system,” said Brig Gen Tony Potts, the PEO Soldier at Fort Belvoir, Va., where next generation capabilities are being developed for the purpose of restoring the overmatch to U.S. forces. “While we’re maintaining momentum in pursuit of modernization, we have to keep in mind that readiness today is critical.”
IVAS is the SL CFT’s signature modernization effort, a high speed goggle designed by Microsoft using the Microsoft HoloLens with a “heads up display” that will improve Soldiers’ situational awareness without requiring them to take their eyes off the objective. Last week, Hodne announced the schedule remains on track to start fielding to troops in the fourth quarter of fiscal year 2021 after supply chain issues wrought by COVID-19 forced the IVAS team to shift various design and study phases to the left and right.
About that same time last week, Tom Bowman was watching news about the pandemic at home in Virginia, when it occurred to him that the digital thermal sensors in IVAS could be adapted to detect a fever. Bowman is the director of IVAS Science & Technology Special Project Office with the C5ISR’s Night Vision Laboratory at Fort Belvoir, Va. C5ISR is one of the organizations that comprise the Army Modernization Enterprise and a partner to the Microsoft team that agreed to “tweak” software into an application that would expand the capability of the system. Four days later, the first IVAS fever detection devices were shipped to Fort Benning, where Bowman and his team of experts trained 1st Battalion, 29th Infantry Regiment Soldiers to use them.
The goggles they use are familiar to those who followed the evolution of the IVAS prototypes through Soldier Touch Point 2 (STP 2) last fall, a high-visibility event at Fort Pickett, Va., that demonstrated the utility and acceptability of the goggle in various combat operational environments. The STP 2 prototypes are not ruggedized military form factor, as the final version will be, so they cannot be used outdoors, where temperatures continually fluctuate, for the purpose of fever detection just yet, Bowman said. Operations were conducted indoors on Main Post using commercial thermal reference sources to calibrate the imager to room temperature, a necessary condition for establishing baseline conditions for comparison.
Day after day and through the weekend, Soldiers in groups of more than 200 and 300 filed through the processing center, where they paused for five seconds facing a Soldier wearing an IVAS goggle with sensors that detect the forehead and inner eye temperature. The Soldier’s temperature registered in the operator’s see-through, heads up display, a method that proves more economical and sanitary than the use of traditional thermometers. Anyone who registered a fever was moved to a medical station on site for evaluation. After every tenth Soldier, the system was recalibrated to maintain accuracy, a process that takes mere seconds. From start to finish, a group of roughly 300 Soldiers was processed and cleared in less than 30 minutes.
“We’ve always planned for an agile software system and a digital platform that can be upgraded and adapted to use against emerging threats in the future. No one anticipated the next threat to emerge would be a virus, but that’s the enemy we face today,” said Bowman, who – to use a football analogy – brought a special team to Fort Benning to tackle the pandemic while the rest of the team drives on with design and testing.
The fever detection operation, which proved successful from day one, underscores the value of the IVAS rapid development, which centers on an iterative design-test-refine process, Potts said. The program is Middle Tier Acquisition Rapid Prototyping effort, which requires the program yield residual capabilities like the sensors that enabled the fever detection technology, which can be employed, for instance, on Family of Weapon Sights – Individual (FWS-I).
26 Apr 20. Saab starts flight testing AESA fighter radar. Saab has begun flight testing a new multi-mode X-band active electronically scanned array (AESA) fighter radar being offered as an addition to the company’s PS-05/A radar family. The radar combines a new AESA front end based on Gallium Nitride (GaN) transmit/receive modules, with the back-end processing and mode set from the existing PS-05/A Mk 4 mechanically-scanned radar. Saab is pitching the new AESA radar to a number of different market segments, including fighter upgrades, aggressor platforms, and lightweight fighter/trainer aircraft.
Developed by Saab’s radar solutions business unit in Gothenburg, the new X-band AESA radar is being offered as an upgrade option for Gripen C/D customers. In addition, the modular and scaleable AESA architecture will allow for different array apertures tailored to other airframe installations and applications, including airborne surveillance.
The first flight trial was conducted on 8 April, with the AESA radar fitted in a two-seat Gripen D fighter operating from the company’s Linköping facility. Anders Carp, senior vice-president and head of Saab’s surveillance business area, told journalists during a conference call on 24 April that the X-band AESA prototype completed “a very successful first flight, both in terms of capability and stability”.
The flight test, which lasted about 90 minutes, saw the radar detect and track targets in both air-to-air and air-to-ground modes. Further validation trials are expected over the next three to four months, with approximately 15 flight tests to be flown in that period using the Gripen D aircraft.
Carp said that the new X-band AESA radar unit was already at a high state of maturity. “If there is a customer who wants it now, we are ready to take orders and start production,” he said, suggesting a lead time of about 12-18 months for production, integration, and initial testing. (Source: Jane’s)
27 Apr 20. US DoD seeks industry participation in new air defence concept trials at Eglin AFB in June. The US Department of Defense has published a Special Notice for the Weapons Conference (WEPCON) hosted by Eglin AFB, FL on 2-3 June 2020. This also serves as a Broad Agency Announcement (BAA) and is related to programs currently managed at Eglin Air Force Base by the Armament Directorate (AFLCMC/EB), and the United States Special Operations Command (SOCOM) Det-1.
According to the UD governments beta.sam site: “Mission areas for gap mitigation include base defense, Long Range Strike, Close Control Strike, Intra-Theater Strike, and Offensive & Defensive Counter-Air (to include Suppression of Enemy Air Defenses (SEAD)/ Destruction of Enemy Air Defenses (DEAD)). Desired weapon capabilities include but are not limited to defeat of fighters, bombers, support aircraft, unmanned aerial vehicles, cruise missiles, integrated air defense systems (IADS), ballistic missiles, fixed and moving targets, hard & deeply buried targets (HDBTs), area targets, maritime systems, and weapons of mass destruction (WMDs). Weapon technologies and concepts that provide U.S. forces the ability to retain air superiority and global precision attack capabilities are highly desired. Technologies and methodologies to improve the cost, schedule and performance of development and manufacturing for any concept and existing legacy system are requested.
“Technologies and/or processes that enable the development, testing, and fielding of capability in these focus areas should be considered. These may include but are not limited to: guidance, navigation, and control, sensors (e.g. seekers, inertial measurement units, datalinks, etc.), software/algorithms, new materials, flight terminations systems, and telemetry/instrumentation systems.
Proposals shall be submitted no later than 29 April 2020, 4:00 P.M. Central Standard Time (CST). It is the Government’s intent to award firm fixed price contracts.
For more information
https://beta.sam.gov/opp/d67f3f7ec24e42ba9dd30038d6586ce7/view?index=opp&sort=-modifiedDate&page=1&keywords=counter%20UAS&opp_response_date_filter_model=%7B%22dateRange%22:%7B%22startDate%2
(Source: www.unmannedairspace.info)
22 Apr 20. US defence agency seeks systems integration partner for counter unmanned systems. US Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) has issued a Request For Information (RFI) from industry to submit white papers regarding a systems integration partner (SIP) for counter unmanned systems (CUxS). The purpose of the RFI is to conduct market research, which will be used to plan and implement an acquisition strategy to procure supplies/services related to integration of a CUxS Family of Systems (FoS) with the initial focus being Counter Unmanned Aerial Systems (CUAS). USSOCOM is seeking interested vendors, or teaming ventures, which have the ability to serve as the CUxS SIP. The Government is particularly interested in Industry recommendations and feedback to improve contract requirements, contract structure/type, and performance incentives.
The open competition is due to be followed by a Request For Proposal in 3Q2020 and estimated contract award in 1Q2021.
USSOCOM envisions the CUxS SIP responsibilities to include:
- Integration of a family of CUAS sensors and systems, both Government-owned and vendor recommended (based on the set of sensor requirements provided by the Government), to provide a layered defense for SOF Operators in a variety of OCONUS environments.
- Provide modular and scalable recommendations on the optimal sensor/system package for a given mission set or deployment location, based on Government-provided intelligence, operator inputs, site surveys, and their own expertise of the various available sensors.
- Coordinate with the Government logistics team in the fielding of packaged solutions. The SIP may be required to provide installation and/or field service representative (FSR, Tier 1 repair & maintenance support) support at OCONUS locations.
- Provide initial system training for any sensor introduced to the FoS and augment a Military Training Team (MTT), as necessary, to provide pre-deployment and refresher training to SOF Operators.
- Be responsible for specific maintenance activities, such as software and firmware updates, pre-planned product improvements to sensors, tracking of predictive analytics (i.e. Overall Equipment Effectiveness (OEE), Mean time to repair (MTTR), and Mean time between failure (MTBF)) of the sensors/systems in the FoS. Support shall be provided at both permanent Government/Contractor facilities and deployed locations in order to accomplish priorities and tasks described below.
Interested vendors should submit white papers, not exceeding 15 pages, that address the following areas:
- Discuss your experience with commonly employed CUxS sensors and systems to include, but not limited to: Passive and Active detection, Radio Frequency defeat, Kinetic defeat, Artificial Intelligence (AI) or Machine Learning (ML), and any other emerging technologies.
- Describe your previous or current experience integrating various hardware systems into a tailorable, fieldable solution.
- The Government anticipates an “over the air” evaluation, at a Government test facility, as a portion of the technical evaluation. Please address your company’s ability to demonstrate the rapid integration of a sensor solution (est. two weeks to integrate a provided sensor) during the course of a 30 day proposal period.
- Discuss the subject matter expertise employed by your company to perform evaluation of competing hardware solutions. All personnel supporting this effort shall be U.S. citizens and possess a SECRET security clearance.
- Discuss your efforts in assisting the Government to maintain systems or FoS. Include your methodology for collecting and reporting predictive analytics.
- Discuss any recommendations your company may have to optimize the concept of a CUxS SIP, to include, but not limited to:
- Requirements of the Contract
- Contract Type (C or D)
- Pricing Arrangement (Fixed Price or Cost Plus or Multiple)
- Single or Multiple Award
- If recommending MA, then discuss how all awardees would be required to address configuration control and interoperability.
- Can a SIP be sourced as a service?
- If yes, explain.
- If incentive option terms were included in a resultant award, what key metric(s) would you propose the government evaluate to determine if the Contractor has earned the incentive option term?
- Is there a different relationship besides a “Systems Integration Partner” that the Government should consider? If yes, please provide details.
- Provide recommendations on NAICS, SIC, PSC, and/or FSC.
Notice ID: CUxSSIP_17April2020
Date of issue: 17 April 2020
Response date: 13 May 2020
Point of contact:
Office: SOF ATL-KP 7701 Tampa Point Boulevard, Tampa, FL 33621-5323, US
(Image: USSOCOM)
For more information visit:
https://beta.sam.gov/opp/1c08665bcb0a46de9f94c69ee172b978/view?keywords=unmanned&sort=-relevance&index=opp&is_active=true&page=1&inactive_filter_values=false&opp_publish_date_filter_model=%7B%22dateRange%22:%7B%22startDate%22:%222020-04-15%22,%22endDate%22:%222020-04-21%22%7D%7D&opp_response_date_filter_model=%7B%22dateRange%22:%7B%22startDate%22:%22%22,%22endDate%22:%22%22%7D%7D&date_filter_index=0
(Source: www.unmannedairspace.info)
26 Apr 20. USSOCOM issues Sierra Nevada contract modification for degraded visual environment pilotage system.
Key Points:
- The US Special Operations Command awarded Sierra Nevada a contract modification for a DVE pilotage system
- The system is to help pilots better see during DVE, a dangerous situation where downwash from a helicopter’s main rotor blade can diminish pilot visibility
US Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) awarded Sierra Nevada Corp (SNC) a USD88m contract modification on 22 April for the Degraded Visual Environment (DVE) Pilotage System.
The sole-source modification award is for an indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity (ID/IQ) firm-fixed-price, cost-plus-fixed-fee, and cost reimbursable contract. The modification also raises the contract ceiling to USD110m. Fiscal year (FY) 2019 funds of USD5m were obligated at the time of the award. (Source: Jane’s)
23 Apr 20. South Korea to equip FFX-III frigates with indigenous multifunction radar. Key Points:
- South Korea will equip its future FFX-III frigates with a locally developed multifunction radar
- The selection points to greater inclusion of indigenously manufactured components in the warship programme
South Korea will incorporate a Hanwha Systems-developed, medium-range multifunction radar (MFR) system on the new type of frigates referred to locally as the FFX-III class, an industry source has confirmed with Jane’s. The class, which is also known as the Ulsan Batch III in official Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) documents, will be the first warships to feature the Gallium Nitride-based sensor. The active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar will form the apex of the frigate’s integrated mast system.
The MFR was unveiled by Hanwha Systems in October 2019 at the Busan International Maritime Defence Industry Exhibition. It is South Korea’s first fully digital indigenously developed AESA radar, the source claims.
Besides detecting, tracking, and classifying aerial, and surface targets the MFR will also provide guidance to naval gunfire, and anti-air and anti-surface missile systems. The radar can also be configured for limited electronic warfare roles against hostile warships and aircraft.
However, no further technical details of the system were provided.
The Republic of Korea Navy (RoKN) will receive six 3,500-tonne frigates under the FFX-III programme. The warship will have an overall length of 129m and a width of 15m. It will feature a hybrid electric and gas propulsion system, and can attain a maximum speed of 30kt. (Source: Jane’s)
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Blighter® Surveillance Systems (BSS) is a UK-based electronic-scanning radar and sensor solution provider delivering an integrated multi-sensor package to systems integrators comprising the Blighter electronic-scanning radars, cameras, thermal imagers, trackers and software solutions. Blighter radars combine patented solid-state Passive Electronic Scanning Array (PESA) technology with advanced Frequency Modulated Continuous Wave (FMCW) and Doppler processing to provide a robust and persistent surveillance capability. Blighter Surveillance Systems is a Plextek Group company, a leading British design house and technology innovator, and is based at Great Chesterford on the outskirts of Cambridge, England.
The Blighter electronic-scanning (e-scan) FMCW Doppler ground surveillance radar (GSR) is a unique patented product that provides robust intruder detection capabilities under the most difficult terrain and weather conditions. With no mechanical moving parts and 100% solid-state design, the Blighter radar family of products are extremely reliable and robust and require no routine maintenance for five years. The Blighter radar can operate over land and water rapidly searching for intruders as small a crawling person, kayaks and even low-flying objects. In its long-range modes the Blighter radar can rapidly scan an area in excess of 3,000 km² to ensure that intruders are detected, identified and intercepted before they reach critical areas.
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