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14 Mar 19. Secubit offering small arms-hosted situational awareness system. US Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) is integrating weaponry readiness and maintenance enhancement solutions into its Android Tactical Assault Kit (ATAK), industry sources told Jane’s at SMi’s Future Soldier Technology conference in London on 11 March. USSOCOM’s Naval Special Warfare Command (NSWC) is seeking to optimise Israeli company Secubit’s WeaponLogic Ecosystem, which comprises a toolset designed to generate and analyse weapon usage data in real time. Secubit’s Chief Executive Officer, Itay Weiss, said the integration of the WeaponLogic Ecosystem into ATAK would be complete by the end of the third quarter of 2019. WeaponLogic Ecosystem technology is used by multiple armed forces, including Sweden, to support maintenance for small arms inventories. However, this latest collaboration with the NSWC represents the first time the solution will be integrated into a wider battle management system (BMS). Secubit’s technology features a Smart Counter that can be integrated into the pistol grip of assault rifles and handguns, including Singapore’s SAR21 and the US’ M16, M4, and Glock weapons. Smart Counters could be integrated into upper receivers of M4s and M16s as an alternative, Weiss said.
The Smart Counter, which is supported by laptop-installed software, includes an information storage capacity that provides weapon operators and wider BMS with information including magazine status, muzzle velocity, barrel temperature, and even the status of safety selector catches. Weiss said the Smart Counter could also be programmed to identify the direction of fire, which would further support its utility in BMS technology.
According to Weiss, the WeaponLogic Ecosystem will be networked to ATAK BMS software through multiple Harris Corporation software defined radios (SDRs), including the AN/PRC-152 Multiband Handheld Radio. (Source: IHS Jane’s)
13 Mar 19. Echodyne CTO Discusses the Future of ESA Radar Technology at Military Radar Summit. Tom Driscoll to Speak on How the Company’s MESA™ Radar Marries High Performance and Compact Size to Break New Limits.
Echodyne, the manufacturer of innovative, high-performance, small electronically scanned array (ESA) radars for government and commercial markets, announced today that its co-founder and Chief Technology Officer, Dr. Tom Driscoll, will speak at the Military Radar Summit on March 14, 2019 in Washington, DC. The event, which takes place at Sheraton Pentagon City, is co-located with the Counter UAS Summit.
Driscoll, an expert on metamaterials and electromagnetics, will speak on “Low C-SWAP Electronically Scanned Antenna Technology Platform” and detail how Echodyne’s MESA radar demonstrates high-end capabilities in a low-cost package.
“This technology is truly groundbreaking,” said Driscoll. “Harnessing phased-array radar functionalities and offering them in an affordable compact sensor will enable mobile and scalable security solutions and re-define price-per-performance expectations.”
Echodyne will also be hosting a Lunch and Learn on the topic of radar innovation at the event, hosted by Echodyne VP Products, William (Bill) Graves, Jr. (Source: BUSINESS WIRE)
13 Mar 19. G/ATOR Block 2 roll out continues. The US Marine Corps has commenced fielding of Ground/Air Task Oriented Radar (G/ATOR) Block 2 radar systems to artillery units at 11th Marine Regiment at Camp Pendleton, California. G/ATOR is an expeditionary, three-dimensional medium-range radar system, which is being developed and fielded in three blocks that will support the Marine Air-Ground Task Force (MAGTF) across the range of its capabilities.
Block 1 – already being fielded – provides air defence and surveillance capabilities; Block 2 supports MAGTF counter-fire and counterbattery missions; and Block 4, a future iteration, will provide expeditionary airport surveillance radar capabilities.
The first set of G/ATOR Block 1s, customised for air defence and air surveillance, were fielded in 2018 to Marine Air Control Squadrons 1 and 2 in Yuma, Arizona, and Cherry Point, North Carolina.
G/ATOR combines the capabilities previously provided by five different legacy radars. G/ATOR Block 2 provides ground weapon-locating capabilities for counter battery and counter-fire missions, replacing the AN/TPQ-46 fire-finder ground weapons locating radar. It also provides enhanced capabilities to locate and identify indirect fire weapons, such as mortars, artillery and rockets. (Source: Shephard)
12 Mar 19. Echodyne Radars in NASA TCL4 Awards. NASA’s TCL4 Awards to Lone Star UAS Center of Excellence and Nevada Institute of Autonomous Systems UAS Center of Excellence Each Include Echodyne Radars. Echodyne, the manufacturer of innovative, high-performance radars for government and commercial markets, announced today that its radar platform has been selected by two Technology Capability Level 4 (TCL4) awardees of NASA’s UAS Traffic Management (UTM) program – Lone Star UAS Center of Excellence & Innovation at Texas A&M University-Corpus Christi, and Nevada Institute for Autonomous Systems Unmanned Aviation Safety (NIAS-UAS) Center of Excellence.
NASA’s UTM project has progressed to TCL4 which will demonstrate and test UAS missions in higher-density urban areas as well as technologies to manage large-scale operations. Echodyne’s inclusion in these TCL4 awards follows from previous TCL2 and TCL3 project work at multiple FAA test sites across the US.
One of the keys to opening the skies to UAS business opportunities is situational awareness technologies that promote safe mission operations. In dense urban areas, commercial UAS must be able to detect and avoid other aircraft and obstacles either through onboard sensors and systems or remotely through ground-based sensors and communications. For manned aircraft, the pilot performs this detect and avoid function. For unmanned aircraft, there needs to be a technological solution supported by an appropriate regulatory framework. Echodyne’s radar platform offers a technology solution for sensors mounted on commercial UAS or deployed along UAS corridors and other pre-defined UAS traffic frameworks.
As demonstrated in every national airspace every day, radar is the indispensable sensor for managing airspace mission safety. The EchoGuard radar is an innovative ground-based airspace management sensor that provides market-leading detection and tracking performance for its compact size and low weight, power, and cost. The EchoFlight airborne radar provides similar detect-and-avoid (DAA) benefits when mounted on commercial UAS airframes. Together, Echodyne radars offer unprecedented price-performance to help advance the UAS industry.
“We are proud to have worked with the NASA UTM team and FAA test sites for the past several years and are pleased our radar performance brings us back for increasingly more challenging mission parameters,” said Eben Frankenberg, CEO of Echodyne. “Our unique MESA radar technology increases airspace safety and elevates mission performance across the UAS market.” (Source: BUSINESS WIRE)
12 Mar 19. Terma now introduces the SCANTER enhanced Surface Movement Radar – eSMR – as primary surveillance for A-SMGCS. The flexibility of software-defined radar systems and advantages in digital signal processing allow for processing more information, and this improves the situational awareness capability as well as the accuracy, high precision, and improved detection. eSMR also gives a possible detection and classification of various moving targets such as birds within and above the aerodrome maneuvering area. Together with the traditional radar output, the eSMR has the capability to work as Airport Surveillance Radar (ASR) gap filler to the normal Approach Corridor Surveillance and with the update rate of 1 second opposed to the normal 4.8 sec. This Air Channel in the eSMR gives thjefae Air Traffic Controller the positive confirmation of a correct runway alignment for inbound traffic as well as a cooperative track to support the non-cooperative one.
On the ground, the eSMR will provide an enhanced situational awareness to areas where detection and tracking previously have not been achievable, e.g. close to the runway edge, taxiways, airside service roads, and uncovered areas of interest from the boundary between the asphalt and infield grass area.
The purpose of the Surface Movement Radar is to maximize safety in airports by allowing Air Traffic Controllers to monitor, advice, and instruct aircraft, vehicles, personnel, etc. moving on the ground in an airport. A radar is very suitable for this purpose as it covers a large area and operates independently of light conditions (day/night), visibility conditions, e.g. fog, and possible precipitation, e.g. rain and snow. A total of plus 130 international airports around the globe operate Terma SMR radars.
12 Mar 19. Raytheon Company (NYSE: RTN) and German sensor specialist HENSOLDT, both leading air traffic radar providers, will provide two European customers integrated air surveillance radars that combine HENSOLDT’s next-generation primary airport surveillance radar (ASR-NG®) and Raytheon’s Mode S monopulse secondary surveillance radar (Condor Mk 3). The Royal Netherlands Air Force will receive one system that will provide both advanced air traffic control and wind-farm interference mitigation at De Kooy airfield. Deutsche Flugsicherung, the German air navigation service provider, will receive three systems to replace aging radars as part of the country’s airspace modernization efforts.
“Our goal is to make the global airspace safer by creating the world’s most advanced air traffic control system,” said Matt Gilligan, Raytheon Intelligence, Information and Services vice president. “HENSOLDT’s primary radar provides almost four times the volume coverage when compared to others, and that’s something our customers want.”
Raytheon provides air traffic management solutions to over 60 percent of the world’s airspace. Together, HENSOLDT and Raytheon bring to market over a century of combined experience in global air traffic control solutions.
“As a radar specialist we have a track record of numerous successful ATC programmes,” said Erwin Paulus, head of Radar/IFF at HENSOLDT. “Together with Raytheon, we are able to offer customers very attractive systems solutions.”
11 Mar 19. Companies validate IBCS and CAMM family agile integration for multidomain operations. Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE: NOC) and MBDA have successfully completed a joint, company-funded effort to incorporate the Common Anti-air Modular Missile (CAMM) family into the Integrated Air and Missile Defense (IAMD) Battle Command System (IBCS). CAMM is the first non-U.S. missile system to be integrated with IBCS.
“This is another demonstration of the ‘any-sensor, any-shooter’ IBCS design that integrates weapons in a short time and at a small fraction of traditional costs,” said Bill Lamb, director, international battle management, Northrop Grumman. “With IBCS as the enabler for next-generation IAMD in the multidomain battlespace, warfighters gain the advantage of leveraging any available sensors and effectors to counter evolving and emerging threats.”
With approval of the U.S. Department of Defense and U.K. Ministry of Defence, Northrop Grumman and MBDA invested internal company funds to demonstrate the integration of the Northrop Grumman-developed IBCS with the MBDA CAMM family of missiles in an affordable and rapid manner. The companies completed functional integration of the end-to-end firing chain for integrated fire control and fire direction configurations between CAMM and IBCS. The effort accomplished all research and development goals of integrating CAMM into the IBCS and reduces risk and costs for full integration.
“This integration further demonstrates how the CAMM family and its associated systems have been designed from the outset for integration into IAMD networks, including with third-party battle management command and control and sensors, allowing the most complex engagement scenarios to be achieved with lower demands on the network and a lower integration burden,” said Michael Mew, ground based air defence programme head, MBDA.
The CAMM family is the next generation of air defense missiles for multidomain applications. Designed to defeat the most challenging of modern and future threats, including saturation attacks by precision-guided munitions and maneuvering high-speed missiles attacking simultaneously from multiple directions, the CAMM family of missiles feature a solid-state active radar seeker, two way data-link, low-signature rocket motor and a 360° soft-vertical launch system.
IBCS creates a paradigm shift for IAMD by replacing legacy stove-piped systems with a next-generation, net-centric approach to better address the evolving complex threat. The system integrates disparate radars and weapons to construct a far more effective IAMD enterprise. IBCS delivers a single integrated air picture with unprecedented accuracy and broadens surveillance and protection areas. With its truly open systems architecture, IBCS allows incorporation of current and future sensors and effectors and interoperability with joint C2 and the ballistic missile defense system.
IBCS is managed by the U.S. Army Program Executive Office for Missiles and Space, Redstone Arsenal, Alabama.
With more than 90 armed forces customers worldwide, MBDA is a world leader in missiles and missile systems. In total, the group offers a range of 45 missile systems and countermeasures products already in operational service and more than 15 others currently in development. MBDA is jointly owned by Airbus (37.5%), BAE Systems (37.5%), and Leonardo (25%).
05 Mar 19. South Korea’s Hanwha “developing civil radar-based C-UAS system. ”Defence and Security Monitor and The Center for the Study of the Drone, Bard College, report that South Korea’s Hanwha Systems has begun development of a counter-UAS (C-UAS) system, according to news reports.
“Researchers are conducting integration tests on the first prototype (C-UAS radar), which consists of a two-panelled radar system, each panel measuring 52 cm x 60 cm (20.5 in x 23.6 in) and designed to detect an apple-sized object at a distance of 3 kilometres (1.6 N mi) under a coverage radius of 200 degrees. The radar is designed to be interoperable with the company’s Quantum Eye electro-optic system.”
“Lee Yong-Wook, head of the Research and Development Department at Hanwha Systems, is quoted as saying that the product being developed is designed to be lightweight, transportable by two people, and less power-consumptive than a military system. Chosun Biz states that KRW12 bn ($10.7 m) will be invested in the program by 2021, under the supervision of the Korean government’s Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI). The amount is not large, but if Hanwha Systems can be one of the first in the Pacific region to market a C-UAV system as a commercial product, the company may be able to recoup its own most likely significant development costs.” (Source: www.unmannedairspace.info)
09 Mar 19. US Government chooses DRS for M-LIDS C-UAS and SRC for E-LIDS C-UAS. The US government reports it intends to solicit and negotiate with DRS to provide Mobile Low, Slow Small Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Integrated Defeat system (M-LIDS) and SRC to satisfy the requirements of Expeditionary Low, Slow Small Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Integrated Defeat system (E-LIDS).
The M-LIDS requirement is for a C-UAS capability to detect, track, classify, evaluate and defeat Group 1, Group 2, and low-end Group 3 Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS). “DRS is, and has been, the developer, and integrator of M-LIDS,” says the government.
The E-LIDS programme is for the procurement, delivery, and sustainment of the hardware, software, and firmware in support of the U.S. Army and Joint Urgent Occupational Need (JUON) CC-0558. This C-UAS capability is also required to detect, track, classify, evaluate and defeat Group 1, Group 2, and low-end Group 3 UAS. (Source: www.unmannedairspace.info)
08 Mar 19. Rafale F4 to get upgraded SPECTRA fire control radar avoidance system. Dassault’s Rafale F4 multirole combat aircraft is to include an upgraded version of a Thales/MBDA Rafale Fire-Control Radar Protection and Avoidance System (Système de Protection et d’Évitement des Conduites de Tir du Rafale: SPECTRA) self-protection suite.
SPECTRA is designed to protect the aircraft against radar frequency (RF) and infrared (IR) threats, principally those from radars, and RF/IR-guided air-to-air/surface-to-air missiles (SAMs/AAMs). The ensemble comprises laser, missile, and radar warning receivers, together with a jammer and a chaff/flare dispenser. These are controlled by an electronic warfare management system. Thales and MBDA have released few details regarding the SPECTRA’s RF performance but it is thought to encompass a 2 GHz to 20 GHz waveband. Some sources have stated that this waveband could be as wide as 2 GHz to 40 GHz.
In February the French government awarded Dassault a contract to develop the Rafale F4. In March 2017 the French government authorised development of the F4 configuration, and the first such aircraft is expected to be qualified in 2023, according to Dassault.
Few details have been released regarding the upgrades to SPECTRA under the F4 initiative. There has been speculation that the RF detection frequencies it covers may have increased, possibly detecting RF threats in the Millimetre Wave (MMW) band.
MMW frequencies typically stretch from 30 GHz to 300 GHz, and MMW radars are increasingly attractive for military applications. As the appellation suggests, MMW transmissions have very short wavelengths. For example, frequencies of 50 GHz have wavelengths of 5.99 mm. This allows the generation of highly detailed target imagery, albeit at the expense of range. For missile designers, such radars can provide an RF seeker with exceptionally sharp target imagery, helping to ensure that the correct target is engaged, and assisting countermeasures rejection. (Source: IHS Jane’s)
08 Mar 19. Hanwha and EOS partner to bid for Australian Land 400 Phase 3 project. South Korean firm Hanwha’s wholly owned Australian defence subsidiary has partnered with Electro Optic Systems (EOS) to bid for the Australian Army’s Land 400 Phase 3 programme. Phase 3 of the LAND 400 project is also known as Mounted Close Combat Capability. It will see the replacement of the Australian Army’s M113 armoured personnel carriers.
The project will acquire 450 infantry fighting vehicles (IFV) and 17 manoeuvre support vehicles (MSV). Hanwha is the prime contractor and EOS is the principal first-tier subcontractor as part of the partnership arrangement. The team has offered Hanwha’s ‘Redback’ IFV integrated with the EOS T-2000 turret for the programme. The IFV was introduced on to the global market late last month.
EOS Group CEO Dr Ben Greene said: “Hanwha is one of the world’s largest, most experienced, and most advanced armoured vehicle developers and manufacturers. All of this shows in the Redback infantry fighting vehicle.
“The Redback is an ideal platform for our T-2000 turret because the performance, cost and weight advantages of the turret are fully capitalised when combined with Redback’s advanced design features.”
“This collaboration represents a significant investment for the partners over many years, and the performance advantages of Redback with T-2000 will be exploited in joint marketing campaigns through 2019 and beyond.”
“EOS has submitted proposals for well over $2bn of its turrets and weapon systems over the past 12 months, under restricted or invited tenders, for the award over the next 30 months. This rate of tender submission is expected to continue for at least the medium term.”
Hanwha has so far supplied more than 7,000 armoured vehicles in the last four decades.
Earlier this week, Rheinmetall submitted a bid offering the Lynx MSV and Lynx IFV with the Lance turret for the competition.
The Australian Government is expected to make a decision on Land 400 Phase 3 in 2022. (Source: army-technology.com)
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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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