Advertisement

BCTM B-Kit in Hummer
(click to view full)

Boeing touts improvements – but is BTCM-1 really ready yet? (Aug 12/10)

Concerns about cost overruns, vehicle design, and contract structure prompted the Pentagon to cancel the US Army’s Future Combat System (FCS) program in June 2009.

Instead of a single FCS contract, the Pentagon directed the Army to set up a number of separate programs to undertake parts of the FCS program. One of those programs is the Brigade Combat Team Modernization (BCTM) Increment 1. The BCTM Increment 1 capabilities – which include ground robots, UAVs, ground sensors, and vehicle (B-Kit) network integration kits – are planned to be fielded to up to 9 Infantry Brigade Combat Teams beginning in 2011.

Continue Reading… »

MTRS: TALON IV
(click to view full)

Universal controller, UK MoD orders for QinetiQ; US iRobot orders. (July 22/10)

In May 2005, the title “Remote Control Toys Used By Iraq Patrols,” talked about children toys being used on the front lines to look for roadside bombs. It would appear that someone took notice, because there has since been a flurry of activity on the robotic explosive ordnance disposal (EOD) front. Meanwhile, deliveries of smaller and cheaper MARCBOTs and BomBots are underway.

DefenseLink notes in its announcements that “The increase in production quantity is due to the urgent and compelling need for units that are forward deployed in Iraq and Afghanistan.” So, what exactly is the MTRS program?

• MTRS: Why Send A Man to Do A Robot’s Job?
• MTRS: Contracts and Key Events [updated]
• MTRS’ Mini-Mes: MARCbot & BomBot
• MTRS Additional Readings & Sources
  
  Continue Reading… »

Advertisement

• Work without Pay?: The US DoD is warning that it might run out of money to pay US troops if Congress fails to pass a $33 billion supplemental defense spending bill before its August recess.

• India’s “Project 75I” looks to add 6 submarines, reach out to the private sector, as its fleet ages and its “Project 75” Scorpene submarines remain years behind.

• Bargain Basement Prices? A Citigroup analyst says that stock prices of major US defense firms, such as Lockheed Martin, Boeing, Northrop Gumman, and Raytheon, are undervalued given the expected growth in the global defense market. Everyone’s entitled to an opinion; not everybody agrees.

• Heart of Darkness: France’s Thales to provide the Democratic Republic of Congo with PRC-6809 multiband inter/intra team radios and TRC 3700 HF tactical radios under a US-funded program.

• RIA Novosti provides an update re: Russia’s plans for its 5th generation PAK-FA fighter.

• Boeing to assemble Antonov’s AN-124 super-heavy transports? We tend to doubt it.

• The UK government names General David Richards as the next Chief of Defense Staff, taking over from Air Chief Marshall Jock Stirrup, effective October 2010.

• Beyond the Roomba: iRobot, a Bedford, MA-based company that makes the Roomba robotic vacuum cleaner, looks to clean up in the market for military robots. Check out DID’s coverage of the company.

• Shipshape Midshipmen: The US Naval Academy awards contract to Vend Natural to provide vending machines with healthy snacks at the school. Obesity costs the US military $1 billion annually in medical costs. Hear that, Private Pyle?

• Running of the Bulls: Deutsche Bank is bullish on military aircraft segment but cautious about weapons production firms.

• FOR SALE: US defense security contractor Xe Services, formerly known as Blackwater Worldwide, is on the block.

• I, Robot: General Dynamics-led research consortium secures $220 million US Army contract for robotic air and ground systems research.

• EH101 is back! In a switch, Boeing would license-build AgustaWestland’s helicopter, entering the US Presidential competition. An AW/Lockheed “US101” was the VH-71 program winner, before its cancellation and re-compete.

• URS snags $95 million contract to provide communications and maintenance support to the USAF’s Unmanned Aircraft System Operations Support Center.

• Eurocopter unveils NH90 TTH MEDEVAC variant for German military, proposes related CSAR (Combat Search And Rescue) kit.

• Neighborhood Watch: US Navy seeks to expand its role in patrolling “fragile maritime neighborhoods” of the world’s littorals. How it will do that with a shrinking fleet, will be the interesting part.

• Last Call: Thursday is the last day to comment on the new UK coalition government’s defense program (or, as the British would say, defence programme).

• US House Armed Services Committee approves FY 2011 defense authorization bill with controversial provisions on F-35’s F136 engine and KC-X aerial tanker procurement, along with strong language re: continued Super Hornet buys. HASC summary [PDF]

• Will new UK coalition government cut Trident nuclear submarine program?

• Serial number on metal fragment sinks North Korea’s claim that it had nothing to do with sinking of ROKS Cheonan (PCC-772), a Pohang-class patrol combat corvette.

• Speaking of torpedoes, Australian National Audit Office report torpedoes their MU90 Eurotorp buy, A$ 397.5 million and 11 years later with nothing to show. In response, the government will… not re-compete or cancel the project. ANAO [PDF] | Australian DoD | Adelaide Now.

• Will Littoral Combat Ship’s cost spawn an export competitor? Israel may become the launch customer for TKMS’ modular MEKO CSL.

• USAF RFI to replace 1950s-era AN/SPQ-166 radars on 76 B-52H bombers. See also Flight International.

• Pakistan receives 2 Bell 412EP helicopters. That was fast.

• Launch of GPS IIF-01 satellite aboard a Delta IV rocket delayed until May 21 due to faulty launch tower equipment.

• DARPA, industry develop robot that can convert shubbery into electricity and travel 100 miles per 68 pounds of vegetation. Ni!

• Azerbaijan, Turkey to hold joint military training exercises and classes.

• US Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessment’s releases “AirSea Battle: A Point of Departure Operational Concept,” (PDF Release | Full report | Slides) describing how the US Navy can respond to growing threats from surveillance-strike complexes and ballistic/ cruise missiles. See also DefenseTech summary.

• Russia, NATO to cooperate on developing a joint tactical missile defense system.

• Is the North Korean Navy becoming more aggressive because… it’s crab season?!?

• Rock phones in development – no, not MP3 players, devices to help troops talk to one another through rock. Good for huntin’ folks in caves, we’re told. Wonder who that might be…

• From Russia, with fuel: Tactical Air Defense Services leases 2 Russian Ilyushin IL-78 “Midas” and 2 Ilyusin IL-76 “Candid” aerial tankers from Air Support Systems to provide US and allied air-to-air refueling services.

• Mark Hamel, who co-authored “Want an Effective Kaizen Event? Don’t Forget the Human Side!” here, wins manufacturing’s Shingo Prize in the Research & Publications category for his Kaizen Event Fieldbook. Congratulations, Mark!

• MuCAR-3 [pdf] robot car could help save soldiers lives. MuCAR-3 Video

• Interview with Raytheon CEO: Defense firm expanding internationally.

• Harris sets up 1st US cyber integration center to provide military and commercial customers with manage hosting services in a secure environment.

• First Giraffe AMB radars pass acceptance testing for Britain’s LEAPP integrated air defense program.

• Investigation underway into a recent engine failure on one of Australia’s new NH90 helicopters.

• Dolphins & sea lions are the stars of the security show, during California’s annual, 2-day homeland security and disaster preparedness exercises.

• Naval Research Lab tests TEPCE satellite that uses electrodynamic propulsion, rather than fuel, to manuever in space.

• Singapore to buy RFID-based armory management system as part of S$ 1.1 billion IT spending package.

• PricewaterhouseCoopers: The global aerospace and defense sector experiences strongest M&A deal quarter in 5 quarters.

• South Korea’s KIDA: “How to Deal with the Threat of N. Korea’s Special Forces?”

• US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton: “I’m not saying that they’re at the highest levels, but I believe that somewhere in [Pakistan’s] government are people who know where Osama bin Laden and al-Qaeda is, where Mullah Omar and the leadership of the Afghan Taliban is, and we expect more co-operation….”

• Pakistan looks to accept Chinese Y-8 ZDK-03 AWACS aircraft in 2010. They’re part of a larger sanctions-proofing strategy, and will accompany its new Swedish Saab 2000 AWACS turboprops that are beginning to arrive.

• Elbit’s Hermes 450 UAVs operate from Santa Maria AFB in Brazil, as part of the government’s 2010 UAV evaluations.

• New French VBCI wheeled APCs headed to Afghanistan this summer. They’ll deploy in the Kapisa and Surobi regions.

• Lockheed delivers Norway’s 4th and last C-130J-30 tactical transport.

• General Dynamics completes critical design review of autonomous navigation system for US Army unmanned ground vehicles.

• Northrop Grumman may have to layoff 330 employees at its Fort Eustis, VA Logistics Support Services unit.

• Up to $25 million in Kratos Defense & Security Solutions for development of missile technology for the US Army.

• Wallace and Gromit travel to Kabul to keep streets safe.

• RAND Corp. adds to lessons learned from the 2006 war in Lebanon: “Military Capabilities for Hybrid War; Insights from the Israel Defense Forces in Lebanon and Gaza” [PDF]

• Berkeley Lab’s Molecular Foundry may have found a way to improve the quality of graphene films, paving the way for better semiconductors.

• Lockheed Martin’s team submits its Littoral Combat Ship bid to the US Navy.

• Give me shelter: Kratos to buy US military shelter maker Gichner for $133 million. Kratos release | Dow Jones | Associated Press

• Just swipe your jet through the scanner... new KC-135 ARAI/RFID aerial refueling system aims to solve a persistent efficiency problem.

• European TACO (Threedimensional Adaptive Camera with Object detection and foveation) consortium working to improve 3D robotic observation.

• Former Bell engineers at AVX Aircraft prepare to bid for the US Army’s ARH with a compound helicopter concept.

• Lockheed Martin touts successful live warhead test for its new AGM-114R Hellfire II with multi-mode warhead.

• Lt. Gen. Lloyd Austin to replace Gen. Ray Odierno as senior US general in Iraq, the Associated Press says quoting anonymous officials.

• US State Department official defends legal basis for use of weaponized UAVs. Koh speech | Washington Post

US “Chair” Force?
(click to view full)

UAVs have played a crucial role in gathering intelligence in the US military’s wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. There are thousands of UAVs gathering and distributing valuable data on the enemy, but each system uses its own proprietary subsystem to control the air vehicle as well as receive and process the data. Yet commanders need access to information gathered by all types of UAVs that are flying missions in their area of operation.

Recognizing this shortcoming, the Pentagon began an effort in 2008 to break down the proprietary barriers between UAV systems and create a single GCS that will fly all types of drones.

This free-to-view DID Spotlight article examines the problem of proprietary UAV systems and efforts to break down barriers to sharing vital UAV-generated information.

• Ground Control to Major Tom: The Role of GCS
• Come Together: The Pentagon’s UCS-WG
• Are You Going STANAG?: NATO’s Standard
• One is the Loneliest Number: AAI’s OneSystem
• Red ROVER, Red ROVER: The ROVER Datalink
• Masters of the Universe: Raytheon’s UCS
• Too Close to the Sun: ICARUS and Autonomy
• Contracts and Key Events
• Additional Readings
  
  Continue Reading… »

DARPA’s LS3 concept
(click to view full)

Looking like a robotic mule, the Legged Squad Support System (LS3) being developed by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency will carry 400 pounds of equipment for US soldiers and Marines over rugged terrain inaccessible by vehicle – terrain like the mountains of Afghanistan.

In Afghanistan, US soldiers and Marines can carry 50 pounds of equipment, and in some cases over 100 pounds, for long distances over difficult terrain. According to DARPA’s plan, the LS3 will be capable to carry 400 pounds of payload for 20 miles in 24 hours.

And the good news is that system can take care of itself. LS3 will be fully autonomous, able to perceive the terrain and adjust its movements accordingly. Fully loaded, the LS3 will weigh no more than 1,250 pounds.

To get the program off the ground, so to speak, DARPA recently awarded a $32 million, 30-month contract [pdf] to Boston Dynamics of Waltham, MA to develop LS3 prototypes…

Continue Reading… »