| Military & Aerospace Electronics Magazine, January 2006 Articles |
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January 2006
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Military and commercial avionics draw from the same technology well
The economic imperatives to use as many commercially developed components as possible and to avoid duplication in research and development often put commercial and military aviation electronics on the same track and headed in the same direction.
Rugged computers power the digital battlefield
Troops are pushing rugged computers harder than ever, as manufacturers seek tougher display screens, more reliable hard drives, and faster processors
Three teams compete to build NOAA climate satellite
Leaders at the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) in Washington awarded three contracts of $10 million each to build a series of next-generation weather satellites for the Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite Program (GOES-R).
Reductions eyed for battle management and information technology spending
Pentagon spending for network-centric warfare technology over the next decade could see real declines, and at best will remain flat, say industry experts in a forecast of U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) spending from 2006 to 2016.
Peregrine develops optical transceiver for space and military applications
Engineers at Peregrine Semiconductor in San Diego developed a prototype optical transceiver for harsh environments that will work with next-generation field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) at 2.5 gigabit per channel per second.
Army seeks contractors for $5 billion satellite communications deal
U.S. Army leaders are looking for bids to fulfill a $5 billion communications contract called World-Wide Satellite Systems (WWSS).
Aeroflex develops products for SpaceWire standard
Engineers at Aeroflex Inc. are supporting a networking standard for satellite applications called SpaceWire that can move data at 2 to 400 megabits per second.
Isonics and Lucent work together on night-vision and infrared devices
Isonics Corp. and Lucent Technologies Bell Labs announced that they will cooperate in developing a next-generation infrared (IR) imaging and night-vision surveillance technology based on pioneering research by Bell Labs at its microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) and nanotechnology fabrication facility.
Boeing reduces development cost and time with Engenuity tools
Engineers at Boeing’s Integrated Tactical Avionics Programs (ITAP) Laboratory in Long Beach, Calif., are using simulation design tools from Engenuity in Montreal to create a new PC-based integration lab.
DARPA approaches industry for ideas for unmanned underwater surveillance technology
Scientists at the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) in Arlington, Va., are asking industry on ideas for new unmanned underwater surveillance technologies.
Market-coverage section improves magazine’s editorial lineup
Military & Aerospace Electronics is kicking off the New Year with an addition to our editorial lineup called Finish Line-a monthly digest of technology market trends of interest to military and aerospace systems designers and program managers.
In Brief
Northrop Grumman shoots 27-kw beam of light for 350 seconds from solid-state laser
A high-energy, solid-state laser from Northrop Grumman Corp. for the U.S. military has fired one of the most powerful beams yet produced by an electrically powered laser of more than 27 kilowatts with a run time of 350 seconds, company officials say.
Purdue researchers develop material for better optics, communications
Engineers at Purdue University say they are the first researchers to create a material that has a “negative index of refraction” in the wavelength of light used for telecommunications, a step that could lead to better communications and imaging technologies.
Optoelectronics Briefs
Evolving COTS cooling for military environments
The trend of escalating power consumption of processors and communications infrastructure chips presents an increasing challenge for deploying high-performance processing systems in military environments.
Sense of urgency among primes drives VME market, while VITA 46 highlights company roadmaps
Designers of VME single-board computers for military applications say their market is strong because prime contractors feel pressure to field programs quickly, which forces them to use commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) technology.
External AC-DC power-supply market to hit $7.7 billion by 2010
The worldwide market for external AC-DC power supplies will rise from $5 billion in 2005 to $7.7 billion in 2010, a compound annual growth rate of 8.8 percent, according to analysts at Darnell Group Inc. in Corona, Calif.
DC-DC converter module market could reach $5.4 billion by 2010
The worldwide market for DC-DC converter modules will increase from $3.3 billion in 2005 to $5.4 billion in 2010, according to the analyst firm Research and Markets.
MEMS shipments to grow 20 percent annually through 2009
The microelectromechanical systems (MEMS) market will grow at a compound annual growth rate of 19.87 percent to nearly 6 billion units by 2009, reports market researcher In-Stat in Scottsdale, Ariz.
Optoelectronic innovation is everywhere
Optoelectronics are an essential part of many military and aerospace applications.
NASA’s Hubble looks for possible moon resources
NASA is using the unique optical capabilities of the Hubble Space Telescope for a new class of scientific observations of the Earth’s Moon.
NASA tests Clear View for pilots
In an effort to make flying safer, more than a dozen NASA, airline, industry, and government pilots are testing technology to synthetically give pilots a clear view of their surroundings.
VSI delivers 1,000th Joint Helmet Mounted System
Vision Systems International (VSI) has delivered the 1,000th Joint Helmet Mounted Cueing System (JHMCS) two years ahead of schedule, company officials say.
Optical Cable certified by DOD
The U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) has certified Optical Cable Corp. in Roanoke, Va., as a fully qualified supplier of ground tactical fiber optic cable, meeting all military requirements.
Janos Technology expands optical testing services
Officials at Janos Technology Inc. in Keene, N.H., a supplier of advanced optical assemblies and precision infrared (IR) optics, announced the addition of the QED Sub-aperture Stitching Interferometer (SSI).
Raytheon selects KVH navigation unit for torpedoes
Raytheon Integrated Defense Systems in Tewksbury, Mass., ordered the fiber-optic gyro (FOG)-based TG-6000 precision inertial measurement unit (IMU) from KVH in Middletown, R.I., for the guidance system of the U.S. Navy’s next-generation MK54 lightweight torpedoes.
NASA airborne laser mapping systems studies Katrina damage
Through a cooperative research program NASA, the U.S. Geological Survey, and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers are exploring the use of airborne laser mapping systems to quantify coastal change along the entire coastline affected by Hurricane Katrina.
PPGI makes missile-warning sensors
Designers at ATK Missile Systems in Clearwater, Fla. have chosen Photonic Products Group Inc. (PPGI) of Northvale, N.J. to make optical components for a missile warning system that protects U.S. aircraft in Iraq from shoulder-fired missiles.
Orbiter tracks changes on Mars
NASA’s Mars Global Surveyor, which this month began its ninth year in orbit around Mars, continues to observe the Martian landscape.
L-3 buys electro-optics company
Leaders at L-3 Communications in New York City announced in November they had acquired EOTech Inc. of Ann Arbor, Mich., for $49 million.
Global Hawk uses Raytheon optics
Pilots of the Global Hawk unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) monitor enemy targets with an electro-optical/infrared (EO/IR) high-resolution imaging system built by Raytheon, Corp.’s Space and Airborne Systems division, El Segundo, Calif.
Army picks Goodrich for chemical agent detector
Soldiers could soon be using advanced optics to find bombs or detect chemical and biological agents.
Air Force pushes optical data network
The Air Force could soon be moving data with a high-speed optical network from Srico, in Columbus, Ohio.
Seiler builds fire-control optics for light howitzer
U.S. troops firing mortars from the new Lightweight 155-mm howitzer will aim their rounds with an optical fire-control unit built by Seiler Instrument & Manufacturing Co. in St. Louis.
Demand swells for optical backplanes
Demand will soon rise for embedded optical-waveguide-based backplanes versus enhanced electrical copper based solutions, according to a report from Research and Markets, an analyst firm in Dublin, Ireland.
Infrared products continue to improve warfighter capability
Designers of infrared technology for military applications are all in agreement-business is not only good, but continued growth and support for new designs and capability are expected.
Laser-diode modules with TTL modulation
Photonic Products in Hatfield Broad Oak, England, added TTL modulation options to its Photon range of laser-diode modules, which will accept signals from DC up to 100 kHz minimum.
MSA-size erbium amplifier with transient control
MPB Communications Inc. in Montreal is introducing a mini-amplifier called the EOA-xs with built-in transient control.
High-power single-mode industrial Yb fiber lasers
OZ Optics in Ottawa is offering a series of ytterbium fiber lasers for industrial, medical, and other applications.
High-power laser multimode pumps
EM4 in Bedford, Mass., is announcing the HPL series of high-power laser multimode pumps designed to provide the high power and reliability required for cladding-pumped military and commercial applications such as cable TV (CATV) amplifiers and EDFAs.
Incandescent replacement lighting for electronics
Expanding the scope of its visible LED and HiRel product lines, TT Electronics OPTEK Technology in Carrollton, Texas, developed military-grade visible LEDs in a variety of colors designated the OMV series.
Miniature 1064-nanometer fiber lasers
MPB Communications Inc. in Montreal is releasing a series of miniature ytterbium fiber lasers called the YFL-µ series.
Laser diffuse and laser retroreflective sensors
Banner Engineering Corp. in Minneapolis is offering the World-Beam QS18LD laser diffuse and QS18LLP laser retroreflective sensors.
Laser modules with AC power adapters
BEA Lasers in Elk Grove Village, Ill., is offering the 150P series laser modules with AC power adapters, which plug to an AC power supply to produce 6-volts DC for the laser.
Surface-mount RGB LED for high-intensity colors
LEDtronics in Torrance, Calif., is offering the SML505RBG1K-TR low-profile surface-mount red, green, and blue light-emitting diode (RGB LED), which provide high visibility in a size of 5.5 by 5.5 millimeters.
Multichannel framing camera
Specialised Imaging Ltd. in Tring, England, is launching the SIM Multi-Channel Framing Camera with ultra-high-resolution image intensifiers for high-speed spatial and temporal analysis of transient events.
Color DSP machine-vision camera
The TMC-7DSP/6DSP color machine-vision camera from JAI PULNiX Inc. in San Jose, Calif., offers high-performance digital signal processing (DSP).
Rugged cameras for high performance in harsh environments
Adimec Advanced Image Systems b.v. in Eindoven, The Netherlands, is offering a family of rugged megapixel cameras called the RA1000, which offers day-imaging performance in monochrome or color for OEMs worldwide in the defense industry.
UID-compliant verifier for military contractors
Cognex Corp. in Natick, Mass., is offering the Cognex Direct Part Mark (DPM) Verifier that enables U.S. Department of Defense suppliers to meet new government requirements for unique identification (UID) of parts.
Fiber-optic pressure sensor for extreme-temperature environments
FISO Technologies in Quebec is offering the FOP-MH fiber-optic pressure sensor for applications in extreme temperatures such as military and aerospace applications.
Long-range fiber-optic video camera
Fiber Instrument Sales Inc. (FIS) in Oriskany, N.Y., is offering a long-range fiber-optic video camera for military bases, airports and other large facilities.
CCD remote-head color camera
Toshiba Digital Solutions Division in Irvine, Calif., is offering its smallest CCD remote-head color camera model, the IK-UM44H.
Midwave thermography camera for real-time temperature analysis
Infrared Solutions Inc. in Minneapolis is offering the VarioTHERM camera head, a universal midwave infrared camera for precise, real-time thermal analysis in scientific and industrial applications.
Fixed-power beam expanders in optomechanical platform
Edmund Optics Inc. in Barrington, N.J., is offering a family of beam expanders with high-performance optical designs packaged in a precise optomechanical platform.
Thermoelectric cooler for machine-vision camera
Imperx Inc. in Boca Raton, Fla., added a thermoelectric cooler option to its 11M5 Lynx machine-vision camera that offers high sensitivity, dark current, and noise stability.
ARINC fiber-optic cable assemblies
kSARIA in Wilmington, Mass., is offering fiber-optic cable assemblies that satisfy the stringent requirements of the ARINC 801-806 Project Papers, adopted by the Airlines Electronic Engineering Committee (AEEC) in October 2005.
Bulkhead media converters for harsh-environment applications
Stratos Lightwave LLC in Chicago is offering a family of bulkhead media converters for harsh-environment applications.
Optical military cable assemblies for radar, communications, and sensors
Molex Fiber Optics in Downers Grove, Ill., is offering optical military cable assemblies for a variety of military and aerospace applications such as avionics, mobile tactical field command platforms, radar, radio communications, and sensor systems.
Fiber-optic switches that meet military and space qualifications
Agiltron Inc. in Woburn, Mass., is offering the CL Series fiber-optical switches, which are ultra-high-reliability components that passed mil-spec as well as space qualification.
Optical interconnect withstands harsh environments
The PRO BEAM connector series from Tyco Electronics in Harrisburg, Pa., is a fiber-optic interconnect designed specifically for fast data connections where resistance to severe environmental conditions is paramount.
Capacitors to address DC blocking in optical transceivers
AVX Corp. in Myrtle Beach, Calif., is offering the GZ capacitor series to address DC blocking issues from 15 KHz to 400 GHz in optical transceivers.
Laser feedback or calibration system with 1-nm resolution
Optodyne Inc. in Compton, Calif., announced the MCV-600 Nanometer laser system for feedback or calibration of precision stages with nanometer resolution.
Desktop nanopositioning system
Discovery Technology International LLLP in Sarasota, Fla., is offering the RoboMate positioner, a precision desktop-size combined angular-linear motorized nanopositioning system.
Waterproof fans for harsh environmental applications
Sunon Inc. in Brea, Calif., is introducing a family of waterproof fans rated for reliable performance in a variety of harsh environments, including dust-proof and water-spray-proof models that meet or exceed requirements per IEC 60529 specifications, including IP-55 and IP-21 conforming standards and sizes.
32-channel data-acquisition card
ICS in Ottawa, part of Radstone Embedded Computing, is offering the ICS-645D 32-channel data-acquisition card.
ATA fast flash drives in capacities as large as 16 gigabytes
M-Systems Inc. in Sunnyvale, Calif., is offering a fast flash disk (FFD) 2.5-inch ultra-advanced technology attachment (ATA) in capacities from 1 to 16 gigabytes in 9.5-millimeter case heights.
PMC-0247 Serial ATA hard-disk-drive module
GE Fanuc Embedded Systems Inc. in Huntsville, Ala., is announcing the PMC-0247 serial advanced-technology-attachment (ATA) hard-disk-drive module for use with GE Fanuc Embedded Systems single-board computers or PMC expansion cards.
10-gigabit Ethernet-over-copper network interface card
Dynatem Inc. in Mission Viejo, Calif., is offering a 10-gigabit Ethernet-over-copper PCI-X (64 bit at 133 MHz) network interface card (NIC) for distances as far as 10 meters.
Two-channel ARINC 708 weather radar databus interface
Condor Engineering in Santa Barbara is offering the company’s latest ARINC 708 databus interface (P-708) for weather radar applications.
Serial RapidIO switch with breakthrough features
Mercury Computer Systems Inc. in Chelmsford, Mass., is announcing the MC432 Serial RapidIO switch.
Dual-channel gigabit Ethernet PMC card
Curtiss-Wright Controls Embedded Computing in San Diego is offering the PGE2 dual-port Gigabit Ethernet (GigE) PMC card.
Software tool for safety-critical devices
Actel Corp. in Mountain View, Calif., is offering new capabilities with its Libero 6.3 integrated-design-environment (IDE) software.
Programming support for ‘Tiny’ microcontroller series
Data I/O in Redmond, Wash., is offering support for the Renesas R8C/11 “Tiny” series of microcontrollers beginning with support for the R5F211 on Data I/O’s FlashCore programming systems.
Video encoder card for video surveillance applications
Parvus Corp. in Salt Lake City is offering the CTR-1471 PC/104-Plus JPEG-2000 encoder card, an eight-channel video compressor module supporting the JPEG 2000 (J2K) ISO/IEC15444-1 image-compression standard.
Motorized potentiometers with 4-to-20-milliamp input control
Micronor in Newbury Park, Calif., is offering the MR267 current loop controller (CLC) that remotely controls a motorized potentiometer and/or rotary cam switch via 4-to-20-milliamp current loop, 0-to-2.5-volt input, or external potentiometer.
Pentium-based VME graphics processor for simulation
Radstone Embedded Computing in Towcester, England, is offering the Screaming Eagle SE1 Pentium M-based graphics processor for simulation, embedded training, and war-gaming applications.
Ada development tool for Windows
Aonix North America Inc. in San Diego is releasing the latest version of ObjectAda for the Windows development environment.
FPGA technology supports software-defined radio waveform reuse
PrismTech in Anaheim, Calif., unveiled an FPGA middleware technology called Spectra ICO (Integrated Circuit Object Request Broker) that shows how a CORBA ORB can be embedded natively in an FPGA and used to control logic within the FPGA.
Software tool for integrating soft ARM7
Green Hills Software Inc. in Santa Barbara, Calif., is introducing the Green Hills Platform for Industrial Safety, a software development and deployment tool for safety-critical industrial devices.
Platform optimized for software-defined radio
Green Hills Software Inc. in Santa Barbara, Calif., introduced the Green Hills Platform for Software Defined Radios for development and deployment of next-generation software-configurable radios.
S-band telemetry transmitter
M/A-COM in Lowell, Mass., a business unit of Tyco Electronics is introducing a MATM-090007-SA00XX 1W S-band telemetry transmitter.
JTAG chain debugger for designing and testing complex PC boards
XJTAG in Cambridge, England, is adding a JTAG chain debugger to its XJTAG Development System, which will reduce debug and test times for engineers designing and testing complex printed circuit boards.
Navy chooses Telephonics intercom for P-3
Engineers with the U.S. Navy needed a secure intercom for the P-3 Orion, an antisubmarine warfare (ASW) patrol aircraft.
Raytheon picks Radstone computers for F-18
Engineers at Raytheon Company in Waltham, Mass., needed single board computers for a targeting pod in Navy F-18 fighter jets.
Army uses Vista display
Engineers at Spec Ops Inc., a defense contractor in Ashland, Va., needed a video processor to create a large-screen display.
Lockheed Martin picks L-3 display for F-35
Avionics designers at Lockheed Martin Aeronautics in Fort Worth, Texas, needed a cockpit display for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.
General Atomics picks power electronics from SatCon Technology for Navy
Engineers at General Atomics in San Diego needed a power converter for a new ship engine they were building under contract to the Office of Naval Research.
DME makes missile trainer with InterSense sensors
Designers at DME Corp. in Orlando, Fla., needed inertial sensors for a missile trainer they are building for the U.S. Marine Corps.
Army convoy simulators use InterSense trackers
Designers at Raydon Corp. in Daytona Beach, Fla., needed sensors for their Virtual Convoy Operations Trainer (VCOT), deployed at over 20 U.S. Army and National Guard Bases.
Air Force names MTC for HC-130 sensor upgrade
Engineers with the U.S. Air Force needed infrared sensors for an upgrade on the HC-130.
NASA uses graphics software from Right Hemisphere
Engineers at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) needed software to manage design graphics.
Navy picks Fluent software
Navy engineers needed software to simulate water flow on proposed concept designs for the high-speed sealift (HSSL) ship.
Gulf Air picks Teledyne for flight data recording
Technicians at Gulf Air in Bahrain needed an automated data retrieval and analysis system to monitor their fleet of commercial jets.
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