| Military & Aerospace Electronics Magazine, August 2006 Articles |
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August 2006
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New ship takes lead in countermine and anti-submarine warfare
The Navy’s Littoral Combat Ship will use a broad range of autonomous and semiautonomous surface and subsurface vehicles, as well as advanced networking communications, to bring the nation’s anti-submarine and countermine warfare capabilities to bear against terrorists as well as conventional foes in dangerous coastal waters.
Electronics designers grapple with lead-free solder guidelines
The European Union WEEE/RoHS directives cause concern in the military and aerospace market as to the availability and reliability of lead-free electronic components.
Aitech brings COTS to space
Leaders at Aitech Defense Systems Inc. in Chatsworth, Calif., are bringing the economic strategy that changed military procurement to the space market.
Purdue researchers look at nanotechnology to reduce computer-chip heating
In the military and the commercial world, electronic system designers want more and more processing performance out of computer chips, yet heat from these super chips creates a lot of headaches for the engineers tasked with keeping computer boards cool.
Rockwell Collins completes acquisition of Evans & Sutherland simulation business
Rockwell Collins Inc. in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, has acquired the simulation assets of Evans & Sutherland Computer Corp., a maker of visual simulation solutions for military and commercial use that is based in Salt Lake City.
Boeing receives second production order for Combat Survivor Evader Locater program
Boeing Integrated Defense Systems in St. Louis won its second full-rate production contract for the Combat Survivor Evader Locater (CSEL) communications system.
Air Force looks to Mercury to develop sensor processing for Predator UAV
Mercury Computer Systems Inc. in Chelmsford, Mass., won a contract from the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, to provide computer hardware and services for the Continuous Look Attack Management for Predator (CLAMP) Program.
In Brief
Navy Burke-class destroyers enhance situational awareness with RGB system
The U.S. Navy’s Arleigh Burke-class (DDG 51) guided-missile destroyers are employing multi-image display processors to improve the situational awareness communication capability aboard ship.
BAE Systems contracted to develop next-generation wireless tactical networks
The U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) in Arlington, Va., awarded a contract to BAE Systems Advanced Information Technologies in Burlington, Mass. to develop next-generation wireless tactical network protocols for the U.S. military.
U.S. and its allies get serious about systems interoperability
It’s one thing to talk about electronic and electro-optic systems interoperability among the U.S. military, allied forces, civilian law enforcement, and first responders.
L-3 Communications Cincinnati Electronics provides thermal imagers for MK46 optical sight system
Officials of the Kollmorgen Corp. Electro-Optical segment in Northampton, Mass., needed thermal imagers for the MK46 Optical Sight System (OSS) on the U.S. Navy’s Ticonderoga-class guided-missile cruisers.
Northrop Grumman readies laser-based anti-missile system for operational deployment
Engineers at the Northrop Grumman Corp. Directed Energy Systems segment in Redondo Beach, Calif., are readying mobile high-power laser technology for deployment in the U.S. and abroad against short-range ballistic missiles, short- and long-range rockets, artillery shells, mortars, unmanned aerial vehicles, and cruise missiles.
Electro-optics Briefs
Design considerations for employing electronic slip rings in mission-critical military systems
In today’s high-performance defense weapons systems, systems designers are integrating high-power laser and microwave energy that have unprecedented speed and accuracy.
Manufacturers of FPGA programming tools struggle to meet the new demands of designers
The latest field-programmable gate arrays (FPGAs) for military and aerospace applications are larger and more complex than they have ever been before, which is putting increasing pressure on vendors of FPGA programming tools that bring out all the performance that these devices were designed to offer.
VME growth outpaces 2005 projections in military COTS market
The market for commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) VME slot cards reached $408.7 million in 2005 for the North American and European markets combined, according to analysts at Venture Development Corp. (VDC) in Natick, Mass.
Electronic-component orders flat in June; 12-month average continues slow rise
Electronic-component orders were flat in June, while the index showing the average for the past 12 months continued its steady rise, according to the monthly report compiled by the Electronic Components, Assemblies & Materials Association (ECA) in Arlington, Va.
VDC analysts say RFID industry activity is on the rise
The surge of corporate and financial activity within the radio frequency identification (RFID) industry is a signal that the investment community believes that the potential of RFID will become a near-to-mid-term reality, reports market researcher Venture Development Corp. (VDC) in Natick, Mass.
Battlefield commanders’ new favorite tool
Unmanned vehicles are the tool of choice among commanders looking to gain advantages on the battlefields of today and tomorrow.
New Global Hawk production aircraft surpass 1,000 combat hours
Two new Air Force RQ-4 Global Hawk unmanned aerial reconnaissance systems, built by Northrop Grumman Corp., have flown approximately 50 missions and more than 1,000 combat hours in support of coalition forces since their deployment in the Persian Gulf in January of this year.
General Dynamics Robotic Systems wins U.S. Navy USV contract
Officials at The U.S. Navy Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center (SPAWAR) in San Diego have awarded General Dynamics Robotic Systems (GDRS) in Westminster, Md., an $8.5 million contract for two Unmanned Surface Vehicles (USVs) for the Littoral Combat Ship Anti-Submarine Warfare Mission Module.
Boeing and SAIC award Honeywell contract to develop FCS Class I UAVs
Boeing in St. Louis and partner Science Applications International Corp. (SAIC), functioning as the Lead Systems Integrator for the U.S. Army’s Future Combat System (FCS) program, awarded a contract to Honeywell Defense & Space Electronic Systems to develop the Class I Unmanned Aerial Vehicle System (UAVS).
Edgewood Chemical Biological Center selects iRobot PackBot for CBRN Detection Robot
Officials at the Edgewood Chemical Biological Center of Aberdeen Proving Grounds, Md., have announced that the iRobot PackBot EOD robot from iRobot Corp. in Burlington, Mass., has been selected as the platform of choice to create a new advanced radiation and chemical detection robot.
New UGV technologies hit the ground running in urban and off-road environments
Unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs), an integral part of the U.S. Army’s Future Combat Systems, continue to advance in technology and functionality, as evidenced by recent releases from industry vendors.
UUVs to benefit undersea combat forces
Industry innovators are launching competitive designs of unmanned underwater vehicles (UUVs), with the winners earning an early slot in the U.S. Navy’s UUV Master Plan.
DARPA NAV program seeks to make insect-like surveillance UAVs a reality
U.S. military researchers are kicking off a project to develop an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) called the nano air vehicle (NAV), which is roughly the size of a dragonfly, to perform covert surveillance and reconnaissance missions in important and dangerous areas.
Products
Market analysts see strong growth for UAV market
The global unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) market continues to grow at a substantial pace, mostly driven by the U.S. military, say market analysts in the U.S. and United Kingdom.
Condor Engineering announces updated AFDX test and analysis tool
Condor Engineering, a GE Fanuc company in Santa Barbara, Calif., is updating its Windows-based, Avionics Full Duplex Switched Ethernet (AFDX)/ARINC 664 bus analyzer tool.
High-Speed A-D I/O card with four high-performance wideband A-Ds
BittWare Inc. in Concord, N.H., is offering the Tetra-PMC+ Analog-to-Digital (A-D) I/O card. The Tetra-PMC+ (TRPM) board features four high-performance wideband A-Ds running as fast as 105 MHz, and an Altera Cyclone II field programmable gate array (FPGA) providing A-D control, data distribution, and front-end processing capabilities.
Expanded line of illuminated knob figure dials
Elma Electric Inc. in Fremont, Calif., is offering an expanded line of illuminated knob figure dials for viewing indicator characters, even in darkness.
New connectors available in a panel-mount format
The new 25-mil-pitch connectors from Omnetics connector Corp. in Minneapolis are available in a new panel-mount format for use on front panels of plug-in instruments.
Chip-on-flex filter connector withstands thermal shock and vibration
The ITT Industries Electronic Components segment in Santa Ana, Calif., is offering the Cannon Chip on Flex (CoF) filter technology that reduces stress from thermal shock and vibration while protecting sensitive electronics in a lightweight package.
Cisco-based mobile IP network router for military and rail transit applications
Parvus Corp. in Salt Lake City is introducing the DuraMAR mobile Internet protocol (IP) router for harsh mobile environments in military and rail transit applications.
Radiation-hardened high-speed PWM controller
Aeroflex Plainview in Plainview, N.Y., is offering a radiation-hardened pulse width modulation (PWM) controller.
Tightly integrated advanced RTOS and secure networking protocols
Express Logic Inc. in San Diego and Interpeak Inc. in Leesburg, Va., have integrated Express Logic’s ThreadX real-time operating system (RTOS) and Interpeak’s TCP/IP stacks, which enables ThreadX customers to incorporate Interpeak’s advanced security and networking applications into their high-performance and small-footprint embedded devices.
Ada integrated development environment
AdaCore has introduced a new version of its GNAT Programming Studio (GPS) software development environment for the Ada programming language.
Medav selects Themis Computer’s Slice server for submarine software-defined radio communications system
Medav GmbH in Uttenreuth, Germany, ended its search for a server on which to run its signal- and data-processing software with Slice technology from Themis Computer in Fremont, Calif.
Lockheed Martin awards data recording systems contract to VMETRO
Designers at the Lockheed Martin Corp. Missiles and Space segment in Moorestown, N.J., needed data recording systems to support their work with the Aegis ballistic missile defense (Aegis BMD) weapon system.
Northrop Grumman contracts LaBarge to produce electronic assemblies for radar jammer
Officials of the Northrop Grumman Corp. Defensive Systems Division in Rolling Meadows, Ill., selected LaBarge Inc. in St. Louis to produce circuit-card assemblies for one of Northrop Grumman’s latest projects: designing the AN/ALQ-135 internally mounted radar countermeasures system for the F-15K fighter aircraft.
Icuiti chooses eMagin OLEDs for Tac-Eye production
Icuiti in Rochester, N.Y., sought out organic light-emitting diode (OLED) microdisplay technology for the production of its Tac-Eye display system for defense applications.
U.S. Air Force chooses Cyberlux Corp. security lighting solution for field use
The U.S. Air Force has placed a field use system order with Cyberlux Corporation, maker of LED lighting solutions based in Research Triangle Park, N.C., for its WatchDog portable covert illumination system.
Woodward selects Unison’s sensors for turbine engine fuel-metering unit
Woodward in Rockford, Ill., is in the process of upgrading the GE T700 engine series with new fuel controls and a Full Authority Digital Engine Control (FADEC) system.
Force Technology selects RTI middleware for world’s first four-ship tug simulator system
Force Technology in Brondby, Denmark, required a communications middleware solution for its newest multiship marine-tug simulator system.
General Atomics Aeronautical Systems issues UAV video processing contract to Mediaware
General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc. (GA-ASI), a manufacturer of unmanned aircraft and surveillance and radar imaging systems based in Washington, has elected to arm the ground control station (GCS) of its Predator UAV with video exploitation capabilities.
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