| Military & Aerospace Electronics Magazine, January 2007 Articles |
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January 2007
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Manned and unmanned aircraft to share controlled and commercial airspace
Governments, organizations, and industries throughout the world are trying to find ways of developing electronic and electro-optical technologies to enable unmanned aerial vehicles to operate together safely in controlled airspace with commercial jetliners, military aircraft, and private airplanes.
Rugged computers under fire
Technology companies continue to advance ruggedization and computing technologies to serve the needs of today’s warfighter in the field.
Boeing relies on Quantum3D image generator for C-17 jet aircraft simulator
Boeing selected the Independence IDX 3000 computer-graphics image generator from Quantum3D in San Jose, Calif., for the C-17 airlifter flight hardware simulator (FHS), company officials announced last month at the Interservice, International Training, Simulation and Education Conference (I/ITSEC 2006) in Orlando, Fla.
Green Hills Software introduces secure networking platform
Green Hills Software announced its platform for secure networking and an enhanced, 10th anniversary edition of its Integrity real-time operating system (RTOS) during the company’s Embedded Software Summit last month.
Raytheon to develop secret aircraft radar system for Special Operations forces
Engineers at the Raytheon Co. Precision Attack and Surveillance Systems division in McKinney, Texas, are developing a secret aircraft radar system for U.S. Special Operations Command.
Army and SAIC enhance military training and simulation with Engenuity’s AI.implant tool
Science Applications International Corp. (SAIC) in McLean, Va., and U.S. Joint Forces Command (USJFCOM), are using the AI.implant tool from Engenuity in Montreal to bring enhanced realism and efficiency to military simulations.
Lead-free evaluation and protocol in lineup for 2007 Military Technologies Conference
U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) and industry experts will discuss procedures and methods for dealing with lead-free compliance at the Military Technologies Conference (MTC 2007) on March 27 and 28 in Boston.
In brief
Marines eye ground-penetrating radar technology for detection of improvised explosive devices
U.S. Marine Corps leaders are asking industry for ideas of how to build a system to provide a downward- and forward-looking ground-penetrating radar (GPR) to help identify buried improvised explosive devices (IEDs) and mines.
Navy seeks to enhance undersea surveillance to optimize anti-submarine warfare operations
U.S. Navy researchers are trying to find better ways of observing and measuring undersea conditions in shallow coastal waters in efforts to improve anti-submarine warfare (ASW) operations in sonically difficult areas near land and inside harbors and coves.
Northrop Grumman to develop Coast Guard shipboard warning system
The Northrop Grumman Corp. Laser Systems division in Apopka, Fla., won a contract from the U.S. Coast Guard Research and Development Center in Groton, Conn., to develop an electro-optic-based system intended to warn surface vessels and aircraft in violation of ship protection zones of U.S. Navy and Coast Guard vessels at anchor or in port.
Magazine opens European Watch department
Military & Aerospace Electronics magazine begins 2007 with a new department in the publication’s print edition called European Watch.
Air Force taps more defense companies to develop alternatives to SBIRS High satellite surveillance system
U.S. Air Force leaders are moving ahead with plans for a possible replacement for the troubled Space-Based Infrared System (SBIRS) High program, which is to keep watch on the Earth’s surface for ballistic-missile launches.
Electro-optics briefs
Cessna Aircraft buys laser trackers from Leica Geosystems
Officials of Cessna Aircraft Co. in Wichita, Kan., needed laser trackers to aid with measurement in its manufacturing facilities.
Money can’t buy innovation: R&D’s big spenders don’t convert spending to profit
As far as putting the cat among the pigeons goes, the study published Nov. 13 by Booz Allen Hamilton was like loosing a particularly voracious feline into St. Mark’s Square in Venice.
QinetiQ wins DARPA contract to explore new sensors
QinetiQ in Farnborough, England, has secured a two-year, $5 million research contract from the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) in Arlington, Va., in support of its Large Area Coverage Optical Search While Track and Engage (LACOSTE) program.
European briefs
Russia reaps rewards in booming South American defense market
Russia’s efforts to market military equipment to Latin America are bearing fruit.
From DARPA to Main Street
Technologies developed for Homeland Security are moving into the public sector
Small size helps 3U CompactPCI single-board computers find niche in avionics, other military applications
Systems designers who use CompactPCI single-board computers for military and aerospace applications are turning to the relatively small 3U CompactPCI boards in a big way, industry experts say.
Worldwide market for digital integrated circuits to grow at 36.4 percent annually
The worldwide digital IC market-which includes VR loop controllers, non-VR loop controllers, PFC loop controllers, converter-management ICs, and system ICs-is expected to grow from $169 million in 2006 to $796 million in 2011, a compound annual growth rate of 36.4 percent, according to analysts at Darnell Group Inc. in Corona, Calif.
Investment increasing in ATCA single-board computer blades
The market for ATCA (Advanced Telecom Computing Architecture) embedded single-board computer blades has begun to pick up some momentum after what had been a slower than expected start, according to analysts at Venture Development Corp. (VDC) in Natick, Mass.
European RoHS directive may cause component inventory misalignment
Many experts predict severe inventory misalignment as a result of the European Union’s Restrictions on Hazardous Substances (RoHS) directive to eliminate lead from solder, according to experts at the Environmentally Certified Electronic Resale Trade Alliance (E-CERTA) in Bloomington, Ind.
Defense industry continues to invest in electro-optics
Electro-optic, optical, and optoelectronic components are an important part of military and aerospace platforms and systems, and are essential to controlling the battlefields of tomorrow, which is why governments are investing more and more in these technologies each year.
Forecast International projects $35 billion airborne and space-based electro-optical market
Analysts at Forecast International in Newtown, Conn., project that countries worldwide will spend more than $35 billion on 33 different airborne and space-based electro-optical (EO) programs over the next 10 years.
Nufern adds 25-micron-core-diameter fibers to its family of products
Nufern in East Granby, Conn., announced the expansion of its ytterbium-doped double-clad-fiber product line.
DRS Technologies to provide lightweight electro-optical/infrared sensors for Army FCS UAVs
Northrop Grumman Corp.’s Electronic Systems sector, California Microwave Systems unit, located in Belcamp, Md., awarded DRS Technologies in Parsippany, N.J., a new $7 million contract to produce lightweight electro-optical/infrared (EO/IR) sensor systems for the U.S. Army’s Future Combat System (FCS) program Class I Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs).
Lockheed Martin instrument to monitor solar eruptions on latest NASA Sun mission
The Extreme Ultraviolet Imager (EUVI) instrument designed and built at the Solar and Astrophysics Laboratory of the Lockheed Martin Advanced Technology Center (ATC) in Palo Alto, Calif., will return stereo images of the Sun’s corona as part of NASA’s Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory (STEREO).
AMI Semiconductor and FLIR Systems announce agreement
AMI Semiconductor in Pocatello, Idaho, and FLIR Systems in Portland, Ore., announced an agreement for high-volume manufacturing of uncooled microbolometer infrared detectors.
U.S. Air Force awards General Dynamics contract for Alternative Infrared Satellite System
General Dynamics in Fairfax, Va., was awarded a $23.3 million contract by the U.S. Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center in Los Angeles to support research and development efforts on the Alternative Infrared Satellite System (AIRSS) program. Under this contract, General Dynamics will perform system requirements reviews, system design reviews and solution refinements to define alternatives to the Space Based Infrared High (SBIRS-High) GEO-3 satellite program.
OIDA reports strengthening of optoelectronic markets
The Optoelectronics Industry Development Association (OIDA) in Washington released its annual “Global Optoelectronics Industry Market Report and Forecast.
BAE Systems to provide precise threat ID to U.S. Army
BAE Systems has received a U.S. Army contract for a new generation of intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) systems that will provide precise detection and identification of known and potential threats
Cassini camera sees into the eye of a storm on Saturn
NASA’s Cassini spacecraft has seen something never before seen on another planet-a hurricane-like storm at Saturn’s south pole with a well-developed eye, ringed by towering clouds.
Thermal-imaging technology turns night into day for U.S. warfighters
Accuracy is of paramount importance to warfighters on the battlefield, whether on the ground, in the air, or on sea.
Laser weapons are getting closer to reality
Laser weapons are not as far away as the average citizen may think.
Products
Hybricon introduces ruggedized MicroTCA ATR chassis
Hybricon Corp. in Ayer, Mass., is unveiling a ruggedized MicroTCA ATR chassis that not only accommodates double-width modules, but also complies with the specification, and addresses key limitations of commercial MicroTCA for military applications.
Application-ready platform for wideband data links and SATCOM processing
Mercury Computer Systems Inc. in Chelmsford, Mass., announced its application-ready platform for wideband data links and satellite communications (WBDLS) processing.
QB series connectors for MicroTCA
Positronic Industries Inc. in Springfield, Mo., is offering the “QB” series power connector for use in MicroTCA power modules for power input.
Fibre Channel XMC interface for networking applications
Critical I/O in Irvine, Calif., is introducing a Fibre Channel interface that complies with the VITA 42.3 XMC with PCI Express host interface standard.
Ruggedized 6U CompactPCI blade server computer
Thales Computers in Toulon, France, is introducing the cPENTXM2 ruggedized 6U CompactPCI blade server computer, which uses the 1.67 GHz dual-core Intel Xeon, combined with the Intel E7520 server class memory controller hub.
Software analysis tool to predict necessary memory stack size
AdaCore in New York has launched GNATstack, a software analysis tool that enables software development teams to predict the maximum size of the memory stack necessary to host an embedded software application.
Cobar offers CobarCore lead-free solder
Cobar Solder Products in Londonderry, N.H., is offering CobarCore lead-free cored wire solder that delivers excellent wetting, bright solder joints, and clear, noncorrosive residues.
EFW to provide helmet display and tracking system for Army helicopter
EFW Inc. in Fort Worth, Texas, will supply the helmet display and tracking system (HDTS) for the future U.S. Army Bell Helicopter Armed Reconnaissance Helicopter (ARH) under terms of a contract worth potentially $51 million through 2012.
Air Force researchers look to Raytheon for interoperable intelligence-systems technology
The Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) Information Directorate in Rome, N.Y., awarded a $4.8 million contract to Raytheon Systems Co. of State College, Pa., to provide technology that uses the Multi-sensor Aerospace-ground Joint ISR Interoperability Coalition (MAJIIC) Advanced Concept Technology Demonstration (ACTD).
Military air-traffic control uses Falcon Electric rugged on-line uninterruptible power protection
Air-traffic controllers in the U.S. Army, Air Force, and Air National Guard needed rugged on-line uninterruptible power protection for their radar sets.
Air Force looks to DRS to upgrade aircraft pilot electronic-warfare training equipment
U.S. Air Force officials needed technology upgrades for the Unmanned Threat Emitter (UMTE) system at Nellis Air Force Base, Nev. They found their solution from the DRS Technologies Electronic Warfare and Network Systems unit in Buffalo, N.Y.
NASA chooses Green Hills for space communications technology
Scientists from the U.S. National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) needed software technology to help support future advanced space and ground-based communications operations.
Raytheon chooses RTI real-time software middleware for Zumwalt-class destroyer
Systems designers at Raytheon Integrated Defense Systems in Tewksbury, Mass., needed real-time software middleware for the future U.S. Navy DDG 1000 Zumwalt-class destroyer.
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