JIEDDO challenges industry to seek IEDs under roads
A challenge-based acquisition project was aimed at denying enemy access to implant improvised explosive devices in road culverts.
Improving the Army’s Gray Eagle (MQ-1C)
An enhanced version of the MQ-1C version of General Atomics' Predator Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA) took to the air July 26, 2013 at the company’s El Mirage Flight Operations Facility in Palmdale, Calif. It was the first flight of the U.S. Army’s Improved Gray Eagle (IGE), a next-generation derivative of the combat-proven Block 1 Gray Eagle Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) that has accumulated over 70,000 flight hours...
MULE – Multifunction Utility/Logistics and Equipment
Lockheed Martin's Multifunction Utility/Logistics and Equipment (MULE) autonomous vehicle is developed by Lockheed Martin for the US Army Future Combat Systems program. The vehicle is designed to carry the load of two infantry squads, totaling about 2,000 pounds (907 kg), and support troops with water and power sources for extended operations. The estimated cost of each MULE platform (without...
Battle Damage Assessment Capabilities
Start < Page 5 of 9 > Since precision strikes are effective and accurate, the number of weapons necessary to create the desired effect is sometime limited to a single weapon - to create the minimum – rather than maximum required lethality and minimize collateral damage. Accurate and timely Battle Damage Assessment (BDA) report is therefore required, to determine not only...
Switchblade – Miniature Loitering Weapon
During the mid-2000s DARPA, later followed by the U.S. Air Force esearch Lab, promoted research and development of technologies related to the use of miniaturized, loitering aerial weapon systems. One of the programs evolving from these studies was Project Anubis. The objective of the project was the development of a prototype for a Non Line of Sight (NLOS) weapon...
The New Generation of Persistent Wide Area Motion Video Surveillance (WAMI) Systems
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is moving forward with groundbreaking programs providing the warfighter persistent, wide area coverage of large areas, enabling joint forces at tactical and operational levels cunducting ubiquitous, monitor of urban or rural areas, attempting to alert, intercept and eliminate hostile elements in a secured area, requireing minimal presence on the ground. DARPA and...
New Hyper-spectral Sensor Automatically Finds Targets over a Wide Area
The US Army is fielding a new hyper-spectral sensor integrated into the Aurora electro-optical payload developed by BAE Systems. The company delivered the Army five target detection systems for use on the Shadow TUAV. The payload is fitted on a stabilized gimbal and is designed for operation by low- and medium altitude UAVs supporting payload capacity of about 35 kg. Aurora...
UAV Manufacturers Line Up for the U.S. Navy/Marines STUAS/TIER II Program
A new US Navy / Marine Corps program drawing a growing attention among UAV manufacturers is the STUAS / Tier II UAV. Several companies have already lined up for the competition, including Raytheon, offering with the KillerBee 4 system, originally designed by Swift. After Northrop Grumman acquired Swift UAV business, Raytheon secured access to the system and bought the relevant...
Communications On The Move
WIN-TÂ is the fundamental communications network developed for current/modular and Future Forces, providing the tactical and mobile enterprise network from theater through battalion and down to the Land Warrior squad. While existing networks support command posts on the halt, WIN-T will extend its services to all forces, while stationary and on the move. The system integrates satellite and line of...
South Korea Receives the Tenth Slam Eagle
The Republic of Korea Air Force (RoKAF) received the tenth F-15K Slam Eagle on May 30, delivered by the Boeing Company at the RoKAF Daegu Airbase. The Slam Eagles, a derivative of the F-15E Strike Eagle, marked F-15K49 and F-15K50 left Boeing St. Louis facility on May 25 and made stops in Palmdale, Calif., Hickam Air Force Base, Hawaii,...
Missile Defense Agency (MDA) Resumes Testing Of the Ground Based Interceptor
The U.S. Missile Defense Agency (MDA) resumed testing the Ground-based Midcourse Defense (GMD) system yesterday, launching the GMD interceptor on a successful flight. The missile GMD is the United States' only defense against long-range ballistic missile threats. GMD flight testing was halted in early 2011 after a guidance error resulted in a failed intercept in a December 2010 test. On...
Stealthy, Persistent, Perch and Stare Air Vehicle System (SP2S)
AeroVironment, Inc. has been awarded a $5 million contract to develop a Stealthy, Persistent, Perch and Stare Air Vehicle System (SP2S) under a DARPA program. This small, stealthy UAV will be designed for close-range surveillance and reconnaissance missions. The basic platform will also combine the mission-adaptable perch-and-stare observation modes. DARPA has already received five early model SP2S vehicles used...
Desert Hawk Miniature UAV
// Desert Hawk is a miniature UAV system developed by Lockheed Martin's Skunk Works group. It is currently as part of the US Air Force’s Force Protection Airborne Surveillance System, or FPASS. 20 Desert Hawk systems (out of 48 ordered) are used in Afghanistan by the USAF, to augment the protection of airbase perimeters, searching for suspected...
New Javelins on the Horizon
The FMG-148 Javelin man portable guided missile has been widely accepted among the leading modern anti-tank weapons. To bring the weapon up-to-date with current and future requirements, particularly regarding hybrid warfare, the U.S. Army plans to field by 2014 the 'Javelin Increment II' weapon system - an enhanced version of the missile. These improvements will increase the weapon's effective...
