The McHale Report Logo

June 2018

 
 
 
img_185X240
The McHale Report, by mil-embedded.com Editorial Director John McHale, covers technology and procurement trends in the defense and aerospace electronics community.

View our archive of recent and past issues of the McHale Report e-mail newsletter.

 
 
 
 
 
Elma Electronic
 
 
 
 
 
 
MIL TECH TRENDS
 
img_185X240
New mission profiles in space mean that suppliers of radiation-hardened (rad-hard) and radiation-tolerant electronics are able to meet less stringent requirements. The end result: Lower cost and faster time to market for parts used in space applications. Today's mission profile is determining the level of testing electronic components necessary for enduring space radiation effects; both the Department of Defense (DoD) and designers are coming closer and closer to accepting the risks associated with sending commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) components into space.
 
 
PODCAST
 
img_185X240
In this podcast, our guest, David Gamba, Aerospace and Defense Core Vertical Markets Senior Director at Xilinx discusses how FPGAs enable this innovation especially from an RF system-on-chip (SoC) perspective. This podcast is sponsored by Pentek, the leader in providing high-performance wideband and narrowband software defined radio board, recorder and system level solutions as a leading innovator RFSoC technologies. For more information about Pentek go to www.pentek.com/go/podcast.
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

The Quartz (tm) Model 5950 8-Channel A/D & D/A UltraScale+ RFSoC board offers a built-in dual 100GigE interface, 12 LVDS general purpose I/O pairs, innovative QuartzXM eXpress Module design for flexible design and deployment, high-signal integrity connectors for RF inputs and outputs, pre-installed IP for DFRM, triggered waveform & radar chirp generator and much more.

 
 
 
 
 
TECHNOLOGY UPDATE
 
img_185X240
A group of U.S. Army Research Laboratory (ARL) researchers developed an artificial intelligence (AI) and machine-learning technique capable of producing automatic facial recognition from a thermal image captured of a person's face in low-light conditions or at night.
 
 
TOP STORY
 
img_185X240
NASA has selected 10 companies to conduct studies and advance technologies -- especially those that currently exist on earth that could be converted to future space exploration capabilities at a lower cost -- to collect, process, and use space-based resources that will be used on upcoming missions to the moon and Mars.
 
 
 
 
INDUSTRY SPOTLIGHT
 
img_185X240
CubeSats - miniature satellites no larger than a briefcase - are becoming increasingly popular all over the world. Economies of scale in components, subsystems, launch equipment, and logistics have already and will continue to enable many cost-effective new satellite launch ventures and projects.
 
Annapolis Micro Systems
 
 
 
MARKET/BUSINESS DEALS
 
img_185X240
The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) has awarded a prime contractor position on its 10-year Janus Geography contract to data management and security firm Altamira Technologies (McLean, Virginia).
 
 
MARKET/BUSINESS DEALS
 
img_185X240
Aerospace company North American Surveillance Systems, Inc. (NASS) and its related entities have been acquired by MAG Aerospace. This acquisition adds over 75 aircraft integration, modification, and MRO professionals to MAG... 

 
 
 
 
TOP STORY
 
img_185X240
U.S. Army officials selected FLIR Systems, Inc. to deliver its FLIR Black Hornet Personal Reconnaissance Systems (PRS). The $2.6 million order will support quad-level surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities in the Army's first batch order for the Soldier Borne Sensor (SBS) program.
 
 
MARKET/BUSINESS DEALS
 
img_185X240
Unmanned systems and software company Insitu, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Boeing, has won a first-of-its kind contract from the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) to provide fire-suppression services within the contiguous 48 states and Alaska using its ScanEagle unmanned sircraft dystem (UAS).
 
 
 
 
TOP STORY
 
img_185X240
In partnership with National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity (IARPA) officials launched the Fusion of Face Recognition Algorithms (FOFRA) prize challenge...
 
Ecrin
 
 
 
TOP STORY
 
img_185X240
A new cooperative research and development agreement (CRADA) will drive the development of trusted microelectronics that are are counterfeit resistant and immune to a wide variety of attacks. 
 
 
MARKET/BUSINESS DEALS
 
img_185X240
Northrop Grumman has won a competitive bid from the U.S. Air Force to sustain and modify a worldwide network of ground-based radars deemed critical to the success of the Air Force's missile warning/missile defense and space tracking missions.

 
 
 
 
MARKET/BUSINESS DEALS
 
img_185X240
Boeing announced that it will invest in Kittyhawk (San Francisco, California), a startup that offers a unified approach to the safe operation of commercial unmanned aircraft systems (UASs).

 
 
MARKET/BUSINESS DEALS
 
img_185X240
Multinational defense and cybersecurity contractor Thales has announced a partnership with Microsoft under which the companies will build a cloud platform designed to help armed forces and other defense clients store and secure classified and sensitive data within their information technology infrastructure.
 
 
 
 
TOP STORY
 
img_185X240
U.S. Navy officials announced the newest unmanned helicopter, the MQ-8C Fire Scout, began operational testing onboard the USS Coronado (LCS-4) this week off the coast of San Diego.
 
Artesyn Embedded Technologies
 
 
 
TOP STORY
 
img_185X240
Officials at the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers Brain Initiative (IEEE brain) in conjunction with the U.S. Army Research Laboratory (ARL) are engaging with the scientific community with a newly developed web presence in an effort to strategize scientific and engineering approaches for future effective human-artificial intelligence (AI) teaming.

 
 
 
TOP STORY
 
img_185X240
President Donald J. Trump signed the Space Policy Directive - 3 (SPD-3) this week, which aims to place the U.S. as the lead in traffic management and mitigating space debris. The formal signing happened at a meeting with the National Space Council where he directed Department of Defense (DoD) and Pentagon officials to create a new military branch aptly named the Space Force.

 
 
 
 
TOP STORY
 
img_185X240
U.S. Navy officials announced that the U.S. Fleet Cyber Command's (FCC) Office of Compliance and Assessment (OCA) is launching its Command Cyber Operational Readiness Inspections (CCORI) program. This marks the first time type of inspection will be directed and conducted by the Navy as service cyber component of U.S. Cyber Command.
 
 
SECTION HEADER
 
img_185X240
A recent study by business intelligence provider Visiongain, "Military Land Vehicle Electronics (Vetronics) Market Report 2018-2028," finds that the global military vehicle electronics (vetronics) market will generate revenues of $3.31 billion in 2018.
 
 
 
 
 
 
Sponsored by: National Instruments, Pentek
View Now
 
 
 
 
 
TOP STORY
 
img_185X240
Rockwell Collins reports that its AN/PRC-162(V)1 software-defined radio (SDR) is now the first tactical ground radio to pass one of the critical tests needed to meet the security requirements required for operation with the Department of Defense (DoD) final version of the Mobile User Objective System (MUOS).

 
 
MARKET/BUSINESS DEALS
 
img_185X240
Lockheed Martin has chosen Raytheon to develop and deliver the next-generation Distributed Aperture System (DAS) for the F-35 fighter jet. Northrop Grumman had previously held the contract for the F-35 DAS.
 
 
 
 
TOP STORY
 
img_185X240
A newly released congressionally mandated report by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine states that introducing drone operations into U.S. airspace can provide substantial benefits to society, such as preventing derailments, inspecting cell phone towers, delivering medical devices to patients in cardiac distress, and assisting firefighters.
 
Mercury Systems
 
 
 
TOP STORY
 
img_185X240
Researchers in the Defense Advanced Research Agency (DARPA) Make-It program demonstrated significant progress toward fully automated rapid molecule production, which could speed the pace of chemical discovery for a range of defense products and applications.

 
 
TOP STORY
 
img_185X240
Undersea robotics company Aquabotix has signed an agreement with the U.S. Navy to gain access to the Navy's Narragansett Bay Test Facility (NBTF) in Newport, Rhode Island, including its ranges and personnel, in order to test and demonstrate the Aquabotix's SwarmDiver product and other relevant technologies.
 
 
 
 
WARFARE EVOLUTION GUEST BLOG
 
img_185X240
In the previous article, we explored the transition from the static kill chain to the dynamic kill web in future warfare scenarios. Now, let's look at how fighter jets fit into this new model. That requires a review of the fighters being flown by the U.S. and our allies today. We also need to consider what the Russians and the Chinese are doing with their fighter jets.
 
 
CHARITY
 
img_185X240
This issue we are highlighting Final Salute Inc., a nonprofit organization founded in November 2010 by Army veteran Jas Boothe. Following mobilization, diagnosis of a life-threatening illness, and loss of home and property to Hurricane Katrina, Boothe was informed that there were no existing programs for female veterans.
 
 
 
 
 
 
VPT
 
 
 
 
 
Facebook
 
Twitter
 
Linkedin