McHale Report – August 2017
August 2017

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


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



Feature

New technology insertion driving legacy military and aerospace test and measurement market
New technology insertion driving legacy military and aerospace test and measurement market

Officials at the Department of Defense (DoD) continue to push the useful lifetime of military and aerospace systems. For instance, the Air Force Times recently reported that the Air Force extended the life expectancy of the F-16 aircraft from 8,000 flight hours to 12,000 hours.


4-Ch 200 MHz A/D, DDC, FPGA – XMC Module

The flexible Model 71861 has FPGA choices to match price, power, and processing performance needs. In addition to XMC, this product is also available in PCIe, 3U & 6U VPX, AMC, and 3U & 6U cPCI form factors, with versions for both commercial and rugged environments.


Reducing Development Time & Managing SWaP-C in Defense Electronics Systems

Sponsored by: Kontron and Data Device Corp. (DDC)
Date: September 7, 11am ET


Top Stories

DARPA office unveils
DARPA office unveils "mosaic warfare" approach to future conflicts

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency's (DARPA's) Strategic Technology Office (STO) recently unveiled its updated approach to winning or deterring future conflicts, a strategy it is calling "mosaic warfare."


Navy signs agreement with Purdue University to develop cybersecure energy storage systems
Navy signs agreement with Purdue University to develop cybersecure energy storage systems

Purdue University officials entered into a new cooperative research and development agreement (CRADA) with Naval Surface Warfare Center, Crane Division (NSWC Crane) with the aim to develop the next generation of high capacity, safe, reliable, and cybersecure energy storage systems.


Air Force, Boeing agree on deal for two new Air Force One 747-8 aircraft
Air Force, Boeing agree on deal for two new Air Force One 747-8 aircraft

The U.S. Air Force has awarded Boeing a contract modification that will pave the way for the Air Force to purchase two commercial 747-8 aircraft to replace the two aging VC-25A Boeing 747-200 presidential support aircraft.


U.S. Army selects Rockwell Collins for HMS Manpack radio follow-on contract
U.S. Army selects Rockwell Collins for HMS Manpack radio follow-on contract

Rockwell Collins officials received a follow-on contract from the U.S. Army Program Executive Office C3T to produce 101 Handheld, Manpack, and Small Form Factor (HMS) Manpack radios and ancillaries beginning this month.


USMC G/ATOR system completes developmental testing
USMC G/ATOR system completes developmental testing

The U.S. Marine Corps Ground/Air Task Oriented Radar (G/ATOR) Block 1 completed live developmental testing with support from the Navy's Surface Combat Systems Center (SCSC) at Wallops Island from April 10 to June 21.


Army HMMWV foreign military sale valued at $2.2 billion for AM General
Army HMMWV foreign military sale valued at $2.2 billion for AM General

Vehicle maker AM General has received a five-year, firm-fixed-price Foreign Military Sale (FMS) requirements contract from the U.S. Army Contracting Command to manufacture approximately 11,560 new High Mobility Multipurpose Wheeled Vehicles (HMMWVs, commonly known as the Humvee).


Iranian drone interferes USS Nimitz flight operations
Iranian drone interferes USS Nimitz flight operations

Aircraft carrier USS Nimitz had its flight operations interrupted by an Iranian QOM-1 unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), U.S. Central Command officials say. This is the 13th unsafe or unprofessional interaction between U.S. and Iranian maritime forces in 2017.


Blogs & Columns

Counter-UAV market heats up
Counter-UAV market heats up

Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), remotely piloted vehicles, drones, or whatever one chooses to call them are becoming more and more part of everyday life. While they provide unlimited potential in a variety of fields, they are also sparking new fears that they may be used for terrorism, drug trafficking, corporate espionage, etc. That fear in turn is firing up a new market for counter-UAV systems that will grow even faster in the commercial world.


The power of light: A shortcut to satellite-based quantum encryption
The power of light: A shortcut to satellite-based quantum encryption

Researchers in Germany have demonstrated ground-based measurements of quantum states sent by laser aboard a satellite 38,000 kilometers above Earth, suggesting that satellite-based quantum encryption may be within reach by as soon as five years.


NASA wants YOU to protect the planet
NASA wants YOU to protect the planet

SA recently posted a listing on the federal government's job site seeking what it calls a "Planetary Protection Officer" who would "…Lead[s] planning and coordination of activities related to NASA mission planetary protection needs." So, of course today's news coverage makes it look like NASA is seeking the next Star-Lord.


Robotics family leverages open architectures to counter ordnance threats
Robotics family leverages open architectures to counter ordnance threats

Designers and engineers are taking advantage of the ability of open architectures and commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) technologies to counter emerging threats quicker by more easily upgrading legacy systems with newer, faster technology. In one such project, a U.S. Navy-sponsored program focuses on a family of robotics that will keep soldiers out of harm's way.


United Through Reading
United Through Reading

Each issue the editorial staff of Military Embedded Systems will highlight a different charity that benefits military veterans and their families. This issue we are highlighting United Through Reading, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization dedicated to uniting U.S. military families who face physical separation by facilitating the bonding experience of reading aloud together.


Find and fix: The front-end of the kill chain
Find and fix: The front-end of the kill chain

I can speak to this topic with some level of experience. My old military intelligence unit, Army Security Agency (ASA) was the military arm of the National Security Agency (NASA). Our primary mission was to find, identify, fix, and track every significant military unit on the planet, including both our enemies and our allies. As Sun Tzu is credited with saying (or maybe it was Machiavelli, or Petrarch, or Michael Corleone): "Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer."



GaN designs, small sats, hot in space electronics market
GaN designs, small sats, hot in space electronics market

This month we discuss trends in the military space market with attendees and exhibitors from the Nuclear Space Radiation Effects Conference (NSREC) held last month in New Orleans, Louisiana. They discuss the increased use of commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) components in mega-constellation applications, the impact of the New Space in the industry, and how the outlook for the military space market.



Markets & Business Deals

C4ISR, radar, electronic warfare, unmanned markets continue growth></a></td>
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C4ISR, radar, electronic warfare, unmanned markets continue growth

As threats evolve globally the demand and investment continues to grow in military application areas such as electronic warfare (EW), radar, unmanned systems, and communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (C4ISR).





Boeing sets up new avionics and electronics unit></a></td>
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Boeing sets up new avionics and electronics unit

Aerospace company Boeing has announced the creation of a new group that will make flight controls and other electronics for military and civilian aircraft that are currently made by outside suppliers.


Rockwell Collins likely to get bought by United Technologies></a></td>
                                  <td class=
Rockwell Collins likely to get bought by United Technologies

According to a report in the Wall Street Journal online this week, United Technologies Corp. of Farmington, Connecticut, a designer of engines and other aircraft parts is close to signing a deal to acquire Rockwell Collins of Cedar Rapids, Iowa, a producer of avionics for commercial and military aircraft, for in excess of $20 billion.


New nuclear missile design concepts to be matured buy Lockheed Martin, Raytheon></a></td>
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New nuclear missile design concepts to be matured buy Lockheed Martin, Raytheon

U.S. Air Force officials selected Lockheed Martin and Raytheon to mature design concepts and prove developmental technologies for the Long Range Stand Off (LRSO) missile program.


Teams selected for Phase 1 of DARPA's mobile force protection program></a></td>
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Teams selected for Phase 1 of DARPA's mobile force protection program

Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) officials selected three companies for Phase 1 of the Agency's Mobile Force Protection (MFP) program, which aims to expedite the development of counter small, unmanned aircraft systems (sUASs) capabilities and their near term introduction to the field.


Naval maritime technologies highlighted at ANTX 2017></a></td>
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Naval maritime technologies highlighted at ANTX 2017

Naval Sea Systems Command's Naval Surface Warfare Center (NSWC) conducted Advanced Naval Technology Exercise (ANTX) 2017 on August 15 and 16 concurrently at naval locations in Florida and Rhode Island.


Study: Open-source intelligence assets growing in U.S., abroad></a></td>
                                  <td class=
Study: Open-source intelligence assets growing in U.S., abroad

The market for Open Source Intelligence (referred to as OSINT) is being driven by investments in OSINT capabilities and state-of-the-art OSINT systems by national security, homeland security, public safety, and defense organizations as they increase their monitoring and research capabilities in open web, deep web, and darknet, according to a recent report by Homeland Security Research Corp. (HSRC), called "OSINT Market & Technologies 2017-2022."


DARPA launches Radio Frequency Machine Learning Systems program></a></td>
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DARPA launches Radio Frequency Machine Learning Systems program

Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) officials announced the new Radio Frequency Machine Learning Systems (RFMLS) program, which aims to further the cause of applying machine learning techniques to the realm of radio frequency (RF) signals.


Charles River Analytics to lead study that aims to improve talent management in the Navy></a></td>
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Charles River Analytics to lead study that aims to improve talent management in the Navy

U.S. Navy officials tasked Charles River Analytics Inc. to conduct a a program of study to improve talent management, including the training of individuals and staffing of Navy positions or billets.


Market study: Live, virtual training will drive DoD training and simulation market to 2021></a></td>
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Market study: Live, virtual training will drive DoD training and simulation market to 2021

The pace of adoption of live, virtual, constructive or mixed-reality training is picking up and continues to drive investment and innovation in the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) training and simulation market, according to a recent study from analyst Frost & Sullivan's Defense Growth Partnership Subscription titled "US DoD Training and Simulation Market, Forecast to 2021."




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