Oct 18, 2012 ASDNews Source : Northrop Grumman Corporation

    Next-Generation Unmanned Ground Vehicle is Lighter, Faster, Stronger and More Intelligent

Northrop Grumman Corporation's (NYSE:NOC) subsidiary Remotec Inc. will begin deliveries in December of Titus TM, the newest and smallest member of its Andros TM line of unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs).

Northrop Grumman Remotec designed the lighter, faster, stronger and more intelligent UGV for a variety of missions, bringing new capabilities to the small UGV market.

Titus weighs 135 pounds and measures 27 inches long, 16 inches wide and just 23 inches high. It retains the proven four-articulator design that has given Andros vehicles the best performance for more than 20 years. The system also features a unique operator control unit featuring a hybrid touch-screen and game system-style physical controls.

"Titus represents the next-generation Andros," said Mike Knopp, director, Northrop Grumman Remotec. "When we designed Titus, we challenged our engineers to not only retain certain capabilities but also to innovate and add capabilities – to really make the platform robust, highly functional and easy to use. They responded with a small UGV that was mechanically brilliant and reimagined the entire user experience."

Knopp said feedback the company has received from U.S. and international military and first responders who have seen the system has "overwhelmingly validated that we achieved our objectives."

The Andros operating system provides much greater information to the operator while easing user workload through more interactivity with intelligent payloads such as chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear sensors, along with preset arm positions and the ability to "fly the gripper," which makes manipulation of objects much easier.

Titus was designed using a modular approach, which allows the robot to be quickly adapted for a variety of mission scenarios. Removable articulators, wheels and tracks provide users with the capability to navigate passageways that are only 16 inches wide or race down range to address a threat at a top speed of 7.5 mph. Industry standard interfaces such as USB and Ethernet make Titus easier to maintain and upgrade and to incorporate payloads and sensors.

"We paid a great deal of attention to reducing life cycle costs," Knopp said. "Advanced diagnostics for improved maintenance, easily upgradeable features and accessory integration provide great initial value and guarantee that Titus will be a valuable asset to any team well into the future.

"For more than 20 years, Northrop Grumman Remotec has delivered innovative, integrated solutions that reduce the dangers of dealing with some of the most serious threats facing first responders. With Titus, we're now offering our customers an additional class of unmanned ground vehicles that's smaller, stronger and smarter to meet a number of new and emerging threats."

Northrop Grumman Remotec, based in Clinton, Tenn., is the largest provider of robots to the first responder market.

October 18, 2012 defpro.com

When the team behind DARPA’s Plan X mapped out where it wanted to go with research in the development of cyber capabilities and platforms, it knew the DARPA approach to problem solving included soliciting input from the leading experts in the field. On October 15 and 16, DARPA outlined its plans for Plan X to a packed house of potential developers and performers and solicited their feedback.

More than 350 software engineers, cyber researchers and human-machine interface experts attended the event. DARPA officials presented the goals of Plan X in preparation for release of the program’s Broad Agency Announcement (BAA)—anticipated within the next month.

Plan X, announced in May 2012, is the first DARPA program of its kind. It will attempt to create revolutionary technologies for understanding, planning and managing DoD cyber missions in real-time, large-scale and dynamic network environments. Plan X will conduct novel research on the cyber domain. The Plan X program is explicitly not funding research and development efforts in vulnerability analysis or generation of cyberweapons.

“Insights obtained from discussions with government partners and potential performers during the Proposers’ Day workshop will help us finalize our approach to the Plan X program,” said Dan Roelker, DARPA program manager. “The program covers largely unchartered territory as we attempt to formalize cyber mission command and control for the DoD.”

It is anticipated that the BAA for this effort will be posted to www.fbo.gov within the next month. 

Oct. 18, 2012 defense-unmanned.com

(Source: US Department of Defense; issued Oct. 17, 2012)

Northrop Grumman Corp., San Diego, Calif., (FA8528-13-C-0005) is being awarded a $88,000,000 cost plus fixed fee contract for logistics support for the RQ-4 Global Hawk fielded Block 30 weapon system.

The location of the performance is San Diego, Calif. Work is expected to be completed by Oct. 12, 2013.

The contracting activity is AFLCMC/WIKBA, Robins Air Force Base, Ga.

October 17, 2012 defense-aerospace.com

(Source: U.S Department of Defense; issued October 16, 2012)

Bell Helicopter Textron Inc., Fort Worth, Texas, is being awarded a $391,426,326 firm-fixed-price modification to definitize a previously awarded advance acquisition undefinitized contract action (N00019-11-C-0023) to provide lot 9 long lead parts and components required for the manufacture of 15 UH-1Y new aircraft; three AH-1Z remanufactured aircraft; and seven AH-1Z new aircraft.

Work will be performed in Fort Worth, Texas (60 percent) and Amarillo, Texas (40 percent), and is expected to be completed in July 2015. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year.

The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Md., is the contracting activity.

October 17, 2012 defense-aerospace.com

(Source: DARPA; issued October 16, 2012)

What Lurks Beneath? DARPA Seeks Tools for Identifying Hidden Explosives at Standoff

Interdisciplinary teams needed to develop proof-of-concept demonstrations of technology for identifying presence of embedded explosives in opaque, high-water-content substances

The threat to U.S. warfighters from improvised explosive devices (IEDs) is as varied as the makers of IEDs are resourceful in how they design and conceal the explosives. The Department of Defense has developed and deployed detection and counter-measures for many types of IEDs, but as the threat evolves, new defenses are required to keep warfighters safe. DARPA created the Methods of Explosives Detection at Standoff (MEDS) program to confront a specific class of IEDs: those deeply embedded in substances such as mud, meat or animal carcasses—i.e., opaque substances with high water content that cannot be safely and effectively probed with current technology.

Through MEDS, DARPA seeks proof-of-concept demonstrations of technologies and techniques that can rapidly and accurately detect the presence of bulk explosives in such substances using non-contact methods, meaning there can be no physical contact with the host substance. The technology would have to detect, but not necessarily image, explosives embedded at a depth of five centimeters or greater. To protect the health of the operators and people nearby, the tools developed may not use ionizing radiation, with the possible exception of x-ray backscatter. DARPA will evaluate proposed techniques on the anticipated tradeoff between image fidelity and radiation output.

Because of the constraints on using radiation, DARPA expects that new, interdisciplinary areas of research will be required to develop an effective solution. For that reason, universities, including the medical community, are encouraged to collaborate and propose innovative solutions along with commercial industry.

“MEDS technologies may require new engineering and physics. DARPA does not believe that incremental enhancements to existing imaging technologies will be adequate to meet the program objectives. However, the building blocks for a solution are in place, as we’ve seen in several recent scientific breakthroughs,” said Dr. Judah Goldwasser, DARPA program manager for this effort.

Some potentially relevant research areas include ultra-wide-band thermo-acoustic imaging, phase-contrast methods, non-linear acoustics and mixed modality mechanisms.

“This program may represent a bit of a change for past DARPA university performers. We require proof-of-concept demonstrations of technologies and techniques, as opposed to just basic research,” Goldwasser said. “Researchers’ expertise, though, will be fundamental to a solution.”

To allow for broad participation, proposers may propose appropriate surrogates for explosives to be used in testing; DARPA will specify common packaging substances at the program kickoff.

The anticipated period of performance for MEDS will not exceed 18 months, including a 12-month base period for research, development and demonstration of a capability, and a six-month option for follow-up reproduction and testing of successful capabilities at U.S. Government laboratories.

October 18, 2012 by Dave Majumdar – FG

October 17, 2012 defpro.com

ARCHBALD, Pa. | Lockheed Martin received a $34.1 million contract from the U.S. Air Force for follow-on production of paveway II Plus Laser Guided Bomb (LGB) GBU-10, GBU-12 and GBU-16 guidance kits.

With this contract, Lockheed Martin received the majority share of a $56 million paveway II Plus LGB procurement. Production is expected to begin in early 2014. The contract is part of an overall $475 million five-year, firm-fixed-price, multiple-award contract announced by the U.S. Air Force in August 2011. Lockheed Martin was qualified as a paveway supplier in 2001.

"The Lockheed Martin paveway II Plus LGB guidance kits significantly improve weapon accuracy and reduce risk to U.S. and allied ground forces when employed in place of legacy paveway II weapons," said Joe Serra, senior manager for precision guided systems in Lockheed Martin's Missiles and Fire Control business.

Under the contract, Lockheed Martin will build and deliver paveway II Plus LGB kits, consisting of MAU-209C/B computer control groups that contain the electronic guidance system and the associated air foil groups that provide lift and stability to the weapons, in standard GBU-10 MK-84 (2,000 lb.), GBU-12 MK-82 (500 lb.), GBU-16 MK-83 (1,000 lb.) series configurations. All work will be performed at Lockheed Martin's facility in Archbald, Pa.

Lockheed Martin is a qualified provider of all three variants of paveway II MK-80 series LGBs, and is the sole provider of the paveway II Enhanced Laser Guided Training Round and Dual Mode Laser Guided Bomb. Lockheed Martin has delivered more than 65,000 LGB kits to the U.S. Air Force, U.S. Navy and international customers. Laser guided bombs have been used successfully in overseas military operations.

COLORADO SPRINGS, Oct. 17 (UPI)

The U.S Army's Joint Tactical Ground Station that downloads satellite sensor data to warn of theater ballistic missile threats is to be modernized.

Northrop Grumman said it is to conduct the upgrade under an Army contract worth $31.2 million.

The work to be performed includes initial modernization development, with several optional production and sustainment efforts.

The work would continue through 2022, the company said.

"Northrop Grumman has a longstanding relationship with the JTAGS program and has partnered with the Army to support its critical mission," said Ed Bush, vice president of Northrop Grumman's C4ISR Networked Systems business unit. "The enhanced JTAGS system will provide improved detection and reporting of theater ballistic missiles and improved missile defense and situational awareness capabilities anywhere in the world."

JTAGS, which can be moved to different locations, is an information processing system. It downloads and then disseminates warning, alerting and cueing information on tactical ballistic missiles and other tactical events of interest.

Northrop said modernization work will be conducted at its facilities in Colorado and California.

October 17th, 2012 By Air Force News Agency - defencetalk.com

The engines roared overhead as an F-35A fell into formation. Although this is a basic maneuver for the test pilots, the possibilities for combat environments created by these elite aircraft working together are anything but mundane.

The F-35, which features three variants to be used by the Air Force, Marine Corps and Navy, is a single-seat aircraft capable of stealthy operations, equipped with an enhanced computer technology system. The Marine Corps B variant is also capable of performing short takeoffs and vertical-landings while maintaining the conventional operations of other airplanes.

The F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter program started in 1997. The program includes plans to replace the Air Force’s aging F-16 Fighting Falcon and A-10 Thunderbolt II, the Marine Corps’ short takeoff, vertical landing AV-8B Harrier and dogfighting and air-to-ground attacking F/A-18 Hornet and the Navy’s stock of legacy Hornets.

“The F-35 is a fifth-generation fighter; but it’s more than just a stealthy airplane,” said Marine Corps Col. Art Tomassetti, a pilot who has been with the JSF program since 1998. “It goes beyond stealth and low observable capability. It brings together everything that today’s computer and digital age can bring to how the airplane flies and how it’s maintained.”

The F-35 is an ideal combination of stealth, sensor fusion and a robust digital flight control system making it, not only easy for a pilot to fly, but easy to identify and engage targets in the battlespace. Along with ease of flight, the F-35 also allows pilots greater situational awareness.

“When you look at the F-35, you can’t look at it as a single airplane against another single airplane,” Tomassetti said. “You have to look at a group of F-35s working together, then you really get to take advantage of what the F-35 brings to the battle space. The ability of the airplanes to use a variety of sensors to gather information and share the information they gather between planes is truly incredible.”

With the F-35, pilots can access information about possible targets and threats from supporting F-35 aircraft via data links, which allows them to see more and identify more of what is happening in the battle space, Tomassetti said.

Currently, the military is only training seasoned pilots on the new airplane at Eglin Air Force Base.

When new pilots are allowed into the program, they will find themselves in a unique training environment along with enlisted aircraft maintainers and mechanics from all three branches of service and also coalition partners from several foreign nations.

These service members will learn how to operate and maintain the F-35 through a digital training environment. This kinetic learning system allows the learning to occur through touching and doing, rather than seeing and hearing.

“The fact that we’re starting with the same airframe, same formations, same weapons capabilities, I think that already puts us at a better starting point when we show up to a combat theater together,” said Lt. Col. Lee Kloos, squadron commander for the 58th Fighter Squadron, of the integration of forces with the F-35.

Kloos, who has more 2,100 hours flying the F-16, said having the Air Force, Marine Corps and Navy field the same airframe allows a common frame of reference for pilots regardless of service.

The aircraft is also a joy to fly, Kloos said. Despite the advanced technology and complexity of the aircraft, it’s a very easy aircraft to fly, and basic pilot actions remain the same as in any fighter aircraft.

“Pull back on the stick and the trees get smaller, push forward and the trees get bigger,” Kloos said. It is a stable and well-balanced plane designed for today’s generation who grew up playing video games, he said.

Comparatively speaking, the F-35 has a clean cockpit. Instead of a multitude of switches inherent of many aircraft, the F-35 has two touch screens with interfaces similar to a tablet computer.

For the maintainers, things are a little tougher.

“I was working on the F-15 C and D models,” said Staff Sgt. Matthew Reed, F-35 A maintainer. “The F-35 is a completely different aircraft. The technology is challenging at times.”

Since the F-35 is still in operational testing, the maintainers and pilots work through all the bugs together. On a continuous basis, personnel are testing the aircraft in new maneuvers and capabilities. Once these are monitored and assessed, the pilots are cleared to perform them in their daily flight operations.

“Today our training consists of the basics of takeoff, landing, navigation and basic formation as we wait for the flight clearance to expand and allow us to train specific mission sets,” Tomassetti said.

Air Force maintainers, the first service members to work on the F-35, use the maintenance side of the computer to do preventative diagnostics and pinpoint possible problems.

With the pilots and maintainers working together, the Air Force and Marine Corps have flown hundreds of training sorties since their first flight in 2011. They continue to fly daily to bring the F-35 A, the Air Force’s conventional landing and take-off variant, F-35 B, the Marine Corps’ STOVL variant, and F-35 C, the Navy’s carrier-based variant, closer to combat operations.

MOHAWK helmet

17 October 2012 army-technology.com

Ceradyne is planning to launch its new modular hard wired kitted (MOHAWK) boltless combat helmet at the forthcoming Annual Association of the US Army (AUSA), scheduled to be held in Washington DC from 22 to 24 October.

Developed by Ceradyne Diaphorm, the patent-pending helmet is equipped with the company's seamless ballistic technology to offer hearing protection and Threat4-developed tactical in-ear radio communication headset.

Ceradyne Armor Systems president Marc King and Threat4 CEO Patrick Armstrong said: "The addition of comms and hearing protection to the helmet completes the warfighter's headborne equipment requirements and simultaneously addresses hearing protection."

The advanced MOHAWK helmet is manufactured using a seamless and boltless design to enhance structural integrity and reduce ballistic penetration.

A subdermal, multi-conductor central modular bus bar system featuring multiple universal mounting points is also present to facilitate attachment of varied combinations of powered helmet accessories.

Other mounted devices include rear battery pack powered identification friend-or-foe (IFF) system, transponder, as well as night-vision goggles (NVGs) with integrated camera and LED flashlight.

The tactical headset is a modification of Threat4's legacy x-62000 series headset, featuring brackets to facilitate mounting on either side of the helmet and also draw power from the bus bar system.

Ceradyne has already displayed the MOWHAWK prototype, which was developed in collaboration with Wilcox Industries at the 2011 AUSA event in Washington.

Oct 17, 2012 Spacewar.com

Seattle WA - Boeing this week begins assembling the first refueling boom for the U.S. Air Force's next-generation aerial refueling tanker aircraft in the KC-46 Boom Assembly Center that opened Teusday at Boeing Field in Seattle.

"We're pleased that this facility opened on schedule," said Maureen Dougherty, KC-46 vice president and program manager for Boeing. "The KC-46A will feature a modernized fly-by-wire boom based on the proven system on the U.S. Air Force's KC-10 tanker, which will give it advanced refueling capabilities, allowing it to refuel any fixed-wing receiver aircraft anytime and on any mission."

Boom assembly marks the program's shift to production from design activities.

"It's a big day for the KC-46 Tanker Program and the U.S. Air Force," said Maj. Gen. John Thompson, U.S. Air Force Tanker Program Executive Officer and KC-46 Program Director. "Boeing continues to make good progress toward delivering the KC-46 Tanker on schedule."

The first boom will enter testing during the third quarter of 2013 at a System Integration Lab (SIL), known as SIL 0. It is one of five labs designed to reduce risk for avionics and aerial refueling integration. Boeing invented the air refueling boom and has been building, upgrading and modifying them for more than 60 years.

Boeing's KC-46 program remains on track to deliver 18 combat-ready tankers by 2017, and for the next major Air Force contract milestone, the Critical Design Review, scheduled for the summer of 2013.

Production of the KC-46 aircraft begins next summer in Boeing's Everett, Wash., factory. The aircraft will be a 767-2C variant of the commercial 767-200ER airplane. Boeing will build 179 next-generation aerial refueling tanker aircraft to begin replacing the Air Force's aging KC-135 tankers.

16.10.2012, Amel Brahmi - LeParisien.fr

Les Etats-Unis, pays qui dépense le plus au monde en matière de Défense, doivent-ils encore augmenter leur budget ? La question devrait faire l’objet d’un vif échange mardi soir lors du deuxième débat présidentiel à Hempstead (New York). En particulier après l’attaque terroriste du 11 septembre en Libye, qui a coûté la vie à quatre fonctionnaires US dont un ambassadeur.

En 2011,  les Etats-Unis ont dépensé à eux seuls cinq fois plus que la Chine, 2è puissance militaire mondiale et plus que les 10 premières puissances militaires mondiales réunies ! Républicains et Démocrates ont des visions radicalement opposées sur la question. Obama, pour qui le premier débat avait un été un désastre (au lendemain il était devancé de 4 points par Mitt Romney dans les intentions de vote), peut s’attendre à des attaques virulentes de la part de son opposant Romney.

Une réduction de 1000 milliards pour les démocrates

Pour l'actuel président, il est temps que les Etats-Unis réduisent leur budget. Les démocrates ont longtemps accusé les républicains, et surtout l’administration Bush, d’avoir « financé deux guerres avec la carte de crédit des Américains ». Obama table sur l’instauration d’une paix durable en Afghanistan avec un retrait des troupes en 2014 et sur une pacification des relations internationales sur la région : il estime que les dépenses militaires ne sont plus justifiées.

Barack Obama a proposé environ 5,8 milliards de dollars de dépenses sur les dix prochaines années. Ce qui ramènerait le budget de la défense en 2022 à environ 11% des dépenses totales de l'Etat. Cette proposition prend en compte la réduction de 487 milliards de dollars décidé en 2011 pour les dépenses à la défense mais pas celle des 500 milliards, une réduction automatique également annoncée en 2011 et programmée pour l'année prochaine.

Le président a indiqué qu'il s'opposerait à tout projet de loi cherchant à supprimer ces réductions. Il ne les accepterait que si les dépenses étaient financées par une hausse du taux d'imposition des plus riches. Une idée qui fait grincer des dents les Républicains.

Une hausse de 2000 milliards pour les républicains

Mitt Romney et son colistier Paul Ryan ont martelé pendant la campagne la nécessité pour les Etats-Unis de rester la première puissance militaire au monde et de conserver son rôle de "pacificateur". Romney a indiqué dans son projet que l'une de ses priorités était d'empêcher toute réduction de budget.

Le candidat à la Maison Blanche préconise un budget de défense  équivalent à au moins 4% du PIB, et cela avant toute augmentation. Il a déclaré le mois dernier que son but était de « s’assurer que la force militaire américaine est tellement forte que personne n’oserait la tester. Et à mon sens cela passe par un niveau de dépense à 4% du PIB. » Cela reviendrait à des dépenses d’environ 8000 milliards de dollars sur les dix prochaines années, soit un peu plus de 2000 milliards de dollars de plus que les démocrates.

Mitt Romney qui perçoit l’Iran comme l’ennemi numéro 1 des Etats-Unis mais aussi d’Israël, souhaite que les Etats-Unis continuent de renforcer leur force de frappe. Difficile de défendre une telle position tout en niant l'intention d’attaquer.