The U.S. Army wants to equip soldiers with smartphones, in recognition of their computing power and ability to run apps and download vital data on battlefields or behind enemy lines. With this in mind, Vanderbilt University researchers led by Akos Ledeczi, associate professor of computer engineering, have developed two modules of microphone sensors and corresponding software that let Android smartphones detect snipers. One module, the size of a deck of playing cards, analyzes muzzle blast and the ensuing shockwave to triangulate the direction of a shot and estimate range.
Water-jet disruptors fire explosively propelled jets of water to destroy the circuitry of improvised explosive devices, substantially reducing their potential for detonation. They have been deployed for 40 years, initially by British forces in Northern Ireland. Recently, manufacturer Chemring OED of Poole, U.K., revised the design of its established Pigstick disruptor to reduce weight. The new 28-mm model, called Wasp, weighs just 1 kg (2.2 lb.), compared with 3 kg for Pigstick.
The U.S. Army Research Laboratory (ARL) has developed modular software with modeling and simulation capabilities allowing Army scientists to select or design “smart” weapons. Called Smart Weapon End-to-End Performance Model, or Sweepm, the software analyzes all outcomes associated with firing a round (e.g., artillery, mortar, grenade), as well as factors that affect delivery. Sweepm reflects a renewed force-on-force emphasis after a decade of counterinsurgency warfare.
The best way to access the depths of the oceans may be from the skies. That is the thinking behind the station-keeping low-visibility glider, in development by LBI Co. of Groton, Conn., which can be deployed from standard launch tubes on U.S. Navy P-3 and P-8 aircraft and transit long distances to provide persistent surveillance in denied or hostile areas. It enables standoff aerial delivery of a stealthy, unmanned, multiple-sensor platform with low visibility on the sea surface, and is capable of long duration on station and endurance in high seas.
How does a squadron charged with testing navigation and guidance systems in extreme jamming know where its aircraft and weapons are and how they are performing when GPS is jammed? The answer from next year on will be by using a local positioning system that has the potential to back up GPS wherever jamming or spoofing could have disastrous results, such as critical infrastructure, airports or guiding unmanned aircraft in civil airspace.
Business was booming for Raytheon at the recent Paris air show. The defense electronics giant's “hospitality chalet”—a two-story structure set up for VIP meetings—was packed with prospective buyers from places such as Oman, Qatar and Japan. “This is the busiest I have ever been at an air show,” proclaimed CEO Bill Swanson, who is aiming to raise exports to 30% of Raytheon's sales, up from an impressive 26%.
After two decades rising through the executive ranks at communications services provider Amdocs Management, Dov Baharav had no defense experience when he was tapped in 2011 to serve as chairman of Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI). During his tenure at Amdocs, Baharav oversaw complex financial systems and high-tech development projects in the lead-up to the dot-com bust, when he was appointed CEO.
New Zealand continues to face a tight fiscal budget, but is moving to procure new primary trainer aircraft for its air force and plans to replace its Lockheed Martin P-3Ks and C-130Hs in the next dozen years.
The U.S. honed its littoral combat skills and continued to strengthen its Asian ties this past month with additional Cooperation Afloat Readiness and Training (Carat) exercises.
LONDON — The Royal Australian Navy’s first Sikorsky MH-60R Seahawk helicopter has made its first flight. The Seahawk made the flight on June 26 at Sikorsky’s facilities in Stratford, Conn. The aircraft will now be transferred to Lockheed Martin’s facility in Owego, N.Y., where it will be equipped with a mission system and sensors. Three more MH-60Rs for the Australian navy are currently in various stages of assembly at Sikorsky’s facilities, Australia’s defense ministry says. The first two aircraft are set for delivery in December 2013.
FIREWORKS: A long-anticipated Missile Defense Agency test of the Ground-based Midcourse Defense (GMD) program is planned for July 5. The operational test will gauge the first-generation Capability Enhancement I Exoatmospheric Kill Vehicle, currently deployed in Alaska and California. The interceptor will fly from Vandenberg AFB, Calif., to knock down a target from Kwajalein Atoll in the Marshall Islands. The GMD program had suffered a series of test failures before scoring a successful test in January.
As budgets in the U.S., Israel and across Europe contract, growth in global defense spending over the next four years will be concentrated in developing countries, according to a Global Defense Outlook report by Deloitte. Despite an overall contraction in defense spending by countries with large gross domestic products (GDP), those nations will still continue to invest in military equipment to address specific security concerns. For example, Japan will continue to invest in missiles, advanced fighter aircraft and helicopters.
NEW DELHI — India is trying to “fast track” production of its Tejas Light Combat Aircraft, producing 20 of the single-seat fighters over the next three years, despite lingering delays with the program, according to an official with the Defense Research Development Organization (DRDO). After several delays, the first of the indigenous LCAs, being developed for the Indian air force (IAF), is expected to fly out by the end of this year or the beginning of 2014. “The LCA project has been put on [the] fast track,” DRDO chief Avinash Chander says.
Pushing turbine engines to higher efficiencies and speeds, at lower weights and costs, for missiles, unmanned aircraft and space access are among objectives outlined in a new solicitation for Phase III of the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory-led Versatile Affordable Advanced Turbine Engine (Vaate) program. Vaate is a joint Defense Department/NASA/Energy Department/FAA/industry program aimed at providing a ten-fold increase in affordable turbo-propulsion capability by 2017, when compared to a year-2000 baseline engine.
The European Commission (EC) has cleared General Electric’s (GE’s) planned acquisition of Italian aero-engine supplier Avio, but the ruling comes with caveats concerning Avio’s involvement in the Eurofighter program. GE’s $4.3 billion purchase of Avio’s aerospace business from private equity firm Cinven, announced at the end of 2012, comes with requirements about the safeguarding of the joint Eurojet consortium, which builds the EJ200 engine for the Eurofighter aircraft. The Eurojet consortium includes Avio, ITP, MTU Aero Engines and Rolls-Royce.
CHINA PENALTY: A former Republican senator who was once the chamber’s aviation subcommittee chairman says current lawmakers should consider penalties on Chinese imports due to the Asian country’s alleged cyber pilfering of intellectual property. “I don’t think that would get us a lot of money, but it would get us action,” says Slade Gorton, now a member of the Commission on the Theft of American Intellectual Property.
