Rockwell Collins has unveiled FasTAK™, a new tactical combat targeting system and secure communications gateway for success in today’s digital battlefield.

“FasTAK simplifies a complex set of tasks for users, helping them carry out missions more efficiently while remaining agile,” said Troy Brunk, vice president and general manager, Communication, Navigation and Electronic Warfare Solutions for Rockwell Collins. “From units on the move to command and control, the system provides reliable, secure connectivity across the battlefield.”

After six years of extensive research, engineers at the U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Research, Development, and Engineering Center have conducted a successful test flight of an advanced tail-controlled missile system.

The Tail Controlled Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System (TC-GMLRS) performed its first flight test earlier this year at White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico. The Guided Multiple Launch Rocket System entered production in 2003 and is the Army's primary precision strike artillery weapon. The current production GMLRS has control surfaces on the front end of the rocket, which contribute to precision effects but were not designed to maximize the range of the system. During the first flight test, the missile system reached a distance of 112.9 km, or roughly 70 miles.

Called the Weather Instrumentation and Specialized Environmental Monitoring Platform (WISE-MP), a device being developed by the Air Force can measure conditions that can be detrimental to aircraft such as pollutants, salt, and moisture. Anticipating corrosive conditions before they can have a detrimental effect can lead to significant cost savings and less aircraft downtime.

The prototype device consists of a gas monitor, weather sensor, chloride monitor, and control box, and is portable, durable, and waterproof, with easy access to components. The WISE-MP control unit stores and transmits data for remote monitoring, and data can be accessed on-site.

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A hybrid origami drone can be stiff or flexible depending on the circumstances. When airborne, the structure is stiff enough to carry its own weight and withstand the thrust of the propellers. But if the drone runs into something, it becomes flexible in order to absorb the shock and therefore minimize any damage.

The drone’s resilience comes from a unique combination of stiff and elastic layers. An elastomer membrane is stretched and then sandwiched between rigid plates. When the system is at rest, the plates hold together and give the structure its stiffness. But when enough force is applied, the plates draw apart and the structure can bend.

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AeroVironment, Inc.
Monrovia, CA
626-357-9983
www.avinc.com

AeroVironment, Inc., a specialist in unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) for both defense and commercial applications, and ESG Elektroniksystem- und Logistik-GmbH, a system and software house in Germany for development and service, recently announced that the German Navy has acquired the AeroVironment Puma™ maritime unmanned aircraft system. The Puma systems will include the Mantis i45 sensor and pocket Remote Video Terminal (p/RVT). AeroVironment partnered with ESG to satisfy the requirement of the Bundesamt fur Ausrustung, Informationstechnik und Nutzung der Bundeswehr (BAAINBw) for an urgent operational requirement.

As the medical community learns more about brain injury, the importance of blunt impact mitigation becomes more apparent. As such, it is critical to make sure that research labs are not only capable of performing testing in this field, but also show inter-laboratory consistency and reproducibility. This study is a comparison between the two validated blunt impact testing labs (Aberdeen Test Center (ATC) and National Technical Systems (NTS) Chesapeake Testing Services (CTS)), and Natick Soldier Research Development and Engineering Center (NSRDEC).

In August 2017, Qantas Airlines laid down the challenge to both Boeing and Airbus to offer an aircraft that can cross one of aviation's “last frontiers.” That “last frontier” was an aircraft capable of flying an economical passenger load non-stop for over 20 hours. This would allow Qantas to offer direct service from Sydney to London or New York. Weight reduction through the use of thermoplastics and other technologies would be the key to any chance of success in this endeavor.

As satellites and astronauts travel further out in space, the more communication challenges they face. NASA launched the InSight Mission on May 5, 2018 from Vandenberg Air Force Base, California. InSight was designed to collect data on Mars quakes and the processes that shaped the rocky planet to help us better understand how it formed. Getting the information back to the scientists here on Earth required a variety of antennas on the spacecraft.

The objective of this research was to hydraulically pressurize the internal diameter of one 102mm Polymer Matrix Composite (PMC) over-wrapped cylinder up to 25,000 pounds per square inch (psi) and during pressurization, in real time, collect and store pressure and strain data simultaneously. Strain data must be captured from the inside diameter of the oil filled metallic cylinder and from the outside diameter of the composite over-wrap material.

Stratasys Ltd.
Eden Prairie, MN
952-937-3000
www.stratasys.com/aerospace

Phoenix Analysis and Design
Technologies (PADT) Tempe, AZ
1-800-293-PADT
www.padtinc.com

Stratasys Ltd., a company that specializes in applied additive technology solutions, and Phoenix Analysis & Design Technologies, Inc. (PADT) have teamed up with Lockheed Martin Space to deliver next-generation 3D printed parts for NASA's Orion deep-space spacecraft. Key to the project are Stratasys advanced materials – including an ESD variant of the new Antero™ 800NA, a PEKK-based thermoplastic offering high performance mechanical, chemical, and thermal properties.