Rapid Deployment SIGINT Sensor

VStar Systems (San Diego, CA) announced the addition of a pod version of its MA-C SIGINT Sensor, the MA-C MiniPod™. Two active high frequency (HF) antennas allow for intercept and copy of land mobile radios from both direct Line of Sight (LOS) as well as Near Vertical Incidence Skywave (NVIS) signals for Beyond Line of Sight (BLOS) communication methods. The MA-C MiniPOD can be installed on most standard airborne racks/missile launchers for integration on a wide variety of platforms.

Emerging mission requirements from global defense forces are driving new programs and applications for Unmanned Underwater Vehicle (UUV) platforms. Like their airborne counterparts, UUVs are ideal for deploying Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) mission payloads. To speed the development of these autonomous vehicles, system designers are turning to small form factor (SFF) Commercial off the Shelf (COTS) technologies previously proven in Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) deployments. These low-power SFF subsystems, including miniature network switches and mission computers, are ideal for use in UUVs for which any additional weight or power consumption can have significant detrimental effects on mission distance and duration. By selecting proven rugged COTS solutions, already tested and qualified to the extreme demands of MIL-STD-810G, MIL-STD-461, MIL-STD-704 and/ or RTCA/DO-160G standards for environmental, power, and EMI compliance, UUV system developers have found that they can greatly accelerate their program integration and reduce overall risk.

Using unmanned surface vessels (USVs) for “dull, dirty and dangerous missions” is gaining traction in recent years as it removes the human element from a potentially life-threatening environment in missions such as mine hunting or maritime interdiction. Current USVs rely on human operators sitting in remote control stations to monitor the vessels’ surroundings and perform collision detection and avoidance. This reliance on the human operator constrains the operating envelope of the USV as it requires a high bandwidth and low latency communication link for safe operations, especially in waters with heavy traffic.

Advancements in the field of artificial intelligence (AI) are accelerating as the technology matures from being research-orientated to being deployed in a wide range of products and services, such as autonomous vehicles. While Convolutional Neural Networks (CNNs) were first described in the 1950s, the technology remained an academic concept until the availability of large training data sets and powerful Graphics Processor Units (GPUs), a processor architecture ideal for the heavy math computational demands associated with neural network processing. Once scientists had low-cost and high-performance platforms, the technology exploded for many commercial uses. Military use is more challenging due to the lack of large data sets, but that is changing too as areas including thermal imagery are starting to be used.

Silicon Sensing Systems Ltd.
Plymouth, UK
+44 0 1752 723330
www.siliconsensing.com

Silicon Sensing Systems Ltd's latest DMU30 inertial measurement unit (IMU) has been chosen to provide highly accurate ship's attitude data to the autopilot that will navigate the ground-breaking Mayflower Autonomous Ship (MAS 400) as it travels the world.

Air Force Research Laboratory
Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, OH
+1 937-255-0017
www.wpafb.af.mil

AFRL Materials Integrity engineers recently played a key role in enabling the safer and more efficient removal of paint from F-16 aircraft through the newly-adopted Robotic Laser Coating Removal System.

The Air Force is testing materials produced through ceramic additive manufacturing to advance their potential future use in hypersonic flight vehicles. The Air Force and its commercial partner are testing additively manufactured silicon oxycarbide (SiOC) materials that could withstand temperatures of about 3200 degrees Fahrenheit.

Several new technologies are being developed that, once combined, will give soldiers an unprecedented overview of the battlefield. Those technologies involve the marriage of micro-displays with augmented reality.

The Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI) announced the keynote speakers who will guide discussions about the benefits and future of unmanned systems at AUVSI XPONENTIAL 2018, being held from April 30 to May 3 at the Colorado Convention Center in Denver. The experts will present keynotes devoted to themes critical to the advancement and growth of unmanned systems.