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Editor’s Perspective
7 Common MOSA, SOSA updates
By John McHaleTechnology Update
8 Workforce development a major piece of CHIPS Act investment
By Lisa DaigleMil Tech Insider
9 Safety-certifiable COTS lowers the cost of keeping the skies safe
By Gregory SikkensDefense Tech Wire
10
By Dan TaylorEditor’s Choice Products
38 By Military Embedded Systems Staff
Guest Blogs
40 IFF on U.S. drones: Is cost a factor?
By Glenn Mathias,Australian Maritime Consultancy
42 Industry 5.0: The digital transformation of A&D manufacturing confronts the next phase
By Matt Medley,IFS
45 The metaverse, AI, and space defense: Emerging tech transforming 2024
By PeteMorrison, BiSim
Connecting with Military Embedded
46 By Military Embedded Systems Staff
14 Inspiring future women engineers, a defense industry challenge Q&A with Maria Ho, Deputy Director for Government and Strategic Programs, Aerospace & Defense at Analog Devices
By John McHale, Group Editorial DirectorSPECIAL REPORT: Counter-UAS technology
18 Evolving UAS threats spur industry to get creative with C-UAS solutions
By Dan Taylor,Technology Editor
MIL TECH TRENDS: Reduced SWaP designs for UAS payloads
22 Developing CSfC secure data solutions: Waivers no longer required for storage devices
26
All
©
©
ISSN: Print 1557-3222
By Chris Kruell,CDSG
SWaP-optimized mission systems for unmanned platforms help expand capabilities
By Jeff Evans, Curtiss-WrightINDUSTRY SPOTLIGHT:
MOSA solutions for unmanned systems: SBCs, RTOS, connectors, backplanes, etc.
30 AI, MOSA, and the future of secure uncrewed warfare
ByTim Reed, Lynx Software Technologies
34 VITA Standards Organization high-profile projects
ByJerry Gipper, VITA Editorial Director
Published by:
ON THE COVER:
U.S. Marines walk an FIM-92 Stinger man-portable air-defense system to a firing point aboard the amphibious assault ship USS Boxer (LHD 4), while supporting a counter-unmanned aerial system exercise in the Pacific Ocean during late 2023. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Amelia Kang. @military_cots
https://www.linkedin.com/groups/1864255/
Behlman introduces the first test-proven VPX power supplies developed in alignment with the SOSA Technical Standard. Like all Behlman VPXtra® power supplies, these 3U and 6U COTS DC-to-DC high-power dual output units feature Xtra-reliable design and Xtra-rugged construction to stand up to the rigors of all mission-critical airborne, shipboard, ground and mobile applications.
VPXtra® 1000CD5-IQI
> 6U power module developed in alignment with the SOSA Technical Standard
> Delivers 1050W DC power via two outputs
> VITA 46.11 IPMC for integration with system management
VPXtra® 700D-IQI
> 3U power module developed in alignment with the SOSA Technical Standard
> Delivers 700W DC power via two outputs
> VITA 46.11 IPMC for integration with system management
17 Abaco Systems – Elevate autonomy
15 AirBorn – TriMate next-generation circulars
2 Analog Devices, Inc. –IMU solutions for the harshest conditions
25 AUVSI.org – The technology event for autonomy (XPONENTIAL)
5 Behlman Electronics, Inc. –Behlman leads the pack again!
36 Dawn VME Products –Dawn powers VPX
37 Elma Electronic – Leaders in Modular Open Standards enabling the modern warfighter
48 GMS – X9 Spider. The world's most powerful full-featured wearable AI computer
13 LCR Embedded Systems, Inc. –VPX and SOSA aligned solutions for any mission
41 Phoenix International –Phalanx II: The ultimate NAS
21 Sealevel Systems, Inc. –Relio R1 Rugged Industrial Computer for Mission Critical Communications
33 Sealevel Systems, Inc. –Modern Aviation's Reliance on ACAS for Crewed & Uncrewed Deployments
3 Wolf Advanced Technology –Winning at the edge
embedded world Exhibition & Conference
April 9-11, 2024
Nuremberg, Germany
https://www.embedded-world.de/en
Sea-Air-Space
April 8-10, 2024
National Harbor, MD
https://seaairspace.org/
XPONENTIAL/AUVSI
April 22-25, 2024
San Diego, CA
https://www.xponential.org/xponential2024/ public/enter.aspx
SOFWEEK 2024
May 6-10, 2024
Tampa, FL
https://www.sofweek.org/
GROUP EDITORIAL DIRECTOR John McHale john.mchale@opensysmedia.com
ASSISTANT MANAGING EDITOR Lisa Daigle lisa.daigle@opensysmedia.com
TECHNOLOGY EDITOR – WASHINGTON BUREAU Dan Taylor dan.taylor@opensysmedia.com
CREATIVE DIRECTOR Stephanie Sweet stephanie.sweet@opensysmedia.com
WEB DEVELOPER Paul Nelson paul.nelson@opensysmedia.com
EMAIL MARKETING SPECIALIST Drew Kaufman drew.kaufman@opensysmedia.com
WEBCAST MANAGER Marvin Augustyn marvin.augustyn@opensysmedia.com
VITA EDITORIAL DIRECTOR Jerry Gipper jerry.gipper@opensysmedia.com
SALES/MARKETING
DIRECTOR OF SALES Tom Varcie tom.varcie@opensysmedia.com (734) 748-9660
STRATEGIC ACCOUNT MANAGER Rebecca Barker rebecca.barker@opensysmedia.com (281) 724-8021
STRATEGIC ACCOUNT MANAGER Bill Barron bill.barron@opensysmedia.com (516) 376-9838
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DIRECTOR OF SALES ENABLEMENT Barbara Quinlan barbara.quinlan@opensysmedia.com AND PRODUCT MARKETING (480) 236-8818
INSIDE SALES Amy Russell amy.russell@opensysmedia.com
STRATEGIC ACCOUNT MANAGER Lesley Harmoning lesley.harmoning@opensysmedia.com
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TAIWAN SALES ACCOUNT MANAGER Patty Wu patty.wu@opensysmedia.com
CHINA SALES ACCOUNT MANAGER Judy Wang judywang2000@vip.126.com
PRESIDENT Patrick Hopper patrick.hopper@opensysmedia.com
EXECUTIVE VICE PRESIDENT John McHale john.mchale@opensysmedia.com
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FINANCIAL ASSISTANT Emily Verhoeks emily.verhoeks@opensysmedia.com
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While it was officially released in the famous Department of Defense (DoD) Tri-Service Memo five years ago, the concept of a modular open systems approach (MOSA) has been around for some time and is not a new concept, said Jason Dirner, in his keynote address at the MOSA [Modular Open Systems Approach] Virtual Summit held February 22 and hosted by myself and Military Embedded Systems. What is new, however, Dirner said, is “common MOSA, [where] you have multiple programs and services conforming to the same standard,” which enables a greater level of reuse and portability across the community, he added.
MOSA has been used within a single program, where the modular architecture, key interfaces, etc. are defined, but the resulting solutions are specific to that program and have limited reuse across community, he explained.
Common MOSA strategies like the Sensor Open Systems Architecture (SOSA) Technical Standard, CMOSS [C5ISR/EW Modular Open Suite of Standards], and HOST [Hardware Open Systems Technologies], are actually more similar than they are different, Dirner said. They all want to increase competition, improve upgradeability and while they are separate efforts, “we are working together.”
Dirner noted this is especially true with SOSA, which has become a “standard melting pot, quickly becoming the de facto form to adopt and align government and industry standards to create a common DoD-wide open system architecture.” SOSA enables reuse across services, agencies, and programs; maximizes government investments; and capitalizes on the collective expertise of over 160 member organizations, he added.
The services have been collaborating for the better part of a decade on these standards, Dirner noted.
“If the Air Force procures a capability and matches what the Army needs, why shouldn’t the Army be able to take it and integrate it?” he said. “On the flip side, if a vendor gets a plugin card included in program X now, they can get it included in program Y and Z as well. [This creates] new opportunities and new reuse that wasn’t possible before.”
In his presentation, Dirner said the Technical Standard for SOSA Reference Architecture, Edition 2.0 (Snapshot 2) would be released any day; in fact, it was released the very next day.
Describing the latest release, Dirner noted some highlights:
› More support for EO/IR wide area search/surveillance
› Nav Data Service adoption of VICTORY
John.McHale@opensysmedia.com
› Security Services definition (providing authentication and authorization infrastructure for the sensor)
› Data model updates for EA, SIGINT, SAR, and EO/IR
› MORA V2.5 and VICTORY V1.10
“The data model underpins everything we do in SOSA,” Dirner noted.
For more from Dirner on Snapshot 2 and a preview of what will be in Snapshot 3, check out the MOSA Virtual Summit at https://resources.embeddedcomputing.com/series/mosa2024/landing_page?utm_bmcr_source=cal . To learn about Snapshot 2, visit https://publications.opengroup.org/s241.
As we ended the keynote session, I asked Dirner if he could share MOSA success stories and he replied with two. The first told how Army PM EW&C (Program Manager Electronic Warfare and Cyber) were early adopters of CMOSS. “I saw where they were able to pivot and change cards and share cards across programs, all of which would not have been possible if they had not used a common architecture,” he said.
In the second story, he mentioned CMFF [Common Mounted Form factor), which was born out of CMOSS. Dirner noted that “CMFF will replace mission-command comms, PNT [position, navigation, and timing], and EA [electronic attack] solutions on ground and airborne platforms with a common chassis and has a potential huge impact on how we field these systems in terms of competition and upgradeability. Those are two great success stories to reference.”
The same week as our MOSA Virtual Summit and the SOSA Technical Standard 2.0 Snapshot 2 release, Intel announced the launch of Altera, its new standalone FPGA [field-programmable gate array] company.
If you remember, Intel acquired Altera, a maker of the Stratix line of FPGAs and main competitor Xilinx at the time, which is now part of AMD. While it was quiet regarding product launches the first few years after the acquisition, Intel then started releasing new FPGA solutions – such as the Agilex family – that were leveraged by many military embedded systems companies like Annapolis Micro Systems and Mercury Systems; the latest such announcement was the Agilex 9.
I will be diving into the new Altera with its leadership in a podcast later this month. You’ll be able to check it out on https:// militaryembedded.com/.
The White House announced in February 2024 that it will invest more than $5 billion in semiconductor-related research and development (R&D) and workforce needs, including establishing the National Semiconductor Technology Center (NSTC), to advance the government's goals of driving semiconductor progress.
As part of the implementation of the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022, these investments are intended to advance U.S. leadership in semiconductor R&D, cut the time and cost of commercializing new technologies, enhance U.S. national security, encourage universities to develop engineering and semiconductorfocused programs, and support workers in gaining secure semiconductor and engineering jobs.
The recent announcement formally established a public-private consortium for the NSTC and laid out plans to invest hundreds of millions of dollars in the U.S. semiconductor workforce, along with specifics on the government’s plans to fund programs in packaging and metrology.
The NSTC, says the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), is at the center of the CHIPS Act’s R&D effort. According to information from NIST, the NTSC is beginning the process of uniting government, industry, educational institutions, labor interests, customers, suppliers, entrepreneurs, and investors to accelerate the rate of semiconductor innovation and ultimately production. The NTSC will operate as a public-private consortium as it works to lower the barriers to companies’ participation in the semiconductor business and directly work to establish and facilitate a skilled, diverse semiconductor workforce.
The U.S. Department of Commerce oversees NIST, which is one of the nation’s oldest physical science laboratories and has as its mission to promote U.S.
innovation and industrial competitiveness by advancing measurement science, standards, and technology to enhance economic security and quality of life. Under the administration’s CHIPS for America effort, NIST manages the CHIPS Program Office, which is responsible for manufacturing incentives; and the CHIPS Research and Development Office, which oversees R&D programs.
On January 31, 2024, the Department of Commerce issued a Notice of Intent (NOI) to announce a competition for what it’s calling the CHIPS Manufacturing USA Institute, a program that will create a so-called digital twin center that will work on innovations in semiconductor and advanced packaging manufacturing.
In its NOI, NIST and the commerce department stated that the CHIPS Manufacturing USA Institute will strive to “… foster a collaborative environment to significantly expand innovation, bring tangible benefits to manufacturers of all sizes, strengthen diverse research institutions, and ensure a national reach in workforce development.”
The CHIPS Manufacturing USA Institute is expected to establish a facility where companies can experiment while protecting proprietary information, conduct relevant research projects, share tools and equipment that will enable large and small members to innovate at low cost, and participate in educational and workforce development programs.
This digital twin-style facility – as described in the White House announcement – will serve as a virtual manufacturing floor, simulating a physical floor in real time to discover ways to improve products and expedite processes. Whereas a shift in equipment or manufacturing processes can drastically slow down production on a physical floor, digital twin technology will enable users to assess techniques before making costly decisions, and thereby improve capacity planning, production optimization, facility upgrades, and real-time process adjustments.
“CHIPS research and development programs are at the core of our greatest innovations and help to find the solutions for the semiconductor industry’s most pressing challenges. With strategic investments in R&D complementing targeted industry incentives, CHIPS for America will not only bring semiconductor manufacturing back to the U.S. – it will keep it here for good,” said Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo. “As we create opportunities for good-paying jobs, the workforce initiatives, such as the NSTC Workforce Center of Excellence, will help ensure a diverse, skilled, and prepared workforce across the nation.”
In a separate February 2024 address at Georgetown University, Secretary Raimondo emphasized the need for a trained technology workforce and urged chip manufacturers, construction companies, and unions to work toward the national goal of hiring and training another million women in construction over the next decade to meet the demand in chips and associated infrastructure projects. She also called on semiconductor companies to work with high schools and colleges to train 100,000 new technicians over the next decade through apprenticeships, career and technical education, and career-pathway programs.
“If we don’t invest in America’s manufacturing workforce, it doesn’t matter how much we spend,” said Raimondo. “We will not succeed. If we get this right, the U.S. semiconductor workforce will be the gold standard for other industries to follow.”
Every day, at peak operational times in the U.S., the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Air Traffic Organization (ATO) handles approximately 5,400 aircraft flying in 29 million square miles of controlled airspace. When the growing number of uncrewed air systems (UASs) and other commercial and military uncrewed aircraft are also considered, the total number of aircraft flying daily over U.S. airspace significantly increases.
The critical systems responsible for an aircraft’s safe flight are subject to stringent safety regulations. Adherence to these regulations must be proven before an aircraft is deemed airworthy. The level of danger posed by an aircraft system in the event of a failure and the associated acceptable probability of failure dictate the Design Assurance Level (DAL) that system must meet to be certified for flight. For example, flight-critical systems whose failure would result in catastrophic loss of life – the highest level of danger – must meet DAL A to demonstrate a probability of failure lower than one in one billionth (10-9) per flight hour.
To ensure that UASs are equipped to fly without an onboard pilot, two TSOs [technical standard orders] have been released specifically for unmanned aircraft. TSO-C212, in accordance with DO-366 (UAS Air-to-Air Radar), provides standards for the UAS’s scanning radar that serves to detect other aircraft while in flight. The complementary TSO-C211 invokes DO-365 (UAS Detect and Avoid Systems) and outlines requirements for an onboard system capable of computing an avoidance maneuver should an intruder enter the UAS’s flight path. All UASs weighing more than 55 pounds, flying in controlled airspace above 400 feet and out of view of their operators, should meet DO-365 objectives and obtain TSO-211 authorization.
For larger UASs, there is a separate set of DALs and failure probabilities they must adhere to based on their kinetic energy at ground impact. The calculations behind these DALs are detailed in TSO-C213 (Unmanned Aircraft Systems Control and NonPayload Communications Terrestrial Link System Radios).
Ultimately, the flight certification for an aircraft is authorized by the aviation authority in that aircraft’s country of origin, whether it’s the FAA, the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA), or Transport Canada. Because multilateral agreements exist between many certification agencies, after an avionics system has been successfully safetycertified in one country, that certification is usually recognized as valid in numerous other countries (pending the completion of some additional paperwork).
To meet safety-certification requirements, system designers must provide data showing evidence of objectives identified by a means of compliance; this data is referred to as artifacts. Hardware and software components can be purchased from vendors who have experience and expertise in safety-certifiable COTS [commercial off-the-shelf] parts as an alternative to undertaking the rigorous, costly, and time-consuming process required to develop a custom safety-certifiable module from the ground up. Safety-certifiable COTS products are delivered with the full set of artifacts demonstrating certifiability to the objectives identified by a means of compliance, resulting in a significant reduction in the time and cost of certifying the complete system.
Military aircraft systems are often built using COTS modules. The reliability of COTS devices usually falls in the range needed to meet the far less stringent DAL C rating,
suitable for systems whose failure would result in discomfort or injuries to the occupants, but not loss of life or loss of the aircraft. To meet DAL-C, a system must be designed to have <1 failure in 10-5/flight hour, far short of the 10-9 required failure probability for DAL A.
For this reason, when COTS devices are used, redundancy is needed to meet the probability of equipment failure. The use of a dissimilar redundant architecture mitigates common mode failures and meets DAL A requirements. By running different operating systems and applications on dissimilar hardware, system designers can add an extra layer of protection against latent software defects that would impact the different hardware architectures in similar ways.
To help system designers build redundant architectures with a lower risk of common mode failure, Curtiss-Wright offers a family of safety-certifiable COTS modules that include processors powered by NXP Power Architecture and Arm processors.
For example, the V3-1708, a SOSA Technical Standard aligned, DAL A safetycertifiable processor features an NXP Layerscape LX2160A processor and supports Wind River’s VxWorks HVP safety-certifiable profile with a VxWorks 7 safety-certifiable profile guest operating system. It uses a rugged COTS singleboard computer developed using AC/ AMC 20-152A as a means of compliance – combined with off-the-shelf data kits for DO-254 and FMEA [failure mode and effects analysis] to support system architecture, Functional Failure Path (FFP) analysis, and certification.
Gregory Sikkens is Senior Product Manager, Curtiss-Wright Defense Solutions.
Curtiss-Wright Defense Solutions
www.curtisswrightds.com
By Dan Taylor, Technology Editor
Germany to obtain air defense system from Rheinmetall
The German armed forces chose Rheinmetall to supply the Skyranger 30 mobile air defense system in a €595 million ($646 million) contract that includes the delivery of a prototype and 18 series production vehicles, with an option for an additional 30 systems. In its contract announcement, Rheinmetall says that it expects the first prototype to be delivered by the end of 2024.
The Skyranger 30, a component of the newly developed shortand very short-range air defense system in Europe known as the NNbS, aligns with the European Sky Shield Initiative. The hybrid system, says the company, is intended to fill a capability gap in mobile air defense, as it combines a 30 mm x 173 KCE revolver gun, surface-to-air missiles, and accompanying sensor suite on a single platform. Depending on customer requirements, the system can be kitted out with various modern guided missiles such as the Mistral, Stinger, or special counter-uncrewed aerial system (C-UAS) missiles.
Saab won a contract from the Swedish Defense Materiel Administration (FMV) to supply four additional Gripen C fighter aircraft to Hungary. This development follows an amendment to a previous agreement between FMV and the Hungarian Government, initially signed in December 2001, which included 14 Gripen C/D fighters for the Hungarian Air Force. With this latest amendment, Saab reports that Hungary’s fleet of Gripen aircraft will total 18.
Saab has been a long-standing partner for Hungary, providing continual upgrades and support, with plans extending beyond 2035. The company says that in tandem with the aircraft order, Saab and the Hungarian Ministry of Defence have entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) focusing on high-tech industrial development and fighter aircraft capabilities, with the intent of facilitating the establishment of a center of excellence for virtual-reality technology in Hungary.
BAE Systems won a contract with the Space Systems Command (SSC) Space Enterprise Consortium (SpEC) to provide a prototype ground system for the U.S. Space Force’s SSC Future Operationally Resilient Ground Evolution Command and Control (FORGE C2) project. Under the terms of the agreement, BAE Systems will integrate proven capabilities into a prototype ground system that will enable the Space Force to provide command and control capabilities for Next-Generation Overhead Persistent Infrared (OPIR) GEO (NGG) and Next-Generation OPIR Polar (NGP) systems.
The announcement describes the FORGE C2 project as the attempt to integrate telemetry, tracking, command, flight dynamics, mission management, and ground resource management into a consolidated framework; the resultant framework will facilitate rapid integration of next-generation assets as they come online and enable a single capability that can operate the current and future OPIR constellation.
Figure 1 | Image courtesy Rheinmetall.
Hypersonic vehicle test flight completed by Stratolaunch
Stratolaunch completed the second captive carry flight of its Talon-A hypersonic vehicle, TA-1, marking a significant step toward its first powered flight, the company announced. The recent flight, involving the company’s launch platform Roc, is the 13th flight for Roc and the second time it carried a Talon vehicle loaded with live propellant.
The flight, which lasted 4 hours and 29 minutes, took place in the Vandenberg Western Range in California. It focused on evaluating the propulsion system of Talon-A and assessing flight environments with live propellant onboard. Another key aspect of the flight, the company reported, was to test the telemetry systems of both Roc and TA-1, in conjunction with range communication assets.
UK to invest £4.5 billion in drones for armed forces
The U.K. Ministry of Defense (MoD) launched what it calls the “U.K. Defence Drone Strategy,” a new initiative backed by a £4.5 billion ($5.71 billion) investment over the next decade. This approach – which the MoD termed “informed by the experiences in Ukraine” – seeks to accelerate the deployment of uncrewed tech across Britain's army, navy, and air force.
The MoD’s strategy emphasizes rapid experimentation, testing, and evaluation of uncrewed platforms, integrating efforts across the three military services, along with close collaboration with industry to stay abreast of evolving technologies and threats. The goal, say MoD officials, is to equip the armed forces with enhanced intelligence, reconnaissance, surveillance, strike, and logistical capabilities and move away from prolonged development timelines.
MH-60S helicopters to obtain video system support from Cubic Defense
Cubic Defense won a contract from Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) for the ongoing maintenance, upgrade, and support of the Full Motion Video (FMV) System, dubbed KnightLink, for the MH-60 Sierra (MH-60S) helicopter fleet, the company announced.
The contract covers a range of services, including software enhancements, hardware reinforcement, and general maintenance for the KnightLink systems, which provide video support capabilities across various operational domains such as flight testing, maintenance, and laboratory assistance. The company says that the KnightLink hardware features Weapons Replaceable Assemblies (WRAs), necessary cabling, and additional hardware procurement, including Peculiar Ground Support Equipment (PGSE), to facilitate fleet introduction.
AI flight assistant pact signed between USSOCOM, Beacon AI
U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) awarded artificial intelligence (AI) aviation technology company Beacon AI a Phase 2 prototype Other Transaction Authority (OTA) agreement under which Beacon AI will enhance its AI copilot assistant to optimize aircraft operations and improve aircraft route selection. A Beacon AI announcement on the agreement stated that the company is tasked with developing and strengthening its AI copilot’s ability to analyze various factors, such as weather and flight path monitoring, with the aim of providing air crews with optimal route recommendations based on aircraft, user-specific requirements, and hazardous weather avoidance and enhancing situational awareness and mission execution.
According to information in the Beacon AI announcement, the AI copilot can help optimize the U.S. Department of Defense’s (DoD’s) annual consumption of 2 billion gallons of aviation fuel; moreover, the global commercial aviation industry is said to be able to use the same technology.
Figure 3 | Image courtesy Stratolaunch.
Hughes wins contract with SES in support of AFRL satellite internet trial
Hughes Network Systems (an EchoStar company) announced that it won a contract with SES Space & Defense to provide a flexible, software-defined, multi-orbit, autoPACE [primary, alternate, contingency, and emergency] solution and associated modems in support of SES Space & Defense’s and the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) Defense Experimentation Using Commercial Space Internet (DEUCSI) program.
Under the terms of the agreement, Hughes is tasked with delivering its automated network management system (NMS) and enterprise management and control (EM&C) capabilities together with its “Smart Network Edge” software to be integrated by the SES Space & Defense team with Hughes next-generation, software-defined HM100 and HM400 satellite modems providing GEO/MEO [geosynchronous orbit/medium Earth orbit] connectivity. SES Space & Defense is working on integrating a LEO [low Earth orbit] solution into the Hughes auto-PACE offering, which is expected to add resilience to the end program.
Synthetic aperture sonar beamforming under development in Kraken Robotics, U.S. Navy deal
Kraken Robotics Inc. entered into a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) with the Naval Undersea Warfare Center Division, Newport (NUWCDIVNPT) to develop synthetic aperture sonar (SAS) sensor technologies and signalprocessing techniques, the company announced.
Under this agreement, Kraken Robotics and the U.S. Navy will jointly explore various aspects of sonar technology, including advanced signal processing, data fusion, image registration, multispectral image enhancement, and automated target recognition with a focus on enhancing both current and future SAS sensor capabilities. Kraken has collaborated with U.S. government agencies since 2012, with partnerships involving NUWCDIVNPT and the National Oceanographic Institute. These collaborations, the company reports, have enabled Kraken to validate and refine its underwater technology solutions, including the SAS, KATFISH actively controlled towed sonar, and pressure-tolerant subsea batteries, the company says.
Simulation/modeling/virtual training market to show strong growth to 2034, study predicts Global revenue for the military simulation, modeling, and virtual training market – standing at $14.2 billion so far in 2024 – is expected to show strong revenue growth through to 2034, according to a report from Research and Markets, “Military Simulation, Modelling and Virtual Training Market Report 2024-2034.”
The study authors state that market growth is bolstered by the increasing complexity of military operations necessitates advanced training methodologies, which then spurs the adoption of simulation and virtual training solutions; the global surge in defense budgets that amplifies investment in cutting-edge technologies and fosters development of sophisticated training systems; and the emphasis on cost-effective training solutions and the need for realistic battlefield simulations that thereby positions the market as a strategic asset for defense forces worldwide.
U.S. Navy selects Mercury to deliver electronic warfare combat training subsystems
Mercury Systems won a five-year, $243.8 million contract with the Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division to provide electronic warfare (EW) combat training subsystems that are reprogrammable, the company announced. The subsystems are intended to bolster U.S. pilot training initiatives with advanced near-peer jamming and EW capabilities. Mercury’s digital RF memory (DRFM)-based reactive jamming subsystems can simultaneously emulate multiple National Air and Space Intelligence Center (NASIC)-validated threats, enhancing training realism, the company says, adding that it has assisted with the Navy’s Airborne Threat Simulation Organization (ATSO) since 1987. Mercury had an initial $20.3 million DRFM production order from ATSO, which encompasses continuous engineering services to update the system’s threat library, ensuring alignment with evolving adversarial capabilities, the company noted.
Figure 5 | NASA image.
Maria Ho Deputy Director for Government and Strategic Programs, Aerospace & Defense at Analog Devices
Recruiting female minds to pursue degrees in electrical engineering and to work in the defense industry is a challenge that needs to be addressed by industry and government, Maria Ho, Deputy Director for Government and Strategic Programs, Aerospace & Defense at Analog Devices Inc. (ADI), told me in my podcast. Maria says that recruitment needs to start at the high-school level or even earlier to inspire young female students to select engineering as a degree and career path. Government programs, industry internships like those offered by ADI, mentorship, and even popular culture all play a role in solving this problem, she notes. Maria also talks about her own career in engineering and the defense industry while also addressing key technology trends in military RF and microwave designs. Edited excerpts follow.
MCHALE: Please describe your responsibility with ADI and your group’s role within the company.
HO: My group has a really unique role within ADI. We work strategically with the science and technology stakeholders in the government. For example, we engage directly with the DoD, the government labs, and other federally funded research and development centers. The idea is we want to provide them early access to technology and development platforms, so that they can prototype quickly and really aid in the technology transition for government programs.
Having this early technology alignment also helps ADI accelerate and really tune our roadmaps for government applications. If there’s a listener out there in a government lab or an R&D center, we’d love to work more closely with you. I'm going to give my shameless plug: Please email us at gov.analog.com.
MCHALE: What trends are you seeing from your military customers in the radar and electronic warfare world in terms of requirements?
HO: First of all, we’re always looking for ways to lower SWaP [size, weight, and power]. But in addition to that, a lot of the other major trends that we’re seeing include wider instantaneous bandwidth, wider tuning ranges, moves to higher frequencies, higher SFDR or spurious-free dynamic range. And we’re also seeing higher power levels and higher operating temperatures for all the electronics.
One of the other big things that we are also seeing from the application side of things is more phased array, both digital and hybrid phased arrays.
MCHALE: Where is innovation happening in military application?. What are your engineers working on that we might see a couple years down the road in RF and microwave technology that’ll be a game-changer for the applications we talked about?
HO: Well, I can’t really disclose our future product roadmaps. But I can tell you that ADI is really working hard to address many of the trends that I previously mentioned. We’re working across multiple process nodes and technologies, so we can continue to improve performance while reducing SWaP. But you’ll also start to notice that we’re including more programmable hardened DSP [digital signal processing] functions in a lot of our latest solutions. That really helps to lower the overall solution cost and lower DC power consumption.
What we’re really trying to do is start to get some of these DSP functions in our overall solutions such as our mixedsignal front-end solutions that that have been recently announced.
MCHALE: Speaking of engineering innovation, you and I had a long conversation where we talked about how to expand the pool of engineering talent in the U.S., especially the pool of female engineers. How do you enlarge the pool? Does it start at the college level or should we go a bit earlier to their high-school years?
HO: I definitely feel that we need to target them earlier. As an industry, we really need to provide more deliberate opportunities, and even consider modernizing the curriculum and coursework at the high-school level, so that we can attract and expand the pool of engineers. For example, the eighth and ninth grade summers [are] an amazing time to target virtual or in-person opportunity so that young women start to get a feel for all the careers in engineering, and then also continue to keep their interest in math and science, so that they can pursue higher levels of math and science curriculum.
Now, continuing on that momentum towards the 10th and the 11th grade,
one of the most crucial pieces is for young women to really have the access to real hands-on internships in specific fields of engineering, because they need that guidance as they are starting to pave their path towards college and beyond.
MCHALE: What is ADI doing to recruit engineering talent?
HO: ADI is doing a lot in this area. There’s a lot of different vectors. We’re very committed to investing in our people and their growth. So, we take different forms. For our normal recruitment, we utilize many of our university partnerships to attract the best talent from across the country. But we also have very focused and specialized partnerships with institutions, such as the University of Massachusetts at Lowell, where we actively recruit these students who are having more experience with the Analog Devices RF Microwave Learning Lab. We also have excellent partnerships with
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organizations that promote the advancement of underrepresented groups, so that we can attract diverse talent to ADI.
What’s near and dear to my heart is internships. ADI really has a cutting-edge internship program, not only at the college level, but at the high-school level. This is coupled tightly with a very strong mentorship program. So, when these programs are linked together, the combination really contributes to better recruitment, but ultimately, better retention success.
The long-term goal would be for us to be able to convert an intern into a full-time employee. Right now, we’re probably converting over 60% of our interns to full-time employees after graduation.
MCHALE: I’ve been in the defense industry nearly 30 years, and I think the number of women who are in senior positions – not just senior management, but senior engineering positions and young engineers – has definitely increased. But there’s still work to be done. In your career, what are the biggest challenges you faced as a woman engineer and as a woman in the defense industry? And how did you overcome them?
HO: Back in 2020 the entire world participated in [what turned out to be] the largest workplace flexibility experiment. We were all thrust into remote work environments. And it really proved that these work environments, being remote and hybrid, could actually be productive, and in many cases, more productive. [As] women we sometimes have added responsibilities. That requires additional flexibility [as] we may not be interested in compromising our career paths. These days I’m really excited that many of these organizations have flexible workplace policies that may not have existed in the past. But there’s still room for a lot of growth here.
One of the areas I feel that we as an industry really need to start thinking of improving is [regarding the] negative perceptions [applied to] someone who wants flexibility, [that] maybe they don’t want to climb up the career ladder or be assigned to the most interesting or challenging projects, which is typically not the case.
MCHALE: While there are many things industry and government can do to get young people more interested in engineering, often what inspires people toward a career is a personal connection with an engineer. Did you have an engineer or mentor who inspired you to get into defense industry or to be an engineer?
HO: Yes, actually, I did. When I was starting out, I was very grateful to have a female mentor who really guided me for years. She was not only a role model, but she helped me navigate my life from becoming a student, [then] becoming an employee. She guided me on how to grow within the organization. And she really personally empowered me to take chances. The one-on-one mentorship, that was priceless. It really helped shape my career.
Now, I have a little bit of a different pathway into defense: I actually spent the bulk of my career supporting the commercial industry. But there came a point where I was looking for a change in trajectory. I wanted to continue to learn. I wanted to be more challenged. But most importantly, what I was looking for was to be in an industry that was directly making a critical impact on society. That was the true inspiration for my transition to the defense industry.
MCHALE: I think that could be a good selling point to recruit young engineers into the defense industry – they can make an impact.
HO: Yes, absolutely. And that’s probably one of the [most fun] things about the job – that there is a direct connection to humanity. That’s what I was looking for and
I urge many people out there whether you’re beginning your career, or you’re looking for transitions in your career, this is a great place to be.
What's near and dear to my heart is internships.
ADI really has a cutting-edge internship program, not only at the college level, but at the high-school level. This is coupled tightly with a very strong mentorship program. So, when these programs are linked together, the combination really contributes to better recruitment, but ultimately, better retention success.
MCHALE: So, Maria, we talked about how to reach young minds through high school [and] college, but is there a way we can reach them beyond school? How do we get the culture to address this challenge?
HO: John, that’s an excellent question. I really feel we have an opportunity to really expand the pool of engineers in our industry [and] our nation. We need to look at it from a broad awareness perspective. When I think about public awareness, I think about Hollywood, the media and the entertainment industry, the content creators out there. They can be using their platforms to grow awareness and highlight these diverse role models in the field of engineering. For example, I grew up in this generation of watching “ER,” where the backdrop was a hospital. That got me thinking that I wanted to go into the medical field. And then when I watched the original
debut of the movie “Top Gun,” I imagined myself as a pilot. So, these images and these role models that that we see on the screen, they have a broad-based influence that could encourage people of all ages, all stages of life, all different backgrounds, to really pursue and consider engineering.
MCHALE: What advice would you give to a young woman trying to decide on engineering as a field today or even getting into the defense industry that you wish someone had given you all those years ago?
HO: When I think about this question, I say, okay, in hindsight, would I do this all over again? That’s typically the best way to think about it. And I would.
I would encourage every woman to consider majoring in electrical engineering. It’s a well-respected, well-paid field. It thrives on constant innovation. It offers you a tremendous amount of career
mobility. Every industry uses an electrical engineer. It’s one of the most broad-based engineering degrees that you could possibly have because electronics touch everything around us.
Just as an example, in my semiconductor-ish industry you can design and you can manufacture chips, you can be involved with test and verification, you can develop and build entire electronic systems, and you can move on to business aspects like product and program management, even technical marketing and sales. The core elements of what you learn as an engineer really allow you to solve problems. You’re balancing tradeoffs, you’re making improvements, you’re innovating everything around you. There really are limitless career opportunities with an electrical engineering degree. There’s just no limit to where that education can potentially take you. It can be across industries, across different roles. The base of having an electrical engineering degree has been a huge, huge lift for me in my life and my career.
MCHALE: As you say, engineering can also lead you to other careers seemingly unrelated to engineering like marketing. Many of the folks I speak to in industry are in technical marketing, but have engineering backgrounds. No one else can talk the talk like an engineer. Correct?
HO: Absolutely. When you look at my career, I started out in a technical field and I’ve slowly migrated on to other aspects of the business. I think that that’s the way careers should be, or at least that’s a good avenue, because a lot of times when you’re starting out you may not know exactly what you want. This degree allows you to have that flexibility to kind of migrate and pave a path, pave your own personal path. MES
Uncrewed systems once served merely a supporting role in the military – useful for certain niche tasks from explosive ordnance disposal to broad area surveillance, but not as a fundamental capability like tanks or aircraft. For more than a decade, uncrewed aerial systems (UASs) have delivered lethal capability, especially in the conflict in Ukraine. As the UAS threat evolves, so must countermeasures.
The capabilities provided by uncrewed aerial systems (UASs) to the U.S. military are force multipliers, but the same can be said for the technologies used by the U.S.ʼs adversaries. That reality is why industry must come up with creative solutions to keep pace with and counter UAS threats.
The landscape of UAS threats has undergone significant transformation, reflecting advancements in technology and shifts in their application.
The rapid advancements have taken place across all domains, from air to sea to ground, says Kent Savre, senior director of strategy for Northrop Grumman (McLean, Virginia). The wars in Ukraine, the Nagorno-Karabakh War, and the Hamas-Israel war are “driving change at an immense rate,” Savre says.
U.S. Marines walk an FIM-92 Stinger man-portable air-defense system to a firing point aboard the amphibious assault ship USS Boxer (LHD 4) during a counter-unmanned aerial system (UAS) exercise. U.S. Marine Corps photo by Cpl. Amelia Kang.
time, the increased usage for threats ranging from dropping contraband in prison yards, invading sporting event airspace, or worse, has become more commonplace,” says Jessica Beard, a business development executive at Benchmark Electronics (Tempe, Arizona). “For military threats, drone swarm simulations are beginning to take place ranging from a few drones to thousands, and the Pentagon recently began to focus on methods to neutralize swarms.”
Modern conflicts are not only testing grounds but also accelerators for UAS technologies, enhancing their autonomy, operational range, and destructive capabilities.
“The operational environment today is increasingly transparent – thousands of drones are in use in Ukraine and Israel today,” Savre says. “In the maritime domain, in a clear example of how fast evolution is occurring, one just needs to look how the Ukrainians have advanced the surface drone strike capability against the Russian Black Sea fleet.”
The rise of noncooperative drones further complicates the landscape, says Anne Stephan, vice president of critical infrastructure and networks for Rohde & Schwarz (Munich, Germany) – a challenge increased by a lack of open systems.
“Protective measures can only be taken after a threat is detected,” she says. “The importance of noncooperative drones with proprietary software and firmware has continued to grow in recent years. This makes detection for decoding systems more difficult. … To effectively counter the threat, early warning is necessary – every second counts.”
As UAS threats have grown more sophisticated, so too have the countermeasures designed to neutralize them. Beard says that Benchmark is focusing its efforts on systems that are portable, as well as on technology that allows for RF takeover on commercially sold drones to track both UAS and user.
“Militaries will most likely utilize a layered approach, including detection systems, landing and/or jamming technologies, and missile and laser countermeasures,” she says.
While raw capability is of course important to militaries, Stephan notes that operators are asking for more user-friendliness in the design, leading to the conclusion that the industry should not forget the importance of designing for operational practicality and ease of use.
Modern counter-UAS systems are more integrated now than they have been in the past, Savre says. “Highly automated, AI [artificial intelligence] and machine learning (ML)-enabled, full kill chain solutions are available with a flexible mix of long range/ short range sensors, network C2 connectivity, and kinetic and non-kinetic effectors,” he says. An example of this is Northrop Grumman’s Mobile Acquisition Cueing and Effector (M-ACE) system that is in development.
Any individual can buy a drone and use it to cause harm, but at the scale that nation-states can leverage the tech –think drone swarms – defeating them is a critical military priority.
“Although access to drones has been available to the general public for some
“The number-one challenge now is compressing the kill chain as AI and autonomy drivers increase in the marketplace,” Savre continues. “This is followed closely by having full mobile capability on a platform that can hide and not emit [signatures] as much as possible.”
There’s a growing need for more sophisticated countermeasures, including kinetic solutions like missiles and directed energy weapons, he adds. This evolution reflects an arms race between drone capabilities and counter-drone technologies, where advances in one domain spur developments in the other. [Figure 2.]
Figure 1 | SD filters from Benchmark remove potential radar altimeter interference without increasing size and weight.Early detection and an ability to scale are drone countermeasure challenges that industry is looking to solve.
Beard says regulatory and scalability issues can be problematic. Specifically, state and local government entities can be an obstacle in developing these solutions, and companies with the best solutions to protect the public are often smaller companies that don’t have the capability to quickly scale operations.
Beard says her company is providing supply-chain architecture, review, and design for production manufacturability, and creative inventory modeling to make it easier to scale C-UAS products and bring them to a wider market.
While speed of scale is an important procurement and production consideration, speed of detection may matter most on the battlefield.
Joint solutions that leverage partnerships between companies will create more sophisticated counterdrone systems with multiple levels of capability.
“When it comes to countering drones, time is of the essence,” Rohde’s Stephan says. “Malicious or noncooperative drones must be detected as early as possible to give decision-makers the maximum time possible to respond to threats and avert potentially disastrous consequences.”
Along those lines Rohde & Schwarz has built its ARDRONIS family of counterdrone technologies. The system detects commercial drone activity, automatically classifies the type of drone signal, determines the direction of the drone and its pilot, and disrupts the radio control link to prevent the drone from reaching its target. [Figure 3.]
Today, UAS and counter-UAS technology development points towards a future where automation, integration, and swarming technologies play central roles.
Northrop Grumman’s Savre sees a shift toward highly automated counter-UAS systems. “For C-UAS, it is about automating the kill chain and kill web to the point of decision for the human operator,” he says. “Faster decision-making
Figure 2 | Blue Thunder, Northrop Grumman’s gun truck concept armed with the company’s M230 Link Fed Chain Gun. (Photo: Northrop Grumman.)and systems that are in a nondedicated role … is the key to defeating unmanned threats that are becoming greater in number on the battlefield.”
Making counter-drone systems easy to use for military personnel should also be a priority as not everything can be automated.
“User-friendliness is becoming increasingly important and in the future automatic systems will also be used; these will not only detect and locate but also offer react possibilities,” Stephan says.
Joint solutions that leverage partnerships between companies will create more sophisticated counter-drone systems with multiple levels of capability. Beard says the industry will see companies integrating their separate solutions like Anduril and Epirus, who combined their Lattice and Leonidas systems in 2023 to demonstrate commandand-control tech to the Marine Corps Warfighting Laboratory. MES
SEA-SEA-24001 Sealevel R1 Rugged - Tech Briefs.pdf 1 2/13/24 3:08 PM
Military and government agency program regulations require their sensitive data at rest (DAR) to be securely encrypted and stored in a variety of applications, including in uncrewed systems, servers, and other endpoint devices. Shouldn’t we be following the rules? Rules that call for highly sensitive information to be securely encrypted and stored? Unfortunately, it has been too easy to acquire exceptions to these regulations, especially when it comes to data-storage solutions, thus putting the nation’s data at risk. The NSA CSfC [National Security Agency Commercial Solutions for Classified] program was launched in 2016 to make it easier to secure data by using certified, off-the-shelf products. With the advent of new NSA-approved off-the-shelf secure storage solutions, waivers that skirt secure storage requirements no longer need to be granted.
Data security solutions developed with the U.S. government’s National Security Agency (NSA)-approved Commercial Solutions for Classified (CSfC) are used to protect sensitive information of all kinds and are built with commercial offthe-shelf (COTS) technologies. CSfC solutions have primarily been used by
the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD), the intelligence community, military services, and other government agencies, though those who are concerned about protecting confidential data should also consider implementing solutions built with CSfC-listed products and components. Occasionally and if deemed necessary, exceptions called waivers or deviations can be granted by a program authorizing official (AO), or someone who is chartered with accepting the risk of implementing a non-CSfC solution. As more products are added to the CSfC component list, waivers should not be granted as frequently as in the past.
Before CSfC: Type 1 encryption systems and GOTS products
Until the advent of the CSfC program, government program managers and others needed to procure expensive NSA Type 1 encryption solutions to protect top secret information. Government off-the-shelf (GOTS) products may sometimes meet the security standards required by a particular agency or application. GOTS products and Type 1 systems are typically for specific programs or agencies, and they contain specific NSA-approved encryption algorithms.
The usage of Type 1 systems is highly restricted. Because a Type 1 product is itself a classified system, it must be appropriately protected, and its usage properly guarded. (The NSA has also defined Type 2, Type 3, and Type 4 systems for less sensitive information.)
The usage restrictions, as well as the cost, have limited the propagation of
Type 1 systems, which is problematic as the rapid creation of sensitive digital information has more than tracked with the information explosion in the civilian world.
In the ever-evolving cybersecurity landscape, the NSA’s CSfC program is an innovative step forward to securely encrypt top-secret and other sensitive information. Once launched in the mid-2010s, CSfC revamped the approach to handling classified information by enabling the integration of commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) products to protect national security systems. To create a CSfC data security solution, the solution must be built using CSfC-listed components. If no such component exists, a waiver may be requested.
The CSfC framework enables government entities to access and utilize COTS products, provided they meet specific criteria outlined by the NSA. This approach is a significant step in addressing two problems: it enhances affordability and ensures a continuous influx of innovative products into classified data usage and storage. (Figure 1.)
In addition to being built from commercially available components, CSfC solutions require two layers of encryption, each from a different source, whether those sources are two different vendors or two different types of encryption.
Unlike traditional approaches in which cybersecurity solutions were developed for very specific applications, often taking years to materialize, CSfC enables government agencies to harness the expertise and resources of private companies and existing products.
Stringent standards and requirements set by the NSA govern the certification process for products seeking CSfC listing. The NSA has defined several capability packages (CPs) against which products are tested. CPs exist for securing data at rest (DAR), protecting information as it traverses an untrusted network, commercial device access of secure services over a campus wireless local network, and the like. Rigorous evaluations ascertain the suitability of these products for handling sensitive information, contributing to the creation of a trusted ecosystem of solutions designed to safeguard classified DAR.
CSfC’s approach to secure storage solutions involves the implementation of layered security, combining various components such as virtual private networks (VPNs), firewalls, intrusion detection systems (IDS), and cryptographic modules. Particularly in DAR applications, the program mandates the use of two layers of encryption to fortify the protection of classified national-security systems and other sensitive data.
Capability packages calling for two layers of encryption for classified information storage are often referred to as COTS end-to-end strategies. While there are advanced off-the-shelf SSD products that provide one layer of protection, CSfC mandates the incorporation of a second layer from another source, fostering a comprehensive security posture.
While CSfC has transformed the landscape of secure data solutions, waivers or deviations can be requested and approved for the use of non-CSfC products. A waiver, in this context, serves as an exemption granted by the government, allowing organizations to bypass specific CSfC requirements.
Historically, organizations could request waivers from the NSA for products not appearing on the CSfC list. This flexibility was crucial in situations where the urgency of implementing cybersecurity solutions outweighed the availability of CSfC-listed products. The increasing need for secure DAR solutions caused program managers to specify standard SSDs in computers and other devices since no SSDs in modern form factors (for example, NVMe M.2 2280 used in client devices such as laptops) existed on the CSfC Storage Component list.
However, with the recent inclusion of FIPS SSDs on the CSfC list, the need for waivers for secure SSD data storage has been eliminated.
Value of the CSfC program
1. Access to affordable, secure solutions: CSfC enables government agencies to benefit from cost-effective yet secure commercial technologies.
2. Enhanced flexibility: The program empowers government entities to adapt swiftly to evolving security requirements and technological advancements.
3. Rapid deployment of technologies: CSfC accelerates the integration of new technologies, fostering agility and responsiveness.
4. Catalyst for private-sector innovation: By encouraging collaboration with private companies, CSfC stimulates innovation and raises industry standards.
5. Cutting-edge cybersecurity products: Government agencies leveraging CSfC enjoy access to the latest and most advanced cybersecurity solutions.
6. Protection of national-security systems: CSfC employs cutting-edge technologies to fortify the security of national assets and classified information.
The impact
The milestone of the DIGISTOR CSfC listing for its FIPS 140-2 L2 SSDs (which also meet the international Common Criteria standards and as a result are NIAP-listed) is important since it enables off-the-shelf NVMe and SATA SSDs to be integrated into secure DAR solutions, including those used on the battlefield. In addition, the
With these drives now listed on the CSfC storage component list, the NSA has communicated its intention to discontinue issuing waivers for similar products, although this intent may not be widely known. This shift emphasizes the program’s commitment to promoting listed storage components and discouraging the use of unapproved products for classified information storage.
As CSfC continues to evolve, its impact on the realm of secure storage solutions becomes increasingly pronounced. The program’s emphasis on layered security, stringent certification processes, and collaboration with private-sector innovators positions it as a driving force in the protection of classified information. The elimination of cyber waivers for storage components underscores the program’s maturation and its pivotal role in shaping the future of secure communications within the realm of classified information. As organizations continue to navigate the complex landscape of cybersecurity, CSfC is an important sign of data security, providing a framework for the integration of cutting-edge technologies into the safeguarding of our national assets. MES
Marketing director
Chris Kruell leads the sphere of marketing activities at CDSG, including corporate branding, corporate and marketing communications, product marketing, marketing programs, and marketing strategy. In his spare time, Chris is an alpine climbing instructor and has served as president and board member of the Mazamas, a Portland-based nonprofit organization that fosters a love of the mountains. Chris holds a BS degree from Cornell University and an MA degree from Hamline University. Readers may reach him at ckruell@cdsg.com. CDSG https://cdsg.com/
Reduced SWaP designs for UAS payloads
Aerospace and defense systems integrators continue to push for reductions in size, weight, power, and cost (SWaP-C) to support advanced sensor/vetronics payloads onboard unmanned reusable and attritable platforms. Fortunately, advances in the miniaturization of mission-processor and network-switch subsystems are enabling designers of UAS (unmanned aerial system), UGV (unmanned ground vehicle), UUV (unmanned undersea vehicle), and USV (unmanned surface vehicle) platforms to expand their mission capabilities.
What constitutes optimal size, weight, and power (SWaP) specs for a particular electronics LRU [line-replaceable unit] varies greatly depending on the target platform and application. SWaP goals for unmanned aerial system (UAS) platforms, whether military or commercial, are typically dictated by the size of the payload that a platform can carry. The
platform’s mission is often driven by the capabilities brought by the payload. For example, in contrast to small commercial UASs, consider a military high-altitude/longendurance (HALE) platform that can carry 1,000 pounds (approximately 450 kg) of payload electronics and are often used for persistent intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) use cases.
In comparison, the small commercial UAS more typically will have payload capability of a few pounds or less. Designers of these systems may be satisfied to get an HD [high-definition] camera onboard a UAS that flies for only about 30 minutes due to the
limitations of the aircraft’s battery. For such small platforms, both airborne and ground, micro-miniaturization of systems becomes very desirable. Systems integrators often look at the operational and logistical impact of the electronics that are added to an aircraft or vehicle platform, with some UAS suppliers going so far as to break down the cost of every pound (or kilogram) of payload weight in terms of cost-per-pound/kilo. Shrinking the physical size and weight of payload electronics not only delivers
Traditional system architecture might have previously factored in multiple separate components, whereas today system designers have SoC alternatives that combine processing, memory, other controllers, interfaces, and physical transceivers all in a single chip.
cost savings, but it also provides the ability to add more sensors and C4ISR [command, control, communications,computers, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance] equipment to enhance operational mission capabilities for the end user.
To further illustrate how much SWaP impacts platform cost, consider three numbers: 1, 30, and 60: As a data point, one major North American UAS supplier has calculated that for every one (1) pound of weight they can eliminate from their UAS platform dedicated to ISR missions, they save approximately $30,000 in operational cost for the vehicle. For their combat UAS platform, they save even more, approximately $60,000 per pound.
In addition to cost impact, SWaP can affect feasibility for implementing mission capabilities. A major U.S. Army tactical UAS underwent a tech refresh to add an onboard network backbone, involving the integration of a fully managed Ethernet switch. Launched from a trailer-mounted pneumatic catapult and used for reconnaissance, surveillance, and targeting applications, this particular UAS has a rather small airframe and payload bay. The integrator performed a volumetric analysis and determined that the size available for a network switch LRU was limited to roughly the size of a pack of playing cards and about half a pound in weight.
Since the electronics payload area wasn’t generous in size, if a switch could not be found to meet this form-factor requirement, the UAS would have been unable to add the desired network readiness capability. This would likely diminish situational awareness and potentially lead to a costly redesign, since the switch was intended to link an onboard video encoder, mission processor, and warfighter communications devices via a common Ethernet network.
The miniature Ethernet switch has since been broadly deployed in not only UAS platforms, but also on far larger fighter-aircraft ISR sensor pods, helicopter sonar dipping systems, autonomous submarine networks, tactical ground vehicles, unmanned rotorcraft, and dozens of other SWaP- constrained platforms. The switch’s wide adoption is a testament to the need for ultra-small-form-factor (USFF) devices and the diverse applications that benefit from them; whether the platform is very small or much larger, low SWaP is advantageous.
In large part, the miniaturization of electronics is made possible by advancements in commercial technology. Three notable enablers in this regard include system-on-chip (SoC) technology, intelligent power-management technologies, and mechanical component miniaturization. Semiconductor devices for computing and networking are more energy-efficient than ever before and are evolving to include more functionality in the same physical packaging. With fewer discrete components to integrate, printed circuit board assemblies (PCBAs) can be smaller. Traditional system architecture might have previously factored in multiple separate components, whereas today system designers have SoC alternatives that combine processing, memory, other controllers, interfaces, and physical transceivers all in a single chip.
In the case of the USFF Parvus DuraNET 20-11 20-port Gigabit Ethernet switch (Figure 1), its integrated switch SoC includes not only a nonblocking Ethernet switch fabric, but also a MIPS processor (for management), fully integrated copper PHYs (physical transceivers), DDR memory controller, and IEEE-1588 precision timing protocol
Figure 1 | The USFF Parvus DuraNET 20-11 20-port Gigabit Ethernet switch SoC combines processing, memory, other controllers, interfaces, and physical transceivers.(PTP) controller for accurate time stamping. This style of SoC approach has enabled the miniaturization of military electronics, particularly for low to mid-power devices.
Traditional MIL-C-38999 connector shell sizes and MIL- STD-1472 (Human Engineering) recommendations for connector spacing have conventionally driven the size of the connector panel and enclosure. Microminiature MIL-performance connectors provide the same or better physical, electromagnetic, and electrical performance as legacy “triple 9” connectors while providing higher-density contacts at roughly half the size and weight of traditional options. Consequently, there are now Ethernet switches and mission computers on the market today using these connectors that measure barely over one inch (around 3 cm) tall.
Also helping reduce SWaP in mission electronics for unmanned platforms is the shrinking of semiconductor die sizes and the addition of symmetric multicore processing (SMP) that boosts performance while reducing power consumption. Intel-based x86 processors use smart speed-stepping technologies to maximize performance, yet throttle back to save power when loads are lighter with the advantage of protecting the device from thermal damage.
Arm core processors similarly hone their own highly efficient power management capabilities in mobile devices. Further, Ethernet switch devices can now integrate advanced power-management technologies in the switch core and physical transceivers, such as Energy Efficient Ethernet (IEEE-802.3az) and ActiPhy, which put unused ports in a lowpower idle mode, keeping links active but consuming less power during lower data activity. These switches can also sense the length of the cable connection, limiting power for transmitting data, to say, 10 meters (32.8 feet), rather than defaulting to the 100-meter (328-foot) Ethernet specification. In total, these technologies can result in cutting power consumption by 50% or more from traditional levels.
As manufacturers of SoC devices reduce the thermal needs of the silicon, they are also reducing the power-dissipation requirements on the system, which means a smaller surface area required for cooling of the chassis. The mechanical size of the enclosure can also be smaller thanks to higher density connector technology.
Innovative x86 and Arm-based processor technologies continue to integrate more capabilities into ever-higher density semiconductor packages with optimized power management. These low-power CPUs are frequently used in SoCs that include not only multicore microprocessors, but also advanced peripherals, such as a graphics processing unit (GPU), without the need for separate discrete components, helping to reduce overall SWaP for embedded electronics. Intel’s Atom processor is an example of an x86 SoC that integrates a lower-power quad-core CPU plus high-definition Intel graphics and I/O chipset in a single package, enabling the mission computer to have a very small 5.2 by 5.4 by1.4 inch (39 cubic inch) footprint and weigh less than 1.5 pounds while drawing less than 25 watts.
Because of the reduced instruction set nature of Arm architectures, Arm delivers superior million instructions per second (MIPS)-to-watt ratio with fewer transistors than processors based on complex instruction set computing (CISC) like x86 CPUs. Arm processors also reduce power consumption by operating at a lower clock frequency than x86 processors. In addition, Arm SoC vendors have integrated low-power states, such as power gating and clock gating, into their processors. Arm’s lower power design lends itself nicely to SWaP-constrained applications by providing a reduced thermal solution in a low-weight processor.
A rugged small-form-factor mission computer designed for military and civil tactical processing applications is the Parvus DuraCOR 8044 modular mission computer workstation. It features a sealed and fanless IP67-compliant design that enables system
designers to meet compute-intensive requirements for applications deployed in the harshest environments. The ITARfree, U.S. Commerce EAR-controlled unit features an 8-core, 16-thread, 11th-gen Intel Xeon W (Tiger Lake-H) processor. Designed to meet or exceed MIL-810G and DO-160G environmental test standards, the mission computer weighs 5.6 pounds and measures 6.75 by 6.25 by 3.5 inches (135 cubic inches). Its Intel Iris Xe GPU supports OpenGL for graphicsintensive applications and OpenCL for GPGPU-accelerated data processingintensive applications. It also supports high-speed real-time Ethernet endpoint connectivity at rates up to 10 Gigabits for low-latency, on-time transfer of critical data. (Figure 2.)
The military and aerospace market maintains an insatiable appetite for smaller, lighter, and cheaper. As technology continues to advance, electronic device density and packaging improvements will continue to enable smaller and more cost-effective unmanned platforms. These factors will drive advancements in the SWaP optimization of rugged deployable small-form-factor mission computers and network solutions. MES
Jeff Evans has 20+ years in product management and serves as the Product Line Manager at Curtiss-Wright Defense Solutions for the Parvus DuraCOR, DuraNET and DuraMAR mission computers, switches, and routers.
Curtiss-Wright
https://www.curtisswrightds.com/
Military Embedded Systems focuses on embedded electronics – hardware and software – for military applications through technical coverage of all parts of the design process. The website, e-mags, newsletters, podcasts, virtual events, annual Resource Guide, and print editions cover topics including radar and electronic warfare, artificial intelligence/machine learning, uncrewed systems, C5ISR, avionics, and cybersecurity. Don’t miss any of it!
Military Embedded Systems is also the largest source for coverage of the Sensor Open System Architecture (SOSA) Technical Standard and the Future Airborne Capability Environment (FACE) Technical Standard. We exclusively produce the once-yearly SOSA Special Edition and FACE Special Edition.
MOSA solutions for unmanned systems: SBCs, RTOS, connectors, backplanes, etc.
Artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled autonomous systems have revolutionized military operations and modern warfare. These uncrewed systems are well-suited for dangerous and repetitive tasks, enhancing situational awareness and logistical capabilities while reducing risks to human personnel. However, their growing role raises significant security concerns: Uncrewed vehicles rely heavily on machine learning (ML) and can be vulnerable to cyberattacks that could jeopardize missions, troops, and critical technologies. While no system is unhackable, system architecture becomes critical in ensuring a device is as resilient as possible to cyberattack not just on the day of initial deployment but several years into its product life cycle. Because of this, robust safeguards are necessary throughout their development and deployment life cycles. Secure design principles, encryption, access controls, and secure communications can harden these systems against unauthorized access.
The aerospace and defense (A&D) ecosystem – including the military, private
sector, academia, and government – must consider a huge number of factors as autonomous systems become more common in the sea, on the land, and above the battlefield.
From the spear to the cannon to the tank, technological advances have long given militaries a tactical edge. Today, artificial intelligence (AI) is the next frontier promising to revolutionize warfare. Fulfilling that promise hinges on our ability to prevent these “thinking” machines from being turned against us.
The new spear: unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and autonomous sentries
Autonomous technologies such as unmanned or uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAVs) and robotic sentry “dogs” are redefining the battlespace. These devices excel at surveying terrain, identifying targets, and detecting and disarming threats without endangering service members. Their
potential is vast, yet so are their vulnerabilities. Without rigorous cybersecurity measures baked into their designs, these self-guided systems could end up serving our adversaries rather than our troops.
Military UAVs and devices leverage cutting-edge AI technologies to operate with minimal human guidance. Computer-vision algorithms enable UAVs to navigate and detect objects, while natural-language processing analyzes speech and text data to extract insights. Reinforcement learning optimizes decision-making for complex missions with many variables, while deep neural networks identify patterns and make predictions from massive datasets.
However, the very technologies enhancing unmanned systems also introduce new cybersecurity risks. AI-enabled autonomous platforms rely heavily on data and machine-learning (ML) algorithms, which potentially exposes them to data poisoning, model theft, and adversarial attacks aimed at manipulating their behaviors.
Between 2015 and 2021, the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) experienced more than 12,000 cyber incidents on unmanned systems such as drones and UAVs – a number that will most certainly rise. Attackers have jeopardized national security by interfering with communications, seizing control of vehicles, and stealing proprietary technologies and sensitive datasets used to train AI models. These recent examples underscore the growing cyber threat landscape.
The U.S. additionally faces mounting cyber threats from strategic competitors like China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea, who are exploiting the gray zone just short of outright conflict in an attempt to undermine national security interests. The consequences of these breaches can extend beyond immediate safety risks: Hackers could cherry-pick data to degrade the performance of AI models over time or steal intellectual property, such as proprietary algorithms, to erode a country’s competitive advantage. (Figure 1.)
Yet the global military AI market is projected to reach more than $13 billion by 2028, reflecting the growing adoption of these systems that are well-suited for dangerous tasks and improving situational awareness. In this rapidly evolving and exposed environment, the delicate balance between technological advancement and cybersecurity resilience becomes imperative in safeguarding national interests and protecting everyone.
MOSA solutions for unmanned systems: SBCs, RTOS, connectors, backplanes, etc.
To strengthen defenses, developers of unmanned systems should leverage modular open systems architecture (MOSA) principles. MOSA provides robust and flexible cybersecurity safeguards through open standards and interfaces.
Developers can also integrate sensors, processors, and capabilities from various vendors as modular components of an AI-operated system. This plug-and-play approach makes it easier to swap out vulnerable parts quickly and tailor defenses against rapidly evolving threats. It is also a critical strategy in sandboxing or separating functions such that any corrupted application will not cause problems with other applications.
With MOSA, the Principle of Least Privilege (PoLP) – also known as the least privilege access model – is also leveraged to protect the system architecture from corruption or attacks. With PoLP, system resources such as memory can be immutably allocated to certain functions and developers can ensure applications are only provided access to the minimum set of system functionality needed to accomplish their task.
Using common open architecture standards like Future Airborne Capability Environment (FACE) and Sensor Open Systems Architecture (SOSA), components can be securely integrated and become interchangeable across different platforms and generations of technology. For example, a modular computing board from one supplier can be replaced with an upgraded module from another supplier without having to overhaul the entire system design.
MOSA also reduces vendor lock-in, resulting in more affordable long-term maintenance and upgrades. Considering that sustainment and maintenance costs typically comprise as much as 70% of the lifetime costs of a DoD system, taking a modular approach in which components can be swapped out practically interchangeably is expected to significantly reduce the need to rewrite code to accommodate new systems.
Developers can create libraries of reusable, accredited software and encryption IP that simplify and accelerate the integration of new capabilities to match the pace of evolving threats. Open architecture approaches like MOSA make it easier to continuously verify, validate, and certify compliance with security standards through iterative development and testing.
Security must be baked into every level of unmanned systems, from the design phase of hardware to the development phase of software. To prevent unauthorized access, developers should leverage strategies such as encrypting critical data and communications, instituting role-based access controls, and designing hardware with builtin antitamper mechanisms. Proactive monitoring, frequent patching, and periodic retraining of ML models will bolster resilience over their lifespans.
The imperative balance between military AI growth and cyber resilience
AI and autonomous technologies are transforming modern warfare: Uncrewed systems enhance military capabilities while reducing risks to human personnel while ensuring that cybersecurity remains a top priority. Failure to build robust defenses into these systems could hand our adversaries an advantage.
As unmanned vehicles proliferate, the A&D ecosystem must work collectively to address the unique security challenges introduced by AI. To this end, the public and private sectors should increase investments in research and development of secure AI. Academic institutions can strengthen training in areas such as cybersecurity, ML, and robotics.
Policymakers must also modernize regulations to promote safety and accountability as systems become more autonomous. Procurement guidelines should require modular
To strengthen defenses, developers of unmanned systems should leverage modular open systems architecture (MOSA) principles.
MOSA provides robust and flexible cybersecurity safeguards through open standards and interfaces.
designs and open standards to futureproof unmanned platforms. Through enterprise-wide collaboration and vigilance, unpiloted systems can in fact be deployed in a responsible manner that inspires trust.
The promise of AI is profound, but so are the perils if its power is left unchecked. With rigorous cybersecurity protections woven into their very architecture, AI-operated systems can strengthen national security and give warfighters an enduring edge against evolving threats. The A&D industry has an obligation to develop and wield these technologies judiciously and ethically. By putting security first, the industry and the government can responsibly reap the benefits of AI while safeguarding lives and liberty. MES
Tim Reed is the CEO of Lynx Software Technologies, a mission-critical edge software company that serves the aerospace, military, and federal markets. Tim joined Lynx in June 2022, after a long tenure with Green Hills Software. During his time at Green Hills, Reed held a variety of roles including senior vice president of the Advanced Products division and a member of the executive leadership team. Tim’s experience spans automotive, industrial, aerospace, and defense end markets. He holds a bachelor’s degree in engineering and applied science from the California Institute of Technology.
Lynx Software Technologies
https://www.lynx.com/
Airborne collision avoidance systems (ACAS) are a crucial component of modern aviation. The Convention on International Civil Aviation establishes the international rules of airspace, aircraft registration, and the safety and security of aircraft. Within these rules is a mandate requiring all aircraft – both manned and unmanned – to use ACAS and/or other types of detect and avoid technology. Attention to SWaP-C2 – as well as robust serial communications – operates alongside ACAS systems for a complete situational awareness solution to monitor the airspace around an aircraft, assess potential collision threats, and provide navigational guidance.
ACAS systems make use of the transponders that are required in all aircraft. ACAS systems utilize these transponders and provide collision avoidance protection for a broad spectrum of aircraft types. In practice, ACAS systems actively send out transponder interrogation signals to nearby aircraft. When a transponder receives an interrogation signal, it responds by sending back information about its altitude, identity, and other relevant data. ACAS systems collect this information and assess if there is a threat of a potential collision.
Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Broadcast (ADS-B)
Aircraft equipped with ADS-B rely on satellite communications to track and broadcast the same types of information utilized by ACAS systems. Within ADS-B systems, there are two modes of communication – ADS-B in and ADS-B out. ADS-B out devices function very much like a normal transponder. Each ADS-B out signal broadcasts information about an aircraft’s current position, altitude, velocity, and identity. The ADS-B in, however, is responsible for the reception and processing of ADS-B out signals.
Automatic Dependent Surveillance-Contract (ADS-C)
The main differences between ADS-B and ADS-C are primarily associated with the types of connections, and how data is transmitted. Whereas ADS-B provides data through periodic broadcasts, ADS-C provides data through a direct connection. The relationship between ADS-B and ADS-C systems is analogous to the relationship between two-way radios and telephones. Essentially, ADS-C is a direct link between an aircraft and air traffic control.
FLARM and PCAS devices are lower-cost, lower-tech solutions for ACAS. Generally, FLARM systems obtain position and altitude readings from an internal GPS and barometer and broadcast this data together with an aircraft’s flight track. At the same time, its receiver listens for other FLARM devices within range and processes the information received. PCAS systems monitor and notify pilots of the nearest transponder-equipped aircraft, and their relative height, distance, and whether that distance is decreasing or increasing.
Most large modern aircraft are equipped with advanced radar and sensor systems that can provide collision avoidance information independently of transponder or ADStype signals. These systems can fuse data from various sensors, such as radar, lidar, and cameras, to assess the airspace and detect potential threats. Like FLARM and PCAS systems, modern radar and sensor systems do not provide the holistic view of the local situation as either ADS systems or transponder-based systems.
As mentioned, SWaP-C2 considerations hold major implications for the development of ACAS systems. SWaP-C2 refers to the careful balance between size, weight, power, cost, and cooling. For unmanned aerospace applications particularly, size and weight are at a premium as it is estimated that eliminating a pound from a UAS can save up to $30,000 to $60,000. However, as modern aviation transponder, radar, and sensor systems require more processing power, and serial integration for a growing number of peripherals, that balance becomes more difficult to achieve than ever before. Partnering with a design and manufacturing solutions provider that navigates the available technology options, the optimal mechanical footprint, and the application-specific I/O for ACAS is integral to successful deployment.
For more information about our experience, visit sealevel.com.
MOSA solutions for unmanned systems: SBCs, RTOS, connectors, backplanes, etc.
The work that VITA member company technologists are putting into new standards development projects is immeasurable. It takes special attention to detail and knowledge of the technology and industry to develop the level of standards necessary for this industry. This article is going to dive into behind-the-scenes details on three key projects, highlighting just how difficult it is to develop these standards.
Going into the November VITA Standards Organization (VSO) meeting, more than 30 active study and working groups were busy defining new standards or making significant revisions to existing VITA standards. While this is a slightly higher number of active groups than normal, it is certainly not out of the typical workload. What is significant, however, is that several working groups are involved in high-profile
projects that have the potential to make a major impact on the critical and intelligent embedded computing industry in the coming years. High-profile projects are much more challenging to shepherd
through the standards development process required by VITA. Considering that most, if not all, of the contributors do this work in their spare time, it is amazing that the projects move to completion as fast as they do.
The current list of active projects includes efforts focused on refining and defining standards for the following:
› Improved definition of operating environments and reliability requirements for critical embedded computing systems.
› New connector standards for:
1. Power-supply connections
2. Optical connectors
3. Higher performance and density connectors for existing standards
› Signal integrity.
› Space applications.
Three of the active projects are much larger than the rest. Two are next-generation efforts from existing standards. VITA 90 (VNX+) leverages VITA 74 (VNX) to develop a higher-performance version of VNX. VPX Expanded is a study group that is determining what the next generation of the popular VPX standard should look like. The third is an entirely new standard family for a rugged small mezzanine card. Each requires a considerable amount of time and effort to be developed and finalized as an approved VITA standard.
VITA 74 VNX has been around since 2010 when it was first proposed by Themis Computers (now part of Mercury Systems) as an enhanced small-formfactor system to meet the growing needs of improving size, weight, and power (SWaP) in a rugged, low-cost, fast serial fabric interconnect-based plug-in module. It has gained limited traction in rugged computing applications, providing an attractive solution for platforms needing smaller than 3U solutions. It was limited in performance headroom and other key areas, so the VNX community opened up the standard to take it to the next level. Thus was born VNX+.
While VITA 90 VNX+ is a small form factor, it is extremely complex with a wide range of capabilities unique to this form factor. The goal of the VITA 90 VNX+ family of standards is to build on the foundation established by VITA 74 VNX. The working group has been improving performance capability while at the same time filling in gaps in the family of standards that were not addressed or completed in the original VNX release. VNX+ significantly increases performance and system versatility beyond VITA 74, while following its smaller mechanical framework.
The work as an editor for projects of this size are extremely challenging, requiring a large amount of time to gather inputs, resolve issues, and document the results. These recent changes should enable the working groups to keep moving quickly towards their desired time goals.
In the early days of the original VNX working group, the participation consisted of a small number of small companies that could move fairly quickly in making decisions pertaining to the standard. Under the new VNX+, the interest level has dramatically increased, along with the drama of completing the standards. The working group has benefited from the increased pool of subject-matter experts participating in the development efforts; at the same time, the discussions are more complex and it is much more difficult to reach consensus! To add to the challenge, companies developing products around the future VNX+ standard are anxious to see a completed set of documents stamped with the VITA approval.
Multiple working groups have been established to develop standards for the various aspects of VNX+. Originally one editor was assigned to the entire suite of dotstandards. Recently the decisions was made to assign more editors and give each of them specific dot-standards to draft. The work as an editor for projects of this size are extremely challenging, requiring a large amount of time to gather inputs, resolve issues, and document the results. These recent changes should enable the working groups to keep moving quickly towards their desired time goals.
The small form factor and system-level focus of VNX+ makes it a very appealing solution for a broad range of industries dependent on critical embedded computing. Companies supporting transportation, defense, and space applications are contributing to the development of these standards.
Mezzanine standards have been around for decades, designed to augment board products that need the ability to add or exchange features. VITA has several mezzanine standards in its repertoire: IP Modules, M-Modules, PMC, XMC, and FMC. VITA 93 is extending to an even smaller size by taking advantage of today’s smaller electronics and is developing a mezzanine form factor that has only recently been possible for the critical embedded computing industry.
VITA 93 defines a small-form-factor mezzanine that is significantly smaller than XMC, with both host and I/O interface connectors. The host interface supports modern highspeed serial fabrics for connectivity. Multiple modules can be installed on various carrier card form factors, including 3U/6U Eurocards (VPX, CompactPCI, VME), VNX+, PCIe expansion cards, and many others. It is suitable for deployment in commercial,
industrial, space, or military-grade rugged environments with air-cooled or conductioncooled formats.
This working group originally started out in 2022 as the VITA 85.109 study group formed to gather requirements from invested participants in the mezzanine supply chain. The study group was chartered to study and document the concept of a new Small Form Factor Mezzanine (SFFm) with certain characteristics not currently addressed by existing mezzanine standards. This was driven by a market need for a mezzanine with the following basic characteristics:
› Significantly smaller than XMC (specifically to be accommodated on the VITA 90 VNX+ form factor which was too small to accommodate any of modern VITA mezzanines).
Dawn’s PSC-6238 VITA 62 compliant 3U VPX Power Supply for conduction cooled systems is designed to operate in a military environment over a wide range of temperatures at high power levels. Up to 800 Watts available power.
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MOSA solutions for unmanned systems: SBCs, RTOS, connectors, backplanes, etc.
› Providing two interfaces:
1. A host/primary interface, supporting PCIe speeds beyond Gen2.
2. An I/O/secondary interface, to support either front-panel or backplane I/O.
› Able to be hosted on a range of carrier cards.
› Able to be deployed in either commercial, industrial, or militarygrade rugged environments.
It was also desirable to make this new standard as broadly appealing as possible to multiple markets in order to drive up adoption, thus driving down costs and ultimately prices.
The study group met frequently to gather data and discuss options before finally releasing a 56-page report to the VSO that documented the requirements that the new standard must meet, trade study details, and their recommendations for the new standard.
Early in 2023, the study group moved to working group status to begin putting pen to paper to create a draft standard. The working group has since been moving quickly to create a draft document as they sort through the many views on how to solve the challenges needed to be overcome to meet the agreed set of requirements put together by the study group. The level of collaboration in the working group has really had a positive impact on progress.
The resulting standard is bound to open new opportunities for mezzanines to improve the capabilities of board-level products in the coming years.
Following up on defining what is next for VPX is perhaps the biggest challenge for VITA members participating in the VPX ecosystem. VPX has now been around since 2004 and is widely used in the defense industry. It is a complex and expensive technology, but has capabilities found nowhere else in the critical embedded computing industry. VPX in its current form is bound to be with us for decades, but even so a roadmap for
performance and capability improvements is necessary.
A study group was formed in 2022 to begin defining the steps and requirements for VPX Expanded. Besides incorporating new technologies, the study group is taking lessons learned from VPX and mapping those against future requirements to determine the best course of action.
The goals set by this study group are to define a solution to expand VPX:
› Double the pin density over the current VPX connectors while keeping the connector length the same.
› Support 100G x 4 at 400 G-baud for the switched serial fabric protocols utilized.
› Improve the P0 connector power capacity to 500 watts and more.
The group desires to leverage existing designs as much as possible. VMEbus was able to maintain a high degree of backwards compatibility over the evolution of the standard. VPX is not going to have that luxury and will require more significant upgrades. There will likely be certain design aspects that can be rolled over to the next generation of products, but new board layouts and backplanes are certainly going to be needed.
The popularity of VPX has attracted many more players to the ecosystem, thus making the next generation even harder to define quickly. Other consortia and standards bodies using VPX are closely monitoring the group’s progress, providing early feedback that should help guide many of the most challenging decisions, especially those related to performance and I/O capability.
As is typical for efforts of this type, most of the discussion at this stage is focused on connector options. The right connector for the backplane interface is critical to meeting all the essential requirements defined by the study group. It is anticipated that this study group will be moving to working groups status in the very near future.
The working group is about to lock down the documented requirements so it can complete a study report. The next step will be to form a working group to begin a draft document.
These projects require a large time commitment from the working group participants. Constructive collaboration is a common element of each working group: Each working group chairperson is challenged with keeping all contributors in unison. Hearing out all inputs, discussion, and comments, and then making a decision takes a lot of diplomacy and patience. All of them are under a lot of pressure to produce a document that can be used to start making prototypes critical to proving out the draft standards, making the job even more difficult. They should all be commended for their dedication to the standards working group efforts. MES
The TCD Series DLA 04051 and COTS-Plus conductive polymer capacitors from KYOCERA AVX are designed for high-reliability military, aerospace, and industrial applications. The capacitors have high capacitance values (CV), very low equivalent series resistance (ESR), and direct current leakage (DCL), enabling stable, high-frequency capacitance retention and a benign failure mode. The TCD Series is available in EIA 1210 and 2917 case sizes, with options for lead-free, RoHS-compliant (the EU’s hazardous-materials compliance directive) 100% tin terminations, or tin/lead terminations. They offer capacitance values ranging from 10 to 470 microfarads (µF), with tolerances of ±10% or 20%, and voltage ratings from 4 to 50 volts. The operating temperature range for these capacitors extends from -55 °C to 125 °C.
Key features include long lifetime performance (2,000 hours at 125 °C), low DC leakage, and basic reliability of 0.5% per 1,000 hours at 85 °C. The capacitors are designed to withstand various environmental tests such as vibration, surge voltages, rapid test solder heating, and biased humidity testing. Enhanced testing options are available, including life test at +125 °C for 2,000 hours plus and additional testing involving vibration, surge voltage, and more.
KYOCERA AVX | https://www.kyocera-avx.com
ImageNav software, a non-GPS, image-based precision navigation solution from Scientific Systems, is designed to enable accurate navigation in GPS-denied environments for various systems including weapons, aircraft, and uncrewed aerial systems (UASs). The software computes absolute and relative navigation position updates by integrating three algorithms: stereo terrain correlation, image-based feature matching, and feature-based velocity estimation. Stereo terrain correlation uses overlapping images from an onboard electro-optical (EO) or infrared (IR) digital camera to correlate stereo elevation models with stored terrain references. Image-based feature matching correlates image features in captured imagery with stored references, while feature-based velocity estimation tracks image features to constrain inertial navigation drift.
ImageNav operates with minimal size, weight, and power (SWaP) requirements, and can be integrated as a software-only upgrade on air platforms with existing sensors and processors. It can also be implemented as software on a standalone processor board or as a self-contained hardware payload. The company reports that in recent live weapon drop tests, it was able to demonstrate ImageNav’s capability to navigate weapons accurately during flight without GPS, hitting targets within required performance envelopes.
Scientific Systems | https://www.ssci.com/
The Sensor Open Systems Architecture (SOSA) aligned Pixus Technologies’ Air Transport Rack (ATR) form factor features a front-loaded design, enabling support for various SOSA aligned slot profiles, including those necessitating optical and RF interfaces through the backplane. eIt accommodates six slots for 3U OpenVPX boards compliant with VITA 48.2 standards, along with a slot dedicated to a VITA 62 power supply unit. An additional feature of the ATR058F series is the supplemental airflow provided through the sidewalls of the enclosure. This design leverages use of optional fans or air ducting, promoting enhanced cooling while maintaining a fully sealed environment for the plug-in boards. The emphasis on effective thermal management is critical for maintaining optimal performance in demanding operational conditions.
The chassis also includes space behind the backplane for mounting the Pixus SlotSaver, a mezzanine-based SOSA aligned chassis hardware manager. Power-supply options are aligned with the SOSA Technical Standard, primarily utilizing 12V along with some 3.3V AUX, ensuring broad compatibility with various system requirements. Additionally, the chassis features a slot for an external quick-access solid-state drive (SSD), providing expanded storage solutions.
Pixus Technologies
| https://www.pixustechnologies.com/
Titanium for KVM, a Star Lab security solution designed for kernel-based virtual machines (KVM), extends Star Lab’s Titanium Technology Protection capabilities to KVM hosts. KVM, an open-source virtualization technology, transforms Linux into a hypervisor, allowing for the creation and management of virtual machines. The product is designed to provide the security solutions needed to protect the increasing use of virtualization in U.S. defense and industrial systems, including the growing adoption of KVM in Red Hat Enterprise Linux (RHEL) systems.
Star Lab’s Titanium Technology Protection is a comprehensive suite designed for Linux-based mission-critical systems in defense and aerospace applications that works to counteract various cyber and technology protection threats. The solution includes features such as secure boot, data-at-rest protections, mandatory access controls, kernel hardening, and – with the addition of Titanium for KVM – security for KVM-based virtualization.
Star Lab | https://www.starlab.io/
Acromag’s XMC-ZU5EV module features an AMD (Xilinx) Zynq UltraScale+ device, which integrates a feature-rich Arm-based processing system and FPGA [field-programmable gate array] logic into a single chip, offering a versatile solution for embedded I/O processing and programmable logic functions. The XMC-ZU5EV is equipped with a quad-core ARM Cortex A53 application processor and a dual-core ARM Cortex R5 real-time processor, as a way to support robust CPU capabilities for compute-intensive tasks and high-performance applications. The module’s integrated programmable logic contains dedicated processing blocks for graphics and video processing, aiming the XMC-ZU5EV at applications requiring real-time control, sensor fusion, and data processing, particularly in defense, industrial, and laboratory environments. Key features include 256k cells of on-chip programmable logic, 1248 DSP slices, high levels of RAM, and high-speed interfaces. The integrated Mali-400 GPU and video codec support the module’s capabilities in multimedia processing. The module’s versatile mezzanine format enables mounting on various carrier cards including VPX, VME, PCIe, and others. Acromag offers air-cooled versions for front I/O and conduction-cooled models for backplane I/O, with a range of plug-in front I/O cards for interfacing with Ethernet, USB, DisplayPort, RS485, LVDS, and other I/O signals.
Acromag | https://www.acromag.com/
The MANTIS Mission Computer, developed by Viewpoint Systems, is a highly integrated surveillance computer designed to be rugged enough to withstand the extreme conditions common in defense applications. The computer can be configured with a single-channel or four-channel internal ultra-low latency encoder and supports a secondary PC capable of running its own operating system to provide additional workstation support. Key features of the MANTIS Mission Computer include the latest multicore processors for handling complex computing tasks, internal Haivision H.264 or H.265 video encoder with HD-SDI inputs for high-quality video encoding, and an integrated Gigabit Ethernet switch. It also supports a variety of common I/O interfaces and user-removable solid-state drives for mapping and sensitive data.
FlySight’s real-time augmented reality (AR) engine, OPENSIGHT-mc, is integrated into the MANTIS. It features a sophisticated AR engine capable of managing multiple high-resolution video flows, thereby improving the geospatial situational awareness of the operator. OPENSIGHT-mc enables the superposition of multiple synthetic information layers over the video feed, enhancing mission effectiveness.
Viewpoint Systems | https://www.viewpointusa.com/
On January 28, 2024, the Washington Post reported that three American soldiers at a U.S. base in Jordan were killed and over 30 were wounded by an enemy drone attack. The next day it added: “American air defenses failed to intercept an attack drone that killed three American troops and wounded dozens in Jordan because the incoming aircraft was mistaken for a friendly drone returning to the base, officials said Monday as more detail emerged about the incident and the Biden administration deliberated how to respond.”
Many a death is senseless because of the circumstances – death by drugs, or drowning, or a vehicle out of control. However, when three soldiers are killed by a drone that should have been destroyed, their deaths are senseless – posing the question: Were they the result of an error of judgment or something more basic?
During the latter part of World War II, some aircraft used a system known as identification friend or foe (IFF). This approach enabled an aircraft to establish, in seconds, whether an approaching aircraft was friend or foe, because all aircraft of a country used the same interrogatory requiring the same response code from another aircraft’s transponder. The system required an aircraft to send an interrogatory to an unknown aircraft; if the latter responded with the code, that aircraft was friend. Non-response would be treated as foe.
In her article “IFF technology aims for a safer battlefield” (Military Embedded Systems, May 2021), Dawn Zoldi (Col, USAF, Retired), wrote: “On February 5, 2021, the DoD AIMS Program Office issued the world’s first 17-1000 Mark XIIB certification to Sagetech for its MX12B micro Mode 5 IFF transponder. The small
military-grade transponder weighs only 190 g, or slightly more than one-third of a pound. The MX12B also includes extra features, such as ADS-B In, that tracks as many as 400 cooperative targets simultaneously and displays them for the remote pilot in the command-and-control graphical user interface.”
The MX12B micro Mode 5 IFF transponder can be fitted to most drones and Zoldi asserts in her piece that Sagetech’s CEO Tom Furey said that an even smaller version can quickly be created to equip very small drones.
Defense forces of other countries were working on IFF systems for their drones and, according to Inder Bisht, writing in The Defense Post on December 21, 2023 (“Russia develops miniaturized drone-mounted ‘Friend or Foe’ system”): “Russia’s RPC Pulsar has developed a drone-fitted Identification Friend or Foe (IFF) system to avoid friendly fire. The miniaturized transponder can identify a drone at an altitude of 5 kilometers (3 miles) and a range of 100 kilometers (62 miles), according to parent company Rostec.”
The DoD approval of the MX12B meant that the U.S. could fit IFFs to their drones operating in combat zones since around the end of 2021. As Zoldi noted in her piece, the MX12B’s additional feature, ADS-B In, “meant that it could track as many as 400 cooperative targets simultaneously and display them for the remote pilot in the command-and-control graphical user interface.” (emphasis added). Although the cost of fitting IFFs to drones has eluded the writer, estimates costs in the range of American $2,000 to $3,000 per drone. Even at $5,000 per drone, it would be nothing compared with the life of a U.S. soldier.
Given the effectiveness of the MX12B, the average U.S. citizen would expect U.S. drones in combat zones such as the Middle East, including Jordan, to be fitted with IFF systems. This addition would have prevented the senseless deaths of the three U.S. soldiers, because the returning U.S. IFF-fitted drone would have been identified as friend, leaving the other drone to be destroyed as foe. If the Post article about the incoming drone being mistaken or confused for a friendly drone returning to the base is accurate, the average U.S. citizen would be entitled to draw the conclusion that the friendly drone was not fitted with IFF; or in the alternate, the practice is not common enough for soldiers to rely on the IFF system, for distinguishing friend from foe.
If the DoD had decided against fitting IFFs to its drones operating in combat zones, it should have done so after conducting a proper assessment of the risk of deaths and injuries to U.S. soldiers from enemy drones that might, on occasion, operate alongside U.S. drones.
Let’s consider just two risk scenarios in which U.S. drones were not fitted with IFFs.
First, the above scenario in Jordan, where one of two drones returning or heading to base was a U.S. drone. Confusion reigned at the base because personnel could not identify friend from foe, and therefore permitted both drones to approach, resulting in three deaths and multiple injuries. Secondly, the scenario where two U.S. drones are returning to base but, unknown
to base, there is a third drone – an enemy drone – accompanying the two U.S. drones. Before reaching base, one of the two U.S. drones fails and drops to earth, leaving two drones heading to base – as expected by base – except that one is an enemy drone. Base believes that the two drones are friend, until the enemy drone unleashes its load of deaths and injuries.
In the first scenario, the risk assessment would require both drones to be destroyed as a safety measure. The loss of a drone was preferable to the loss of a single U.S. soldier. However, with the second scenario, where the base is expecting two returning drones, the lack of IFF meant that base treated both drones as friend – with disastrous consequences. The consequences of the second scenario would have demonstrated that risk of death and injury could only be eliminated by fitting IFFs to all U.S. drones in combat zones.
Clearly, the Jordan tragedy could have been avoided if the U.S. drones had been fitted with IFF. Was the cause of the tragedy sealed when the powers that be decided to place the cost of IFF on drones, ahead of the lives of the soldiers, who place their lives on the line in fidelity to their oath: “To defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic …” MES
Glenn Mathias is Director, Australian Maritime Consultancy.
This article was first published in the Spectator Australia as “Was cost a factor in the senseless deaths of three U.S. soldiers?” Permission granted from original publication and author.
Aerospace and defense (A&D) manufacturers caught up with implementing Industry 4.0 technologies and processes, but now they are facing a new evolution coming in the form of Industry 5.0. The newest iteration could have a number of implications for A&D manufacturers – from cobots and build-to-order to assistive wearables and hyperglobization pullback. The upshot? The humans are back in charge.
Industry 4.0 – the shift that began in the mid-2010s, described as the era of connectivity, advanced analytics, automation, and advanced technology – is pretty much ubiquitous, and Industry 5.0 is on the rise. Industry 5.0 goes beyond more than just new technologies, marked more by the embrace of technology in a societal environment. The European Commission Policy Brief1 shows that this is the overriding belief for Industry 5.0, stating that it “aims beyond efficiency and productivity as the sole goals and reinforces the role and the contribution of industry to society.” Industry 5.0 should work in tandem with the Industry 4.0 approach, which will only be successful if research and innovation are put at the service end of the movement to a manufacturing industry that is sustainable, human-centric, and resilient.
There is also a clear path for North American organizations to incorporate Industry 5.0, with structural changes driven by leveraging digital advances with the right talent and by growing through innovation and human capital.
Industry 5.0 is becoming more established within aerospace & defense (A&D) manufacturing, powered by several key themes:
1. Industry 5.0 builds on Industry 4.0 with a human-centric approach to technology
The groundwork is still being laid for Industry 5.0, but technology is helping move it in the right direction with Internet of Things, additive manufacturing, digital twins, and augmented reality. Manufacturers have become more efficient, quicker, and data-driven when working on projects, giving them the confidence to continue to adopt 5.0 processes.
From design and prototype to manufacturing and in-service support, a “digital thread” has been built by the technology around every piece of equipment. While the focus of Industry 4.0 was on connectivity, digitalization, and automation, Industry 5.0 highlights the importance of human-robot collaboration and the relationship between man and machine, or as The International Centre for Industrial Transformation called them in its late-2022 Industry 5.0 prediction2, “cobots”: “… an add-on to Industry 4.0, building upon the groundwork laid by these smart technologies or cobots.”
New technology applications are emerging as part of Industry 5.0 that focus more on the people executing the manufacturing, particularly to improve their physical capability and safety. In an A&D context, we will start to see and indeed are already seeing technology and equipment from a military background becoming commercialized.
Take the example of the Lockheed Martin Onyx Exoskeleton, which uses artificial intelligence (AI); gathers movement data from users’ feet, knee, and hip sensors; and forwards it to a control module stationed on the waist which instructs the exoskeleton to move accordingly to counteract overstress on the back during operations.
Another example is Boeing, which has been trialing an EksoVest from Ekso Bionics, an upper-body lifting exoskeleton designed to increase productivity and reduce fatigue. Boeing found that it caused an increase in worker speed in test groups of South Carolina mechanics.
Human-centric robotics developments do include the rise of “cobots,” where humans efficiently and safely work next to robots to perform key manufacturing tasks. As part of its “Smart Factory 2025” initiative, Audi stated as one of its key aims enhancing this type of human-robot interaction (HRI). Beyond physical technologies, there are also interesting neurological tech applications such as brain-computer interface (BCI), for example at Neuralink (an Elon Musk-owned company in California), giving humans the ability to directly control machines without the physical constraints of the body. It will be some time before such neurological technology is fully commercialized.
2.
The latest stats from EY3, gathered with the Aerospace Industries Association (AIA) and the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA), on the state of the A&D manufacturing workforce show the sector is experiencing the same sort of workforce and skills gaps as the wider manufacturing sector.
As many as 69% of A&D manufacturing respondents strongly agree or agree that their organization’s turnover has significantly increased within the last 12 months, typifying the intense competition and lack of readily available labor. Across current workforces there is a strong skew towards older employees: In terms of workforce age composition, survey results showed that employees aged 55 and older represent over a quarter of the workforce (28%), the highest of any age demographic.
The increasing development and use of the man/machine and technology/human interface can help provide some immediate relief for current older workers and attract new, younger generations into the A&D manufacturing workspace. Assistive wearable tech can help older workers reaching retirement age achieve more power and productivity, putting less strain on them physically and also enhancing safety.
With this increasing digital focus, unlike some traditional views of the sector as a lower-skilled “blue collar” job market, manufacturing is becoming a more exciting and desirable workplace once again. With more cutting-edge manufacturing and engineering tech, high-skill and well-paid jobs are becoming available as manufacturing becomes smarter.
A&D manufacturing-to-order – the effect of hyperpersonalization on manufacturing
It’s not only employees who stand to benefit from a more peoplecentric approach within Industry 5.0. Hyperpersonalization is becoming an expected part of everyday life for consumers: think of real-time mobile alerts when walking past a shop or advertising board for a brand or product, or even dynamic digital price tags as individual consumers shop for goods.
This move towards personalization and individual buyer requirements is already reflected on the production side by customers looking for A&D assets and equipment. Make-to-order, configure-to-order, engineer-to-order, and assemble-to-order are becoming common requirements for A&D equipment manufacturing. Smarter factories and digitally focused products provide that coherent digital thread that can feed data back into the manufacturing process to enable quick changes to improve design, fabrication, and performance. It’s imperative for A&D manufacturers to be agile and offer a broad range of project capabilities to prevent long delays and loss of business.
A&D manufacturers need to stay agile, which means having some key functionalities in their enterprise software. Take the example of Abu Dhabi-based defense manufacturer Calidus and the manufacturing process for its Light Attack aircraft. Using enterprise software has enabled it to get away from manual processes – spreadsheets and individual data islands – and the company now manages the complex process of delivering an aircraft or change order to a customer, with critical emphasis on getting the right part to the right place at the right time. Data access is standardized across the board, meaning all parties are viewing the same information at the same time.
Getting the building blocks in place now will provide the framework and capabilities to offer increasingly personalized experiences that will come with Industry 5.0.
3. A&D manufacturers shift their strategies toward environmental, social, and governance
A key part of the definition of Industry 5.0 is a focus on societal and sustainability goals and Industry 5.0 will touch all three elements of any company’s environmental, social, and governance (ESG) strategy. The recent EY CEO Outlook4 cited 69% percent
of advanced manufacturing executives are integrating ESG as a core aspect of all their products and using differentiated technologies to boost customer loyalty.
Implementing Industry 5.0 will have a huge positive impact on staff acquisition and retention (see key issue #2), especially at a time where workforce competition is extremely high. Upgrading to 5.0 will touch on the human-centric approaches not just on the factory floor, but at a strategic level throughout the company.
Regulations & customers put A&D manufacturing in the environmental spotlight Environmental sustainability is increasingly under the microscope for A&D manufacturers from both a regulatory and customer perspective. KPMG highlights5 sustainability as a key A&D industry focus: “A&D manufacturers may not be able to reach their goals unless they integrate carbon reduction strategies throughout their ecosystems … This is particularly important within their hugely complex supply chains.”
New technologies and manufacturing models will help A&D manufacturing CEOs. But to address their environmental output, A&D manufacturers need visibility. This is where the enterprise systems they use to manage their entire value chain can help them adopt sustainable and circular manufacturing operations, including supporting manufacturing disassembly for component reuse and assigning sustainability measures and embedding them into business processes.
4. Supply-chain resilience increases as hyperglobilization reduces
Industry 5.0 will also contain a key focus on resilience. Onshoring and repatriation of formerly outsourced manufacturing and shipping are huge focus areas for protecting supply chains while also addressing environmental impacts of long-haul air and sea shipping, reflecting a potential pullback in the hyperglobalization seen over the last few decades.
This supply-chain consciousness is evidenced by the European Commission policy paper6: “The need for a new industrial paradigm, beyond Industry 4.0, has become more necessary over the years in relation to increasingly complex and pressing economic and societal challenges.”
Capgemini reflects this view in a recent report, “Building resilience in Aerospace and Defense”7: “Designing flexible supply chains and responsive manufacturing and reducing dependences on less-friendly states is now a matter of growing importance – giving rise to ‘onshoring’ (bringing sourcing and manufacturing back to the country) and ‘friendshoring’ (bringing these back to allied countries) … To deliver more flexible manufacturing, the massive global supply chains on which manufacturing relies must become more adaptive and more resilient.”
A&D supply-chain management receives boost from enterprise technology Enterprise technology will increase agility and faster time to insight (TTI) from domestic suppliers to help them better forecast demand and improve the detail they provide across
the supply chain. This move comes after a recent survey commissioned by IFS, researching senior decision makers of large global enterprises, found that 72% of those answering had increased their usage of domestic suppliers, rather than international suppliers.
It is promising to see that the IFS study showed that supplychain management is a top-three priority for organizations to solve by investing in technology. This finding follows on from the increased movement to reshoring; improved supply-chain management will only help in this regard.
Industry 5.0 is still gearing up, but it has the potential to change A&D manufacturing forever, combining smart and intelligent technologies and human-centric principles. Since so many A&D companies have already mastered the Industry 4.0 rubric, they're poised to move on – as Industry 5.0 expands the focus on human-centricity, sustainability, and resilience to make A&D manufacturers more productive, efficient, and profitable. MES
References
1 European Commission Policy Brief. https://research-and-innovation. ec.europa.eu/research-area/industrial-research-and-innovation/ industry-50_en#what-is-industry-50
2 The International Centre for Industrial Transformation. https://incit.org/en/thought-leadership/industry-5-0-what-is-it-andhow-does-it-relate-to-industry-4-0/
3 EY Aerospace and Defense workforce study. https://incit.org/en/ thought-leadership/industry-5-0-what-is-it-and-how-does-it-relate-toindustry-4-0/
4 EY CEO Outlook/Aerospace & Defense. https://www.ey.com/en_gl/ aerospace-defense/how-can-sustainability-take-flight-in-aerospaceand-defense
5 KPMG report on Sustainability in the Aerospace & Defense Industry. https://kpmg.com/be/en/home/insights/2023/07/im-sustainability-inthe-aerospace-defense-industry.html
6 European Commission Policy Brief. https://research-and-innovation. ec.europa.eu/research-area/industrial-research-and-innovation/ industry-50_en#what-is-industry-50
7 Capgemini: Building resilience in Aerospace and Defense. https://www.capgemini.com/insights/research-library/buildingresilience-in-aerospace-and-defense/
Matt Medley is senior product manager at IFS, tasked with ensuring that solutions meet the demanding needs of defense service and support organizations, defense manufacturers, and defense operators. He has served as a consultant, program manager, and project manager in aerospace and defense organizations. Matt – a graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy and a certified flight instructor – served for 12 years in the U.S. Air Force, achieving the rank of major and logging 2,500 flight hours in the C-130 aircraft. He holds an MBA from Kennesaw State University and a master’s degree from Webster University and is a certified project-management professional. IFS • https://www.ifs.com/
Sponsored by Analog Devices, Annapolis Micro Systems, and Mercury
Modern electronic warfare (EW) and signals intelligence (SIGINT) systems are getting more complex as threats grow in complexity. Innovation is needed to solve signal integrity, latency, signal-processing, spectrum-management, and other challenges in these systems.
In this webcast, industry experts will cover how RF signal analysis, Direct RF technology, signal-processing solutions, and other components can enable more sophisticated and responsive EW and SIGINT systems. (This is an archived event.)
Watch this webcast: https://tinyurl.com/4rv9mbh9
As we settle into 2024, emerging technologies continue to transform how we experience the digital world and beyond. The metaverse promises more immersive and interactive virtual environments through innovations in augmented reality (AR), virtual reality (VR) and generative artificial intelligence (AI). At the same time, AI and machine learning (ML) are proving invaluable in enhancing military operations and national security priorities like space defense.
The metaverse is expanding thanks to AR, VR and AI’s abilities to rapidly generate more accurate 3D environments. AI offers immense potential for the military to process data, inform decision-making, and increase productivity and effectiveness across missions. Moreover, with rival nations ramping up their space programs, space defense remains crucial for the U.S. Substantial investments aim to secure America’s space infrastructure and develop new defensive space capabilities. How will the metaverse, AI, and space technologies unfold in the near future.
The metaverse is growing
The internet is constantly evolving, which has contributed to a greater emphasis on immersive experiences. Users expect and will keep seeking new ways to interact with each other more deeply. In 2024, we can look to generative AI to help create those immersive experiences more quickly, reducing the time it takes to create and build 3D environments. Headsets are still evolving, as are other devices like haptic gloves. When partnered, AR and VR have the potential to engage people’s senses even more. We’ll see a trend where immersive technologies merge to create blended, mixed-reality environments that blur the lines between what’s real and what’s digital.
In 2024, the U.S. Army will continue exploring the best application of AI systems, including LLMs [large language models], for military applications. The military has long recognized this technology’s value in helping troops respond and pivot more quickly to rapidly evolving environments and situations. One area where AI and ML can drive productivity is in giving the Army an information advantage, generating insights to inform better decision-making, protecting sensitive information and troops, educating and influencing audiences domestically and abroad, and conducting information warfare.
AI has the computing power to facilitate analyzing vast amounts of data, helping soldiers get the information they need at the right time, and sending it to the right people. Ultimately, AI and ML will help personnel increase the effectiveness of current and developing capabilities. The Army still has work to do
in learning how to use data – like predictive logistics – most efficiently. And we may see AI used for recruitment and talent management. What we won’t see in 2024, or any time in the future, is a complete dependence on AI: While AI is a useful tool, making decisions based on AI-driven data will always fall to humans. You simply cannot remove them from the equation.
When testifying at the House Armed Services Strategic Forces subcommittee hearing on national security space activities, John F. Plumb, assistant secretary of defense for space policy, said, “For the DoD, space is essential to how we compete and fight in every domain. It provides us with a missile warning and missile tracking critical to defending our homeland …” This year’s nearly $34 billion space budget moves us in the direction of developing capabilities to meet any challenge.
How that looks exactly, however, remains to be seen. The U.S. armed forces and its allies will need a secure space infrastructure, which the U.S. Space Force will be tasked with providing. In 2024, expect further development of the mesh network of low-Earth-orbit satellites used to communicate data and identify, track, and warn of incoming missiles. We’ll see additional training requirements for the personnel needed in every aspect of these space campaigns. Some of the most effective training delivery methods include VR and AR training – in the metaverse, if you will. We will be able to create various scenarios to not only train personnel in all aspects of satellite comms and tactical but also to test the technologies the U.S. has developed to attack adversarial satellites and missiles, rendering them harmless far above the Earth.
These technologies are reshaping possibilities in the virtual and physical realms. Their continuing evolution and emergence promise more immersive digital experiences, enhanced combat effectiveness, and strengthened space defense in 2024 and beyond. MES
Pete Morrison is co-founder and chief commercial officer at BISim. He is an evangelist for the use of game technologies and other COTS-type products and software in the simulation and training industry. Pete studied computer science and management at the Australian Defence Force Academy and graduated with first-class honors. He also graduated from the Royal Military College, Duntroon, into the Royal Australian Signals Corp. He served as a Signals Corp Officer for several years. His final posting was as a Project Officer in the Australian Defence Simulation Office (ADSO).
BISim • https://bisimulations.com/
Each issue, the editorial staff of Military Embedded Systems will highlight a different organization that benefits the military, veterans, and their families. We are honored to cover the technology that protects those who protect us every day.
This issue we are highlighting Soldiers to Sidelines (STS), a nonprofit organization that educates and empowers veterans, service members, Gold Star families, and military spouses to serve as athletic coaches in youth, community, scholastic, and collegiate level sports.
Harrison Bernstein, the founder and executive director of STS since 2014, previously worked as a football and sports-performance coach at the professional, collegiate, and high-school levels. Bernstein’s side project evolved into STS, with the goal of enabling veterans to take the talents acquired in the military and apply them to civilian life as mentors and coaches. Once participants are certified, STS helps them earn coaching positions within their communities. STS programs start with free sports certification seminars, during which attendees begin the process of becoming a certified “soldier coach.” Participants go on to what the organization calls “Earn Your Whistle,” which is a phrase used in athletics to emphasize the importance of hard work, dedication, and skill development for aspiring coaches or players. According to information from STS, it implies that the coach must prove their ability and expertise before being given the authority or recognition symbolized by a whistle.
Certified and aspiring soldier coaches are encouraged to attend live, experiential coaching workshops, delivered with professional partners who volunteer their time to educate the military community in best coaching practices. STS says that most workshops are free and open to all, while some are reserved as continuing-education opportunities for certified soldier coaches.
Numbers on the STS website show that over its 10 years in operation, the organization has so far certified 1,487 soldier coaches and coached more than 74,000 student and community athletes. For additional information, visit https://soldierstosidelines.org/.
MOSA Virtual Summit 2024: Applying open architectures in avionics, radar, EW, & C5ISR systems
Sponsored by: RTI, Abaco, SV Microwave, Elma, Aitech, NewWave DV, Annapolis Micro Systems, LDRA
Powered by Military Embedded Systems, the MOSA Virtual Summit is designed to drive awareness and thought leadership around MOSA [modular open systems approach] initiatives like the Sensor Open Systems Architecture (SOSA), the C5ISR/ EW Modular Open Suite of Standards (CMOSS), and the Future Airborne Capability Environment (FACE) and aims to study how they impact signal-processing, software, hardware, AI, and RF designs. (Keynote plus three sessions.)
Keynote speaker is Mr. Jason Dirner, MOSA Chief Engineer, MOSA Management Office, Engineering & Systems Integration (ESI) Directorate, U.S. Army DEVCOM C5ISR Center. The three separate sessions are: “Leveraging MOSA for C5ISR, Electronic Warfare, & Radar Applications”; “MOSA at the Edge – C5ISR Sensors Across Multiple Domains”; and “MOSA Strategies for Military Aviation Platforms.” (This is an archived event.)
Watch this event on demand: http://tinyurl.com/2dbn4jcc
Watch more webcasts:
https://militaryembedded.com/webcasts/
A failed MIL-461 compliance test –it’s arguably the most crucial time in the development of any product. After days, months, maybe even years of design and production … the product fails to meet compliance standards and the designers are forced to hit the pause button on all product support, such as marketing campaigns and launch planning.
More often than not, the problem can be solved by utilizing a filter. But what kind of filter? That is the milliondollar question that has troubled designers of defense products for ages. By and large, the decision comes down to a traditional filter or an EMI filter insert. This white paper examines what the designer needs from that filter to come to a conclusion.
Read this white paper: https://tinyurl.com/mwz9m9fx
Read more white papers:
https://militaryembedded.com/whitepapers
Military Embedded Systems focuses on embedded electronics – hardware and software – for military applications through technical coverage of all parts of the design process. The website, Resource Guide, e-mags, newsletters, podcasts, webcasts, and print editions provide insight on embedded tools and strategies including technology insertion, obsolescence management, standards adoption, and many other military-specific technical subjects.
Coverage areas include the latest innovative products, technology, and market trends driving military embedded applications such as radar, electronic warfare, unmanned systems, cybersecurity, AI and machine learning, avionics, and more. Each issue is full of the information readers need to stay connected to the pulse of embedded technology in the military and aerospace industries.
