April 2020, Volume 22 – Number 4 • cotsjournalonline.com
The Journal of Military Electronics & Computing
JOURNAL
Get to know NVMe and how it meets the demands of ever-increasing Storage Needs Company Profile; Northrop Grumman
The Journal of Military Electronics & Computing COTS (kots), n. 1. Commercial off-the-shelf. Terminology popularized in 1994 within U.S. DoD by SECDEF Wm. Perry’s “Perry Memo” that changed military industry purchasing and design guidelines, making Mil-Specs acceptable only by waiver. COTS is generally defined for technology, goods and services as: a) using commercial business practices and specifications, b) not developed under government funding, c) offered for sale to the general market, d) still must meet the program ORD. 2. Commercial business practices include the accepted practice of customer-paid minor modification to standard COTS products to meet the customer’s unique requirements.
JOURNAL
—Ant. When applied to the procurement of electronics for he U.S. Military, COTS is a procurement philosophy and does not imply commercial, office environment or any other durability grade. E.g., rad-hard components designed and offered for sale to the general market are COTS if they were developed by the company and not under government funding.
SPECIAL FEATURES 16
DEPARTMENTS
Get to know NVMe and how it meets the demands of ever-increasing Storage Needs By John Reardon, COTS Journal
COTS COMPANY PROFILE:
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Publisher’s Note Entropy - lack of order or predictability; gradual decline into disorder.
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The Inside Track
Northrop Grumman By John Reardon, COTS Journal
COT’S PICKS 24
Editor’s Choice for April
Cover Image Top - Northrop Grummans E-2D Advanced Hawkeye reaches initial operational capability with the U.S. Navy. The system provides unprecedented, 360-degree surveillance to the warfighter, and every aircraft has been delivered on schedule and on budget, since the first E-2D Advanced Hawkeye delivery in 2007. The program was recently awarded a $3.6 billion multiyear contract to deliver 25 new Advanced Hawkeyes to the U.S. Navy. Bottom - Navy Lt. Aaron Van Driessche, warfare tactics instructor at the Center for Surface Combat Systems Detachment San Diego, pilots the Navy’s virtual combat curriculum inside a newly launched portable simulator in San Diego. COTS Journal | April 2020
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The Journal of Military Electronics & Computing
JOURNAL EDITORIAL
EDITORIAL SUBMISSION AND RELEASES johnr@rtc-media.com PUBLISHER/CEO John Reardon Johnr@rtc-media.com
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Robert Hoffman
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PUBLISHED BY RTC MEDIA Copyright 2020, RTC Media. Printed in the United States. All rights reserved. All related graphics are trademarks of The RTC Group. All other brand and product names are the property of their holders.
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ART AND PRODUCTION
COTS Journal | April 2020
SALES MANAGER Vaughn Orchard Vaughno@rtc-media.com CUSTOM AND CONTRACT SERVICES John Reardon Johnr@rtc-media.com
PUBLISHER’S NOTE
John Reardon, Publisher
Entropy -
lack of order or predictability; gradual decline into disorder.
As the world becomes less predictable and gradually declines into disorder, the urgency to accurately predict when things might return to “normal” becomes increasingly more impossible. The reason this is true can be found in the definition of Entropy. Consider a box filled with red golf balls all lined up on the right and blue golf balls all lined up on the left – shake the box. The results will never be as orderly as the original. The entropy that the world is experiencing today and the infinite possibilities of how this box of golf balls might end up is a question that will not be answered easily or with any precision. The ability to predict how the balls will settle after having been shaken is nothing more than conjecture. Yes, you can predict that they all will remain in the box, but how they line up will be so random as to not even rise to the level of conjecture. The same goes for how we are building our understanding of this virus. The normal perception is that we are building from a large and accurate dataset, built over time into a potential model. But this is not the case, the data sets has only been acquired over a short time, the testing is statistically unpredictable and any modeling would be limited at best. 6
COTS Journal | April 2020
But I want to pivot on you a bit and discuss the future (after the virus). The disorder that I am interested in goes far beyond tracking down toilet paper or determining where to go dinner. It is more the global concerns where oil-driven economies are faltering. It is how this might further destabilize the Middle East. It is how hungry people might react to rich neighbors. This and an infinite amount of other issues will shape our world to come. I have always been intrigued by physical limits. For most of my life, there has been a theoretical threshold of fifty nautical miles an hour for a sailboat. That when this threshold was met that the boat was no longer a boat. It was not until 2008 that a Kite-surfer broke the threshold by the slimmest margin. But like with many of these types of thresholds there was debate as to whether the Kit-surfer was sailing through the water or flying above it. Today foiling sailboats routinely break this barrier – and the debate continues. Whether you are thinking of the Beverly Clock, thought to be the nearest thing to perpetual motion machine or a Stirling External combustion engine, that uses the differential in temperature to power itself – the concentration of
these forces creates disorder. These and other barriers have given us the boundaries that bring an order and comfort to our lives. When these limits are exceeded it brings about a new norm with new implications. In considering the focus of order and the implications on disorder – Entropy – we can see examples resulting around us daily. Think about the retail store that requires patrons to line up outside to have social distancing inside. Consider the closing of public spaces and how it forces a greater number of people into smaller spaces. Consider shutting down flights, trains, and conventions and the order that it brings to the fight against the virus and the disorder that it brings to the social fabric of what we believe to be normal. Those that live in gated communities get a sense – false or not, I don’t know – but a sense that they have order within their community and the ugly disorderly world is outside their gates. The world has changed forever; the order of this box of golf balls will never be the same as we face new norms. Whether people will ever feel comfortable with crowded spaces or how we design future classrooms will only be known in time. Just as we had a new norm after 911, we will have a new norm after this. It is our civic duty to face this change and to do everything possible to create a new norm that is better than the old.
The Stirling Engine uses a differential in temperature to drive a piston.
The most precise time-keeping device is officially off-planet and is orbiting Earth in Tiangong-2, the second space station to be launched by China’s space program.
During the last run in Namibia in November 2012, an improved version of this unconventional boat reached an average speed of 65.45 knots (121.21 km/h or 75.31 mph) over a distance of 500 meters.
A pessimist sees the difficulty in every opportunity; an optimist sees the opportunity in every difficulty.
— Winston Churchill
Disclaimer
The Beverly Clock running since 1864, this clock has yet to be wound, one of the longest-running science experiments known.
The opinions expressed are not to imply that we are overreacting, that statistical knowledge should not be pursued or that any directions conveyed by our leaders are incorrect. The purpose is to afford all that face change in their lives, that there is a new paradigm facing us that will be addressed most favorably by those receptive to it.
COTS Journal | April 2020
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United Technologies and Raytheon Complete Merger of Equals Transaction Share Creates the world’s most advanced aerospace and defense systems provider Serves customers worldwide through a platformagnostic, diversified portfolio of industry-leading businesses Expects to introduce breakthrough technologies at an accelerated pace across high-value areas of commercial aerospace and defense
Raytheon Technologies Corporation announced the successful completion of the all-stock merger of equals transaction between Raytheon Company and United Technologies Corporation on April 3, 2020, following the completion by United Technologies of the previously announced spin-offs of its Carrier and Otis businesses. Headquartered in Waltham, Mass., Raytheon Technologies is one of the largest aerospace and defense companies in the world with approximately $74 billion in pro forma 2019 net sales and a global team of 195,000 employees, including 60,000 engineers and scientists. Raytheon Company shares ceased trading before the market open on April 3, 2020,
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and each share of Raytheon common stock has been converted in the merger into the right to receive 2.3348 shares of United Technologies common stock (previously traded on the NYSE under the ticker symbol “UTX”). Upon closing of the merger, United Technologies’ name has changed to “Raytheon Technologies Corporation,” and its shares of common stock will begin trading today on the NYSE under the ticker symbol “RTX.” United Technologies shareowners will continue to hold their shares of United Technologies common stock, which now constitute shares of common stock of Raytheon Technologies Corporation. Raytheon Technologies has a large, talented workforce to address the rapidly evolving needs of customers globally. The combined company expects to introduce breakthrough technologies at an accelerated pace across high-value areas such as hypersonics, directed energy, avionics, and cybersecurity. Also, Raytheon Technologies has a strong balance sheet and cash flows to support critical business initiatives, including company and customer-funded R&D.
“Raytheon Technologies brings together two companies with combined strengths and capabilities that make us uniquely equipped to support our customers and partners during this unprecedented time. We will also play our part in the war on the COVID-19 pandemic, including doing everything we can to keep our employees around the globe safe and well,” said Greg Hayes, CEO of Raytheon Technologies. “As we move forward, Raytheon Technologies will define the future of aerospace and defense through our focus on innovation, our world-class people and our financial and operational strength to create long-term value for our customers and shareowners.” “Today, we introduce Raytheon Technologies as an innovation powerhouse that will deliver advanced technologies that push the boundaries of known science,” said Tom Kennedy, Executive Chairman of Raytheon Technologies. “Our platform-agnostic, diversified portfolio brings together the best of commercial and military technology, enabling the creation of new opportunities across aerospace and defense for decades to come.”
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Final Steps Underway To Operationalize Ultra-Secure, Jam-Resistant GPS M-Code Signal U.S. Space Force, Lockheed Martin upgrade Operations Control Segment (OCS) and refresh GPS constellation with new satellites
GPS III SV-03 “Columbus” satellite packed before shipment to Cape Canaveral “Our warfighters depend on GPS signals every day for many critical missions, so anything we can do to make these signals more resistant to jamming and spoofing is extremely important – and available today,” said Johnathon Caldwell, Lockheed Martin Vice President of Navigation Systems. “The more powerful GPS III/IIIF satellites coupled with Lockheed Martin’s upgrades to the GPS ground system are making that possible.” The final steps to fully-enable the ultra-secure, jam-resistant Military Code (M-Code) signal on the Global Positioning System (GPS) are now underway. As part of the U.S. military’s effort to modernize GPS, the U.S. Space Force has been steadily upgrading its existing GPS Ground Operational Control System (OCS). The Space Force recently announced Operational Acceptance of the GPS Contingency Operations (COps) upgrade, developed by Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT). COps enabled control of the operational GPS constellation, now containing 21 M-Code capable GPS satellites, including Lockheed Martin’s first two GPS III satellites, until the next generation OCX ground control system is delivered. M-Code operational availability on track for 2020 The Space Force’s M-Code Early Use (MCEU) upgrade, delivered earlier this year, will enable the OCS to task, upload and monitor M-Code within the GPS constellation, as well as support testing and fielding of modernized user equipment, before the completion of the next-generation ground control systems. This spring, work will begin to install the components needed to command and monitor the M-Code encrypted GPS signal, which enhances anti-jamming and protection from spoofing, as well as increases secure access for
our forces, into the GPS OCS. M-Code signals are currently available on all the on-orbit GPS IIR-M, IIF and III space vehicles. A key to enabling M-Code is a new software-defined receiver Lockheed Martin developed and is installing at all six Space Force monitoring sites. The M-Code Monitor Station Technology Capability (M-MSTIC) uses a commercial, off-the-shelf general-purpose Graphics Processing Unit (GPU) to cost-effectively receive and monitor M-Code signals. Operators can monitor the signal as needed. M-MSTIC complements MSTIC’s, which Lockheed Martin developed and fielded to replace aging hardware receivers that were becoming difficult and expensive to maintain. “Our warfighters depend on GPS signals every day for many critical missions, so anything we can do to make these signals more resistant to jamming and spoofing is extremely important – and available today,” said Johnathon Caldwell, Lockheed Martin Vice President of Navigation Systems. “The more powerful GPS III/IIIF satellites coupled with Lockheed Martin’s upgrades to the GPS ground system are making that possible.” Second GPS III satellite joins GPS Constellation On March 27, the Space Force declared Operational Acceptance of Lockheed Martin’s second GPS III satellite. Another M-Code enabled satellite, GPS III Space Vehicle 02, “nicknamed Magellan,” is modernizing today’s GPS satellite constellation with new 3x greater accuracy and up to 8x improved anti-jamming capabilities. GPS III also provides a new L1C civil signal, compatible with other international global navigation satellite systems, like Europe’s Galileo. Lockheed Martin is currently contracted to build up to 32 GPS III/GPS III Follow On (GPS IIIF) satellites to help modernize the GPS constellation with new technology and advanced capabilities. The delivery tempo for these modernized GPS satellites will allow for several launches per year. The third M-code enabled GPS III satellite, named “Columbus,” is expected to launch in April 2020.
Cybersecurity significantly hardened with Red Dragon Cyber Security Suite Cyber defenses across the upgraded GPS system were recently evaluated by a government assessment team and passed the Operational Utility Evaluation. Lockheed Martin delivered the Red Dragon Cybersecurity Suite (RDCSS) Phase III upgrade during the fourth quarter of 2019, dramatically improving Defensive Cyber Operations (DCO) visibility into GPS network traffic. Other add-ons include user behavior analytics to analyze patterns of traffic and network taps to improve data collections. “GPS is an attractive target for our adversaries, so it was critical we bring our best cybersecurity defenses to the table,” said Stacy Kubicek, Vice President of Mission Solutions Defense and Security. “Since we began sustaining the Ground OCS in 2013, we have systematically upgraded and replaced software and hardware – it’s now a very secure system.” Lockheed Martin has sustained the GPS Ground OCS since 2013. In November of 2018, the team completed the AEP 7.5 architectural change – replacing the hardware and software to improve resiliency and cybersecurity. In December of 2018, the Air Force awarded Lockheed Martin the GPS Control Segment Sustainment II (GCS II) contract to further modernize and sustain the AEP OCS through 2025. The GPS III team is led by the Production Corps, Medium Earth Orbit Division, at the Space Force’s Space and Missile Systems Center, at Los Angeles Air Force Base. The GPS OCS sustainment is managed by the Enterprise Corps, GPS Sustainment Division at Peterson Air Force Base. 2 SOPS, at Schriever Air Force Base, manages and operates the GPS constellation for both civil and military users.
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Cubic Mission Solutions’ M3X provides scalable compute and networking modularity to support operations in the most challenging environments
Cubic Corporation (NYSE: CUB) announced its Cubic Mission Solutions (CMS) business division is now shipping the enhanced M3X networking, compute and power modules. Ideal for users that need to deploy fast and connect faster, the M3X product line offers customers a modular high performance,
low size, weight, and power (SWaP) solution. The M3X features Intel Xeon processing, the latest in Cisco networking, storage, and smart battery backup power management.
“Guided by continuous customer collaboration, we have made some key enhancements to compute performance and power management in the product line that we believe will better meet and exceed the current and future requirements of an emerging internet of battlefield things,” said Mike Barthlow, senior vice president and general manager of Rugged In-
ternet of Things, Cubic Mission Solutions. Created in close collaboration with Cubic Mission Solutions’ customers, the M3X is a solution that was developed in response to customer-driven innovations. These innovations include enhancements to support the rigorous EMI requirements of tactical users, a hardened case rated up to IP67 for water and dust resistance and a patented modular rail system. The modular rail system allows users to interconnect modules vertically and horizontally without the need for a chassis, for increased mission flexibility and platform integration. The result is a solution that is more modular, scalable and capable than any other in its class and on the market today.
The M3X Family
Leidos completes acquisition of Dynetics, expanding the company’s portfolio with new offerings and technical capabilities Leidos Holdings, Inc. announced that it has completed the acquisition of Dynetics, Inc. (“Dynetics”), an industry-leading applied research and national security solutions company, for approximately $1.65 billion in cash. Dynetics will operate as a wholly-owned subsidiary of Leidos, and Dynetics’ Chief Executive Officer David King will continue to lead the business, reporting directly to Leidos’ Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Roger Krone. Based in Huntsville, Ala., with offices throughout the United States, Dynetics is a leading provider of high-technology, mission-critical services, and solutions to the 10
COTS Journal | April 2020
U.S. Government, with a proven history of addressing the nation’s most challenging and technologically advanced missions. This combination of capabilities enhances Leidos’ competitive position across its Defense, Intelligence, and Civil Groups, and also accelerates opportunities within the Leidos Innovations Center (LInC), for customer-focused research, development, and rapid prototyping. “Dynetics and Leidos share a commitment to advancing technology to address the toughest scientific and engineering challenges of our day. This combination adds innovative capabilities in our targeted growth areas while expanding our secure agile production capabilities, secure agile manufacturing, and increasing our penetration with key customers,” said Krone. “We are pleased to welcome an outstanding team of 2,300 employees with a shared culture of innovation and technical expertise that will benefit our collective cus-
tomers and drive our continued success.” “Today is an exciting day for Dynetics as we embark on our future with Leidos. We know that our highly-skilled team will continue to provide excellent service to our customers and this will enable us to provide even more capabilities to our customers. Our solutions and capacity will continue to grow through this partnership. We are eager to share our culture and join the Leidos family,” said King. Transaction Details The transaction is expected to be immediately accretive to Leidos’ revenue growth, EBITDA margins, and non-GAAP diluted earnings per share upon closing. The cash consideration of approximately $1.65 billion was funded through excess cash on hand and $1.25 billion of short-term borrowing capacity.
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The Government has today asked the VentilatorChallengeUK consortium, of which BAE Systems is a proud member, to begin the rapid production of ventilator systems in the fight against COVID-19.
Given the urgent timescale with thousands of ventilators required in the coming weeks, it made sense for companies with strong experience in producing ventilators to lead this effort, with others bringing exper-
PCIe® 6.0 Specification, Version 0.5: Now Available to Members The release of version 0.5 of the PCI Express® (PCIe®) 6.0 specification incorporating the significant member feedback received on version 0.3. After momentous progress, we are proud to share that we are still on track to deliver the final PCIe 6.0 specification in 2021.
tise in high-value precision manufacturing and engineering to support them. BAE System’s role in VentilatorChallengeUK is to help ramp up the production of a proven ventilator design, which has been supplied by a leading UK medical company to help those suffering from the virus. BAE will be providing integrated, tested sub-systems and components, which makes the best use of our strong project management and engineering skills, while saving significant time during the final assembly of the ventilators.
Intelligence, Machine Learning, High-Performance Computing and more, demand additional speed and capabilities that the newest PCI-SIG architecture will easily fulfill.
PCIe 6.0 Specification Features Overview • Data rate of 64 GT/s speeds, doubling the 32GT/s data rate of the PCIe 5.0 specification • PAM-4 (Pulse Amplitude Modulation with 4 levels) encoding • Low-latency Forward Error Correction (FEC) with additional mechanisms to improve bandwidth efficiency • Backward compatibility with all previous specification generations By doubling the bandwidth and diligently maintaining our strict timeline, we believe that we will be able to deliver the industry’s needs for throughput aligned with their timelines. Emerging data-hungry markets like Artificial
Al Yanes, PCI-SIG Board Chair and President COTS Journal | April 2020
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NOAA Awards General Dynamics HighPerformance Computing Contract
10-year, $505 million contract will utilize GDIT’s expanding supercomputing capabilities to support NOAA’s weather and climate forecasting. General Dynamics Information Technology (GDIT) announced it was awarded a new $505 million contract by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) National Weather Service (NWS) to provide supercomputing resources as-a-service through NOAA’s Weather and Climate Operational Supercomputing System (WCOSS) contract. The systems will be designed, deployed and managed by GDIT and used to perform intense modeling of weather and climate patterns for use in generating forecast products supporting the National Weather Service. The single-award indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity (IDIQ) blanket purchase agreement (BPA) holds a total estimated value of $505 million. It includes a base period of eight years with one two-year option. Through this contract, GDIT will receive task orders related to high-performance computing (HPC) deliverables, including an initial task order of $150 million.
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“We are excited to expand our work with NOAA and support their critical weather forecasting mission through GDIT’s supercomputing and data center solutions,” said Vice President Kevin Connell, head of GDIT’s Science and Engineering Business Area. “Through this contract, the National Weather Service will expand its current computing power by more than 200 percent and continue to optimize their ability to provide accurate and timely weather forecasts. On behalf of GDIT’s company-wide High-Performance Computing Center of Excellence, we look forward to supporting the National Weather Service’s numerical weather prediction and helping NOAA protect lives and property.” “This contract represents an important step in NOAA’s journey to foster even more precise weather forecasts,” said Senior Vice Presi-
dent Paul Nedzbala, head of GDIT’s Federal Civilian Division. “GDIT is proud to join NOAA and provide impressive innovations that support our federal customers and their important mission.” Through this contract, GDIT will deploy two HPC systems at two sites on separate electrical power grids to support the numerical weather prediction suite of models used in national weather forecasting. The contract will provide two equal computing systems with one serving as the operational system and the other primarily used for development when serving as the backup. This will ensure operational readiness in the event that one system goes down, enabling the immediate transition of operations from one site to the other within minutes.
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GKN Aerospace signs USD multi-million contract for Boeing 777X wiring The six-year agreement covers electrical wiring interconnection systems for the 777X
GKN Fokker Elmo has signed a contract to supply electrical wiring interconnection systems (EWIS) for the new Boeing 777X family. Production will start end of Q1 2020. The 777X EWIS will be delivered out of several strategic global locations, such as China, the Netherlands, and the new state-of-the-art wiring facility in Pune, India. GKN Fokker Elmo has supplied EWIS to Boeing for more than a decade for the 777, 737 and P-8A. The new contract re-affirms GKN Fokker Elmo’s position as a strategic EWIS supplier to Boeing. GKN Fokker Elmo is globally recognized as one of the market and technology leaders in EWIS.
John Pritchard, President Civil Airframes GKN Aerospace, said: “We are extremely proud of our participation in the 777X program. It is great that we can contribute to this advanced aircraft that completed its maiden flight on 25 January 2020. We’ve been producing EWIS for Boeing aircraft for many
years and this new contract award - which is thanks to the team’s continued commitment to quality, on-time delivery and customer focus - means we have now strengthened our business relationship for many more years to come.”
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INSIDE TRACK SECO InHand is formed. The acquisition of 100% of the share capital of InHand has been completed.
Rockville, MD (USA), March 9th, 2020 – SECO SpA through its subsidiary SECO USA completed the acquisition of InHand Electronics (InHand), a business based in Rockville, MD. SECO, a high-tech manufacturer of computer miniaturization and “ready-to-use” IoT integrated systems, with shareholder FII Tech Growth fund backed by Cassa Depositi e Prestiti, is pleased to announce that it has completed the acquisition of 100% of InHand, a Maryland-based leading provider of low-power rugged embedded systems and software to original equipment manufacturers of handheld, portable, Internet of Things (IoT), and wireless devices for the military/defense, industrial, medical, transportation, infotainment and field operations equipment markets. “The acquisition of InHand significantly expands SECO’s dimension in the United States, positioning our Group in an ideal set-up to meet the growing demands from medical, defense and in-
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dustrial US-based customers,” said Greg Nicoloso, President and CEO of SECO USA. “The extensive competencies in engineering, development, and manufacturing generated as a result of the integration between SECO USA and InHand represent a significant added value for the combined company’s customers”. Founded in 1984 as DVP and renamed InHand Electronics in 2000, InHand is recognized as a leader in the design and manufacturing of commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) Single Board Computers (SBC) and tablet platforms for OEMs of wireless, IoT, and handheld electronic devices. The company is ITAR registered for engineering design services and products, headquartered in Rockville, Maryland, has approximately 20 employees and is expected to grow significantly through its integration with SECO USA over the next 3 years. “We are very enthusiastic about the integration with the SECO Group which gives us the immediate ability to offer our customers an additional level of technological solutions and product portfolio,” said Carlos Valeiras, CEO of InHand Electronics. “Our engineering expertise combined
with SECO’s resources, extensive product portfolio, and industrial operations model will allow us to better serve our customers and grow significantly in the United States”. As a result of the transaction SECO USA and InHand Electronics jointly operate as a single company named SECO InHand under the guidance of Greg Nicoloso as Chief Executive Officer. The SECO InHand Board of Directors will be formed by Greg Nicoloso, Les Goodman (Chairman), Carlos Valeiras (CFO), Mark Price (CTO) and Massimo Mauri (Director).
Greg Nicoloso, Chief Executive Officer, SECO InHand
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Leonardo signs contract to upgrade Italian Armed Force’s identification systems to new NATO standard
Leonardo will supply and integrate ‘New Generation Identification Friend or Foe’ (NGIFF) systems onto the Italian Armed Forces’ land and naval platforms, upgrading them to the new Mode 5 Baseline 3 standard. In the future, the project will expand to cover aircraft and helicopter. The new capability is vital to military operations and allows for full interoperability with other NATO countries during joint operations.
Leonardo has signed a contract with the Italian Defense authorities to supply and install ‘New Generation Identification Friend or Foe’ (NGIFF) identification equipment, updated to the latest NATO Mode 5 Baseline 3 standard, for the Italian Armed Forces’ land and naval platforms. The contract is worth approximately €75 million and will last for six years. Leonardo will supply several hundred NGIFF interrogators and cryptographic units to upgrade dozens of land and naval platforms across 15 different classes and types. The NGIFF systems will allow the Italian Armed Forces to maintain full interoperability
with other NATO forces in joint operations as the alliance mandates the use of ‘Mode 5’-capable systems in its Minimum Military Requirements (MMR) for Air-to-Air and Surfaceto-Air Identification. The Mode 5 standard confers many benefits in terms of identification and security. Identification Friend or Foe (IFF) technology is essential to military operations as it allows allied forces to be distinguished from potential threats. Under this contract, the equipment for Italy’s land and naval platforms will be provided entirely by the Italian industry. Notably, Leonardo’s Mode 5 NGIFF equipment
uses the company’s cryptographic unit, which is the only alternative to a U.S. cryptographic system available on the market. Future contractual developments are planned which will see Leonardo equip further Italian aircraft and helicopters with the same capability, bringing them in-line with NATO standards. Leonardo is a worldwide leader in Mode 5-capable NGIFF technology. Previously, the company has been chosen by the UK Ministry of Defense to upgrade the IFF systems of over 400 air, land and naval platforms in collaboration with a partner company. COTS Journal | April 2020
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SPECIAL FEATURE
Get to know NVMe and how it meets the demands of ever-increasing storage needs. By John Reardon, Editor Introduced in 2012, the Non-Volatile Memory Express (NVMe) quickly replaced the older SATA Solid State Drive (SSD) for storage solutions. The increased performance for high bandwidth data and lower latency better supported the current generation of NAND flash memory. Running on PCIe serial bus data rates increased to 3 Giga Bytes per second with seek times significantly faster. The approach of NAND flash acceleration via the PCIe interface used in NVMe protocol is not the first industry attempt to benefit from PCIe transfer speeds in data storage devices. But what made NVMe so successful is a direct connection between the NAND controller and host processor without unnecessary data protocol translations. NVMe is built upon x4 gen3 (8 Gb/s) PCIe lanes connection, which results in 32 Gb/s of theoretical maximum data transfer rate.
OSS - Provide up to 200TB high-density PCIe NVMe flash and support up to 8 million IOPS with 80GB/second throughput. Many of our Storage Arrays are based on the Ion Accelerator Software.
The use of NVMe will invariably increase the performance of a system over previous technologies. But not all sources are created equal. For example, the Toshiba RC100 reads at 1.2 GBps and writes at just less than 900 MBps, while Samsung’s 970 Pro exceeds the 3GBps and writes at over 2.5GBps. Speeds variations can also occur with improper configuration and or insufficient cache.
Navy Lt. Aaron Van Driessche, warfare tactics instructor at the Center for Surface Combat Systems Detachment San Diego, pilots the Navy’s virtual combat curriculum inside a newly launched portable simulator in San Diego. 16
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The excitement of NVMe-over-Fabrics (NVMeoF™) will quickly cause it to be adopted by data centers on a broad scale. The iniquitous nature of TCP has driven this surge and will result in a wide adoption throughout those military applications that require both speed and flexibility. This any-to-any connection of elements will play well within the heterogeneous world of defense far beyond storage alone. Computational storage, sometimes referred to as “in-situ” or “in-storage” processing, the ability to off-load the primary CPU from the overhead of interfacing with the storage layer will remove the delays in response time and queries. Computational storage will play a key role in inference computer where CNN (Convolutional Neural Networks) and other AI data structures are better dealt with on a local level. The use of Computational Storage reduces overhead on resources and at the same time affords the system higher throughput for applications that require a determinative compute needs and lower latencies. As data structures and size continues to push the PCIe bus for faster and faster transfers, this miss-match will
Phoenix - 3U VPX SSD storage module delivers extremely high performance through a single Fat Pipe of PCIe x4. Designed from the ground up to remove legacy layers of SATA and SAS hard drive interfaces, it takes full advantage of the speed and parallelism of solid-state nonvolatile memory.
continue to drive Computational Storage even as PCIe Gen 5 and 6 are released. The National Institute of Standards or NIST created the standard to address the levels of cryptology that a storage module must meet. Four security levels within the FIPS 140-2 standard address an increasingly stringent require-
ment. To achieve compliance a vendor must be tested by one of thirteen labs certified at great expense and time. The ability for a module to achieve the highest levels of security is so difficult that it is very seldom achieved. Rumors about FIPS 140-3 have been circulating at recent trade events, but as it has been delayed on three prior occasions dating back to 2013, it is
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U.S. Navy Minemen 2nd Class Matthew Rishovd (left) and Kody Egelhoff, repair a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration buoy in the Atlantic. The sailors are fixing the buoys to collect weather data that could help predict hurricanes.
believed that many of the requirements have already been baked into 140-2. FPGA’s have shown significant performance increases in the data center and cloud-based applications where NVMe plays a significant role. FPGAs because of their ability to handle the parallel processing, their speed, and programmability, plus the fact the some features ARM processor cores, like the Xilinx MPSoC. This allows computational storage through the off-loading of the primary CPU. Aldec, Inc., has launched a powerful, versatile and timesaving FPGA-based NVMe Data Storage solution to aid in the development of High-Performance Computing (HPC) applications such as AI and Machine Learning. The solution includes an Aldec TySOM embedded prototyping board, up to eight high-bandwidth,
low-latency FMC-NVMe daughter cards, and a reference design (including source files and binaries) allowing engineers to fast-track their projects. The IntelliProp NVMe Host Accelerator IP Core provides a small footprint processor register interface or RTL state-machine register interface for data movement between a user-defined data buffer and an NVMe target. Additionally, the NVMe Host Accelerator IP Core requires minimal knowledge of the PCIe and NVMe specification. The IP Core handles initialization of the PCIe Root Complex, building command submissions, parsing command completions. One of the more interesting solutions being offered is by Phoenix International, VP1-25-eSSDC. This conduction-cooled solution takes ad-
U.S. Air Force Capt. Douglas Gautrau, a WC-130J Hercules aircraft flight meteorologist adjusts his instrument panel before a mission to collect data from Hurricane Igor on the island of St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands.
vantage of the VPX open standard from VITA, with a FIPS 140-2 compliant, 3U, 15 TB module. Delivered with out-of-box software drivers, Phoenix has addressed the expanding VPX market with a solution that will address the mandated use of the VPX form factor in many military applications.
Vanguard Rugged - This 3U conduction cooled VPX module is an example of one of the many storage solutions that is offered by Vanguard. The company is has indicated that a fabric variant of this and other solutions will be available in Q4 2020. 18
COTS Journal | April 2020
SuperMicro continues to push both price and performance with its release of series high-density NVMe systems. These 1U and 2U systems have several configurations supported by a Dual Intel XEON based Motherboard. This allows for more than 3TB of storage with features such as hot-swap and redundant power supplies. The breadth and width of this product line afford the end-user the ability to purchase no more than is needed to address their specific application. If you are looking for a solution for harsh envi-
Rugged out of Colorado, has an expertise worth mentioning. The company has an array of solutions that address open standards commonly used in military applications. Whether you are looking for a VME solution for an existing application or Just a Box of Disk (JBOD), Vanguard is a focused solution provider that can address difficult applications.
Aldec - TySOM is a family of development boards for embedded applications that features Xilinx® Zynq™ all programmable module combining FPGA with ARM® Cortex processor. Plethora of included peripherals makes these boards useful in various embedded military applications.
ronments, the One Stop System’s FSAn-4R (Ruggedized) NVMe All-Flash Array provides a new level of performance for applications such as real-time HPC, high-speed data recording, analytics, and big data. The storage system is used for acceleration of mission-critical, high-performance databases, Hadoop clusters and HPC
applications with large data sets. The FSAn-4R was designed for harsh environments such as broadcast trucks, ground stations, and surveillance aircraft. Founded on building rugged storage modules that address a variety of applications, Vanguard
NVMe is a technology that is at the right place at the right time. As silicon manufactures embed PCIe into their solutions; the demands for bigger data sets become the norm and as the topology based on high speed interconnects become more complex storing and caching data will be on the rise. The price has stabilized in recent months at just 20 cents per Gigabyte – 10 to 15 times greater in cost than HDD. Yet by having a transfer time of 3 Gigabytes per second verses HDD at 200 Megabytes and SATA at 550 Megabytes per second, the performance makes it perfectly suited for most applications. This is combined with the inherently rugged nature of the SSD’s themselves – gives NVMe a clear playing field for the foreseeable future.
COTS Journal | April 2020
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COTS COMPANY PROFILE:
Northrop Grumman By John Reardon, Editor
The company’s history goes well beyond the companies founded by Jack Northrop and Leroy Grumman. Today’s Northrop Grumman is a result of the integration of over 20 pioneering companies from across the aerospace, technology, and defense industries, each with their unique history of defining the possible. In the early days, the path that the company took was closely associated with John Knudsen Northrop until his retirement in 1952. Northrop has four business units that make up this 90,000
Image 1 - Northrop’s OmegA Rocket being assembled in Promontory Utah. 20
COTS Journal | April 2020
person company. They are Aeronautical Systems, Defense Systems, Mission Systems, and Space Systems. Aeronautical Systems, headquartered in Redondo Beach, California, produces aircraft, spacecraft, high-energy laser systems, and microelectronics for the U.S. and other nations. Northrop Grumman Mission Systems, headquartered in Linthicum, Maryland creates military radar, sensors, and related products, including C4I radar systems for air defense, Airspace Management radar systems. Technology Services. The Technology Services sector headquartered in McNair, Virginia works on “the entire life cy-
Northrop has four business units that make up this 90,000 person company. cle of civil and defense platforms and capabilities through a range of services�. In recent news from the Pentagon, Northrop has been identified as the front-runner for a mammoth contract to build the Air Force’s intercontinental ballistic missiles. Originally planned for September of this year, the Air Force is eager to move forward. The contract to replace the aging Minuteman Ground-Based Strategic Deterrent was valued at more than $60 billion and could go significantly higher. Boeing pulled out of the competition after claiming Northrop had an unfair advantage. This left the contract uncontested with Northrop as the sole bidder. Image 2 - The AQS-24B is a unman surface vehicle use in the detection of Mines.
Part of a larger $500 billion program to modernize the nuclear arsenal, the Pentagon is rushing to move forward and has said
Image 3 - The U.S Air Force’s B-2 bomber is a key to the nation long-range arsenal. COTS Journal | April 2020
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Image 4 - MQ-4C Triton unmanned aircraft system provides real-time intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance over vast areas.
they won’t be deterred by the COVID 19 concerns. As a fair amount of the work will be classified it is unclear how those working remotely might impact security issues. This also includes the many partners that will work with Northrop. Those most noted are Lockheed Martin, General Dynamics, L3 Harris Technologies, Textron, and Raytheon Technologies. In Mid 2018 Northrop acquired Orbital ATK to get a stronger position with the space industry. The new business sector is called Innovation Systems and includes the building and launch of the Cygnus Spacecraft. Innovations Systems is
addressing the U.S. government’s national security satellites through the development of the Omega Space launch vehicle. The company is lead by Kathy Warden who took on the role of CEO in January 2019 after being recognized by the board for her integration of Orbital ATK. She joined Northrop in 2008 after holding executive roles at General Dynamics, General Electric, and Veridian Corporation. She has shown her leadership in her short time at the helm by continuing to position the company to win against the competition.
COTS Journal | April 2020
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April 2020
COT’S PICKS Concurrent Technologies and Vanguard Rugged Storage join together to offer AI Solutions at the Edge
Concurrent Technologies has teamed up with Vanguard Rugged Storage to provide an enhanced range of storage solutions for VPX based systems. With the adoption of workload consolidation and Artificial Intelligence based inference at the edge technologies in addition to more traditional signal processing applications, the need for storage has dramatically increased. Furthermore, the requirement for rugged conduction-cooled systems that have front removable storage devices can now be satisfied with selected storage modules.
fixed solid state drives for up to 16TB capacity and is designed for use in air-cooled applications. TR MS6/523 is also a 3U format module that offers a single front removable solid state drive for rugged conduction-cooled applications. VR MS6/524 is a 6U air-cooled board with two front removable solid state drives. These modules are released and available for deployment. Further developments are underway and are anticipated to be available later in 2020.
Initially, Concurrent Technologies is offering three new storage modules, all based on the OpenVPX standard with SATA connectivity for reliable operation and high throughput rates. TR MS6/522 is a 3U VPX board fitted with two
Jane Annear, Managing Director of Concurrent Technologies, commented: “Our processor boards offer direct attached storage suitable for some missions, but we’ve been looking to expand our capabilities to include Network
Niobium-based connector allows passage of data and electricity underwater for a variety of applications
developing solutions for specific future applications.”
Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE: NOC) has signed its first non-exclusive agreement to manufacture niobium-based connectors (NiobiCon™) specifically designed for harsh environments. NiobiConTM is a new way of making electrical connections underwater that enables power transfer and data exchange without using seals, oil or moving parts. This technology was developed to address the inefficient recharging of unmanned vehicles in underwater environments. When the niobium connector enters in contact with the water, it creates its own thin isolating layer, which gets scraped off when the connection is made. Once disconnected, the layer instantly regenerates. “NiobiConTM is a patented technology that has global commercial and defense applications,” said Alan Lytle, vice president, undersea systems, Northrop Grumman. “It is an innovative wet-mateable connector technology we have developed that will not only improve reliability and cost-effectiveness, but also revolutionize the industry. We are excited to take the first step in 24
COTS Journal | April 2020
Northrop Grumman has entered into an agreement with iCONN Systems LLC, which specializes in the manufacture of connectors for harsh environments as their first non-exclusive licensee. They will work with potential customers to develop more reliable interconnects for both commercial and defense applications. “iCONN Systems is excited to design, develop and manufacture interconnects with
attached Storage and Storage Area Networking solutions for some time. This alliance with Vanguard Rugged Storage helps us deliver on our objective to provide more content to our customers.” Phil Loudin, CEO of Vanguard Rugged Storage, commented: “Our mission is to provide embedded data storage that is super fast and built to last. Our storage products are highly complementary to Concurrent Technologies’ processor boards and we’re excited with this relationship as it enables us to serve a wider market.” Concurrent Technologies Corporation www.ctc.com
Northrop Grumman’s patented technology introducing true wet-mateable connector products,” said Rich Regole, CEO, iCONN Systems, LLC. Northrop Grumman solves the toughest problems in space, aeronautics, defense and cyberspace to meet the ever evolving needs of our customers worldwide. Our 90,000 employees define possible every day using science, technology and engineering to create and deliver advanced systems, products and services. Northrop Grumman www.northropgrumman.com
April 2020
COT’S PICKS Green Hills Software’s Safe and Secure INTEGRITY Multivisor Powers the Latest Advancements in Multi-Operating System Automotive Cockpit Platforms for MARELLI
visor® secure virtualization services. The MARELLI platform relies on the proven real-time INTEGRITY technology, certified up to and including ISO 26262 ASIL D, and its safe and secure Multivisor virtualization services to safely combine safety-critical services
Expands support for creating the most advanced mixed-criticality automotive electronic solutions for global automotive OEMs Green Hills Software, announced a demonstration of Green Hills Software’s advanced hypervisor solutions on MARELLI’s latest AMOLED display multi-OS cockpit solution. Based on the latest Qualcomm® Snapdragon™ Automotive Cockpit Platform, this advanced, software-defined automotive cockpit features the Android operating system combined with digital cluster and safety applications in a single, high performance electronic control unit (ECU). Both domains are safely and securely consolidated and separated by the Green Hills INTEGRITY® real-time operating system and its Multi-
Abaco Systems Announces Significant Upgrade for SWE540A 40 Gigabit Ethernet Switch Abaco Systems today announced a significant upgrade for its NETernity SWE540A 6U OpenVPX VPX 40 Gigabit Ethernet Switch with the availability of a conduction-cooled variant, enabling the highest possible Ethernet speeds to be deployed in a broader range of environments – notably, those most susceptible to extremes of heat and vibration. Customers can now standardize on a single switch, choosing the most appropriate ruggedization level according to the planned deployment. The SWE540A offers the opportunity to create complete, 40 Gigabit-capable systems featuring Abaco’s SBC627 6U VPX single board computer and DSP282A multiprocessor. The new version of the SWE540A also provides a straightforward upgrade opportunity for existing users of Abaco’s conduction-cooled GBX460 10 Gigabit Ethernet Switch, simplifying the transition from 10 Gigabit Ethernet to 40 Gigabit Ethernet. Advanced features and capability offered
driving multiple displays, such as the instrument cluster with an Android-based in-vehicle infotainment (IVI) system. Two displays are separate AMOLED 1920x720 bonded together
by the SWE540A include data center bridging to accommodate even the most data-intensive applications. SWE540A connectivity includes four QSFP+ (40GBASE-SR4/LR4) ports and two 1000BaseT ports to the front panel, and 40GBASE-KR4/10GBASE-KX4 with up to 39 rear I/O ports for data plane and control plane to the rear panel.
The rugged SWE540A supports full Layer 2/3 features including hardware Layer 3 forwarding at fabric speed rates. Layer 3 switching and routing is a critical requirement for advanced security and complex networks. It provides dynamic routing over standard routing protocols, enabling a flexible range of network/fabric configurations and applications.
under a unique glass. In addition, the MARELLI software teams use the ASIL D-qualified MULTI® integrated development environment to build and debug their software to achieve the highest performance, safety and security. “We are very pleased that MARELLI selected Green Hills technology and experience for the safe and secure foundation of its latest advancements in mixed-criticality software cockpit platform offerings,” said Dan Mender, vice-president of business development, Green Hills Software. “System-critical functions, safely and securely combined with guest operating systems such as Linux and Android, are key priorities for the automotive market. Now, global automotive customers can be enabled with an industry proven, advanced E-Cockpit solution, reducing the cost and time-to-market for deployment of the next generation in complex software-centric solutions.” Green Hills Software www.ghs.com
ensure the fastest possible transit of data between subsystems – not least those that gather field of operations data, turn it into actionable information and deliver it to where it’s needed,” said Peter Thompson, Vice President, Product Management at Abaco Systems. “This new variant of the SWE540A is designed for precisely those environments – delivering not only leading edge Ethernet speeds but also the rugged reli-
ability that is critical to mission success.” Abaco Systems Inc. www.abaco.com
“The battlefield platforms of tomorrow will rely on the fastest possible network speeds to COTS Journal | April 2020
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April 2020
COT’S PICKS Lynx announces LynxOS-178 compliance with FACE™ 3.0 specifications
Arm® and PowerPC® architectures enables FACE applications to be used across multiple platforms.
Lynx Software Technologies, an innovator in modern platform software technologies, has announced updated APIs for the LynxOS-178 operating system that meet FACE™ (Future Airborne Capability Environment) 3.0 specifications, with full conformance certification to the FACE 3.0 technical standard expected by late summer 2020.
“LynxOS-178 combines high performance and reliability with industry standards that promote openness and flexibility,” said Pavan Singh, Vice President of Product Management at Lynx. “By supporting the latest updates to the FACE technical standard, LynxOS-178 enables avionics developers to deliver systems quickly and cost-effectively that provide optimum protection and security for operators.”
The FACE standard, first supported by Lynx in 2014, facilitates common approaches for using open standards with avionics systems. FACE-certified products help lower implementation costs, accelerate time-to-field for new capabilities, promote design reuse, and ease portability of applications. Lynx is a long-term member of the FACE consortium and has ensured LynxOS-178 compliance with all iterations of the technical specification on an ongoing basis. LynxOS-178 support for Intel®,
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As a native POSIX, hard real-time partitioning operating system, LynxOS-178 uniquely supports POSIX APIs that ensure more efficient interactions between software components while preserving reliability and ensuring safe software execution. The latest version of LynxOS-178 has been validated with the LYNX MOSA.ic™ software framework based on the LynxSecure® separation kernel hypervisor. Systems can run multiple LynxOS-178 guests independently to benefit
COTS Journal | April 2020
from greater flexibility and strong isolation of applications for increased reliability, as well as accelerating system validation, debug, and integration. The latest version of LynxOS-178 also extends support for the latest ISO C++ standards, C++ 11 and C++-14. Further enhancements to the RTOS capabilities include a kernel-mode network stack with IPv6 support and a single root I/O virtualization (SR-IOV) driver that facilitates efficient interactions with PCIe devices and virtual functions when running within the LYNX MOSA.ic framework. Lynx Software Technologies www.lynx.com
April 2020
COT’S PICKS Pixus Announces Rugged Rackmount Chassis for Longer OpenVPX Modules
dSPACE has added multitarget capability to two of its automotive radar sensor test systems: DARTS 9030-M and DARTS 9030-MS. A single unit can now simulate multiple independent radar echoes at the same time. A new software upgrade also provides multitarget capability for existing systems. The software-based functionality extension allows for simulating up to four objects independently of each other. Each echo can be assigned its own distance, speed, and amplitude (RCS). The excellent signal quality of the simulated targets, as well as accuracy and reproducibility, are not affected by the simultaneous simulation of several targets. Users can opt to purchase an extended software license for the simulation of two, three, or four targets. “By providing new functions through
Pentek’s Four-channel, 1.25 GHz D/A Jade Architecture XMC Ideal for Waveform Generation Pentek, Inc., announced its most recent addition to the Jade® Architecture family, the Jade® Model 71871, a four-channel 1.25 GHz D/A converter XMC for RF and IF waveform generation. The Model 71871 combines two Texas Instruments DAC3484s to deliver four independent analog outputs each through its own digital upconverter and 16-bit D/A with sampling rates to 1.25 GHz. A Xilinx Kintex Ultrascale FPGA contains factory-installed functions that include a sophisticated D/A waveform generation IP module. It allows users to easily deliver waveforms stored in either on-board memory or off-board host memory to the four D/As. Complex output waveforms, each with bandwidths up to 250 MHz, can be independently translated to programmable IF frequencies. “The Jade Model 71871 builds on the capabilities of the popular Jade line of XMCs,” said Robert Sgandurra, director of Product Management. “Pentek’s Navigator Design Suite adds more IP with each product release, all of which is fully available to our customers for even more effective product development.” The Model 71871 can be configured with a range of Kintex UltraScale FPGAs to match specific requirements of the processing task, spanning the entry-level KU035 (with 1,700 DSP slices) to the high-performance KU115 (with 5,520 DSP slices). The
intelligent software, we are continuously improving our existing solution, preparing it for any future requirements,” explains Dr. Andreas Himmler, Senior Product Manager for automotive radar systems at dSPACE. dSPACE added radar testing systems to its range of products last year, by entering into a cooperation with the radar specialists miro•sys and ITS. The dSPACE Automotive Radar Test Systems (DARTS) include solutions tailored to the entire value chain, from sensor testing by chip manufacturers to hardware-in-the-loop validation and end-of-line testing of vehicles by automobile manufacturers. The DARTS solutions are also used in homologation and the aftermarket. DARTS 9030-M is a modular, high-frequency solution for automotive radar sensors, enabling the validation of radar-based automotive applications in many areas – from chip design to sensor development
to testing driver assistance systems and autonomous vehicles. The system simplifies realistic over-the-air tests by simulating radar echoes of objects in road traffic with variable distances, speeds, and sizes. The DARTS product family consists of solutions tailored to a multitude of applications, from compact systems for the laboratory desk to test benches that can be used in closed-loop operation with other simulators and test automation. The systems are modular, scalable, and fully software-configurable. Pixus Technologies www.pixustechnologies.com
KU115 is ideal for demanding beam-forming, modulation, encoding and encryption of the signals prior to transmission. For applications not requiring large DSP resources or logic, a lower-cost FPGA can be installed.
The Jade Architecture The Pentek Jade architecture is based on the Xilinx Kintex UltraScale FPGA, which raises digital signal processing (DSP) performance by over 50% over the previous family, with equally.
A pair of front-panel μSync connectors allows multiple modules to be synchronized. The Model 71871 can be optionally configured with a P14 PMC connector with 24 pairs of LVDS connections to the FPGA for custom I/O to the carrier board. An optional P16 XMC connector adds an 8X gigabit link to the FPGA to support serial protocols.
Pentek, Inc. www.pentek.com
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April 2020
COT’S PICKS Curtiss-Wright’s NSA Approved, Common Criteria Certified DTS1 Storage Device Now Qualified for Extended Operating Temperature Range (-45º to +85ºC)
Actively cooled, rugged, NAS device now brings Top Secret protection of data-at-rest to most demanding air, ground and sea deployed platforms Curtiss-Wright’s Defense Solutions division, announced that its Data Transport System (DTS1) Network Attached Storage (NAS) device, the embedded industry’s first commercial offthe-shelf (COTS) data-at-rest (DAR) storage solution to support two layers of full disk encryption (FDE) in a single device, has been fully tested and validated for operation at the extended -45º to +85ºC operating temperature range per MIL-STD-810G methods and procedures. This qualification makes the DTS1 ideal for use in the harshest deployed military environments, including high altitude, long endurance (HALE) UAS platforms that must operate as high as 40,000 ft. The DTS1 is the only Common Criteria certified NAS solution endorsed by the NSA and approved by NATO with two certified encryption layers. A cold plate was used for the active cooling testing, and included an integrated DTS1 unit containing a 2 terabyte removable memory cartridge (RMC). “We’re very excited that our industry-leading DTS1 network storage and encryption solution has now been validated for deployment in the harshest, most demanding military environments, whether at high altitude, on an unmanned aircraft, or in a space constrained, densely packed ground vehicle deployed in the desert,” said Lynn Bamford, President, Defense and Power. “With support for actively cooled -45º to +85ºC operation, the certified DTS1 is now able to support a much wider range of environmentally challenging applications, bringing cost-effective, NSA-approved protection of data-at-rest to many more programs.”
About the DTS1 Two Layer Encryption Approach The DTS1 uniquely incorporates two distinct layers of AES 256-bit encryption into one device, making protection of Top Secret data more cost effective and low risk than traditional NSA Type 1 device development. Both the hardware and software FDE layers have been individually evaluated and certified against two Common Criteria protection profiles: (1) collaborative Protection Profile for Full Disk Encryption – Encryption Engine; (2) collaborative Protection Profile for Full Disk Encryption – Authorization Acquisition. The DTS1 has also been approved to be on NATO Information Assurance Product List (NIAPC).
About the DTS1 The very small DTS1 NAS device, which weighs only 3.77 lb. (1.71 kg) and measures only 1.5 x 5.0 x 6.5” (38.1 x 127 x 165.1 mm), delivers up to 4 TB of solid state storage (SSD) with two layers of certified encryption. It supports PXE protocol so that network clients on a vehicle or aircraft can quickly boot from the encrypted files on the DTS1’s RMC. This approach both facilitates software updates for network clients and significantly reduces SWaP by eliminating the need for individual hard disks in each network client. Curtiss-Wright offers two mounting options for the DTS1, the VS-DTS1SL-FD, which is designed for cockpit use with DZUS mounting panel, and the VSDTS1SL-F, which uses L-brackets to support very flexible mounting within space-constrained platforms. The L-bracket configuration supports mounting on a cold plate for the extended temperature range. The DTS1 enables any network-enabled de-
vice to retrieve stored data or save new captured data. Networked devices using heterogeneous operating systems (Linux®, VxWorks®, Windows®, etc.) that support industry standard NAS protocols (i.e., NFS, CIFS, FTP, or HTTP) can store data on and retrieve data from the DTS1. The DTS1 also supports iSCSI protocol for block data storage and PCAP protocol for Ethernet packet capture. The DTS1 is designed to ensure system resiliency and secure operation to thwart cyber attacks. The Common Criteria Advantage The DTS1 has been evaluated against a common set of international standards, enabling system designers in 31 Common Criteria Recognition Agreement (CCRA) member countries in Europe, Middle East, North America, and Asia, and the NATO states, to confidently, without requiring further evaluation, select the device to greatly reduce the development time of their deployed encryption solution. The rugged small form-factor DTS1 NAS device is designed to store and protect large amounts of data on helicopters, fighters, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), unmanned underwater vehicles (UUV), unmanned ground vehicles (UGV), and intelligence surveillance reconnaissance (ISR) aircraft that require the protection of sensitive DAR to international standards. Complete Embedded System Solutions The DTS1 is designed for rugged applications that require the storage, removal, and transport of critical data such as cockpit data (mission, map, maintenance), ISR (camera, I&Q, sensors), mobile applications (ground radar, ground mobile, airborne ISR pods), heavy industrial (steel, refinery), and video/audio data collection ( flight test instrumentation). The device can be easily and quickly integrated into a complete rugged deployed system based on Curtiss-Wright’s broad range of open architecture single board computers and DSP modules, as well as fully integrated mission computers, sensor management systems, and network switches. Curtiss-Wright’s www.curtisswright.com
COTS Journal | April 2020
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April 2020
COT’S PICKS Flex Logix Discloses Real-World Edge AI Inference Benchmarks Sowing Superior Price/Performace For All Models
the area of Nvidia’s Tesla T4. Despite being so much smaller, the InferX X1 has latency for YOLOv3, an open source model that many customers plan to use, similar to Xavier NX. On two real customer models, InferX X1 was much faster, as much as 10x faster in one case.
InferX X1 sampling expected Q3 2020 Flex Logix Technologies, Inc., the leading supplier of embedded FPGA (eFPGA) IP, architecture and software, today announced real-world benchmarks for its InferXÔ X1 edge inference co-processor, showing significant price/performance advantages when compared to Nvidia’s Tesla T4 and Xavier NX when run on actual customer models. These details were presented at today’s Linley Spring Processor Conference by Vinay Mehta, Flex Logix’s inference technical marketing manager, which can be viewed at this link. The InferX X1 has a very small die size: 1/7th the area of Nvidia’s Xavier NX and 1/11th
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COTS Journal | April 2020
In terms of price/performance as measured by streaming throughput divided by die size, InferX X1 is 2-10x better than Tesla T4 and 1030x better than Xavier NX. “Customers expect that they can use performance on ResNet-50 to compare alternatives. These benchmarks demonstrate that the relative performance of an inference accelerator on one model does not apply to all models,” said Geoff Tate, CEO and co-founder of Flex Logix. “Customers should really be asking each vendor they evaluate to benchmark the model that they will use to find out the performance they will experience. We are doing this for customers now and welcome more – we
can benchmark any neural network model in TensorFlow Lite or ONNX.” The InferX X1 is completing final design checks and will tape-out soon with sampling expected in Q3 2020 as a chip and as a PCIe board. Flex Logix’s InferX X1 edge inference co-processor provides excellent inference efficiency, delivering more throughput on tough models for less $, less watts. It has been optimized for what the edge needs: large models and large models at batch=1. InferX X1 offers throughput close to data center boards that sell for thousands of dollars, but does so at single digit watts and at a fraction of the price. InferX X1 is programmed using TensorFlow Lite and ONNX: a performance modeler is available now. Flex Logix Technologies, Inc., https://flex-logix.com
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Index
Company
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Alphi Technology Corporation .................................. 19 Annapolis Micro Systems ...................................... 13 Behlman Electronics ............................................ 5/BC Fairview Microwave ............................................... 15 Kingston Technology ............................................. IBC Milpower Source ..................................................... 17 MPL ..................................................................... 13 Neonode ................................................................ 22 New Wave DV ......................................................... 30 OSS ........................................................................ IFC Pentek .................................................................. 28 PICO Electronics, Inc ............................................. 11 Pixus Technologies ................................................ IBC Sealevel ................................................................. 14/26 University of Cincinnati Online............................... 12 Versalogic ............................................................. 4
Website
.......................................... www.AlphiTech.com ........................................ www.annapmicro.com ........................................... www.behlman.com .............................. www.fairviewmicrowave.com ............................................. www.kingston.com ............................................. www.milpower.com .................................................... www.mpl.com .............................................. www.neonode.com ......................................... www.ewwavedve.com ................................. www.onestopsystems.com ................................................ www.pentek.com ................................... www.picoelectronics.com .............................. www.pixustechnologies.com . ............................................. www.sealevel.com .............................................. www.online.uc.edu. ............................................. www.versalogic.com
COTS Journal (ISSN#1526-4653) is published monthly at; 3180 Sitio Sendero, Carlsbad, CA. 92009. Periodicals Class postage paid at San Clemente and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to COTS Journal, 3180 Sitio Sendero, Carlsbad, CA. 92009.
