COTS Journal, February 2023

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.

—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.

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INSIDE TRACK

U.S. Navy Awards DT Research Third Consecutive Contract for Rugged Tablets

DT311Y Series Rugged Tablets with Windows ®

10 IoT Enterprise Purpose-built for U.S. Naval Shipyards with Partner Akira Technologies

DT Research, the leading designer and manufacturer of purpose-built computing solutions for vertical markets, today announced the company’s third consecutive contract award for the U.S. Naval shipyards. DT Research secured this three-year award with Akira Technologies, a DT Research technology partner. The DT311Y rugged tablets will continue to be deployed at several shipyards on the east coast (Norfolk and Portsmouth), the west coast (Puget Sound), and Hawaii (Pearl Harbor).

“We are proud that our technology continues to meet the needs of the U.S. Navy,” said Daw Tsai, president of DT Research. “Our strong engineering resources allow us to tailor our rugged computing products based on the feedback from valued customers; we listen and create a continuous improvement cycle.”

The DT311Y rugged tablets feature 11.6inch high-bright capacitive touch screens, Intel Core I series processors, Microsoft® Windows®

10/11 IoT Enterprise operating systems, IP65 rating, and MIL-STD-810G/H and MIL-STD-461F certifications. The built-in smartcard/Common Access card (CAC) reader allows users to instantly access data based on their clearance level, which can be directly read from an existing system.

DT311Y users gain continuous operation through hot-swappable batteries and a range of battery charger accessories, which eliminate downtime as tablets are passed on shift-to-shift. Built-in WiFi and optional 4G LTE/AWS and long-range (1000 ft) BT create a reliable portal for real-time data sharing from almost any location. Optional front and back cameras and an optional 2D barcode scanner streamlines data capture and improves accuracy. DT311Y accessories include a docking keyboard and cradle and mounts for vehicles, forklifts, and VESA arms, which improves ease of use and makes placement flexible.

Robert Droppa, GM of Government Solutions, said, “As DT Research continues to successfully deliver top quality rugged computing to the Navy and other branches of the U.S. military,

we remain dedicated to delivering advanced technology that can solve their base management projects and improve data-driven decision making.”

The DT311Y rugged tablets offer a robust set of features and options that include:

• Military-grade Durability and Reliability: IP65-rated for water and dust resistance, MILSTD- 810G/H certified for shock and vibration protection. FCC Class B, RoHS compliant, and HERO (Hazard of Electromagnetic Radiation to Ordnance) certified. NIST-compliant BIOS is available.

• UHF RFID Reader: 865 - 928MHz, EPCglobal Class 1 Gen 2/ ISO 18000-6C. Reading distance of 16 ft (4.87m) with built-in ThingMagic micro module and embedded antenna. Reading Distance of 30 ft (9.1m) with trigger grip.

• Security: NIST-compliant BIOS available.

• GNSS Module: U-blox GNSS module with concurrent reception of GPS & GLONASS; Industry-Leading - 167 dBm navigation sensitivity.

• TAA Compliant: Manufactured in compliance with the Trade Agreement Act (TAA) requirements.

The INSIDE TRACK

Curtiss-Wright Awarded $287 Million IDIQ Contract to Provide Aerospace Instrumentation System Technology

Curtiss-Wright Corporation announced that it had been awarded a ten-year, $287 million firm-fixed-price indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity (IDIQ) contract by Edwards Air Force Base (AFB) – Air Force Test Center (AFTC). The contract has a base period of five years, valued at $123 million, followed by a five-year option period.

Under the agreement, Curtiss-Wright will provide its High-Speed Data Acquisition System (HSDAS) aerospace instrumentation technology to support AFTC flight test programs, including High-Speed Data Acquisition, Network, Recording, Gateway, RF, and Data Analysis Software (IADS®) products and services for Flight Test Instrumentation (FTI). The sole source contract provides products, enhancements, upgrades, repair services, field service, and technical support to the HSDAS equipment.

“We are pleased to have been selected by Edwards Air Force Base to provide our aerospace instrumentation technology for use on the Air Force Test Center’s flight test programs,” said Lynn M. Bamford, Chair and CEO of Curtiss-Wright Corporation. “This is the largest award received by our Aerospace Instrumentation team and is a strong example of our long-standing relationships and continued support of critical U.S. flight test center objectives. Further, it reinforces our commitment to providing the most ad-

vanced and reliable integrated high-speed flight test instrumentation systems to support our warfighters. It builds on our legacy as a leading supplier of data collection and flight test instrumentation solutions for various fighter jet, bomber, hypersonic vehicle, cargo, rotary wing, and missile programs.”

As a total systems provider for FTI, Curtiss-Wright provides products and services that collect, collate, process, record, transmit via RF links, and analyze and display flight test data. Curtiss-Wright is a leading supplier of these solutions on the F-22, F-35, B-52, and many other programs.

Curtiss-Wright Defense Solutions will perform the work and fulfill the IDIQ deliv-

ery orders primarily at its TTC (Teletronics) facility in Newtown, Pa., and its IADS facility in Palmdale, Calif.

Curtiss-Wright has a long history, beginning in 1998, of successfully supporting the mission of Edwards AFB with FTI solutions that meet the highest standards. The current IDIQ award continues Curtiss-Wright’s previous IDIQ awards in providing a fully negotiated contract vehicle for all Aerospace Instrumentation products and services, enabling Edwards AFB Combined Test Forces to rapidly procure, integrate, test, and analyze the changing technology and capabilities required on USAF platforms. This award continues the recently completed HSDAS IDIQ five-year contract valued at $91 million.

The INSIDE TRACK

QuickLogic Drives eFPGA Innovation with New Aurora™ Development Tool Suite.

QuickLogic Corporation has released a new Aurora eFPGA development tool suite version. The Aurora 2.1 Development Tool Suite is based on a fully open-source implementation for scalability, longevity, and complete code transparency. It supports all significant HDLs, including Verilog, System Verilog, and VHDL.

About the Aurora 2.1 Development Tool Suite

The new version is based on open-source synthesis (Yosys), Versatile Place and Route (VPR), and bitstream generation (OpenFPGA) software. The fully integrated suite of tools enables FPGA designers to go from RTL-to-bitstream for QuickLogic’s eFPGA IP. The Aurora eFPGA user tools also support an architecture analysis mode, allowing the users to tune the architecture for their application instead of being forced into a ridged fixed-size tile approach.

Key Benefits

- Enables Architectural Trade-Offs – Ensures that the generated eFPGA IP has optimal

logic (LUTs), BRAM, and DSP blocks to meet each customer’s unique eFPGA requirements.

- More Transparency – Because Aurora is based on open source, the code is highly inspectable, enabling continuous improvement by the development community.

- Flexibility – Publicly auditable code leads to higher quality software and allows for the merit-based addition of features by the community and the option to make enhancements that suit each customer’s needs.

- Future-Proof – Aurora uses readily available open-source components that the broader community is actively improving upon. Access to source code gives the ultimate user control of the future.

“QuickLogic remains committed to open source, and our new Aurora 2.1 Development Tool Suite underscores that mission,” said Mao Wang, senior director of product development at QuickLogic Corporation. “Now, SoC developers can combine the advantages of open-source tools with the dramatic flexibility benefits of embedding FPGA technology into their devices to improve device lifecycles and enhance profitability.”

The INSIDE TRACK

Bell Completes Bahrain AH-1Z Program of Record

Bell Textron Inc., a Textron Inc., has completed the AH-1Z program of record (POR) for the Kingdom of Bahrain. Bell delivered the final production aircraft to Naval Air Systems Command in December 2022. The first Bahrain AH1Zs debuted in-country during the Bahrain Air Show; six have been delivered there. The final six helicopters will be prepared for shipment to Bahrain with the Defense Contract Management Agency (DCMA) before being transported to Bahrain in 2023.

“Congratulations to the Kingdom of Bahrain

on obtaining the latest generation of the AH-1Zs,” said Mike Deslatte, Bell vice president, and H-1 program director. “As a leader in the region, Bahrain’s defensive capabilities will be further bolstered by the advanced technologies of the Viper.”

Completing the Bahrain AH-1Z program of record is the heels of Bell completing the U.S. Marine Corps program, signifying two major H-1 production milestones in one year. The AH-1Z Viper is Bell’s newest generation of dedicated attack helicopters manufactured by Bell. The U.S. Marine Corps operates the AH1Z worldwide, utilizing the minimal logistics requirements for shipboard and expeditionary operations.

“Capabilities are only part of the equation when it comes to modernizing an aircraft fleet,” Deslatte added. “By ensuring the aircraft can operate with minimal logistics support, the Viper enables leaders to react with greater speed and agility to rapidly evolving operations.”

Bell continues to work with the Kingdom of Bahrain on post-shipping inspections and re-assembly to guarantee configuration as defined in the FMS case. In addition to manufacturing and delivering the new Vipers, Bell will support the aircraft’s lifecycle to ensure reliability, survivability, and lethality on the modern battlefield.

The INSIDE TRACK

Microchip Plans to Invest

$880 Million to Expand its Silicon Carbide (SiC) and Silicon (Si) Capacity in Colorado

Microchip Technology Inc. announces plans to invest $880M to expand its silicon carbide (SiC) and silicon (Si) production capacity at its Colorado Springs, Colo., manufacturing facility over the next several years.

One significant phase of the expansion is to develop and upgrade its 50-acre, 580,000-square-foot Colorado Springs campus for increased SiC manufacturing for use in automotive/E-Mobility, grid infrastructure, green energy, and aerospace and defense applications.

Working with the Colorado Springs Chamber & Economic Development Corporation, the City of Colorado Springs and El Paso County also announced that Microchip was approved for state and local incentives of approximately $47M for the expansion.

Colorado Springs Mayor John Suthers said, “We are very pleased Microchip has selected its Colorado Springs facility as the site for such a significant investment and expansion. We estimate this will grow our local economy by approximately $1.4 billion over the next ten years and create roughly 400 new high-paying jobs for those living in the Pikes Peak Region. Ramping up the production of semiconductors is critical to satisfying growing demand across many industries. Colorado Springs is proud to be a key location for this effort.”

U.S. Senator for Colorado Michael Bennet said, “Last year, I helped pass the CHIPS and Science Act to reinvigorate America’s semiconductor industry and bring manufacturing jobs back to America. In Colorado, we already see the benefits as companies prepare for historic investments from the law. Microchip’s planned expansion in Colorado Springs will strengthen our national security and expand opportunity with another 400 good-paying jobs.”

U.S. Senator for Colorado John Hickenlooper said, “Thanks to our CHIPS Act and Microchip, we’re bringing manufacturing back to America. Semiconductors are the space race of our time, and Colorado will help us win it.”

U.S. Congressman Doug Lamborn said, “It is exciting to have Microchip Technology expanding its footprint and investing in its chip manufacturing facility in Colorado’s 5th Congressional District. As concerns mount over foreign dominance of this critical industry, it is increasingly important that the U.S. achieve domestic production of microchips. I commend the City of Colorado Springs and the Colorado Springs Chamber for bringing high-paying, high-quality jobs and great companies to the Pikes Peak region.”

President and CEO of Microchip Technology Ganesh Moorthy said, “Microchip Colorado Springs has a long history of partnering with the city and state. We applaud their continued support of our efforts to advance the semiconductor industry in the U.S. The CHIPS and Science Act is already positively impacting our business through the Investment Tax Credit, and we are seeking capacity expansion grants for several of our semiconductor factories, including our Colorado Springs factory. We see a bright future in the region made possible by great partnerships, state and local incentives, and a strong local talented workforce.”

The Colorado Springs campus employs

more than 850 people and produces products from 6-inch wafers. The manufacturing technology that Microchip is installing will run on 8-inch wafers, significantly increasing the number of chips made at this location. The additional 400 jobs anticipated at the facility will range from production specialists to technical roles in equipment procurement and management, process control, and test engineering.

“With over two decades of investment in silicon carbide, Microchip’s portfolio is designed to provide our customers with innovative power solutions,” said Rich Simoncic, senior vice president of Microchip’s Analog businesses. “This campus is an integral part of producing our SiC technology to assure our customers with supply certainty as they transition to SiC solutions.”

“Microchip’s expansion in Colorado Springs and El Paso County puts our region on the map for investment from the CHIPS and Science Act. We are proud to lead Microchip’s expansion project and support reshoring these important manufacturing jobs to the Pikes Peak region,” said Johnna Reeder Kleymeyer, President and CEO of Colorado Springs Chamber & Economic Development Corporation.

The INSIDE TRACK

AWS announces AWS Modular Data Center for U.S. Department of Defense Joint Warfighting Cloud Capability

Accessing, processing, and sharing data at the tactical edge has become increasingly essential to mission success – whether the mission is a large-scale military operation, crisis response effort, or coordinating the transportation of critical supplies and troops. The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) relies on modern military applications that are data-heavy and depend on low latency to enable critical communications and coordination in the field. However, accessing the cloud capabilities needed to support large-scale data demands and quick decision-making in remote environments is challenging. Traditionally, this has meant spending time and resources figuring out how to help or build data center infrastructure at the tactical edge while grappling with unreliable network connectivity.

To address this challenge, Amazon Web Services (AWS) announced the AWS Modular Data Center (AWS MDC) today. This new service allows DoD customers to deploy compute and storage capabilities to support large-scale workloads wherever they need it, including in Disconnected, Disrupted, Intermittent, or Limited (DDIL) environments. Instead of relying on

AMETEK Abaco Systems and Rockford Xellerix announce Strategic Sales Partnership

AMETEK Abaco Systems and Rockford Xellerix announced a strategic sales partnership today at IDEX 2023. The partnership combines Rockford Xellerix’s extensive Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) customer base reach with Abaco’s 30 years of international commercial open architecture computing and rugged embedded electronics innovation. The sales partnership focuses on commercial, air, land, and sea defense applications in United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, Kuwait, Bahrain, Oman, Egypt, Algeria, and Morocco.

“Rockford Xellerix is a great sales partner because of its best-in-class, in-house capabilities and leading commercial off-the-shelf (COTS) capabilities for commercial and defense operations in the GCC,” says Alan Hislop, division vice president of business development, sales,

limited data center infrastructure or building from the ground up, AWS MDC delivers a cost-effective, self-contained modular data center solution that supports customers’ data center scale workloads. With AWS MDC, defense customers can securely store, analyze, and interpret petabytes of data in real-time to gain military advantage in the most isolated environments.

AWS MDC comes pre-configured with high-availability data center infrastructure, including internal networking, cooling, and power distribution equipment. To deploy compute and storage capabilities, AWS MDC supports AWS Outposts or AWS Snowball Edge devices and can be scaled by deploying additional modular data center units to support customer requirements. With AWS MDC, customers can use AWS services and APIs to run low-latency applications from anywhere. The AWS MDC is a self-contained solution and only needs to be connected to power once deployed to the customer site and networking if using AWS Outposts. When networking is limited or unavailable, like in DDIL environments, AWS MDC racked with Snow Family devices allows customers to run workloads using a scoped subset of AWS services, even when disconnected. Customers also have the option to use satel-

and marketing for AMETEK Abaco Systems. “We share its goals to help these customers innovate, accelerate and succeed.” The two companies are co-exhibiting at the conference, stand C5-007, in the Abu Dhabi National Exhibition Centre. Sharing the theme, “Technology for Tomorrow’s GCC Tri-Services Today,” they are committed to the future security of GCC nations.

lite communications for network connectivity. Further, AWS MDC comes with a management system for customers to monitor and operate the MDC’s subsystems proactively.

“As the digital battlefield continues to evolve, our defense customers increasingly need access to cloud capabilities at the tactical edge, including DDIL environments all over the world,” said Liz Martin, director of the Defense business at AWS. “With AWS Modular Data Center, we are converting data centers from fixed infrastructure difficult to build and manage in remote environments to a comprehensive service that is simple to use, secure, cost-effective, and can respond to large-scale compute and storage needs wherever the mission demands.”

Each modular data center unit is constructed using ruggedized containers designed and built for intermodal freight transport, which can be used across different modes of transportation from the ship to rail to truck. The AWS MDC units are also air-transportable using military cargo aircraft.

“The partnership will help GCC defense leaders prepare for tomorrow’s challenges today,” says Nauman Arshad, founder and CEO of Rockford Xellerix. “Abaco’s rich, open computing and electronics heritage and our sales contacts have combined to keep these nations ahead of future threats.”

The INSIDE TRACK

Red Cat Holdings CEO to Visit NATO Countries for Talks on Military Drone Support for Ukraine

The New Teal 2 drone’s world-leading night-vision capability can help Ukraine counter Russian forces when they’re most active – after dark.

Red Cat Holdings, Inc., a military technology company integrating robotic hardware and software to protect and support the warfighter, announces that a delegation, including CEO Jeff Thompson, will visit NATO countries this week to discuss military drone support for Ukrainian forces.

Thompson will meet with NATO leaders to demonstrate the Teal 2, a new military-grade drone from Red Cat subsidiary Teal Drones. Currently available to first-adopter customers and expected to launch in Q2 2023 officially, Teal 2 is designed to “Dominate the Night™”

and will be the world-leading drone solution for night-time operations.

The Wall Street Journal has reported that Ukrainian forces “lack enough drones to spot targets and direct artillery – especially more-expensive models with night-vision cameras that would allow them to work in the dark when the Russians seek to creep forward.”

“In Ukraine and elsewhere, most military operations occur at night, and the Teal 2 gives warfighters exactly the solution they need,” said Thompson. “Teal 2 is the first drone to integrate the world’s best new night-time drone camera – next-generation thermal-imaging technology from Teledyne FLIR. We’ve partnered with industry leaders, such as Tomahawk Robotics, Reveal Technology, and Immervision, to offer additional game-changing drone capabilities. These include multi-vehicle control, 3D mapping, and object detection.”

Red Cat has already filled an order from U.S. Customs and Border Protection for 54 units of the Teal 2. The drones will provide supplemental airborne reconnaissance, surveillance, and tracking capability to enhance situational awareness for U.S. field commanders and agents.

In Ukraine, Red Cat’s previous contributions include filling an order from a NATO member country for 15 units of a different military drone, the Golden Eagle, for deployment to Ukrainian forces.

“Red Cat wants to do all we can to get the Ukrainian warfighter the best and latest American technology that allows them to dominate the night, and that’s why I’m meeting with European military decision-makers this week,” Thompson said.

Teal is one of only three drone manufacturers invited to participate in the U.S. Army’s Short Range Reconnaissance Tranche 2 (SRR T2). The SRR T2 program seeks to deliver a portable small uncrewed aerial system (sUAS) that can be used by army platoons for surveillance and reconnaissance duties, as well as to improve situational awareness. Teal is certified as “Blue UAS,” which designates manufacturers authorized to provide equipment to the U.S. military.

The INSIDE TRACK

Exium and Enea Unleash True SASE with the World’s Only Pureplay 5G Overlay

Exium has chosen Enea to provide the network traffic intelligence foundation for Exium’s pioneering zero-trust Secure Access Service Edge (SASE) platform, the Intelligent Cybersecurity MeshTM. The solution enables organizations to get up and running in minutes with a secure access service connecting any user to any app anywhere with carrier-grade security. Enea’s Deep Packet Inspection (DPI)-based technology delivers detailed insights into network traffic to support essential networking and security functions and ensure the highest possible performance.

Representing the perfect union between 5G networking and enterprise cybersecurity, the Exium solution capitalizes on the fact that 5G is more than just the ‘next G’; it is an ideal blueprint for secure, cloud-native, transport-agnostic zero-trust connectivity between users, devices, locations, and applications.

Exium took this blueprint one step further by integrating cloud-based Security Service Edge (SSE) essentials, including Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA), Secure Web Gateway (SWG),

GA-ASI Flight Tests LEO SATCOM on MQ-9A - Capability Provides Global Coverage That Enables Operations

Anywhere in the World General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. and the Air National Guard, with joint support from the U.S. Marine Corps and U.S. Air Force, flight tested an MQ-9A remotely piloted aircraft (RPA) equipped with a Low Earth Orbit (LEO) satellite communications (SATCOM) Command and Control system. This groundbreaking capability pro-

Cloud Access Security Broker (CASB), and Extended Threat Detection & Response (XDR).

The result is a true 5G SASE solution that can operate securely over multi-mode networks (4G, 5G, WiFi, Fiber/Cable, and Satellites) from diverse providers, including mobile operators and cloud hyperscalers.

But, as all SASE architects know, a SASE solution is only as good as its data foundation. This is why SASE’s most significant vendors and innovative start-ups, like Exium, trust Enea’s Qosmos® technology to provide encrypted traffic classification, deep packet inspection, and unique traffic insights to support SASE’s wide range of networking and security functions.

“Enea met our three key technology partner requirements,” states Exium Founder and CEO Farooq Khan. “One, they’re the foremost experts in their field; two, their technology outperforms competitors in functionality and performance; and three, they’re as fanatically devoted to customer support as we are. On the technology side,” he continues, “the decisive factors were the accuracy and scope of their first packet and encrypted traffic classification, their coverage of SaaS apps, and the unprecedented DPI performance we were able to achieve with

vides global coverage and connectivity that will enable pole-to-pole operations for GA-ASI’s family of RPA — including models such as the MQ-9B SkyGuardian®/SeaGuardian®, MQ-9A Reaper and Gray Eagle 25M.

“This is truly game-changing for our platforms,” said GA-ASI President David R. Alexander. “Using LEO SATCOM not only keeps GA-ASI aircraft connected from the North Pole to the South Pole to allow operations in the most austere environments, but it will also provide resilient connectivity that allows operators to pass much more data

Qosmos ixEngine® integrated into our Vector Packet Processing (VPP) architecture.”

“We couldn’t be more pleased to join Exium on this exciting 5G journey,” says Vice President of Enea Traffic Intelligence, Jean-Pierre Coury. “We believe their innovative use of 5G architecture and standards will greatly ease the current day-to-day enterprise networking challenges associated with cloud migration, remote work, and the Internet of Things while also accelerating deployments of 5G to support new user experiences and mission-critical applications, and we are proud to play a role in facilitating this important transformation.”

to and from the aircraft.”

Early testing indicates LEO SATCOM significantly reduces latency and can be used in all phases of flight. For customers across the MQ-9 family of systems, LEO SATCOM should decrease operational costs, and the smaller hardware footprint will ultimately increase flexibility and reduce future payload integration costs. The MQ-9A flight test was based out of GA-ASI’s Gray Butte Flight Operations Facility near Palmdale, California, and followed several weeks of ground testing.

Exium Founder and CEO, Farooq Khan

The INSIDE TRACK

Lockheed Martin Awarded $1.1 Billion Initial Contract To Provide Nation’s First Sea-Based Hypersonic Strike Capability

The company will integrate weapon systems onto U.S. Navy surface ships

Lockheed Martin is partnering with the U.S. Navy to integrate hypersonic strike capability onto surface ships.

If all options are exercised, the U.S. Navy awarded Lockheed Martin a contract worth more than $2 billion to integrate the Conventional Prompt Strike (CPS) weapon system onto ZUMWALT-class guided missile destroyers (DDGs). CPS is a hypersonic boost-glide weapon system that enables long-range missile flight at speeds greater than Mach 5, with high survivability against enemy defenses.

“Lockheed Martin continues to advance hypersonic strike capability for the United States through this new contract,” said Steve Layne, vice president of Hypersonic Strike Weapon Systems at Lockheed Martin. “Early design work is already underway. Our team looks forward to supporting the warfighter by providing more options to protect America at sea further.”

Under this contract, prime contractor Lockheed Martin will provide launcher systems, weapon control, All Up Rounds (AURs), integrated missile components, and platform integration support for this naval platform. The contract also offers additional AURs plus canisters for the U.S. Army’s Long Range Hypersonic Weapon (LRHW) testing, training,

and tactical employment. The company, along with industry partners including subcontractors Northrop Grumman and General Dynamics Mission Systems, is on track to provide the CPS surface-launched, sea-based hypersonic strike capability to sailors by the mid-2020s.

A Shared Missile

CPS shares a common AUR with the Army LRHW and can be launched from multiple platforms, including surface ships, submarines, and land-based mobile launchers.

Lockheed Martin is the prime systems integrator for the CPS and LRHW weapon systems. The company leads a team of industry, government, and academic partners to make critical progress in design and development to

meet this urgent warfighter need in land and sea domains.

A National Imperative Hypersonic vehicles or missiles can travel faster than five times the speed of sound and are highly maneuverable. The combination of the CPS capability, and the stealth and mobility of the ZUMWALT-class destroyer, will provide the nation’s first sea-based hypersonic strike capability.

Fielding CPS on the ZUMWALT-class destroyer will be a necessary and essential step toward equipping the warfighter with a capability that embodies Lockheed Martin’s 21st Century Security vision in support of our customers.

The INSIDE TRACK

Boeing to Retain ICBM Guidance Systems Work into the Late 2030s

The U.S. Air Force has selected Boeing as the prime contractor for the nation’s intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) guidance subsystem support. The contract is worth up to $1.6 billion over 16 years, will be primarily performed in Ogden, Utah, and Heath, Ohio, and is expected to support a significant amount of direct and indirect jobs in the area.

Boeing will maintain the around-the-clock readiness and accuracy of Minuteman ICBM guidance systems — which have logged more than 40 million hours of continuous operation — to ensure safe, secure, and effective strategic deterrence into the late 2030s.

“We built the Minuteman’s guidance system, so no one knows it like Boeing. Our highly-specialized facilities and top-flight engineers enable us to sustain it with unmatched quality and precision,” said Ted Kerzie, program director of Strategic Deterrence Systems. “We look forward to continuing our partnership with the Air Force on this all-important mission.”

Raytheon Intelligence & Space to deliver Joint Precision Approach and Landing System to the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force

JPALS ensures enhanced safety and increased operational capability for aircraft

Raytheon Intelligence & Space, a Raytheon Technologies business, was awarded a

foreign military sales contract to deliver the Joint Precision Approach and Landing System, or JPALS, to the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force by the U.S. Navy’s Naval Air Traffic Management Systems Program Office (PMA213). The software-based, high-integrity differential GPS navigation and precision landing system will be deployed on the JS Izumo, the JMSDF’s carrier.

The JPALS system guides aircraft onto

carriers and amphibious assault ships in all weather and surface conditions and is integrated into the F-35.

“Over the past few years, we’ve been engaged with the U.S. Navy and Japan to deliver enhanced safety and increased operational capability to the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force, ensuring landing accuracy every time for pilots regardless of weather conditions,” said Denis Donohue, president, Surveillance and Network Systems at RI&S. “We have so far delivered 22 systems to the U.S. Navy on time or ahead of schedule, and we look forward to continuing that success for Japan.”

JPALS is deployed on all U.S. Navy aircraft carriers and amphibious assault ships. All F-35 aircraft are enabled with the JPALS capability. In addition, JPALS is deployed on two international platforms: the UK Royal Navy’s HMS Queen Elizabeth, and the ITS Cavour, an Italian aircraft carrier, to support their F-35 squadron.

Primary work locations for this effort are in Largo, Florida, and Fullerton, California.

The Boeing-built ICBM weapon system has served as the backbone of the U.S. nuclear triad since the inception of strategic deterrence. Boeing is the only company that has continuously

supported every ICBM subsystem — guidance, ground, propulsion, and re-entry — over the system’s lifetime.

Is the DoD Ready for Artificial Intelligence (AI)?

By John Reardon, Publisher COTS Journal

Artificial intelligence, or AI, is a transformative technology poised to change the future battlefields and the pace of threats we face. But having said that, SAIC reports that less than 1 in 5 government leaders say they are “likely” to adopt AI in the next year. The Study cited that the most significant obstacle to implementation besides readiness is clearly the maturity of policy and oversight.

The U.S. Department of Defense claims that

more than 600 AI projects are already underway. For the fiscal year 2022, DOD spent $14.7 billion for science and technology programs and $874 million to directly support its AI efforts. They recognize the competitive threat of not leading the way and that building out the unknowns will have to be done in many cases through parallel efforts. The CDAO, or Chief Digital and artificial Intelligence office, has identified data fidelity as a top priority in implementing AI, believing in the adage of “garbage in, garbage out.”

The Competitive Race

The United States, unlike its advisories, has adopted AI Ethical Principles that have set out to protect us from a “run-away train” situation along with AI receptivity. Agencies see the value in DevSecOps, but nearly 40 percent say they need more technical skills to implement any meaningful solution. A narrowcast to the AI environment is required between the demand for perfection and the continual fusion of larger and larger datasets.

This narrow focus will allow a compendium of actions to be planned to meet our needs with the near 100 percent accuracy we require.

The number of current applications being pursued indicates the importance of AI, but other nations are making significant investments that threaten the U.S. military and technological and operational advantage. It is clear that when working with highly complex concerns, correctly employed AI will offer decisive advantages in predictive and responsive actions.

Examples of AI applications in the commercial market are discussed daily, but AI will become invaluable in larger, more unpredictable areas. Examples of these types of applications have been addressed by SAIC. Plotting the trajectory of space junk is an ever-increasing concern as more and more is launched and the operational importance increases. Tracking every satellite to every stray piece of space trash is the perfect application for AI and AI Tools. Other applications involve measuring atmospheric changes caused by changing levels of CO2.

As the complexity grows to include greater and greater theaters of operation, the greater

the propensity for errors. So, as we try to implement AI solutions that incorporate a whole battle plan fusing larger and larger data sets together, the opportunity for an operational error increases. Countries willing to have friendly fire incidents or civilian casualties are free of the same need for accuracy demanded by the United States.

In looking at the breadth and width of an application, some have coined the phrases Narrow beam or broad beam activity. A narrow beam activity has limited data sets with a limited number of responses. As you move to a Broad beam AI solution, the data sets become more complex, and the potential reactions grow exponentially. For this reason, SAIC has developed several solutions focused on Narrow beam applications that can grow over time.

The Zero Trust Strategy

The idea of a Zero Trust Strategy is tied to a connected battlefield or an AI-based solution. Adopting the mindset of Zero Trust regardless of “never trust, always verify” requires everyone to take responsibility for the security of our devices, applications, services, and assets. The Zero Trust strategy is the first of its kind for the DoD. Not a solutions architecture,

the ZT document serves only as a strategy to guide defining risk areas.

Platforms and Tools

Koverse is a data platform developed by SAIC, featuring zero-trust and attribute-based access controls that enable data co-location. With a small enough footprint to run on a Panasonic Toughbook, this software platform addresses many of the current roadblocks in data management. By automating the ingesting and handling of data, the software amplifies human intelligence through greater situational awareness and speeds up the decision process exponentially. Data can be stripped away to affirm the actionable data gets to the right place and that extemporaneous data doesn’t cloud the response. In other words – the warfighter receives what they need, nothing more, nothing less.

Another tool in the SAIC arsenal is Tenjin, a development environment that includes prebuilt algorithms and AI modules specifically designed to aid in various government mission needs. Tenjin aids in the speed of development by offering an AI library that can be drawn upon to address more routine actions to being built upon as the foundation of more complex concerns.

The idea of a Zero Trust Strategy is tied to a connected battlefield or an AI-based solution.

Tenjin can sit on top of Koverse working natively, or its open architecture enables integration into the data system of choice.

Conclusion

The propensity of AI applications to become ever more complex and move into the realm of science fiction is daunting. But SAIC’s approach, described by Jason Meil, Managing Director of Artificial Intelligence, is one of walk before you run. It is evident that debates surrounding “self-awareness” will continue, but the solution that SAIC has brought to market is to offer a pragmatic approach that can be built upon for an ever-increasing and complex concern. To create a foundation for a growing complexity.

It seems clear from the Study that the Joint All Domain Command and Control initiative will be years in the making and will be built from several discrete data sets and system requirements. The completion point will remain elusive with dynamic and complex algorithms coupled with an ever-increasing data fidelity from the myriad of sensors.

The propensity of AI applications to become ever more complex and move into the realm of science fiction is daunting.

Turning Data into a Weapon Through Advanced Battle Plans

By John Reardon, COTS Journal

It has become clear that the future American warfighter will require advanced Artificial Intelligence or AI that stretches from military headquarters to the raging battlefield. This will be required in a seamless, adaptable, secure, and ruggedized form. As the defenses become more connected, the need for a highly distributed computing ability at the edge becomes a must. Beyond systems that are adapted to extreme environments, however, the engineers at SECO have identified and are focused on providing three key capabilities that are needed. These are complex, applica-

tion-specific algorithms, curated data, and computing infrastructure.

Curated data refers to data that has been carefully gathered, sifted, chosen, and organized for its use in military decision-making. It must be so organized and formatted that it can readily be used by all present and future algorithms in the system. Algorithms must of course also be written so that they can readily work with the curated data. The computing infrastructure must be rugged and readily configurable from the command center to a single

soldier’s sensor on the edge of the battle.

The engineers at SECO have identified seven technologies that are relevant in addressing these stated goals:

1. Rugged commercial off-the shelf (COTS), modified COTS, and custom designed embedded electronics that interface with and process data from diverse types of sensors.

2. Computer Vision algorithms which identify and classify threats accordingly.

3. Machine Learning which acquires knowledge from curated examples and training.

4. Natural Language Processing or NLP that performs speech and text recognition to extract from enemy communications relevant intelligence on troop position and other key data.

5. Scheduling and resource allocation that optimize the response.

6. Rule-based solutions that create a large library of “if this, then that” solutions.

7. Robotics allowing an embedded system the ability to interact with the environment.

The Department of Defense has been riddled with false starts and countless acronyms in pursuit of a connected battlefield. The latest acronym that has been built on its predecessors is Joint All-Domain Command and Control (JADC2). The important part is the C2 command and control. The Joint All-Domain means that it covers all branches of service and their assets on the battlefield. Simply put they want to have all assets/sensors talking to each other and a solution to be employed based on a compendium of data – or in other words artificial intelligence.

In recent years the predictability of how certain actions will be responded to has left us vulnerable as certain responses are baked into the strategy. The enemy in knowing our

playbook may be anticipating our response to any aggression. Employing AI will bring about situational awareness that provides an asymmetrical response leaving the adversaries surprised. Not knowing a programmed response and thus being unable to quickly choose an effective reaction will cause the enemy to pause as their sacrifice will be unknown. Time can be a real killer.

Based on a long experience of solving discrete applications with rugged computing solutions, SECO quickly recognized the large data sets, and the complex theaters of operation would inevitably lead to project creep. With each additional connection, this potential grows exponentially and will inevitably lead to a crippling complexity. The SECO approach is to use an array of building blocks that can be connected for a unified solution. This enables a single element such as a Hummer or Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV) to act on its own as well as to contribute sensor data up the command structure.

The vastness of a connected battlefield goes beyond land, sea, air, and space to include command structures and policies. It also includes cyber security threats that can do everything from spoofing a sensor to crip-

pling whole networks. Building from their experience, SECO uses a portfolio of off-theshelf and customized software and hardware solutions to allow them to address varied applications. An example of a SECO success is the DCD or deck control device, used to control the in-development MQ-25 Stingray ™ unmanned aerial refueler while on an aircraft carrier flight deck.

The defense world is fraught with numerous unforeseen issues that range from traditional systems that do lend themselves to being connected to political mandates that prohibit certain branches of the service from reacting to certain kinds of incidents. An example of the first is the reliance on verbal communication to control the airspace. Transitioning from this to an AI-based solution would require a complete overhaul of the rules and policies that have been used for decades. Another example is reflected by the narrow charter between services. Do you deploy a Navy ship, a Coast guard cutter, or a Harbor Patrol boat from the nearest municipality in pursuit of a threat of a boat entering American waters? These are two of the many potentially difficult hurdles to overcome in bringing the past into the present.

The Department of Defense has been riddled with false starts and countless acronyms in pursuit of a connected battlefield.

In developing connected solutions, the engineers have come to recognize that it isn’t enough to automate the past. Solutions need to be looking towards the future. This is never more important than in the defense of the country. Today’s connected battlefield will have to draw upon open-source data sets from sources such as those available from social media. In balancing the needs of the past and future, SECO has gathered a team of leading AI minds in the Bay Area of California and other locations to create software solutions that tame the beast into more manageable chunks with complex algorithms and an interpretive user interface. As algorithm and data analysis experts, SECO collaborates with its customers to define and implement intelligent algorithms to meet operational parameters, including sensor bandwidths, available processing power, latency, accuracy, autonomy, and more. The customer then refines the resulting software, including the use of specific training data sets and setting operational parameters, and then deploys it in theater. Operational uses include access, intelligence, plans, training, and interoperability.

SECO believes that AI advancements will be more driven by the need for data interpretation to recognize and measure threats.

Tasks like intelligence analysis and predictive maintenance will be integral and done discretely, for example, predicting the likelihood of encountering an Improvised Explosive Device (IED) and determining its location. The fear of some runaway automated nuclear launch sequence is not something that should be dismissed, but the primary focus of the US and China is on data interpretation and how it might contribute to a country’s defense.

SECO set out to reduce the complexity at the edge by creating an easily deployable and customizable AI/IoT software platform known as CLEA. CLEA runs on edge devices, orchestrating sensor data collection, providing edge-located intelligent algorithms, and managing optional communication of data and/or results through the cloud. The platform enables developers to utilize a library of algorithms, and also to develop proprietary algorithms and applications as needed. The cloud connectivity aspects of CLEA facilitates operations center real-time device monitoring, analytics, infrastructure management, predictive maintenance, secure remote software updates, and more.

The objective of CLEA, which can run on SECO’s or other embedded computing hard-

ware, is to offer a computing solution at the edge that can endure the rigors of the environment and yet still offer a competent AI computing engine running autonomously at the edge or utilizing additional resources available via a private cloud. This simple and elegant solution enables low latency, autonomous decision making at the edge while reducing the raw data from the front for effective battlefield management. The propensity of the warfighter to believe that their instincts are more dependable and consequently they might want to override the system are mitigated by the CLEA. This occurs through the use of field-actionable data.

The interoperability of systems leads to greater complexity and thus more vulnerability to intrusions or potential faults. The hurdle of interoperability facilitated by a command center is more complex with each additional connection. It is for this reason that SECO’s approach of putting the most advanced or time-critical AI solutions at the edge ensures that latency and response times are reduced. This combination of data analytics and redundancy aids in affirming that sensors have not been spoofed and are correctly reporting the data. This enables compound queries to be executed more safely and securely by using processing at the edge and identifying irregularities with encryption keys and data sets.

Image - An example of how strategically important the idea of network sensor-to-shooter is to the Department of Defense is the next-generation long-range strike bomber, the B21 Raider. Although its primary function is to be a long-range bomber, the Air Force also wanted the plane to act as an intelligence collection platform for battle management. The first pictures of the plane were released to the public in Early December 2022.

The 21st century warfighter will rely on solutions that draw upon knowledge gleaned by analyzing data from all assets available. This will require a speed that outstrips our adversary’s communication structure and produces an asymmetrical response that is surprising and unsuspected. These solutions will be built upon discrete activities defined using off-the-shelf solutions in a way that builds confidence. From a complex response that may seem non-sensical to the warfighter to the identification of security breaches, AI at the edge will be integral to a superior defense.

In developing connected solutions, the engineers have come to recognize that it isn’t enough to automate the past.

solutions, past.

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PacStar® Radio Chassis Deploy Wide Range of Radio Types to Eliminate Communications Gaps in Military and Civil Operations

Tactical, mobile PacStar Radio Chassis speed and simplify the bridging of analog radio and IP communications at the edge of the battlefield

Curtiss-Wright’s Defense Solutions division, a leading developer and supplier of advanced Modular Open Systems Approach (MOSA) communications solutions for the US Department of Defense (DoD), has expanded its support for deployed DoD, civilian, and coalition partner radio systems with a rugged chassis family designed to speed and simplify the integration and deployment of heterogeneous radio types. Available in three- and four-radio configurations, the new PacStar Radio Chassis are COTS-based, modular, tactical and expeditionary, rugged radio, voice, and IP-integrated solutions. The chassis use radio brackets (available off the shelf or custom designed if required) to support a wide array of radio integration use cases, including legacy Radio Over Internet Protocol (RoIP) integration, mobile ad hoc network (MANET) integration, and tactical data link interoperability. PacStar Radio Chassis can be used with the PacStar 463 RoIP module to cross-band radios to eliminate communications

gaps caused by using disparate radio systems in military and homeland defense operations.

“A common hurdle, whether in the battlefield or during first responder civil operations, is the communications gap that results from the use of multiple different radio types in the field,” said Chris Wiltsey, Senior Vice President, and General Manager, Curtiss-Wright Defense Solutions division. “Our new PacStar Radio Chassis expands the existing PacStar Modular Radio Center to solve that problem by easing and speeding the deployment of disparate radio types in a compact, rugged common enclosure, with support for the most popular DoD and civilian radios. Whether a public emergency where police, fire, and other services need to talk with each other or at the tactical edge where our warfighters need to communicate with coalition forces, radio interoperability helps to ensure mission success.”

The new PacStar Radio Chassis share the exact external dimensions as Curtiss-Wright’s popular PacStar 400-Series Smart Chassis. They can populate one half of a PacStar Standardized A-Kit/Vehicle Envelope (SAVE)-compatible enclosure or any other PacStar 400-Series mounting and transport solutions for person-carry, vehicle mount, or tactical semi-fixed applications. The chassis can be used standalone or to extend the capabilities of a PacStar Modular Radio Center

(MRC) system, leveraging the PacStar MRC’s PacStar 463 RoIP/Voice module to translate disparate radio types and provide voice gateway services to tactical IP networks.

Curtiss-Wright has established partnerships with leading suppliers to extend the capability of its deployed radio solutions. For example, a PacStar Radio Chassis can leverage a PacStar 463 running SCI TOCNET inside the PacStar MRC or pair with a PacStar 451 server running REDCOM Sigma or Motorola WAVE. Applications include analog-to-RoIP use cases such as voice convergence, network extension, and radio cross-banding. The PacStar Radio Chassis can also integrate MANET radios into tactical IP networks for inter-team and WAN access. The chassis can also support translating multiple tactical data link (TDL) formats between ground/air/sea assets.

Wide Range of Configuration Options

Three compact PacStar Radio Chassis variants are currently available, including the PacStar Powered 4-Radio Chassis, PacStar Powered 3-Radio Chassis, and PacStar Unpowered 4-Radio Chassis. The powered chassis include a single-slot integrated power system. The rugged, high-capacity power supply runs on a wide range of worldwide AC or DC power, providing power to radios via user-accessible rugged cabling in the rear of each chassis. PacStar Unpowered Radio Chassis is intended to host additional radios while receiving their power from a powered PacStar Radio Chassis or PacStar MRC system.

PacStar Radio Brackets

PacStar Radio Brackets are custom-designed to mount compatible tactical or civilian radios, including backup batteries and connectors for voice and data ports. PacStar Radio Brackets are removable from the PacStar Radio Chassis while radios operate, utilizing integrated backup batteries. Brackets, sold separately and now available, include the ViaSat BATS-D AN/PRC-161 handheld Link 16 radio, the Persistent Systems MPU5 handheld Radio, and the L3Harris AN-PRC-163 handheld radio. PacStar Radio Brackets are currently in development for various additional radio types, including the AN/PRC-167, AN/PRC-148C, Silvus StreamCaster, DTC SDR-H2, and TrellisWare TW900.

Curtiss-Wright’s curtisswright.com

COT’S PICKS

AirBorn Introduces The SInergy® Family of Connectors

AirBorn launches its all-new SInergy ® line of interconnects. Sinergy ® offers OEMs a mini-modular hybrid solution in 1-5 configurable bays. With speeds up to 25Gbps per lane or 75Gbps aggregate bidi bandwidth, SInergy meets requirements for XAUI, USB 3.0, PCIe Gen 3/4, SAS-3/4, and Ethernet (10G/25G per lane) applications. Exemplifying milgrade resilience, high-speed, high-density SInergy connectors are tested & qualified based on MIL-DTL-83513 performance requirements.

SInergy’s modularity means OEMs have multiple signal-carrying options in any signal or SMPM RF interface configuration in one to five bays. SInergy’s ruggedness, beginning with the contact system design and extending to the metal shell, means it can handle a very rough ride on Earth or in space.

William Rhea, AirBorn’s Sr. Product Manager, describes SInergy ® as “A high-speed connector family with speeds up to 25Gbps. With its single-piece, four points-of-contact design, SInergy’s extreme durability makes it ideal for demanding mil-aero,

space, and industrial environments where complete reliability is essential for success.”

AirBorn airborn.com

Teledyne e2v provides a highlyintegrated radiation-tolerant DDR4 memory solution with a Texas Instruments power supply

To help satellite OEMs streamline their system development work and reduce the time and engineering effort involved, Teledyne e2v and Texas Instruments (TI) collaborated on a new radiation-tolerant DDR4 modular platform. This field-proven hardware consists of a 4GB/8 GB DDR4T0xG72 DDR4 memory from Teledyne e2v and a TI TPS7H3301-SP DDR termination low drop-out (LDO) voltage regulator that provides a stable supply for the DDR4 module.

Optimized for implementations with acute size, weight, and power (SWaP) constraints to factor in, the DDR4/TPS7H3301-SP platform is very compact and convenient. The constituent compo-

nents have already gone through comprehensive space characterization and qualification procedures to help designers achieve long-term operation without single event latch-up (SEL) and single event upset (SEU) issues arising.

This platform allows elevated levels of data storage capacity to be achieved inside a small form factor. It requires three times less PCB area versus solutions from the competition, and its volume is smaller by a factor of ten.

Versatility is another plus point, with the DDR4T0xG72/TPS7H3301-SP modular platform applicable across a wide range of space-grade processors (including Teledyne e2v and others), FPGAs/ACAPs (such as AMD/Xilinx, Microchip, NanoXplore, etc.) and custom-built ASICs.

TeledyneTechnology

teledyne.com

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Phoenix International Introduces Tactical NAS Edge Data Storage Solution

Phoenix International Systems unveiled their RPC16 Rugged Network Attached Storage Server

As the military works to capitalize on the deluge of data generated by intelligent, connected devices, an intelligent data strategy has never been more critical. Enter edge computing is essential in addressing this challenge by enabling access and analytics close to the data source.

Edge computing can mean many things, but for military users, the key is flexible, modular, rugged, proven, and reliable systems in harsh tactical land, maritime, and airborne environments. The RPC16 NAS incorporates a removable magazine

Small form factor to complete highperformance ecosystem

Kcongatec will be presenting its comprehensive COM-HPC ecosystem. Together with the accompanying tailored cooling solutions, carrier boards, and design-in services, congatec now provides everything designers need for their next generation of high-end embedded and edge computing platforms. The portfolio now ranges from high-performance COM-HPC Server-on-Modules to ultra-compact and brand-new COM-HPC Client-on-Modules that is hardly larger than a credit card. And with the new COM-HPC Mini standard, even the most space-constrained solutions can now benefit from a high-performance boost and a significantly larger number of new high-speed interfaces. Thus, entire product families can now migrate to the new PICMG standard – without requiring significant modification of the

with up to 16 SSDs or HDDs, which can be quickly removed to offload data. The magazines can then be moved to separate locations and plugged into another RPC16 on any other network for further analysis.

Major Features of the RPC16 NAS:

• Reliable, High-Speed Data Capture

• Compact 2U Rack Height, Shallow 19.5” Rack Depth

• Highly Available and Resilient Architecture

• Quickly Upload Data with Removable Drive Magazine

• Up to 122TB Storage Capacity

• AES-256 hardware and file-level encryption

• FIPS140-2 Validation

• Secure Erase/Data Elimination

• MIL-STD-810G Certified

• Made in the USA

internal system design and housing.

The highlight of the innovations: COM-HPC Mini

The flagship of congatec’s embedded world showcase is the first sample of COM-HPC Mini designs. Launching officially after final PICMG ratification of the new specification, the first high-performance COM-HPC Mini modules will be equipped with the 13th Gen Intel Core processors (codename Raptor Lake), representing the latest benchmark for the high end of embedded and edge computing at the client level.

With congatec’s recently introduced high-performance Computer-on-Modules with 13th Gen Intel Core processors on COM-HPC Client Size A and Size C, developers now have the entire bandwidth of this new processor generation at their disposal on COM HPC. Thanks to state-of-the-art connectivity, the

The RPC16 NAS allows networked devices to share and store data using all common network services. It supports a variety of network-based file systems that will enable multiple hosts to share and store information. Network connections are provided through load-balanced Ethernet ports, available from Gigabit to 100 Gigabit, and can support various optical (or copper) Ethernet ports for low EMI susceptibility.

Phoenix International phenxint.com

COM-HPC standard opens new horizons for developers of innovative designs regarding data throughput, I/O bandwidth, and performance density that cannot be achieved with COM Express. congatec’s COM Express 3.1 compliant modules with 13th Gen Intel Core processors, on the other hand, primarily help to secure investments in existing OEM designs, for instance, by providing upgrade options for more data throughput thanks to PCIe Gen 4 support.

The COM-HPC Mini form factor predominantly addresses ultra-compact high-performance designs such as DIN rail PCs or rugged handhelds and tablets. However, COM-HPC Mini also solves the Gordian knot that developers of ultra-compact COM Express systems have been facing when wanting to switch to COM-HPC to be able to utilize the latest interface technologies. The previously smallest COM-HPC footprint – COM-HPC Size A – did not allow this: Measuring 95x120 mm (11,400 mm²) is almost 32% larger than the COM Express Compact form factor, which measures 95x95 mm (9,025 mm²). From a footprint standpoint, that’s 25 mm too wide to migrate existing COM Express designs to COM-HPC. Since COM Express Compact is the most widespread COM Express form factor and only the high-end currently still use the even more significant COM Express Basic form factor, many developers faced considerable challenges – if only in terms of system design dimensions. But smaller is always possible. That’s why COM-HPC Mini, with its 95x60 mm, is a real liberator, opening up entirely new high-performance perspectives – particularly for the many ultra-compact system designs.

congatec

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Tianma P-series displays are ideal for demanding military applications

Display solutions and embedded systems provider Review Display Systems (RDS) have announced the introduction of a new 18.5-inch TFT display module from industrial display manufacturer Tianma. The P-series P1850FHF1MB01 features Full HD resolution (1920 x 1080 pixels), a wide 16:9 aspect ratio, and in-plane switching (IPS) technology, providing excellent optical performance.

Tianma P-series (Professional series) TFT display modules have been designed and developed to deliver high levels of optical performance and meet the demanding needs of military, medical, and in-vehicle display markets and applications where reliable and consistent operation is considered essential.

The 18.5-inch display features Tianma’s proprietary SFT (Super Fine TFT) wide viewing technology, which enables viewing angles of 88 degrees in all viewing directions (left, right, and up, down). A contrast ratio of 1000:1 and a white LED back-

light, with an integrated driver and 50K hour half-brightness lifetime, provide a specified brightness rating of 400cd/m² and ensure the 18.5inch P-series TFT module produces display images that are colorful, bright, and highly consistent.

Justin Coleman, displays division manager, RDS, said, “The Tianma 18.5-inch P-series display offers a strong feature set that provides excellent optical performance that delivers bright, saturated color display images that can be easily seen from all viewing directions. Tianma’s wide range of P-series display modules has been purposefully designed for use in many human-machine interface applications where reliable, long-term operation in demanding application environments is required.”

The 18.5-inch display module features mechanical outline dimensions of 430.4mm (w) x

254.6mm (h) x 13.5mm (d) and an active display area of 408.96mm (w) x 230.04mm (h). The 2-channel LVDS data interface supports 8-bit RGB, enabling a color palette of up to 16.7M. An extended operating temperature range of -20°C to +70°C is supported.

Tianma’s Professional-series TFT display modules are suitable for various applications, including industrial process control, factory automation, in-vehicle systems, instrumentation, point-of-sale systems, digital signage, and medical equipment.

Review Display Systems review-displays.co.uk

Elma Adds to

a Comprehensive Line of SOSA Aligned Backplanes That Enable Complex High-Speed Signal Processing in Rugged Applications. Optical fiber and RF connectivity are implemented across multiple slot options

Elma Electronic has added six high-speed backplanes that align with The Open Group Sensor Open Systems Architecture™ (SOSA) Technical Standard 1.0 and incorporate the latest optical fiber and

RF connectivity. With 2-, 4- and 6-slot options, the expanded 3U OpenVPX series of backplanes provide development options to meet the complex demands of high-performance rugged military operations.

Designed to help accelerate the development of a common, modular architecture across critical C5ISR and EW systems, Elma’s comprehensive line of SOSA-aligned backplanes supports the Modular Open Systems Approach (MOSA) standardization initiative from the US Department of Defense (DoD). The series incorporates current Ethernet and PCI Express standards, optimizes SWaP, and lowers life-

cycle costs for rapid technology insertion.

Dave Caserza, Manager, Embedded Computing Architects for Elma Electronic Inc., commented, “As military embedded computing moves towards adoption of systems implemented using the SOSA architecture, having access to the right tools will be critical for design engineers to bring systems to market quickly. Expanding our offerings of integral system components, like these new high-speed backplanes aligned with SOSA, is just part of Elma’s commitment to providing industry-leading open standards technologies.”

The new backplanes support 100GBase-KR4 and PCIe gen four high-speed signals on all applicable data paths. One of the 6-slot models also supports VITA 66.5 optical connectors for the Ethernet switch slot.

Several high-performance mission-critical systems can benefit from these new backplanes, including mission control, sensor-based systems, surveillance, radar, and other beamforming applications, weapons control, target tracking and display, navigational control, threat detection and process, and environmental monitoring.

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Kaman Highlights the DIT-5200L Noncontact Differential Impedance Transducer

High sensitivity, extreme linearity, and exceptional thermal stability at a competitive price

The Measuring Division of Kaman Precision Products, Inc. highlights the DIT-5200L noncontact differential impedance transducer, which offers true differential for common mode rejection at an economical price. Capable of subnanometer resolution with high sensitivity (up to 10v/mil, 39 mV/μm) and outstanding linearity (up to 0.1% full range), this product provides a powerful solution for a diverse set of applications that demand exacting precision.

The DIT-5200L is a commercially-based, fully analog product built to IPC A-160 Class 3 standards. The I/O is on a 9-pin mini-D connector, and the input power connections are reverse voltage protected. Depending on the program requirements, it also offers the opportunity for commercial off-the-shelf up screening.

EKF Elektronik announces CompactPCI processor boards with 11th Gen Intel Core and Xeon processors

EKF Elektronik launched two new 3U Compact PCI processor boards with 11th-generation Intel Core and Xeon processors (Tiger Lake H45). The boards will be available in two variants: the first is a CompactPCI Serial design, and the second supports CompactPCI Classic and CompactPCI PlusIO. The latter supports the classic parallel PCI bus, for which numerous COTS and proprietary expansion cards are still available today. This enables developers of CompactPCI-based systems to implement any CompactPCI system design and secure their investment

The product’s signal conditioning electronics are packaged in a die-cast aluminum box with MCX-style sensor connections, and the overall package size is just 7.7 cubic inches. The product is CE-marked when purchased in the original enclosure. The electronics can also be supplied as a bare PCB for installation inside the user’s enclosure, and custom configurations can be designed for OEM application requirements upon request.

Under the hood, the product features high-precision eddy current balanced bridge technology. In an eddy current differential system, the two coils in the inductive bridge are housed in two separate sensors. Rather than one active coil and one reference coil, both sensors contain active coils. These two sensors are typically placed on opposite sides of the target or the target pivot point.

Due to the theory of operation, differential systems provide more excellent resolution and thermal stability than single-ended systems. As the target moves closer to one sensor, it moves farther away from the other, increasing the impedance in one leg of the inductive bridge and

in this PICMG standard, launched in 1999, long into the future. The new boards will be available until at least 2032 – just like the existing CompactPCI CPU boards with 7th generation Intel Xeon E3 v6 processors (codename Kaby Lake), which the company also offers for all three CompactPCI sub-specifications.

Long-term security for existing investments

“Support for the PCI bus is essential for older CompactPCI system designs, yet some vendors are withdrawing from this market. The announcement that EKF Elektronik will continue to support the PCI bus for new CompactPCI designs, therefore, sends an important message to many users: They can safeguard their investment in this legacy technology for many more years, continue to upgrade their system designs with the latest processor technology, and reap all the benefits that come with it,” explains Manuel Murer, Business Development Manager at EKF Elektronik.

As 11th Gen Intel Core and Xeon processors

decreasing it in the other. This push-pull effect amplifies the linear output-per-displacement and eliminates the need for summation amplifiers that add noise and drift. Ultimately, this provides exceptional thermal stability, namely, ±.03% FS/°C and ±.005% FS/°C at null.

Available in single and dual-channel configurations, the product fits various applications across industry verticals. These include servo control feedback, stage positioning, angular displacement indication, X-Y orbit position feedback, and stylus position. The product’s applications are essential in precision optics, fast-steering mirrors, laser communications, directed energy, celestial applications, and magnetic bearing systems.

no longer support PCI natively, EKF Elektronik has installed a software-transparent PCIe-to-PCI bridge on the processor boards with CompactPCI Classic and CompactPCI PlusIO support. This allows developers to port existing applications to the new boards seamlessly. Advantages of such upgrades include higher energy efficiency, higher processor-integrated security, computing power, up-to-date software support, and support for artificial intelligence and the latest graphics features to provide the best possible user experience.

New J2 for PlusIO

CompactPCI PlusIO users will find a new J2 connector on the new CompactPCI PlusIO (PICMG 2.30) boards, which is footprint-compatible with the CompactPCI Classic (PICMG 2.0) specification. This change was necessary because the J2 connector developed for PlusIO was discontinued. But there is no need to redesign the backplane. The only restriction is that high-speed backplane transfer is limited to 2.5 GT/s for PCIe Gen 1 and 1.5 Gbit/s for SATA. Depending on the application and system, it is possible to use the total bandwidth. The CompactPCI‘s PCI bus can be used in the usual bandwidth of up to 133Mbyte/s.

Kaman Precision Products, Inc. kamansensors.com

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Premio to launch Intel® 11th Gen (Elkhart Lake) Fanless Mini Industrial PC

Held February 7 – 9 at the Anaheim Convention Center, ATX West is the premiere advanced manufacturing event showcasing the latest industrial automation and robotics for Industry 4.0. Premio Inc. is set to launch its RCO-1000-EHL Fanless Mini Industrial computer supported by Intel® 11th Generation Celeron® J Series (Elkhart Lake) Processors at ATX West. The RCO-1000-EHL is the newest addition to Premio’s industrial lowpower, fanless mini computers (RCO-1000 series), providing significant performance boosts to space-limited applications ranging from industrial controls, automation systems, telematics, transportation, and surveillance deployments at the rugged edge.

“With the proliferation of data generation from IoT sensors and devices at the rugged edge, IT to OT convergence models can benefit from industrial fanless computers for x86 processing, storage, and wireless connectivity,” said Dustin Seetoo, product marketing director Premio. “The RCO-1000-EHL addresses specific demands for size, durability, and increased performance in a compact size.”

The RCO-1000-EHL computer is a systemon-chip (SoC) design that provides a 60% increase in overall processing performance over its RCO1000-J1900 predecessor. The palm-sized base model measures 150mm x 105mm x 49mm (WxDxH), making it one of the smallest industrial computers available. Despite its modest size, the RCO-1000EHL boasts maximum reliability in the harshest industrial environments. Its fanless and cableless

design brings enhanced durability, allowing for reliability in broad temperature ranges, wide input voltages, and resistance to shock and vibration.

Industrial Grade Features:

-Wide Operating Temperature: -25oC – 70oC

-Shock & Vibration Resistance: 50G & 5Grms (MIL-STD-810G)

-Wide Voltage Input: 9 – 36VDC

-Over Current & Over Voltage Protection

The Intel® Celeron® J6413 10-nanometer chip in a low 10W TDP supports the RCO-1000-EHL. The processor delivers up to 4 cores, producing high performance in a low-power IIoT solution. The Elkhart Lake generation chip boosts up to 2.3x single and multi-thread performance, 5x graphic performance with integrated Intel® UHD graphics, and 4x more memory capacity over the previous RCO-1000-J1900. With this release, the RCO-1000EHL can support complex software applications, enable up to three independent 4K displays, and has 15 years of embedded lifecycle support.

A differentiating feature of the RCO-1000-EHL series is the ability for modular I/O customization through Premio’s proprietary add-on modules.

With up to 3x modular I/O slots, system integrators can choose from several I/O options to meet deployment requirements.

The base model of the RCO-1000-EHL also comes standard with 2x LAN (1x 2.5 GbE, 1x Gbe LAN), 4x USB (3x 3.2 Gen 2, 1x USB 2.0), and 2x COM ports. The internal expansion provides 1x full-size mini PCIe, 1x 2.5” SATA SSD/HDD Bay, 1x M.2 B-Key for edge AI acceleration, and 4G/5G wireless modules.

Embedded CAN bus onboard allows direct communication with other machines and network devices. The optional power ignition module prevents loss of sensitive data in automotive settings, hardware security with TPM (Trusted Platform Module) 2.0, dual SIM sockets for data telemetry (4G/LTE & 5G), and flexible mounting choices (DIN-Rail, Side mount, Wall mount, and VESA).

“As a manufacturer of industrial computers, Premio is committed to delivering scalable computing solutions that require ultimate reliability in the harshest environments,” Seetoo added. “Key features such as the latest x86 processors, modular I/O options, and fanless cooling designs enable our OEM and system integration customers with a well-rounded computing solution for 24/7 operation.”

With the rapidly growing and diverse requirements that industrial rugged edge applications are facing, the RCO-1000EHL is a powerful and low-power choice in helping enterprises gain a competitive edge in implementing their rugged edge or AI/machine learning applications.

February 2023

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DT Research Enhances 6-inch and 8-inch Rugged Tablets with Built-in 60-foot Range Barcode Scanners and Windows® 11 IoT Enterprise

DT Research announced the company’s DT362GL (6-inch) and DT382GL (8-inch) rugged tablets had been enhanced with built-in 60-foot range Barcode Scanners in addition to 30-foot range Ultra High Frequency (UHF) RFID readers to continue to deliver cutting-edge long-range asset verification and tracking capabilities. The DT362GL and DT382GL handhelds now run the Microsoft® Windows® 11 IoT Enterprise operating system, which enables a seamless field-to-office asset management experience.

“While the use of RFID tags continues to grow, barcode scanning remains a favored tool for asset tracking because of the lower cost, high reliability in a broader set of environments, and the ability to identify a specific serial number on an item within a pallet or container,” said Daw Tsai, President of DT Research. “Therefore, many organizations use barcodes and RFID tags during asset tracking and inventory management processes. These enhanced DT362GL and DT382GL rugged tablets provide our customers with a comprehensive long-range asset tracking solution within a compact, durable, yet robust mobile device running the latest Windows® OS.”

Long Range Barcode Scanning

The barcode scanners built into the DT362GL and DT382GL rugged tablets have special scan engines that enable them to read 1D and 2D barcodes up to 60 feet away. Asset tags can be located 30-40 feet from the ground or in hard-to-reach areas in

utility, military, and other warehouse environments. The 60-foot range barcode scanner saves users time and improves worker safety by eliminating the need to climb ladders and crawl over equipment.

UHF RFID Reader

The DT362GL and DT382GL rugged tablets include an optional embedded UHF RFID module powered by Jadak ThingMagic technology. UHF RFID readers have many uses, from inventory and equipment management without manual data entry to locating underground infrastructure assets such as gas pipelines and sewer lines, enabling secure access verification within 16 feet or up to a 30-foot range using an external pistol grip antenna.

“Our customers have told us that asset verification and visibility is essential to them, but it can be labor intensive, time-consuming, and expensive,” said Rob Drop pa, GM Gov ernment Solu tions. “Studies have shown it can take up to five minutes to capture all the information necessary to verify an asset in a warehouse or the field, and errors in data entry cost about $300 on average to correct. But by using our purpose-built, Windows® pow

ered mobile devices to scan barcodes and read RFID tags at long ranges; it’s possible to capture the information of multiple assets within seconds and significantly improve the accuracy of the data captured.”

The DT362GL and DT382GL fanless handhelds are IP65-rated and MIL-STD-810G to deliver reliable operation in harsh and mission-critical environments with a hot-swappable battery pack that enables continuous operation. These rugged handhelds offer seamless information capture and transmission in secure and non-secure environments through barcode scanning, UHF RFID, smart card readers, dedicated GNSS modules, and cameras. Indoor and outdoor viewing is possible through high-barred capacitive touch screens.

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Boost Edge AI Performance with the New NVIDIA Jetson Orin NX 16GB System-on-Module

We are building on the momentum from last year’s NVIDIA Jetson edge AI expansion. Devices,

the NVIDIA Jetson Orin NX 16 GB module is now available for purchase worldwide.

The Jetson Orin NX 16 GB module is unmatched in performance and efficiency for the small form factor, low-power robots, embedded applications, and autonomous machines. This

makes it ideal for use in products like drones and handheld devices. The module can easily be used for advanced applications such as manufacturing, logistics, retail, agriculture, healthcare, and life sciences—all in a compact, power-efficient package.

It is the smallest Jetson form factor, delivering up to 100 TOPS of AI performance with power configurable between 10 W and 25 W. It gives developers 3x the performance of the NVIDIA Jetson AGX Xavier and 5x the performance of the NVIDIA Jetson Xavier NX.

The system-on-module supports multiple AI application pipelines with NVIDIA Ampere architecture GPU, next-generation deep learning and vision accelerators, high-speed I/O, and fast memory bandwidth. You can develop solutions using your largest and most complex AI models in natural language understanding, 3D perception, and multi-sensor fusion.

Showcasing the giant leap in performance, NVIDIA ran some computer vision benchmarks using the NVIDIA JetPack 5.1. Testing included some dense INT8 and FP16 pre-trained models from NGC. The same models were also run for comparison on Jetson Xavier NX.

Following is the complete list of benchmarks:

• NVIDIA PeopleNet v2.5 for the highest accuracy in people detection.

• NVIDIA ActionRecognitionNet for 2D and 3D models.

• NVIDIA LPRNet for license plate recognition.

• NVIDIA DashCamNet for object detection and labeling.

• NVIDIA BodyPoseNet for multiperson human pose estimation.

Taking the geomean of these benchmarks, Jetson Orin NX shows a 2.1x performance increase compared to Jetson Xavier NX. With future software optimizations, this is expected to approach 3.1x for dense benchmarks. Other Jetson devices have increased performance by 1.5x since their first supporting software release; a similar is anticipated for the Jetson Orin NX 16 GB.

Jetson Orin NX also brings support for sparsity, which will enable even greater performance. With sparsity, you can take advantage of the fine-grained structured sparsity in deep learning networks to increase the throughput for Tensor Core operations. NVIDIA nvidia.com