Data Links & Communications
The US Army's MQ-5B Hunter unmanned ISR aircraft will be reset by Northrop Grumman from C-Band communications to a tactical common data link. The work comes under two contractor logistics support contract modifications worth $91.2 million. Each features a one-year performance period. Northrop Grumman, maker of the
Data Links & Communications
Rockwell Collins is collaborating with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) to develop an unmanned aircraft system (UAS) control and non-payload communications (CNPC) data link that will eventually enable unmanned aircraft to safely operate in the national airspace. “The reason we were selected is because we’re one of
Data Links & Communications
Pakistan has been able to hack UAS technology to the extent that it can now command a transgressing aircraft to land in Pakistan, reliable sources told the Pakistan Observer. This achievement by Pakistan is utmost significant amid desperate scenario that emerged as a result of attacks inside Pakistan by the
Data Links & Communications
Privately-owned Israeli company, IMC Microwave Industries, has developed a data link that will enable an operator to control a loitering weapon system even when it begins its dive towards a target. Until now, the company has been operating under heavy secrecy, but Flightglobal was allowed to visit the company and
Data Links & Communications
Harris Corporation is broadening the capabilities of its RF-7800T Situational Awareness Video Receiver (SAVR) to address growing requirements for secure wireless digital intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance video at the tactical edge. Harris has integrated the Small Unmanned Aerial Systems Digital Data Link (SUAS-DDL) waveform with the RF-7800T video receiver. With
Data Links & Communications
A move to a new standard communications band is needed because of a saturation of current bandwidth, French Air Chief of Staff Genenral Jean-Paul Palomeros said at a briefing in Dubai on November 12. Increasingly relied-upon unmanned aircraft such as Predators, Reapers and the French Harfang generate huge amounts of
Data Links & Communications
The LONGBOW LLC's Unmanned Aerial Systems Tactical Common Data Link Assembly (UTA) recently controlled an unmanned aircraft from an AH-64D Apache Block III attack helicopter, while both were in flight. The LONGBOW LLC is a joint venture between Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman. During flight tests, the UTA
Control Stations & Remote Video Terminals
The US Navy completed a demonstration for its unmanned aircraft Common Control System (CCS) Oct. 26 at Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division in China Lake, California. Led by the Program Executive Office for Unmanned Aviation and Strike Weapons (PEO(U&W)), CCS is a software-only solution with instantiations
Control Stations & Remote Video Terminals
The US Air Force and US Army agreed on new safety procedures to help prevent another collision between army UAS and Air Force planes. The Army and Air Force have long argued about such restrictions (about where, and when, army UAS could fly), but the August 15 collision between an
Data Links & Communications
Keeping control and data links with UAS in contested airspace remains a tough problem — and one that needs solving before the US Air Force can develop a next-generation Reaper, the service’s intelligence chief said October 28 at the C4ISR Conference, Arlington, Virginia.Lieutenant-General. Larry James said that enemies can
Data Links & Communications
Boeing plans a November 2 rollout ceremony in Mesa, Arizona, for the first upgraded AH-64D Apache Block III destined for the US Army. Ten of the latest Apaches are advancing through production, David Koopersmith, Boeing Vice President of Attack Helicopter Programmes, said October 10 during a briefing at the Association
Data Links & Communications
A major hurdle preventing the wider deployment of smart phones across the US military may have been overcome. One of the key problems in providing wireless devices to military personnel is securing communications and providing some type of user verification. A research team from Google, George Mason University and the