Laser weapons are among the advanced technologies being incorporated into next-generation weapons systems. In addition, dynamically guided missile systems, unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs), and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) will take part in a not-so-distant future battlefield where opposing forces will ultimately try to save soldiers’ lives by squaring off against each other’s technologies.

For example, Northrop Grumman (www.northropgrumman.com) is playing a major role in the development of the US Army’s High Energy Laser Technology Demonstrator (HEL TD). The mobile, solid-state laser weapon system will be mounted on a tactical ground vehicle as a weapon against rockets, artillery, and mortars. The firm has performed the preliminary design review requirements for the HEL TD’s beam control subsystem ahead of schedule, according to the timing established by a first-phase contract awarded a year earlier by the US Army’s Space and Missile Defense Command. Northrop Grumman is now prepared to complete the design, assembly, and integration of the beam control system, leading up to a test in 2010.

As Dan Wildt, vice-president of Directed Energy Systems for Northrop Grumman’s Space Technology sector, explained, “Laser weapon systems like HEL TD will provide a leap-ahead in security for warfighters and civilian populations by providing a speed-of-light, wide-area umbrella of defense against a number of threats in wide use today. The time is near when laser defenses will be an indispensable part of our security. HEL TD is enabling us to take a giant step in that direction.”

The HEL TD team is led by Northrop Grumman and includes BAE Systems, Ball Aerospace & Technologies, and L3 Com Brashears. Northrop Grumman is responsible for systems engineering, system integration, the beam control subsystem, the power subsystem, the thermal subsystem, and C3I. BAE Systems provides vehicle and platform integration. Ball Aerospace & Technologies Corp. supplies beam alignment and stabilization systems. L3 Com Brashears provides the beam director.

The US Army also awarded a contract valued at about $36 million to the Boeing Company (www.boeing.com) to continue development of a truck-mounted, high-energy laser weapon system that will destroy rockets, artillery shells and mortar rounds. Under this HEL TD Phase II contract, Boeing will complete the design and test a rugged beam control system mounted on a heavy expanded mobility tactical truck. Boeing will also develop the system-engineering requirements for the entire HEL TD laser weapon system. Scott Fancher, vice-president and general manager of Boeing Missile Defense Systems, commented that “this contract award is an important win for Boeing because it supports a cornerstone of the Army’s high-energy laser program. HEL TD will give warfighters a transformational capability to counter the difficult threats posed by rockets, artillery shells, and mortar projectiles.” Boeing has extensive experience in developing high-energy laser systems for numerous warfighter applications, including the Airborne Laser, the Advanced Tactical Laser, the Tactical Relay Mirror System, and the Laser Avenger.

Gary Fitzmire, vice-president and program director of Boeing Directed Energy Systems, explains that “Boeing spent the past year developing the preliminary design of the HEL TD beam control system, and we appreciate the confidence the Army has shown in our efforts by awarding us these contract options to continue working on the program.” The HEL TD program will support transition to a full-fledged US Army acquisition program.

Vision Systems International, LLC (VSI, www.vsi-hmcs.com), a joint venture of Rockwell Collins (www.rockwellcollins.com) and Elbit Systems of America, LLC (www.elbitsystems-us.com), was recently signed by Boeing at initially more than $17 million to supply the Joint Helmet Mounted Cueing System (JHMCS) for 145 F-15E Strike Eagles. The JHMCS provides the pilot with “first look, first shot” high off-boresight weapons engagement capabilities. The system enables the pilot to accurately cue onboard weapons and sensors against enemy aircraft and ground targets without the need to aggressively turn the aircraft or place the target in the Head-Up Display (HUD) for designation. Critical information and symbology, such as targeting cues and aircraft performance parameters, are graphically displayed directly on the pilot’s visor. This information, combined with the display of data-link cues, as well as navigational and aircraft performance parameters, provides the pilot with a tremendous increase in situational awareness.

VSI President Drew Brugal noted that “the situational awareness capabilities afforded by JHMCS in the air-to-ground mission environment are necessities given today’s battlespace, and providing a dual-seat capability is phenomenally important. Getting our JHMCS on the Strike Eagle has been a key company goal since we started developing the system in 1996.”

Harris Corp. (www.harris.com) provided more than 50 visitors from the US Navy and industry a demonstration of the firm’s new SeaLancet RT-1944/U tactical radio earlier this summer. The new radio system is designed to provide network-centric communications from maritime-based networks to both ground- and air-based networks. Demonstrations included an aircraft simulating a UAV, and three boats off the east coast of Florida as unmanned surface vehicles and tactical maritime platforms. The firm successfully showcased the radio’s high-throughput, long-range network-centric Internet Protocol (IP) communications capabilities. Attendees witnessed real-time results of the radio’s high-throughput transmission of voice (VoIP), data, files, chat, and digital streaming video from multiple platforms to the simulated Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) radio room and command center. Network IP traffic moved between as many as five nodes and at rates to 54 Mb/s between nodes at distances of more than 100 nautical miles. The radios were also used to relay communications between surface modules at distances greater than 200 nautical miles via an airborne relay.

SeaLancet was designed to communicate high-volume sensor data from multiple Navy platforms to distant tactical ships, such as the LCS. Applications include anti-submarine warfare, mine warfare, anti-surface warfare, maritime interdiction, ship-to-ship communications, and wireless pier capability. The highly ruggedized radio can survive submersion in water up to 1 meter and operate at high altitudes.

In addition to its use onboard LCSs, the compact radio can be applied to a wide range of Navy platforms, including ships, aircraft, unmanned vehicles, gateway buoys and distributed sensors. It also addresses the needs of similar maritime missions for the Department of Defense (DoD), the US Coast Guard, and international military forces.

Wes Covell, president of Harris Defense Programs, proudly remarked that “This event was a great success and demonstrated that SeaLancet provides secure and reliable net-centric communications to the edge of the maritime battlespace. We are excited about this new product and proud of its distinction of being named the Naval Sea Systems Command’s top Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program.” SeaLancet is a product of an SBIR between Harris and Reliable System Services (RSS) Corp. (www.rsscorp.com), and was recently selected for the newly established DoD Commercialization Pilot Program.

FUTURE COMBAT SYSTEMS
One of the key programs for advanced military technology development in this country is the US Army’s Future Combat Systems (FCS) program (www.army.mil/ fcs), which is funding the development of UAVs, UGVs, sensor networks, communications systems, and ballistic systems. Earlier this year, the Army announced that it had completed two successful tests of the FCS’s Non Line of Sight Launch System’s (NLOS-LS) Precision Attack Missile at White Sands Missile Range, (White Sands, NM).

The NLOS-LS consists of a containerized launch unit with self-contained tactical fire control electronics and software for remote and unmanned operations. Each launch unit houses 15 Precision Attack Missiles. The NLOSLS’s Precision Attack Missile is a vertical launched munitions capable of engaging moving targets using automatic target acquisition. The missile receives target information prior to launch, and can receive and respond to target location updates during flight. The missiles are capable of transmitting near-real-time information in the form of target imagery prior to impact.

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