L-3 Southern California Microwave (L-3 SCM) has announced that it has been selected by Lockheed Martin’s Mission Systems and Training (LM MST) business to provide its MICRO Secure Digital Data Link (MICRO SDDL) as the secure command & control and ISR communications backbone for the U.K. Ministry of Defence’s (MOD) digital Desert Hawk III DDL small unmanned aircraft system (SUAS) platform.
Category Archives: Data Links & Communications
Space Industry Looks at DoD’s UAV Broadband Requirements
The space industry is working with the US Department of Defense to help better shape the broadband requirements of unmanned air vehicles in years to come, an industry executive has revealed. UAVs are commonplace in many US military operations, but the full motion and high definition video capability that is continually required to be streamed from them means it continues to rely on commercial capabilities for satellite communications (SATCOM), Skot Butler, vice-president of satellite networks and space services at Intelsat, says. Continue reading
DARPA Unveils Hack-Proof UAS
The Pentagon’s research arm unveiled a new UAS built with secure software that prevents the control and navigation of the aircraft from being hacked. The programme, called High Assurance Cyber Military Systems, or HACMS, uses software designed to thwart cyber attacks. Continue reading
GA-ASI and Rohde & Schwarz Team to Develop Voice Communications Certification for Predator B
General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. and Rohde & Schwarz, a manufacturer of wireless communications, Electromagnetic Compatibility (EMC) Test and Measurement (T&M) equipment, and broadcasting T&M equipment for digital terrestrial television, announced that they have signed a Teaming Agreement to integrate and flight demonstrate Rohde & Schwarz’s air traffic control radios on the Predator B/MQ-9 Reaper RPA.
L-3 West Brings Micro BE-CDL Capability to Small UAS
L-3 Communication Systems-West (L-3 CS-West) has successfully demonstrated that the government-standard Bandwidth Efficient Common Data Link (BE-CDL) waveform can be transmitted through small, low-cost terminals designed for platforms under 30 pounds. Continue reading
Sagetech Introduces NextGen UAS Tracker Kit
Sagetech Corporation has announced a new turnkey solution to track UAS using NextGen ADS-B location broadcasts and iPads. The ADS-B Tracker Kit includes Sagetech’s new XPG-TR micro transponder, Clarity ADS-B receiver, and an iPad with zero interface connections. It can be fully installed and operational in minutes. Continue reading
L-3 Communications to Help DARPA Build UAS-Based Internet System
L-3 Communications won a $16.4 million cost-plus-fixed-fee contract with the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency — DARPA. L-3 will be supporting Phases 2 and, if the appropriate contract option is exercised, also Phase 3 of the DARPA mobile hotspots programme. Continue reading
UAS Flies First Long-Duration Test Using Repurposed Satellite
Using a repurposed commercial satellite, US Air Force crews flew MQ-1 Predators and MQ-9 Reapers from Creech Air Force Base, Nev., during multiple missions in November and December.