The beginning of 2013 started to see revenue results for companies. Most companies reported results that were essentially stable with minor increases or declines year-on-year. Boeing was the exception with revenues growing 19% year-on-year on the back of the company's commercial business. Company results reflected a slowing defense market, but contract activity was surprisingly good in January with new contracts across all sectors including radar, communications and EW.

There were a number of international shows in February providing the stage for companies to establish strategic relationships, form joint ventures and highlight their capabilities as well as signing major contracts. Saab is partnering with Tawazun to create a new UAE-based radar company. Amongst the UAS related developments, Northrop Grumman successfully flew a RQ-4 Global Hawk unmanned aircraft for the first time using open architecture-based command and control software and hardware developed by the company. Other business activity included Boeing and Elbit Systems signing a MoU to support joint pursuit of opportunities for self-defense solutions and the O'Gara Group, completing its purchase agreement to acquire BAE Systems Commercial Armored Vehicles.

Clients of the ADS service can read the full reports:

Defense Electronics Industry Review: January 2013

Defense Electronics Industry Review: February 2013

Also, don’t miss our regular column in Microwave Journal’s Military Microwaves.

See Defence iQ for more analysis on the defense industry, related news and events.

Asif

Ultra Electronics, 3eTI is a solutions provider supporting the move to net-centricity with the aim of weaving cybersecurity into defense networks. 3eTI builds out wired and wireless networks which provide baseline security and has the flexibility to allow additional sensors to be incorporated. The company has deployed its virtual perimeter monitoring systems (VPMS), based on its VirtualFence solution, and received an approval to operate from the US Navy. By establishing a wireless cloud over a base, 3eTI is also providing solutions such as its EnergyGuard System that can be used to monitor energy usage, allowing even legacy, standalone industrial controls / energy sensors and systems to be layered into the network while maintaining independent operation.

The company is now turning its attention to monitoring the RF spectrum with a new real-time monitoring and intelligent analysis solution that identifies RF interference within broadband wireless spectrum environments and alerts users of in-band and out-of-band emissions that would interfere with customer’s communications within their area of operations. UltraVision Spectrum Manager is designed as an RF monitoring tool that can scan a broad swath of frequencies ranging from 100MHz to 6GHz using a Direction Finding (DF) system with the aim of providing a fixed installation/base with capabilities to monitor potential interference around the site perimeter. Like COMINT, Direction Finding (DF) is an ESM function and simply put, the purpose of DF is to determine from which direction a received signal was transmitted and, when necessary, take tactical offensive or defensive measures to counter the signal. Usually this involves the use of location vans or specialized handheld equipment. Both approaches can be expensive and require a dedicated expert able to operate the equipment and decipher the signals being received to identify sources of interference.

The 3eTI approach builds on the company’s VirtualFence approach and involves the use of fixed units comprising an antenna, coupled with a ruggedized broadband spectrum analyser that interfaces to a Geographic Information System (GIS) type display that alerts the user to interference and provides vector-based angles of arrival on-screen, allowing the source of RF interference to be accurately identified.

The early concept comprised a cylindrical antenna of around 7 to 8 inches in diameter, which was demonstrated to the US Navy in 2012. The final solution comprises a 30-inch dome shaped antenna that provides broader spectrum capability. The passive antenna system connects to a broadband spectrum analyser (the node) comprising a front-end with LNAs and digital receivers offering coverage over 20MHz channel widths. This unit is typically configured to monitor spectrum in the LMR (380MHz), Wi-Fi (2.4GHz) and public safety (4.4GHz, 4.9GHz) frequencies. An Ethernet connection provides the data back to the operator display and there is also an option to connect the nodes wirelessly back to the operator.

A typical UltraVision Spectrum Manager system comprises the DF antenna designed by 3eTI, coupled with three sensor nodes and the C5I interface, which shows a map of the area, node positions and provides the visual alerts when the nodes detect interference. A system cost is envisaged in the range of $150K, compared to the cost of a handheld device which could cost up to $45K plus the services of a dedicated operator. The final solution – in terms of number of systems needed - would be dependent upon the site in question and factors such as the area to be covered, buildings on-site and the specific frequencies that need to be monitored. Availability for the RF monitoring system will be from Q2 2013 onwards.

The use of space is increasing and becoming an essential component for infrastructure in communications, navigation and timing, agriculture and weather monitoring and disaster relief efforts. The importance of satellites in the military domain is going to continue to increase as nations typically associated with space power look to maintain and update capabilities and other nations look to establish themselves by taking advantage of technology and platform advances.

Military satellites have, for some time, formed the backbone of military communication, reconnaissance and navigation capabilities. This is a fundamental capability area in what is becoming a far more contested and congested area of operation. As military satellite platforms share development with commercial ventures and defense authorities look to alternative platform sizes, the utilization of commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) components will also increase in prominence. Technology enhancements at the component and system level will also include GaAs-based triple junction solar cells, GaN-based power amplifiers and the use of phased array antennas. The capabilities of Ka-band are also being actively examined for military satellite communications and will form an increasingly staple part of the military satellite communications portfolio over the coming years.

Advances in small satellite technology have elevated the status of small satellites from just being “military relevant” to “laptop in space” platforms that can offer capabilities and advantages over traditional platforms in certain operational environs. We will see more utilization as they complement traditional satellite platforms. From an operational perspective, small satellites will increasingly be used to provide added situational awareness to supplement the close-up view that can be provided with tactical UAVs.

The fiscally constrained environment will result in more cooperation between nations on developing and sharing capabilities although this will have to be balanced with maintaining sovereign capabilities. As well the pooling of resources, we will also see Public Private Partnership (PPP) schemes such as the UK’s Private Finance Initiative (PFI) being used to fund future capabilities in space and increasing use of dual-use strategies.

Clients of the ADS service can read the full report:

Military Satellite Trends and Outlook

Asif

Despite the ongoing uncertainty with defense expenditure facing challenges and the threat of sequestration hanging over US companies there was positive news on the financial front as companies finished releasing results for the second quarter of the calendar year. Taking a snapshot of financial results and looking at quarterly revenue growth over the second and first quarters shows a turnaround with companies growing revenue as opposed to the quarter-to-quarter revenue declines observed after the first quarter of 2012.

There was also plenty of activity in August including new product launches, technology demonstrations and contracts as well as business acquisitions.

Amongst the business deals concluded in August, Mercury Computer Systems completed its acquisition of Micronetics, allowing the company to continue solidifying a portfolio of offerings that will now include RF capabilities. Meanwhile, BAE Systems signed a MoU with MASS to work on EW systems for the export market. The partnership is designed to offer customers electronic warfare training and data management, operational analysis, countermeasure development, mission data validation and mission evaluation.

There were also a number of announcements in the area of UAVs, with for example, an emphasis on developing secure communications. Northrop Grumman awarded Cubic Communications a contract to produce a new multiband digital data link system for the MQ-8C Fire Scout unmanned helicopter which will feature the ability to transmit Ku- and C-band transmissions at the same time. Expanding the role of UAVs with the addition of weapons is also being actively pursued and Raytheon completed a successful warhead and guidance system test of its Pyros small tactical munition to validate the weapon's semi-active laser and GPS guidance modes.

In July one of the notable events was NETMA issuing a RfP to Eurofighter GmbH for the development of an AESA Radar (E-scan). Officials said the target is to have a contract by the middle of next year and to have an E-Scan entering into service by 2015. The contract would mean development of the radar would come early next year with Eurofighter and Euroradar, the Selex Galileo-led consortium supplying radars for the Typhoon. The other European fighter, the Saab Gripen NG aircraft is now flying with a SELEX Galileo Raven ES-05 AESA fire control radar installed.

In August, there was considerable activity for naval radar platforms that included Lockheed Martin submitting its final proposal to the US Navy to design, build, integrate and test the new Air and Missile Defense Radar (AMDR) S-band radar and radar suite controller for the future DDG-51 Flight III class destroyer.

At the component level, Northrop Grumman demonstrated an 850 GHz integrated receiver under Phase 2 of the DARPA Terahertz Electronics program, setting a new performance record. Under Phase 1, the company had already developed a Terahertz Monolithic Integrated Circuit that operated at 670 GHz in 2010. In addition to demonstrating low-noise integrated receivers, the company also developed and tested LNAs and PAs. Meanwhile, M/A-COM introduced a 40W GaN-on-SiC transistor suitable for S-band military radar. Perhaps more importantly, M/A-COM was suggesting that the MAGX-002735-040L00 will provide an MTTF of 600 years or better based on HTOL RF accelerated life testing.

In conclusion, the summer period was arguably quite upbeat for the defense industry with financials looking positive and plenty of activity in terms of new product launches, technology demonstrations, contracts as well as mergers and acquisitions. Whether this momentum can be maintained as the year draws to a close will be dependent on how well companies are able or perhaps in some cases allowed to adapt to a changing environment and proactively seek out opportunities away from their traditional territories.

Clients of the ADS service can read the full reports:

Defense Electronics Industry Review: July 2012

Defense Electronics Industry Review: August 2012

Also, don’t miss our regular column in Microwave Journal’s Military Microwaves.

See Defence iQ for more analysis on the defense industry, related news and events.

Asif

Eurosatory is held in Paris on a biannual basis with Eurosatory 2012 continuing to focus as an event centered on land and air platforms. The event boasted over 53,000 attendees and included a new focus on security this year including cyber. There were a range of technologies showcased at Eurosatory 2012 emphasizing the importance of enhancing capabilities and meeting the needs of SwaP-constrained platforms.

The growing use of COTS-based platforms was also highlighted by both DRS Technologies and Harris with the introduction of ruggedized, Military-grade Android-based handheld computer and tablet products. Elektrobit’s Counter-RCIED platform was demonstrated as a potential tool for convoy mission planning. Rohde & Schwarz was emphasizing the use of IP technologies for radio communication platforms. Finally, there was a range of radar technologies on show with Cassidian, FLIR and Camero showing solutions targeting applications from border surveillance to through-wall imaging.

IMS 2012 was held in Montreal, Canada for the first time in its 60 year history and a strong industrial program was complimented with a good mix of technical sessions and social events. While attendance was flat, there was an overall increase of around 40% year-on-year in the number of paper submissions.

Main themes that came out of the technical sessions centered on low cost millimeter-wave technologies based on Si CMOS. Terahertz technologies also continued to be a key topic with new concepts and a look towards integrated devices. Finally, nanotechnology was discussed in technical sessions with tunable devices including MEMS-based switches looking to commercial markets. Other areas of interest identified included energy harvesting, wireless energy transmission and the use of RF technologies in biomedical applications as well as the role RF will play in the “Internet of Everything”.

On the show floor, there was a positive atmosphere with companies focused on both commercial and defense markets. Strategy Analytics was also on the show floor to kick off a series of Richardson RFPD Supplier presentations where we outlined our thoughts on how GaN is becoming a pivotal technology in the defense sector. Strategy Analytics’ breakfast session at IMS 2012 was held in conjunction with Microwave Journal this year and included participation from Cree, Nitronex, NXP, RFMD, TriQuint and UMS with the presentations serving as a platform to confirm the applicability of GaN to addressing communications, electronic warfare, and radar applications.

The need for wideband communications including demand from the UAV and SATCOM sector at Ku-band and the need to address Ka-band requirements from SOTM, missile seekers and other communications applications is also driving opportunities for GaN device suppliers. However, while GaN technology hits a lot of the parameters being asked for by military system designers, other technologies including TWTs, LDMOS and SiC will also continue to play a role in future defense system design.

Finally, the Farnborough International Airshow 2012 took place in July acting as a conduit for the trade, with orders and commitments covering a total of 758 aircraft and worth $72 billion. More impressive, given the current economic uncertainty was the fact that the order value represented a 53 percent increase on 2010.

Attendance was equally impressive with just over 107,000 trade visitors and over 1500 exhibitors with representation right across the supply chain. Over 70 military delegations from 46 countries attended with a further 13 delegations from the civil sector. The UK Prime Minister opened the show, and other UK Cabinet members made keynote speeches, with other senior ministers visiting from the UK and overseas.

Over 140 aircraft took part in the static and flying displays at the Farnborough Aerodrome in Hampshire. While the Airbus A400M was unable to fly (again!) due to mechanical issues, the Airbus A380 was in attendance and other flying display highlights included the Korean T50 jet trainer, the Eurofighter Typhoon and the Saab Gripen Fighter.

Perhaps surprisingly, the continuing requirement for a range of technologies was emphasized during meetings at Farnborough. TMD Technologies was showcasing its S-band TWT solutions as well as highlighting the capabilities of the company’s X-band 8kW PAMs which can be combined with up to 12 units to enable land-based radar solutions and provide the graceful degradation typically associated with GaAs and GaN-based AESA systems. On the GaAs front, Plextek’s Blighter B400 FMCW/Doppler Ku-band PESA radar was being demonstrated and Eletronnica was also showcasing GaAs-based solutions with the Virgilius EW system which provides both ESM and jamming functionality based around an AESA RF front-end.

In conclusion, there were a range of technologies showcased at all the shows with radar, communications and electronic warfare capabilities and requirements driving demand for technologies that can enhance the capabilities of existing platforms as well as meet the ever growing need to optimize SWaP parameters across both existing and emerging platforms.

Clients of the ADS service can read the full reports on the Eurosatory, IMS and Farnborough shows:

Defense Technology Highlights from Eurosatory 2012

RF Technologies for Defense at IMS 2012 Centered on GaN

Satellites, UAVs, Radar and Travelling Wave Tubes at Farnborough 2012

Also, don’t miss our regular column in Microwave Journal’s Military Microwaves.

See Defence iQ for more analysis on the defense industry, related news and events.

Asif

Spending on land/ground-based EW (electronic warfare) platforms and systems will see a sharp decline over the next two years as troop withdrawals from Iraq (completed) and Afghanistan obviate demand. The Strategy Analytics Advanced Defense Systems (ADS) service report, “Technology Trends for Land-based Electronic Warfare Systems,” forecasts global spending on ground/land-based EW platforms and systems will drop by an average 27% through 2014 as expenditure that has typically been centered upon these theatres draws to a close.

However, the withdrawal from these theatres will not change the general trends towards asymmetric warfare and unfortunately, the use of IEDs (improvised explosive devices) and RCIEDs (radio-controlled improvised explosive devices) will continue to proliferate. Nations will look to leverage the experience gained to facilitate troops in counteracting the threats of IEDs and RCIEDs in similar situations moving forwards.

Key to developing future EW system capabilities will be an evolutionary approach. The emphasis will be on flexibility, power, modularity, and this is influencing the design of systems as well as the enabling technologies used.

As the signal environment continues to become more complex and congested, RF-based systems, systems will need to be able to look at the complete frequency range. This will require higher performing FPGAs, analog-to-digital converters and wider use of GaN-based RF front-ends to facilitate the development of systems that provide wide-band multi-bit real-time direct RF sampling and processing.

Demand for ground/land-based EW systems will re-emerge from 2015 onwards with global expenditure forecast to exceed $1 billion in 2022.

Clients of the ADS service can read the full report here.

Also, don’t miss my monthly column in the Microwave Journal’s Military Microwaves.

See Defence iQ for more analysis on the defense industry, related news and event.

Asif

Strategy Analytics is at the Electronic Warfare 2012 Conference & Exhibition this week in Rome, Italy where this year’s theme is "Electromagnetic Operations in a Complex Environment", so the topic for this blog focuses on our thoughts for land-based EW system trends.

When the US invaded Afghanistan in October 2001 the Army had very little capability to jam RCIEDs, and the first jammers to arrive on the battlefield were frequency-specific and thus easily defeated. Similar problems continued in Iraq for several years after the March 2003 invasion.

The proliferation of Improvised Explosive Devices (IEDs) in Afghanistan and Iraq created a sense of tactical urgency, leading to a greater allocation of resources to counter this weapon.  The Pentagon responded with a multitude of stop-gap jammers designed for specific threats.

At the same time, the growing importance of land EW led to a strategic future-oriented focus. The Army Chief of Staff established the Army IED Task Force in October 2003. Then-Deputy Secretary of Defense Paul Wolfowitz later transformed this into the Joint IED Task Force, and in February 2006 it was converted into the permanent Joint IED Defeat Organization (JIEDDO – www.jieddo.dod.mil).

While the first generation of stop-gap jammers were developed and delivered to the battlefield relatively quickly, they could not be easily (or at all) modified to counter the evolving RCIEDs and enemy tactics. The second generation of jammers could cover a broad range of frequencies, had more sophisticated signal response techniques, and caused less interference with other jammers and the Army’s communications gear.

An example of this is the Counter-Radio Controlled Improvised Explosive Device Electronic Warfare (CREW 2.1) from ITT Electronic Systems Force Protection Systems group, also known as the CREW 2.1 Vehicle Receiver Jammer (CVRJ). In 2008, development and testing emphasized the spiral enhancements approach for mounted and dismounted systems, including the Combined Vehicle Radio Jammer (CVRJ). Over 8000 CVRJs were manufactured by the end of FY08, and 5600 were installed on Mine Resistant Ambush Protected (MRAP) vehicles and other deployed vehicles.

The spiral development model recognized that the RCEID-intensive irregular warfare in Afghanistan and Iraq required an iterative development process with fielding of Version 1 while requirements were defined and developments planned for Version 2. This has resulted in the the development of Joint CREW (JCREW) 3.X, for which JIEDDO funded development and testing of three initiatives:

• 3.1 is a man-portable system manufactured by Sierra Nevada Corp.
• 3.2 is vehicle-mounted (i.e., HMMWV, MRAP) and manufactured by ITT Advanced Engineering & Sciences
• 3.3 is a system-of-systems of mounted, man-portable, and fixed-installation versions from ITT Electronic Systems Force Protection Systems group. These share a common open architecture and are designed to be networked and communicate over the Army’s wireless battlefield networks.

DARPA also takes a long-term approach, and several of its offices are conducting research that could be applied in future land EW systems. For example, the Strategic Technology Office’s Precision Electronic Warfare Program mission is to develop and demonstrate low cost, small (size, weight, and power) distributed EW platforms for precise communications jamming. The Information Innovation Office’s Behavioral Learning for Adaptive Electronic Warfare Program is developing new machine learning algorithms and techniques for the rapid detection and characterization of new radio threats, dynamic synthesis of countermeasures, and accurate EA battle damage assessment.

Going forward, military forces will need to be demand flexibility, power, modularity, and portability for land EW digital receivers and other systems and components. This will become increasingly important in the network-centric environment, resulting in a greater emphasis on tools to enhance situational awareness and survivability. The trends toward asymmetric conflict and the hybridization of conventional warfare and asymmetric conflict, especially when it occurs in foot soldier intensive urban combat, will further drive this requirement. The decentralized control of ISR and EW assets is also a central tenet of COIN (counter-insurgency) doctrine, which itself depends on modular, flexible, portable, and integrated forces.

The effective deployment of counter-IED systems is particular challenging because while soldiers and vehicles are on the move, IEDs are either in fixed positions and thus not always a nearby threat, or mobile and thus difficult to predict when they will be nearby and quickly become a threat. In other words, the jammer may not always be where (and when) it is needed. One possible solution, being investigated by Sky Industries in Canada, is real time in-situ estimation of counter-IED ECM protection range so the ECM protection bubble (jammer) is always where it is needed (and not where it is not needed). This approach requires networked interaction between the protected asset and the ECM system.

Roke Manor Research received the Queen's Awards for Enterprise and Innovation in 2011 for the company’s modular man-pack EW system, RESOLVE. The company has emphasized the need to maintain a holistic approach to EW while optimizing systems for dismounted, close support operations. Synchronization with ISTAR assets as part of the “Sensor – Decider – Shooter” chain is also a priority.

SELEX Galileo also demonstrates the prominence of modularity and integration with its Mobile Electronic Warfare Platform (MEWP). An integrated solution for communications and non-communications tactical EW, it can be configured for EA or ES roles. It is a self-contained unit with integral EW sub-systems, communications, power, and environmental control.

Underpinning these trends for future EW systems will be RF technologies such as GaN to meet the requirements of wideband, high power capabilities. This will enable further digitization of the RF chain by allowing a “no-channel” concept to be realised, in which the systems can look at the complete frequency range. As has been mentioned in previous columns, Strategy Analytics believes phased arrays will also play a growing part in future EW systems potentially allowing both COMINT and radar capabilities to be combined. At the digital interface, ADCs will need to provide higher sample rates and higher dynamic range which will in turn drive demand for FPGAs as the demands on digital processing increase.

It will be interesting to see whether these trends are reflected at the conference...watch this space!

Asif

In electronic warfare (EW) the US Army Contracting Command, MICC, Aberdeen Proving Ground awarded BAE Systems E&IS, Electronic Warfare - Information Dominance Systems (IDS) a contract for procurement of SIGINT Traveler Pod (T-Pod) Systems for the MQ-1C Sky Warrior / Gray Eagle UAS while ITT Exelis has successfully installed and tested an advanced self-defense electronic warfare system on F-16 aircraft operated by an international customer.

Looking ahead, Lockheed Martin and Raytheon joined forces to compete for a US Navy contract that will upgrade the fleet's capability to electronically attack anti-ship missiles.

Through its Surface Electronic Warfare Improvement Program (SEWIP) Block 3 upgrade, the Navy seeks to cost effectively enhance the electronic attack capability of its AN/SLQ-32 V(3) and V(4) EW systems to counter threat technology advances. All US aircraft carriers, cruisers, destroyers and other warships use the AN/SLQ-32 EW system.

Staying with EW, the team of ITT Exelis and Boeing has successfully successfully demonstrated multiple critical technology elements, including digital beam-forming, mid band and high band power amplifiers as part of the U.S. Navy Next Generation Jammer (NGJ) program’s technology maturation phase.

The digital beam-forming technology demonstrated recent advancements made in broad band electronically steerable antenna arrays which have come through the use of AESA technology in the radar field. As discussed during the Strategy Analytics webinar, “AESA Radar Trends: Fast-jets and Beyond” AESA technology is starting to extend beyond radar into EW and communications applications and the NGJ program is one example.

Another aspect discussed in “AESA Radar Trends: Fast-jets and Beyond” is the move towards GaN-based technology and NGJ program again affirms our prediction that GaN technology will become a pivotal technology for future generations of radar, communications and EW systems.

Other developments in the first month of January 2012 included Harris Corporation reporting several communications contracts. In the weapons area, MBDA was awarded the FLAADS Demonstration Phase Contract by the UK Ministry of Defence to develop the SEA CEPTOR naval air defence system. Finally, in radar applications, Raytheon received additional contracts for maintenance of the COBRA DANE radar facility while Elta Systems anticipates the first sale of its developmental system as Airbus Military completed initial flight test activities on an AEW&C derivative of its C-295 medium transport.

To read more about defense industry events in January, see Defense Electronics Industry Review: January 2012 which covers defense industry news for the month of January, covering radar, electronic warfare, weapons systems and communications. The report also looks at microwave, optoelectronic and other components discussing business event, product announcments, milestones and contract activity.

The latest ADS monthly review includes coverage of European Microwave Week in Manchester, UK where TriQuint launched a family of reflective GaN-based SPDT (single pole double throw) switches. Operating at 10-40 W over 6-18 GHz, the switches allow designers of defense, aerospace or high-performance commercial systems to use much smaller semiconductor devices in many applications where the only alternative previously option was to use larger, heavier electromechanical devices.

Scalability is another feature often talked about when discussing AESA radar capabilities, and where the STARlite demonstrates lightweight, small sized solutions, the other end of the scale is amply demonstrated by Raytheon’s involvement in the Cobra Judy Replacement program Raytheon has completed the shipboard installation of the Cobra Judy Replacement program's X- and S-band antennas onto the USNS Howard O. Lorenzen. These massive active phased-array antennas weigh more than 500,000 pounds and comprise an estimated 20,000 T/R modules. Northrop Grumman also demonstrated the AN/TPS-80 Ground/Air Task Oriented Radar (G/ATOR) system to senior Department of Defense leaders at the Pentagon as well as the Highly Adaptable Multi-Mission Radar (HAMMR), which is a derivative of the Defense Department's Ground Based Fighter Radar (GBFR).

BAE Systems was involved in multiple activity on the EW front including an announcement that the company will begin full-rate production of the U.S. Navy AN/ALE-55 fiber-optic towed decoy, an RF airborne countermeasure designed to protect the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet from radar-guided missiles. Meanwhile, Italian electronics specialist ELT Elettronica has developed a dedicated command-and-control (C2) system that improves EW capabilities in a network-centric environment and simultaneously resists cyberattacks. The Loki ELT/950 NSM (networked system manager) coordinates and exploits passive and active networked sensors and continuously checks network security.

In the area of smart weapons, Northrop Grumman will provide personnel for expanded operations of Counter-Rocket, Artillery and Mortar (C-RAM) sense-and-warn systems in Afghanistan and Iraq, while ATK has been awarded a contract by the U.S. Navy for a third lot of LRIP Advanced Anti-Radiation Guided Missiles (AARGM). Meanwhile, the French air force and Naval aviation began operational deployment of the infrared terminal guidance version (SBU-64) of the Hammer IR AASM modular air-to-ground weapon. Developed and produced by Sagem (Safran group), the Hammer AASM is a family of air-to-ground weapons, comprising a guidance kit with an infrared imager in the nose cone, along with the standard hybrid GPS / inertial guidance systems.

Harris led the field in terms of announcements for the communications sector, with the company’s Falcon III AN/PRC-117G radios being selected both by US and international customers. Meanwhile, Boeing announced that it has successfully demonstrated high-data-rate transmissions between a FAB-T system and a test terminal for the AEHF satellite. This was one in a series of development tests that are demonstrating extended data rate voice, text and data communication with a FAB-T unit.

This year's Defence & Security Equipment International (DSEi) exhibition, played host to over 29,000 attendees who converged in London to view possibly the world's largest display of land, sea and air applications of defence and security products and technologies. The exhibition featured almost 1400 exhibiting companies representing 46 countries and included 30 national pavilions.

Key trends observed at the show confirmed Strategy Analytics assertions related to AESA radar, wideband technologies and the expanding mission envelope of UAV platforms.

BAE Systems and Cassidian were both showcasing examples of how quickly AESA technology is now taking over the radar landscape.  A visit to the BAE Systems stand provided a brief overview of the company’s radar portfolio based around AESA technology utilizing GaAs T/R modules. In air defense radar the ARTISAN 3D system includes “e-stab” and along with compact variants, the company currently has 19 systems on order with the UK Royal Navy. On the naval front, BAE Systems has the SAMPSON multifunction radar and the company is also targeting air surveillance and commercial air traffic control requirements with variants of its EWACS multifunction land radar.

Cassidian was showcasing the launch of the TRS-4D naval radar. The TRS-4D is a surveillance and target multifunction radar.  The TRS-4D is an AESA radar combined with mechanical rotation in azimuth to provide continuous 360 degree scanning combined with the ability to direct the electronic beam towards areas of interest for a “deep look” as the beam is deflected. Other benefits cited included the ability to detect more targets and smaller targets down to 0.01m2.

Electronic beam deflection also allows the TRS-4D to significantly improve on the detection offered by conventional mechanically scanned rotating radars which can typically be as high as 6 seconds. Detection target verification time is reduced to 1 second with the TRS-4D. Added flexibility is achieved by stopping the antenna rotation so that a docked ship can perform a horizon search and be used to counter asymmetric threats as well as be used for search and rescue operations. 

Significantly, the TRS-4D is using GaN T/R modules and reportedly represents the first implementation of GaN technology for radar applications at 5~6GHz. The system utilizes a low noise receiver array on GaAs technology and is configured to enable digital beamforming.

Elektrobit is a Finnish company that has worked with the domestic armed forces and international partners for over 15 years. The company’s focus is on tactical communications, EW and SIGINT. While the company has many years of experience, the company has only recently started to productize its portfolio and used DSEi to showcase some of its capabilities, which included wideband sensors for SIGINT and COMINT applications. Elektrobit is also offering a counter RCIED platform that the company is marketing to OEMs and systems integrators for development of products. The company has a roadmap towards networked multifunctional products that will be able to monitor the spectrum and jam intelligently, working collaboratively with a sensor network.

Another company showcasing its products for the EW sector was Netline. An Israeli company, Netline is focused on the development and manufacture of counter IED and RF jammers. Products cover the VHF and UHF frequency range and extend through to 6GHz. Products range from vehicle-based solutions and man portable and include an emphasis on reactive portable jamming. The company uses off-the-shelf PA technology including GaN and LDMOS.

Looking at the expanding mission envelope for UAV platforms, Insitu was present at DSEi to woo international customers, having already achieved some measure of success in Australia, Canada and Poland. The company has introduced a ScanEagle variant which incorporates a dual-bay to allow additional sensors to be fitted with the additional sensors sitting in a bay behind the EO-IR sensor bay. Insitu believes this will allow the company to to offer new mission capabilities to both existing and new customers as well as providing (improved) existing mission capabilities for existing and new customers. 

The dual-bay will allow the company to incorporate radar, communications, camera and EW capabilities. Insitu has implemented X-band AESA radar in this format where the radar can be used to cue the EO-IR sensor to provide additional classification opportunities for maritime surveillance and other homeland security/border applications. Field exercises of this capability have been implemented.

The dual-bay format also allows implementation of comms relay capabilities at UHF/VHF frequencies, connecting voice/data for troops that do not have LOS (line-of-sight); this could also be used for humanitarian/disaster relief scenarios where existing infrastructure may not be operational. Insitu is also looking at the potential for air-to-air communications.

Finally, the dual-bay capability also opens the possibility for other payloads to be implemented targeting electronic warfare. Insitu is considering the use of both passive and active payloads and is working with customers and partners to develop these capabilities.

Overall, DSEi offered an insight into how the next generation of radar, EW and comms systems will make use of technologies to enable wideband, net-centric operations while maintaining a focus on SWaP (size, weight and power). When DSEi returns to London in 2013, we should expect to see AESA technology established as the primary form of radar across all domains, and wideband, high power requirements from communications and EW driving continued demand for RF technologies.