Government Technology

A General Atomics business unit has tested the use of integrated fuel tanks for a refueling unmanned aircraft system being developed for the U.S. Navy. General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc said Thursday it integrated the fuel tanks into the MQ-25‘s full-scale wing skin and a large-scale wing box unit that underwent tests at a facility in Adelanto, Calif. The company confirmed the wing and […] More

The U.S. Army‘s Tank Automotive Research, Development and Engineering Center has partnered with Honeywell‘s aerospace business to install a sensor-based vision system aboard the Bradley fighting vehicle. TARDEC said Monday its Mission Enabling Technologies-Demonstrator team integrated Honeywell-developed helmet vision technology with a system of 360-degree stereo sensors. The sensors gather situational awareness imagery that a pair of holographic optical devices […] More

Four companies have booked winning berths in a three-day prototyping competition held in June that sought technologies that could thwart enemy unmanned aerial systems, the National Defense Magazine reported. The U.S. Special Operations Command organized the event called Game of Drones, which is the third and final installment of the ThunderDrone competition. The winning counter-UAS prototype […] More

Charles River Analytics and Raytheon‘s BBN Technologies subsidiary will collaborate on a Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency-funded effort to develop modeling tools for military planners to comprehend potential causes of a conflict. The industry team aims to produce military planning tools using artificial intelligence and machine learning techniques as part of DARPA’s Causal Exploration of Complex Operational Environments program, Charles […] More

Virgin Orbit has obtained authorization from the Federal Aviation Administration to test-fly the company’s rocket system through what the agency calls a reusable launch vehicle mission. FAA issued Friday a commercial space transportation license that says Virgin Orbit’s LauncherOne platform can launch from a Boeing 747-400 carrier aircraft as part of the test slated to occur at Mojave Air and Space […] More

Sierra Technical Services has concluded the critical design review of an upcoming unmanned target aircraft. The company said Wednesday the 5th Generation Aerial Target is being designed for use in air-to-air and ground-to-air weapons evaluation, as well as in training for pilots and ground forces. The 5GAT generates propulsion through two afterburning jet engines housed in […] More

Oshkosh‘s defense business has received a $49 million contract for the installation of an autonomous technology for the U.S. Army‘s existing resupply and distribution vehicle. The company said Wednesday the contract from the Tank Automotive Research, Development and Engineering Center will support the Palletized Load System vehicle for the service branch’s Expedient Leader Follower program. […] More

The U.S. Army has selected Uptake to provide an artificial intelligence tool for the service branch to monitor the condition of Bradley Fighting Vehicles. Uptake said Tuesday it aims to help the Army predict technical failures, reduce occurrences of unscheduled maintenance and manage repairs with the Asset Performance Management application. The software will work to aid tactical commanders in monitoring, managing […] More

General Atomics‘ electromagnetic systems group has tested its Advanced Arresting Gear system on three types of heavy, propeller-driven aircraft at the Runway Arrested Landing Site in Lakehurst, N.J. The company said Monday the arresting gear was able to perform aircraft recovery on a C2-A Greyhound, an E-2C+ Hawkeye and an E-2D Advanced Hawkeye. Rolf Ziesing, vice president […] More