News Report
As announced in a recent press release, MacAulay-Brown (MacB), has been awarded a three-year, $75 million contract by the United States Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC) to support intelligence units at Hurlburt Field, Fla. and Cannon Air Force Base (AFB), N.M.
Under the terms of the task order, MacB intelligence and IT specialists will directly support the warfighter by providing planning, integration and the implementation of new and existing intelligence collection, exploitation, reporting, dissemination and evaluation capabilities. MacB was selected to support the AFSOC task order due to its management and technical approach that ensures mission continuity, improvements in efficiency and capability and a stable workforce dedicated to supporting 24x7 operations.
MacB has a long history partnering with AFSOC. The Company has provided AFSOC with Systems Engineering and Technical Assistance (SETA) support since 1996 and Joint Terminal Attack Control and Small Unmanned Aerial System (JTAC/SUAS) support since 2010. MacB will provide on-site support through its Mission System Group’s Operations & Logistics Division located in Shalimar, Fla.
Comments
“We are proud of the long-standing relationship we have built with AFSOC, especially with the intelligence units that provide the warfighter with critical information,” said Sid Fuchs, President and CEO of MacB. “The expert support and development our teams will deliver will directly impact the men and women who are risking their lives for the nation.”
References: MacB (1)
Showing posts with label Area: Special Operations. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Area: Special Operations. Show all posts
January 31, 2012
January 24, 2012
Sylinx's H2OPs modular heandset for maritme, urban and covert missions
News Report
As reported in a recent press release, Sylinx announced the launch of its new, state-of-the-art 20m immersible hearing protection/enhancement headset system, the H2Ops. Derived from Silynx's combat proven C4OPS, the H2Ops is a modular headset designed for maritme, urban and covert missions. This dynamic product includes a new 20m immersible low profile micro wireless Push To Talk (PTT) designed to fit on a Picatinny rail or MOLLE vest.
The combat-proven Sylinx's C4OPS and Micro C4OPS have been widely used in the past 3 years and adopted by US Special Operations Forces (US SOF), NATO Special Forces, FBI SWAT, and the Land 200 Australian Modernisation Program. The C4OPS is a recent addition to the U.S. Army's FY12 Rapid Fielding Initiative Equipment List.
Comments
"Silynx is proud to introduce the H2Ops. This is our most innovative tactical headset yet and it caps off a development process that incorporates our unique expertise, as well as lessons learned from past fielding of 20m immersible tactical products," said Gil Limonchik, CEO, Silynx. "We use feedback from Operators to develop each fielded headset and continuously improve our products. By going straight to the end user, we ensure that warfighters have access to the most technologically advanced micro soldier communications system available. We know that situational awareness and effective communications are critical to mission success. The H2Ops headset will set the standard in its field because it guarantees both."
References: Sylinx (1), ASDNews (2)
November 15, 2011
U.S. Navy demonstrates UAV to Weapons interoperability through a Service Oriented Architecture
News Report
As reported by U.S. Naval Air System Command's website, the U.S. Navy recently completed a demonstration for its unmanned aircraft Common Control System (CCS) at Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division in China Lake, Calif. During the demonstration, operators used the CCS to control a simulated unmanned aircraft system (UAS) and associated sensors tasked by Special Operations Forces. The UAS identified and tracked a hostile moving target and sent images of the target to an air controller. The UAS data created a precise coordinate so that a Net-Enabled Weapon (NEW) could strike. The UAS and NEW controller were then used together to perform a battle damage assessment.
The Technology
Led by the Program Executive Office for Unmanned Aviation and Strike Weapons, CCS is a software-only solution with instantiations for fixed, mobile and dismounted hardware configurations. It is intended to address common requirements for current and future unmanned aircraft systems.
During the demonstration, the U.S. Navy’s CCS used a sample of services developed under the Office of Secretary of Defense’s UAS Control Segment architecture. Multiple vendors developed these sample services and the user interface, which were successfully integrated to provide modular capabilities within one software system. Some of the services used were:
- Blue Force Tracker
- Cursor on Target
- Sensor Product Archive
- Sensor Command and Control
- Vehicle Flight Status
- Video Stream Catalog
- Meteorological and Oceanographic weather service.
Government-developed Standardization Agreement (STANAG) 4586 service and electro-optical/infrared sensor model services, as well as an independently developed industry presentation layer, were also used in the demonstration.
A major objective of the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps is to make avionics and sensor systems lighter and smaller for the functionality required and to have a greater degree of component commonality with other, especially commercial, systems. The U.S. Department is moving away from federated avionics systems to distributed systems where common processor modules and shared apertures can be used with great cost and support advantage.
Researchers at the U.S. Naval Air Systems Command (NavAir), since a few years started surveying industry for companies able to design and build a common control station for all unmanned vehicles operating on the ground, at sea, and in the air. An official request for information was issued on September 2010 to learn more about industry research, technologies, and existing programs that could support several different unmanned systems.
Comments
“The demonstration verified that service-oriented techniques can help create a set of reusable, independently developed, software services for control of unmanned systems,” said Mike Paul, the Navy’s CCS program manager. “The flexibility of the CCS framework and the government led integration efforts allows the system to efficiently address similar requirements for unmanned vehicles, yet meet the unique requirements of each vehicle in a highly efficient manner.”
“The CCS approach leverages off of the investments and capabilities that exist today to smartly embrace a modular, scalable open architecture for unmanned systems,” said Rear Adm. Bill Shannon, PEO (U&W) program executive officer.
Futher Reading
- UAS Control Segment Architecture (web link)
October 3, 2011
Contract Award: Windmill to provide Suitcase Portable Receive Suites for US Central Command Special Forces in Afghanistan
News Report
As announced in a recent press release, Windmill has received a $9 million order for their KA-10 Suitcase Portable Receive Suite (SPRS) for Central Command Special Forces in Afghanistan. The order included KA-10s, training, and product support.
The System
Windmill's KA-10 SPRS is a highly-portable, rugged satellite receiver system developed to support Special Operations forces deployed overseas. The battle-ready KA-10 conveniently brings crucial command center information and data to the in-field warfighter, substantially improving mission success probabilities and saving lives.
The KA-10 can withstand a variety of adverse environmental conditions, including high humidity, blowing sand, rain, and extreme heat/cold. The SPRS has passed all MIL-STD-810F requirements.
The SPRS has Global Broadcast Service (GBS) broadcast reception capability, at up to 45Mb/sec, from UHF Follow-On (UFO) and Wideband Global SATCOM (WGS) transponders. The SPRS supports operation with High-Assurance IP Encryption (HAIPE) to support a single security enclave from Secret up to Top Secret/Sensitive Compartmented Information classification.
Satellite acquisition time is approximately 3 minutes. The SPRS is designed to be battery operated. This truly portable unit weighs 32 pounds in tactical carry mode. Accessible GBS products include unmanned aircraft systems video and imagery; weather, terrain, geospatial and mapping information; Forward Looking Infrared (FLIR) imagery; streaming video, web content replication and other large files.
The Context
Windmill developed the KA-10 SPRS under the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program, and Windmill was recognized with a 2011 Tibbett's Award from the Small Business Administration for excellence in the SBIR program.
Operational field evaluations of the initial KA-10 were conducted under the Defense Acquisition Challenge Program. Windmill is currently developing an even smaller, more specialized version using funding from the Air Force's Warfighter Rapid Acquisition Program.
September 9, 2011
Contract Award: SAIC to improve US Special Forces C4I
News Report
As announced in a recent press release, SAIC was awarded a task order by the U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) to provide enterprise-wide mission critical information technology services in support of C4 mission needs of the U.S. Special Operations Command Pacific (SOCPAC) and the Joint Special Operations Task Force, Philippines (JSOTF-P).
The Context
USSOCOM is the unified command responsible for training, organizing and equipping Special Operations Forces and providing those forces to the geographic combatant commanders. Under the task order, SAIC will provide mission critical IT services in support of C4 mission needs for special operations units involved in special operations throughout the U.S. Pacific Command Area of Responsibility. SAIC will provide network and desktop support for special operations units in Hawaii and other deployed locations.
The task order received by SAIC has a one-year base period of performance, four one-year options, and a contract ceiling value of more than $35 million if all options are exercised. Work will be performed primarily in Hawaii and the Philippines. The task order was awarded under the Special Operations Forces Information Technology Enterprise Contracts.
Comments
"We look forward to supporting USSOCOM by providing mission critical IT services supporting C4 mission needs of SOF engaged in special operations throughout the Pacific theater," said John Thomas, SAIC senior vice president and business unit general manager.
Further Readings
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