“From the DoD’s perspective, they’re highly dependent on [Asia] for fabrication and packaging [of chips],” Hudson Institute’s Bryan Clark tells Breaking Defense. This has led to DoD calls to address a “fragile and threatened” chip supply chain.
By Brad D. WilliamsThe B-21 program will not undertake traditional “block upgrades” to beef up future performance, says Air Force Global Strike Command head Gen. Timothy Ray. Instead, it will incrementally add new capabilities as they become available.
By Theresa Hitchens“We really focused on payloads that had tactical utility, because they were an underserved market,” said Blackjack program manager Stephen Forbes.
By Theresa HitchensThe company’s software-defined Positioning, Navigation and Timing (PNT) technology will offer military users an agile new signal from low Earth orbit (LEO) that is not dependent on existing satellite navigation systems,” said Nicholas Paraskevopoulos, Northrop Grumman’s chief technology officer.
By Theresa HitchensAFRL last Thursday held a classified stakeholder meeting to discuss R&D to underpin future military operations beyond the traditional near-Earth orbits used today.
By Theresa Hitchens“This is a new effort, as the expanded mission now goes beyond a strict MQ-9 replacement,” an AFLCMC spokesperson said. “This endeavor serves to explore concepts that address capability gaps of legacy platforms against increasingly sophisticated threats in denied, contested, and highly contested environments.”
By Theresa HitchensCorell spoke on information and communications tech (ICT) supply chain risks on the same day DARPA and Intel announced a three-year partnership to develop and domestically manufacture new semiconductors for DoD applications.
By Brad D. Williams“The technical goal of MixComm’s work with DARPA under this effort is to try and simultaneously push the bandwidth, efficiency, and linearity of millimeter wave (mmWave) power amplifiers,” said DARPA’s Tim Hancock. “This has direct applicability to 5G.”
By Theresa HitchensHow can Pentagon clouds process data quickly while it’s still encrypted, instead of having to decrypt it and thereby render it vulnerable?
By Kelsey Atherton“Getting a laser beam on a spacecraft to point to a laser receiver on another spacecraft accurately enough with the right power levels, the right waveforms, etc.,– it’s not an easy thing,” said General Atomics VP Nick Bucci.
By Theresa HitchensSome of the tech built to quickly restore power after a cyberattack is now operational on parts of the U.S. grid, with more deployments to follow. This week’s news of RedEcho shows, yet again, it can’t happen soon enough.
By Brad D. Williams“ASTARTE helps solve the problem how to decide where physically to move [air assets] to conduct operations … even when it is an incredibly complex battlespace,” says Tim Grayson, head of DARPA’s Strategic Technologies Office.
By Theresa Hitchens