Transportation Industry

Aerospace & Defense News - Technology

AirGuide Business, June 23, 2008

Jun 23, 2008

The US Air Force Research Laboratory is launching the second phase of a program aimed at demonstrating the ability to refuel unmanned aircraft in flight. It is looking for an integrator to develop and demonstrate the capability for boom and receptacle refueling of UAVs as part of the $49 million program. Jun 20, 2008

Unmanned aerial vehicles and other defense robotics are allowing the military to keep more soldiers off the battlefield. A DARPA report said that one-third of the military's strike force will be unmanned by 2010. The Air Force's remote-controlled Reapers and Predators will spend almost 120,000 hours in the air in 2008, up from about 80,000 hours last year. Jun 20, 2008

Engineers at Boston University are developing a new technology that may allow jetliners made of composites to fix holes and cracks automatically. Scientists note that the healing ability of animals and plants inspired the new technology, which has a two-part epoxy system. Jun 17, 2008

The U.S. Air Force has granted the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI) a $4 million contract to redesign modules in 40-year-old air traffic control radios used to communicate with military aircraft. The Air Force uses about 7,500 ground communications radios, known as AN/GRT-21 and AN/GRT-22 transmitters and AN/GRR-23 and AN/GRR-24 receivers. But the units, built in 1968, often need parts that are no longer available. GTRI engineers are now tasked with finding ways to replace semiconductor components, such as transistors and diodes, that are no longer made. In some cases, the original makers are no longer in business. In other cases, the products are so old that no replacements are available. Instead of trying to reproduce the original technology, GTRI engineers are designing replacement units that use only modern off-the-shelf parts. Jun 16, 2008

General Dynamics

General Dynamics is participating in an US Army contract worth $2 billion to help develop combat systems that are more agile, more lethal and less reliant on manpower. The company on Wednesday displayed a gun turret that will be attached to a manned combat vehicle that will replace the Abrams tank. Jun 19, 2008

Harris Corp, NASA

Harris Corp. has won a contract to provide communication and navigation systems for NASA's new space suit. The contract is worth up to $58 million and could last for seven years. "This award represents a strategic win for Harris in a market that we have targeted for growth," said Vice President Frank Van Rensselaer. Jun 20, 2008

Lockheed Martin

Lockheed Martin has started work on a $1 billion contract to expand the FBI's fingerprint database. IBM also competed for the contract and protested the award to Lockheed, but that dispute is now resolved. IBM has joined Lockheed to develop a biometrics system that state and local officials will use. Jun 17, 2008

Technovation

Paul G. Kaminski, a leader in defense and technology fields, has been named AIA's representative to the NextGen Institute Management Council. Kaminski is chairman and chief executive officer of Technovation, Inc., and senior partner in Global Technology Partners. He is a former undersecretary of defense for acquisition and technology and was the recipient of the 2006 National Medal of Technology. The institute provides the JPDO with access to world-class, private-sector expertise, tools, and facilities in development of the new national air transportation system. Jun 19, 2008

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