Budget cuts and changing strategic priorities have slowed the military vetronics market to one that is flat for the foreseeable future. However, innovation in electronics design has not slowed, as military embedded system suppliers develop creative ways to introduce more commonality in components to navigate the budget-constrained environment and continue to meet reduced Size, Weight, and Power (SWaP) requirements.
The task of improving situational awareness for military pilots in a tough budget climate with little development funding available requires designers to use open architectures and common standards to keep costs down. This trend also has fueled the enthusiasm behind the FACE Consortium, which promises long-term potential savings of billions of dollars by enabling software reuse across multiple avionics platforms.
Next-generation radar systems are improving accuracy in high-clutter environments such as littoral waters, wind farm locations, and slow-moving ground objects – and at faster than ever speeds, reducing the sensor to shooter cycle.
As radar systems’ heat flux and thermal loads continue to increase alongside the pace of technology, two-phase liquid cooling is winning the race, beating more traditional methodologies (such as air-based and single-phase liquid cooling) to the finish line.
Enterprise software management is becoming more pervasive throughout the U.S. Department of Defense because of its cost advantages and the inherent security advantages of having one network based on common standards. Meanwhile, the world's largest enterprise network - the Navy Marine Corps Intranet (NMCI) - is going through a transition.
The Software-Defined Radio (SDR) concept is now a mature technology enabling radio functions to be defined in warfighters’ radios across the globe, not just in large government programs such as the Joint Tactical Radio System (JTRS).
Contractors, suppliers, module providers, and value chain stakeholders in the tactical radio communications worldwide ecosystem need to understand the various possible business models for introducing SDR technologies in tactical communications programs in order to make informed decisions. The following identifies various possible business models to enable successful new generation of tactical radio programs based on examples taken from existing programs.
Budget cuts and sequestration are casting a dark cloud over military funding, but market analysts see sunlight for COTS suppliers over the next five years.
UASs are great at capturing data; too good in fact. With increased processing power behind the sensor, UAS payload designers are looking to filter out excess information and free up bandwidth.
This special report on ITAR and other export regulations pinpoints 10 common slips and 15 tips for defense suppliers to avoid multimillion dollar non-compliance fines and penalties.
