Raytheon is set to conduct more testing on its SPY-6(V)1 Air and Missile Defense Radar (AMDR) installed on the guided missile destroyer
Jack Lucas
.
(HII)
Raytheon is set to conduct more testing on its SPY-6(V)1 Air and Missile Defense Radar (AMDR) installed on the guided-missile destroyer
USS
Jack Lucas
(DDG 125), according to Mike Mills, Raytheon senior director of naval radars.
The recent navy contract provides for the first SPY-6(V)4 versions to be backfit on DDG 51 Flight IIA destroyers. (Raytheon)
The USD619 million contract awarded to Raytheon on 29 March to buy SPY-6 radar sets for the US Navy (USN) also provides for the first SPY-6(V)4 versions to be backfit on DDG 51 Flight IIAs, according to Mike Mills, senior director of naval radars, Raytheon.
The US Department of Defense (DoD) has been contracting big data analytics firm Palantir Technologies for research and development (R&D) services into the integration of artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML).
Their work has been ongoing since 28 September 2022, with recurring funds every few months, and is expected to be completed by 28 September 2023. Palantir was awarded $42m in their intital 2022 contract, with a further $10m on 14 December 2022, and the latest boost comprised $60m announced on 31 March 2023.
With the new radar suite equipment installed on carrier
John F Kennedy
, Raytheon plans to bring the radar online later in 2023.
(Michael Fabey)
With all the hardware installed on aircraft carrier USS
John F Kennedy
(CVN 79) for its SPY-6(V)3 radar suite in 2022, Raytheon is preparing to start bringing the radar online in the fourth quarter of 2023, Mike Mills, Raytheon senior director of naval radars, told
Janes
.
The new radar suite was installed on USS
Richard M McCool Jr
in January 2023.
(US Navy)
The US Navy (USN) awarded a contract for the next landing platform dock (LPD) amphibious ships while onboard testing on the enhanced radar suite is scheduled for the second quarter of 2023.
The USN awarded HII’s Ingalls Shipbuilding division a USD1.3 billion modification on 31 March to an earlier awarded contract for the procurement of the detail design and construction of amphibious transport dock LPD 32, the third Flight II LPD.
The radar modular assembly structure is the building block for SPY-6 radar scalability. (Raytheon)
Raytheon is working under a US Navy task order to analyse whether the service’s future proposed guided-missile destroyer (DDG(X)) fleet should be outfitted with a radar that has 37 radar modular assemblies (RMAs) or 57 RMAs, said Mike Mills, Raytheon’s senior director of naval radars.
Each RMA is a self-contained radar antenna in a 2×2×2 inch (5×5×5 cm) box, according to Raytheon. The RMAs stack together – are scaled – to fit the mission requirements of any ship.
ADASI Garmoosha UAV with ventral payload turret. (Janes/Akshara Parakala)
Edge Group subsidiary ADASI demonstrated its Garmoosha light unmanned helicopter to a number of armed forces in the Middle East, including the UAE Navy in February 2023, Janes has learnt.
An ADASI spokesperson said the demonstration was part of ongoing field trials of the Garmoosha unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) in the Abu Dhabi area for an undisclosed customer from the United Arab Emirates (UAE).
The aircraft is primarily designed for intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) missions.
Actronika haptic feedback suit. (Janes/Amael Kotlarski)
French company Actronika unveiled a virtual tactical training system centred around a haptic feedback suit at the SOFINS 2023 defence exhibition held near Bordeaux, France.
Adapted from Skinetic, the company’s flagship product designed primarily to support virtual reality (VR) gaming, the new prototype suit was reworked to fit underneath a plate carrier. This is to enable users to train with a real-world equipment loadout.
There are probably several reasons why the United States never exported its famous 5th generation F-22 Raptor to allied nations.
The first and most obvious is that US leaders and weapons developers wanted to ensure that cutting-edge technologies, developed exclusively, remained in the hands of US forces alone.
The US military does not want to compromise any massive advantage it may have over its adversaries.
The Skeye Hook can support a load of 250 kg. (Janes/Amael Kotlarski)
The Skeye Hook – a remote controlled grappling hook – was displayed for the first time at the SOFINS 2023 defence exhibition held near Bordeaux, France.
The brainchild of an active-duty French navy commando, the concept marries the functionality of a grappling hook with the flying abilities of a small unmanned aircraft system. Built with the assistance of French manufacturer Drone Act, the Skeye Hook is essentially a quadcopter design and features four claws.
