Military & Aerospace
Precision Miniature Motors Aid Aerospace and Defense Applications
November 9, 2010 10:23 am | by Chris Schaefer, Portescap, www.portescap.com | Articles | CommentsThe applications for miniature motors span a wide range, from pumps that deliver insulin to regulate blood sugar, to motors that roll out paper in everyday desktop printers. As expected, application demands also vary greatly over this range...
Meeting the Challenge of High-Voltage Power Distribution in New Ground Vehicles
November 9, 2010 10:13 am | by Michael Toland, International Rectifier, www.irf.com | Articles | CommentsOn today’s battlefield, military vehicles have to perform in harsh environments with increasingly complex and sophisticated on-board electronics. To achieve the required level of complexity, greater demand is placed on the power electronics to deliver higher power in higher densities.
Multicore DSPs Tout 10 GHz Performance with Combined Fixed and Floating Point Capabilities
November 9, 2010 5:28 am | Product Releases | CommentsTexas Instruments announced its newest digital signal processor (DSP), the TMS320C66x, and four scalable C667x devices. Built with multiple 1.25 GHz DSP cores, it is said to be the industry’s first 10 GHz DSP with
Air Force wants tougher, ''more survivable'' drones
November 8, 2010 4:27 am | by Jason Lomberg, Technical Editor | Blogs | CommentsThe U.S. military wants its next-generation RPVs to be more survivable in “contested airspace.” At a breakfast with reporters in DC, Lt. Gen. Philip Breedlove (the Air Force’s chief of operations, plans and requirements) noted the MQ-9 Reaper’s shortcomings, and stressed the need for tougher, more durable RPVs.
Visible Color LEDs Suit High-Reliability Military and Harsh-Environment Industrial Apps
November 4, 2010 12:10 pm | Product Releases | CommentsTT electronics OPTEK Technology has developed a series of high-reliability, high-sensitivity color LEDs processed to MIL-PRF-19500-level TX and TXV specifications. Designated the OVM4x Series, the visible LEDs feature hermetically sealed TO-46 package with
Accurate Compassing in Harsh Environments
November 2, 2010 6:57 am | by Andrew Leuzinger, PNI Sensor Corporation, www.pnicorp.com | Articles | CommentsToday’s electronic compasses are built to withstand harsh environments – mechanical shocks, extreme temperatures and battlefield conditions. Yet the most challenging environment for electronic compasses is transitory magnetic field distortion encountered in everyday situations.
EEVblog #124 - A Tour of Apex Electronics
November 2, 2010 5:23 am | by EEVblog | Videos | CommentsDave dropped by Apex Electronics in Sun Valley just outside LA, the biggest and oldest surplus electronics store in California (and probably the US?) . Come on a tour through the aladdin's cave of surplus electronics and hardware. It's actually pretty sad to see all this old technology...
Lockheed Martin showcases incredible “HULC”
November 1, 2010 5:46 am | by Jason Lomberg, Technical Editor | Blogs | CommentsAt the recent Association of the U.S. Army conference in D.C., Lockheed Martin showcased its Human Universal Load Carrier (HULC), the defense giant’s answer to Raytheon’s XOS-2 exoskeleton (the “Real Iron Man Suit”). That’s right: it’s HULC vs. Iron Man.
Powerstax targets EMEA Markets with Rugged Vehicle Power Supply at Electronica 2010
October 28, 2010 5:30 am | Product Releases | CommentsPowerstax, one of Europe’s leading application-rich power solutions manufacturers, specialise in providing custom solutions for the most demanding power system requirements. Electronica 2010 will see the launch of the new Powerstax TVS1001 rugged up-converter designed for use in military tactical vehicle systems...
Raytheon Missile Systems Selects Microsemi for Advanced Bomb Program
October 27, 2010 5:03 am | News | CommentsMicrosemi Corporation announced today that Raytheon Missile Systems has selected Microsemi to develop and manufacture millimeterwave transceivers for the GBU-53/B Small Diameter Bomb Increment II program. The SDB II is an air-launched, precision-strike standoff weapon that will enable the warfighter to defeat moving and fixed targets in adverse weather conditions.
RF Micro Devices Awarded $1.5 Million Navy Contract
October 27, 2010 5:00 am | News | CommentsRF Micro Devices announced today that it has been awarded a $1.5 million R&D contract by the Office of Naval Research (ONR) related to gallium nitride (GaN) microelectronics, including the development of materials, device fabrication and high power circuits.
Eglin completes second alternate fuel test
October 26, 2010 5:52 am | by Chrissy Cuttita, Eglin Air Force Base Public Affairs | News | CommentsSpecialists at Eglin Air Force Base conducted their second aircraft performance evaluation using an environmentally-friendly, biomass-derived fuel, this time with an F-15 Eagle. The jet flew at a variety of flight conditions, achieved supersonic speeds, and landed with no issues, though it was powered with a hydro-processed renewable jet blend fuel Oct. 22...
Motion Measurement in Unmanned Systems
October 25, 2010 9:15 am | by Matt Liberty, Hillcrest Laboratories, www.hillcrestlabs.com | Articles | CommentsAutonomous systems that navigate their surroundings are becoming more viable as sensor technology improves and computing power increases. Google’s car is the most recent high-profile system, but even vacuum cleaners and lawn mowers now drive themselves.
Inertial sensors enhance autonomous systems
October 25, 2010 5:47 am | by Fritz Martin, Senior Product Design Manager, MicroStrain | Articles | CommentsThe adoption rate for unmanned systems continues to increase in the military, defense, aerospace and robotics industries, and is now also being embraced in many new markets across a variety of applications. The benefits of autonomous mobility...
Agilent Technologies Awarded $35 Million Contract by U.S. Army for Microwave Signal Generators
October 21, 2010 6:17 am | News | CommentsAgilent Technologies Inc. announced that it has been awarded a $35 million contract by the U.S. Army. Under the terms of the contract, Agilent will deliver up to 1,600 MXG microwave analog signal generators over seven years, to the Army as part of its Test Equipment Modernization (TEMOD) program.
Krayden Releases Huntsman’s Epocast 1617 A-B Aerospace Epoxy
October 21, 2010 5:58 am | Product Releases | CommentsKrayden, Inc., a leading distributor of engineered materials, introduces Huntsman’s Epocast 1617 A/B Aerospace Epoxy. The easy to handle Epocast 1617 epoxy syntactic from Huntsman is a low-density, self-extinguishing compound used for edge sealing honeycomb structures.
Curtiss-Wright Controls Awarded Contract from General Dynamics Land Systems
October 21, 2010 4:26 am | News | CommentsCurtiss-Wright Controls, Inc. today announced that it has received a contract from General Dynamics Land Systems (GDLS) to provide rotary potentiometers for the U.S. Army’s STRYKER armored combat vehicle. The estimated value of the contract is up to $300 thousand per year for the lifetime of the STRYKER vehicles...
Canada gets cold feet over F-35
October 19, 2010 9:53 am | by Jason Lomberg, Technical Editor | Blogs | CommentsA report released by the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives calls Canada’s planned procurement of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter “fundamentally flawed.” According to the CCPA, “Canada does not need the F-35, either for North American/domestic roles or for expeditionary roles.”
Space Tourism Rocket Achieves Flight
October 12, 2010 5:22 am | by LabEquipment | Videos | CommentsVirgin Galactic's space tourism rocket SpaceShipTwo achieved its first solo glide flight Sunday, marking another step in the company's eventual plans to fly paying passengers. SpaceShipTwo was carried aloft by its mothership to an altitude of 45,000 feet and released over the Mojave...
Fire Tests for Moon-Bound Robot
October 11, 2010 6:23 am | by LabEquipment | Videos | CommentsThe Robotic Lunar Lander Development Project at the Marshall Center performed a series of hot-fire tests on two high thrust-to-weight thrusters -- a 100-pound-class for lunar descent and a 5-pound-class for attitude control. The team used a lunar mission profile during the test of the...
Private Spacecraft Completes First Manned Glide Flight
October 11, 2010 5:47 am | News | CommentsVirgin Galactic, a US company developing commercial manned space flight system and tourism, announced the successful completion today of the first piloted free flight of SpaceShipTwo, named the VSS Enterprise.
Navy Awards IDEAL with Five-Year Contract for LanTEK II Network Cable Certifier
October 8, 2010 11:16 am | News | CommentsThe United States Navy has awarded a 5-year contract to IDEAL INDUSTRIES, INC. that will provide the Navy and other U.S. federal government agencies with contract pricing on the IDEAL LanTEK II network cable certifier.
Officials launch two advanced cyberspace courses
October 8, 2010 4:56 am | News | CommentsOfficials at the Air Force Cyberspace Technical Center of Excellence here are conducting the first official Cyber 200 and 300 courses beginning Oct.12. On Oct. 28, more than 100 students will graduate from the Air Force Institute of Technology's newest educational courses designed to develop the Air Force's cyber workforce.
Air Force officials kick-off energy awareness month
October 7, 2010 9:44 am | by 2nd Lt. Meredith Kirchoff, U.S. Air Force Academy Public Affairs | News | CommentsThe undersecretary of the Air Force helped launch the federal government's energy awareness month at the U.S. Air Force Academy here Oct. 1. Erin C. Conaton, accompanied by Terry Yonkers, the assistant secretary of the Air Force for installations, environment and logistics, chose the Academy as the location to highlight the Air Force's energy efforts...
Voltage regulators maximize efficiency in space applications
October 7, 2010 6:59 am | International Rectifier | Product Releases | CommentsInternational Rectifier introduced the SBB Series of non-isolated, radiation hardened (RAD-Hard) Point-of-Load (POL) voltage regulators. The new devices are designed to maximize efficiency in space applications including satellites requiring long mission life up to 15 years or 100Krads of total ionizing dose (TID).
