VMETRO Deploys Storage System on Navy Helicopter

VMETRO has shipped data recording solutions to the Radar Systems Division of Telephonics, a wholly owned subsidiary of the Griffon Corporation, for the US Navy MH-60R (Figure 1) Multi-Mode Automatic Radar Periscope Detection and Discriminator (ARPDD) program. The data recording solutions are based on VMETRO’s Vortex Open Data Recording platform and SANbric rugged rotating media storage device. VMETRO developed a Shock Isolation Unit (SIU) for deployment of two SANbric storage devices as well as application-specific software. The SIU that was developed for this application was designed and tested to meet the shock and vibration profile supplied by the customer. The SIU holds two SANbric units for an aggregate maximum recording rate of 720 Mbyte/s and 3.6 Terabytes of recording capacity.

The SANbric is a sealed metal enclosure housing up to six high-performance hard drives. The unit makes use of dual-port, enterprise-class, Fibre Channel drives, allowing high-speed data recording in high-altitude rugged environments. The Shock Isolation Unit (SIU) is designed to isolate the SANbric from harsh operating environments. Each SANbric is shipped in an individual case with custom foam, wheels and extendable handle for easy transport and shipping. The SANbric uses two 50-pin D-subminiature (DD-50) connectors on the rear of the unit for blind mate connection when inserted into its chassis. One connector provides power and console port communication, while the other contains the Fibre Channel ports.

VMETRO
Houston, TX.
(281) 584-0728.
[www.vmetro.com].

Saft Wins $170 Million Li-SO2 Battery Contract

Battery manufacturer Saft has been awarded a major multi-year contract by the U.S. Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) to supply the U.S. Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps with BA5590 lithium sulfur dioxide (Li-SO2) batteries. The terms of the contract include Li-SO2 batteries for several portable military applications such as communications and electronics systems.

This contract was awarded to Saft for 100 percent of the U.S. military needs for this type of battery. The contract with DLA is an indefinite quantity contract with a two-year base period for an amount of up to $64 million and three one-year option periods for a total contract value of up to $170 million. Orders under the contract are demand-based, with the first one expected toward the end of 2008.

Saft America
Cockeysville, MD.
(410) 771-3200.
[www.saftbatteries.com].

Curtiss-Wright Awarded $4.25 Million Ethernet Switch Contract for FCS

Curtiss-Wright Controls was chosen for the development and demonstration phase of the U.S. Army’s Future Combat Systems’ (FCS) Integrated Computer System (ICS) program. Under terms of the contract with General Dynamics C4 Systems and Rockwell Collins, Curtiss-Wright will supply its Gigabit Ethernet Switch Module (GESM) to the program. General Dynamics and Rockwell Collins provide the computer processing, networking, information assurance and data storage resources necessary to support the network-centric operations of FCS (Figure 1).

The GESM contract will be fulfilled by the Curtiss-Wright Motion Control segment facility in Ottawa, Canada and shipped to Rockwell Collins. Curtiss-Wright will supply the General Dynamics/Rockwell team with a rugged VPX-based line replaceable module called the VPX3- 683. VPX3-683 technology supports “in-the-field” servicing, enabling the replacement of individual cards rather than entire card-filled subsystems, thus reducing cost, complexity and logistics. The award also includes a services contract to be provided by Curtiss-Wright with a production phase option planned to start in 2010.

Curtiss-Wright Controls
Embedded Computing
Leesburg, VA.
(703) 779-7800.
[www.cwcembedded.com].

SprayCool Contracted for Predator SIGINT Application

Northrop Grumman Corporation’s ISR Systems Division has awarded SprayCool a contract to provide its liquid-cooled enclosures for the U.S. Air Force Airborne Signals Intelligence Payload 1C (ASIP-1C) program. The SprayCool enclosures will house SIGINT electronics for the Air Force’s SIGINT-equipped MQ-1B Predator UAV (Figure 3) in support of Predator’s tactical warfighting role, sometimes described as a hunter/killer/scout mission. Under this contract, the SprayCool Multi-Platform Enclosure (MPE) was selected by Northrop Grumman as a critical component in the ASIP-1C sensor payload for SIGINT-equipped Predator aircraft. Additionally, the SprayCool selection allowed Northrop Grumman and the Air Force to leverage their previous investment by enabling them to use the same electronics that are on the baseline ASIP program on other platforms.

Meanwhile, in other SprayCool news, GE Fanuc Intelligent Platforms has signed an agreement with SprayCool that enables GE Fanuc to act as a supplier of fully integrated subsystems that include GE Fanuc’s off-the-shelf embedded computing solutions within a SprayCool chassis.

GE Fanuc Embedded Systems
Charlottesville, VA.
(800) 368-2738.
[www.gefanucembedded.com].

SprayCool
Liberty Lake, WA.
(509) 232-2600.
[www.spraycool.com].

Navy Taps L-3 for Rugged Shipboard Navigation Systems

L-3 Advanced Products & Design has been awarded a five-year, $16 million indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity (ID/IQ) contract for the production and delivery of Navigation Sensor System Interface (NAVSSI) system racks, kits, parts and production engineering services support. The contract was awarded by the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command in San Diego, CA.

The NAVSSI system collects, processes, integrates and formats the distribution of Precise Navigation and Timing (PNT) data to weapon systems, combat support systems, C4ISR systems and other information systems aboard various ship classes. This contract combines purchases for the U.S. Navy and the governments of Australia and Spain under the Foreign Military Sales Program.

L-3 Communications
San Diego, CA.
(800) 621-8474.
[www.l-3com.com/apd].

Navy Awards General Dynamics $23 Million for DMR Shipboard Radios

General Dynamics C4 Systems has been awarded a $23 million contract for AN/USC-61(C) Digital Modular Radios (DMRs), the Navy’s standard communications system for newly constructed ships and submarines. Deliveries are scheduled to begin in mid-2009 and continue though 2010. The software-defined DMRs (Figure 4) communicate with Ultra-High-Frequency SATCOM, Single-Channel Ground and Airborne Radio Systems (SINCGARS), Line of Sight and High-Frequency radios on Navy surface and subsurface platforms.

General Dynamics has delivered more than 370 DMRs for use throughout the fleet and at Navy shore sites, enabling secure short-range and global communications using U.S. military standard waveforms. General Dynamics C4 Systems delivered the first Digital Modular Radio to the Navy in 1998; it was one of the first software-defined radios to be delivered under contract to the U.S. military. In October 2004, the radio became the first software-defined radio certified by the National Security Agency for communications up to the Top Secret level. The DMR contracting office is the Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command, working on behalf of the Program Executive Office for Command Control Communications Computers and Intelligence, San Diego, CA.

General Dynamics C4 Systems
Scottsdale, AZ.
(480) 441-3033.
[www.gdc4s.com].