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Archive for the ‘UAS’ Category

GA-ASI Hosts Joint Industry/Government Open Architecture Conference

Friday, March 15th, 2024

February Conference Focused on Modular Open Systems Approach for UAS

SAN DIEGO – 13 March 2024 – General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI) hosted an Open Architecture Symposium on Feb. 29, 2024, at its headquarters in Poway, California. At the symposium, government and industry speakers highlighted the tools, communities, and partners required to put Modular Open Systems Approach (MOSA) into practice in the development of Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS). More than 80 attendees from approximately 30 organizations attended the event, which featured addresses from the U.S. Army, U.S. Air Force, Chief Digital & Artificial Intelligence Office (CDAO), and industry speakers, as well as demonstrations of GA-ASI’s open architecture efforts.

“Open Architecture is key to GA-ASI systems,” said GA-ASI CEO Linden Blue, who spoke at the event. “The Department of Defense’s MOSA efforts are building products that are quicker to integrate and faster to iterate. This enables best-of-breed competition and forms the basis for delivering new capabilities, such as mission autonomy, across our platforms.”

The symposium highlighted a large cross-section of government and industry. GA-ASI appreciated the support and participation of guest speakers from more than a dozen companies. The conversation covered lessons learned from experienced integrators of Future Airborne Capability Environment (FACE) and Open Mission Systems (OMS) capabilities, highlighted the diversity of products aligned to MOSA technical standards, and spotlighted growing autonomous capabilities built on open foundations. The Symposium highlighted the rich ecosystem, challenges, and opportunities surrounding open architecture initiatives across the Department of Defense.

The new Gray Eagle 25M (GE 25M) brings MOSA to the Multi-Domain Operations (MDO)-capable system to ensure incremental enhancements can be made at the speed of emerging threats. Rapid integration of technology enables GE 25M to act as an information quarterback, receiving data from multiple reconnaissance assets, employing launched effects, and extending communications networks. GE 25M flew for the first time in Dec. 2023 and adheres to MOSA principles, leveraging modernized avionics, data links, sensor integration, and a laptop ground control station.

AFRL’s XQ-67A Makes 1st Successful Flight

Thursday, March 14th, 2024

WRIGHT-PATTERSON AIR FORCE BASE, Ohio (AFNS) —  

The Air Force Research Laboratory’s Aerospace Systems Directorate successfully flew the XQ-67A, an Off-Board Sensing Station, uncrewed air vehicle Feb. 28, at the General Atomics Gray Butte Flight Operations Facility near Palmdale, California.

The XQ-67A is the first of a second generation of autonomous collaborative platforms. Following the success of the XQ-58A Valkyrie, the first low-cost uncrewed air vehicle intended to provide the warfighter with credible and affordable mass, the XQ-67A proves the common chassis or “genus” approach to aircraft design, build and test, according to Doug Meador, autonomous collaborative platform capability lead with AFRL’s Aerospace Systems Directorate. This approach paves the way for other aircraft “species” to be rapidly replicated on a standard genus chassis.

This new approach also responds to the challenge of Great Power Competition by speeding delivery of affordable, advanced capability to the warfighter.

“This approach will help save time and money by leveraging standard substructures and subsystems, similar to how the automotive industry builds a product line,” Meador said. “From there, the genus can be built upon for other aircraft — similar to that of a vehicle frame — with the possibility of adding different aircraft kits to the frame, such as an Off-Board Sensing Station or Off-Board Weapon Station.”

So, what is an autonomous collaborative platform?

“We broke it down according to how the warfighter sees these put together: autonomy, human systems integration, sensor and weapons payloads, networks and communications and the air vehicle,” Meador said.

“We’ve been evolving this class of systems since the start of the Low Cost Attritable Aircraft Technologies initiative,” he added.

The major effort that initially explored the genus/species concept was the Low Cost Attritable Aircraft Platform Sharing, program, which fed technology and knowledge forward into the OBSS program that culminated with building and flying the XQ-67A, Meador said.

“The intention behind LCAAPS early on was these systems were to augment, not replace, manned aircraft,” said Trenton White, LCAAPS and OBSS program manager from AFRL’s Aerospace Systems Directorate.

In late 2014 and early 2015, the initial years of the LCAAT initiative, the team began with some in-house designs, for which Meador credits White, who led the studies early on that evolved into the requirements definition for the Low Cost Attritable Strike Demonstrator, or LCASD, Joint Capability Technology Demonstration. The LCASD team defined, designed, built and tested the XQ-58 for the first time in 2019.

“The first generation was XQ-58, and that was really about proving the concept that you could build relevant combat capability quickly and cheaply,” White said.

The OBSS program built upon the low-cost capability that LCASD proved by leveraging design and manufacturing technology research that had taken place since the first generation and was directed to reduce risk in the development of future generations, White added.

“We had always intended from the start of LCAAT to have multiple vehicle development spirals or threads of vehicle development,” White said. “Then once the vehicle is proven ready, you can start integrating stuff with it, such as sensors, autonomy, weapons, payloads and electronics.”

With the XQ-67A, the team is using the platform-sharing approach or drawing leverage from automotive industry practices.

“We are looking to leverage technology development that’s been done since XQ-58, since that first generation,” White added.

With advancements in manufacturing technology since the XQ-58, the team aimed to use that system and the technology advancements to create a system design with lower cost and faster build in mind.

“It’s all about low cost and responsiveness here,” White said.

The team began discussing LCAAPS in 2018, focusing on the notion of “can we provide the acquirer with a new way of buying aircraft that is different and better and quicker than the old traditional way of how we build manned aircraft,” Meador said. “Which means we pretty much start over from scratch every time.”

Instead, the team considered the same approach that a car manufacturer applies to building a line of vehicles, where the continuous development over time would work for aircraft, as well. 

“It’s really about leveraging this best practice that we’ve seen in the automotive and other industries where time to market has decreased, while the time to initial operating capability for military aircraft has increased at an alarming rate,” White said.

With this genus platform, White said a usable aircraft can be created faster at a lower cost with more opportunities for technology refresh and insertion if new models are being developed and rolled out every few years.

AFRL harnesses science and technology innovation for specific operational requirements to ensure meaningful military capabilities reach the hands of warfighters. The XQ-67 is the first variant to be designed and built from this shared platform, White said.

“The main objectives here are to validate an open aircraft system concept for hardware and software and to demonstrate rapid time-to-market and low development cost,” he added.

This project looked at incorporating aspects of the OBSS and the OBWS to different capability concepts. The OBSS was viewed as slower while carrying sensors but have longer endurance, while the OBWS was considered faster and more maneuverable, with less endurance but better range.

“We wanted to design both of those but figure out how much of the two you can make common so we could follow this chassis genus species type of approach,” Meador said.

XQ-67A has been just over two years in the making, moving quickly through the design, build and fly process. While the team initially worked with five industry vendors, AFRL decided at the end of 2021 to exercise the opportunity to build the General Atomics design.

This successful flight is initial proof that the genus approach works, and aircraft can be built from a chassis.

“This is all part of a bigger plan and it’s all about this affordable mass,” Meador added. “This has to be done affordably and this program — even though there’s an aircraft at the end that we’re going to get a lot of use out of — the purpose of this program was the journey of rapid, low-cost production as much as it was the destination of a relevant combat aircraft.”

This signals to other companies that there is a new approach to constructing an aircraft, moving away from the conventional method of starting from scratch, Meador said.

“We don’t have the time and resources to do that,” Meador said. “We have to move quicker now.”

By Aleah M. Castrejon, Air Force Research Laboratory Public Affairs

DroneShield Commences Development of Software Defined Radios for Next-Gen C-UAS Technologies

Friday, March 1st, 2024

DroneShield Ltd (ASX:DRO) (“DroneShield” or the “Company”) is pleased to announce it has commenced development of custom higher performance multi-channel software defined radios (“SDRs”) to be used in new evolution capabilities of future generations of its products.

The Company is a global leader in the C-UAS market, including the handheld C-UAS solutions. Part of the challenge is reducing the hardware to an ultra-small Size, Weight and Power (“SWaP”) parameters to dimensions that can be tactically deployed in the field by end users, while ensuring sufficient computing ability to run complex AI-algorithms on the devices, without referencing cloud or other systems (also known as computing on the edge). 

DroneShield presently have approximately 90 engineers in its Sydney facility. It is expected that more than 50% of the engineering team will be involved in this initiative, including Radio Frequency, Electronic Engineering, Firmware, Embedded Software, Data Science, Data, Mechanical, System and Quality Engineering.

Angus Bean, DroneShield Chief Technology Officer, commented, “As the drone threat space continues to rapidly evolve, DroneShield continues with a significant investment into next generation technologies, including moving into fully custom software defined radios in-house.”

GA-ASI Makes First Flight of XQ-67A OBSS

Friday, March 1st, 2024

SAN DIEGO – 29 February 2024 – General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI) flew the XQ-67A Off-Board Sensing Station (OBSS) for the first time on Feb. 28, 2024. OBSS is an Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) program and GA-ASI was selected in 2021 to design, build and fly the new aircraft.

With flight of the AFRL-funded XQ-67A, GA-ASI has validated the “genus/species” concept first developed with AFRL as part of the Low-Cost Attritable Aircraft Platform Sharing (LCAAPS) program focused on building several aircraft variants from a common core chassis.

Under LCAAPS, AFRL and GA-ASI explored development of a chassis, termed a “genus”, as the foundational core architecture from which several “species” of aircraft can be built.

“This provides an alternative acquisition approach for military aircraft that enables faster development, lower costs and more opportunities for frequent technology refresh,” said Trenton White, OBSS Program Manager and aerospace engineer in AFRL’s Aerospace Systems Directorate. “XQ-67A is the first “species” to be designed and built from this shared platform. Flight demonstration of this system is a major first step toward showing the ability to produce affordable combat mass.”

“OBSS is the first aircraft type built and flown using a common core chassis developed by GA-ASI that promotes commonality across multiple vehicle types,” said GA-ASI Vice President of Advanced Programs Michael Atwood.

DroneShield Releases Record 2023 Annual Results, Surging to Profitability

Thursday, February 29th, 2024

DroneShield Ltd (ASX:DRO) (“DroneShield” or the “Company”) is pleased to announce the release of record full year FY23 results.

The highlights include:

• FY23: record contracts and rapidly growing cash receipts

? FY23 $73.5 million cash receipts, up 5x vs. FY22

? FY23 $55.1 million revenue, up 3x vs. FY22 

? 80% of revenues are from repeat customers

? The revenue vs. cash receipt difference mostly due to advanced payments on product subscriptions (SaaS), warranties, as well as grants received

? Largest geographical segment revenue contributions are US at 68% and Australia at 23%
 

• FY23 is first profitable year, with $9.3 million profit after tax

• Shareprice up 64% over 2023 (vs 9% for ASX300)
 

• Cash balance of $57.9 million as of 31 Dec 2023, no debt or convertibles

? Committed supply chain payments of $30 million

• $30 million contracted backlog and pipeline of over $510 million*
 

• Substantially completed expansion of the team to enable build, delivery and support of materially larger orders

? Completed move to a larger Sydney facility (3x current floor space) in January, plus supply chain partners been rapidly expanding

? No material cost to DRO to move, due to light capex model (heavy machinery work all outsourced) and landlord fitout incentive payments

? Positions the company for $300-400 million annual production capacity

? 115 team members including over 90 engineers
 

• Favourable environment for DroneShield with rapidly rising counter-drone, defence and security spending globally

? The Ukraine conflict continues to highlight the use of drones on the battlefield, which will continue driving increasing C-UAS orders even after the eventual ceasefire

? Drones increasingly used across global conflicts, including Hamas terror attack on Israel

Full Year Results Presentation can be viewed here:

Annual Report can be viewed here:

There is no assurance that any of the Company’s sales opportunities will result in sales.

General Atomics Expands International Collaborations and Partnerships with Japan in Critical and Emerging Technologies

Tuesday, February 20th, 2024

SAN DIEGO – 19 February 2024 – General Atomics, a defense and diversified technologies company with affiliates operating on five continents, is expanding its collaborations and partnerships across Japan with new investments in the nuclear energy and rare earth elements sectors.

Numerous teaming arrangements are in the late stages of discussion and are set to be announced in early 2024. These partnerships will complement the company’s existing relationships as a long-term partner collaborating with Japanese industry and government agencies.

“General Atomics is committed to collaborating with its Japanese partners to advance the development of cutting-edge technologies in the maritime security, nuclear energy, and rare earth elements sectors,” said Dr. Vivek Lall, chief executive at General Atomics Global Corporation. “Building on a legacy of successful collaborations, we have held a series of strategic engagements with government officials, industry leaders, and research institutions in Japan. These engagements have laid the foundation for future partnerships aimed at advancing the development of critical and emerging technologies.”

In 2023, Japan’s Kyoto Fusioneering announced an agreement with GA to supply two advanced gyrotrons to the U.S. Department of Energy’s DIII-D National Fusion Facility in San Diego, Calif.

Currently, the Japan Coast Guard (JCG) and Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) are testing and deploying the MQ-9B SeaGuardian® Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA) built by General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. (GA-ASI). SeaGuardian is a long-endurance maritime surveillance aircraft that can be used for a variety of missions, including search and rescue, disaster response, and maritime law enforcement.

GA-ASI’s MQ-9B aircraft is revolutionizing the global RPA systems market by providing true all-weather capability and full compliance with STANAG-4671 (NATO UAS airworthiness standard). This feature, along with GA-ASI’s operationally proven collision avoidance radar, enables flexible operations in civil airspace.

Air Force Awards Xwing Military Approval to Fly Autonomous Air Force Cargo Missions Across California

Monday, February 19th, 2024

San Francisco, CA, February 13, 2024 – Xwing, the leading supplier of modular autonomy technology for aviation, has announced the successful completion of its recent participation in AGILE FLAG 24-1. The company transported mission-critical cargo with daily autonomous missions throughout the week-long exercise, accumulating over 2,800 autonomous flight miles to military bases and civilian airports, including March Air Reserve Base, Vandenberg Space Force Base, Sacramento McClellan Airport, Meadows Field Airport, and Fresno Yosemite International Airport.

“We saw first-hand during AGILE FLAG that the use of Xwing’s autonomous aircraft eliminated the need to fly a larger aircraft such as a C-130 to deliver critical cargo to the warfighter on short notice,” said Maxime Gariel, President, CTO and co-founder of Xwing, “When you fly missions autonomously, you operate with the speed and efficiency required for dispersed ACE operations, delivering cargo and personnel at a much lower cost and risk.”

AGILE FLAG 24-1 was a Total Force exercise, which ran from January 22 – February 4, 2024 bringing together Air Combat Command (ACC) and Air Mobility Command (AMC) at military bases and public airports throughout California centered on Agile Combat Employment. After rigorous safety and technical assessments of the Xwing aircraft and operations, the Air Force awarded Xwing a Military Flight Release (MFR) to operate their autonomous aircraft for Public Aircraft Operations (PAO). These approvals allowed Xwing to deliver official Air Force cargo with autonomous taxis, takeoffs, and landings at military and civilian installations.

“Achieving an Air Force Military Flight Release certification is a momentous milestone removing the barrier to transition and unlocking key testing and experimentation opportunities,” said Kate Brown, AFWERX Autonomy Prime deputy branch chief. “AGILE FLAG was an opportunity to showcase autonomous light cargo logistics and demonstrate operational relevance and increased technical readiness.”

A core component of ACE operations is the ability to flexibly execute dispersed logistics to unsurveyed locations with little or no ground support. Air Force operational leaders assigned Xwing cargo missions based on real-time logistics needs of the exercise. This included delivery of sensitive weather equipment and other critical cargo to various locations throughout the week-long event, and demonstrated an increase in the speed to deliver critical parts and reduced the number of requests for traditional heavy lift aircraft, the two key enablers that autonomous aircraft offer operational commanders. The exercise required Xwing to navigate through the busy Los Angeles basin, where the autonomous aircraft successfully integrated with heavy traffic at March ARB and complied with Air Traffic Control (ATC) instructions. Xwing successfully illustrated the role of autonomy as a force multiplier and risk mitigator to rapidly disperse contingency operations into unknown, contested, degraded or operationally limited (CDO) environments.

“Our technology has proven effective over hundreds of successful autonomous flights,” said Craig Milliard, Xwing Flight Test Manager, who remotely supervised the flights from a ground control station at Sacramento McClellan Airport, “This exercise gave us the opportunity to stretch the operational envelope into new environments, day and night, with real-world cargo proving that we can effectively complete Air Force mission objectives.”

Xwing’s participation was part of a newly awarded Phase III Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) contract. Details of Xwing’s first Agile Flag mission can be found via AFRL. This is a continuation of Xwing’s partnership with AFWERX which included a Phase II contract that began in May of 2023.

Schiebel Camcopter S-100 Receives Operational Approval from Australian Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA)

Thursday, February 15th, 2024

Australia, Perth, 13 February 2024 – Wedgetail Aerospace, supported by Schiebel Pacific, successfully obtained the approval from the Australian Civil Aviation Safety Authority (CASA) to operate the Schiebel CAMCOPTER® S-100 Unmanned Air System (UAS) in civil airspace. It is the first large (>150 kg) Vertical Takeoff and Landing (VTOL) UAS to attain this civil approval from the Australian authorities.

Wedgetail Aerospace, in close cooperation with Schiebel Pacific and the Australian authorities, completed the process to achieve their experimental approval with a series of flight demonstrations in Western Australia. This endorsement enables the S-100 to operate in Australian civil airspace. Possible applications now being pursued include fire and disaster monitoring, cargo delivery, as well as inspections and surveillance.

Additionally, Wedgetail Aerospace is a CASA approved training organisation and will offer an S-100 license for civil operations. Of note, the S-100 is regularly flying under a Defence Aviation Safety Agency (DASA) UAS permit, which the Royal Australian Navy obtained back in 2017 for their S-100 operations.

“This is a significant milestone for Schiebel Pacific and its Australian RPAS operations. The CASA approval enables us to offer the outstanding capabilities of the CAMCOPTER® S-100 system to the civil sector. With strong local partners, our wealth of experience in the operation of the S-100 and now with the approval of CASA, we are very well positioned for the Australian commercial market,” said Fabian Knechtl, Managing Director at Schiebel Pacific.

“Wedgetail Aerospace are delighted to have been able to work with Schiebel to achieve the first approval in Australia to operate a Large Category UAS and will now bring this transformational technology to the commercial market”, said Thomas Symes CEO of Wedgetail Aerospace.