AeroVironment announced that it received a $23,926,917 firm fixed-price order under an existing contract. This contract modification comprises digital Raven systems and kits to upgrade existing analog Raven systems currently being used by the U.S. Army and U.S. Marine Corps with AV’s digital data link.

“We began deliveries of digital Raven systems at the end of October, and are increasing production in response to customer demand,” said John Grabowsky, AV executive vice president and general manager of Unmanned Aircraft Systems. “Our digital data link uses the frequency spectrum allocated to small UAS much more efficiently than the analog link it replaces. As a result, digital Raven systems allow our customers to increase significantly the number of Raven air vehicles that can be used in a given area, as well as provide greater communication security through signal encryption, and enable valuable new capabilities such as beyond line-of-site operation. Digital Raven systems will directly benefit ground forces by helping them operate more effectively and safely, wherever and whenever they need them.”

Full funding for this contract modification was provided by a United States Department of Defense supplemental funding bill. The total potential value of this order is $66.6 million, of which $42.7 million is not yet funded but has been added to the maximum potential value of the contract supporting this program.

UMass Lowell will receive $4 million for nanomanufacturing research and development under a defense appropriations bill passed by Congress this month.

“UMass Lowell is the place to go for nanotech-based products that will work in battlefield conditions,” said Chancellor Marty Meehan. “The sensors developed will be the proverbial canary in a coalmine for soldiers – determining whether an area is free of biological or chemical substances. This life-saving work could not continue without support from Sens. John Kerry and Paul Kirk and Rep. Niki Tsongas.”

Also under development are mechanisms for detecting structural damage in vehicles like helicopters. Rather than replace helicopter rotors on a scheduled basis, for example, monitors detect when damage begins and replacement should occur, resulting in cost savings for the military.

“Under Chancellor Meehan’s leadership, UMass Lowell is leading the nanotech revolution among educational institutions. This investment will help the university continue developing cutting-edge technologies that will keep our state at the forefront of scientific discovery,” said Kerry.

“I commend UMass Lowell for its impressive leadership on multifunctional sensors,” said Kirk. “Few things are more important than coming up with better ways to ensure that our brave men and women are as safe as possible. This state-of-the-art technology will help protect our soldiers on the battlefield. I couldn’t be more pleased that federal funds are going to this worthwhile project.”

“This funding for further development of nanotechnology sensors will help better protect our servicemen and women, while simultaneously creating new opportunities for UMass Lowell students,” said Tsongas. “Chancellor Meehan should be recognized for pursuing these federal funds and helping to place the university at the forefront of this groundbreaking field.”

The Army Research Laboratory in Hyattsville, Md., and Natick Labs are partners on the sensor and health monitoring research. Commercial applications are likely to emerge. Companies that could benefit include Raytheon, Textron and Triton.

Funding will also help equip the university’s $80 million Emerging Technologies and Innovation Center, which breaks ground this spring and is expected to spur about 300 new jobs over the next five years. The facility will house R&D translating the promise of nanotechnology into products.

CitySpur Local News has reported that U.S. governmental agencies dealing with information necessary to protect the nation from terrorist activities, violent crime and other threats will in the future adapt to improved synergies and increased transparency when dealing with “Sensitive but Unclassified (SBU) information.” According to governmental officials, SBU refers collectively to the various designations used within the Executive Branch for documents and information that are sufficiently sensitive to warrant some level of protection but that do not meet the standards for classification. In a joint statement releasing the 50 page report today, U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Janet Napolitano and Attorney General Eric Holder announced two major steps in their efforts to implement reforms to enhance information sharing among federal, state, local and tribal law enforcement agencies and safeguard sensitive information used by the government. The joint statement stressed, “The recommendations also enhance government transparency by establishing clear rules that protect information only when there is a compelling need to do so.” “Our review of policies and procedures for access to and sharing of sensitive but unclassified information across the U.S. Government revealed a need for a more open, standardized approach,” said Secretary Napolitano.

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GE Aviation and AAI Corporation, in cooperation with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and U.S. Army performed the first “proof of concept” flight demonstrations of an Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) controlled with a GE Flight Management System (FMS) certified for use in commercial manned aircraft. These flights used the AAI Shadow® Tactical Unmanned Aircraft System controlled by the GE Aviation FMS as part of the UAS FAA & Industry Team (UFIT) Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRDA) to demonstrate an approach for the safe integration of UAS into the National Airspace System (NAS) as part of the FAA’s Next Generation Air Transportation System Program.

“The Shadow and the U.S. Army will benefit by using a derivative of this commercial-certified flight management system to provide precise, time-based navigation capability,” said Dr. Gerry Vossler, vice president of Strategic Initiatives for GE Aviation Systems. “Continued development of this technology approach offers a path to 4DT UAS operations in NextGen.”

The first flight took off at 2:50 p.m. CST on Thursday, December 3rd at the U.S. Army Redstone Arsenal Airfield This initial flight lasted 45 minutes and demonstrated both lateral and vertical control of the Shadow 200 UAS coupled with the GE FMS. On Friday, December 4th, a 3 hour demonstration was conducted that allowed for more rigorous testing of the FMS controlled Shadow 200. The results provide a variety of operational and technical assessments to demonstrate the ability to integrate a certified flight management capability into existing U.S. military UAS to support operations in national airspace.

This demonstration is in support of the UAS FAA & Industry Team (UFIT) Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRDA) between GE and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) announced on August 10, 2009. The research agreement is complemented by an agreement between AAI, an operating unit of Textron Systems, a Textron Inc. company, and GE including the demonstration flights of the AAI Shadow Tactical Unmanned Aircraft System. Simulation is being conducted at the FAA’s William J. Hughes Technical Center, which began this fall and will continue for two years.

Integration of the FMS with the One System® Ground Control Station (GCS) will enable the Army to fold this capability into all UAS that incorporate the One System.

GE certified their first flight management computer in November 1984. GE provides versions of its flight management systems for the Airbus A320/330/340, Boeing 767 Tanker, and U.S. Navy E-6 aircraft, the USAF E-4 and C-130, UK C-130, Spanish Air Force C-130s, C-130 AMP, UK Nimrod 2000, IL-96. GE’s FMS software will also be on the U.S. Navy P-8A aircraft which is currently in development.

The FMS optimized descent has qualified as an ecomagination product, having completed GE’s rigorous ecomagination Product Review (EPR) process. The evaluation focused on the operating and environmental benefits that the technology provides to customers, including demonstrated emissions reductions, fuel and costs savings.

Rolls-Royce has been selected by United Airlines to power its new fleet of Airbus A350 XWB aircraft. The contract, for 25 Airbus A350 XWB plus TotalCare long-term service support, is worth $2 billion at engine list prices. The aircraft are due to be delivered between 2016 and 2019. In addition, the airline has also announced future purchase rights for a further 50 aircraft.

As a result of this strategy, Rolls-Royce today has a broad customer base comprising more than 600 airlines, 4,000 corporate and utility aircraft and helicopter operators, 160 armed forces, more than 2,000 marine customers, including 70 navies, and energy customers in nearly 120 countries, with an installed base of 54,000 gas turbines.

The Trent XWB is the sixth member of the Trent family, the first of which entered service in 1995. By the time it enters service in 2013 on the Airbus A350 XWB the flying experience accumulated by all previous Trent engines will total around 70 million hours.

This agreement is Rolls-Royce’s first large civil engine contract with United Airlines.

John Tague, President at United Air Lines, Inc. said: “The Rolls-Royce Trent XWB offers the power and economical efficiency we expect from the A350 XWB while providing the performance and reliability our customers expect from one of the world’s largest airlines.”

Mark King, President – Civil Aerospace, Rolls-Royce, added: “This represents a significant endorsement of our Trent XWB technology and its operational advantage. We are delighted that United Airlines has put its trust in the long-term performance advantages of Trent technology and TotalCare.”

Rolls-Royce Trent XWB engines are specifically developed for the Airbus A350 XWB and have been designed to minimise the aircraft’s overall environmental impact. It is the most fuel efficient and environmentally sensitive large engine design on the market, with fuel efficiency ratings 28 per cent higher than pre-Trent generation engines.

With the announcement, firm orders for the Trent XWB engine total more than 1000 from 33 customers. The engine will enter into service in 2013, with current orders extending beyond 2020.

SGI, a company that provides HPC and data center solutions, has announced that deciBel Research, a high-technology company that provides advanced radar systems and sensor technologies to the U.S. Department of Defense, has purchased ICE Cube, SGI’s modular data center. ICE Cube will support the U.S. Army’s Joint Land Attack Cruise Missile Defense Elevated Netted Sensor System (JLENS) program with containerized computing.

deciBel Research ordered two 20-foot ICE Cube containers for their extreme compute density, reduced operating cost benefits and compelling deployment advantages. The modular data centers will serve as radar stimulators and as platforms for on-site simulations, evaluation exercises and training, and performance testing for the JLENS program.

“SGI’s ICE Cube was the best suited data center for deciBel Research’s high performance computing requirements for JLENS with regard to design, footprint and affordability; its 20’ x 8’ form factor perfectly meets the Army’s requirement for being easily deployable,” said Dr. Bassem R. Mahafza, president and founder of deciBel Research. “Other key ICE Cube decision factors include its highly efficient cooling system as well as its ability to comfortably accommodate a small IT team within the container itself. We are confident that ICE Cube is the perfect data center for JLENS’ needs.”

ICE Cube cooling systems operate entirely inside the container – a leading, necessary innovation important to the program in light of the arid desert climates in which it will be deployed. Its 10-ton chiller not only cools the onboard computer equipment but also the data center technicians who will work in the communications and operations areas within ICE Cube.

“We are proud that SGI is part of this important defense program,” said Tony Carrozza, senior vice president of worldwide sales and marketing at SGI. “This ICE Cube deployment further proves that SGI offers the most innovative containerized data center solutions for the most demanding computing environments.”

CPI Aerostructures announced that it has received an order from Lockheed Martin to produce aircraft structural assemblies for the U.S. Navy’s P-3 “Orion” aircraft, valued at $1.03 million. Work on this order will commence immediately and deliveries will run through mid 2011.

Edward J. Fred, CPI Aero’s CEO and President, stated, “This order from Lockheed, a long-term customer with whom we have had a solid relationship, diversifies the parts we produce on a platform for which we’ve already provided quality deliveries and enables us to continue to support a vital U.S. Navy program. This award enhances our current business and we believe it improves our prospects for future orders from Lockheed.”

Details on Lockheed Martin Corporation – Headquartered in Bethesda, Md., Lockheed Martin is a global security company that employs about 140,000 people worldwide and is principally engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture, integration and sustainment of advanced technology systems, products and services. The corporation reported 2008 sales of $42.7 billion.

SpaceX recently conducted its first Dragon spacecraft operations training for a group of NASA astronauts and personnel at its corporate headquarters in Hawthorne, CA. The October training focused on how the crew will interface with the Dragon spacecraft while it is approaching and berthed to the International Space Station (ISS). Three of the participating astronauts — Tracy Caldwell Dyson, Shannon Walker and Douglas Wheelock — will be on board the ISS when Dragon makes its first visit under the Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) program.

The astronauts were briefed on vehicle ingress and egress, habitability of the spacecraft, payload handling and commanding through SpaceX’s Commercial Orbital Transportation Services (COTS) Ultra High Frequency (UHF) Communication Unit. The training was a key step in SpaceX’s progress towards providing NASA an alternative for cargo transport to and from the ISS when the Space Shuttle retires.

“This was the first time the NASA astronauts who will interact with Dragon during its early missions were actually inside a Dragon flight vehicle,” said Elon Musk, CEO and CTO, SpaceX. “SpaceX was honored to host the ISS crew for this preliminary training exercise, and we look forward to serving NASA further under the COTS program and CRS contracts.”

Also in attendance were NASA astronauts Marsha Ivins and Megan McArthur, as well as other key NASA personnel from the NASA Astronaut Office and Mission Operations Directorates.

Under the COTS program, SpaceX will execute three flights of the Dragon spacecraft. Dragon will pass in close proximity to, and berth with, the ISS as part of the second and third COTS missions, respectively. Upon completion of these demonstration flights, SpaceX will begin to fulfill the Commercial Resupply Services (CRS) contract for 12 cargo flights between 2010 and 2015 and represents a guaranteed minimum of 20,000 kg to be carried to the ISS.

McAfee has announced that it has joined Lockheed Martin’s Cyber Security Technology Alliance. “We are pleased to be a part of Lockheed Martin’s Cyber Security Technology Alliance,” said Mike Carpenter, senior vice president, Public Sector, McAfee. “As cyberthreats continue to thrive we must gather our resources together in order to more adequately protect our nation’s infrastructure.”

The Lockheed Martin Cyber Security alliance combines the strengths of market leading companies’ solutions and integrates their best practices, hardware, software and tools within a development and collaboration center called the NexGen Cyber Innovation and Technology Center. The NexGen Cyber Innovation and Technology Center will provide an environment where Lockheed Martin Cyber Security Technology Alliance partner companies and customers can work toward the development of cyberdefense capabilities and development of solutions.

The McAfee suite of comprehensive integrated end-to-end cyber security protection and compliance solutions is available in the NexGen Cyber Innovation and Technology Center. This offering includes the McAfee Total Protection Advanced, McAfee Foundstone, McAfee Network Security Platform, McAfee Data Loss Prevention, McAfee Endpoint Encryption, McAfee Secure USB, TrustedSource, McAfee Artemis Technology, and Network Threat Response technologies and software.