The U.S. Navy has given Rockwell Collins the green light to commence the detailed design phase of a project to modernize the service branch’s airborne training platform. Rockwell Collins said Tuesday it received the approval after completing the preliminary design review for Increment 2 of the Tactical Combat Training System in February. The company serves as the TCTS Inc. II program’s prime […] More

The Department of Homeland Security‘s Science and Technology Directorate has awarded Small Business Innovation Research contracts to four companies for the exploration of automated vulnerability analysis in the firmware of Internet-of-Things and mobile devices. The companies will perform initial research through six months under the first phase of the Automated & Scalable Analysis of Mobile & IoT Device Firmware […] More

Ionic Security has completed the testing phase of a video surveillance data security tool developed through the Department of Homeland Security‘s Silicon Valley Innovation Program. DHS said Monday the company Data Trust Platform works to protect feeds against targeted attacks without requiring the use of additional encryption, proxies and new technology. The platform is designed to comply with the Open Network […] More

Kratos Defense & Security Solutions has completed the initial phase of a study that seeks to demonstrate an approach to facilitate the transition of a command-and-control system for military communications satellites into the U.S. Air Force’s Enterprise Ground Services architecture. The company said Thursday EGS supports the service branch’s Space Enterprise Vision that aims to […] More

Iridium Communications has started the testing and validation phase for the fourth batch of 10 Iridium NEXT satellites that launched Friday aboard SpaceX’s Falcon 9. Scott Smith, chief operating officer at Iridium, said in a statement published Wednesday the company’s team at the satellite network operations center started to conduct initial diagnostics minutes after the […] More

SpaceX has begun processing the fourth batch of 10 Iridium NEXT satellites at its west coast launch site at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California in preparation for the Dec. 22 launch aboard a pre-flown Falcon 9 rocket as part of its launch campaign with Iridium Communications. Iridium said Tuesday the company and SpaceX are set […] More

BAE Systems and its partner Iveco Defense Vehicles have concluded the shipboard testing phase off the coast of Italy for a prototype amphibious combat vehicle the companies built for the U.S. Marine Corps, Defense News reported Wednesday. Jen Judson writes John Swift, ACV program manager at BAE, told the publication Wednesday at the Navy League’s Sea-Air-Space […] More

Orbital ATK has started production work on development hardware for its large- and intermediate-class family of space launch vehicles. Orbital ATK said Monday its Next Generation Launch family of rockets is designed to launch commercial, national security and scientific satellites that are too huge to fly aboard the company’s Antares, Pegasus and Minotaur space vehicles. The […] More

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency has awarded contracts to General Atomics’ aeronautical systems business and Dynetics under the second phase of a program that seeks to develop unmanned aircraft systems that can be launched and retrieved by aircraft carriers. DARPA said Wednesday the Gremlins program’s phase two aims to build and conduct risk-reduction tests of […] More

A ground system for U.S. Air Force Space Command’s Space and Missile Systems Center and 460th Space Wing will enter the operational utility evaluation phase upon the completion of integrated test and evaluation work. The Air Force said Friday the Space-Based Infrared Systems Block 10 ground system will consolidate operational command and control of defense support program satellites, SBIRS Geosynchronous Earth […] More

The Defense Information Systems Agency will release a request for proposals for the first phase of the Defense Department‘s milCloud 2 infrastructure-as-a-service system by June 6. The contract works to support the integration of commercial infrastructure services into a private cloud platform for the DoD community, DISA said in a pre-solicitation notice posted Friday on FedBizOpps. DISA added the selected contractor will also […] More

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency has awarded a series of phase one contracts to four companies for proposals to develop unmanned air systems that can be recovered while in flight and are reusable. DARPA said Thursday it selected General Atomics‘ aeronautical systems unit, Lockheed Martin, Dynetics and Composite Engineering to develop launch and recovery techniques, airframe designs, digital […] More