Welcome To Your Digital Edition Of: Aerospace & Defense Technology

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www.aerodefensetech.com October 2021
Welcome to
your Digital Edition of
Aerospace & Defense
Technology
October 2021 New Anti-Tank Loitering
Munition System Technology
Developing Object Detection
Systems for Autonomous
Underwater Vehicles
Taking the Tactical
Cloud with You From the Publishers of
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Intro Cov ToC + – A
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SIMULATION CASE STUDY
IoT calls for fast

communication
between sensors
Developing the 5G mobile network may not be the only step
to a fully functioning Internet of Things, but it is an important
one — and it comes with substantial performance requirements.
Simulation ensures optimized designs of 5G-compatible
technology, like this phased array antenna.
learn more comsol.blog/5G
The COMSOL Multiphysics® software is used for simulating designs, devices,

and processes in all fields of engineering, manufacturing, and scientific research.
Free Info at http://info.hotims.com/79418-807
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www.aerodefensetech.com October 2021
New Anti-Tank Loitering

Munition System Technology
Developing Object Detection
Systems for Autonomous
Underwater Vehicles
Taking the Tactical
Cloud with You From the Publishers of
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Aerospace & Defense Technology
Contents
FEATURES _______________________________________
Unmanned Vehicles & Robotics
4 Developing Object Detection Systems for Autonomous
Underwater Vehicles
Aerospace Manufacturing
8 Developing Thermoplastic Composites for Use in Commercial
Aircraft
Software & Simulation
12 An Automated System for Multi-Physics Modeling
Military Communications
16 Taking the Tactical Cloud with You
Engine Technology
20 Remanufacturing Reimagined
RF & Microwave Technology
25 Satellite Paves the Way for Improved Storm Tracking
27 Solar-Powered Satellite Hardware in Orbit
TECH BRIEFS _____________________________________

28 Impact of Satellite Intelligence, Surveillance and
Reconnaissance on Modern Naval Operations
29 3D Data Acquisition Platform for Human Activity
Understanding
30 Coastal Lidar and Radar Imaging System (CLARIS) Lidar Data
Report
32 Development and Testing of a New Version of Mbud for Cued
Classification of Marine UXO
34 Fabrication and Testing of High-Speed Single-Rotor and
Compound-Rotor Systems
DEPARTMENTS ___________________________________
36 Application Briefs
42 New Products
44 Advertisers Index
ON THE COVER ___________________________________

A soldier controls deployment of a UVision Air Ltd.
HERO anti-tank loitering munition system using the
company's Operator Control Unit (OCU), an intuitive,
portable tablet for complete control of the exact time
and direction of attack. To learn more, read the appli-
cations brief on page 39. And to learn more about the
tactical cloud technology that will keep such weapon
systems operating, even in Disconnected, Intermittent,
and Limited (DIL) environments, read the feature arti-
cle on page 16.
(Image courtesy of UVision)
2 Free Info at http://info.hotims.com/79418-785 Aerospace & Defense Technology, October 2021
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Rugged Computing
An autonomous underwater
vehicle (AUV) detecting a
mine on the seafloor.
Developing Object
Detection Systems for
Autonomous Underwater Vehicles
T
he bottom of a lake or an Object Detection and Classification action, such as moving closer to an in-
ocean is an ever-changing For ground and air vehicles, computer teresting object for reinspection.
place. Water flows back and vision technologies are now widely used The development of object detection
forth in shifting currents. Sun- to identify and classify objects from for undersea applications has lagged be-
light heats the sand and darkness cools video. Identification and classification hind those for air and land, but it is catch-
it back down. The sand itself moves, un- promise two key benefits for undersea ing up. Charles River Analytics recently
veiling rocks and man-made objects of exploration. First, they promise to auto- released an object detection software
peculiar shape underneath. mate the analysis of the seafloor. Cur- product called AutoTRap Onboard™,
Two key technologies—sonar and au- rent workflows rely on AUVs taking which joins a select field of undersea ob-
tonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs)— sonar data and physically transporting it ject detection solutions. The current ver-
have provided us with relatively ubiqui- back to the surface for expert analysis. sion of AutoTRap Onboard was developed
tous access to this complex and remote Automated object detection will allow in partnership with Teledyne Gavia and
landscape. Commercial and academic experts to save hours of time and focus has been tailored towards use on their
participants are now figuring out how to mainly on validating an AI’s findings. Gavia AUVs. It has been shown in sea
apply advanced computer vision tech- Second, object detection should en- tests to detect and classify certain types of
nology to undersea surveying. When able greater autonomy for AUVs, which mine-like objects with a high degree of ac-
these vision systems are based on biolog- are largely preprogrammed. Future curacy, and to do so in real time. Impor-
ically inspired deep neural networks, AUVs will be expected to not just collect tantly, the software platform is readily ex-
they are commonly considered a form of seafloor images but to perceive what tensible to detect other objects and to run
artificial intelligence (AI). those images mean and take immediate on other platforms and sonar systems.
(The current release version is optimized
for side scan sonar systems manufactured
by EdgeTech.)
Modular AUV components like Auto-
TRap Onboard are a relatively recent de-
velopment, as are AUVs themselves.
Ocean science and industry stakeholders
began to widely adopt commercially
available AUVs in the early-to-mid 2000s,
according to Arjuna Balasuriya, Principal
Scientist at Charles River and product lead
for AutoTRap Onboard. AUVs emerged as
a viable technology at that time due to ad-
vances in onboard computer processing
power and battery lifetime.
Because of their size and portability,
A Teledyne Gavia AUV with AutoTRap Onboard in preparation for testing. AUVs lend themselves to modulariza-
4 www.aerodefensetech.com Aerospace & Defense Technology, October 2021
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M I C R O H Y D R AU L I C S.
MACRO
CAPABILITIES.
REDUCING THE SIZE AND WEIGHT
OF F LU ID CO N T R O L .
Designing hydraulic systems to perform flawlessly under less-than-ideal
conditions is hard enough. But factor in the need to keep components
as small and light as possible, and you’ve got a real challenge.
Fortunately, you’ve got a real solution. The Lee Company.
For more than 70 years, we’ve been engineering state-

of-the-art microhydraulic components with diameters
as small as 0.10 in. and weighing as little as 0.1g, but
able to withstand pressures up to 8,000 psi.
And because every one of our designs originates

out of an application need, and is scrutinized with
100% testing and inspection, we’re found in
just about every mission-critical fluid control
challenge you could imagine – from
miles above the earth in satellite
positioning systems, to miles below
in downhole drilling. Plus many
applications in between.
If you require precise fluid control, and

absolute reliability, go with the experts.
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ping insurance claim verification), and a

variety of offshore oil, gas, and wind in-
frastructure components, which require
regular evaluation and maintenance. For
these communities, AUVs and other ma-
rine robotics now deliver computer vi-
sion capabilities that were formerly only
available for defense applications.
The development of object detection
technology for the undersea domain
has posed unique difficulties. Air is easy
to see through with optical and infrared
cameras, which have become extraordi-
narily widespread and affordable. In
contrast, water absorbs optical light
within a few meters. For that reason,
sonar technology has long been the tool
of choice for “seeing” through water
The World Shipping Council estimates that an average of roughly 1400 containers are lost at sea every year. and for imaging the seafloor.
tion and componentization of their sep- is commonly referred to as automatic Sonar Technology
arate sonar, robotics, and software func- target recognition (ATR). Current generation AUVs come
tions. AUV manufacturers such as Tele- Large-scale ATR systems have been equipped with different types of modu-
dyne Gavia design their systems to available much longer than AUV-based lar sonar devices, including side scan
support that modularity. Technology ATR solutions, according to Balasuriya. sonar, forward looking sonar, and syn-
components such as AutoTRap On- They tend to use ship- or submarine- thetic aperture sonar (SAS). Both high-
board can be integrated from different, towed sonar and rely on a monolithic de- frequency and low-frequency systems
specialized vendors at lower costs than sign and integration of sonar, software, are available, providing relatively
building a single monolithic solution. and ship. This historical class of large- higher or lower spatial resolution, re-
scale ATR solutions has typically required spectively. Centimeter resolution is
Defense and Commercial nation-state level funding to develop and readily achievable for SAS. Side scan sys-
Applications acquire. The more recent generation of tems are lower resolution but more
In the defense community, seafloor modular and affordable AUV-based com- widely developed.
object detection tools are sought after ponents can be seen as a complement to Sonar imagery introduces new com-
primarily for mine countermeasures op- existing large-scale ATR systems. plications to object detection. An engi-
erations. Undersea mines have long Outside of defense, different users neer might expect to directly employ
played a critical role in marine warfare need computer vision tools to detect and existing convolutional neural networks
and can pose a major threat to naval analyze a broad range of objects: pieces (CNN) technology on sonar imagery, es-
personnel around the world. In the of airplane wreckage (for search and res- pecially as sonar images can look
mine hunting context, object detection cue), lost shipping containers (for ship- roughly similar to aerial photography of
Deep learning solutions show excellent performance for optical object detection and classification (left); and for adjacent tasks like de-noising images (center, right).
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Creating the underlying software for

AutoTRap Onboard has at times in-
Debris volved just as much work as the detec-
tion model. Sonar remains a relatively
niche technology that lacks the same
Rock level of standardization as digital optical
photography. In fact, it was the standard-
Detection: Mine
Type: M1 ization of camera hardware interfaces
Confidence: 0.997 that (partially) enabled the rapid devel-
opment of optical deep learning software
in the early 2010s, according to Andrey
Ost, Senior Software Engineer at Charles
River and lead software developer for Au-
Rock toTRap Onboard. By contrast, standardi-
zation for sonar data can be nonexistent,
AutoTRap Onboard processes sonar data in real time to accurately differentiate between objects of inter- and software solutions must each pave
est, such as mines, and other objects, such as rocks and debris. their own way through the data. Sonar
systems can also lack output APIs. Auto-
the ground. However, CNNs must be an AUV using side scan sonar, the re- TRap Onboard reads the bytes directly
trained on mass quantities of imagery sultant picture stretches out 50 meters off of raw sonar output files.
to detect objects of interest, where dif- either side of the vehicle’s track. Objects Ost recently redesigned the data pro-
ferent images show the objects at differ- such as rocks on a sandy seafloor are in- cessing pipeline for AutoTRap Onboard
ent angles, lighting conditions, and so dicated by bright spots in the image. to be more swappable to different sonar
on. Since sonar data is much less abun- Each rock blocks acoustic waves from systems with different data interfaces.
dant, the training and development of hitting the region behind it, creating a Also, the product now constructs its
accurate networks requires more cus- shadow. A rock 50 meters away from own sonar imagery from raw sonar
tomization, according to Camille Mon- the track casts a shadow much longer data, based on standard assumptions.
nier, Principal Scientist at Charles River than a rock 5 meters away. These changes have addressed and an-
and lead computer vision developer for Acoustic shadowing gives the same ticipated some of the basic software en-
AutoTRap Onboard. types of objects drastically different ap- gineering issues around sonar.
Networks also face qualitative differ- pearances in different parts of a sonar Advances will be needed in many
ences for sonar detection, such as the image. These differences complicate the areas in addition to software engineer-
unique behavior of sonar shadowing. success of object detection systems. ing and computer vision for AUVs to
Consider a typical sonar imaging work- However, the unique shadowing of an reach a truly autonomous state. Scien-
flow. A surveying AUV sweeps over the object also provides information on its tists and engineers at a number of com-
seafloor at a controlled 5 meters in alti- shape. AutoTRap Onboard processes panies are working on many of these
tude, emitting acoustic pulses and re- this shadowing to increase the robust- associated autonomy technologies, in-
ceiving reflected signals in return. For ness and accuracy of detection. cluding integration between computer
vision and navigation, dynamic adapta-
System View HMI Operational View tion for changing environments, coop-
eration between autonomous vehicles,
Swarm
Assets
Command &
Control and explainable and robust AI.
UAV
Stations
Onboard Autonomy Architecture

All these technologies must come to-
Environment
Forescast Models
Landmark
Models
Communication
Handler
Communication
Modems gether to simplify and advance the un-
Onboard Mission
derstanding of the seafloor. But com-
puter vision and object detection will
Monitoring
External Sensoring for

Sensors Situational Awareness World
play a key role. Using them, AUVs will

Model
Mission Planning
and Powered by
Dynamic Replanning
HAP Whale Detected!
Navigation
Sensors Positioning,
Navigation, & Timing Behavior Engine Vehicle Native
look to the bottom, where the sands
move, the seasons change, and vegeta-
Auto-pilot
USV
Actuators
tion grows only to recede once again.
IN
Monitor
Process
Model
Learned
Meta-Strategies
OUT
Adjustments
They will find what is there, the good
Health and Status Monitoring Performance Manager/Coach things and the bad. They will make the
depths known.
Autonomy architecture by This article was written by Mordechai
charles river analytics UUV Rorvig, Science Writer, Charles River Analyt-
ics (Cambridge, MA). For more information,
A truly autonomous architecture requires the integration of many sophisticated technologies. visit http://info.hotims.com/79418-500.
Aerospace & Defense Technology, October 2021 www.aerodefensetech.com 7
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Developing
Thermoplastic Composites
for Use in Commercial Aircraft
T
hermoplastic composite mate- parts and structures helps airplane orig- fewer overall pieces and steps. For ex-
rials (TPC) are gaining mo- inal equipment manufacturers (OEM) ample, a component that traditionally
mentum for use in commer- reduce aircraft fuel consumption and was made by fastening two or three
cial airplanes and other emissions. The weight reductions are parts together might now be a single,
aerospace applications, including elec- dramatic – well over 2,000 pounds in welded TPC component that, in turn,
tric vertical takeoff and landing some cases. In addition, TPC can be can now be welded onto the aircraft.
(eVTOL) aircraft. TPC were once con- readily recycled and reused, whereas TS This means there is less material waste,
sidered too expensive for applications recycling, such as with pyrolysis, is a improving the buy-to-fly ratio.
other than small components. Now, complex and energy-intensive process. TPC is still considerably more expen-
material and processing advances are TS parts typically must be cured in an sive than TS and some metals, but the
propelling TPC into the aerospace in- autoclave. TPC can be cured in-situ, economic model to use them makes
dustry spotlight. during the assembly process. New auto- sense now due to advances in TPC pro-
mated fiber placement (AFP) and auto- cessing equipment. With this auto-
Why Thermoplastics? Why Now? mated tape laying (ATL) equipment in- mated equipment, TPC component
TPC are replacing thermoset com- cludes laser heads, which cure the TPC manufacturing is much faster and
posite materials (TS) and metal materi- instantly as the fiber or tape is laid more efficient than TS production
als in a growing number of aerospace down. TPC are also compatible with processes. The ability to weld TPC is
applications because TPC components compression molding, continuous com- important to their growing adoption.
and parts are lighter, more durable and pression molding, braiding and 3D When OEMs can weld TPC parts in-
more efficient to process, depending printing manufacturing methods. In stead of joining pieces with fasteners,
Jag_cz/Shutterstock.com
on the application. TPC properties also many applications, after the TPC under- adhesives, and brackets, they save
open design and manufacturing op- goes these processes, there is little to no weight and manufacturing steps. In ad-
tions not possible or easily achievable post-processing required other than dition, weldability lends itself to mod-
with TS or metals. some final trimming. ular assembly processes.
From an environmental sustainability TPC opens the door for aircraft com- For example, different parts and sub-
standpoint, the lighter weight of TPC ponents and structures to be made with systems of an airplane can be made by
➮
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BEFORE
the mirror
the rotor
the blisk
there was
MITSUI SEIKI
before the part, there was the idea, the concept — the need for a
special, probably critical, component in a new or existing prod-
uct. We operate best for our customers when we are brought in at
this early stage, conferring on design for manufacturability, spec-
ing out just the right features on a precision machine tool before
we build it. If high quality, ultra-accurate, solution-driven machin-
ing is required, we deliver. We are your people, the best team to
talk to when it comes to parts that don’t exist yet, or those that
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Fax: (201) 337-3680
www. mitsuiseiki.com
Scan to learn more about each and all of our features get to know us BEFORE
➮
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Aerospace Manufacturing
contoured designs and complex shapes.

Thermoplastic Composites Lighten Weight, Speed Manufacturing TPC are more bendable than metals,
making them ideal for circular or tubu-
Thermoplastic composites are gaining momentum for use in commercial airplanes and
other aerospace applications, including electric vertical takeoff and landing (eVTOL) aircraft. lar structures with a large radius. For ex-
ample, Daher uses TPC for a large air
intake bulkhead for the Rolls Royce
Ultra Fan engine. Several meters in cir-
cumference, the bulkhead is designed
Fuselage to be assembled in four sections. In a
Panels & blog post about this project, Daher re-
Sections
Engine ferred to how TPC help solve the aero-
Nacelles Interior Components:
Framing, Flooring, space industry’s “twin dilemmas” —
Wing Boxes,
Cabin & Crew Seating environment and competitiveness.
Skins, Spars, TPC are likely to be a prime material
Control Surfaces
choice for new blank sheet aircraft pro-
grams. For these programs, OEMs have
a clean slate in terms of their chosen
material-and-processing paths. It’s an
opportunity to set up new manufactur-
ing lines designed specifically for effi-
Propeller Blades, cient TPC modular assembly.
Engine Shrouds
& Supports TPC also are growing in popularity
for eVTOL aircraft. The economic
model for these aircraft requires that
they be made much faster and less ex-
Exterior Fuselage, pensively than larger commercial air-
Structural Airframe,
Interior Passenger
planes. If they are limited by autoclave
Compartment and freezer capacity, eVTOL OEMs are
less likely to successfully scale up pro-
duction. Instead, they need materials
off-site suppliers and then welded and TPC Applications and manufacturing processes to finish
wired into the plane body. This approach New applications for TPC in commer- aircraft parts in seconds vs. hours.
is commonly used in the automotive in- cial aircraft include spars, stringers, the TPC are especially desirable for use in
dustry, known for its modular manufac- nacelle and empennage, among others. eVTOL aircraft propeller blades. TPC
turing efficiencies. By comparison, most The European Union’s Clean Sky initia- material imbues the blades with tough-
commercial aircraft have a very long tive has made great TPC strides with its ness and damage resistance so that they
manufacturing cycle today. Multifunctional Fuselage Demonstrator can withstand great stress. eVTOL air-
All in all, OEMs can experience (MFFD) project. In an article about MFFD, craft have many propeller blades, so
weight savings of 20 percent or more Clean Sky said, “Pivotal to the project’s blade durability is important to the
with greater TPC use. The finished prod- success is the extent to which composite overall value proposition OEMs offer to
uct can be 30 percent to 40 percent less thermoplastics can be demonstrated to their customers. The tougher the blade,
costly when the total cost of manufac- be appropriate for unifying the function- the longer its lifespan.
turing is considered. ality of systems, cabin and fuselage.” Some OEMs are considering TPC for
In particular, the prospect of out-of- TS-intensive aircraft are built from spacecraft launch vehicles, but more test-
autoclave composite processing is ap- the inside out, which limits the OEM’s ing is required to examine how stable TPC
pealing to OEMs because autoclave cy- flexibility for how to outfit the plane in- remain amid extreme temperature fluctu-
cles take time, energy and capital terior over time. But a TPC-intensive ations and how durable they are to with-
resources. Bottlenecks can build while aircraft is built from the outside in, giv- stand potential hits from meteor debris.
hours pass, waiting for parts to finish ing OEMs greater control and choices
their autoclave cure. In addition, TS over how the inside of the aircraft is Specs, Qualification and Quality
prepregs require refrigeration, and even built out and finished. “With a more Change does not happen overnight
when kept cold, have a much shorter modular form of design, it will be possi- in the aerospace industry. Safety stan-
shelf life than TPC, which can be stored ble to adapt and modify cabin interiors dards demand that materials and
at room temperature. TS prepreg's need if airlines wish to change the cabin ele- processes be rigorously tested and vali-
for refrigeration adds logistical chal- ments,” the Clean Sky program said. dated. Many TS materials, with their
lenges for OEMs and their supply chains In addition to modular design op- long history in aerospace applications,
to manage. tions, TPC offer flexibility for creating have been qualified by numerous OEMs
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Aerospace Manufacturing Rod Ends and
Spherical
Bearings designed
and manufactured to
Aurora’s exacting
standards for quality
and durability.
Registered and Certified

to ISO_9001 and AS9100.
From economy commercial
to aerospace approved,
we’ve got it all!
Wide TPC Slit Tape
and certified by the National Center for Advanced Material

Performance (NCAMP). TPC are still the new kid on the block Aurora Bearing Company
901 Aucutt Road
when it comes to certification. As of this writing, only one Montgomery IL. 60538
TPC had been certified by NCAMP. Others have been qualified
complete library of CAD drawings and 3D models available at:
by individual OEMs for specific applications.
TPC supply is relatively immature compared with TS supply. w w w. a u r o r a b e a r i n g . c o m
As more TPC are developed and NCAMP certified, TPC adop-
tion promises to take off. With NCAMP certification, TPC ma-
terials have an open-source validation for use. TPC component
suppliers will be free to work with all sorts of OEMs, beyond
the largest players.
It’s also important to ensure material formatting specifica-
tions are tailored to TPC’s special nuances and performance
characteristics. For example, experienced TPC formatters know
precisely what tolerances should be included in a slit tape spec-
ification, down to the exact piece of machinery the tape will
run on. A formatter also can collaborate with TPC materials
suppliers upstream regarding what roll lengths and widths are
most suitable for an application. Whether the material needs
to be chopped for a compression molding process or slit into
super-thin tape for an additive manufacturing process, the for-
matter can tailor the TPC to the desired end use.
With new TPC materials, processing equipment and weld-
ing advances, aircraft OEMs have a wealth of new opportuni-
ties for design and manufacturing innovation. The next gen-
eration of aircraft promises to be much lighter, greener and
efficient to make, thanks in large part to the evolution of TPC.
This article was written by Ashley Graeber, director of sales
and new business development, and Jim Powers, global thermo-
plastics market development manager, Aerospace division, Web
Industries Inc. (Marlborough, MA). For more information, visit
http://info.hotims.com/79418-504.
Sources:
Clean Sky, “The next generation Multifunctional Fuselage
Demonstrator — leveraging thermoplastics for cleaner skies,”
https://www.cleansky.eu/the-next-generation-multifunctional-
fuselage-demonstrator-leveraging-thermoplastics-for-cleaner.
Daher, “Advanced Composites for Aerospace: how Daher is
expanding the possibilities,” https://www.daher.com/
en/advanced-composites-for-aerospace/
Aerospace & Defense Technology, October 2021 Free Info at http://info.hotims.com/79418-790 11
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An Automated System for
Multi-Physics Modeling
A
nalyzing new and existing sents different aspects of the problem. tions. If both models use a shared meas-
aerospace platforms is a time- For instance, in a fluid-structure interac- urement, such as temperature along a
consuming and labor-intention (FSI) problem, there might be one boundary, then the models might need
sive process that often re- model representing fluid flow and an- to run simultaneously with some infor-
quires fusing multiple domains of other representing a physical structure. mation freely flowing between them.
physics and engineering, along with Generally, modeling that refers to mul- Programming this type of coupling be-
competing assumptions. Analyzing the tiple interacting physics is called multi- tween models can be tricky. The user
vortex bursting behavior of the F/A-18 physics modeling. needs the flexibility to share information
platform, for example, and its resulting A key component in making a viable between models and make updates, but
impact on tail buffeting and structural multi-physics model is the coupling also be cautious of possible errors that
fatigue[1] is a multi-physics problem re- process. Coupling refers to the way the can be introduced when coupling differ-
quiring aeroelasticity modeling, as well two models, representing the different ent models. Incompatibilities between
as fluid and structural meshes[2]. Captur- types of physics, interact. There are vari- individual models can damage the entire
ing complicated physical events in a sin- ous types of coupling. For performance modeling system’s validity, such as when
gle model can be quite complex and re- reasons, when two meshes at different the coupled models make different as-
quire a lot of computing power. refinement levels are coupled, the lower sumptions about scale due to being de-
To make this problem feasible or refinement model might sample the veloped by different teams.
often, more importantly, to utilize exist- higher refinement model at a lower reso- Worse yet, errors can go undiscovered
ing work by other scientists and engi- lution than initially intended, introduc- but cause inaccuracies in the final result.
neers, modelers typically break up the ing possible inaccuracies. Another type Across technical areas, models are used
single physical phenomena into multi- of coupling can include bi-directional in- to represent various things but are made
ple simpler models. Each model repre- formation flow with different assump- by people with inherent, and often dif-
Gl0ck/Shutterstock.com
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fering, assumptions in place. Multi-
physics is one of many areas where the
assumptions embedded in models (cre-
ated by different teams of people) could
benefit from robust formal development.
In this article we describe the chal-
lenges in the tools available on today’s
market and how it can impact applica-
tions at NASA. We also introduce cutting
edge-research sponsored by DAPRA to
address those challenges with techniques
in programming languages.
State of the Market

While tools currently exist that allow
users to create multi-physics models, the
current state of the art has limitations.
These tools tend to be proprietary, not
portable, and designed for a particular
sub-community of physics practitioners,
or they are built for a limited set of solv- Domain-specific tools are designed so that domain experts can write their problems in a syntax and style that
ing techniques. These tools can side-step is familiar to them and their applications are representative of the problems they are trying to solve.
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programming languages community

has been in creating domain-specific
languages.
Automated Tools and Domain-

Specific Languages
Domain-specific tools are designed so
that domain experts can write their
problems in a syntax and style that is fa-
miliar to them and so that their applica-
tions are representative of the problems
they are trying to solve. In the scientific
modeling space, this can include key-
words to represent boundary conditions,
Multi-physics modeling of a spacecraft heat shield. governing equations, and solving tech-
niques to represent a single model. The
the issue of correctness by providing very problem, leverage existing code and li- multi-physics domain can involve cap-
specific built-in examples for the multi- braries, and implement custom tests to turing both the individual models being
physics problem. The problem with this evaluate the model. In place of the rare created and the communication between
approach, of course, is the lack of flexi- superhero that is a physicist, high-per- them, making it explicit so that the
bility in creating new models or general- formance computing expert, debugging model developer can deliberately choose
izing existing problems for new plat- savant, and software engineer, some how the information is passed between
forms. If you are hoping to create a things can fall through the cracks. models. Some tools support the mathe-
model for something not previously im- Due to these factors, the level of effort matics (involved in a physical phenom-
plemented by the tool developers, you to encode, verify, execute, and maintain ena) by providing a library of available
are often out of luck. multi-physics problems is quite high. En- scenarios or allowing them to define
In practice, once reaching the limits coding a model is typically a manual, ad- their own set of equations. By allowing
of tools available, scientists end up writ- hoc, and difficult task to get right. One the user to define their own equations,
ing their own software code. To reason way to cut that down is to separate the domain-specific tools can give scientists
about how to implement their code effi- tasks of physics modeling from software the flexibility needed to encode a wide
ciently, correctly, or even at all, scien- engineering. This would allow scientists range of problems.
tists need to act like software engineers. to focus on science and the tools they are Cutting edge R&D underway at places
Creating custom code is a difficult task using to automatically generate high- like DARPA is developing a tool for the
that requires the practitioner to balance performance, correct code. One popular multi-physics space focusing on robust-
the necessary customizations for their method enabling this approach in the ness. These tools utilize domain-specific
DSL-Modeling Process
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languages to allow users to define their problems and set var-

ious modeling parameters that define units, dimensions, and
storage requirements, allowing the tool to synthesize a formal
system automatically. The tool can ground modeling parame-
ters in an intermediate representation to provide formal, com-
parable reasoning between models being coupled. The tool
can then warn the user of incompatibility issues, report bugs
earlier in the design process, reduce errors, and reduce devel-
opment time. Once models pass the internal compatibility
check without error, the code is translated into efficient exe-
cutable code on one of a variety of platforms/framework com-
binations.
Applications
A primary use case of these tools involves helping NASA design
next-generation aerospace platforms with increased payload capa-
bilities suitable for launching advanced robotic and human mis-
sions to Mars. The payload requirements for such missions exceed
current capabilities using traditional parachutes to decelerate. One
potential solution to this problem is aerobraking with retro-
propulsion to decelerate the vehicle for entry, descent, and land-
ing. NASA hopes to utilize modeling of the thermal protection
material and its impact from the retropropulsion system during
descent stages. This NASA application can be represented as a
multi-physics problem with multiple interacting components:
fluid flow, thermodynamics, and solid mechanics.
Challenges
These new technologies seek to advance the state of the art
by addressing core challenges faced by aerospace engineers,
physicists, and design teams in the industry. Often, scientists
developing multi-physics models start by creating individual
models coupled to make a multi-physics system. Besides repre-
senting different types of physics, the individual models can
be created by entirely different teams relying on different solv-
ing techniques and be implemented in incompatible frame-
works and languages, or target incompatible hardware plat-
forms. These caveats can increase development time, create
manual work (that should be automated), and make room for
hard-to-detect errors.
The new techniques being developed will enable scientists
to create new models to represent this NASA application and,
more generally, the complicated world we live in. Domain-
specific tools will enable the easy translation of scientific
thinking to high-performance code. These work results are ex-
pected to dramatically lower the bar to build, maintain, and
execute multi-physics models.
This article was written by Dr. Charisee Chiw and Dr. Eric
Davis, Scientists, Galois, Inc. (Portland, OR). For more informa-
tion, visit http://info.hotims.com/79418-501.
References
[1] Meyn, Larry A., and Kevin D. James. “Integrated tail buffet
loads on the F/A-18.” RECON 20010062152 (1994).
[2] Michopoulos, John G., Charbel Farhat, and Jacob Fish.
“Modeling and simulation of multiphysics systems.” (2005):
198-213
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Taking the Tactical Cloud with You
Small Form Factor, Modular Data Centers
at the Edge of the Battlefield
I
n order to achieve and maintain theater tactical networks around the able the next generation of situational
warfighting overmatch, coordinate world. awareness capabilities, the DoD is look-
deployed forces and enable new ca- As forces develop ever greater depending to deploy distributed processing and
pabilities, the US Army, Air Force, ence on cloud-based services, the impact data replication between remote com-
and Navy are actively looking to new of denied wide area access, (known as puting nodes and the central cloud This
programs such as Joint All Domain Disconnected, Intermittent, and Limited will provide continuity of operations in
Command and Control (JADC2) to en- (DIL) environments) to the cloud, due to the case of network outages or low band-
sure warfighters have maximum situa- contested communications through width.
tional awareness. These programs will electronic warfare (EW), or diminished Examples of current cloud replica-
deliver a variety of compute and band- access due to reduced bandwidth must tion programs include the US Army
width intensive technologies, increas- be addressed. The key to delivering ad- Cross Functional Team’s CPI-2, which
ing the use of big data analytics, artifi- vanced new tactical capabilities and en- is currently developing prototypes of
cial intelligence/machine learning, and suring their continued availability when its Command Post Support Vehicle
video for example, using common tech- there’s no access to the cloud is to vastly (CPSV). Essentially a mobile data cen-
nical standards, APIs and data formats increase the capability, speed, and mobil- ter, CPSV is a rugged truck that carries a
to deliver the command and control in- ity of networking and compute at the small data center’s worth of servers,
formation that warfighters need to co- tactical edge of the battlefield. This will that in future iterations could support a
ordinate their activities. make possible the replication of critical local cloud.
The software needed to run these data and services in mobile, distributed
new capabilities is increasingly being clouds, moving information resources
developed to rely on the cloud, which closer to the edge of the network.
itself might reside in a variety of data To keep up with the proliferation of
centers, ranging from large commercial compute and bandwidth hungry ap-
services, such as Amazon Web Services plications relying on video, sensor
(AWS) GovCloud and Microsoft Azure data and AI/ML, to support battle-
Government, to the DoD’s Regional field operations, processing
Hub Nodes (RHN), which are located needs to happen locally at
in five separate strategic regions and maximum speeds. To en-
used by deployed Marine Corps and
Army units to access transport infor-
mation from
Frame Stock Footage/Shutterstock.com
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platforms on which they might be

mounted, a mobile cloud solution will
need to provide high reliability com-
pute and storage in a small size, weight,
and power (SWaP) optimized form fac-
tor, that is designed for mission-critical
applications and able to support large
volumes of data. The good news is that
solutions that can deliver the high-den-
sity compute, storage and networking
infrastructure needed to handle such
large loads of data are available today.
These modular systems can be opti-
mized for program needs, so that the
number of CPU cores, GPU cores or size
PacStar of solid-state storage, can be maximized
Modular Data
Center with certified VMware depending on program needs.
vSAN hyper-converged infrastructure. When these modular datacenters are
based on industry standard processors
Likewise, the Army Future Command Earlier efforts to bring these levels of and Nvidia GPUs, they will be compati-
has published a roadmap that specifies performance and service to the battle- ble with a wide variety of applications
requirements for robust cloud capabili- field involved trying to deploy huge sets and can meet the needs of a vast array
ties. The US Air Force is developing the of standard datacenter equipment, in- of C5ISR use cases including data gath-
Advanced Battle Management System stalled in shipping containers such as ering, analytics/AI, and situational
(ABMS), a federated cloud system that the Army “Container Express” or awareness. That means that this new
will provide secure processing from its CONEX trials. These systems proved to class of modular datacenter can also
CloudONE security cloud already run- be too large and hard to transport, sig- support emerging distributed process-
ning in Amazon AWS and Microsoft nificantly limiting their mobility. ing, storage/replication and hypercon-
Azure government clouds. ABMS also In addition, these standard solutions vergence infrastructure software needed
defines a local cloud, EdgeONE, to pro- are power hungry, which adds and addi- to deliver mobile cloud services.
vide continued security in the event tional burden on mobility. At the edge of An example of a modular datacenter
that communications with CloudONE the battlefield, fuel is both difficult and available today that can support mobile
are disconnected. And the Navy re- dangerous to transport, not to mention, cloud applications at the tactical edge is
cently issued an RFP to industry to sup- very expensive. Higher performance, Curtiss-Wright’s PacStar Modular Data
port Manned-Unmanned Air Vehicle small form factor servers, combined with Center (MDC), a COTS-based, modular,
Team Tactical Cloud analysis. The RFP new approaches to distributed process- tactical and expeditionary, rugged data
includes an approach for providing re- ing, offer the potential to move smaller center capable of hosting cloud/stor-
motely deployed cloud or processing slices of processing even closer to the age, AI, and analytics applications. It
services in case the tactical unit be- edge, improving mobility. uses proven small form factor modules
comes temporarily disconnected from Ruggedness is also a major factor for compute, storage, and networking
the tactical network. when it comes to supporting mobile ap- functions with industry leading reduc-
To realize the capabilities that the mo- plications. A mobile data center should tion in SWaP. This system can be de-
bile cloud can bring to the tactical edge, be designed to meet military environ- ployed dismounted, in FOBs, command
industry will require a new class of mental standards, such as MIL-STD-810, posts, ground vehicles, and aircraft, as
rugged, fieldable, network processing to ensure that the system can operate well as in upper echelons – for military,
and data storage solutions that can pro- optimally when exposed to the harsh intelligence, law enforcement, and
vide tactical and expeditionary teams ac- temperatures, vibration, shock and EMI Homeland Security use. Depending on
cess to all of the data and compute re- typical of battlefield conditions. Stan- the specific use case, PacStar MDC con-
sources they need. These systems will dard 19" rack mount datacenter equip- figurations can include a mix of com-
need to be able to provide cloud-like ment is not designed to withstand pute modules, storage modules, and
services, maintaining high operational harsh environments and not designed GPU modules, along with the com-
availability of applications and data, to operate on the move – leading to pany’s switching/routing modules.
even in DIL environments where WAN concerns about equipment failure and With the advancements such as this
connectivity is not assured. What’s more, loss of availability of mission critical in high capacity, rugged, small form-fac-
mobile cloud systems will need to inte- communications. tor hardware, it’s now possible to deploy
grate seamlessly with leading public, To meet the requirements for mobil- emerging software infrastructures to auto-
government and private cloud providers. ity and integration into the types of mate distributed processing and storage,
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communications, and cloud replication

required to ensure situational awareness
is maintained to the edge of the battle-
field. Large enterprise software compa-
nies are rapidly developing new tech-
nologies to ensure that data and
applications can move seamlessly from
the cloud to the edge and back, with lit-
tle operator intervention. Several key
technologies enabling this include ap-
plication virtualization and container-
ization, network virtualization, hyper-
converged storage infrastructure.
Application virtualization and con- PacStar
tainerization are technologies that de- Modular Data Center with
couple applications from the underly- high-capacity storage and Nvidia GPU-enhanced servers.
ing hardware, allowing multiple
applications to run securely on a single
server, optimizing SWaP by reducing
the number of servers required to de-
liver needed processing. Both technolo-
gies also enable applications to be repli-
cated or moved from server to server,
and from cloud to edge, balancing the
availability of computing resources or
minimizing latency over network con-
nections. For tactical organizations, this
offers the potential to move applica-
tions close to the warfighter, reducing
processing delays and providing pro-
cessing even when disconnected.
Hyper-converged storage infrastructure
(HCI) technologies decouple the storage
of application data from hardware, while
also eliminating reliance on legacy Net-
work Attached Storage (NAS) or Storage
Area Network (SAN) architectures. These
new technologies are foundational for
replication of data between cloud and
edge processing – enabling warfighters to
take copies of cloud data into theater, and
replicate changes to data over DIL con-
nections when appropriate.
HCI also provides local data replica-
tion, for deployed organizations with a PacStar 400-Series Network Package on Joint Light Tactical Vehicle (JLTV)
need for high reliability, ensuring that
data is available in-theater even in the acenter with modern software infra- suited to ensure the new all-domain
event of a server or disk failure. New ad- structure at the edge of the network are situational awareness-driven warfight-
vances in these technologies are rapidly numerous. It can support a diverse ing doctrine will succeed while ad-
improving the ability for tactical organi- array of use cases when operating in dressing the DIL reality of communica-
zations to replicate data between any of DIL environments, including hosting tions at the tactical edge.
the major cloud providers, and moving situational awareness, mission com- This article was written by Charlie
applications between the edge and cloud, mand and C2 applications, supporting Kawasaki, CTO, and Dominic Perez, VP of
providing maximum mobility and ma- SIGINT, HUMINT and IMINT data Systems Engineering, Curtiss-Wright De-
neuver options for our warfighters. gathering and analytics workloads, as fense Solutions, PacStar (Portland, OR). For
The benefits of a converged com- well as emerging IoT and sensor fu- more information, visit http://info.
pute/storage/networking modular dat- sion-based applications. This is ideally hotims.com/79418-503.
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Remanufacturing Reimagined
How Selective Electroplating Extends Service Life and
Reduces the Cost of Aerospace Components
I
n the aerospace industry, compo- pieces of machinery – may need to be This is where remanufacturing offers a
nents are subjected to harsh operat- scrapped, increasing capital equipment solution. With quality control para-
ing environments. Extremes of tem- costs and prolonging downtime. mount, it is important to clarify that the
perature, corrosive particulate matter Environmental concerns, costs of raw remanufacturing industries council de-
in the air, friction and a variety of oper- materials, and stricter government regula- scribes remanufacturing as a comprehen-
ating factors combine to increase the risk tions – not to mention cost control and sive, rigorous industrial process, adding
of wear and tear, corrosion, and damage. reduced availability of some metals – have that components are returned to like new
Component defects and hardware de- resulted in aerospace component manu- or in better-than-new condition.
teriorations can result in shutdowns facturers striving to reduce waste. Worn,
and unscheduled downtime, affecting corroded, or damaged components from Extending Operational Lifespan
the operator’s dispatch reliability and across industry contribute to the 73 mil- While remanufacturing has a role to
resulting in higher operating/mainte- lion metric tons of ferrous metal, and mil- play in reducing scrappage and extending
nance costs. If not properly maintained, lions of tons of non-ferrous metals and the operational lifespan of components,
many of these components – or entire stainless steel scrapped in the US. the process itself can be more time-con-
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Engine Technology
is specified in overhaul manuals and

standard practice manuals. SIFCO ASC
works closely with customers in the
aerospace industry to offer practical,
cost-effective options for repairing and
enhancing the surfaces of components.
For example, when looking to reman-
ufacture a turbine interstage case from a
PW100 engine, an OEM customer ex-
plored tank plating and brazing op-
tions, before opting for selective electro-
plating. With an internal diameter of
5.625", a specified plating thickness of
0.003" using AeroNikl® 250, and limited
access to the area that needed plating,
precision was key to success.
Tank plating – often used for this type
of application – requires extensive mask-
ing. As well as being a labor-intensive and
time-consuming process that often incurs
additional delays shipping the part to out-
side vendors, tank plating can also require
post-plating machining due to edge-
build-up. Selective plating allows for more
OEM aerospace components can be repaired and restored back to ‘as new’ or better through selective elec- accurate control of deposit thicknesses – a
troplating. point crucial to meeting the specification
– allowing the part to be plated to size
suming than simply manufacturing a new of the deposit material, is introduced be- with no post-machining. With the
part. In the aerospace industry, downtime tween the negatively charged plating sur- process taking place at room temperature,
can be costly, making it vital that reman- face and the positively charged tool. the risk of part distortion is also reduced.
ufacturing can be carried out both effi- When the tool – or anode – touches the For this particular component, selec-
ciently and effectively. Here, selective surface, a circuit is created, with a cover tive plating also offered a far quicker
electroplating offers a vital benefit. material around the tool providing a turnaround, with processing times re-
Selective plating (also known as brush reservoir to ensure even distribution. The duced from one-to-two days to approxi-
plating) is a method of repairing and current within the circuit causes the ions mately just two hours. With the
restoring critical dimensions and surface between the interfaces to bond, building portable nature of brush plating, repairs
properties of worn components to OEM up the plating layer and delivering a can be undertaken either in the shop or
standards. The process can be used to treat highly adherent and dense metal deposit. on the job site – offering process flexi-
specific areas of a component, with accu- The range of metals used in selective bility as well as reducing the impact of
rate, selective brush plating of materials plating is extensive. The process is suit- external delays and shipping.
onto localized surfaces and diameters. As able for applying any metals that are tra-
well as typically being faster than alterna- ditionally applied by tank electroplat- Reducing Scrappage and Rework
tive surface coating methods, selective ing, the most common being cadmium, In the aerospace industry, in particu-
plating can be completed on-site, reducing zinc-nickel, nickel, copper, cobalt, lar, the very low design tolerance of
the downtime and cost associated with nickel-tungsten, cobalt-chromium car- manufactured components can result in
disassembly, transport, and reassembly. bide, silver, gold, and platinum. The scrappage due to production defects and
Given the continuous use and harsh SIFCO Process® can be carried out man- strict quality control. Again, selective
environments experienced when aero- ually, it can be mechanized, or it can be plating can help overcome this issue, of-
space equipment is in operation, selec- automated for higher volume applica- fering a way to swiftly rework parts to
tive plating needs to bond at the atomic tions – something not traditionally asso- ensure that they meet specifications.
level. This is something not provided by ciated with selective plating. When working with an OEM for the
traditional surface coating methods, aerospace industry, SIFCO ASC was able
such as thermal spray, which only Benefits of Selective Plating Over to specify selective plating to rework a
forms a mechanical bond. Tank Plating part to avoid the need to strip and re-
To create this atomic bond, selective Selective plating is already approved plate it. The component in question
plating uses electrochemical principles. worldwide by most major airlines, land- was an outer ring flange for a turbine jet
An electrolyte solution, containing ions ing gear and engine manufacturers, and engine shaft. As part of the original
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Engine Technology
Using less solution and chemicals, and

generating very little waste, as well as re-
ductions in the carbon costs of emissions,
transport, and shipping, it’s a more sus-
tainable option. The reduction in fumes
and hazardous waste disposal also delivers
a safer, healthier working environment.
Maximizing Uptime, Minimizing Costs

Remanufacturing undoubtedly offers
a cost-effective and resource-efficient
way to extend the service life of ma-
chines and equipment. Opting for selec-
tive plating offers further benefits, re-
ducing downtime and offering distinct
process and environmental efficiencies
versus other plating methods.
Selective brush plating has dramati-
cally evolved from its origins of touch-
ing up existing plating jobs and is now
considered an overarching term describ-
Turbine interstage case from a PW100 engine that has been remanufactured through selective electro- ing a highly technical process used for
plating using SIFCO ASC’s AeroNikl® 250. repairing or improving surface proper-
ties in an array of circumstances. Its
manufacturing process, the part was and plating operations of each part benefits commonly include increased
pre-baked and electroless nickel coated amounted to less than ten minutes, a far wear resistance, surface hardness and
before being post-baked. faster and more cost-effective process low electrical contact resistance, or cor-
After completion, it was discovered than stripping and replating the part. rosion protection, so much so that it is
that the 0.125" slot was oversized. often now specified in the initial engi-
Rather than stripping and/or replating Reducing Environmental Impact neering design specification as well as
the part, the customer worked with the As well as extending the service life of being called out for component repair.
SIFCO ASC team to use selective plating assets, saving money and materials ver- This article was written by Tony Arana,
so the slot would meet the required sus the cost of replacement, reducing Southwest Territory Sales Manager at
specification. After plating with nickel, scrappage and improving process effi- SIFCO ASC (Independence, OH). For more
the part was baked for a minimum ciency, selective plating also offers sub- information, visit http://info.hotims.com/
of eight hours at 375°F. The masking stantial environmental benefits. 79418-502.
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Satellite Paves the Way

for Improved Storm
Tracking
T
he 2020 Atlantic hurricane sea- “As climate change is making hurri-
son was one of the most brutal canes even stronger, it’s more impor-
on record, producing an un- tant than ever that NASA and our
precedented 30 named storms. partners invest in missions like
What’s more, a record-tying 10 of those TROPICS to better track and under-
storms were characterized as rapidly in- stand extreme weather,” said NASA
tensifying — some throttling up by 100 Administrator Bill Nelson. “NASA’s
miles per hour in under two days. innovation is strengthening data
To bring more data to forecasters and models that help scientists improve
have a more consistent watch over storm forecasting and understand
Earth’s tropical belt where these storms the factors that feed these monster
form, NASA has launched a test satellite, storms. TROPICS will help to do
or pathfinder, ahead of a constellation of just that and we look forward to
six weather satellites called TROPICS next year’s launch of the TROPICS
(Time-Resolved Observations of Precipita- satellite constellation.”
tion structure and storm Intensity with a “TROPICS is the beginning of a
Constellation of Smallsats). Planned for new era. This mission will be
launch in 2022, the TROPICS satellites among the first to use a constella-
will work together to provide near-hourly tion of small satellites for these
microwave observations of a storm’s pre- types of global, rapid-revisit views
cipitation, temperature, and humidity — of tropical storms,” said Scott
a revisit time for these measurements not Braun, the TROPICS project scien-
currently possible with other satellites. tist and a research meteorologist
The TROPICS
Pathfinder satellite —
about 10 × 10 × 36 cm
in size — is identical to
six more satellites to
be launched in 2022.
The golden cube at the
top is the microwave
radiometer, which col-
lects tropical storm
data. (Image: Blue
Canyon Technologies)
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The microwave radiometer detects

temperature, moisture, and rainfall in
the atmosphere. On current weather
satellites, microwave radiometers are
about the size of a washing machine. On
TROPICS’ small satellites, the radiome-
ters are about the size of a coffee mug.
Microwave radiometers work by de-
tecting the thermal radiation naturally
emitted by oxygen and water vapor in
the air. The TROPICS instrument meas-
ures these emissions via an antenna
spinning at one end of the satellite. The
antenna listens in at 12 microwave
channels between 90 and 205 gigahertz,
where the relevant emission signals are
strongest. These channels capture sig-
nals at different heights throughout the
Six CubeSat nanosatellites — each the size of a shoebox — will be launched in early 2022. (Image: Blue lowest layer of the atmosphere, or tro-
Canyon Technologies) posphere, where most weather we expe-
rience occurs. By flying the TROPICS ra-
at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center will allow time for adjustments to the diometers at lower altitude and detecting
in Maryland. ground system and data products, help- fewer channels than their larger coun-
Since tropical cyclones and hurri- ing ensure the success of the TROPICS terparts in the channels they do carry,
canes can change rapidly as they travel mission. the radiometers deliver comparable per-
across the ocean, the increased observa- Said Nicholas Zorn, Pathfinder pro- formance.
tions from the TROPICS satellites will gram manager from MIT Lincoln Labora- Miniaturizing the microwave ra-
not only advance the science of under- tory, “Its mission is a real-world, end-to- diometer has been an incremental
standing storm intensity but also may end test, from environmental verification process over the past 10 years for Black-
improve intensity forecasts. through integration, launch, ground well and his team, spurred by the in-
“The project holds great promise to communications, commissioning, cali- vention of CubeSats. TROPICS builds
boost NOAA’s steady improvements in bration, operations, and science data pro- on Blackwell and his team’s 2018 suc-
weather and hurricane forecasts by feed- cessing. Any areas for improvement iden- cess in launching the first microwave
ing new environmental data into our tified along the way can be reinforced radiometer on a CubeSat to collect at-
world-class numerical weather predic- before the constellation launches.” mospheric profiling data. The instru-
tion models,” according to Frank Marks, MIT Lincoln Laboratory’s William ment aboard the TROPICS’ six satellites
director of the Hurricane Research Divi- Blackwell is the TROPICS principal in- has been upgraded to provide improved
sion of NOAA’s Atlantic Oceanographic vestigator. Six years ago, he submitted sensitivity, resolution, and reliability
and Meteorological Laboratory. After all TROPICS as a proposal to NASA’s Earth and will make more targeted and rapid
six satellites are launched and posi- Venture Instrument competition series weather observations.
tioned in 2022, “this new constellation and was awarded funding. The Earth “These storms affect a lot of people
will provide high-frequency temperature Venture Instrument program calls for and we expect that with the increased
and humidity soundings as we seek to innovative, science-driven, cost-effec- observations over a single storm from
learn how hurricanes interact with the tive missions to solve pressing issues re- TROPICS, we will be able to improve
surrounding temperature and moisture lated to Earth science. forecasts, which translates to helping
environment — key data that could im- people get to safety sooner, protect
prove hurricane intensity forecasts.” Microwave Instrument is Key property, and overall enhance the na-
Blue Canyon Technologies (Boulder, tional economy,” Blackwell said, look-
A Pathfinder Leads the Way CO) built the constellation of CubeSats ing ahead to the full constellation
A critical step in preparing for the — satellites the size of a loaf of bread launch next year.
constellation is the launch of a Path- that are often economical to launch. “It is amazing technology that we
finder satellite, a seventh identical copy The satellites consist of a single, high- have proven out that allows us to max-
of the TROPICS smallsats, that will en- performance, microwave radiometer imize the science from the instrument’s
able full testing of the technology, com- payload hosted on each spacecraft bus. size factor. To pull this off has taken
munication systems, data processing, Each payload includes a motor as well as contributions of so many people.”
and data flow to application users in ad- electronics to control the MIT Lincoln For more information, visit MIT Lincoln
vance of the constellation’s launch. This Laboratory payload spin mechanism. Laboratory at https://www.ll.mit.edu.
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Solar-Powered Satellite Hardware in Orbit

A bout 18 months ago, U.S.
Naval Research Laboratory
(NRL) engineers launched the
temperature data, along with
PRAM’s efficiency in energy pro-
duction. This information will
Photovoltaic Radio-frequency drive the design of future space
Antenna Module (PRAM) on an solar prototypes.
Air Force X-37B Orbital Test “We are going into our ex-
Vehicle as part of a comprehen- tended testing phase and work-
sive investigation into pro - ing with others in the commu-
spective terrestrial use of solar nity to try out a range of oper -
energy captured in space. ating conditions,” Jaffe said.
“To our knowledge, this ex- “PRAM is successfully laying the
periment is the first test in orbit foundation for the next iteration
of hardware designed specifi- of experiments and demonstra-
cally for solar power satellites, tions for space solar.”
which could play a revolution- Given PRAM results, a next
ary role in our energy future,” step would be fabricating a fully
said Paul Jaffe, PRAM principal functional system on a dedicated
investigator. “Seeing some of spacecraft to test the transmis-
the effects of key differences The Photovoltaic Radio-frequency Antenna Module (PRAM) with a 12" sion of energy back to Earth that
ruler for scale. The hardware is the first orbital experiment designed to
between testing in space and convert sunlight for microwave power transmission for solar power could potentially help power re-
on the ground has definitely satellites. (U.S. Navy photo by Jonathan Steffen) mote installations like forward
been eye-opening,” he said. operating bases and disaster re-
“The experiment is chugging along some cases, exceeded our pre-launch sponse areas. Solar power satellites
and continues to operate and provide a laboratory testing,” DePuma said. The would have the ability to provide clean,
bounty of flight data. Sometimes we real “wow” moment for him was when constant electricity anywhere in the
scratch our heads but that’s the beauty they received the very first data package world, capable of redirecting energy
of science: you keep researching to un- from the X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle. “It anywhere it is needed.
derstand the results.” confirmed all our hard work had paid “If a power grid has a designated re-
Added Jaffe, “It’s been exhilarating off and PRAM was working in orbit and ceiving site, a potential solar power
getting to this point. While we would delivering valuable data to advance satellite could redirect energy during an
have liked the moment to arrive sooner, space solar and power beaming re- energy crisis,” said DePuma. “A solar
it’s great to feel that we’re making for- search.” power satellite could potentially func-
ward progress.” The flight experiment enables re- tion as a national disaster resource that
The 12-inch-square tile module is searchers to test the hardware in actual could deploy additional energy during a
testing the ability to harvest power from space conditions. Incoming sunlight time of crisis. Solar power satellites
its solar panel and transform the energy travels through the Earth’s atmosphere, could be used internationally to support
to a radio-frequency microwave. “PRAM both filtering the spectrum and reduc- humanitarian missions as well as sup-
converts sunlight for microwave power ing its brightness. A space solar system port military operations,” said DePuma.
transmission. We could have also con- traveling above the atmosphere would “These are designed to collect solar en-
verted for optical power transmission,” catch more energy from each of the ergy in space where it is readily avail-
said Chris Depuma, PRAM program sunlight’s color bands. able and then function as a power plant
manager. “Converting to optical might “There’s more blue in the spectrum in in the sky that is capable of delivering
make more sense for lunar applications space, allowing you to add another energy wherever it is most needed,” he
because there’s no atmosphere on the layer to solar cells to take advantage of added.
Moon. The disadvantage of optical is that,” Jaffe said. “This is one reason why There is still a lot of data to be ana-
you could lose a lot of energy through the power per unit area of a solar panel lyzed that will be used to iterate future
clouds and atmosphere.” in space is greater than on the ground.” solar power satellite designs. “The work
PRAM is testing functional compo- The use of solar energy to operate done has been extremely accurate in
nents of what would be part of a power satellites began at the start of the space predicting exactly what the module
satellite network that could transmit age with another NRL spacecraft: Van- would do on orbit, so there haven’t
energy from space to anywhere on guard I, the first satellite to have solar been a lot of surprises in the perfor -
Earth. Since the launch, the team has cells. The current experiment focuses mance,” DePuma said.
been receiving data regularly. “The on the energy conversion process and For more information, contact NRL
analysis to this point has shown that it resulting thermal performance. The Communications at nrlpao@nrl.navy.
has performed well in orbit and even in hardware will provide researchers with mil; 202-480-3746.
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Tech Briefs
Impact of Satellite Intelligence, Surveillance and

Reconnaissance on Modern Naval Operations
Determining whether afloat availability of satellite ISR, a technology that is relatively new, fundamen-
tally changed naval operations and if so, to what degree.
Army Command and General Staff College, Fort Leavenworth, Kansas
C urrent naval operations rely heavily

on space resources. A large majority
of space resources are devoted to the in-
gestion of intelligence and intelligence -Space-based ELINT
related data. Assets organic to afloat -New IS rating afloat
units limited intelligence collection be- -Automated data processing afloat
fore the advent of satellite Intelligence,
Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR).
These afloat units were augmented by
intelligence centers ashore and through After Satellite ISR Availability
-Organic ISR collection (Air,
intelligence sharing efforts from allies. Surface, Subsurface)
With the advent of technologies sur- -Limited automation Before Satellite ISR Availability
rounding space exploration and ex- -Officer only Operational
ploitation, the US Navy was beneficially Intelligence
positioned at the forefront of adjusting
to new policy, threats and operational
intelligence need.
The Navy has a long history of utiliz-
ing adversaries’ data to gain an edge in
executing missions at sea. Throughout US Navy Differences Due to Satellite ISR Availability Afloat (Source: Created by Author)
this history, much of the data collected
was limited by the technology available. of satellite ISR by drawing a correlation the materialization of this new technol-
After World War II, advances in technol- between the parts and their influence ogy. Furthermore, the political climate
ogy and the presentation of new adver- on the whole. surrounding this period will provide
saries, supercharged the organic ISR ca- Understanding the timeline of the amplification and explain the supposed
pability of units afloat. However, the genesis of satellite ISR and its imple- culture shift from the terrestrial and
technologies were limited to the or- mentation in the fleet is essential to tangible to the atmospheric horizon.
ganic capability of individual military comprehending the initial impacts of The focus of this research is to deter-
platforms. Global tensions pushed for space- based ISR on naval operations. By mine if afloat availability of satellite
exploitation of the space domain which setting up the timelines, juxtaposed to ISR, a technology that is relatively new,
ignited the space race. Due to advances US policy and global pressures, one will fundamentally changed naval opera-
in the ability to reach this new domain, attempt to classify the specific differ- tions. The research will determine the
the issue of their application at the De- ences between naval operations before standard ISR/operations relationship
partment of Defense pushed the serv- and after the availability of satellite ISR before afloat satellite ISR availability,
ices, particularly the Navy, into techno- at the fleet level. what capabilities were available once
logical revolutions and technological To comprehend the differences, how- promulgated to afloat units, and result-
transitions to satisfy the demand. ever, one must understand the scope of ing naval doctrinal shifts. Once the data
Application of data collected by sen- the genesis of space-based ISR and the is observed or obtained, a comparative
sors in space at the operational level facets of its materialization within the analysis will occur to determine deltas
forced significant change within the US US intelligence community. The US in naval operations before and after the
Navy and its fleet. Although the general Navy’s intelligence community has a afloat ISR shift.
execution of operations seems to have distinct symbiotic relationship with the This work was done by LCDR Paul A.
only changed slightly, in reality many national intelligence community and Colon for the Army Command and
fundamental changes occurred at the the policies that affect it. Exploring this General Staff College. For more infor-
unit level with respect to the naval in- relationship and the general history of mation, download the Technical Sup-
telligence community at large. Explo- ISR around the time of satellite ISR port Package (free white paper) at
ration of the changes within this com- availability, establishes the foundation www.aerodefensetech.com/tsp under
munity of the Navy will allow for the for researching the proposed delta be- the DAQ, Testing & Sensors category.
thorough understanding of the impacts tween naval operations before and after ARL-0239
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Tech Briefs
3D Data Acquisition Platform for Human Activity

Understanding
Implementing motion capture devices, 3D vision sensors, and EMG sensors to cross validate multi-
modality data acquisition and address fundamental research problems involving the representation
and invariant description of 3D data, human motion modeling and applications of human activity
analysis, and computational optimization of large-scale 3D data.
Army Research Office, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina
R eliable online recognition and pre-

diction of human actions and activi-
ties in temporal sequences has many po-
mote further research in human predic-
tion and intention sensing.
Apparently, a practical prediction sys-
visual intelligence for leveraging auto-
matic human activity understanding
using 3D data acquisition platforms.
tential applications in a wide range of tem must output a rapid response for Using 2D visual information captured
Army-relevant fields, ranging from video partial observations. This brings up a by single or multiple cameras for
surveillance, warfighter assistance, new challenge to the computational human activity recognition has been
human computer interface, intelligent models and motivates machine learning extensively studied and applied to real-
humanoid robots, and unmanned and researchers to make more progress. world systems in the past decade. How-
autonomous vehicles, to diagnosis, as- Moreover, action prediction will need ever, a remaining open problem is how
sessment and treatment of musculoskele- to model temporal structures and may to generalize existing models and
tal disorders, etc. A computational ap- raise an important advance for action frameworks to robust and viewpoint-in-
proach for action prediction can extend recognition. The underlying basic goal dependent recognition and even predic-
these findings to machines and also pro- is to enhance the DoD’s capabilities of tion of diverse human actions and activ-
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Tech Briefs
ities in a real environment. Recent ad- A computational approach for action progress. Moreover, action prediction will
vances in 3D motion capture technology, prediction can extend their findings to need to model temporal structures and
3D depth cameras using structured light machines and also promote further re- may raise an important advance for ac-
or time-of-flight sensors, and 3D informa- search in human prediction and intention recognition.
tion recovery from 2D images/videos tion sensing. Apparently, a practical pre- The 3D human data acquisition plat-
have provided commercially viable ap- diction system must output a rapid form used for this research consists of a
proaches and hardware platforms to cap- response for partial observations. This set of 3D motion capture sensors (e.g.
ture 3D data in real-time and have been brings up a new challenge to the compu- Vicon) and a set of 3D cameras (e.g.
nurturing a potential breakthrough solu- tational models and motivates machine Kinect) that are synchronized and inte-
tion to such problems by using 3D data. learning researchers to make more grated to cross-validate data acquisition,
as shown in the accompanying figure. As
3D Motion Capture 3D Motion Reconstruction
illustrated in the computing (right) mod-
Post Estimation and Actvity Uderstanding ule, new methodologies of 3D motion re-
construction and 3D visual modeling
will be developed to fill in the gap be-
tween vision and motion data and form
the computational component to drive
interactions. The gap between the mid-
dle level and low level data flow is filled
by parametric and composable low-di-
Quantitive Biomechanical Assessments
mensional manifold representations.
Interaction Fusion Interaction Such integrated data acquisition and
methodologies will link the visual repre-
3D Camera Sensing 3D Visual Modeling sentations to quantitative biomechanical
Computational Motion Manifold
assessment of the human movements in
the form of immersive activities, which
aid the development of human models
Kinetic Sensor
3D Motion Tracking and assist in the progressive parametric
refinement of modeling.
This work was done by Yun Fu of Northeast-
ern University for the Army Research Office.
For more information, download the Tech-
Computational Visual Analysisi nical Support Package (free white paper) at
www.aerodefensetech.com/tsp under the
3D human data acquisition platform. DAQ, Testing & Sensors category. ARL-0243
Coastal Lidar and Radar Imaging System (CLARIS) Lidar

Data Report
An analysis of shoreline change, dune volume, beach volume, beach slope, and cumulative elevation
change along the northern Outer Banks of North Carolina near the CHL Field Research Facility over
a 6-year study period.
Army Engineer Research and Development Center, Vicksburg, Mississippi
T he dynamic nature of the nation’s

coastlines necessitates frequent
shoreline monitoring and mapping.
the course of these efforts, CHL has con-
tinued to develop different technologies
to refine shoreline monitoring tech-
tailed data of coastal change and hydro-
dynamic processes.
Lidar is frequently collected from sta-
The U.S. Army Engineer Research and niques, with a particular focus on the tionary ground-based platforms, which
Development Center, Coastal and Hy- application of remote sensing technol- provide fine detail (100s to 1000s of
draulics Laboratory (CHL), Field Re- ogy to coastal monitoring. Light detec- points per meter) in one location or mo-
search Facility (FRF), has collected tion and ranging (lidar) scanners have bile airborne sampling approaches that
datasets on the nearshore zone’s chang- proven useful for the CHL coastal meas- provide coverage over large areas but at
ing conditions for over 40 years. During urement efforts, providing highly de- lower resolution (1 to 10s of points per
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Tech Briefs
meter). The U.S. Army Corps of Engi- high-resolution scanning, and given a
neers (USACE), U.S. Naval Oceano- high-precision inertial navigation sys-
graphic Office, and National Oceanic tem, allow for large regional surveys to
and Atmospheric Administration be conducted within hours at compa-
(NOAA) formed the Joint Airborne rable resolution (Spore and Brodie
Lidar Bathymetry Technical Center of 2017). CHL utilizes CLARIS to monitor
eXpertise in 1998 to support coastal beach elevation throughout the year
mapping requirements and commit- on seasonal scale as well as before, dur-
ted to surveying the U.S. coastline ing, and after extratropical, subtropi-
every 5 years with airborne lidar. As a cal, and tropical storms or hurricanes.
result of these and other efforts, coastal The regular, frequent collection along
monitoring with airborne lidar data the same segments of shoreline re-
has provided a range of insights into duces the uncertainty that often ac-
coastal change since the late 1990s. A Ford F350 pickup truck served as the data collection plat- companies more sporadic, interannual
While airborne lidar sampling pro- form for this research. beach surveys (Le Mauff et al. 2018).
vides significant coverage, it also de- Frequent high-resolution sub-aerial
mands significant resources for deploy- ployment, CHL developed the Coastal beach topographic surveys are critical to
ment and may lack the temporal and Lidar and Radar Imagng System understanding variability of beach mor-
spatial resolution necessary to ade- (CLARIS), a mobile, truck-based lidar sys- phological evolution across different time-
quately map the evolution of coastal fea- tem that can survey 10s of kilometers of scales. Continued data collection can sup-
tures at scales relevant to the forcing coast at high-resolution (100s to 1000s of port scaling observations between these
conditions. To bridge the gap between points per meter) in 1 day. shorter events, seasonal, or year-length
airborne lidar coverage and terrestrial Mobile, terrestrial-based lidar systems fluctuations to decadal scale change. The
lidar scanner resolution and ease of de- offer the benefits of traditional stationary observational data can also be used to di-
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Tech Briefs
rectly assess the condition of dunes and ment of better models for wave runup, Katherine L. Brodie for the Army Engineer Re-
other natural coastal infrastructure. For ex- coastal inundation, and overall sediment search and Development Center. For more
ample, Brodie and Spore (2015) compared transport by providing more data for information, download the Technical
CLARIS data against insight from Hesp model input and validation, particularly Support Package (free white paper) at
(2002) to classify dune health by measur- across larger, regional scales. www.aerodefensetech.com/tsp under the
ing their slopes, volumes, and curvature. This work was done by Nicholas J. Spore, DAQ, Testing & Sensors category. (ERDC-
The data will also support the develop- Alexander D. Renaud, Ian W. Conery, and 0011)
Development and Testing of a New Version of Mbud for

Cued Classification of Marine UXO
Improved version of the Marine UXO characterization system, MBUD, has a new data acquisition system and
incorporates technical modifications to eliminate the noise encountered in seawater with the MBUD1 version.
Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program, Alexandria, Virginia
T here continues to be a need for an

electromagnetic induction (EMI) sys-
tem that can characterize unexploded All Sites
0.15
ordnance (UXO) in the marine environ- 3163 Targets 0.10
ment. There are many areas in the mil-

lions of acres that host underwater UXO. 0.05
The US Army Corps of Engineers has iden-

0
tified 400 underwater formerly used de- 0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5
fense sites. These sites all have munitions 0.5
1.5%
or UXO in less than 40m of water. A size-
depth plot typical for these UXO from Di-
Marco et al. (2010) was used as a design 0
guide for the first MBUD system and is re-

produced here as Figure 1. A compilation
Depth (m)
of polarizability calculations from a vari- -0.5
ety of targets for BUD and MBUD is

shown by the dashed line in Figure 1. This
line indicates that the MBUD system can -1
effectively classify most targets to a depth
of about 1.2 m.
-1.5
Currently wide-area assessment is car-
0
0.05
0 0.1 0.2 0.3 0.4 0.5

0.15
0.10
ried out using low and high-frequency Effective size (m)

acoustic and magnetometer arrays, both
of which must be moved over the area at Minimum size for polarizability resoulution to 10% for horizontal 1:3.5 steel spheroid
some distance above the sea bottom. The
magnetic response of small targets de- Figure 1. Size vs. depth plot for marine UXO (from DiMarco et al., 2010). Superimposed is the size-depth
creases rapidly with increasing distance limit for polarizability resolution for the MBUD system.
from the object. Further magnetometer
surveys can be ineffective if the sea bot- jects, but at present, they can only lo- this role. The performance of MBUD2
tom has magnetic rock, sand, or gravel (as cate small objects as point scatterers. was demonstrated on land and in San
is common in Hawaii). Low-frequency EMI systems must be operated on the Francisco Bay. MBUD2 was operated in
acoustic scanners have low resolving bottom, and in many locations this is a cued mode – the system was sta-
power for small targets beneath the bot- difficult or impossible. Quoting from a tionery and targets were placed in vari-
tom and may not be effective in water recent SERDP symposium, “EMI tech- ous locations by an operator (on land)
depths of less than 3-5m. nology will probably be restricted to or a diver (in San Francisco Bay).
Low-frequency acoustic scanning cued classification” and eventually will A simple open frame MBUD2 proto-
methods may eventually be able to be deployed with a commercial mid- type system configuration consists of
characterize buried medium to large ob- sized ROV. MBUD2 is well-suited for four, three-component, receiver cubes
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Tech Briefs
that are at the corners of a 1m2 area with

the three orthogonal transmitters at the
TRANSMITTER CUBE
center (Figure 2) mounted on a simple
platform. Differences in field at symmet-
rically positioned receivers cancel the re-
20”
sponse of the seawater and of the air-sea
Z Z
Y Y
interface for shallow deployments. Note,
X X
MBUD2 is using existing components
96”
PASSIVE CABLE
RECEIVERS CABLE from MBUD1, which constrain possible
TO SURFACE
X AFT/PORT FORE/PORT X INTERFACE changes that could be implemented. The
Y
+Z
Y
+Z
pulser and electronics that are inside the
pressure casing are at the other end of
PULSER POWER the platform. Next to it is a dedicated
20”
A
1 X OIL
CABLE TO SURFACE pressure casing, inside of which all the
COMP
CUBE
RX OIL signal and power connections are redis-
42”
Z COMP tributed to a bundle of long cables that
B reach the surface vessel where the data
are processed and analyzed.
Y
X
Y
X
The orthogonal transmitter antenna
+ +
Z Z TRANSMITTER BOX system is completely encased in epoxy
FORE/STAR
AFT/STAR glass composite (an average thickness of 4
mm) to avoid any possibility of creating a
Figure 2a. Schematic of MBUD2 configuration. contact between seawater and the three
Rugged,
Rugged, Programmable,
Programmable, H
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igh-Speed Interested in
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Ethernet ARINC 818

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Tech Briefs
windings. The cable connections to the

receiver windings are made through tub-
Transmitter
cube
ing fittings and the cables are surrounded
with reinforced plastic tubing. To further
Receiver cubes
prevent any seawater intrusion, the tub-
Pressure equalization
ing enclosing the cables and any space
cylinder
around the receiver wiring are oil filled.
This work was done by Erika Gasperikova
Pulser and Frank Morrison of Lawrence Berkeley Na-
tional Laboratory, and Ugo Conti of Marine
Distribution chamber Advanced Research, Inc. for the Strategic En-
for receiver cables
vironmental Research and Development Pro-
gram. For more information, download
the Technical Support Package (free
white paper) at www.aerodefensetech.
com/tsp under the DAQ, Testing &
Figure 2b. Assembled MBUD2 prototype system. Sensors category. SERDP-0004
Fabrication and Testing of High-Speed Single-Rotor and

Compound-Rotor Systems
Acquiring the data needed to generate a comprehensive set of measurements of the blade surface
pressures, pitch link loads, hub loads, rotor wakes and performance of high-speed single-rotor and
compound-rotor systems necessary to support the development of next-generation rotorcraft, such
as those envisioned in the Joint Multi- Role (JMR) rotorcraft program.
Army Research Office, Research Triangle Park, North Carolina
S lowed rotors – traditionally associated

with autogyros and gyroplanes – have
long been recognized as one potential so-
catastrophic aeroelastic instabilities of
rigid rotors (Cheyenne). None of these
helicopters entered regular production.
high-efficiency helicopters of the future
(along with tilt-rotors and lift-offset coax-
ial compounds). The intent is the funda-
lution for high-speed helicopters (200-300 Today, the CarterCopter gyroplane is mental understanding of such rotors,
knots). During the 1950s–70s, there were the only aircraft to have demonstrated a using both analysis and experiment at the
several significant programs that led to rotor advance ratio of 1.0 in flight in very high-advance ratio reverse flow con-
the development of high-speed helicop- 2005. With the advancement of materials, ditions they are envisioned to operate in
ters with thrust and lift compounding. controls, and propulsion/drivetrain tech- (µ~1.5-2.0 and beyond).
The key technology barriers common to nologies (15-20% direct variation in RPM Compared to conventional helicop-
all were extremely high fuel consumption possible with same nominal specific fuel ters, there are only a handful of limited
due to high advancing side drag and large consumption and more dramatic reduc- experimental measurements available,
reverse flow, complexities associated with tion promised with variable drivetrain), which are neither sufficient for funda-
RPM reduction, large blade motions dur- slowed rotors have once again begun to mental understanding of their aerome-
ing RPM reduction, and unexplained but emerge as a viable solution to high-speed, chanics nor adequate for validating high-
fidelity analyses that hold promise of
predicting them. The only existing data
set that includes performance, pressures
and loads are the recent full-scale UH-
60A tests – but this data is only up to
µ=1.0. Model-scale tests performed re-
cently achieve higher advance ratios (up
to µ=2.2), but with simple blades (sym-
metric NACA0012 airfoil, untwisted) in
autorotation or lower advance ratios (up
to µ=1.0) with realistic blades (asymmet-
Endevco miniature transducer (left) embedded in a test specimen (right). ric SC1095, twisted) and powered condi-
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Tech Briefs
tions – but all focused mostly on per- timization of its performance requires re- This work was done by Inderjit Chopra of
formance measurements and fall far fined analytical tools and detailed test the University of Maryland - College Park for
short from being comprehensive. Simi- data. It becomes necessary to generate a the Army Research Office. For more infor-
larly, discrepancies in analyses identified benchmark set of experimental hub mation, download the Technical Support
both in lifting-line and CFD have still not loads; blade surface pressures; and rotor Package (free white paper) at www.
been systematically addressed due to the wake velocity measurements with which aerodefensetech.com/tsp under the DAQ,
scarcity of reliable and comprehensive the analytical tools can be validated. Testing & Sensors category. ARL-0242
test data. Thus, both lack of experimental
data and validated analyses can become
significant technical barriers towards ef-
fective and efficient use of slowed rotors
in the development of next-generation
high-speed compound rotorcraft.
Coaxial compound has emerged as one
of several potential solutions for high-
speed rotorcraft - along with tilt-rotors
and slowed-rotor compound – since the
successful resolution of critical technol-
ogy shortcomings associated with the ear-
lier XH-59A demonstrator. These short-
comings – low efficiency/high fuel
consumption, high empty weight frac-
tion, high vibration, and challenges asso-
ciated with reducing rotor speed – have
now been mitigated in the X2 Technology
Demonstrator by innovative use of mod-
ern technologies such as advanced airfoils
(double-ended at root and super-critical at
tip), advanced materials (titanium to
graphite-epoxy blades), active vibration
control in the fixed-frame, and advanced
propulsion (high efficiency pusher pro-
peller instead of turbojet thrust).
The potential of modern refined ana-
lytical tools that have matured over the
last fifteen years – if brought to bear on
this advanced coaxial rotor system – can
bring about dramatic improvements in
its capabilities. Some of the current tech-
nical challenges are: (1) reduced effi-
ciency due to large reverse flow area in
high-speed flight (80% of retreating side,
at µ=0.8, 20% rpm reduction, 250 knots),
(2) high weight penalty due to active
force generators in the fixed-frame to
cancel the high vibration levels due to
stiff blades, and (3) weight and drag
penalty due to high root stresses as well
as a large hub. Recently, the X2 Technol-
ogy Demonstrator achieved a level flight
speed over 250 knots, proving the basic
concept of the coaxial compound config-
uration. However, the rotor of this air-
craft was designed assuming an equiva-
lent single rotor in conjunction with
blade element momentum theory. Fur-
ther development of this concept and op-
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Application Briefs
Minehunting System
Abaco Systems | AMETEK
Huntsville, AL
1-866-652-2226
www.abaco.com
A baco Systems recently announced a design win to support

a customer with upgrades to a minehunting system, which
is a towed sonar array that uses multiple sensors to identify
and detect mine-like objects. These upgrades will provide
faster processing and the latest technology, which will in-
crease safety for warfighters.
The design win contains Abaco’s VP780 FPGA card, as well as
the SBC329 3U OpenVPX single board computer. The SBC329 of-
fers a rugged design with convection or conduction cooling and Abaco’s VP780 is powered by a Xilinx® Virtex™-7 FPGA
advanced heat management technologies to deliver ultimate per- with advanced digital signal processing capabilities. The de-
formance. This SBC also features advanced security and anti-tam- sign has been optimized for the implementation of complex
per features that provide a secure processing environment. FPGA algorithms with high throughput requirements. It is in
Abaco’s VP780 provides a high-performance Virtex-7 VPX the 3U VPX form factor, with a VITA 57-compliant FPGA
card with advanced digital signal processing capabilities that has Mezzanine Card (FMC) site, making it possible to easily inte-
been optimized to implement complex FPGA algorithms with grate I/O cards with A/D, D/A, RF capabilities and more.
high throughput requirements. The combination of these two Abaco also supports a full line of FMC devices and 3U and 6U
boards makes the solution suitable for high performance appli- VPX-based FPGA products for industrial and MIL/Aero appli-
cations requiring accelerated frequency-domain algorithms such cations from the Virtex-7 up through the latest UltraScale+
as with FFTs. The VP780 compliments the SBC329 and delivers FPGAs and RFSoC devices.
a design that will satisfy the customer's needs. The SBC329 Rugged Single Board Computer (SBC) from Abaco
As the incumbent, Abaco was chosen over other competitors Systems features the high-performance, highly integrated 7th
because it can provide a ready solution that meets the technical Generation Intel Core processor platform. The Intel Xeon proces-
requirements with a lowered form, fit, and function replacement sor offers integrated graphics and memory controller plus quad
to the existing design. This project will include delivery of thirty- core processing up to 4.0 GHz, all in one device. Coupled with
four systems with two of each FPGA card and SBC in each system the CM238 chipset, this provides an upgraded level of I/O band-
over the course of two years. Development will be completed by width for both on-board and off-board functions.
the end of 2022 and production will begin in early 2023. For Free Info Visit http://info.hotims.com/79418-460
Military Aircraft Systems Technology

Bell Textron, Inc.
Fort Worth, TX
817-280-2011
www.bellflight.com
B ell Textron Inc., a Textron Inc. company, has unveiled de-

sign concepts for new aircraft systems for military applica-
tions that would use Bell’s High-Speed Vertical Take-Off and
Landing (HSVTOL) technology as the company continues
working toward next generation vertical lift aircraft. HSVTOL
technology blends the hover capability of a helicopter with the
speed, range, and survivability features of a fighter aircraft. Bell’s HSVTOL design concepts include the following features:
“Our technology investments have reduced risk and pre- • Low downwash hover capability
pared us for rapid development of HSVTOL in a digital engi- • Jet-like cruise speeds over 400 kts
neering environment, leveraging experience from a robust • True runway independence and hover endurance
past of technology exploration and close partnerships with • Scalability to the range of missions from unmanned person-
the Department of Defense and Research Laboratories,” said nel recovery to tactical mobility
Jason Hurst, Bell's Vice President of Innovation. • Aircraft gross weights range from 4,000 lbs. to over 100,000 lbs.
➮
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Application Briefs Custom Engineered
Linear Slides
Complete
Linear
Bell’s HSVTOL capability is critical to future mission needs Motion
offering a range of aircraft systems with enhanced runway in- ...
Solutions...
dependence, aircraft survivability, mission flexibility and en- right out-of-the-box!
he-box!!
hanced performance over legacy platforms. With the conver-
gence of tiltrotor aircraft capabilities, digital flight control
advancements and emerging propulsion technologies, Bell is
primed to evolve HSVTOL technology for modern military
missions to serve the next generation of warfighters.
Bell has explored high-speed vertical lift aircraft technology
for more than 85 years, pioneering innovative VTOL configu-
ISO 9001:2015/AS9100D CERTIFIED
rations like the X-14, X-22, XV-3 and XV-15 for NASA, the U.S
Army and U.S. Air Force. The lessons learned from the XV-3 Del-Tron’s Custom Engineered Linear Slides
and XV-15 supported the development of the Bell-Boeing V-
For over 40 years Del-Tron has been providing the Aerospace
22 Osprey tiltrotor, a platform that changed the way the U.S. & Defense Industries with CUSTOM DESIGNED linear motion
military conducts amphibious assault, long range infiltration ȵȸȒƳɖƬɎɀƏȇƳɀȒǼɖɎǣȒȇɀǔȒȸɵȒɖȸɀȵƺƬǣˡƬȇƺƺƳɀ
and exfiltration, and resupply with a cruise speed and range
• USA Manufacturer.
twice that of the helicopters it replaced.
• Engineering assistance available.
For Free Info Visit http://info.hotims.com/79418-462
• Quick proto-type turn-around.
MADE IN USA
Order Today!
Ground Control System 800.245.5013
Solid Models Available for all Del-Tron Models www.deltron.com
AeroVironment, Inc.
Arlington, VA
703-418-2828
www.avinc.com/crysalis
A eroVironment, Inc. has introduced Crysalis™, the com-

pany’s next-generation ground control solution. Crysalis
is an integrated hardware and software-based ground control
system (GCS) that provides command and control of compat-
ible AeroVironment unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) and
their payloads, through an intuitive user experience (UX).
Built around three core elements – software, hardware, and
antennas – Crysalis was designed to make operating robotic
systems easier than ever before. Crysalis offers complete inter-
changeability, either as modular elements or turnkey systems,
both adaptable to meet specific mission requirements.
Crysalis is cross-platform compatible with Android, Microsoft
Windows and Linux operating systems. The new GCS is avail-
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Application Briefs
able in multiple configurations ranging from lightweight and figuration featuring a ruggedized laptop. Every Crysalis GCS con-
wearable to mobile and command center systems that are figuration is natively compatible with AeroVironment’s Digital
both modular and scalable. Data Link™ (DDL™) radios and antennas, is designed for plug-
Crysalis was designed with the operator in mind, featuring an and-play compatibility with Nett Warrior, and can integrate with
intuitive user interface (UI) to reduce cognitive load and training both third party command and control and battlefield manage-
burden while enhancing situational awareness and battlefield ment applications.
collaboration. Through the easy-to-use Crysalis Control app, AeroVironment provides technology solutions at the intersec-
users can plan and execute flight missions as well as navigate and tion of robotics, sensors, software analytics and connectivity, de-
control UAS assets and payloads with one-click access to critical signed to deliver more actionable intelligence so warfighters can
information, modes, and telemetry meta data. Additional opera- proceed with certainty. Its portfolio of intelligent, multi-domain
tional participants can gain enhanced situational awareness, robotic systems includes small footprint, runway-independent
share information, and collaborate on tactical decisions by ac- unmanned aircraft systems. The JUMP®20, T-20™ and Puma™
cessing telemetry and downlink data through remote video ter- LE provide extended range, multi-payload capabilities, and the
minals, while also allowing them to capture data directly on their Puma™ RQ-20, Raven® RQ-11B, Wasp® RQ-12A, VAPOR® Heli-
devices. Crysalis standardizes the user experience across all copter and automated Quantix™ Recon deliver highly tactical,
AeroVironment small UAS platforms, simplifying the training re- frontline situational awareness. These solutions deliver increased,
quirements and operation of Puma™, Raven® and Wasp®. multi-mission capabilities and the option of selecting the appro-
The Crysalis GCS is available in scalable hardware configura- priate aircraft based on the type of mission to be performed.
tions with all necessary software components pre-configured for These capabilities have the potential to provide significant force
quick mission deployment. These range from the Crysalis Ultra- protection and force multiplication benefits to small tactical units
light GCS that provides full control of UAS and payloads through and security personnel, as well as greater safety, scalability, and
virtual control or tactile joysticks on a wearable smartphone con- cost-savings to commercial operators.
figuration to Crysalis Command GCS – a command center con- For Free Info Visit http://info.hotims.com/79418-461
Additive Manufacturing
Marotta Controls
Montville, NJ
973-334-7800
www.marotta.com
M arotta Controls, a rapidly growing aerospace and defense

supplier based in New Jersey, recently announced the suc-
cessful integration of additive manufacturing (AM) into its port-
folio of services. The company validated the capability’s viabil-
ity by using its now patented method to create internal features
of an advanced manifold valve. The selective laser sintering
(SLS) design technique generated nuanced radial passages in
various geometries not possible to achieve via traditional ma-
chine boring methods. Given this, the new manifold valve de-
livered increased velocity pressure control.
Marotta also confirmed that it is incorporating AM to reduce
parts, simplify assembly and shorten lead times to deliver tinued to leak in end-applications. The company ultimately fixed
lower cost, higher performing products. Additive manufactur- these issues and others, establishing itself as a go-to engineering
ing has long been touted across many industries as a smart way shop capable of solving difficult problems. That is why the com-
to accelerate the supply chain, initially used as a rapid tooling pany took on the challenge of improving the manifold’s per-
solution for custom injection mold creation and the like. No- formance in high-pressure applications—a problem that required
tably, a 2020 market report by Mordor Intelligence forecasted re-evaluating how and where best to apply Bernoulli’s equation
that the aerospace and defense market’s use of 3D printing will within the system’s design.
experience a 20 percent CAGR by 2025. This trend will only Early manifold iterations saw performance increases driven by
likely increase as military standards continue to adapt not just the introduction of new materials, chamber reconfigurations, and
to the manufacturing process itself, but to the use of the nec- other mechanical adaptations. These solutions launched new
essary composite materials, too. product lines for Marotta that were customizable to a wide range
Marotta Controls first came into existence troubleshooting of standards for military as well as commercial applications.
valve designs that, despite being accepted as proven parts, con- However, the company still saw additional areas for innovation.
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Application Briefs
Valves and manifolds are historically Marotta’s patented approach starts urations, with the passage structures
produced via subtractive machining, with a 3D CAD model of choice that can varying. Velocity improvements are no-
with boring tools removing unwanted meet varying ranges of end application table as is the part’s impact on the overall
material to construct their radial passages specifications. Via the SLS machine, pow- manifold’s production and performance.
within a single metal block. The radial dered metal is fused together layer by Founded in 1943, Marotta Controls'
passages are typically cylindrical or layer to construct a solid, single-pieced current product portfolio includes pres-
slightly frustoconical in nature. This de- component with three-dimensional pas- sure, power, motion, fluid, and electronic
sign approach allows for passages that ex- sage structures that can vary in shape— controls for tactical systems, shipboard
pand in two dimensions. By introducing diamond, horizontal dome, spindle, and sub-sea applications, satellites, launch
a third dimension through AM, however, branch-like, and others. vehicles, and aircraft systems.
Marotta has improved those passage fea- Marotta has evaluated its 3D valve con- For Free Info Visit http://info.hotims.
tures to achieve desired performance. cept in more than a dozen design config- com/79418-465
Loitering Munitions Systems

UVision Air Ltd. As members of the HERO series of loi- UVision, incorporates a high level of
Zur Igal, Israel tering munition systems, both the precision attack and abort capabilities.
+972 9 749 6822 Hero-120 and Hero-400EC can carry This simple-to-operate system enables
www.uvisionuav.com multi-purpose warheads for extended front-line forces to initiate operations,
lethality against a wide range of targets, as well as to respond to any enemy tar-
U Vision Air Ltd., a company that spe-

cializes in loitering munitions sys-
tems of all sizes for a variety of mis-
as well as having unique attack capabil-
ities from any direction and angle, in-
cluding top attack. With long en-
get or threat that arises, and eliminate it
with extreme accuracy. The Hero-30’s
sions, is marketing its Hero-120 and durance and low acoustic, visual and
Hero-400EC Loitering Munition sys- thermal signature, the systems can lo-
tems with anti-tank capability, provid- cate, track and strike static and moving
ing an all-inclusive solution for coun- targets with pinpoint accuracy. The
tering MBTs (main battle tanks). Hero ability to launch Loitering Munitions
Loitering Munition systems provide an from a remote-controlled multi-canister
accurate, effective, and highly lethal re- launcher provides effective deployment
sponse to hard targets. They are capable of the Hero systems from a variety of
of locating hidden targets, tracking platforms - air, land and sea - away from
them and attacking at significantly enemy lines.
longer ranges than commonly available The Hero-30 Loitering Munition Sys-
anti-tank guided missiles (ATGM). tem, developed and manufactured by
Aerospace & Defense Technology, October 2021 www.aerodefensetech.com Free Info at http://info.hotims.com/79418-802
➮
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Application Briefs
advanced capabilities include striking targets with high track- vanced mid-air abort capability that enables automatic re-
ing precision and lock-on, a last-second-mission-abort, and re- entry into loitering mode, re-engagement, or return to the re-
engagement for a second attack attempt or change of target. covery area using a parachute.
Its versatile installment configurations (man-packed, vehicle The Hero Training and Simulation System provides realistic
mounted or stationary) make it suitable for a diverse range of virtual training for the Hero series of Loitering Munitions.
operational scenarios. With three configurations – classroom, portable and embed-
The Hero-120 Loitering Munition System is a mid-range, ded in the operational control unit - it presents a comprehen-
anti-armor loitering munition system which meets the com- sive solution for Hero operators, enabling a higher level of
plex requirements of the modern battlefield. Hero-120 is a training flexibility. The classroom configuration provides a ro-
high-precision smart loitering munition system with a unique bust simulation solution with a rich and versatile scenario
aerodynamic structure that carries out pinpoint strikes against generator for multiple trainees. The portable and embedded
anti-armor, anti-material and anti-personnel targets, includ- field simulator configurations give Hero operators continuous
ing tanks, vehicles, concrete fortifications, and other soft tar- hands-on training, at various levels, during deployments,
gets in populated urban areas. The Hero-120’s high-precision maintaining the highest level of operational proficiency and
capability ensures minimal collateral damage. Its wide range readiness – anytime, anywhere.
of multi-purpose warheads enables the operational user to ef- UVision Air Ltd. designs and manufactures combat-proven
fectively engage all targets. smart Loitering Munition systems, providing military organiza-
The Hero-400EC Loitering Munition System is a long- tions around the globe with precise and effective operational at-
range, high-precision loitering munition system with a low tack capabilities. The HERO family of systems provide high-pre-
acoustic, visual and thermal signature that can locate, track cision strike capabilities, based on unique aerodynamic
and strike static and moving targets with high accuracy, and platform configurations. UVision Air’s loitering munitions are
minimal collateral damage. Precision strike capabilities, ex- designed with unique flight qualities for precision attack muni-
tended endurance of up to two hours, and a multi-purpose tions, integrating advanced airborne guidance and sophisti-
warhead ‒ including concrete piercing, anti-tank, and anti- cated navigation algorithms, integrated with C4I stations,
personnel that handle different types of targets with excep- meeting the requirements of today’s modern battlefield chal-
tional accuracy ‒ enable long-range and versatile missions. lenges for combat in complex and dynamic environments.
Due to its maneuverability, the Hero-400EC provides an ad- For Free Info Visit http://info.hotims.com/79418-468
Metal 3D Printer
ASTRO America
Bethesda, MD
info@astroa.org
www.astroa.org
T he Applied Science & Technology Re-

search Organization, commonly known
as ASTRO America, announced that it has
been selected to manage a new U.S. Army
initiative to develop and deliver a hull-scale
tool using metal additive manufacturing
technology. Known as the “Jointless Hull
Project,” the effort aims to provide improved
production speeds, reduced production
costs, reduced vehicle weight, greater vehicle
performance, and increased survivability.
“The mission is to develop a large-scale
tool capable of producing single, jointless
combat vehicle hulls at a near net size of 30
feet ¥ 20 feet ¥ 12 feet in size,” said Larry “LJ” Holmes, Principal tional manufacturing innovation institute, while the Michi-
Investigator at ASTRO America. "Additive manufacturing at a gan-based U.S. Army Combat Capabilities Development
massive scale holds the potential to transform the way vehicles Command Ground Vehicle Systems Center (DEVCOM GVSC)
are built for the military while reducing supply chain fragility.” is directing the technical program. The Army's Rock Island
The Jointless Hull Project is being contracted through LIFT, Arsenal — Joint Manufacturing Technology Center is also a
the Detroit-based, Department of Defense-supported na- key partner on this project and will ultimately serve as the lo-
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Application Briefs
cation for the operation of the new additive manufacturing hull-scale size. We will be working with equipment vendors as
platform. ASTRO America has already kicked off the project well as system integrators to deliver on this project.”
with an Industry Day featuring both prospective machine “As a national manufacturing innovation institute, we help
vendors and leading vehicle builders. advance technology from concept to use by the warfighter as
Monolithic hulls for combat vehicles have well-established quickly as possible,” said Nigel Francis, Chief Executive Offi-
advantages — especially in survivability and weight savings — cer and Executive Director, LIFT. “Developing the ‘jointless
but traditional manufacturing processes are not cost-effective hull’ is also aligned with our mission of driving American
or adaptable to full production, especially when multiple ve- manufacturing into the future by connecting materials to
hicle platforms are put into play. processes and to the systems involved.”
Aaron LaLonde, Additive Manufacturing SME, U.S. ARMY - ASTRO America is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that
DEVCOM GVSC, and the Army TPOC for the Jointless Hull Proj- advances defense R&D to transition meaningful manufactur-
ect, commented, “Advanced manufacturing methods that are ca- ing technology into production through federally sponsored
pable of enabling innovative part designs and concepts have contracting, cooperative research, and other transactions.
tremendous value in achieving part, component and, ultimately, LIFT, operated by the American Lightweight Materials Manu-
vehicle concepts to provide warfighters and systems with leading facturing Innovation Institute, is a Detroit-based, public-pri-
performance advantages. This project will scale the benefits of vate partnership between the Department of Defense, indus-
metal additive manufacturing to a size range that will allow the try and academia, committed to the development and
benefits of the technology to be realized on larger system scale deployment of advanced manufacturing technologies, and
parts and enable next-generation vehicle performance.” implementing talent development initiatives to better prepare
“This is not a research project for either hardware, software the workforce today and in the future. LIFT is funded in part
or materials,” said Jason Gorey, ASTRO America's Executive by the Department of Defense with management through the
Director. “This is a direct implementation project where we Office of Naval Research.
scale existing but advanced methodologies to the required For Free Info Visit http://info.hotims.com/79416-463
Available on Demand!
Webinar Artemis: Back to the Moon

This 60-minute Webinar from the editors of Tech Briefs and Aerospace & Defense Tech-
nology magazines highlights the scientific instruments and technologies being prepared
for Moon deliveries by U.S. companies beginning in 2021, the science that could ad-
vance understanding of Earth, and how Artemis will prepare for landing humans on Mars.
Speakers:
Nujoud Fahoum Merancy Richard Coffin
Chief, Exploration Mission Principle Applications
Planning Office, Engineer,
Johnson Space Center, NASA EaglePicher® Technologies
Please visit www.techbriefs.com/webinar214
Aerospace & Defense Technology, October 2021 41
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New Products
Avionics Data Recorder Systems Damped Piezoresistive Accelerometer

Mercury Systems, Inc. (Andover, MA) has Endevco (Depew, NY) announced the release
launched new avionics data recorder, storage, and of Model 2262B, a rugged, gas damped piezoresis-
transfer systems purpose-built to provide air and op- tive accelerometer for shock environments. This
erations crews with intuitive high-speed secure and re- new transducer uses a unique and advanced
liable data exchange. The High Definition Video Recorder multi-mode damped silicon piezoresistive MEMS
(HDVR) family are highly scalable convection-cooled sensing element for exceptional bandwidth with
recorders designed for platforms needing high-fidelity data capacity, video no significant resonance response up to 40 kHz.
and audio compression, and faster read/write speeds. The Advanced Data Model 2262B is available in 1000, 2000 and 6000 g full-scale ranges.
Transfer Systems (ADTS) feature fast data transfer with 1000 MB/s data The hermetically sealed stainless steel package includes an integral 4-
transfer speeds, 100 MB/s+ SATA read/write speeds, crash survivable mem- pin connector that mates with Endevco’s Model 3915 detachable low
ory options, and encryption to speed information exchange and protect noise, shielded cable assembly, sold separately. Model 2262B replaces
data during mission critical operations. The Data Storage Systems are net- the now obsolete Model 2262A fluid damped accelerometer.
work attached storage (NAS) units engineered to deliver high-performance For Free Info Visit http://info.hotims.com/79418-478
multi-level security in remote, inhospitable environments.
Valve in Tank Assembly
Conduction Cooled Chassis Eaton (Cleveland, OH) announced that it success-
LCR Embedded Systems (Norristown, PA) fully completed qualification testing for the aerospace
released two new conduction cooled chassis industry’s first Valve in Tank Assembly (VITA) propul-
for high speed VPX systems. The AoC3U-400 sion feed system. As the first satellite electric propulsion
Series is designed to maintain safe operating solution that integrates valves inside the propellant
temperatures for high-power 3U VPX and tank, the VITA eliminates the need for a traditional feed
SOSA aligned module-based systems. Each system envelope, creating room for more payload. The
chassis combines forced air with conduction cooling to dramatically in- design of Eaton’s VITA eliminates the feed system enve-
crease aggregate heat dissipation capacity by up to 100% versus straight lope by integrating proportional flow valve technology
passive conduction solutions while leveraging readily available VITA 48.2 into a housing that is then integrated into the neck of a
plug-in modules. The 410 model features 4 payload slots, plus one VITA lightweight composite propellant tank. The initial configuration of
62 PSU slot, while the 412 model adds dual removable SSD bays. Each the VITA solution has two redundant shut-off valves to support one
unit includes custom backplane, front I/O board and applicable connec- thruster for increased reliability. The drop-in VITA design approach
tor sets. Backplane data flow profiles provide for VPX and SOSA aligned supports modular satellite configurations, making architectural
module usage, while I/O board designs support high speed copper, optical changes easier. Qualified in testing with xenon, this system has
or RF signals with a range of MIL-STD connector options as needed. demonstrated to be fully compatible with krypton as well.
For Free Info Visit http://info.hotims.com/79418-471 For Free Info Visit http://info.hotims.com/79418-475
Robot Chargers and Transmitters Satellite Antennas

WiBotic (Seattle, WA) has introduced ThinKom Solutions (Hawthorne, CA)
several new chargers and transmitters for announced the development of a new
drones and autonomous mobile robots. family of phased-array antennas for de-
The OC-262 is a passively cooled onboard ployment on satellites and other space
charger that was developed as a ruggedized vehicles. The antennas are based on
system for the Department of Defense. Pro- ThinKom’s VICTS (Variable Inclination
viding up to 300W of power, the OC-262 has no moving parts, supports Continuous Transverse Stub) technology. The multi-frequency full-du-
all common robot battery chemistries, and pairs with a weatherproof re- plex antennas are designed for operation on geostationary and non-
ceiver antenna. Designed for UAVs and smaller robots, the OC-150 is a geostationary satellites using C-, X-, Ku-, Ka-, Q-, V-, E- and W-band
compact, lightweight onboard charger that delivers up to 150W of total frequencies. They can provide steerable high-capacity inter-satellite
power and up to 10A of current depending upon battery voltage. As links as well as space-to-earth and earth-to-space feeder and user links.
with other OCs, it supports multiple battery chemistries and has an out- Other key features include 80-degree scan angle coverage, wide instan-
put voltage range of 9V to 58.5V. The TR-150 compact transmitter deliv- taneous channel bandwidth up to 2 GHz, polarization diversity, low
ers up to 150W of power with end-to-end wireless power system effi- sidelobe emissions and continuous jitterless high-agility scanning.
ciencies of 85% or more, while the the TR-300 offers the same core For Free Info Visit http://info.hotims.com/79418-476
benefits as the TR-150 but delivers up to 300W of power.
Multi-Channel, Mixed-Signal
RF Converters
GNSS Simulator Richardson RFPD, Inc. (Geneva, IL), an
Orolia Defense & Security (Rochester, NY) released Arrow Electronics company, announced
the latest addition to its GNSS simulator family, Broad- availability and full design support capa-
Sim Solo. The Solo joins the BroadSim line of Skydel- bilities for two highly integrated high-
powered GNSS simulators, which includes models speed converters from Analog Devices, Inc. The AD9081 and AD9082
suited for Hardware-In-The-Loop and Multi-Element mixed-signal front-ends combine high-performance analog and digi-
Antenna/CRPA testing. BroadSim Solo shares the same tal signal processing, allowing designers to install multiband radios in
Skydel Simulation Engine that runs on a standard the same footprint as single-band radios. By shifting more of the fre-
BroadSim, BroadSim Anechoic and BroadSim Wave- quency translation and filtering from the analog to the digital do-
front. It supports advanced scenario creation features main, the AD9081/2 provides designers with the software configura-
and the benefits provided by a software-defined architecture such as bility to customize radios. The AD9081 MxFE® includes four 16-bit,
high-dynamics, 1000 Hz iteration update rate and ultra-low latency of 12 gigasample-per-second RF digital-to-analog converter cores and
5 ms. Nearly all civilian GNSS signals can be generated through its sin- four 12-bit, 4 GSPS RF analog-to-digital converter cores. The AD9082
gle RF output (one frequency band at a time), along with GPS AES M- MxFE® includes four 16-bit, 12 GSPS RF DAC cores and two 12-bit, 6
Code, jamming or spoofing signals. GSPS RF ADC cores.
For Free Info Visit http://info.hotims.com/79418-473 For Free Info Visit http://info.hotims.com/79418-481
➮
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Product Spotlight
New Products MULTIPHYSICS
MODELING AND
SIMULATION
APPLICATIONS
COMSOL Multiphysics® is a soft-
ware environment for creating
physics-based models and simu-
Ruggedized 3 ~ 40 Watt DC/DC Converters lation applications. Add-on pro-
TRACO Power North America (San Jose, CA) announced their ducts provide tools for electromagnetics, structural,
new THR-WI series of 3 / 10 / 20 / 40 watt DC/DC converters with acoustics, fluid flow, heat transfer, and chemical simu-
lations. Interfacing products offer a unified workflow
double/reinforced insulation providing up to 3,000 VAC Isolation.
with all major technical computing and CAD tools.
These products operate over an ultra-wide 4-1 input range with up
COMSOL Compiler™ and COMSOL Server™ are used
to 90% efficiencies and operating temperatures from -40°C to +80°C for deploying simulation applications to colleagues
(105°C maximum case temperature). THR 3 (3 Watt) models offer and customers. https://www.comsol.com/products
DIP 24 footprints and the THR 10 / 20 / 40 (10 / 20 / 40 Watt) come in 2¥1" footprints. Input
ranges include 9~36 / 18-75 / 40~160 VDC and provide single & dual outputs ranging 5~24 COMSOL, Inc.
VDC. Models are fully encapsulated to withstand shock and vibration standards per IEC / EN
61373. Internal input filters enable EN 55032 class A compliance (3 /10 / 20 watts) and over- Free Info at http://info.hotims.com/79418-803
load, overvoltage and short-circuit protection.
For Free Info Visit http://info.hotims.com/79418-479 EPOXY MEETS
STRINGENT
Video Encoder AIRBUS
Crystal Group, Inc. (Hiawatha, IA) announced it will offer STANDARDS
the industry’s first ruggedized video appliances (RVA) that Master Bond EP36FR is a
combine critical, real-time 4K video streaming, recording, ex- one part, flame retardant, B-staged epoxy that passes
tension, and storage with strict military and industrial stan- the 12 second vertical burn test per AITM 2.0002B
dards. In collaboration with Matrox® Video, Crystal Group and Section 7.1.2 of ABD0031, Issue F. It also meets
provides the world’s only ruggedized multi-4K video encoder and 4K IP KVM extender. Both Airbus specifications for toxic gas emissions per AITM
products use Crystal Group’s proprietary ruggedization techniques to deploy the ultra-high-de- 3.0005. https://www.masterbond.com/tds/ep36fr
finition (UHD) video capabilities and quality of Matrox’s Maevex 6100 Series quad 4K encoder
and Extio ™ N3408 4K/quad-HD IP KVM extender into extreme operating environments.
Equipped with compressed H.264 technology, the RVA6152 video encoder delivers quality, low
bitrate streaming and recording. The RVA3408 IP KVM extender provides 4Kp60 4:4:4 UHD per- Master Bond
formance or quad-monitor capabilities over standard GbE at unprecedented low bitrates.

3U VPX VITA 46 Processor Module
VadaTech (Henderson, NV) announces the VPX760 VITA 46 A WORLD OF FIBER OPTIC
processor module. Based on the Intel® Xeon® Processor E-2176M
with CM246 PCH, the processor base frequency is 2.7 GHz with max SOLUTIONS
turbo frequency of 4.4 GHz. Front panel interfaces include GbE via
RJ45, video via mini DisplayPort and dual USB3.0 type C connectors
for extended storage or peripherals. The unit provides PCIe Gen3 x8
(which can be bifurcated as dual x4), PCIe Gen2 x4, dual GbE and dual SATA Gen3 on P1. There
is PCIe Gen3 x8 (or dual x4) and dual USB3.0 on P2, together with additional video display out-
put. The VPX760 has up to 32 GB of DDR4 memory with ECC and 64 GB of Flash for OS. The • T1/E1 & T3/E3 Modems, WAN
BIOS allows booting from on-board NAND, off-board SATA, PXE boot as well as USB. • RS-232/422/485 Modems and Multiplexers
For Free Info Visit http://info.hotims.com/79418-477 • Profibus-DP, Modbus
• Ethernet LANs
• Video/Audio/Hubs/Repeaters
Interface Modules • USB Modem and Hub
Dinkle International (Missouri, TX) announced its complete line of in- • Highly shielded Ethernet, USB (Tempest Case)
terface modules, used to simplify and improve reliability of automation • ISO-9001
connections and signal conversions, in a compact form factor. When cre- http://www.sitech-bitdriver.com
ating automation systems using major PLC brands like Allen-Bradley, S.I. Tech
Keyence, Mitsubishi, Omron, Siemens, and more, designers have to con-
nect an ever-increasing number of equipment signals to the I/O modules. Free Info at http://info.hotims.com/79418-805
These signals may be discrete (on/off at anywhere from 5 VDC up to 120
VAC), analog (usually 4-20mA or 0-10 VDC), or other specialized signaling levels. Interface modules RUGGED INERTIAL
are available with popular industry-standard connectors like: IDC (14-pin, 20-pin, 26-pin, 30-pin, SENSING FOR
34-pin, 40-pin); D-Sub (37-pin, 44-pin); MDR (50-pin, 68-pin, 100-pin); and terminal blocks.
For Free Info Visit http://info.hotims.com/79418-480 ANY PLATFORM
The new CRH03 stand-alone
gyro delivers precise inertial
FPGA Hardware Development Kit sensing performance that is
Abaco Systems (Huntsville, AL) announced the Hardware Devel- stable over time and temperature. Small, lightweight
opment Kit (HDK), a tool allowing users to develop unallocated Xil- and rugged, with low power consumption, the CRH03
inx, Inc. FPGA resources on Abaco boards. The HDK uses specific is an effective, low-cost alternative to FOG and DTG-
features in the new Xilinx Vivado ML Editions tool suite, which based products for aerospace and defence applications.
allow users to implement custom intellectual property (IP) while Silicon Sensing MEMS gyroscopes, accelerometers and
maintaining the overall integrity of the Abaco IP. The HDK allows end-users to harness available inertial systems deliver outstanding inertial sensing
programmable logic resources within Abaco’s embedded FPGA platforms. Use cases include en- performance in the harshest operational scenarios.
hanced security, digital signal processing and other custom algorithms. Developing these unallo- www.siliconsensing.com/heightCRH03
cated resources could reduce or eliminate additional hardware, further simplifying designs and op-
timizing size, weight and power (SWaP). The initial scope of the HDK is to support Abaco’s Silicon Sensing Systems
SBC3511, SBC6511, and IPN254, with availability to support other boards in the future.
Free Info at http://info.hotims.com79418-806

Free Info at http://info.hotims.com/76508-xxx
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Publisher . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Joseph T. Pramberger
Ad Index
Advertiser Page Web Link
Editorial Director . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Linda L. Bell
Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Bruce A. Bennett AGM Container Controls Inc. ................................Cover 2 ..........................................................agmcontainer.com
Digital Editorial Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Billy Hurley
Associate Editor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Edward Brown Aurora Bearing Co. ..................................................11......................................................................aurorabearing.com
Content Strategist, Audience Development . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Kendra Smith
Production Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Adam Santiago
Click Bond, Inc. ..........................................................15 ..............................................................................clickbond.com
Production Coordinator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .James Rodriguez

Coilcraft........................................................................24 ................................................................................coilcraft.com
Creative Director . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Lois Erlacher
Graphic Designer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Annette Murphy
COMSOL, Inc. ..............................................................43, Cover 4 ................................................................comsol.com
Marketing Director . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Kaitlyn Sommer
Senior Marketing Coordinator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Sam Mills Counter UAS Technology 2021 ..............................Cover 3....................................................counter-uas-tech.com
Event Coordinator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Briar Gibbons
Audience Development Director . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Christine Oldenbrook Del-Tron Precision, Inc. ..........................................37 ..................................................................................deltron.com
Audience Development Coordinator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Stacey Nelson
GAGE BILT ....................................................................11 ..................................................................................gagebilt.com
Audience Development/Circulation Assistant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Erykah Davis
Subscription Changes/Cancellations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .ADT@OMEDA.com
1-866-351-1125 Hawthorne Rubber Mfg. Corp. ............................37..............................................................hawthornerubber.com
SAE MEDIA GROUP

261 Fifth Avenue, Suite 1901, New York, NY 10016 International Polymer Engineering ....................29......................................................................ipeaerospace.com
(212) 490-3999
Executive Vice-President . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Luke Schnirring John Evans’ Sons, Inc. ............................................2 ....................................................................springcompany.com
Technology Director . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Oliver Rockwell
Director of Digital Products . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Howard Ng Master Bond Inc. ......................................................43 ........................................................................masterbond.com
Digital Media Associate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Md Jaliluzzaman
maxon ..........................................................................35 ..........................................................................maxongroup.us
Digital Media Assistant . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Rowena Pagarigan
Digital Production Associate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Andrew Greenberg
Mitsui Seiki USA ........................................................9 ............................................................................mitsuiseiki.com
Digital Production Associate . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Symba Wong
Credit & Collection Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Stacie Pointek MPL ................................................................................39 ............................................................................................mpl.ch
Budget & Forecasting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Felecia Lahey
Accounting/Human Resources Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Sylvia Bonilla New England Wire Technologies ..........................1 ..................................................................newenglandwire.com
A/R Clerk . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Crystal Ortiz
Office Manager . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Alfredo Vasquez New Wave Design & Verification ..........................33..........................................................................newwavedv.com
ADVERTISING ACCOUNT EXECUTIVES

Pickering Interfaces ................................................21 ......................................................................pickeringtest.com
MA, NH, ME, VT, RI, Eastern Canada . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Ed Marecki
(401) 351-0274
Positronic Industries, Inc. ....................................31 ............................................................connectpositronic.com
CT . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Stan Greenfield
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .(203) 938-2418
RAD Torque Systems ................................................3 ..............................................................................radtorque.com
NJ, PA, DE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .John Murray
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (973) 409-4685
Southeast, TX . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Ray Tompkins S.I. Tech ........................................................................43 ..................................................................sitech-bitdriver.com
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .(281) 313-1004
NY, OH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Ryan Beckman Silicon Sensing Systems Ltd. ................................43 ....................................................................siliconsensing.com
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .(973) 409-4687
MI, IN, WI . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Chris Kennedy The Lee Company......................................................5..................................................................................theleeco.com
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .(847) 498-4520 ext. 3008
MN, ND, SD, IL, KY, MO, KS, IA, NE, Central Canada . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Bob Casey THK America ..............................................................23................................................................................www.thk.com
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .(847) 223-5225
S. Calif., AZ, NM, Rocky Mountain States . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Tim Powers
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .(908) 892-2838 TTI Inc. ..........................................................................17 ............................................................................................tti.com
Europe . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Sven Anacker
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .49-202-27169-11
Aerospace & Defense Technology, ISSN 2472-2081, USPS 018-120. Periodicals postage paid at New
Integrated Media Consultants . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Patrick Harvey York, NY and at additional mailing offices. Copyright © 2021 in U.S. is published in February,
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (973) 409-4686 April, May, June, August, September, October, and December (8 issues) by Tech Briefs Media
Group, an SAE International Company, 261 Fifth Avenue, Suite 1901, New York, NY 10016.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Scott Williams
The copyright information does not include the (U.S. rights to) individual tech briefs that are
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .(973) 545-2464
supplied by NASA. Editorial, sales, production, and circulation offices at 261 Fifth Avenue,
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Rick Rosenberg Suite 1901, New York, NY 10016. Subscription is free to qualified subscribers and subscriptions
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .(973) 545-2565 for non-qualified subscribers in the U.S. and Puerto Rico, $100.00 for 1 year. Digital Edition:
$24.00 for 1 year. Single copies: $30.00. Foreign subscriptions, one-year U.S. Funds: $195.00.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Todd Holtz
Remit by check, draft, postal, express orders or VISA, MasterCard, and American Express.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .(973) 545-2566
Other remittances at sender’s risk. Address all communications for subscriptions or circula-
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Kate Palmer tion to NASA Tech Briefs, 261 Fifth Avenue, Suite 1901, New York, NY 10016. Periodicals
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .(973) 409-4762 postage paid at New York, NY and at additional mailing offices.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .Jason Setti POSTMASTER: Send address changes and cancellations to Aerospace & Defense
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .(973) 874-0271a Technology, P.O. Box 3525, Northbrook, Il 60062.
October 2021, Volume 6, Number 7
➮
➭
In Partnership With:
SMi Group presents
COUNTER UAS
TECHNOLOGY 2021
Detect & Defeat – Strengthening US Air Defence
Against Hostile Unmanned Air Systems
6TH - 7TH DECEMBER, ARLINGTON USA
4 464 66464 4 (4444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444444

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➮
➭
SIMULATION CASE STUDY
IoT calls for fast

communication
between sensors
Developing the 5G mobile network may not be the only step
to a fully functioning Internet of Things, but it is an important
one — and it comes with substantial performance requirements.
Simulation ensures optimized designs of 5G-compatible
technology, like this phased array antenna.
learn more comsol.blog/5G
The COMSOL Multiphysics® software is used for simulating designs, devices,

and processes in all fields of engineering, manufacturing, and scientific research.
➮
➭

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IoT calls for fast

The COMSOL Multiphysics® software is used for simulating designs, devices,

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