RTX’s SM-6 intercepts ballistic missile target at sea

PACIFIC MISSILE RANGE FACILITY, Hawaii, March 29, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — A Standard Missile-6 (SM-6) built by Raytheon, an RTX (NYSE: RTX) business, intercepted a medium-range ballistic missile target at sea in its final seconds of flight, after being fired from the USS Preble (DDG 88). This test verified some of the missile’s enhanced capabilities when launched from a Baseline 9.C2 variant of the Aegis Combat System.

Source: News | RTX’s SM-6 intercepts ballistic missile target at sea | RTX

Startups building next-generation humanoid robots see influx of investment

If you thought the future would resemble the TV show “The Jetsons,” you’re probably wondering where everyone’s flying cars are. But one element of “The Jetsons” is becoming an increasingly prominent piece of our lives: Rosie the Robot. Humanoid robots, like Rosie, have been around for decades but are seeing accelerated development from tech firms as artificial intelligence makes these human-like bots more powerful and useful — from doing work on the factory floor to folding laundry.

Source: American Inno – Startups building next-generation humanoid robots see influx of investment

Sikorsky to build hybrid tilt-wing aircraft 

Lockheed Martin’s Sikorsky unit will build new hybrid, tilt-wing aircraft, the company announced this week. The hybrid-electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft will feature wings that tilt at different stages of a flight. The Stratford-based helicopter manufacturer said the aircraft is the first in a series of next-generation vehicles that will utilize more electrical motors and have the ability to fly without a pilot.

Source: Sikorsky to build hybrid tilt-wing aircraft | Hartford Business Journal

Intuitive Surgical Investors Are Playing a High-Stakes Game of Telephone

Is Intuitive Surgical gearing up to launch a new da Vinci robot in 2024? CEO Gary Guthart gave a “no comment” response to the question at the J.P. Morgan Healthcare Conference, which I took to mean, “don’t count on it.” But the investor community seems to have heard something different because the company’s shares have shot up by over 13% since then.

Source: Intuitive Surgical Investors Are Playing a High-Stakes Game of Telephone

Military seeks to start domestic research center for 3DHI microelectronics development

ARLINGTON, Va. – U.S. military electronics experts are reaching out to industry for information to help them establish a domestic research center for fabrication of three-dimensional heterogeneously integrated (3DHI) microsystems. Officials of the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency in Arlington, Va., issued a request for information on Friday (DARPA-SN-23-84) for the Establishing a Domestic Center for R&D and Manufacturing 3-D Heterogeneous Integration (3DHI) Microsystems project.

Source: research center 3DHI manufacturing | Military Aerospace

Raytheon  to build fire-control system for Burke-class destroyers

WASHINGTON – Shipboard electronics experts at Raytheon Technologies Corp. (RTX) are building MK 99 fire-control systems for the Aegis weapon system aboard U.S. Navy Arleigh Burke-class destroyers under terms of a $76.4 million contract announced in September. Officials of the Naval Sea Systems Command in Washington are asking the RTX Raytheon segment in Marlborough, Mass., to build MK 99 Aegis fire-control systems, hardware, and engineering support. The MK 99 fire-control system (FCS) functions as the interface between the Aegis AN/SPY-1 radar and the ship-launched SM-2 family of anti-air missiles aboard the Burke-class destroyer. The MK 99 fire-control system communicates with the missile-control station, notifying it of the air threat, and then illuminates the missile’s target.

Source: fire-control Aegis shipboard electronics | Military Aerospace

South Korea’s defense industry transforms into a global player

SEOUL — Last year, South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol stated publicly a goal of one day being among the world’s top four weapons suppliers, behind the US, Russia and France. It was an ambitious goal, to be sure, but one that doesn’t seem nearly as impossible as it would have even a few years ago, thanks to a series of major deals inked by Seoul and its domestic arms industries.

Source: How South Korea’s defense industry transformed itself into a global player – Breaking Defense

US warship in Red Sea intercepts 3 missiles fired from Yemen 

WASHINGTON — A US Navy warship intercepted three missiles Thursday that had been fired by Iranian-backed Houthi rebels in Yemen, were heading north, and may have been aimed at Israel, the Pentagon said.US officials said the USS Carney, a Navy destroyer, was in the Red Sea and intercepted the three missiles.

Source: US warship in Red Sea intercepts 3 missiles fired from Yemen, possibly at Israel | The Times of Israel

HII wins $347M contract for ‘Lionfish’ small undersea drones 

WASHINGTON — The Navy has awarded HII a contract worth up to $347 million to purchase up to 200 unmanned undersea vehicles, the first major acquisition for the Navy’s Lionfish program, the company announced today. The initial buy for nine UUVs and associated support, worth roughly $19 million, was made on Sept. 28 through the Defense Department’s daily contract listings, but that statement did not include details about the number of drones being initially purchased or the contract’s 200 vehicle ceiling.

Source: HII wins $347M contract for up to 200 ‘Lionfish’ small undersea drones – Breaking Defense

NASA pushing for sophisticated electro-optical sensors for Earth-observation satellites 

THE MIL & AERO COMMENTARY – U.S. Earth-observation specialists are placing renewed emphasis on space-based sensors development for ever-more-sophisticated electro-optical satellite payloads to keep tabs on how the planet’s environment is evolving.

Source: NASA making big push for sophisticated electro-optical sensors for Earth-observation satellites | Military Aerospace

Raytheon Ready to protect the homeland 

One important defense against those threats are surface-based radars that can see over the horizon to provide earlier warning and cue defensive measures. Raytheon Technologies is using its decades of expertise as an integrator of missile defense systems to develop a first-of-its-kind, next-generation over-the-horizon radar to defend the homeland. The new system will be able to quickly detect, track and classify cruise missiles – day or night, and in any conditions, including when the northern lights, also known as the aurora borealis, are on display.

Source: News | Ready to protect the homeland | Raytheon Missiles & Defense

Army asks industry for new electro-optical means to merge targeting for laser and conventional weapons 

FORT BELVOIR, Va. – U.S. Army targeting experts are reaching out to industry for new ways of designing electro-optical beam director gimbals that merge high-energy laser targeting capability with conventional targeting capability. Officials of the Army Rapid Capabilities and Critical Technologies Office (RCCTO) at Fort Belvoir, Va., released a request for information (W50RAJ-23-RFI-NBD) on Tuesday for the Novel Beam Directors project.

Source: Army asks industry for new electro-optical means to merge targeting for laser and conventional weapons | Military Aerospace