Supply chain ‘getting a hell of a lot better,’ Raytheon CEO says, though challenges remain
Raytheon executives said they see improvement for components like electronics, though shortages continue for castings, rocket motors and other key parts.
Raytheon executives said they see improvement for components like electronics, though shortages continue for castings, rocket motors and other key parts.
The new satellites will be integrated into SDA's first operationally capable set of low Earth orbit (LEO) satellites, called "Tranche 1," the SDA spokesperson explained.
The goals of the test were "vehicle integration and release sequence, safe separation from the launch aircraft, booster ignition and boost, booster separation and engine ignition, and cruise," DARPA said today, adding that the "primary test objectives were met."
The Army really needed "to be more inclusive and to allow us to develop capabilities, that would be more scalable for the future." On top of that, the service tried hard, Maj. Gen. Ross Coffman said, "to lower the barriers to entry for foreign and non-traditional vendors."
The company's software-defined Positioning, Navigation and Timing (PNT) technology will offer military users an agile new signal from low Earth orbit (LEO) that is not dependent on existing satellite navigation systems," said Nicholas Paraskevopoulos, Northrop Grumman's chief technology officer.
"We need to move away from these single point demos to true scalability," Jean-Charles Ledé, AFRL's advisor on autonomy tech, says.
Digital engineering. Open software standards. Edge processing. Connectivity. Autonomy. DevSecOps. The buzzwords are flying as defense contractors jockey to tout their respective capabilities as DoD's plans for Joint All-Domain Command and Control (JADC2) begin to manifest -- and new business opportunities.
"We're positioning ourselves where we're going to be agnostic in terms of material solutions," says President Roy Azevedo, instead focusing on architectural solutions to customer problems.