Teleport Becomes Operational
The U.S. Defense Department has established the first of six teleport stations as part of a program to meet increasing bandwidth demands. By integrating satellite communications and Defense Information System Network services entry points, deployed users will have access to unclassified and classified Internet protocols, telephone, videoconferencing and data transfer services. The new station, located in Chesapeake, Virginia, will feature C- and Ku-band satellite terminals and associated baseband equipment. Each teleport generation-one initial operating capability at the first site will have approximately 100 megabits per second of satellite communication throughput. Teleports will be strategically located in the United States, Germany, Italy and Japan, which will permit global access via military and commercial satellites.
 
Predator B Takes Wing
The first pre-production Predator B unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) completed its maiden voyage in October. The UAV, manufactured by General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Incorporated, is designed for quick-transit, long-endurance flights that support intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance and weapons delivery missions. The Predator B’s wingspan is greater and its fuselage is wider than the current Predator A design. This is to accommodate additional fuel so it can fly for more than 30 hours while carrying more than 3,000 pounds of external and 800 pounds of internal payloads. It features triple redundant avionics and dual mechanical control systems to meet requirements for flight in national airspace.
 
U.S. Defense Department Implements New Inventory Policy
The U.S. Defense Department is aiming to improve business functions and facilitate all aspects of the supply chain with the establishment of its Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) Policy. RFID equipment accounts for and identifies large inventories without the need for hands-on processing, which will improve data quality, item management, asset visibility and maintenance of materiel. Suppliers will be required to put passive RFID tags on the lowest possible packaging by January 2005. The policy includes all Defense Department materiel except bulk commodities such as sand, gravel or liquids. Understanding the effect that this policy will have on suppliers, the Defense Department plans to host an RFID summit for industry in February 2004. The RFID policy and implementation strategy will be finalized by June 2004.  
 
NAVAIR and Russia Collaborate on New Flight Concept
The Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR), Patuxent River, Maryland, has partnered with Saratov Aviation, Saratov, Russia, to develop a new flying vehicle concept. Saratov Aviation has developed a concept that allows efficient flight of odd-shaped objects using vortex oscillating propulsion systems. The collaboration will create an unmanned aerial vehicle using new concepts and propulsion systems. The work will be performed at Webster Field in Patuxent River over the next three to five years. Following successful tests, a larger variant may be pursued. NAVAIR officials hope that the partnership will transform their respective traditional research and development methodologies and provide an opportunity for further joint research projects between the two countries.
 
Help Wanted in the Middle East
The U.S. Defense Department is hanging out a help wanted sign on the Web for civil Iraq and Afghanistan operations. The department has established an Internet site for recruiting temporary contract federal civilian workers to assist in rebuilding both countries. The Web site, http://cpolwapp.belvoir.army.mil/sofia, is part of the Defense Department’s Supporting Our Friends in Iraq and Afghanistan (SOFIA) program. It seeks skilled civilians across the job spectrum, including civil engineering, banking, agriculture, education, communications and security. The U.S. Army, executive agent for SOFIA, will be hiring individuals for a 12-month period with an option to extend. No prior federal employment is required, although military experience and foreign language aptitude are helpful.
 
Ultra Wideband Wireless Transceiver Debuts
A prototype ultra wideband (UWB) transceiver capable of transmitting 125 megabits of data at 20 meters was demonstrated in October. Developed by Pulse-LINK Incorporated (www.pulselink.net), the device also can support real-time, two-way, full-motion video and Internet browsing up to 100 meters. The company claims it is the first UWB wireless local area networking technology compliant with U.S. Federal Communications Commission requirements for masking UWB emissions to prevent interference with commercial and government frequencies.
 
Advanced Satellite Communications System Takes Shape
 The U.S. Navy has begun development of its advanced extremely high frequency (AEHF) (Navy) multi-band terminal (NMT). The NMT will replace several other satellite communications terminals and antennas and increase warships’ stealth capabilities by reducing the radar footprint caused by multiple aerials. The NMT and its AEHF satellite constellation will permit commanders to access more data from the warfighter information grid and push more information onto the grid than is currently possible.
 
Japan May Pull Ahead in Mobile Data Services
A report by a European telecommunications analysis group predicts that Western markets may fall further behind Japan in the potentially lucrative mobile data communications market. The report, from BWCS (www.bwcs.com) in the United Kingdom, states that i-Mode, DoCoMo’s mobile Internet access system in Japan, is facing intense competition from Vodafone Live! and T-Mobile’s T-Zones. Consequently, by 2007 i-Mode will “grow in scope beyond mobile wireless and integrate other communications environments such as fixed wireless, cable and fixed optical networking,” the report states. Web services likely will be the driving force behind customer demand in the mobile data marketplace, the report adds.
 
Smart System to Streamline Air Operations Centers
An intelligent software agent-based technology may help keep future air operations centers from overwhelming their personnel with tactical data. Developed by Lockheed Martin (www.lmco.com) for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s Joint Air/Ground Operations: Unified Adaptive Re-Planning program, the software uses automated tools to ease operator workloads. Intelligent agent technology allows the system to monitor mission progress, identify deviation from operational plans, assess a deviation’s impact on a mission and alert an operator. Another goal of the effort is to reduce mission planning staff by 90 percent. The software will undergo three 18-month spiral development phases at the U.S. Air Force’s Distributed Mission Operations Center at Kirkland Air Force Base, Albuquerque.
 
Five Companies, $500 million
The U.S. Army recently awarded indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity contracts to five companies for information technology enterprise solutions that are part of an overhaul of nearly all of the service’s information technology infrastructure. Products and services available under the contracts include program management, information assurance, business process re-engineering, software interfaces and configuration, seat and asset management, and technology insertion. The contracts were awarded to Northrop Grumman Information Technology, IBM Corporation, Lockheed Martin Integrated Systems, QSS Incorporated and NCI Information Systems. They include a three-year base period with two two-year option periods. The collective value of the contracts is $500 million.