28 SMT007 MAGAZINE I DECEMBER 2024
U.S. Navy, Lockheed Martin Skunk Works
Demonstrate First Live Control of an
Uncrewed Air Vehicle by UMCS and MDCX u
Powered by the Skunk Works® MDCX™ auton-
omy platform, the UMCS controlled a GA
MQ-20 Avenger uncrewed air system (UAS)
as it completed a live fly mission. is demon-
stration is a pathfinder that helps to advance
the complex technology necessary to enable
crewed and uncrewed teaming as envisioned
for programs such as CCA and others.
Lockheed Martin and Anduril to
Successfully Detect and Track Drone
Threats in Middle East u
Lockheed Martin has successfully integrated
the Q-53 multi-mission radar (MMR) with
Anduril's Lattice Command and Control (C2)
environment during the U.S. Central Com-
mand Desert Guardian exercise held at Fort
Drum earlier this month.
Teledyne FLIR Defense Wins $91 Million
Contract from U.S. Army for Black Hornet
4 Nano-Drones u
Teledyne FLIR has received $25 million in ini-
tial orders that will cover delivery of the first
tranche of Black Hornet 4 drones, as well as
controllers, spare parts, and training.
Attention Students: NASA Launches Power
Systems Student Essay Contest u
NASA's fourth annual Power to Explore Stu-
dent Challenge kicked off on Nov. 7, 2024. e
science, engineering, technology, and mathe-
matics (STEM) writing challenge invites kin-
dergarten through 12th-grade students in the
United States to write an essay about a new
nuclear-powered mission to any moon in the
solar system they choose. Submissions are due
Jan. 31, 2025.
Sikorsky, Rain Successfully Demonstrate
Autonomous Flight u
Sikorsky, a Lockheed Martin company and
Rain, a leader in autonomous aerial wildfire
containment technology, successfully demon-
strated how an autonomous Black Hawk® heli-
copter can be commanded to take off, identify
the location and size of a small fire, and then
accurately drop water to suppress the flames.
An Update on USPAE's Strategic Initiatives u
James Will, executive director of the U.S. Part-
nership for Assured Electronics (USPAE),
provides this update on the group's strategic
initiatives. e organization, which is affili-
ated with IPC, recently transitioned to being
a 501(c)(3). It is navigating through a dynamic
landscape, working to enhance our micro-
electronics manufacturing capabilities includ-
ing PCBs, and adapt to emerging technology
trends and market challenges.
DARPA Taps RTX to Strengthen
Cyber Resiliency u
RTX's BBN Technologies was awarded a con-
tract to support DARPA's Compartmental-
ization and Privilege Management, or CPM,
program. e CPM program aims to enhance
cyber resilience by automatically subdivid-
ing soware systems into smaller, secure com-
partments, preventing initial breaches from
escalating into successful cyberattacks while
maintaining system efficiency.
