RAF Rapid Capabilities Office Demonstrates New Technologies Developed with Industry Partners
March 15, 2021 | Royal Air ForceEstimated reading time: 1 minute
Under the banner of BABELFISH 7, the Royal Air Force’s Rapid Capabilities Office (RCO) has demonstrated new technologies which offer a step-change in near real time, secure, information distribution. Working in collaboration with industry partners, Airbus and AirTanker, and utilising the NEXUS Data Platform and RAVEN virtual Communications Node, this new system enables intelligence to be drawn from a variety of sources, whether it be from space, an Intelligence Surveillance Reconnaissance (ISR) aircraft, a ship at sea or land-based system, and processed to provide a combined intelligence picture of hitherto unrivalled detail in near real time.
This type of information architecture can be seamlessly delivered for Land, Sea and Air from a vehicle, backpack, ship or aircraft, but the demonstration sought to show how the system worked in the most demanding environments, proving that if it is feasible to configure a new Information Advantage system at 25,000ft. The RCO hand-carried its deployable systems on board and connected into the new Satellite communications feed, demonstrating a real-time Common Operational Picture, within just a few minutes.
Industry partners Airbus and AirTanker, jointly invested in upgrading the Satellite Communications System on a Voyager, enabling the aircraft to act as an airborne communications node whilst concurrently operating its air-to-air refuelling tasks. This modification, which includes upgraded satellite communications, has been fully certified and remains on the aircraft, available for future operational use when required. The RCO Air Information Experimentation Laboratory continues to work with partners from across Defence to support Multi-Domain Integration trials and experimentation.
Suggested Items
U.S. Army Awards Lockheed Martin $756 Million Hypersonic Weapon System Contract
05/20/2024 | Lockheed MartinThe U.S. Army awarded Lockheed Martin a $756 million contract to deliver additional capability for the nation’s ground-based hypersonic weapon system, the Long Range Hypersonic Weapon (LRHW).
Altair Earns ISO/IEC27001:2022 Certification for Global Operations
05/20/2024 | AltairAltair, a global leader in computational intelligence, has earned the ISO/IEC27001:2022 – an information security management system (ISMS) certification – externally audited against the frameworks set by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) and International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC).
PCB Market Size to Grow by $29.06B from 2024-2028
05/17/2024 | PRNewswireThe global printed circuit board (PCB) market size is estimated to grow by USD 29.06 bn from 2024-2028, according to Technavio. The market is estimated to grow at a CAGR of over 6.6% during the forecast period.
Terran Orbital Joins the Mobile Satellite Services Association (MSSA)
05/16/2024 | BUSINESS WIRETerran Orbital Corporation, a global leader in satellite-based solutions primarily serving the aerospace and defense industries, announced its membership in the Mobile Satellite Services Association (MSSA).
Raytheon-Kongsberg System is Proving Itself – In Demos and In Combat
05/16/2024 | Raytheon TechnologiesOn a rocky island off the coast of Norway, Michael Sadlowski watched as a surface-to-air missile launcher pointed up into a dark nighttime sky.