BAE Systems has been awarded a $49.9 million contract to develop the advanced processor for Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s (DARPA) nighttime, infrared system - the Autonomous Real-time Ground Ubiquitous Surveillance – Infrared (ARGUS-IR). ARGUS-IR provides real-time, nighttime video surveillance capability for U.S. combat forces for detecting, locating, tracking and monitoring events on battlefields and in urban areas. The system is being developed for compatibility with a variety of unmanned aerial systems.
BAE Systems’ Electronic Solutions Sector, headquartered in Nashua, N.H., will be responsible for the design, development, manufacture and test of the ARGUS-IR Airborne Processing Subsystem (APS). Additionally, BAE Systems will integrate a high-resolution infrared sensor subsystem over the course of the 32-month, eight-phase project.
“ARGUS-IR further expands military capability by providing 24-hour, day-night reconnaissance and surveillance capabilities over a much wider area than previously possible,” said Dr. John Antoniades, ARGUS program manager and director of ISR technology for BAE Systems. “Following the successful development of the daytime version of ARGUS, the new APS establishes appreciably expanded capability, and will be designed for use with a number of possible platforms.”
BAE Systems’ APS will process and store the imagery provided by the infrared sensor and downlink a minimum of 256 independent 640x480 video streams over a data link with a maximum effective bit rate of 200 Mbits per second. Each video window may be a “tracking video window” or a “fixed video window,” according to DARPA’s specifications. Additionally, the APS will have the ability to downlink automatically detected moving target metadata and image chips. BAE Systems is scheduled to conduct the system’s first flight test by the second quarter of 2012.
BAE System’s first flight tests of ARGUS-IR’s predecessor, ARGUS-IS, concluded last October aboard a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter. The tests successfully demonstrated the system’s multiple video windows for persistent area surveillance and tracking capabilities for vehicles and dismounted soldiers.
Delta to Upgrade 747-400 Interiors
Delta Air Lines on Thursday unveiled plans to upgrade the interiors of its Boeing 747-400s flying primarily from the Tokyo-Narita hub to include new seats and new in-flight entertainment options.
Between summer 2011 and 2012, Delta will equip each of its 16 747-400s with new fully horizontal flat-bed seats in the BusinessElite cabin and new Economy class seats with personal, on-demand entertainment, increased personal space and added under-seat storage. The investments are the latest in Delta's previously announced plan to invest more than $1 billion in enhanced global products and services through 2013. When complete, Delta will offer full flat-bed seats on more than 100 trans-oceanic aircraft, including all Boeing 777s, 767s and 747s, and will feature personal, in-seat entertainment for both BusinessElite and Economy class customers on all widebody flights.
The BusinessElite seats, manufactured by Weber Aircraft LLC, will be 81.7 inches in length and 20.5 inches wide, and will feature a 120-volt universal power outlet, USB port, personal LED reading lamp and Panasonic Avionics' 15.4 inch monitors. The Economy class upgrades will include seats from Weber. Panasonic Avionics will provide a 9-inch embedded touch-screen entertainment system.
When reconfigured, the 747s will accommodate 386 customers with 48 BusinessElite seats and 338 Economy class seats.
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