Category Archives: Sea

Sea

5G Communications

The U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) has awarded Lockheed Martin a $19.3 million Prototype Project Agreement (PPA) to create a 5G communications network infrastructure testbed for expeditionary operations experimentation for the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering (OUSD R&E) and the U.S. Marine Corps. The testbed, known as Open Systems Interoperable and Reconfigurable Infrastructure Solution (OSIRIS), is a key initiative of Lockheed Martin’s 5G.MIL programs which are positioned to help its customers field, scale and integrate 5G technology rapidly and affordably across all operations on land, water, in air, space and cyber.

5G.MIL
Lockheed Martin selected to prototype Next Generation U.S. Marine Corps 5G Communications

«OSIRIS will serve as a critical proof point of Lockheed Martin’s 5G.MIL capabilities», says Deon Viergutz, vice president, Lockheed Martin Spectrum Convergence. «We are integrating the technical capabilities of 5G waveforms, software and hardware with higher bandwidth and low-latency data rates into our defense products to enhance their performance for our warfighters. We want to ensure that warfighters operating in communications contested and denied environments have resilient access to data to perform their missions anywhere in the world».

The OSIRIS program will help address the need for test facilities that enable rapid experimentation and dual-use application prototyping. The testbed will identify areas for further compatibility between 5G network and DOD platforms that will enhance customer capabilities.  The infrastructure will also allow for the connection of various 5G-ready user devices, sensors, vehicles and endpoints to explore the military utility of commercial 5G technologies and pave the way for onboarding of new technologies from other OUSD investments while addressing cybersecurity requirements. This capability will further enable and advance DOD’s Joint All Domain Operations concept.

Teams from Lockheed Martin, along with subcontractors DISH Wireless, Intel Corporation, Radisys Corporation and Rampart Communications, Inc., will create the 5G network testbed infrastructure at U.S. Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton. The period of performance will begin immediately and conclude in September 2024.

Lockheed Martin’s recent agreements with Radisys, Verizon and Keysight Technologies are significant enablers in furthering the DOD’s new warfighting concepts. Through collaboration with commercial companies and leveraging its industry experience, Lockheed Martin’s 5G.MIL programs support the chairman, president and CEO Jim Taiclet’s vision to achieve network effects by bridging commercial technologies into future DOD capabilities that enable JADO and Joint All Domain Command and Control to meet our customer’s and partner’s needs across all operational domains.

Aircraft carriers, Navy, Sea

Joint Precision System

The U.S. Navy declared Initial Operational Capability (IOC) for the Joint Precision Approach and Landing System (JPALS) on May 4, signaling the system’s ready to provide precision approach and landing capabilities to tactical carrier aircraft at sea in support of naval aviation operations worldwide.

JPALS
An F-35C Lightning II from Strike Fighter Squadron (VFA) 147 lands on the flight deck of Nimitz-class nuclear aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson (CVN-70) while underway in the Pacific Ocean conducting routine operations in the U.S Third Fleet

JPALS is a global positioning system-based system that integrates with shipboard air traffic control and landing system architectures to guide fixed-wing tactical carrier aircraft with pinpoint approach and landings on nuclear aircraft carriers (CVN) and amphibious assault ships (LHA/LHD) in all weather and sea surface conditions.

«JPALS has reached a historic milestone, which supports our requirement to deliver, operate and maintain a Navy with a focus on our core roles of sea control and power projection», said Commander Jeff «Doogie» Dugard, Director of the Naval Airspace and Air Traffic Control Standards and Evaluation Agency. Dugard worked closely with the Naval Air Traffic Management Systems Program Office (PMA)-213 to ensure all requirements were met to demonstrate that JPALS will safely and effectively support U.S. Navy and Marine Corps aviation at sea.

The initial operational capability was declared by Rear Admiral Gregory Harris, Director Air Warfare Division, N98, Office of the Chief of Naval Operations, following the successful installation, integration and flight certification of the first JPALS production unit aboard USS Carl Vinson (CVN-70) in December 2020. After the flight certification, the JPALS team continued working with the Navy’s operational test community to demonstrate that the F-35C could effectively conduct at-sea precision approaches to the flight deck, and that adequate manning, training and sustainment infrastructure were in place to support and sustain JPALS operations while globally deployed.

The JPALS IOC declaration is the culmination of many years of system development and testing activities that began in 2008. The JPALS team has successfully provided a critical combat capability to the U.S. Naval Fleet, delivering the IOC capability nearly a year ahead of the planned threshold while overcoming many challenges including delivering, installing, testing and certifying systems during a persistent global pandemic.

«The achievement of JPALS IOC is a positive reflection on the hard work, innovation and resilience from a dedicated team of government and industry professionals who have developed and fielded this critical capability to the Warfighters», said Captain Kevin Watkins, PMA-213 program manager.

JPALS has been supporting F-35B Lightning II deployments on LH-class amphibious assault ships with an early operational capability since 2016, and will now provide the all-weather, precision navigation, approach and landing capability for all F-35C Lightning II deployments on CVNs as well. JPALS will also support future operations with the Navy’s unmanned MQ-25A Stingray aboard CVNs.