Developed as part of AV’s holistically integrated C-UAS strategy, Halo_Shield introduces a unique, tile-based layered defense architecture that is open, scalable, and adaptable to today’s evolving threats. The system is designed to support emerging homeland defense priorities by enabling resilient, area-wide protection of high-value U.S. and allied partner assets, including borders, military installations, and other critical infrastructure. AV is currently demonstrating capabilities and has deployed Halo_Shield tiles at select critical sites.

“The character of the air threat has fundamentally changed,” said Wahid Nawabi, chairman, president, and chief executive officer at AV. “Cheap, massed, and coordinated aerial systems are stressing traditional point defenses. Halo_Shield is our answer—a collaborative, modular approach that brings together the best of AV and a trusted supplier ecosystem to close those gaps.”

At the core of Halo_Shield is a mission-tailored, distributed and domain-specific tile architecture—comprising Sentinel, Terrestrial, Nautical, Aerial and Celestial tiles. Each tile delivers a specialized combination of sensors, effectors, and command-and-control capabilities, drawing on technology from AV and its trusted ecosystem of suppliers. The result is a cost-efficient defense architecture that is offense-ready, extends protection beyond point defense and sustains decisive situational advantage in contested battlespaces across air, land, sea and space.

Designed for plug-and-play integration, Halo_Shield is deployable as portable fly-away kits and integrates seamlessly with existing customer sensors, effectors, and command-and-control frameworks—delivering scalable, resilient, area-wide protection with minimal training and personnel demands. Powered by AV_Halo, AV’s unified software platform, the system is purpose-built yet agnostic, designed to incorporate new capabilities while seamlessly integrating with customers’ existing command-and-control systems.

“Halo_Shield is engineered like an edge processing-capable set of tiles for modern air defense,” said Larry Lloyd, senior vice president of strategic initiatives at AV. “Each tile is a self-contained capability that can operate on its own or snap together to build exactly the defense architecture a mission demands. That modularity lets operators scale, adapt, and reconfigure in real time as threats evolve, without redesigning the system or retraining the force. It’s how you move from static point defense to a living, mission-tailored shield.”

Source: AeroVironment

Stay in the know with breaking news from across the IC and IC contracting landscape by becoming a paid subscriber to IC News. Your support makes our work possible.

The post AV unveils Halo_Shield appeared first on Intelligence Community News.

“Canada and its allies face ever-evolving threats at home and while deployed abroad. Today’s bad actors and near-peer adversaries are leveraging uncrewed weapons to cripple military forces and weaken governments,” said John Mengucci, CACI president and chief executive officer. “With CACI’s superior technologies, critical sites and personnel are protected by counter-uncrewed capabilities that are operationally proven. This win and future deployments expand the reach of these capabilities with other close partner nations using our technology suite.”

As part of the contract, CACI will provide dismounted omnidirectional systems (DODS) that are easy to field quickly and ready for use. The company’s counter-uncrewed technology suite, SkyTracker, includes integrated platforms that are low in size, weight, and power (SWaP); fixed, mounted, and dismounted; and operationally proven against a wide range of threats. Specifically, Canadian soldiers will employ a critical man-packable component of CACI’s SkyTracker suite called BEAM as part of their layered defense solution to detect, track, and defeat drone threats.

Source: CACI

IC News delivers the situational awareness you need to get ahead and stay ahead in the IC contracting space. Subscribe today for full access to 10,000+ articles, plus new articles each weekday.

The post CACI secures Canadian C-UAS contract appeared first on Intelligence Community News.

On October 7, 2022, DRS received approximately $40 million and on November 11, 2022, the company was awarded approximately $20 million through a modification contract.

Under the existing indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity contract, this new task order requires DRS to deliver additional kinetic defeat vehicles and spares.  M-LIDS allows soldiers to detect, identify, track, and defeat small UAS with electronic warfare and kinetic defeat systems.  The M-LIDS system includes a mix of kinetic defeat effectors including the XM914 (30mm) cannon hosted by the Moog Inc’s Reconfigurable Integrated-weapons Platform (RIwP) turret.

“Leonardo DRS is proud to be a member of the M-LIDS team, and we appreciate the opportunity to deliver additional vehicles.  Drones have become a dangerous threat to our warfighters,” said Aaron Hankins, senior vice president and general manager, DRS Land Systems.  “Delivering M-LIDS vehicles remains one of our highest priorities, and we are excited about this new task order.”

In March 2022, M-LIDS Increment 2 was identified as a U.S. Army ACAT III program of record, and the U.S. Army leadership directed accelerated deliveries of multiple C-UAS capabilities, including M-LIDS. The two-vehicle capability provides a balance of kinetic and non-kinetic defeat capabilities which have already completed extensive government testing.  Several sets of M-LIDS Increment 2 are currently deployed overseas protecting U.S. and allied forces.

The DRS Land Systems business unit serves as the lead systems integrator for this mobile C-UAS capability. The DRS Land Systems business is part of the company’s Integrated Mission Systems segment which provides force protection products and services including counter-unmanned aerial systems, short-range air defense systems, and active protection systems, across multiple platforms for the men and women of the U.S. armed forces.

Source: Leonardo DRS

Start 2023 ahead of the competition with a paid subscription to IC News. You’ll get full access to our searchable archive of 10,000+ articles, plus new articles each weekday.

The post Leonardo DRS tapped to provide c-UAS platforms for Army M-LIDS appeared first on Intelligence Community News.

“Our approach to C-UAS has always been a layered approach that fuses data from multiple sensors such as radar, electro-optical (EO) / infrared (IR) cameras, and passive RF sensors,” said Tim Morris, Black Sage program manager for LUASDD. “Lidar brings another layer of sensor data that can potentially address threat detection scenarios and environmental conditions that present challenges to radar or EO/IR sensors.”

S3 develops state-of-the-art high-power long-range lidar solutions that utilize multiple active sensing techniques. One example is the real-time Eye safe Visualization Evaluation and Analysis Lidar (REVEAL) used for standoff detection and identification of Chemical, Biological, Radiological, Nuclear, and Explosive (CBRNE) threats. “Our lidar systems are routinely integrated into layered defensive solutions, making adapting our REVEAL sensor and integrating the data products a natural fit for our team,” said Jeff Pruitt, Program Manager for S3.

The lidar research and experimentation will be conducted at Black Sage’s new test facility, Sage Works. “Sage Works was built to emulate a Forward Operating Base (FOB) incorporating a complete C-UAS system within a significant uncontrolled airspace and land use for our Red team to test and evaluate operationally relevant profiles,” said Marshal Minder, director of integration at Black Sage. “Sage Works is a crucial component of our ability to evaluate emerging threats and solutions in support of our customers.”

Source: Black Sage

Your competitors read IC News each day. Shouldn’t you? Learn more about our subscription options, and keep up with every move in the IC contracting space.

The post Black Sage wins Air Force counter-drone tech contract appeared first on Intelligence Community News.

White has more than 16 years of defense industry senior management experience, including a decade of strategic development, most recently as vice president of strategy, Southeastern Computer Consultants, Inc., a defense engineering services company.

Before that, White served as vice president of CACI’s Tactical Systems Division (Formerly Ticom Geomatics Inc.), where he led the development and integration of signals intelligence solutions into manned and unmanned aircraft including precision geolocation capability for counter-unmanned aircraft systems (C-UAS).

“Al is the right leader for Black Sage,” said Darryl Wilkerson, Black Sage’s chairman of the board. “Al’s technical background, strategic thinking, and leadership ability will help focus Black Sage as it continues to establish itself as a market leader in a fragmented C-UAS space.”

“I’m thrilled to be joining the Black Sage Team,” said White. “I believe Black Sage has the right approach to C-UAS with its hardware-agnostic open architecture that enables rapid scalability to meet the threat.”

“Having worked with Al before, I know his technical expertise, collaborative approach, and leadership style inspires people to succeed in their mission,” said Gary Ambrose, managing director at Acorn Growth Companies, which acquired Black Sage in 2019.

White received a BS degree in computer science from Texas A&M University, an MBA from Jack Welch Management Institute at Strayer University, and an MA degree in computer resource and information management at Webster University.

Source: Black Sage

Help IC News continue to bring you breaking news from across the IC and IC contracting landscape. Join our paid subscribers today.

The post Al White tapped to lead Black Sage as CEO appeared first on Intelligence Community News.

“Liteye is extremely excited to have Melissa join our team today,” said Kenneth Geyer, CEO of Liteye. “I look forward to having her unique insights and experience to draw on as we take on the next stage of growth as an international defense contractor. Melissa’s perspective on many of the challenges and threats we face today will be invaluable.”

Dr. Melissa Flagg is the founder and president of Flagg Consulting LLC. She is also a fellow at the Acquisition Innovation Research Center (AIRC), a visiting fellow at the Perry World House, and a senior advisor to the Atlantic Council GeoTech Center. Prior to this, she was a Senior Fellow at the Center for Security and Emerging Technology (CSET) at Georgetown University.

Previously she served as the deputy assistant secretary of defense for research, responsible for policy and oversight of Defense Department science and technology programs. She has worked at the State Department, the Office of Naval Research, the Office of the Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering, the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, and the Army Research Laboratory.

Source: Liteye

Keep up with your competitors by following notable executive moves across the IC contracting space — become a paid subscriber to IC News.

The post Melissa Flagg joins Liteye advisory board appeared first on Intelligence Community News.

High Point is a holding company formed to pursue the rapidly evolving C-UAS industry through the acquisition and development of established operating companies, emerging technologies, and industry experts. Jim Gavrilis has been recruited to lead High Point as president and CEO. He brings a diverse and distinguished background from military, business, and academia, with extensive expertise in electronic warfare and UAS technology.

Gavrilis is a former U.S. Army officer with over 24 years of experience in command and staff. He has served overseas in Africa, Europe, and the Middle East in training, peacekeeping, and combat operations, including two tours in Iraq commanding and directing joint, interagency, and multinational counterterrorism and counterinsurgency operations. Throughout his career, Gavrilis served in the 25th Infantry Division, the 3rd and 5th Special Forces Groups, USASOC, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the Army Staff’s Special Operations Division.

After retiring from the Army, Gavrilis held senior level positions with several private sector defense contractors. He has served as vice president for special operations programs, chief of staff, and director of strategic initiatives in a variety of defense and intelligence companies. He has also served as senior advisor to the Center for Naval Analyses, the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, and USSOCOM. In academia, Gavrilis has taught graduate courses at Georgetown University and George Washington University, and has taught at the State Department’s Foreign Service Institute.

Gavrilis remarked, “I am extremely excited to take the helm at High Point and work alongside Highlander. We are committed to supporting the defense of our nation against this evolving threat and will remain mission focused on developing needed capabilities for the U.S. and our Allies. With the right team and targeted acquisitions, we have a significant opportunity to create a leadership position in the dynamic C-UAS market. We are in the process of recruiting subject matter experts to join the High Point team, and we intend to analyze both mature businesses and developing technologies for potential acquisition.”

“We have been highly focused on exploring the C-UAS arena,” commented Ben Slater, partner at Highlander. “The industry is young, fragmented and has remarkable growth potential. Our objective is to build a substantial C-UAS platform, and the establishment of High Point demonstrates Highlander’s dedication to this effort. In this nascent industry built on emerging technology, deep and practical expertise is a requisite and Jim is the perfect leader for this undertaking.”

Source: High Point

Keep up with your competitors by following notable executive moves across the IC contracting space — become a paid subscriber to IC News.

The post High Point names Jim Gavrilis as president and CEO appeared first on Intelligence Community News.

The award is in support of an elite unit within the conventional U.S. Army, and will be used to defeat enemy drones on the battlefield abroad and at secure locations in the United States, providing fixed-site and mobile force protection. The decision to invest in Titan systems was made after Titan out-performed competing technologies at Government evaluations based on both efficacy and ease of use by warfighters.

Titan is a portable, rapidly deployable system that creates a secure perimeter anywhere, providing automated identification and mitigation of threats for all major commercial and hobbyist control protocols and frequency bands. Utilizing Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning, Titan can detect and respond using adaptive, escalating countermeasures that minimize collateral impact to nearby communications. This AI foundation enables Titan to match or outpace the evolving threats, thereby providing an ideal capability for layered C-UAS defenses. The system can be mission-capable in under two minutes, requires no signals expertise or extensive training, and represents low operator cognitive load. Additionally, Titan’s detection and escalating defeat technology is inherently capable of effectively managing multi-drone or swarm scenarios.

“It is incredibly exciting to see our Titan C-UAS solution meet and exceed the Army’s expectations in the key performance parameters of efficacy and ease of use,” said James Batt, BlueHalo’s chief growth officer (CGO).  “We look forward to seeing these systems utilized on the battlefield to defeat enemy drones and provide a layer of protection to the Army warfighter and our nation in the very near-term.”

Source: BlueHalo

Help IC News continue to bring you breaking news from across the IC and IC contracting landscape. Join our paid subscribers today.

The post BlueHalo securesTitan C-UAS contract appeared first on Intelligence Community News.

John Mengucci, CACI president and chief executive officer, said, “Backed by the world’s largest threat signals library and more than 1,200 systems deployed globally, CACI offers technology for any C-UAS challenge or mission. Working with the Navy, we will continue to provide the most advanced capabilities to detect, track and defeat emerging threats to our national security, protecting people and places in any environment.”

The task order will modernize components and systems on both manned and unmanned platforms including the EP-3E, P-8A, MQ-8, and MQ-25 UAS for the U.S. Navy, U.S. Army, U.S. Air Force, and U.S. Coast Guard. CACI will develop next generation technology for intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) and electronic warfare (EW) mission systems, and survivability systems while providing all aspects of logistical support required to meet operational demands.

Source: CACI

Like IC News? Then please consider subscribing. You’ll get full access to our searchable library of 10,000+ articles, plus new articles each weekday.

The post CACI wins C-UAS task order appeared first on Intelligence Community News.