Net-centric thinking is being infused into an ever-wider range of Raytheon products and systems, according to Dean Cash, director for the company’s net-centric operations enterprise. “We’re stressing the importance of connecting and integrating systems, with our industrial partners, to get capabilities that we couldn’t have achieved with standalone systems,” he says.
One example is the company’s Next Generation Air Traffic Automation System, which was unveiled at a conference in Prague three weeks ago. It is an open-architecture system, scalable to handle any ATM (air traffic management) domain — from a single tower to a fully integrated civil/military multi-center, trans-national airspace system.
“The open architecture allows direct machine-to-machine communications, including automatic dependent surveillance,” says Cash. Aircraft in the system communicate their positions and tracks constantly, providing information that conventional transponders and primary radar cannot supply. The system develops highly accurate four-dimensional trajectories, alerting air traffic managers and crews of possible conflicts. The system is also designed so that it will be able to manage manned and unmanned aircraft ion the same environment.
Another new Raytheon project was developed for the U.S. Army as an advanced concept technology demonstration (ACTD), but was rushed into use early this year to help aid workers after the Indian Ocean tsunami. The Mobile Enhanced Situational Awareness (MESA) uses satellite radio links — XM within the United States, WorldSpace in the rest of the world — to send an encrypted data stream that is picked up and decoded by cell phone-sized receivers.
Uses could include sending warnings and messages to selected recipients within a region, or to all users in a specific area. With 50 times more download capacity than current radio systems, it can be used to download imagery to troops on the ground. “It’s wonderful – it’s simple to use and easy to train people on,” says Cash. “It’s very quick to use in a disaster situation.” —Bill Sweetman
