Getting Defensive

Defense Innovation Days – September 3-5, 2014 in Newport, RI – brings together industry, government and academia
 

Defense Innovation Days organized by the Southeastern New England Defense Industry Alliance (SENEDIA) promises to bring together an “A List” of speakers and attendees from industry, government and academia for a common mission: for an open discussion on current trends and to engage in discourse on the future of technology and the defense industry. 
Scheduled for September 3-5 in Newport, RI, Defense Innovation Days promises not only a compelling conference and speaking line-up, but also a host of social events designed to provide all parties with a more informal venue to meet and connect on issues that are important to individuals, companies and the defense industry as a whole.
The organizers have lined-up plenary sessions on Innovation from the technology perspective, the war fighter perspective and the unmanned vehicle perspective.  In addition, there will be several panels with the RI, MA and CT congressional delegations on the State of Foreign Affairs and the effect on the Defense Industry and Defense; “the View from the Hill.”
The event has attracted many top line organizations for participation, including the following six (6) companies that are featured in this year’s “MTR100.”

Boston Engineering
Boston Engineering delivers product design and engineering consulting solutions, and it strives to create breakthrough solutions by combining focused creativity, experienced insight, and a big-picture perspective. It manages the entire product development process — from idea to supply chain development, or it is adept to jumpstart a project in any product development phase.
Boston Engineering’s Advanced Systems Group (ASG) develops game-changing robotics, unmanned systems, and special tactical equipment. Boston Engineering’s defense and security technologies provide advanced capabilities to support U.S. defense and homeland security operations. Its robotics capabilities emphasize unmanned vehicle innovation — including unmanned ground vehicles (UGVs) and autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs).
In addition to Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) funding, Boston Engineering has been awarded contracts from agencies and organizations including the Department of Homeland Security Science and Technology Directorate (DHS S&T), the Office of Naval Research (ONR), the Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA), the U.S. Army Research, Development and Engineering Command (RDECOM), the U.S. Army Tank Automotive Research, Development and Engineering Center (TARDEC), the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), and the United States Special Operations Command (SOCOM).
Traditional unmanned underwater vehicles (UUVs), AUVs, and other waterborne robots can be restricted by limited communications. To address these capability gaps, Boston Engineering is advancing biomimetic autonomous UUV capabilities to increase mobility in a system that employs payloads. Its UUV technology replicates the dynamics of biological fish to move rapidly, accurately and in challenging areas than other marine technology solutions. Funding is primarily from the ONR and the DHS S&T, and its UUV funding supports the advancement of two related products:
•    GhostSwimmer is a stealthy biomimetic AUV used for various military missions including surveillance, mine countermeasures, port security and other defense and homeland security initiatives.
•    BIOSwimmer is a biologically-inspired UUV with broad commercial and homeland security applications that include inspecting ships, securing ports, and conducting marine maintenance operations.

Globe Composite Solutions
Globe Composite Solutions is a composite designer and manufacturer in business since 1890, makers of non-metallic composite components for the nautical and aviation defense industries. Globe Composite Solutions designs and manufactures advanced composite materials for components and applications used in the industrial, medical, material handling, and defense industries. It specializes in custom non-metallic composite components, cast and molded products, fabrication, prototype products, extrusions and roll coverings.  Current defense customers and products include: The U.S. Navy, providing Gradual Transition Coatings (GTCs) and shielding for sonar arrays; Components for both the Virginia-class submarines and Ohio-class submarines; Northrop Grumman & Lockheed Martin.
Globe has the ability to evaluate, design and manufacture components for different levels of defense contracts.  Recently it completed construction of a dedicated clean-room facility to perform high-level testing and production of high-tolerance, defense-related components.
Its defense applications include, but aren’t limited to:
•    Acoustic and/or Electromagnetic signature reduction materials
•    High-strength, high-tolerance precision gaskets and seals
•    Highly-engineered power transmission barriers, drive system accessories, & vibration dampeners
•    Active acoustic monitoring components
•    Air handling systems
•    Hydrodynamic structures, surface control, & surface treatments
•    Coatings
•    Transducer Covers
•    Degaussing equipment
Globe has also just been awarded a second U.S. patent for its High Gravity Composite (HGC) material, Brandonite, often used in radiation shielding for sonar and radar arrays on ships and submarines.

Mikel Inc.
MIKEL is a technology development and services company that provides innovative, cost-effective undersea solutions for the U.S. and foreign navies. MIKEL’s products enable its customers, especially those in the Submarine Force, to solve their technology problems, and to better meet their business and mission requirements. MIKEL is committed to providing an environment that challenges its employees to use and advance their skills and knowledge to exceed customer expectations. 
Started in 1999 by Brian Guimond and under the leadership of Kelly Mendell, MIKEL has grown yearly, employing a diverse and capable workforce of technicians, engineers, computer scientists, analysts and many support functions to its Navy customers.  Expertise in undersea acoustic tracking and navigation, combat systems and performance assessment has enabled a thorough understanding of the technology gaps and the development and installation of their solutions.  In each of these areas, the company strives to provide a complete solution – ranging from an understanding of the operational context of the problem, to development of algorithms that process data, to the delivery of software and hardware systems.  
The Submerged Acoustic Navigation System (SANS), Advanced Contact Management System (ACMS), Active Intercept and Ranging System (AIRS) and Standardized Metrics for Assessment, Readiness and Training (SMART) are four recent technologies developed by MIKEL. SANS was developed to address the problem of accurate submerged platform positioning in the absence of GPS. AIRS was developed to address the problem of passive sonar target localization, in response to an SBIR award. ACMS was developed to address the problem of heavy operator workload during bearings-only sonar target tracking in response to an SBIR award.  SMART addresses the quantification of performance.
SANS - positional accuracy of several meters in real-time in a local operating region. Currently, SANS is installed on U.S. submarines with APB-11 software support or higher.
AIRS - passively localizes a target in 3D emitting active acoustic energy via the use of spatially diverse sensors. The technology removes the necessity for collinearly placed hull sensors by actually exploiting their non-collinearity.
ACMS - greatly reduces submarine operator involvement and manual data editing processes during passive sonar target tracking. ACMS offers a 4:1 reduction in operator workload and easily and succinctly supports multi-sensor data fusion.
SMART – performance assessment tool that provides objective real time and post event analysis capabilities.  SMART allows for a standardized approach to operator, crew and system performance evaluation during shore based training and at sea exercises.

Purvis Systems
Purvis Systems has been providing services to the U.S. Navy and Public Safety customers for more than 40 years, and its core capabilities embody its collective knowledge and technical capabilities. Capabilities include: Laboratory/Facility Design, Operations and Maintenance; Operational Capability Assessments; Test and Evaluation; Acquisition and Operational Logistics; Installation and Checkout; Mine Warfare; and Anti-Submarine Warfare.  Its products include: Fire Department Management System; Automated Notification System; Fire Station Alerting and Communications System; Electronic EMS Reporting System; and Incident Management and Control Systems. 

Progeny Systems
Established in 1995, Progeny Systems is a privately-held, high-tech corporation headquartered in Manassas, Va. Its mission is to improve warfighters’ capability while reducing total ownership costs, and its products can be found throughout the naval fleet and commercial markets. Progeny maintains more than 14 offices nationwide that are located to serve its customers while providing a range of research, development and production capabilities. Its production facilities are ISO 9001 Certified and since 2006, our system and software engineering processes have been appraised at CMMI level III.
Progeny Systems offers a full array of computing expertise, laboratories, and engineering talent to support the design, development, testing and integration of leading-edge technology solutions. It has an outstanding portfolio of solutions for complex problems for the U.S. defense that include the toughest high-tech challenges. Its business solutions focus on: Defense Systems and Integration; Aviation & Maritime Surveillance Systems; Tactical Combat Systems; Sonar Systems & Torpedoes; Advanced Information Systems and Security; Non-Tactical Enterprise Applications; Undersea & Surface Systems; Research and Technology Development; Biometrics & Image Processing; Acoustics & Acoustic Signal Processing; Undersea Systems, incl. Robotics & Control Systems; Precision Navigation & Timing (PNT); Full-Scale Manufacturing; Electronics Manufacturing; Metalwork Fabrication/Manufacturing; and Sensor/Transducer Manufacturing

Rite Solutions
Rite Solutions is recognized for its thought leadership on the subject of Innovation in over two dozen management books and magazine articles including Newsweek, the N.Y. Times, and an NBC Special on The Business of Innovation. Rite Solutions, a Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business with more than 125 engineers, scientists and software developers, brings more than 2500 combined years of experience in providing Systems, Software Engineering, and Information Technology services and products to DOD and commercial clients.
Rite Solutions has gained a niche as a premier provider of services and products to the U.S. Navy, particularly in the area of Undersea Warfare.  We have also been successful in leveraging our core competencies into the commercial business spaces of Human Capital Management and Workforce Development as well as Healthcare Systems Support and Secure Information Dissemination. Its core competencies of systems engineering, software development, and information technology, aligned to four technical areas: Automated Decision Support Systems, High Availability Software Intensive Systems, Human Centered System designs, and Information Management System Environments.
Its Automated Decision Support Systems focus on command level decision making and emergency management and response systems, getting the right amount of the right information to the right decision-maker at the right time.
High Availability Software Intensive Systems focus on building high integrity systems that must never go down; have high transaction processing rates; and incorporate sophisticated information assurance capabilities.  Human Centered System designs provide a comprehensive methodology for the incorporation of human-system integration considerations into the product gestation, development, and sustainment processes. It has applicability in virtually any application domain in both government and commercial product areas. Its Information Management System Environments incorporate state-of-the-art heterogeneous system networks, enterprise service buses, and simulation and visualization technologies. Our Rite-View data rendering and visualization product is a significant contributor to maximizing situation awareness and is readily adaptable to a broad spectrum of commercial and government products and applications.

Connect

These companies are strong supporters of the defense industry in the New England region:


Boston Engineering Corporation
300 Bear Hill Road
Waltham, MA 02451
T: (781) 466.8010
E: [email protected]
W: www.Boston-Engineering.com

Globe Composite Solutions
254 Beech St., Rockland, MA 02370
T: +1 978-855-0059
E: [email protected]
W: www.globecomposite.com
CEO/President: Carl Forsythe
VP: Kevin Lynch
Engineering Director: Brian Evans
No. of Employees: 250

Mikel Inc.
275 Martine Street, Ste 205
Fall River, MA 02723-1500
T: (508)675-2681
W: www.mikelinc.com
President: Kelly Mendell

PURVIS Systems Incorporated
1272 West Main Road,
Middletown, RI   02842
T: 401-845-8409
E: [email protected]
W: www.purvis.com

Progeny Systems Corporation
HQ:  9500 Innovation Drive,
Manassas, VA 20110
Tel:  (703) 368-6107
Email:  [email protected]
Website:  www.progeny.net

Rite Solutions, Inc.
One Corporate Place, Middletown, RI 02842
T: (401) 847-3399 X 123
E: [email protected]
W: www.ritesolutions.com
CEO: Joe Marino
President: Dave Fabianski
No. of Employees: 125
 

(As published in the July/Aug 2014 edition of Marine Technology Reporter - http://www.marinetechnologynews.com/Magazine)