Driven by a desire to tap into the revenue stream that location-based services would provide, a group of German automakers ponied up roughly $2.7 billion for Nokia’s digital mapping service. The group consisting of German vehicle makers Audi (a unit of Volkswagen AG), Daimler AG (parent company of Mercedes-Benz), and BMW AG outbid proposals from Silicon Valley for the Nokia Here technology that could eventually enable the production of self-driving vehicles. Read more >>

The United States Navy’s Naval Air Systems Command has awarded Northrop Grumman a contract to provide the next generation of mission computers for Lot 12 of the Marine Corps’ H-1 helicopter upgrade program. In this contract, Northrop Grumman will be expected to deliver its FlightPro Gen III mission computers for the AH-1Z and UH-1Y aircraft. Both of these aircraft, the AH-1Z and UH-1Y, will be the first couple of aircraft that will benefit from Northrop Grumman’s next-generation mission computer. Read more >>

In July 2015, the United States Marine Corps embarked aboard the US Navy’s Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS George Washington and introduced the Raytheon-developed joint automated deep operation coordination system (JADOCS). Marine Corporal Steward Bach, the JADOCS operator, commented that their visit aboard USS George Washington during exercise Talisman Sabre 15 allowed them to demonstrate their capabilities. He also commented that it helped them to show how the USMC can integrate and improve the US Navy's maritime missions. Read more >>

The US Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command (SPAWAR) has awarded Comtech Telecommunications’ subsidiary Comtech EF Data with a contract extension. The contract is valued at $4 million and calls for Comtech to deliver additional advanced time division multiple access (TDMA) interface processor (ATIP) production terminals. The original agreement was signed in April 2013 and required the delivery of an ATIP Layer-2 Ethernet bridging device to replace the Navy’s legacy TDMA interface processor. Comtech completed delivery of the initial contract earlier this year. SPAWAR has already funded $24.9 million of the $40.2 million total potential contract value for this program. Read more >>

The F35 Lightning II is known as the 5^th-generation fighter. It combines advanced stealth capabilities with fighter aircraft speed and agility. It additionally features fully-fused sensor information, network-enabled operations and advanced logistics and sustainment. Roughly 200 pilots and more than 1800 maintainers have been trained on the F-35. Training is conducted at three separate training locations across the US, each having the full spectrum of the latest courseware, electronic classrooms, simulators, flight events and event-based maintenance training for their respective variants. Read more >>