REDSTONE ARSENAL, Ala. (Dec. 17, 2015) -- The Aviation and Missile Research, Development and Engineering Center, one of six Research, Development and Engineering Command centers, leads the nation in the advancement and sustainment of aviation and missile systems and related technologies.
AMRDEC conducts basic and applied research, technology development, future systems development, fielded systems support, rapid prototyping, obsolescence management and airworthiness.
In 2015, AMRDEC continued to apply innovative approaches across a variety of programs and to a myriad of customers while providing support to the warfighter.
AMRDEC's 2015 contributions include leading Department of Defense science and technology efforts to develop the next generation vertical lift aviation fleet. This Joint Multi-Role Technology Demonstrator Program will result in the design, fabrication and testing of two advanced rotary wing vehicle configurations. The program will allow for the pursuit of significant improvements in performance, survivability, commonality and sustainability. Air vehicle's first flights are tentatively scheduled for September 2017.
This year the AMRDEC Technology, Test and Evaluation Center worked closely with the Missile Defense Agency to investigate new technologies improving our nation's ballistic missile defense capability.
AMRDEC's TTEC continues to work on digital and hardware-in-the-loop simulations that predict the performance of these sensors in real-world scenarios. These analyses will provide the MDA senior leadership with valuable information that they can use to make smart decisions on how to direct future programs.
This year AMRDEC and industry partners were responsible for creating the Army's first UH-60V by upgrading the UH-60L Black Hawk aircraft from an analog to digital architecture.
From project initiation to successful execution of the Critical Design Review and under the most stringent schedule, the UH-60V team developed and documented a system design that was stable, affordable, met specification requirements and established the initial system baseline.
AMRDEC's Prototype Integration Facility, the Air Force Air Combat Command and the Redstone Test Center continued to work together in 2015 to develop mine-resistant, ambush-protected, vehicles with laser technology.
Recovery of Airbases Denied by Ordnance, or RADBO's, laser can detonate bombs up to 300 meters and the Army's integrated interrogator arm and manipulator claw can pull 50 pounds of debris up from cracks and underneath rubble.
Testing on the RADBO included munitions testing, hot and cold storage and electromagnetic interference. Testing concluded with airmen on Tyndall Air Force Base in September.
May began with AMRDEC advancing miniaturization computational power capabilities in a package compact enough to bring complex image and signal processing technology to small battlefield weapons.
Army engineers applied this approach in the development of precision target acquisition. This brings videogame-style warfare to the battlefield by allowing Soldiers to select a target of interest from a reconnaissance image and send targeting information to a missile for true lock-on-after-launch engagement.
In June, AMRDEC was instrumental in enhancing the firepower of the Navy's newest and most advanced combat ship - the Littoral Combat Ship. Engineering development tests of modified Longbow Hellfire missiles for use on LCS were successfully conducted. The missiles are being reprogrammed with new software completely built and tested in house at AMRDEC to support this new mission
AMRDEC will continue to enhance the weapon system allowing for it to excel at its new role within a Littoral environment.
In July, AMRDEC personnel moved into their two acquired Redstone Arsenal buildings that are dedicated to the cyber security mission. The Cyber Campus will support multiple levels of security and interface with other government agencies at the highest classification levels. Once fully operational, it is anticipated there will be representation from multiple cyber organizations across Redstone Arsenal and the Tennessee Valley.
In the beginning of September, AMRDEC transferred the first prototype of the Multi-Mission Launcher to the Program Executive Office for Missiles and Space. The MML program is part of the Indirect Fire Protection Capability Increment 2-Intercept Army program. IFPC Inc 2-I system is a mobile ground-based weapon system designed to defeat unmanned aircraft systems, cruise missiles, and rockets, artillery and mortars.
The MML is mounted on a medium tactical truck and can rotate 360 degrees. AMRDEC will provide eight additional MMLs through the Engineering and Manufacturing Development acquisition phase, six of which will be assembled by Letterkenny Army Depot in Pennsylvania.
In September, AMRDEC continued to capitalize on the advancement of Additive Manufacturing technology by establishing a cooperative agreement with the University of Mississippi's School of Engineering that involves alternative manufacturing methods for antennas and radio frequency devices.
AMRDEC and the Marshall Space Flight Center officially established an Additive Manufacturing Integrated Product Team in 2014 to engage in research and development efforts that advance the state of the art in AM.
In November, NASA celebrated 50 years of rotary wing collaboration with the Army. A research partnership established in 1965 between the Army and NASA has allowed NASA and Army researchers to work side by side improving rotorcraft. The partnership has also had substantial benefits for the rotorcraft community as a whole. Civilian helicopters now include technology developed by research done to advance Army rotorcraft and vice versa.
NASA and the Army continue to work together on technologies that will make helicopters and tiltrotors faster, quieter, safer and more efficient.
AMRDEC rounded out the year with a Futures Brief to Industry and Academia, presented to 400 participants who gathered to learn how to better partner with the government. The forum focused on the organization's science and technology programs and its core technical capabilities, as well as current and future technical challenges.
The free event provided stakeholders and other parties interested in working with AMRDEC an opportunity to have an open discussion about the future of the industry and its changing financial environment.
The coming years promise to be both challenging and rewarding for AMRDEC's dedicated workforce of more than 9,000 civilians, contractors and Soldiers. AMRDEC will continue to provide state of the art technology -- developing what was once unimaginable. Where there is a need, our scientists and engineers deliver solutions.
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The U.S. Army Aviation and Missile Research, Development, and Engineering Center is part of the U.S. Army Research, Development and Engineering Command, which has the mission to ensure decisive overmatch for unified land operations to empower the Army, the joint warfighter and our nation. RDECOM is a major subordinate command of the U.S. Army Materiel Command.
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