Piasecki Aircraft Corporation acquired the KARGO UAV program from Kaman Air Vehicles in April, and recently launched a new upgraded variant of the medium-lift autonomous uncrewed aerial vehicle, the KARGO II.

The KARGO II is a larger capacity version of the KARGO UAVwith increased payload capacity  "from approximately 500-800 lbs. (227-363kg) to over 1,500lbs (680kg)," according to the company's August 12 announcement about theupgrade.

The original version of the UAV completed several flight testing and demonstration milestones under U.S. Army and Marine Corps contracts, prior to Piasecki's acquisition of the program in April.

Piasecki plans to manufacture the KARGO II at its Heliplexfacility in Coatesville, Pennsylvania, and expects to add new program partners and suppliers over the next year. The company expects the production version of the KARGO II to become available by 2027.

John Piasecki, CEO of Piasecki Aircraft Corporation, is theguest on this episode of the Aerospace & Defense Technology podcast to discuss the future of the KARGO UAV program.

In 2024, Microchip launched PIC64, a new portfolio of microprocessors that the Chandler, Arizona-based company claims could enable a generational leap in embedded processing performance for aerospace and defense applications.

The new MPU technology is supported by  a 64-bit reduced instruction set computer (RISC-V) architecture with an embedded Time Sensitive Networking (TSN) Ethernet switch.

Check out the article featured in the September 2024 issue of Aerospace & Defense Technology to learn more about what the new processor could provide for spaceflight computing applications.

Bill Dillard, Senior Manager of Aerospace and Defense at Microchip, is the guest on this episode of the Aerospace & Defense Technology podcast to explain how the PIC64could also advance embedded processing performance for a wide variety of aerospace and defense applications.

A dual-use quantum accelerated simulation startup recentlyestablished a strategic collaboration with the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory to advance its mission-critical modeling and simulation capabilities with quantum computing.

BQP (BosonQ Psi), the Syracuse, New York-based startup, has also announced a new "oversubscribed $4.9 million seed round to expand its unified digital twin platform, BQPhy®, for mission-critical industries, including aerospace, defense (A&D), and semiconductors," according to a July announcement aboutthe new funding round.

The startup's BQPhy simulation platform is powered byquantum algorithms that are capable of unlocking significant gains in high performance computing when compared to platforms that use legacy algorithms, according to BQP.

“Our quantum-inspired solvers are setting a new benchmarkin simulation technology, bridging today’s computational limits and the quantum-ready future,” said Abhishek Chopra, BQP’s Founder, CEO, and Chief Scientific Officer. “The traction we're experiencing from AFRL/RQ and industry-leading design partners validates the immediate impact and substantialROI our platform delivers today. We're also making significant R&D progress in quantum-native solvers for Computational Fluid Dynamics (CFD) and Machine Learning (ML), paving the way for future simulation workload for the next generation of data centers where HPC and quantum computers operate side by side.”

Chopra is the guest on this episode of the Aerospace & Defense Technology podcast to explain how their simulation technology leverages quantum algorithms for simulation and modeling.

EnCharge AI, a California-based startup, recently launchedthe EnCharge EN100 artificial intelligence (AI) chip, developed with a scalable analog in-memory computing architecture.

The launch of EN100 came a year after EnCharge AI signed apartnership with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to develop the new chip.

“EN100 represents a fundamental shift in AI computingarchitecture, rooted in hardware and software innovations that have been de-risked through fundamental research spanning multiple generations of silicon development," said Naveen Verma, CEO at EnCharge AI. "These innovations are now being made available as products for the industry to use, as scalable, programmable AI inference solutions that break through the energy efficiency limits of today’s digital solutions. This means advanced, secure, and personalized AI can run locally, without relying on cloud infrastructure. We hope this will radically expand what you can do with AI.”

Verma is the guest on this first episode of Season 10 the Aerospace & Defense Technology podcast. He explains how the EN100 delivers up to 200+ TOPS of total processing power for edge computing applications, and why it represents a major breakthrough for on-device AI.

Kymeta achieved a major breakthrough for the satellite communications industry recently by connecting four concurrent beams in Ku- and Ka-band frequencies with a single antenna aperture, during a demonstration in April.

Enabled by the company's unique metamaterials antenna surface, the technology was demonstrated and validated at Kymeta's headquarters in Redmond, Washington. Until this point, according to Kymeta, interoperability in the Ku and Ka bands has been possible only with Electronic Steered Antennas (ESA) using multiple physically separate antennas, which proves problematic due to the size and power usage required to operate.

Kymeta Chief Scientist Ryan Stevenson is the guest on this episode of the Aerospace & Defense Technology podcast to explain how they were achieved this groundbreaking demonstration of satellite communications.

The sealing components and materials that are used in spacelaunch and exploration vehicles can face extreme environmental challenges due to the harsh conditions encountered during launch, operation, and re-entry. Howcan materials and sealing technologies be developed in a way that helps improve space vehicle performance? How can precision machining or testing and simulation contribute to improving development and production times for newspace firms?

John Tark, Space & Defense Business Manager, OmnisealSolutions, is the guest on this sponsored interview episode of the Aerospace & Defense Technology podcast to answer these questions and more.

During his appearance at a Center for Strategic & International Studies (CSIS) event held in March, Major General Gregory Gagnon, a top U.S. Space Force official, said that the U.S. Space Force expects to launch more than 100 satellites in 2025.

Have you ever considered the challenges of operating inspace that companies must address when designing satellites for military and non-military applications? In the latest issue of Ansys Advantage, simulation software provider Ansys outlined these considerations in their article "The State of Satellites: Applications, Challenges and Opportunities."

According to Patrick North, Principal R&D Engineer, Ansys, said that "power, space, and weight" are the primary factors that systems engineers must consider when designing new satellites.

North is the guest on this episode of the Aerospace & Defense Technology podcast to explain how major aerospace and defense companies use their advanced simulation softwareand tools to design and model defense satellites for a wide variety of applications.

Aitech —  the California-based embedded systems provider — launched their new artificial intelligence (AI)-enabled picosatellite constellation platform, IQSat, during the Space Foundation’s 40th annual Space Symposium, recently held inColorado.

Pratish Shah, U.S. General Manager, Aitech, is the guest onthe first episode of Season 9 of the Aerospace & Defense Technology podcast to explain how the company is leveraging commercial off the shelf (COTS) embedded computing modules to develop low cost space-based AI and machine learning (ML) with their new IQSat technology.

Amprius recently launched its 450 Wh/kg SiCore™ lithium-ionbattery, the most energy dense battery it has ever developed for electric aircraft and other mobility applications. The California-based lithium-ion battery maker has made several advancements in battery energy density with its silicon anode material system, and is now preparing to move to mass production of SiCore.

The commercial launch of the 450 Wh/kg SiCore™ cell followsthe broader introduction of Amprius’ SiCore™ platform in January 2024. That announcement marked the debut of a new generation of silicon anode cells engineered for both high energy and high power in a single format. Their lithium-ion batteries have already demonstrated the ability to extend the range and flight times of drones and high-altitude platform stations (HAPS). The company is now focused on mass producing their lithium ion battery to support more aviation and defense applications.

Amprius CTO Dr. Ionel Ștefan is the guest on this episodeof the Aerospace & Defense Technology podcast to explain their latest battery energy density breakthrough and how they're preparing for mass production of their batteries.

Last week, Electra announced a new $115 million Series B investment that will provide funding for the pre-production and certification phase of its EL9 Ultra Short hybrid electric aircraft.

Electra, a Virginia-based company, was first launched in2020, and previously completed the first flight of a demonstrator prototype hybrid electric aircraft, the Goldfinch EL-2 in 2023. Since then, the company has been developing the EL9 as an “Ultra Short” aircraft powered by blown lifttechnology that only requires 150 feet for takeoff and landing.

Electra has secured more than 2,200 pre-orders valued at$10 billion for the EL9, and is currently collaborating with the U.S. Air Force on the development of the EL9 for military operations. Marc Allen, CEO of Electra, is the guest on this episode of the Aerospace & Defense Technology Podcast, to explain how EL9's blown lift hybrid electric propulsion system works, their latest progress with the program and when it could be ready for commercial and military operations.