Cubic to provide TCDL for Watchkeeper
Cubic Mission Solutions (CMS) has received a three-year extension award of $1.4 million from UAV Tactical Systems (U-TacS) to provide additional Tactical Common Data Links (TCDLs) for the Watchkeeper programme, the company announced on 11 July.
The UK Ministry of Defence’s Watchkeeper programme provides intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition and reconnaissance (ISTAR) to British armed forces.
Cubic’s TCDL serves as the wireless connection for the transfer of images and data from the UAS to ground control stations. The TCDL makes use of digital signal processing to accept and process sensor data generated by the air vehicle for transmission to ground commanders. A simultaneous uplink transmits control commands to the air vehicle and its payload.
U-TacS is responsible for the development, manufacture, integration and test flights of Watchkeeper's subsystems, including UAS, ground control station and other systems.
More from Uncrewed Vehicles
-
Cummings Aerospace showcases Hellhound loitering munition designed for US Army’s LASSO programme (video)
Cummings Aerospace presented its turbojet-powered Hellhound loitering munition at SOF Week 2025, offering a man-portable solution aligned with the US Army’s LASSO requirements.
-
SOF Week 2025: PDW unveils attritable FPV drone for SOF operations at scale
PDW has revealed its Attritable Multirotor First Person View drone at SOF Week 2025, offering special operations forces a low-cost, rapidly deployable platform for strike and ISR missions, inspired by battlefield lessons from Ukraine.
-
SOF Week 2025: Teledyne FLIR white paper provides guidance on reusable loitering munitions
Teledyne FLIR is highlighting the emerging requirements for 'recoverable and re-usable' loitering munitions across the contemporary operating environment during this week’s SOF Week conference in Tampa, Florida.
-
SOF Week 2025: Kraken Technology group debuts K3 Scout USV in North America
High-performance maritime industry player Kraken Technology Group, based in the UK, has used the SOF Week conference in Tampa, Florida this week to debut its K3 Scout uncrewed surface vessel (USV) to the North American market.
-
Palladyne AI and Red Cat to demonstrate capabilities for autonomous drone swarms to the US military
Red Cat and Palladyne AI recently conducted a cross-platform collaborative flight involving three diverse heterogeneous drones.
-
Jammer resistant drone designs spark search for countermeasures
The Russia-Ukraine conflict has driven another stage of evolution for drones and the counter measures to defend against them.