Daily News Briefs

BAE Systems Information & Electronic Warfare Systems business unit in Nashua, N.H., has received a $5 million subcontract for the Army's Objective Force Warrior (OFW) program. Under the 25-month Phase II contract with Eagle Enterprise Inc., of Maryland, a subsidiary of General Dynamics Corp., the BAE Systems unit will provide support in areas such as design and integration of unattended ground sensors, leave-behind sensors and unmanned aerial vehicles. The OFW program is developing a lightweight, "soldier-centric" individual combat system -- including weapon, head-to-toe protection, netted communications and power sources. . . . Sensing technology that will enable earlier and more accurate forecasts and warnings of weather emergencies will be at the heart of a new $40 million research center announced today at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst. Funded in part by the National Science Foundation, the Engineering Research Center for Collaborative Adaptive Sensing of the Atmosphere (CASA) is expected to increase the warning time for tornadoes, flash floods and other severe weather disturbances and to provide more timely and accurate forecasts.