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In The Boardroom With...

Mr. Matt Tryniski
Vice President, Defense and Environmental Solutions

SRC, Inc.


SecuritySolutionsWatch.com:  Thank you for joining us today, Matt. Few companies can boast of a 55 year history and track record. Before discussing SRC Capabilities in greater detail, please tell us about your role at SRC?

Matt Tryniski:  I’ve been with SRC for 32 years in various positions. Currently, as the vice president of the Defense and Environmental Solutions division, I manage all aspects of the DES business including: program execution, developing new opportunities and enhancing existing business relationships, establishing strategic goals and objectives, developing contractor alliances and ensuring customer satisfaction.

SecuritySolutionsWatch.com:  What is SRC’s mission, and may we have a brief SRC overview?

Matt Tryniski:  SRC, Inc. is a not-for-profit research and development company working in the areas of defense, environment and intelligence. We were founded in 1957, and we’ve been helping keep America safe and strong, protecting its people, environment and way of life ever since. Our customers are primarily the U.S. Department of Defense and other U.S. and international government agencies.

The division that I manage has a long history in system design and development including radar, electronic warfare (EW), communications and chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear (CBRN) systems. We’ve played key roles in the development of a multitude of ground-, air-, sea- and space-based sensor systems that support a wide range of C4ISR and EW applications. We invented the CREW Duke, the most widely deployed counter-IED system protecting our warfighters against roadside bombs today. We’ve also developed numerous radars, ranging from counterfire radars like the LCMR, lightweight expeditionary radars like the SR Hawk™ surveillance radar, medium-size ground-based radars like the MMR multi-mission radar, and size, weight and power (SWaP)-sensitive airborne radars like the FORESTER foliage penetration radar.

We continue to develop new technologies and improve upon and modernize existing technology for emerging threats and enhanced capabilities. Most recently, we’ve been applying our expertise in radar and EW to solve problems related to unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) that are globally significant.

SecuritySolutionsWatch.com:  I see. Can you give us a tutorial, Matt, regarding the fast-growing UAS market and why you’ve chosen to focus on this?

Matt Tryniski:  UAS, also commonly referred to as unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), remotely piloted aircraft (RPA) and drones, offer many advantages. There are commercial applications like precision agriculture, film production, package deliveries, etc. And there are military applications like intelligence gathering, surveillance, reconnaissance and high-risk operations that no longer require putting a human pilot in harm’s way. These applications are recognized globally, which has led to the proliferation of UAS worldwide. With such a large population of these aircraft, there is a pressing need to safely integrate these systems into the airspace and to defend against them when they are used for hostile purposes.

SecuritySolutionsWatch.com:  When a small drone crashed into the South Lawn of the White House recently (see NY Times article), it raised awareness about the downsides of this technology to unprecedented levels. Can you tell us more about these potential problems?

Matt Tryniski:  The UAS that are most available and used by hobbyists and the general public are much smaller than traditional aircraft, which makes them hard to see. They also look a lot like birds, and most radars can’t detect or distinguish birds from UAS. But even if you are able to detect them, and you determine they are hostile, it’s even harder to disable them. There’s a potential for collateral damage if you shoot them out of the sky, and the cost of shooting them with a missile or similar device is unsustainable.

SecuritySolutionsWatch.com:  What types of solutions exist for these problems?

Matt Tryniski:  We believe that radar is the best solution for detecting and classifying UAS when compared to other potential options. For example, using just a camera for surveillance provides too narrow of a field of view. Or if you were to employ an acoustic solution, the range is much too short to provide a reasonable amount of time to react, and as we’ve seen in Washington D.C. and France, the UAS threat may be flying in large, noisy, urban environments. A single radar, however, can electronically scan a much larger volume of space very quickly, and at significantly longer ranges, providing more advance notice of an intrusion and allowing more time to determine the proper course of action.

EW provides a means for disabling a single or swarm of UAS non-kinetically, reducing the cost per negation to virtually nothing, and limiting the potential for collateral damage. In addition to the functionality of disabling a UAS, EW systems can also “listen” to the radio frequency spectrum and use that to detect and classify the UAS.

We have developed integrated C-UAS systems that leverage both radar and EW to detect the UAS, distinguish them from birds and other airborne objects, and then disable them non-kinetically.

SecuritySolutionsWatch.com :  Please tell us more about your radar and EW solutions.

Matt Tryniski:  We currently offer a suite of radars providing multi-mission capabilities to detect, track and classify targets. Our radars use sophisticated classifications algorithms that distinguish UAS from other targets like birds, helicopters and passenger airplanes. Our radar suite includes the affordable and versatile SR Hawk™ surveillance radar, the LSTAR® air surveillance radar, designed with no moving parts, and the state-of-the-art omni-directional weapon locating radar, developed for the U.S. Army to perform multiple simultaneous missions.

Our EW solution is the AN/ULQ-35 CREW Duke system, a U.S. Army Program of Record, which I mentioned earlier. This system protects personnel, equipment and facilities from a variety of emerging threats, such as UAS, with offensive and defensive electronic attack, electronic support and electronic protection capabilities. It also provides advanced cyber and non-traditional ISR functionality for identifying the adversary and exploiting their weaknesses.

SecuritySolutionsWatch.com :  It sounds like you’ve got your bases covered. Where are you looking to go with these systems?

Matt Tryniski:  There are a few areas in particular that we’re focused on - safely integrating UAS into the national airspace, countering hostile UAS, and small UAS (sUAS) surveillance and security.
We developed the Ground-based Sense and Avoid (GBSAA) radar system for the U.S. Army to safely conduct test flights of UAS in the National Airspace System without requiring a ground observer or chase plane. The GBSAA radar system employs our LSTAR radar as the ground sensor, which has already been installed at Ft. Hood, and will soon be installed at other sites across the nation. GBSAA was chosen by the Army as their solution of choice since Airborne Sense and Avoid (ABSAA) is still years away from being deployable. We’re looking into ABSAA technologies for the future as well.
Our Tactical Counter-UAS Technology (TCUT) system provides an integrated counter-UAS capability using the CREW Duke EW system and LSTAR radar, both developed by SRC. It detects, tracks, classifies and defeats hostile UAS, which we’ve demonstrated at numerous U.S. Government events. TCUT can be fielded in vehicle or stationary configurations, and can easily integrate with other relevant technologies. For example, we have integrated a camera system into TCUT for positive identification of a UAS, and we’ve also integrated with an existing kinetic system.  Both of these were successfully demonstrated. TCUT is a great example of leveraging technologies already in the DoD inventory and finding new capabilities and uses for them to solve a new problem – defeating enemy UAS. With TCUT, you can do more with less.

Gryphon Sensors, LLC, a subsidiary of SRC, is focused on the surveillance of small UAS (sUAS) for the commercial market. They are developing solutions to address a variety of sUAS security and integration markets including: airport perimeter and bird monitoring, stadium and open venue, nuclear power facilities, entertainment studios, embassies, prisons, precision agriculture, alternative energy and airspace deconfliction for the safe integration of sUAS into domestic and international civilian airspace.

SecuritySolutionsWatch.com:  Thanks again for joining us today, Matt. Are there any other subjects you would like to discuss?

Matt Tryniski:  Thanks for having me. It was a pleasure speaking with you. If there’s anything else you want to know, check out our website at www.srcinc.com, which has a lot of information about not only the great stuff we’re doing in my area, but also in the environmental and intelligence areas.

SecuritySolutionsWatch.com:  That reminds me. I do have one last question. At the beginning of the interview, I heard you mention that SRC is a not-for-profit company. Does this structure provide a competitive advantage?

Matt Tryniski:  Yes, I believe it does. As a not-for-profit research and development company, we don’t have to worry about stockholders and we never cut corners to increase profitability. We reinvest our earnings back into our company, acquiring new facilities, state-of-the-art equipment, and improving the quality of our work, our people and our programs. This means our customers receive better quality products and services due to the mission and core values that each and every one of our employees live by.

SecuritySolutionsWatch.com:  Thanks for that, Matt. Sounds like a great company to work for.  Best of luck to you and SRC.


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