December 4, 2023 | International, Land
Reloading vertical missile tubes at sea is within a crane arm’s reach
Opinion: Here are five ways to help sustain naval power in strategically important waters.
September 19, 2019 | International, Aerospace
AFA 2019: US Air Force will maintain F-35 buy as it pursues Digital Century Series
Key Points
- The US Air Force will maintain its current F-35A buy as it starts to experiment with its new approach to acquisition, called the Digital Century Series
- The F-35A will be fielded through approximately 2040, so a retired pilot believes the USAF must act fast if it wants to avoid a gap between fighters
The US Air Force (USAF) will maintain its Lockheed Martin F-35A Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) programme of record of 1,763 aircraft as it pursues its futuristic Digital Century Series (DCS) next-generation acquisition effort, according to the air force's acquisition boss.
Will Roper, assistant secretary of the USAF for acquisition, technology, and logistics (AT&L), told reporters on 16 September that the DCS will be a software-focused approach to acquisition. It will enable the USAF to begin exploring what Roper calls the digital trinity of agile software development: agile software, open architecture (OA) systems, and digital engineering; and what it can provide the air force as it develops a futuristic and connected kill web.
Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) will be one of the first USAF efforts to experiment with the DCS. The output of this effort, Roper said, will determine the acquisition strategy for NGAD and if it will fit with the funding profile that it has. The USAF requested USD1 billion in fiscal year 2020 (FY 2020) for NGAD, the concept the USAF is pursuing to prepare for warfare against near-peer nations such as China or Russia.
Roper said he is going to announce a team on 1 October that will figure out how to run a programme based on those three attributes. He said it will be similar to how the USAF put together its Kessel Run software development hub.
On the same subject
-
-
November 17, 2021 | International, Aerospace
What's the advantage of militarizing commercial helos post-sale?
As the aerospace industry attempts to make a monetary comeback from the pandemic, a notable trend among the helicopter sector is seeing one company militarize commercial variants after a sale is complete.
-
July 8, 2019 | International, Aerospace, C4ISR
How 2 Space Norway satellites will help the Air Force in the Arctic
By: Nathan Strout Two Norwegian satellites will host the core components of the U.S. Air Force's next generation satellite communications system for the arctic, Northrop Grumman announced July 3. The Air Force payloads are part of the the Enhanced Polar System Recapitalization project, a program that fills the military's satellite communications need in the arctic reguib, which is not regularly covered by the Advanced Extremely High Frequency satellite system or its predecessor, the Milstar system. EPS-R will replace the Interim Polar System, which has been providing military satellite communications in the North polar region since 1998 as an adjunct to Milstar. Similar to the AEHF satellites, the EPS-R payloads will provide secure, anti-jamming communications for war fighters. The Pentagon announced the $428.8 million contract with Northrop Grumman for the Air Force EPS-R payloads in February 2018. At the time, the Pentagon noted that the payloads could be hosted on a separately procured satellite. Then, on July 3, Northrop Grumman announced it had been awarded a contract from Space Norway for two satellites capable of delivering the agency's Arctic Satellite Broadband Mission. The two Space Norway satellites will carry several payloads, including an X-Band payload for Norwegian Defense, a Ka-Band payload for Inmarsat and the two Air Force payloads. Work on the Air Force payloads was originally expected to be completed in December 2022, though Northrop Grumman now expects both satellites will launch in late 2022. https://www.c4isrnet.com/battlefield-tech/2019/07/05/how-2-space-norway-satellites-will-help-the-air-force-in-the-arctic/