Argentina’s Army, Air Force to split new order of Bell Textron helos

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  September 3, 2019 | International, Aerospace, C4ISR

  Virtual reality pilot training program graduates latest class, including Brits

  By: Stephen Losey Fourteen students graduated Thursday from the Air Force's Pilot Training Next program, which includes using virtual reality systems to teach aspiring aviators to fly. The latest class, which is the second iteration of Pilot Training Next and began this January, included some students from the U.S. Navy and the United Kingdom's Royal Air Force. In a Thursday release, the Air Force said the graduates include two Air National Guardsmen who were selected to fly airframes including the F-35 Lightning II, the F-15E Strike Eagle, the F-16 Fighting Falcon, the C-17 Globemaster III, the B-2 Spirit, and others. The two Navy graduates will fly the T-45A Goshawk, and the lone RAF graduate will fly the Typhoon. “It definitely made the process more difficult having to push through burgeoning technology, but I am glad that I could be a part of the development process towards a more efficient and thorough version of learning for the future,” said 2nd Lt. Aaron Sless, a distinguished graduate of the program and winner of the Warrior Award, who is slated to become an F-35 pilot. “I am excited to see how PTN progresses technology and learning in the future and how it will be applied to undergraduate pilot training, and the Air Force at large.” Air Force Recruiting Service Commander Brig. Gen. Jeannie Leavitt, who made history as the Air Force's first female fighter pilot, said at the graduation that the students represent the future of aviation and are on the “leading edge” of a new way to learn to fly. “The fact is, we are looking at a whole new way of learning in a non-standard way from the Air Force perspective,” Leavitt said. “Remember, dream big, be bold and learn to take calculated risk.” Pilot Training Next uses advanced biometrics, artificial intelligence and virtual reality systems to try to find ways to streamline how the Air Force trains new pilots. The program uses off-the-shelf VIVE Pro VR headsets and stations with sticks, throttles and other equipment to simulate virtual cockpit and practice maneuvers. The AI tracks students' biometrics, including stress, to tailor the simulation environment and train them most efficiently. The program also includes time flying actual aircraft. The Air Force's first PTN class began in April 2018 in the Armed Forces Reserve Center in Austin, Texas. In May, the program moved to Joint Base San Antonio-Randolph in Texas. The third class is scheduled to begin in January, the Air Force said. The Air Force eventually wants similar VR training programs to more efficiently teach airmen to be maintainers or go through other technical training programs. https://www.airforcetimes.com/news/your-air-force/2019/08/30/virtual-reality-pilot-training-program-graduates-latest-class-including-brits

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  July 16, 2020 | International, C4ISR, Security

  Airbus US pivots business strategy away from selling big platforms to the Pentagon

  By: Valerie Insinna WASHINGTON — After decades of trying to break into the U.S. military aircraft market, Airbus is shifting course with a new strategy that prioritizes selling off-the-shelf sensors, data, space and intelligence capabilities that have been customized for U.S. government buyers. During a Wednesday discussion with reporters about the new direction for the business, Chris Emerson, the new chief executive of the Airbus U.S. Space and Defense division and formerly the president of Airbus Helicopters, said he wanted to move the company's focus in the United States away from the major fixed-wing platforms that are the company's bread and butter in Europe. Instead, he hopes to expand the company's presence in the growing space and intelligence markets, particularly with low-cost satellites like those made by its joint venture One Web, geospatial intelligence and imaging, and space-based sensors. “We know the Air Force needs an A400M, but I can spend 10 years trying to convince the Air Force and all the politicians that they should buy an A400M. And ultimately they will buy C-130s,” Emerson said. “So let me focus this energy, this great leadership team, on achieving something that is tangible today that the customer really needs. Yes, it's not traditional for Airbus, but it will bring the value and we'll have a better foundation if one day my successor says, ‘You know, I want to be a big platform competitor.' At least we'd have built up trust and proven that we could really meet the requirements that are demanded of it.” Although Airbus is a juggernaut in the international military and commercial aerospace market, it has always struggled to find its place among the U.S. defense prime contractors as major aircraft manufacturers. It famously lost the KC-X contract to Boeing in 2011 after a bloody and prolonged battle. Since then, the company's biggest procurement victory has been continued sales of its UH-72A Lakota helicopter to the Army. “I remember I spent eight years thinking we could bring real value on air-to-air refueling for the Air Force. But I spent eight years, and I'm frustrated because I look at it and we didn't succeed,” Emerson said. “I've asked the team, ‘Let's find a roadmap where we can actually make a mark with the customers.' And that means, I'm not going to go look at competing with Boeing and the Lockheeds and Northrop, but I'm going to look at other areas.” The U.S. customer is increasingly making investments into technologies that can augment or accelerate decision-making, he said. “That's where we start to look everything beyond an air breathing platform. We started to look at the data, the intelligence, that they need,” he said. “It could be intelligence that is geospatial-related, either Earth observation, or electro-optical, or synthetic aperture radar, or a blend that we're pulling in multi-source information.” Airbus already develops those types of capabilities in its commercial air and space businesses, and could quickly adapt them to U.S. demands, he said. When there are opportunities to offer Airbus aircraft to the U.S. military, the strategy will be to partner with American primes, Emerson said. For instance, last year Airbus and Lockheed signed a memorandum of understanding to market aerial refueling services to the U.S. Air Force using the Airbus A330 Multi Role Tanker Transport. Asked on Wednesday whether the two companies planned to compete for tanker leasing opportunities currently being considered by the Air Force, Emerson said Lockheed takes the lead on interactions with the U.S. military on aerial refueling. He added that UH-72s will continue to be manufactured alongside Airbus's commercial H125 helicopter in Columbus, Miss., but modifications, support and contracting will be performed by the Airbus U.S. Space and Defense. In addition to naming Emerson as head of the company's U.S. defense and space business, Airbus also appointed a five-person board of directors — which includes former National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency director Letitia Long and William Shelton, a retired Air Force four-star and former head of Air Force Space Command — aimed at deepening ties with the U.S. military, space and intelligence agencies. It also named a seven-person team of advisers made up of former national security officials. https://www.defensenews.com/industry/2020/07/15/airbus-us-pivots-business-strategy-away-from-selling-big-platforms-to-the-pentagon/

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  December 20, 2018 | International, Aerospace, Naval

  China may use Japan’s aircraft carrier plan to push through more military spending

  Minnie Chan Tokyo's plan to develop an aircraft carrier capable of launching fighter jets is driven by Beijing's military rise, but the move could embolden hawkish generals in China to press ahead with their own expansion programmes, observers said. The ruling Liberal Democratic Party and its junior coalition partner Komeito Party this week approved a new defence guideline that will effectively allow the Japanese military to convert naval vessels currently capable of carrying only helicopters into fully operational aircraft carriers able to launch fighter jets like the F-35. The plan is controversial as under its pacifist constitution, Japan has never before owned such advanced naval hardware. Full article: https://amp.scmp.com/news/china/diplomacy/article/2178102/china-may-use-japans-aircraft-carrier-plan-push-through-more