May 27, 2020 | International, Aerospace

Army Fears If ‘Future Vertical Lift’ Falters, Serious Fallout For Industry Might Follow

The U.S. Army is leading what looks to be the biggest rotorcraft program in history. Called Future Vertical Lift, it could eventually buy thousands of aircraft to replace over a dozen different helicopters in the joint inventory.

FVL, as it is usually called, has been a long time coming. So long that technologies now commonplace in commercial aviation such as “fly-by-wire” flight controls are nowhere to be found in the Army fleet. So long that the Army was forced to retire all of its aged scout helicopters even though it lacked a replacement.

The bad news is that if Future Vertical Lift falters the way some past efforts have, much of the U.S. rotorcraft industry might falter with it. FVL isn't the only game in town, but it is by far the biggest. If production of legacy rotorcraft ceases to make room for new ones and then FVL fails to deliver, industry might not have enough cashflow to sustain essential skills and suppliers.

Army leaders are acutely aware of the potential industrial-base fallout. I know that because earlier this month my colleagues and I at the Lexington Institute had a lengthy exchange with the two top Army officials managing FVL. They are Brigadier General Walter T. Rugen, leader of the service's cross-functional team for vertical lift, and Mr. Patrick H. Mason, the Army's program executive officer for aviation.

I thought we would spend most of the conversation discussing the Army's need to “overmatch” future adversaries in the air. But early on, Gen. Rugen observed that Future Vertical Lift “isn't just about overmatch, it's about the industrial base.”

It was a theme he kept coming back to throughout the exchange, noting that top Army leaders have been briefed on the consequences for industry if FVL doesn't come to fruition. Apparently those consequences are potentially grave, particularly at lower levels of the supply chain, where fragile, single points of failure support the entire sector.

That phrase—single points of failure—was used frequently in an interagency assessment of the defense industrial base prepared early in President Trump's tenure. It detailed how a domestic industrial complex once dubbed the “arsenal of democracy” has gradually hollowed out in recent decades as manufacturers moved offshore.

There has been concern about the loss of skills and suppliers in the rotorcraft industry for some time. The U.S. Army is by far the biggest operator of rotorcraft in the world, but since the Cold War ended 30 years ago it has mainly been upgrading what it already had rather than developing new helicopters. It isn't easy to sustain design and engineering talent when your top customer never buys anything genuinely new.

So in addition to addressing the increasingly harsh operational environment in which Army Aviation will need to wage future wars, FVL must also provide most of the resources needed to revitalize a key part of the domestic aerospace industry.

So far that effort is progressing nicely, using paperless design techniques, digital modeling and prototyping to develop strikingly new rotorcraft that will take the place of retired Kiowa scouts and Black Hawk assault helicopters in the future. The service has recently made awards to two industry teams for each effort, which will competitively develop solutions for final down-selects in a few years.

The service has also awarded funding for developing a new helicopter propulsion system, and has made steady progress in developing an electronic architecture for future combat rotorcraft. One way of controlling costs and assuring interoperability on the battlefield is to equip diverse airframes with the same hardware and software for functions such as communication and navigation.

It will likely take another 8-10 years before new rotorcraft developed by FVL begin reaching the operational force in large numbers, but managers have been thinking since the program's inception about how to make them reliable and maintainable for users. A big part of the affordability challenge unfolds after production, when 68% of life-cycle costs are incurred.

One facet of this challenge is how and where to provide maintenance for the future fleet. There is a long-running debate in military circles about how best to sustain rotorcraft in the operational fleet, with warfighters and legislators usually favoring organic depots over industry sources for much of the maintenance. But doing that requires access to data and intellectual property generated by the companies that build the airframes.

This inevitably creates tension with industry, which is as eager to protect its intellectual property in the rotorcraft sector as in other sectors. Intellectual property is a crucial source of competitive advantage. However, Rugen and Mason emphasize that FVL is trying to strike a reasonable balance between military and industry needs in securing access to sensitive information.

As one of them put it, “The Army recognizes industry's need for cashflow and adequate returns. It doesn't want to undermine industry's business model.” So while they have carefully analyzed the impact of intellectual property access on the ability of the Army's organic support base to do its job, they are mindful of the need not to impair the capacity of suppliers to make money.

This is not the way the Army has typically looked at such matters in the past. Its usual approach has been to find the best deal for warfighters and taxpayers, and let industry fend for itself. But what comes through in a conversation with FVL managers is a recognition that the business pressures faced by companies must be taken into account if the Army is to have an adequate industrial base for its aviation initiatives in the future.

They are also working hard to find overseas partners who might be customers for the rotorcraft that FVL ultimately produces. The bigger the international footprint that Future Vertical Lift has, the cheaper each aircraft will likely be for the Army and the more business there will be for American industry. But what Rugen and Mason would most like in the near term is a multiyear funding commitment from Congress to keep FVL on track, because if the program falters the outlook for both Army Aviation and the domestic rotorcraft industry will be bleak.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/lorenthompson/2020/05/26/army-fears-if-future-vertical-lift-falters-serious-fallout-for-industry-might-follow

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August 6, 2020 | International, C4ISR

Israel increases training via virtual battlefield center amid Hezbollah tensions
By: Seth J. Frantzman Israeli Defense Forces have completed several exercises with a new Brigade and Battlegroup Mission Training Center. Tensions with Hezbollah in Lebanon have grown this month and the IDF officials say they face a constant threat of attacks and need to be prepared to respond. Virtual exercises enable a brigade's officers to train while not taking away resources from the field. The center is also part of a growing digitization effort to give more tools to the IDF during its multi-year Momentum plan that includes new networked technology. Lt. Col. Netanel Shamaka, commander of the Special Forces battalion of the Givati brigade, said the latest exercise used this new virtual combat system and it “enabled us to get an in-depth understanding of battlefield scenarios.” Two brigades have gone through the training in June and July, and up to eight more will go through by the end of the year. “The IDF's ability to improve and develop creates an atmosphere of initiative and innovation among the various combat ranks - which improves combat capability. The Givati Brigade is the first brigade to begin training in this way,” Shamaka said. Training took place at the Training Command Headquarters at the Julis base near Ashkelon. The B2MTC was developed by Elbit Systems. Upgraded twice with new capabilities, databases and after-action reports, the virtual simulator provides better coordination on the battlefield, according to Tal Cohen, senior director of land training and simulation at Elbit Systems. Virtual training centers, like the one the IDF uses, have been increasingly popular worldwide. Elbit points to its work with the Royal Netherland Army simulation center (SimCen). “Military operations are becoming increasingly complex, while large-scale exercise opportunities occur less frequently due to cost, logistics and environmental constraints. Elbit Systems' new trainer provides Armed Forces with a flexible and scalable solution to train commanders,” according to Elbit Systems. The Givati brigade is usually deployed in southern Israel opposite the Gaza frontier. “The training prepared us for battle from a different angle. we will implement this on the battlefield on the day of command,” Shamaka said. Israel has faced tensions with Hamas in Gaza over the last years, including more than 1,500 rockets fired and clashes along the border, incidents at sea and involving drones. In addition, on July 23 Israel boosted ground forces along the Lebanese border over concerns about escalation with Hezbollah. Israel is also involved in a multi-year campaign to confront Iranian elements in Syria and around the region. This complex battlefield, using 5th generation F-35s and the latest air defense, with more concentration on special forces is suited to virtual training because modern commanders have more technology at their fingertips and face larger challenges dealing with systems that involve artificial intelligence and algorithms to aid in battle management. During the recent training soldiers experienced fighting in simulated urban terrain fortified by Hezbollah. The simulators are divided along the lines of a brigade, with command rooms and platoon leaders and company commanders and exercises continuing for several days. Replicas of Lebanese villages appear on screens with the threatsthat the soldiers would encounter, such as Hezbollah bunkers. The system documents failures in the field and virtual casualties inflicted to help units learn from mistakes. Because the IDF's Momentum plan foresees bringing as many capabilities to the front as quickly as possible during a conflict, this digital battlefield aids in improving coordination. It is supposed to close gaps between battalion and company levels as well without eliminating traditional field exercises. Cohen says recent upgrades mean the simulator gives more than 100 officers from company to brigade level access to peripheral units, logistics, UAVs, helicopters, artillery, aircraft and all the other combined arms and elements that may be present on the battlefield. That means that pilots have the opportunity to sit in the same room on the virtual trainer behind a screen and then meet with their company commander counterparts for after action discussions that wouldn't necessarily take place in a field exercise. With Hezbollah tensions overshadowing training this July, the virtual exercise mimicked real-world challenges. “The virtual exercise was designed and generated to take place on the Lebanese border, in the Northern region of Israel. Facing the constant threat of attacks from Hezbollah, the IDF needs to be prepared to respond accordingly,” Shamaka said. “Should there be a need to destroy Hezbollah's infrastructure in Lebanon, we must be able to maneuver in a populated and complex environment. This virtual simulation system provides personnel with experience and familiarizes them with the hostile environment they would need to face in the case of conflict.” In the past Israel faced challenges in the 2006 war because of communications problems between units and dealing with Hezbollah fighters dug-in to the rural terrain and rocket fire near villages. Maj. Gen. Yoel Strick, ground forces commander of the IDF since 2019 and a key part of the Momentum multi-year changes, has been pushing for increased use of the virtual simulators, Cohen said. Elbit expects an expansion of training next year. https://www.defensenews.com/global/europe/2020/07/27/israel-increases-training-via-virtual-battlefield-center-amid-hezbollah-tensions
April 1, 2020 | International, Naval

Damen making Progress with First two Contracts for the Combat Support Ship (CSS)
March 27, 2020 - Even during the Corona crisis, Damen is committed to remaining operational in order to continue the important projects for the Defence sector. The first two contracts for the Combat Support Ship (CSS) for the Royal Netherlands Navy were signed earlier this week, with a modified working method in accordance with the current guidelines of the Netherlands National Institute for Public Health and Environment. RH Marine, leading system integrator and innovator of bridge systems, electrical and automation systems in the maritime industry, and Heinen & Hopman, worldwide specialist in the field of heating, ventilation, air conditioning and refrigeration systems (HVAC + R systems), will immediately start engineering, while the first supplies of equipment for the CSS are expected by mid-2021. The Dutch subcontractors, our partners for all new construction projects for the Royal Netherlands Navy in recent decades, can now work together on more than 200 man-years of Dutch content. Together with Damen as main contractor and many other subcontractors participating, a large part of the Dutch naval shipbuilding sector are cooperating on this new and much needed ship. The delivery of the CSS is scheduled for the second quarter of 2024. A year later, in the second quarter of 2025, the CSS must be operational. (In the photo Mr. Hein van Ameijden, Managing Director, Damen Schelde Naval Shipbuilding) View source version on Damen: https://nlnavy.damen.com/damen-making-progress-with-first-two-contracts-for-the-combat-support-ship/
July 26, 2019 | International, Aerospace

Dassault Aviation achève le déploiement de 3DExperience
Par Léo Barnier Le groupe Dassault Aviation vient de passer une étape importante dans son processus de transformation numérique, en coopération avec Dassault Systèmes. L'avionneur français vient d'achever au mois de juillet le déploiement de la plateforme 3DExperience, développée par sa société « cousine », pour l'ensemble de ses programmes civils et militaires. C'est notamment le cas pour le futur Falcon qui doit être lancé prochainement. Toutes les équipes de Dassault Aviation vont ainsi évouler sous un même environnement numérique. Il s'agit ainsi de créer une continuité qui s'appliquera depuis la conception des nouveaux programmes jusqu'aux services de soutien après-vente. Chacun pourra ainsi travailler sur une maquette numérique unique, qui intègre les demandes spécifiques de chacun, avec des outils compatibles entre eux. Cela doit permettre par exemple au bureau d'études de prendre plus largement en compte les contraintes de l'ensemble du cycle de vie d'un produit ou d'un programme (production opérations, maintenance, rétrofit...) dès les premières esquisses, afin d'optimiser celui-ci dans la durée. A la clef, des gains de temps et de coûts pour le cycle de développement d'un avion - le nouveau Falcon notamment - comme pour la suite de sa vie opérationnelle. Comme l'explique David Ziegler, vice-président Industrie aéronautique et défense de Dassault Systèmes : « La plateforme 3DExperience représente une approche holistique de l'innovation. Elle permet à Dassault Aviation d'accéder à des technologies et à des capacités intégrées et de relier tous les points, du concept aux opérations... » Les différents services du constructeur disposeront d'outils entièrement intégrés dans cette plateforme unique, mais adaptés à leurs besoins spécifiques. Dassault Systèmes mentionne ainsi six solutions industrielles choisies par Dassault Aviation : Winning Concept, Program Excellence, Co-Design to Target, Ready for Rate, Build to Operate et Keep Them Operating. Dassault Aviation entend aussi déployer cette continuité vers sa chaîne d'approvisionnement avec trente sociétés identifiées, comme l'explique Jean Sass, directeur général Systèmes d'information de Dassault Aviation : « Tous nos partenaires industriels travailleront en collaboration avec leurs clients sur une seule et même plateforme numérique. À terme, nous serons en mesure de proposer à nos clients de nouvelles expériences de vol à la pointe de l'innovation. » Cette démarche de transformation numérique à l'aide de 3DExpérience a été entamée l'an dernier, en mai exactement. Dassault Aviation et Dassault Systèmes avaient alors signé un contrat pluriannuel pour remplacer l'ensemble des solutions de gestion du cycle de vie des produits (PLM) de l'avionneur. https://www.journal-aviation.com/actualites/42877-dassault-aviation-acheve-le-deploiement-de-3dexperience

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