BAE Systems successfully flight tests next-generation vehicle management computer for the F-35 Lightning II

On the same subject

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  January 23, 2019 | International, C4ISR

  An Air Force radio that can run for a week in the sun

  By: Adam Stone The Pentagon has long been looking for a way out from under its tradition of massive, multi-year, multi-billion-dollar projects. With the rapid pace of technological development, military leaders have sought tools and strategies for more rapid acquisitions. There's the Defense Innovation Unit, or DIUx, a Defense effort to make faster use of emerging technologies. Some organizations have also turned to contractual tools such as the OTA, or other transaction authority, as a means to accelerate the technology buying process. Recently, technicians at McConnell Air Force Base proved that homegrown ingenuity can make a difference, too. Workers there used a local partnership and a modest development effort to craft a portable, solar-powered communications system. “The military needs to be ready to go anywhere and solar enables that,” said Tech. Sgt. Clayton Allen of the 22nd Air Refueling Wing. As a non-commissioned officer in charge of the wing's XPX innovation team, Allen led the effort to shrink down the standard communications package and make it self-sustaining. The three-man team got the job done in about 400 hours, working in cooperation with Wichita State University's GoCreate rapid-innovation lab. “We took it from a box the size of a small room and made it something you can drag behind you like luggage, weighing about 150 pounds,” he said. An expeditionary force typically might have to spend a couple of days setting up its communications operation. The newly-developed unit works right out of the box and costs about $12,000 less, the team said. As a solar-power unit, it also does not rely on the presence of a generator, making it easier to deploy in a wider range of circumstances. “It is completely self-sustainable, powered by solar power, and the solar panel can extend the [battery life] out almost indefinitely,” Senior Airman Aaron Walls, an XPX innovation team member, said in an Air Force news release. Full article: https://www.c4isrnet.com/c2-comms/2019/01/23/an-air-force-radio-that-can-run-for-a-week-in-the-sun

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  August 19, 2020 | International, Aerospace

  US Space Force to begin sharing technical space data with UK

  Nathan Strout WASHINGTON - The U.S. Space Force will begin sharing valuable space situational awareness data with the United Kingdom as part of Operation Olympic Defender, the service announced Aug. 14. Under a recently signed agreement, the Space Force will share it's Standardized Astrodynamics Algorithm Library with the U.K.‘s Ministry of Defense. SAAL is a collection of the Space Force's understanding of orbital physics and algorithms that helps the service predict the trajectories of objects on orbit. “Aggressive actions in space must be deterred through a multinational, coordinated effort, allowing for the defense and protection or our collective capabilities,” said Maj. Gen. DeAnna Burt, USSF director of Operations and Communications, in a statement. “Sharing the SAAL with our coalition partners enables greater cooperation and coordination between the U.S. and our Allies.” The agreement comes as part of Operation Olympic Defender, an American-led coalition of space-faring allies working together to deter hostile actions in space, strengthen deterrence against hostile actors and address the growing issue of orbital debris. Operation Olympic Defender was officially taken over by U.S. Space Command in May and is located at the Combined Space Operations Center at Vandenberg Air Force Base, California. The U.K. was the first nation to join Operation Olympic Defender and is the first to receive access to the SAAL. Under the new arrangement, that nation's Space operations Center will now be better able to collaborate with the Space Force, sharing algorithms and data to better predict orbital trajectories. The Space Force is looking to share the SAAL with more partners within Operation Olympic Defender. According to the announcement, the Secretary of the Air Force's International Affairs Office, SPACECOM and the Space Force have recognized a new framework that will allow other coalition partners to begin receiving SAAL. SPACECOM has signed a number of space data sharing agreements with other countries in recent months. https://www.c4isrnet.com/battlefield-tech/space/2020/08/18/space-force-to-begin-sharing-technical-space-data-with-uk/

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  March 7, 2023 | International, Naval

  Surface force lays out tech development timeline for industry

  The surface fleet is clear on what capabilities it will develop in the next three five-year budgeting periods, even as future force plans are under review.