Contractors look to lasers for unmanned systems

On the same subject

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  February 1, 2023 | International, Aerospace

  Ukraine plans to spend $540 million on drones this year

  “This is just the beginning. After all, this is not only about the needs of aerial reconnaissance,” Ukraine's defense minister said.

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  April 6, 2020 | International, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security

  Pentagon denies it seeks to hide future budget information

  By: Aaron Mehta WASHINGTON — The Pentagon is pushing back on reports that it seeks to classify previously public information about its future spending plans, with the department insisting that the transparency of this information that is public as part of the regular budget rollout process will not change. The Future Years Defense Program provides spending projections for how the Department of Defense plans to invest its money over the coming five-year period. While the numbers are not locked in and regularly change year by year, the projections can provide valuable information to the public and industry about what the department views as priorities and where programs might be going. Information about a legislative proposal from the Pentagon seeking to classify FYDP data was published Monday by Steven Aftergood of the Federation of American Scientists. Aftergood wrote that the proposal would “make it even harder for Congress and the public to refocus and reconstruct the defense budget.” It is traditional for FYDP numbers to be included as part of the budget rollout, as well as be included in program-by-program breakdowns. However, Pentagon spokesman Chris Sherwood said that the legislative language is not aimed at information that is currently made public during the normal budget process. Instead, it is focused on a requirement in the fiscal 2018 National Defense Authorization Act on what is provided to Congress. “The 2018 NDAA required a formal unclassified version of the FYDP report,” Sherwood said in a statement. “The Department has not to date complied with that request because we are very concerned that providing that level of detail for the outyears might put critical information at risk and breach classification standards." “The DoD is exploring all possible paths forward, including requesting relief from the new requirement, as well as trying to determine how much information can safely be public in addition to all the budget information already made available,” he continued. “It is important to note that there is a difference between a formal Unclassified FYDP report and the unclassified outyear data for any given program that people often refer to as the FYDP for a program. We have and will continue to provide the classified FYDP as we have since 1989. There will be no reduction in any currently provided information,” he added. Asked specifically if that meant information about the FYDP that is usually included in public budget documents provided to media, Sherwood said: “The legislative proposal would not affect or change how DoD currently provides budget information.” Whether that assurance will satisfy advocates of keeping the FYDP open is uncertain, but the DoD appears behind the ball on convincing Congress that less transparency is a good idea. Speaking to reporters on Thursday, Rep. Mac Thornberry, R-Texas., the ranking member on the House Armed Services Committee, said he had only learned of the proposal when reports emerged, but indicated that any attempt to limit information about the FYDP is unlikely to meet a warm reception on Capitol Hill. “Obviously my inclination is: That's a bad idea,” Thornberry said. “I have not heard the department's justification for it. But I would say they've got a pretty high evidentiary threshold to overcome, to get Congress [to] go along with classifying the five-year FYDP.” Thornberry said he understands the concern, elucidated in the DoD proposal, that modern computing techniques could allow a foreign competitor to gather information about American plans from the data. But taxpayers deserve to know how their money will be spent in the future, the former committee chairman said, and that outweighs such concerns at the moment. The House believes “that the greater good is the transparency with the American people. So that's our default position, I think in both parties,” Thornberry said. “They hadn't made their case to me yet, but I think it's going to be hard for them to overcome that default position.” The Pentagon ultimately benefits from more openness when it comes to discussions on the budget, said Tom Mahnken, a former Pentagon official who is now president and CEO of the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments. “It clearly is important to protect certain aspects of the U.S. defense budget from disclosure. The Defense Department has successfully met that challenge for decades,” Mahnken said. “But there is also a compelling case for disclosing how the Defense Department plans to spend its resources and whether its budget is aligned with its strategy. “Transparency ultimately helps the Defense Department make the case for the resources it needs in Congress as well as the public at large.” https://www.defensenews.com/pentagon/2020/04/03/pentagon-denies-it-seeks-to-hide-future-budget-information/

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  June 21, 2019 | International, Aerospace

  CAE wins US Navy contract to train UC-12 aircrews

  CAE USA has received a contract to provide classroom and simulator training for the US Navy's UC-12 aircraft's aircrews. As part of the training programme, the company will provide initial and refresher training courses for naval pilots and flight officers. The programme will include training on the King Air 200 Pro Line 21 and non-Pro Line King Air 200 cockpits, in addition to the King Air 350 Pro Line 21 and Fusion cockpits. CAE USA president and general manager Ray Duquette said: “CAE has an unmatched ability to leverage a global network of training centres and training programmes. “The award of this contract is a great example of CAE's Defense and Civil business units working together to deliver a comprehensive training programme for the US Navy. We are particularly pleased that navy C-12 aircrews will be joining the army and airforce in training C-12 pilots at our Dothan Training Center in Alabama.” Alongside Alabama, training will also be delivered at the firm's facilities in Dallas, Texas, and Morristown, New Jersey. The UC-12 is a military version of the Beechcraft King Air multi-mission aircraft. Variants of the Beechcraft C-12 Huron are in service with the US Air Force, Army, Navy and Marine Corps. The navy uses the UC-12 to transport personnel and cargo, as well as for range clearance, medical evacuation, and humanitarian assistance. The department's UC-12B/F/M Huron is based on the King Air B200 aircraft, while its UC-12W Huron is as a modified version of the King Air 350. In May last year, CAE was awarded a contract to deliver instructor support services for providing ground-based training to the US Navy. https://www.naval-technology.com/news/cae-wins-us-navy-contract-to-train-uc-12-aircrews/