March 29, 2019 | International, Aerospace
On a brisk February morning in the Yuma, Arizona, desert, a swarm of unmanned aerial vehicles equipped with DARPA's Collaborative Operations in Denied Environment system, or CODE, successfully carried out mission objectives, even when communications were offline and GPS was unavailable.
One-by-one, six RQ-23 Tigersharks lifted off, fitted with an array of sensors onboard. Next to the runway at the U.S. Army's Yuma Proving Ground, the mission team inside a small operations center tracked the aircraft and as many as 14 additional virtual planes on an aerial map. The capstone demonstration paired program performer Raytheon's software and autonomy algorithms and Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory's White Force Network to create a realistic, live/virtual/constructive test environment. During four demonstration runs, the team activated a variety of virtual targets, threats, and countermeasures to see how well the Tigersharks could complete their objectives in suboptimal conditions.
“Exactly how the aircraft continue to work together in degraded conditions is the most challenging aspect of this program,” said Scott Wierzbanowski, the DARPA program manager for CODE in the Tactical Technology Office. “Current procedures require at least one operator per UAV in the field. Equipped with CODE, one operator can command multiple aircraft; and in a denied environment, the aircraft continue toward mission objectives, collaborating and adapting for deficiencies.”
Before, if operators lost communications with a UAV, the system would revert to its last programmed mission. Now, under the CODE paradigm, teams of systems can autonomously share information and collaborate to adapt and respond to different targets or threats as they pop up.
“CODE can port into existing UAV systems and conduct collaborative operations,” said Wierzbanowski. “CODE is a government-owned system, and we are working closely with our partners at the Air Force Research Laboratory and Naval Air Systems Command to keep each other informed of successes and challenges, and making sure we don't replicate work. In the end, our service partners will leverage what we've done and add on what they need.”
The Tigersharks employed in the demonstration are surrogate assets for CODE. Each has about one-tenth the speed and performance of the aircraft planned for integration, but shows traceability to larger platforms. Constructive and virtual threats and effects presented by the White Force Network are appropriately scaled to the Tigersharks' capabilities.
“It's easy to take the CODE software and move it from platform to platform, both from a computer and vehicle perspective. It could be a manned aircraft, unmanned aircraft, or a ground vehicle,” said J.C. Ledé, technical advisor for autonomy with the Air Force Research Laboratory. “The concept for CODE is play-based tactics, so you can create new tactics relatively easily to go from mission to mission.”
The Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) will take ownership of CODE after DARPA closes out the agency's role in the program this year. It already has built a repository of algorithms tested throughout the development process.
“What we're doing with the laboratory we set up is not just for the Navy or NAVAIR. We're trying to make our capabilities available throughout the entire DoD community,” said Stephen Kracinovich, director of autonomy strategy for the Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division (NAWCAD). “If the Army wanted to leverage the DARPA prototype, we'd provide them not just with the software, but an open development environment with all the security protocols already taken care of.”
Kracinovich says NAWCAD has a cadre of people with hands-on knowledge of the system, and is ready to help port the capability to any other DoD entity. That ease of transition puts CODE technologies on a clear path to assist deployed service members by enabling collaborative autonomous systems to operate in contested and denied environments with minimal human supervision.
August 22, 2024 | International, C4ISR, Security
Chinese hackers exploit Cisco switch vulnerability to gain system control and evade detection. Cybersecurity firm uncovers sophisticated espionage cam
September 9, 2020 | International, Aerospace
Tony Osborne September 08, 2020 LONDON—British Defense Secretary Ben Wallace has hinted that the UK's future combat air system initiative, Tempest, could be one of the winners in the government's Integrated Review of defense and foreign policy. Writing in the Times newspaper on Sept. 6, Wallace said the UK needed products that could be exported to help the country afford the equipment the UK requires for its armed forces. He also cited the UK's aerospace industry as being at the forefront of those efforts. “Our aerospace industry isn't just a domestic concern,” Wallace wrote, noting that aerospace exports amount to £34 billion ($50.1 billion). The UK's Tempest has already secured Italy and Sweden as partners, with Saab expected to make investments in an FCAS technology center worth £50 million. “The defense and security sector is a breeding ground for science, invention and world-beating technology, as the bedrock of hundreds of thousands of jobs in the UK,” Wallace wrote. While the review will re-examine the UK's foreign policy and defense operations, Wallace says it will also “recognize the importance of research, skills and the aerospace industry. Without them, our forces could risk losing the battle-winning advantage we will need in this evermore insecure and anxious world.” Wallace said he recognized a need to reform and modernize the country's armed forces to meet new threats. He said the UK had a “sentimental attachment” to a static armored-centric force that was anchored in Europe, possibly hinting at reports that the UK may do away with its fleet of Main Battle Tanks and instead focus on light armored and airborne capabilities. Reports have also suggested that the UK may not buy its full complement of 138 Lockheed Martin F-35s, and potentially buy as few as 70 airframes over the program's life. “If we are to truly play our role as ‘Global Britain,' we must be more capable in new domains, enabling us to be active in more theaters,” Wallace wrote. Wallace also confirmed that the government would publish a Defense Industrial Strategy alongside the Integrated Review, which is expected in November. https://aviationweek.com/special-topics/air-dominance/uk-defense-chief-hints-review-may-ok-future-combat-air-system
February 23, 2023 | International, Aerospace
Boeing will close its Super Hornet production line in 2025, or 2027 if India selects the jet, after 30 years of building F/A-18E-Fs in St. Louis.