December 31, 2018 | International, C4ISR
By: Todd South
The agency that invented stealth technology, the internet, and the M16 has its sights focused on enhancing how the infantry squad works on the battlefield with robots, and advanced targeting and sensing gear.
The Squad X program saw its first week-long series of tests at Twentynine Palms, California, this past year. At that event, Marine squads used air and ground vehicles to detect physical, electromagnetic and cyber threats, according to the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency.
The agency's program manager for their Tactical Technology Office, Army Lt. Col. Phil Root said that the first experiment in the program demonstrated “the ability for the squad to communicate and collaborate, even while ‘dancing on the edge of connectivity.'”
Squad X Core Technologies program, or SXCT, is an ongoing effort to develop novel technologies that would “extend squad awareness and engagement capabilities without imposing physical and cognitive burdens,” according to a DARPA press release.
They aim to speed the development of new, lightweight, integrated systems that provide infantry squads awareness, adaptability and flexibility in complex environments.
That effort is to enable dismounted soldiers and Marines to more intuitively understand and control their complex mission environments, according to Root.
Those efforts fit within wider work being done by the Close Combat Lethality Task Force, a group set up this past year to enhance close combat capabilities for infantry, special operations, scouts and some engineers.
Root is also the program manager for Squad X Core Technologies.
He laid out four key technical areas that the program is exploring:
Some of those areas were previously explored in 2015 with DARPA's squad technology integration efforts.
The tools used to detect threats in the experiments were newer, lighter, versions of previous capabilities. But the release did not provide detailed examples of the gear that Marines tested.
“Each run, they learned a bit more on the systems and how they could support the operation,” said Root. “By the end, they were using the unmanned ground and aerial systems to maximize the squad's combat power and allow a squad to complete a mission that normally would take a platoon to execute.”
The August event at the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center was one of a number of experiments in communications, cyber, EW, loitering munitions and targeting that was conducted over the past year.
Both Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control, and CACI's BIT Systems are working for ways to enhance infantry capabilities using manned-unmanned teaming, according to the release.
Marines testing Lockheed Martin's Augmented Spectral Situational Awareness, and Unaided Localization for Transformative Squads, known as the ASSAULTS system, used autonomous robots with sensor systems to detect enemy locations, allowing the Marines to target the enemy with a precision 40mm grenade before the enemy could detect their movement, according to the release.
Small units using CACI's BITS Electronic Attack Module were able to detect, locate, and attack specific threats in the radio frequency and cyber domains.
This is all part of larger efforts to put more detection and fires at lower echelons in both the Army and Marine Corps.
March 23, 2022 | International, Aerospace, Naval
The selection of Remus 300 for the Lionfish program is a big win for HII, which has spent much of recent years positioning itself for the unmanned systems market.
August 19, 2020 | International, Naval, C4ISR
Andrew Eversden WASHINGTON — An information warfare project run by Naval Information Warfare Systems Command (NAVWAR) recently received hundreds of millions of dollars in new funds after a successful first 18 months, NAVWAR announced Aug. 17. NAVWAR's Information Warfare Research Project (IWRP), which uses an agile acquisition tool known as an Other Transaction Authority to quickly contract for and deliver IW tools, recently received a $400 million funding increase and two-year performance period extension after hitting its $100 million funding ceiling a year before the project was set to expire next summer. The massive bump was approved by Assistant Secretary of the Navy for Research, Development and Acquisition James Geurts. The project, which kicked off in October 2018, now has a $500 million ceiling and a five-year performance period. “IWRP has proven its effectiveness and successfulness as a streamlined approach to rapid prototyping,” said Jee Youn Fickling, IWRP program manager at Naval Information Warfare Center (NIWC) Atlantic, in a statement. “As interest increases to do more prototyping in order to keep up with the pace of technology, IWRP OTA offers the flexibility and speed within 14 technology areas. The growth in interest from IWRP users across many Navy and Marine Corps commands and program offices and the growth in the size of the consortium, speaks volumes to the need to quickly make awards for prototypes.” The project focuses on technology areas that include tools for cyber warfare, autonomous systems, cloud computing and data analytics. IWRP partners with industry and academia through a consortium managed by Advanced Technology International, a non-profit that builds research and development partnerships. In the last 18 months, the IWRP has released more than 800 prototyping opportunities, according to the NAVWAR press release. The consortium has more than 580 partners. IWRP users include NAVWAR, NIWC Atlantic, NIWC Pacific, Naval Sea Systems Command Logistics, Maintenance and Industrial Operations, Program Executive Office (PEO) for Digital Enterprise Services, PEO for Manpower, Logistics and Business Solutions, PEO Command, Control, Communications, Computers and Intelligence Space Systems, PEO Integrated Warfare Systems, Marine Corps Systems Command, Naval Analytics Office and Office of Naval Research. “IWRP has been a game changer and has proven to be a key enabler in rapid delivery of IW capability to the warfighter,” said Nicole Stone, director of rapid prototyping – information warfare at NIWC Pacific, in a statement. “Collaboration with our partners in industry, small business and academia, with the flexibility necessary to adapt to evolving requirements, is critical to our success in winning the fight. IWRP provides that platform for us.” https://www.c4isrnet.com/information-warfare/2020/08/18/navy-information-warfare-project-received-400-million-funding-boost/
September 16, 2021 | International, Aerospace
Daher annonce avoir reçu la notification de la part de la Direction de la Maintenance Aéronautique (DMAé) du contrat de maintien en conditions opérationnelles (MCO) pour la flotte d'avions TBM 700 relevant des forces armées françaises. Le contrat obtenu porte sur une flotte de 26 appareils : 23 TBM 700A et 3 TBM 700B, basés en France métropolitaine. Cette flotte est répartie entre 15 avions pour l'armée de l'Air et de l'Espace, 8 pour l'armée de Terre et 3 pour le centre d'expertise DGA-EV, le département Essais en vol de la Direction Générale de l'Armement. « Le ministère des Armées est un client exigeant qui nous a toujours poussé vers l'excellence, notamment dans des contextes critiques. Récemment nos équipes ont été mobilisées pour répondre aux besoins des forces armées françaises, dont la Gendarmerie nationale, impliquées dans la lutte contre la pandémie. Aussi nous sommes fiers que ce contrat de maintien en conditions opérationnelles soit renouvelé pour la quatrième fois » a commenté Nicolas Chabbert, directeur de la division Avions de Daher.