DARPA tests artificial intelligent dogfighting in two-versus-one simulations

On the same subject

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  January 26, 2021 | International, Aerospace

  Le Royaume-Uni développe un chasseur piloté à distance

  Le ministère de la défense britannique a annoncé le 25 janvier le lancement d'un prototype de chasseur piloté à distance. Ce projet, connu sous le nom de « Mosquito », est intégré au programme LANCA (Lightweight Affordable Novel Combat Aircraft). Une enveloppe de 30 M£ lui sera allouée, afin d'aboutir à un premier prototype d'ici trois ans. Un démonstrateur à l'échelle 1 devrait pouvoir réaliser des essais en vol d'ici fin 2023. Spirit AeroSystems a été choisi pour diriger l'équipe de recherche, dont Northrop Grumman UK fait également partie. « Nous adoptons une approche révolutionnaire, en nous tournant vers une combinaison inédite faisant collaborer des essaims de drones et des chasseurs sans équipage, comme Mosquito, aux côtés d'avions de combat pilotés comme le Tempest, qui transformera l'espace de combat d'une manière inédite », a déclaré le chef d'Etat Major de la Royal Air Force, l'Air Chief Marshal Mike Wigton. Air & Cosmos du 26 janvier

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  April 7, 2020 | International, Aerospace

  With the commercial aviation industry in a nosedive, the Defense Department offers airlines a lifeline

  By: Valerie Insinna WASHINGTON — As the coronavirus pandemic roils the commercial airline industry, U.S. Transportation Command is becoming increasingly concerned about the impact to the Civil Reserve Air Fleet, a program where U.S. airlines like United and Delta can fly transport missions on behalf of the Defense Department in an emergency. The White House has not officially activated the Civil Reserve Air Fleet, or CRAF, to support of COVID-19 prevention operations. However, as travel restrictions force airlines to cancel flights and make cuts to their aircraft fleets, the military is looking for opportunities where it can offload work to its CRAF partners in the hopes of softening the financial blow, said Army Gen. Stephen Lyons, who leads TRANSCOM. “On a cargo side, the civil aviation fleet is going pretty strong. On a passenger side, it has dropped off significantly,” Lyons told reporters Tuesday. “We're talking to [commercial airline companies] regularly. I am concerned, to some degree, about impacts on the passenger segment of the aviation industry, so any opportunity we have to push workload in their direction, we're doing that.” According to the Air Force, 25 airlines and a total 433 aircraft are involved in the CRAF program as of April 2019 — though those numbers often change on a monthly basis, the service notes. So far, no commercial airline companies have notified the Defense Department that they will not be able to meet their contractual commitments for the CRAF program, said Air Mobility Command spokeswoman Capt. Nicole Ferrara. But while the churn of the commercial airline industry hasn't immediately resulted in a reduction of assets for the CRAF program, it remains to be seen whether there could be long term impact, especially as companies whittle down the size of their fleets and number of types of aircraft. For instance, Delta Airlines in March announced it would speed up the retirements of its McDonnell Douglas MD-88 and MD-90 aircraft, as well as some older Boeing 767s. Meanwhile, American Airlines announced it would accelerate the retirements of a number of aircraft fleets. Instead of retiring in 2025, its Boeing 757s will be phased out by mid-2021, while its Boeing 767s will leave the fleet this May instead of next year. The airline will also phase out all 20 of its Embraer E190s and all nine of its A330-300s over the next year. To help companies build up revenue, the U.S. government issued contract awards to a number of commercial airlines to perform “repatriation flights” that transport American citizens and U.S. permanent residents, who are stranded in foreign countries, back to U.S. soil. On March 27, TRANSCOM was tapped to assist the Department of State Repatriation Task Force by managing contracts with the U.S. airline industry for commercial aircraft used to return Americans to the United States. So far, TRANSCOM has been responsible for scheduling commercial flights for about 1,200 people since the command took over contracting efforts, Dave Dunn, a spokesman for the command, told Defense News last week. During the first mission, planned for April 4, National Airlines transported U.S. citizens and permanent residents from Nigeria to Washington. TRANSCOM has also awarded contracts to Delta Air Lines and Omni Air for repatriation missions, with total value of $2.5 million across all three vendors. There have still been some limited challenges to scheduling repatriation flights on commercial airlines, noted Dunn. For instance, travel restrictions caused by the coronavirus outbreak have made it difficult to route stopovers for crew rest and fuel, as many normal locations are not available. However, Lyons said he expects the number of repatriation flights performed by commercial vendors to grow “significantly.” “There will still be small numbers that move on a space available basis [via military aircraft] but the main effort is through our Civil Reserve Aviation Fleet partners that we use on a day-to-day basis,” he said. https://www.defensenews.com/air/2020/04/06/with-the-commercial-aviation-industry-in-a-nosedive-the-defense-department-offers-airlines-a-lifeline/

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  December 9, 2020 | International, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security

  Contract Awards by US Department of Defense - December 08, 2020

  NAVY Lockheed Martin Rotary Mission Systems, Orlando, Florida, is awarded an $89,246,355 modification (P00016) to previously awarded firm-fixed-price, cost-plus-fixed-fee, cost reimbursable contract N68335-18-C-0681. This modification exercises an option to procure 35 electronic Consolidated Automated Support System (eCASS) full rate production units and related equipment. This modification provides for the procurement of four self-maintenance and test/calibration operational test program sets, five calibration equipment suites/kits, 36 rack rail kits, 44 shore installation kits and 28 ship installation kits. Work will be performed in Orlando, Florida, and is expected to be completed in December 2023. Fiscal 2019 aircraft procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $9,102,737; and fiscal 2021 aircraft procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $80,143,618 will be obligated at time of award, of which $9,102,737 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division, Lakehurst, New Jersey, is the contracting activity. L3 Technologies Inc., Salt Lake City, Utah, is awarded a $15,399,324 modification (P00025) to previously awarded firm-fixed-price contract N00019-18-C-1030. This modification exercises an option to procure 12 AN/SRQ-4 kits and associated components for the MH-60 Common Data Link system. Work will be performed in Salt Lake City, Utah, and is expected to be completed in February 2023. Fiscal 2021 other procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $15,399,324 will be obligated at time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity. Progeny Systems Corp.,* Manassas, Virginia, is awarded a $10,179,429 firm-fixed-price modification to previously awarded contract N00024-18-C-6410 for the procurement of MK54 MOD 1 Lightweight and MK48 Heavyweight torpedo components. This modification is in support of the MK54 MOD 1 Lightweight and MK48 Heavyweight torpedo programs. Work will be performed in Towcester, United Kingdom (98%); Charleroi, Pennsylvania (1%); and Manassas, Virginia (1%), and is expected to be completed by January 2023. Fiscal 2020 weapons procurement (Navy) ($6,688,666; 66%); 2019 weapons procurement (Navy) ($2,433,593; 24%); and 2021 weapons procurement (Navy) ($1,057,170; 10%) funding will be obligated at time of award, of which funds in the amount of $2,433,593 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity. WASHINGTON HEADQUARTERS SERVICES Hunter Strategy LLC, Washington, D.C. (HQ0034-21-C-0011), was awarded a $20,954,134 firm-fixed-price, level-of-effort contract to provide support to the Enterprise Account Tracking and Automation Tool (ATAT) for the Cloud Computing Program Office. ATAT will provide Department of Defense organizations with the ability to manage cloud accounts, manage authorized organizational users, access billing information and policies and apply and enforce cloud security policies. Proposals were solicited via the beta.sam.gov website with two received. This contract award includes one base period ending on Dec. 20, 2021, with four one-year option periods potentially extending performance through Dec. 20, 2025. Work will be performed in Crystal City, Virginia. Washington Headquarters Services, Alexandria, Virginia, is the contracting activity. (Awarded Dec. 7, 2020) AIR FORCE Raytheon Co., Woburn, Massachusetts, has been awarded a $13,648,819 firm-fixed-price modification (P00034) to contract FA8730-17-C-0010 for Qatar Early Warning Radar (QEWR). This modification is for the procurement, manufacture and storage of spares in support of sustainment for the QEWR. Work will be performed in Andover, Massachusetts, and is expected to be completed by December 2025. This modification brings the total cumulative face value of the contract to $1,137,800,144. This modification involves 100% Foreign Military Sales (FMS) to the country of Qatar. FMS funds in the full amount are being obligated at the time of award. The Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Hanscom Air Force Base, Massachusetts, is the contracting activity. ARMY L3 Technologies Inc., Londonderry, New Hampshire, was awarded a $13,148,618 firm-fixed-price contract for the procurement of binocular night vision devices and accessories. Bids were solicited via the internet with one received. Work will be performed in Londonderry, New Hampshire, with an estimated completion date of Nov. 8, 2021. Fiscal 2010 Foreign Military Sales (United Arab Emirates) funds in the amount of $13,148,618 were obligated at the time of the award. The U.S. Army Contracting Command, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, is the contracting activity (W91CRB-21-C-5004). *Small business https://www.defense.gov/Newsroom/Contracts/Contract/Article/2439885/source/GovDelivery/