April 29, 2021 | International, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security
The Countries With The Highest Military Expenditure In 2020 [Infographic]
Last year, global military spending grew to nearly $2 trillion.
April 26, 2018 | International, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security
Defense intelligence chief: ‘A lot of technology remains untapped’
by Sandra Erwin
Kernan: Project Maven so far has been “extraordinarily” useful in processing intelligence but more capabilities are needed.
TAMPA, FLA. — Undersecretary of Defense for Intelligence Joseph Kernan, a retired Navy vice admiral, is rarely seen or heard at public events. But he decided to step on the stage and address the nation's largest gathering of geospatial intelligence professionals to relay a message that the military is in the market for cutting-edge technology.
“The reason I agreed to speak is that a lot of capacity and technology remains untapped,” Kernan said in a keynote speech on Monday at the GEOINT symposium.
DoD collects loads of data from satellites, drones and Internet-of-things devices. But it needs help making sense of the intelligence and analyzing it quickly enough so it can be used in combat operations. It needs powerful artificial intelligence software tools that the tech industry is advancing at a past pace.
The most promising AI effort the Pentagon has going now is Project Maven. Military analysts are using Google-developed AI algorithms to mine live video feeds from drones. With machine learning techniques, software is taught to find particular objects or individuals at speeds that would be impossible for any human analyst.
Kernan said Project Maven only started a year ago and so far has been “extraordinarily” useful in overseas operations. “I would have liked to have had it in my past,” said Kernan, a former special operations commander.
There is such heightened interest in AI that the Pentagon got Project Maven approved and under contract in two months. More importantly, said Kernan, the “capability was tested overseas. Not in the Pentagon.” For AI algorithms to be valuable to the military, they have to produce relevant intelligence, he cautioned. “Don't be developing capability to serve warfighters while sitting in the Pentagon. Make sure you address their needs by working with the forces out there. That's key to Project Maven. It works with users.”
Software, no matter how advanced, will not replace human analysts, said Kernan. “It's about enabling analysts to use their cognitive process so they don't have to jam and finger push things into a computer.”
What annoys Kernan? “That we really haven't taken all the advantage we can of technology.”
That may be about to change as DoD ramps up AI efforts. Defense procurement chief Ellen Lord said the Pentagon will start bringing together AI projects that already exist but do not necessarily share information or resources. “We have talked about taking over 50 programs and loosely associating those,” Lord told reporters. “We have many silos of excellence.” Undersecretary of Defense for Research and Engineering Michael Griffin will oversee a new AI office that will bring in “elements of the intelligence community,” he said. But many details remain to be worked out.
The speed at which the Pentagon moved with Project Maven is “truly groundbreaking,” said Mike Manzo, director of intelligence, threat and analytic solutions at General Dynamics Mission Systems. The company provides training and advisory services to the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency.
“This community is not accustomed to rapid acquisition, and rapid deployment,” Manzo told SpaceNews. “I applaud the Project Maven staff, the government, and everybody who is involved with that.”
Another reason Project Maven is “disruptive” is that it shows that analysts are beginning to trust new sources of intelligence and nontraditional methods, Manzo said. “What's encouraging is that the outputs of these systems are being trusted by the users,” he said. “A machine comes up with an answer and the human gives the thumbs up or down,” he said. “If DoD is trusting this, it's a tremendous step.” Even though a human is supervising, the focus doesn't have to be on “making sure the machine is doing the things I asked the machine to do.”
None of this means decisions are being made by computers, Manzo said. “But these technologies help optimize the human analyst to do what they are really good at: intuition.” As the Pentagon seeks ways to bring AI into the battlefield, “Maven has a lot of promise.”
http://spacenews.com/defense-intelligence-chief-a-lot-of-technology-remains-untapped/
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November 23, 2020 | International, Aerospace
Unmanned systems, anti-drone tech featured at South Korean arms expo
By: Brian Kim SEOUL — Unmanned defense systems and advanced weapons to counter drone threats dominated an arms exhibition held outside of Seoul, South Korea, this week. During the biennial DX Korea event, which ran Nov. 18-20, local defense companies showcased their cutting-edge unmanned and counter-drone technologies. Hanwha Corporation, a leading developer of guided-missile technology and subsidiary of Hanwha Group, displayed its new family of laser weapons systems. The company unveiled two types of anti-drone laser weapons: one for installation on light tactical vehicles, and the other a laser-based anti-aircraft weapon gun in a container configuration. The latter, designated as Block I, can be modified to a Block II self-propelled system, but specifications were not disclosed. Hanwha Corporation is a partner in an anti-drone laser weapons development project led by the government's Agency for Defense Development. “The laser-based anti-aircraft weapon is a new concept of armament to shoot down small aerial targets, including drones and multi-copter with a light source laser,” the company said in a news release. “Prototypes of the laser weapon variants are under development jointly with the ADD.” The company also displayed anti-jamming equipment that can be fitted in tactical guided missiles as well as on military vehicles and naval vessels. Hanwha Systems — also an affiliate of Hanwha Group — displayed a mock-up of its personal air vehicle, Butterfly, under development with U.S. air taxi startup Overair. In partnership with Overair, Hanwha Systems plans to fully develop the electric vertical-takeoff-and-landing, or eVTOL, vehicle by 2040, with an eye toward military sales. “With technologies to be accrued from the development of commercial eVTOL, we will push for developing a military variant capable of conducing multiple missions, including special operations, transport and assault,” the company said in a news release. Meanwhile, Hyundai Rotem presented its HR-Sherpa unmanned ground vehicle designed to support infantry troops. The six-wheel drive vehicle can move autonomously or via remote control to perform missions such as surveillance, medical support and chemical detection. It has a payload of 600 kilograms and a combat weight of 1,800 kilograms. It is equipped with airless tires and powered by a battery with an operating time of six hours when traveling at 5 kph. LIG Nex1 showcased the third version of its Sea Sword unmanned surface vessel for riverside defense, following other naval variants. The vessel adopts a high-speed monohull design and is constructed with fiber-reinforced plastic. Equipped with a diesel engine and a waterjet propulsion system, the boat can sail at a maximum speed of 40 knots and has an operational endurance of up to eight hours at 15 knots. An indigenously developed autonomous navigation system enables the vessel to carry out surveillance and reconnaissance missions based on a preprogrammed route. Hanwha group was ranked 32nd in Defense News' list of the top 100 defense companies in the world. LIG Nex1 was ranked 68th, while Hyundai Rotem was ranked 95th. https://www.defensenews.com/industry/techwatch/2020/11/20/unmanned-systems-anti-drone-tech-featured-at-south-korean-arms-expo
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January 21, 2020 | International, Naval
Australian defense leaders defend submarine buy with France’s Naval Group
By: Nigel Pittaway MELBOURNE, Australia – Australian defense leaders this week denied claims that their department was urged to consider alternatives to the navy's plans of buying 12 large conventionally-powered submarines from France's Naval Group. The claims, reported by local news media in the wake of an Australian National Audit Office (ANAO) report about the program earlier this week, suggested negotiations with Naval Group were at such a poor state the Commonwealth-appointed Naval Shipbuilding Advisory Board had earlier recommended drawing up contingency plans. However, in a statement released Wednesday by Secretary of Defence Greg Moriarty, Chief of Defence Force Gen. Angus Campbell, Chief of Navy Vice Admiral Mike Noonan and Deputy Secretary Naval Shipbuilding, Tony Dalton, denied the claims. “Contrary to media interpretations of ANAO's latest report on the Future Submarine Program, Defence was not advised to ‘walk away' from Naval Group by the Naval Shipbuilding Advisory Board,” the statement read. “In line with best practice and following the advice of the Advisory Board, Defence has continued to assess all of the risks that attend this highly complex program. At each stage, we are adopting relevant risk mitigation strategies. The ANAO acknowledges that Defence has taken steps to manage risks.” The 12 Attack-class submarines are being acquired under Australia's Sea 1000 (Future Submarine) program to replace six existing Collins-class boats which, without a major service life extension program, will need to be retired by 2036. The design is based on the French Barracuda-class nuclear attack boat, and the program is valued at either $34.5 billion (50 billion Australian dollars), or $55.2 billion (AUD 80 billion), depending on accounting practices. Either way, it is Australia's largest-ever defense acquisition program. The ANAO report, titled “Transition to Design,” found that the design phase of the program is already nine months behind schedule and two important milestones had been missed. It said Defence “could not demonstrate” its expenditure of $396 million (US $273 million) on the design to date has been fully effective in achieving the two milestones to date. The Defence Department has spent 47 percent of all program expenditure thus far on design work and, despite the risk mitigation strategies, it continues to describe program risk as “high”. “While the first scheduled major milestone under the Submarine Design Contract was reached five weeks later than planned, Defence and Naval Group are working towards the recovery of this delay by the next contracted major milestone in January 2021. Importantly, the delivery of the Attack-class submarine has not been delayed,” the statement continued. “Acknowledging the scale of this program, we remain confident that our work on the Attack-class program with Naval Group and Lockheed Martin Australia (as the Combat Systems Integrator) is progressing thoroughly and will result in the delivery of a regionally-superior submarine from the early 2030s, establishing a truly sovereign capability as we maximize the involvement of Australian industry.” The Sea 1000 program timeline calls for delivery of the first Attack-class boat in 2032 with service entry around 2034. https://www.defensenews.com/2020/01/17/australian-defense-leaders-defend-submarine-buy-with-frances-naval-group