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April 26, 2018 | International, Aerospace

Fighter jet OEMs aim to keep pace with needed technology

Chris Thatcher

Fighter jet manufacturers are well aware that advances in technology can take years, if not decades, to introduce, creating a constant struggle to match the pace of technological change and the evolution of threats.

In a panel discussion at the Aerospace Innovation Forum in Montreal last week, executives from Airbus, Boeing, Dassault Aviation and Saab described how a change from closed “black boxes” to more open mission architecture is allowing faster and easier acceptance of technology from wider sources.

Wolfgang Gammel, head of combat aircraft for Airbus Defence and Space, acknowledged the need to be much faster to market with new technology. He noted the shift in focus from “kinetic weapons” to “data fusion and the cyber piece” now driving new capabilities, but said the goal has been to “keep flexibility” in the Eurofighter Typhoon to allow customers “to adapt the aircraft as threats change.”

He also noted the wealth of data becoming available on all advanced fighters, and the ability to predict maintenance requirements, better manage costs and improve availability, all of which should impact the overall life of the airframe.

Pontus de Laval, chief technology officer for Saab, said the life management approach to the Gripen JAS 39 has been continuous change rather than one large midlife upgrade. The version currently operated by the Swedish Air Force is “actually edition 20.”

For the Gripen NG now undergoing flight tests for the Brazilian Air Force, the aim has been to make “continuous evolvement of the platform much easier,” he said. That has been achieved in part by separating flight critical and mission critical systems, to allow Saab and the customer to introduce new sensors and other capabilities without significantly affecting “systems that keep the aircraft flying.”

By using virtualization of avionics to introduce software and hardware changes, Saab has also been able to minimize the effect of one on the other as upgrades are made.

“Software kills you in big programs if you are not careful,” de Laval observed.

The company has also recognized the role artificial intelligence and machine learning could play, especially on the future computing capacity of a fighter, and is investing about US$400 million in research to understand to prepare and capitalize.

Boeing has long bet on incremental technology upgrades for the Super Hornet, providing a “roadmap forward” for the platform. But the Block 3 will introduce the Distributed Targeting Processor-Networked (DTP-N), an open mission system “to enable these future technologies,” said Troy Rutherford, director of the company's HorizonX program.

From autonomy to AI, the user experience in the cockpit will change dramatically. Boeing too has invested heavily, seeking small start-up companies to develop these capabilities.

“What plays over the course of time is the ability to adapt to the threat,” he said.

Any new technology must reach a certain level of maturity before it can be integrated into an advanced fighter. Bruno Stoufflet, chief technology officer for Dassault Aviation, said the company has leveraged its Falcon family of business jets “to embark some demonstrations” of new capabilities.

“There is a strong commitment of the French weapon agency to have a family of demonstrations in the future based on [the] Rafale.”

That has opened the door to more research with small- and medium-sized business. Previously, Dassault collaborated more with academic teams or larger players in the aerospace and defence industries.

“It has changed completely. We were asked to integrate more SMEs into our research programs...so now we understand what they can bring in research and innovation projects,” said Stoufflet.

https://www.skiesmag.com/news/fighter-jet-oems-aim-keep-pace-needed-technology/

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  • Defense industry aid in limbo as new COVID package drags

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

    Defense industry aid in limbo as new COVID package drags

    By: Joe Gould WASHINGTON ― It's been seven weeks since Pentagon officials first pledged to ask Congress for billions of dollars in the next stimulus package to help defense contractors affected by the coronavirus pandemic, but the request remains in limbo. Though the pandemic, according to Department of Defense officials, has been hitting space-launch companies as well as the aviation and shipbuilding supply chains, the Trump administration appears to have sidelined a request to provide more financial support. Such support would supplement $688 million for the defense-industrial base that the DoD previously earmarked as part of the $10.5 billion it got from the coronavirus relief fund created under the CARES Act. New friction between Congress and the Trump administration over the latter's use of the military to respond to nationwide protests as well as its slow use of past stimulus funds likely spell headwinds for another tranche of aid, observers say. “First question will be whether there will ever be another stimulus, given current animosity between the Hill and administration,” said Bill Greenwalt, a defense consultant who was a senior defense acquisitions official in the George W. Bush administration. Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment Ellen Lord said April 20 that the DoD plans to ask for “billions and billions” in a new package to help Pentagon suppliers, pending approval from the White House Office of Management and Budget. Lawmakers will have a chance to ask what that request would contain and about the health of the defense-industrial base when she testifies before the House Armed Services Committee on Wednesday. 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Pandemic-related closures and other disruptions are expected to mean some number of weapons programs will also cost more and arrive later than initially anticipated. “There is no doubt there will be an impact on cost and schedule of DoD programs when the vast majority of people are not going to work,” Greenwalt said. “Then you have the issues of disruption of supply chains and actual closed lines due to the virus.” Meanwhile, Congress is split over how next to address economic and health care crises created by the pandemic. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., wants to measure the impact of past tranches before taking up more funding, saying there are no plans to advance a stimulus bill before the two-week recess begins July 3. He and President Donald Trump were still discussing last week how to fashion the next economic stimulus bill. 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Along similar lines, more than two dozen House Democrats wrote Smith to say defense spending for 2021 should be lower than 2020's $738 billion top line, and that COVID-19 aid should be increased. For its part, the National Defense Industrial Association has called for a supplemental defense spending bill to cover the military's pandemic-related costs. It remains to be seen whether the massive fiscal 2021 National Defense Authorization Act will emerge as a potential vehicle for the aid. The Senate Armed Services Committee was this week occupied with the markup of its version of the bill, and the House Armed Services Committee expects to take up its version in late June and early July. “Pentagon leaders are going to be climbing uphill on this request generally given that the GOP is souring on any more stimulus at all,” said Mackenzie Eaglen, a defense budget analyst with the American Enterprise Institute. “Not a party-wide belief yet by any means, but there was already a desire to move on, and the focus now is on the protests and NDAA markup.” Though the Pentagon's request isn't public, Eaglen said it was initially based on the armed services' lists of items left unfunded in Trump's FY21 budget request, which are heavy with procurement programs. Eaglen suggested the administration would do better to find savings within the DoD's own budget. “I think it will be important for DoD not to look tone-deaf,” Eaglen said. “There will be excess readiness and other funds that should go to stimulus priorities first and then, if there is any gap, Congress can plug it from there.” https://www.defensenews.com/congress/2020/06/09/defense-industry-aid-in-limbo-as-new-covid-aid-drags

  • DARPA: Teaching AI Systems to Adapt to Dynamic Environments

    February 18, 2019 | International, C4ISR

    DARPA: Teaching AI Systems to Adapt to Dynamic Environments

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  • Virtual reality pilot training program graduates latest class, including Brits

    September 3, 2019 | International, Aerospace, C4ISR

    Virtual reality pilot training program graduates latest class, including Brits

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