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July 18, 2018 | International, C4ISR

Following industry trend, Airbus dives into data

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WASHINGTON — Airbus has created a new advanced data analytics system for the defense market, gathering data from vehicles to better plan maintenance and study mission performance. The firm announced the program, SmartForce, at the 2018 Farnborough Airshow.

The program is meant to “enable substantially more efficient maintenance by drilling into the wealth of data acquired by new generation helicopters and aircraft,” according to a company news release. The company added it will “more rapidly perform root-cause analysis and faster trouble shooting.”

The use of artificial intelligence to make sense of data has become a growing focus for the defense and intelligence community, as has cloud computing for handling the massive volumes of data.

“Our digital analytics services support the goal of enhanced mission readiness of our operators' aircraft," said Stephan Miegel, head of military aircraft services at Airbus Defence and Space, “and they provide predictive solutions which all contribute to reduced workload and costs.”

https://www.defensenews.com/digital-show-dailies/farnborough/2018/07/17/following-industry-trend-airbus-dives-into-data/

On the same subject

  • HENSOLDT modernizes German Airforce IFF systems

    May 29, 2020 | International, Aerospace

    HENSOLDT modernizes German Airforce IFF systems

    Taufkirchen/Germany, May 28, 2020 – As part of the modernization of all NATO's IFF identification systems (IFF = Identification-friend-or-foe) to the new "Mode 5" standard, sensor solution provider HENSOLDT is equipping the Air Force's 90 Tornado fighter aircraft with its Mode 5-capable LTR 400 transponder. An initial order for the delivery of 42 devices worth several million euros has been placed by Panavia Aircraft GmbH - the industrial consortium for the development of the Tornado; the conversion of over one hundred further platforms of the German Armed Forces is planned. As early as October 2019, the additional qualifications required for the LTR 400 transponder system to be installed on the German Tornado at equipment level were successfully completed and the relevant documents handed over to Airbus Defence and Space (ADS). Subsequently, during the test flights carried out by ADS in Manching at the end of 2019, the performance requirements for the IFF system as specified by the responsible military technical service (WTD-61) were verified The IFF technology is of central importance for all military operations. Based on automated electronic signals, it ensures that the armed forces can recognize friends who respond with the correct signal when contacted and identify potentially hostile vehicles who do not. All NATO countries are mandated to migrate to the new Mode 5 standard IFF, which uses advanced cryptographic techniques to secure systems against electronic interference from the enemy. This is important when armed forces operate together, as ensuring that crews of land, air and naval forces can reliably identify their allies is one of the most important ways of preventing so-called "friendly fire" incidents. The LTR 400 transponder is qualified for all flying platforms of the German Air Force and Army and is in use on all Airbus military helicopters. About HENSOLDT HENSOLDT is a pioneer of technology and innovation in the field of defence and security electronics. Based in Taufkirchen near Munich, the company is a German Champion with strategic leadership positions in the field of sensor solutions for defence and non-defence applications. HENSOLDT develops new products to combat a wide range of threats based on innovative approaches to data management, robotics and cyber security. With approximately 5,500 employees, HENSOLDT generated revenues of 1.14 billion euros in 2019. www.hensoldt.net Press contact Lothar Belz Tel.: +49 (0)731.392.3681 lothar.belz@hensoldt.net View source version on HENSOLDT: https://www.hensoldt.net/news/hensoldt-modernizes-german-airforce-iff-systems/

  • HII nets $2.2B deal from GenDyn for Columbia-class submarine modules

    November 25, 2020 | International, Naval

    HII nets $2.2B deal from GenDyn for Columbia-class submarine modules

    By Christen McCurdy Nov. 24 (UPI) -- General Dynamics Electric Boat has awarded a $2.2 billion contract to Huntington Ingalls Industries for construction work on the first two Columbia-class ballistic missile submarines. The contract funds design support, construction and delivery of six module sections for the first two Columbia-class vessels, according to Huntington Ingalls. HII's Newport News Shipbuilding division is contracted to deliver the completed modules to General Dynamics for final assembly beginning in November 2022. "We are pleased to be a crucial design and manufacturing contributor to the Columbia-class program," said Charles Southall, Newport News' vice president of Columbia-class Submarine Construction. "This contract continues NNS' longstanding and strong commitment to the Navy's undersea enterprise through the design and construction of major modules and assemblies necessary to achieve program objectives," Southall said. The Columbia class of submarines is slated to replace the Ohio-class ballistic missile submarines, with the lead ship scheduled for delivery to the Navy in 2027. In June, the Navy awarded General Dynamics a contract for the first two vessels in the Columbia class of submarines, as well as Virginia- and Ford-class ships. The initial contract was for $869 million but the deal could total $9.5 billion if all options are exercised. General Dynamics also received a $22.2 billion contract modification last December to build nine Virginia-class subs for the Navy. https://www.upi.com/Defense-News/2020/11/24/HII-nets-22B-deal-from-GenDyn-for-Columbia-class-submarine-modules/4201606243506/

  • Four factors to consider in keeping NATO relevant

    November 25, 2020 | International, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security

    Four factors to consider in keeping NATO relevant

    By: Hans Binnendijk and Daniel S. Hamilton The NATO alliance survived four years of U.S. President Donald Trump due largely to strong congressional support and clever leadership by Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg. After the bell ringing and fireworks end in European capitals to welcome President-elect Joe Biden, the alliance will need to realize that it can not go back to business as usual. The world has moved on during those four years and the alliance will need to continue to rejuvenate in order to remain relevant. That rejuvenation process will be enshrined in a new Strategic Concept, which should emerge over the next year or so. Stoltenberg already has a so-called reflection process underway designed to identify key areas where change is needed. Biden's foreign policy team will now weigh in. NATO's rejuvenation might unfold under what we call the “Four Cs.” We should want an alliance that is more coherent, more capable, more comprehensive in scope and with a more co-equal balance of contributions to the common defense. The return of Joe Biden alone will contribute to NATO's coherence, and reverse poisonous trans-Atlantic political relations. But the problem is deeper. Threat perceptions differ markedly across the alliance. There is broad lack of confidence in commitments to the North Atlantic Treaty, including its mutual defense Article V. There is democratic backsliding among several NATO members. Allies are facing off against each other in the Eastern Mediterranean. There are differing attitudes about Russian behavior around the Black and Baltic sea. There are differences about the endgame in Afghanistan. And there are uncertainties of how the alliance should address China's growing security role in Europe and the global commons. The new Strategic Concept will need to enhance coherence by reaffirming common democratic values and recommitting to the common defense. This will be the most important element of a new Strategic Concept. A review of the Strategic Concept can provide a process through which allies can assess mechanisms to uphold their mutual commitment to strengthen their free institutions, avoid straying from agreed democratic practices and prevent allies from confronting each other militarily. Second, the alliance needs to continue its efforts to strengthen its capabilities in two distinct areas: conventional military might and resilience against so-called hybrid or non-kinetic attacks. Since the Russian annexation of Crimea in 2014, NATO nations have begun to focus again on a major power competitor. Four NATO battlegroups are forward-deployed to the Baltic states and Poland. A small, very high-readiness force and a larger readiness initiative were undertaken to back up those battalions. A mobilization initiative was designed to make sure ready forces can forward-deploy quickly. But European defense budgets constrained by COVID-19 will put those initiatives in jeopardy. The Strategic Concept will need to prioritize those programs. The alliance must also more methodically address unconventional challenges to human security from Russia such as media disinformation, corrosive cyber operations, supply chain disruptions and energy intimidation. The Strategic Concept needs to design resilience programs so that alliance members can better protect the critical functions of our societies to such disruptive dangers. Next, the scope of NATO's mission needs to be more comprehensive. NATO's core tasks of collective defense, crisis management and cooperative security must be expanded to include countering challenges that contribute to global instability. Those challenges would range from managing global warming and pandemics through the refugee crisis to the rise of China. NATO has recently used its mobility and civil defense assets to mitigate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic. NATO navies have contributed to saving the lives of refugees at sea. In addition, the consequences of a major ice melt will have a significant security impact in the Arctic, along urban coastlines and on further refugee flows. To remain relevant, NATO must begin to define its role in these areas. Stoltenberg has focused the alliance's attention on China. That nation is increasingly partnering with Russia in the military arena including defense industrial cooperation and joint exercises. It also has invested in European strategic infrastructure, created technology dependencies and used coercive diplomacy to stifle European voices. NATO's expanded role should include reducing those dependencies and developing much closer partnership ties with America's Asian allies. Finally, the new Strategic Concept should result in more co-equal trans-Atlantic distribution of military capabilities and responsibilities. This is less about traditional burden-sharing than it is about responding to two historical trends. Europe's response to the Trump years has been to seek greater strategic autonomy. China's military challenge has American planners focusing on Asia first. Many American friends of Europe are discussing a possible new division of labor, with the United States focusing more on China and European militaries focusing on Russia. This, however, could leave Europe poorly defended and open to coercion. The Strategic Concept will need to divine an elegant solution, perhaps with Europe accepting the responsibility to provide half of the capability needed to defend against a major Russian attack. NATO has remained history's strongest alliance precisely because it has adapted to new strategic conditions. It can do so again. Hans Binnendijk is a distinguished fellow at the Atlantic Council and formerly served as the U.S. National Security Council's senior director for defense policy. Daniel S. Hamilton is an Austrian Marshall Plan distinguished fellow and the director of the Global Europe Program at the Woodrow Wilson Center. https://www.defensenews.com/opinion/commentary/2020/11/24/four-factors-to-consider-in-keeping-nato-relevant/

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