France Plans Billions of Euros to Rescue Aerospace Industry

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  September 8, 2020 | International, Aerospace

  Reforging Of USAF Pilot Training Hits New Complications

  Steve Trimble In June 2019, U.S. Air Force Gen. James Holmes strapped into an Israeli Air Force M-346 Lavi advanced jet trainer and flew off to attack a ship in the Mediterranean Sea. “We fought our way through air threats and ground threats; we did a simulated attack on a target; we came off and fought through air threats and then [returned to base],” recalls Holmes, who retired last month as head of Air Combat Command (ACC). Of course, the attack was simulated: The threats and target appeared as constructed elements on the sensor displays inside the cockpit. The purpose of the exercise was not to defend the Israeli coastline but instead to show Holmes a new way of training pilots as the Boeing T-7A enters service within three years. The U.S. Air Force pilot training curriculum is almost as dated as the 60-year-old Northrop T-38Cs the T-7As will replace. New fighter and bomber pilots spend two years mastering basic skills at bases focused solely on training new pilots; then they move on to fighter training units (FTU) at operational bases. When Holmes entered the Air Force in 1982, FTU pilots still flew about 250 hr. each year. With flight-hour costs for F-15Es, F-22s and F-35As now over $25,000 per hour, FTU pilots today on average log about 150 hr. annually, contributing to a four-digit backlog of pilots certified for combat. But Holmes' experience with the Israeli Air Force has inspired a new approach to changing U.S. Air Force training. Unlike the T-38C's limited computing power, the M-346's embedded simulation system allows pilots at FTUs to fly realistic combat scenarios. As the T-7A enters service with similar technology, the Air Force is considering a broad shake-up of its pilot training system. The end result would be streamlining the curriculum by teaching fundamental skills and shifting earlier to combat training with T-7As instead of F-35s, F-22s or F-15Es. “One option might be to take those T-7s and put a mix of them at [training] bases to teach people how to fly them and do advanced bomber training and then put some portion of them out at the fighter wings,” Holmes says. “One option might be to do that training at training bases.” To determine the best approach, Holmes' ACC launched Project Reforge. The original idea outlined in May 2019 called for leasing eight Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI)/Lockheed Martin T-50 jets from Hillwood Aviation for five years. ACC hoped to use the jets to understand how embedded training systems in the T-50 cockpits could allow the Air Force to streamline the pilot training system. The ACC is still pursuing Project Reforge, but the acquisition process has been trickier than expected. Mission Systems Solutions (MSS), which has partnered with Leonardo to offer the M-346, objected to a plan from ACC to sole-source the lease deal to Hillwood's T-50s. Ultimately, the Air Force agreed to open the lease deal to competition and released an “invitation to propose” to industry in June. As the bidding deadline passed on Aug. 17, however, ACC changed course again. The invitation to propose for the lease deal was canceled for unknown reasons. Instead, ACC is continuing to accept proposals under a less formal process called a Commercial Solutions Opening (CSO). The CSO allows ACC to accept proposals for providing advanced jet trainers through means other than a leasing arrangement. Meanwhile, a new company called Quesada Aviation Holdings has emerged to submit a proposal with the KAI/Lockheed T-50, replacing Hillwood. “Quesada is fully prepared to support the [Air Force] and Air Combat Command,” says Seth Downing, the CEO. “We are pleased to see the CSO open and look forward to working alongside the [Air Force] and ACC in structuring a mutually beneficial and commercially viable alternative.” MSS also remains active in the Reforge project as the Air Force shifts to the CSO process. “We began conversations with the Air Force about the Reforge training concept more than a year ago,” says David Nichols, CEO of MSS. “We are continuing discussions with them to better understand their requirements and provide innovative solutions.” The final decision on the acquisition path for Project Reforge will be made by Gen. Mark Kelly, now the head of ACC, and will determine how to move forward with pilot training reform. https://aviationweek.com/defense-space/aircraft-propulsion/reforging-usaf-pilot-training-hits-new-complications

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  April 6, 2020 | International, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security

  Video conference of foreign affairs ministers (defence), 6 April 2020

  We agreed to explore how we could use the military expertise at EU level to support exchange of information and sharing of best practices among Member States. To do so, we could set up a task force with the European External Action Service, led by the EU Military Staff. Josep Borrell, EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy EU Ministers of defence today held a video conference, chaired by the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy, Josep Borrell. Ministers discussed the defence implications of the Covid-19 pandemic, focusing in particular on military assistance in the fight against the crisis, and the situation in the EU's military and civilian missions and operations in the framework of the Common Security and Defence Policy (CSDP). Defence ministers shared examples of how their armed forces have contributed to the efforts to counter the Covid-19 crisis by providing transport and logistic support, building hospitals in record time, deploying their medical staff, and supporting the police and other national services. In this context it was decided to explore setting up a task force led by the EU Military Staff to better exchange information and share best practices among EU member states. This would be done in full coordination and complementarity with NATO. EU Defence ministers also discussed the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the 17 EU CSDP missions and operations around the world, focusing on the six military operations and missions. Ministers highlighted the importance of maintaining EU's presence on the ground, especially in those countries and regions that are already fragile and affected by instability. https://www.consilium.europa.eu/en/meetings/fac/2020/04/06/

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  August 17, 2020 | International, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security

  New Pentagon tech chief to focus on improving project coordination

  By: Andrew Eversden   WASHINGTON — The Pentagon's new acting research chief wants to provide the department's vast research and development enterprise with a “north star road map” amid an effort to adopt emerging technologies ahead of adversaries. Speaking on a webinar hosted by Georgetown University's Center for Security and Emerging Technology, newly installed acting Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering Michael Kratsios said that he will focus on providing top-level guidance to the host of organizations that make up the Defense Department's R&D efforts. Those organizations include the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency and service laboratories. Kratsios said a team of principal directors are working to establish road maps for individual technologies. “To me, what's critical is that R&E can serve as a place where we can sort of adjudicate disagreements between individual organizations, make sure they're working on these that complement each other, making sure that similar research isn't being done at multiple different labs,” Kratsios said Thursday in his first public speech since taking over the office from Michael Griffin, who left the position in July. The Pentagon's R&E team has laid out several modernization priorities that include emerging technologies, including advancements in hypersonic weapons, artificial intelligence, 5G network connectivity and cyberspace. As different components across the department advance the maturity of these technologies, Kratsios said, his office will ensure modernization areas are not siloed. “The way that we succeed and provide the best tools for the war fighter is understanding that these technologies are going to interact with one another,” Kratsios said. “Even when, for example, you want to launch a hypersonic missile, that requires so much other important technology that all needs to be done and working together in concert. So for me, it's really building those relationships between those individual modernization priorities and making sure they don't remain stovepiped.” Kratsios still serves as the U.S. chief technology officer at the White House, a position he's held since August 2019. He has advised President Donald Trump on technology issues since early 2017. In that experience, Kratsios said, he's learned about the importance of looking across R&D efforts throughout the federal government, pointing to the research done by the National Science Foundation or the Energy Department on artificial intelligence as examples. “What I've learned is that in order to get the most out of the federal government's technology ecosystem to drive innovation ... you need to be better coordinated across all aspects of the ecosystem,” Kratsios said. https://www.defensenews.com/battlefield-tech/it-networks/2020/08/13/new-pentagon-tech-chief-to-focus-on-improving-project-coordination/