GA-ASI Selected for Further Skyborg Vanguard Development

On the same subject

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  August 16, 2018 | International, C4ISR

  Here’s what an intel chief thinks industry needs to know

  By: Mark Pomerleau The director of the Defense Intelligence Agency had a pointed message for members of industry; whatever solution is pitched, it has to be understood in the context of how it will be used. Like many top defense leaders giving presentations nowadays, Lt. Gen. Robert Ashely, speaking Aug. 13 at the DoDIIS conference in Omaha, Nebraska, stressed the need for industry's help going forward to solve DIA's tough problems. However, solutions must not work just in the lab, but also in the operating environment military and intelligence leaders believe forces will be conducting operations in the future. “Through my career I've seen too many times the technology looks great in the lab ... but it doesn't scale to the battlefield,” he said. Full Article: https://www.c4isrnet.com/show-reporter/dodiis/2018/08/15/heres-what-the-dia-director-wants-industry-to-know/

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  September 12, 2023 | International, Aerospace, C4ISR

  BAE Systems, QinetiQ sign pact on drone collaboration

  The two companies are collaborating on Jackdaw, a low-cost, swarm-capable drone that is meant to be disposable if needed.

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  August 30, 2018 | International, Aerospace

  The Pentagon is downplaying serious problems with the F-35, watchdog says

  by Travis J. Tritten The Pentagon is trying to paper over serious problems with the F-35 joint strike fighter aircraft that could endanger troops, according to an investigation released Wednesday by the Project On Government Oversight. An oversight board looking at development of the high-tech fighter made by Lockheed Martin decided in June to downgrade 19 of the aircraft's most severe deficiencies without a plan for fixes, the watchdog group found. The moves could help speed up the F-35 program, the most expensive in Pentagon history, as it moves into a critical phase of development, said Dan Grazier, a military fellow at POGO and long-time program watcher. “They want to be able to go up to Capitol Hill and say, ‘Nope, we don't have any more Category 1 deficiencies,'” Grazier said. Those types of deficiencies can lead to death and injury, loss of the aircraft or a halt to the F-35 production line. The 19 Category 1 deficiencies downgraded by the F-35 Deficiency Review Board on June 4 included an emergency alert system for when pilots eject and a system for bombing coordinates that could protect troops on the ground from friendly fire. The issues were moved to Category II status, which can impede a military mission, according to board meeting minutes obtained by POGO. Overall, the Government Accountability Office found the F-35 has 111 of the most severe Category 1 problems and 855 deficiencies classified as Category II. “This is not how the development process is supposed to work,” according to the watchdog's investigation. The Pentagon's F-35 Joint Program Office and Lockheed Martin did not immediately comment on the POGO investigation. The next big hurdle for the F-35 comes on Sept. 15, which is the deadline for initial test and evaluation of the aircraft. The tri-service fighters are billed as the most advanced in the world and are chock full of new military technology. The Air Force and Marine Corps variants are already in operational use. The Navy's version is expected to be deemed ready to deploy next year. “We are obviously just three weeks away from that, so the big rush to kind of clear up these paperwork issues is to try to meet that deadline,” Grazier said. “Having these deficiencies, it actually increases the likelihood that the program will not pass IOT&E.” https://www.washingtonexaminer.com/policy/defense-national-security/the-pentagon-is-downplaying-serious-problems-with-the-f-35-watchdog-says