How Congress wants DoD to tackle AI and machine learning in 2019

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  June 20, 2019 | International, C4ISR, Other Defence

  This mobile comms unit has people talking

  By: Mark Pomerleau The Army has a slew of ongoing efforts to modernize its tactical network, including a focus on a pilot unit that moves quickly through the world and spectrum to tailor critical communications systems support. The Expeditionary Signal Battalion-Enhanced (ESB-E) supports units that don't have organic comms capabilities. These could include military intelligence battalions, chemical battalions, engineering battalions or air defense artillery branches. The ESB-E can also augment regular Army units, as a renewed focus on great powers requires all units to be much more mobile and expeditionary. What that means for signal battalions is their gear will have to be easily carried and set up to enable them to maneuver with units in a rapid manner. “The Army's transitioned to focusing on data environment and near-peer threat. The need for those logistical tails and for the enablers to move rapidly has increased, which is part of the demand signal that has gotten us away from” the Warfighter Information Network-Tactical of the past, Maj. Jeff Forry, S-3 50th Expeditionary Signal Battalion, told C4ISRNET during a demo of Army network modernization efforts at Fort Myer June 18. Forry said they've provided much more modular and scalable capabilities than the Humvee-mounted, satellite transportable terminal-based capabilities of year's past. In March 2018, the Army authorized the beginning of the ESB-E pilot, which is intended to create more mobile and agile kits for signal brigades. As part of the pilot, three companies under the battalion have been outfitted with capabilities from three vendors. This includes basebands — made by DTech, PacStar and Klas — with accompanying Tampa Microwave or L3 satellite terminal dishes of varying diameter depending on the users the unit needs to accommodate. Overall, the battalion has packages to provide communications for a variety of users. “When I plan a mission, less than 20 users, I'd start looking at small [packages] ... when we start pulling 20 up to 48 I'm looking at medium, and then after that we'd either use multiple mediums or start looking at the [large] package,” Forry said. The modularity of the kits mean, in many cases, just adding more users merely involves just sliding a small router into the baseband and utilizing a slightly larger satellite terminal. This is easier than the old WIN-T way of doing things where teams needed to bring full transit cases to add more users and bandwidth. One user noted that the modularity of the kit allows teams to mix and match based on the requirement. For example, if they only need connectivity to the Pentagon's secret network, as opposed to the unclassified network, they only need to bring those services with them. During a recent event at Dugway Proving Grounds, members from the signal battalion supported a chemical brigade, which had to get in and out of affected areas very quickly. The team took a small package and was able to get communication up in less than 10 minutes. They were onsite for 20 minutes, packed up and moved to the next site. The Army is continuing to utilize training events, combat training center rotations and exercises such as Saber Guardian in Europe to evaluate systems within the pilot program and execute operational tests for the gear. “The different approach we took for this prototype that we're doing is we didn't go set off a dedicated unit to do an operational test,” Col. Greg Coile, project manager for tactical networks at Program Executive Office Command, Control, Communications-Tactical, said. “Their operational test is when they go to Saber Guardian, when they go do the operational support, that is how we're testing and ... we use that user feedback going forward.” Coile added that this ongoing experimentation also allows units to get more repetitions as opposed to the old way of doing things, where the unit would get the equipment two weeks ahead of an operational test at something like the Network Integration Evaluation. Now units get an entire year with the equipment, which means the value of feedback is much higher, Coile said. The capabilities for the ESB-E unit will be part of the Army's first delivery of capability in 2021 for its network modernization the service is calling capability set 2021. Coile said the pilot will run until September, after which the Army will begin to make decisions on down-selecting vendors and outfitting actual units with the kits. The plan is to have every unit have the same equipment, as opposed to three companies currently outfitted with different vendor equipment for the prototype. A battalion will be complete in 2019, Coile said, and they are funded for three more in 2020. Moreover, they'll buy more in late 2020 to early 2021 and field those three. In 2021 there is funding for another three units, but the Army leadership will have to make a decision on what units get that. https://www.c4isrnet.com/battlefield-tech/2019/06/19/this-mobile-comms-unit-has-people-talking/

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  December 21, 2018 | International, Aerospace

  Italian government praise for F-35 shows early doubts waning

  By: Tom Kington ROME – Italy's populist government has given its clearest sign yet that it is firmly backing the F-35, following early pledges to scrap the program by the Five Star party, one of two parties making up Rome's governing coalition. “It is obvious we cannot deprive our Air Force of a great air capability that puts us ahead of many other countries,” said junior defense minister Angelo Tofalo during a speech in Italy's parliament this week. Tofalo is a member of the Five Star party, which formed a governing coalition in June this year with the League party after courting votes with its condemnation of the fighter program. Last year, the party said it would cancel Italy's plans to buy 131 aircraft. Since taking office, the new government's defense minister Elisabetta Trenta — who was tapped for office by the Five Star party — has said the government will consider slowing down orders, rather than cancelling the program. Last month, a government source told Defense News Italy would buy six or seven aircraft in the next five years instead of the previous plan to buy around ten. Tofolo's statement took the positive appraisal of the F-35 one step further. “We have talked about the F-35 for many years in Italy, often in a distorted way, whereas you often need to really know and evaluate information,” he said. “The F-35 program is now moving, and is 20 years old, and contrary to what is often said it is an aircraft which surely has the benefit of optimum technology, maybe the best in the world at this time,” he added. Italy has so far taken delivery of 10 F-35As and one F-35B, which were assembled at the country's final assembly line in Cameri, northern Italy. The Italian aircraft based at Amendola air base have totalled 2,000 flying hours, and in a first for Europe the fledgeling fleet were given Initial Operating Capability status on Nov. 30. https://www.defensenews.com/global/europe/2018/12/20/italian-government-praise-for-f-35-shows-early-doubts-waning

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  January 15, 2020 | International, Aerospace

  Lockheed Martin to Integrate New Situational Awareness System for F-35

  By Frank Wolfe Lockheed Martin is to integrate the Raytheon Next-Generation Electro-Optical Distributed Aperture System (DAS) into all F-35 variants over the next two years under a nearly $99 million contract announced by the Pentagon on Dec. 30. The system is to provide "360-degree situational and environmental awareness day or night," according to Raytheon, for navigation, missile and aircraft detection and tracking. The pilot's helmet is to receive high-resolution, real time imagery from six external infrared cameras. Northrop Grumman developed the current AN/AAQ-37 DAS, but bowed out of a bid for the follow-on program in 2018, as company executives said that the pay-off would be higher for other business opportunities. Lockheed Martin is to perform the integration work on the new Raytheon DAS in Ft. Worth and finish the work by July 2022 for delivery to the F-35 fleet beginning in 2023 with production Lot 15 aircraft. As Pentagon officials follow congressional direction to reduce F-35 sustainment costs and improve aircraft performance, Lockheed Martin has said that the Raytheon DAS will lead to more than $3 billion in life cycle cost savings, a 45 percent reduction in unit recurring costs, a more than 50 percent reduction in operations and sustainment costs, five times more reliability, and twice the performance capability. Raytheon has also been moving to install the Stormbreaker smart bomb, previously known as Small Diameter Bomb II, on the F-35. Stormbreaker has a tri-mode seeker that uses imaging infrared, millimeter wave, and a semi-active laser to destroy moving targets in adverse weather from up to 45 miles away. Raytheon said that it completed integration of the Stormbreaker on the U.S. Air Force F-15E Strike Eagle by Boeing in April, 2018. Integration of the Stormbreaker on U.S. Navy F/A-18 E/F aircraft by Boeing and the Lockheed Martin F-35 has begun. All F-35 variants are to carry Stormbreaker by 2023, according to Raytheon, which said that the F-35 can carry eight Stormbreaker weapons internally and eight on the wings. https://www.aviationtoday.com/2020/01/14/lockheed-martin-to-integrate-new-situational-awareness-system-for-f-35/