How the Army wants to use artificial intelligence to hit targets | MilTech

On the same subject

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  September 10, 2018 | International, C4ISR

  Refining the Defense Department’s cyberwarrior ‘carrier’

  By: Mark Pomerleau The Department of Defense cyber community knows it has a critical need for a centralized platform for cyberwarriors, so the joint community is collaborating to ensure the final system has everything everyone needs. The Unified Platform, as it's known, will serve as the aircraft carrier, airplane or tank, so to speak, from which cyberwarriors plan and launch attacks. “We're working with Cyber Command to make sure we've got the requirement right for Unified Platform,” Lt. Gen. Stephen Fogarty, commander of Army Cyber Command, said during a keynote presentation at TechNet Augusta in August. He said there was a meeting in August to define what the Unified Platform is and what it is not as to develop it appropriately. “Where I think we've got to ensure is we don't make this so large that it just becomes unsustainable ... this very bloated program,” he told Fifth Domain in an interview during the same conference. There was some initial confusion with the Unified Platform, as it was conflated with the Military Cyber Operations Platform, Fogarty said. MCOP has been described in the past as the sum total of portfolios and capabilities Cyber Command's Capabilities Development Group manages with MCOP being CDG's top project. Others have described MCOP as an environment that will include the Unified Platform along with other services like analytics. In the most recent budget request, DoD asked for $52.4 million in fiscal 2019 under “Joint Common Services,” to include continued development of MCOP. Fogarty noted that while MCOP was the umbrella and the Unified Platform was one component underneath, sometimes the totality of MCOP was miscast as the Unified Platform, despite the Unified Platform being a more discrete piece of that. Fogarty added that there is a good understanding of what the essential elements of the Unified Platform are outside of what the services have been directed to do, noting there have been some good sessions with U.S. Cyber Command recently, who is the principal requirement owner. While the Air Force is serving as the executive agent for the program, Cyber Command's acquisition executive, speaking Sept. 6 at the Billington Cybersecurity Summit in Washington, said the full transition of the program to the Air Force won't occur until fiscal 2019. The official, Stephen Schanberger, said that while Cyber Command as the requirements owner for the program has a lot of influence to drive the first few deliverables and how they are implemented, each service cyber component will have their say in the program. Full article: https://www.fifthdomain.com/dod/cybercom/2018/09/07/refining-the-defense-departments-cyberwarrior-carrier/

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  April 27, 2020 | International, Aerospace

  Boeing ends deal, angering Brazilian jet maker Embraer

  By: The Associated Press CHICAGO — Boeing announced Saturday it terminated an agreement to join forces with Embraer, prompting an angry response from the Brazilian jet maker, which threatened to seek damages. The pair had planned to work together on Embraer's commercial aviation business and to develop new markets for its C-390 Millennium aircraft. They had been working toward an agreement for two years. Boeing said it ended the agreement after Embraer did not meet conditions laid out by the deal, in which Boeing would have held majority ownership. Over the past few months, the companies had “productive but ultimately unsuccessful negotiations” about the unsatisfied conditions, which was “deeply disappointing,” Marc Allen, Boeing's president of Embraer partnership and group operations, said in a news release. Embraer issued a statement saying it “believes strongly that Boeing has wrongfully terminated” the mutual transaction agreement and “that it has manufactured false claims as a pretext to seek to avoid its commitments to close the transaction and pay Embraer the US$4.2 billion purchase price.” “We believe Boeing has engaged in a systematic pattern of delay and repeated violations of the MTA (master transaction agreement), because of its unwillingness to complete the transaction in light of its own financial condition and 737 Max and other business and reputational problems,” it added. “Embraer will pursue all remedies against Boeing for the damages incurred by Embraer as a result of Boeing's wrongful termination and violation of the MTA,” the company said. The collapse marked the latest mishap for Boeing. The company's best-selling plane, the 737 Max, has been grounded for more than a year after two deadly crashes that led to federal investigations. Those problems, combined with deflated demand for flights due to the pandemic, sharply reduced the company's cash. https://www.defensenews.com/air/2020/04/26/boeing-ends-deal-angering-brazilian-jet-maker-embraer/

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  April 29, 2019 | International, Aerospace

  Air Force Research Laboratory Tests UAS Traffic Control System

  Mike Rees The Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) has announced that, in conjunction with the Ohio Unmanned Aircraft Systems Center, it will begin testing groundbreaking aviation technology at the Springfield-Beckley Municipal Airport. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) recently confirmed that new technology developed in collaboration between AFRL and the State of Ohio – called SkyVision – safely, accurately, and effectively allows UAS to detect and avoid other aircraft while in flight. The validation of this aviation technology led the FAA to grant AFRL a certificate of authorization to test defense-related drone technology without reliance on a visual observer or chase aircraft. Typically, drones can only fly within the uninterrupted line of sight of the person operating the UAS, but this special waiver allows AFRL and the Ohio UAS Center, which is part of the Ohio Department of Transportation's DriveOhio Initiative, to use SkyVision to test drones beyond the visual line of sight within a 200 square-mile parcel of unrestricted airspace near the Springfield-Beckley Municipal Airport. “As our country steps more and more into the unmanned age of flight, this technology is on the forefront of the aviation frontier, making Ohio a critical national asset for the research and development of UAS technology,” said Ohio Governor Mike DeWine. “This also opens the door for commercial companies to work with Ohio, AFRL, and the FAA to test their own UAS-related technology using our SkyVision detection system. This is a major step in revolutionizing the transportation industry, with Ohio leading the way in aerospace, defense, and aviation innovation.” “This is an important development in the progression of unmanned aircraft,” said Major General William Cooley, Commander of AFRL at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base. “This waiver provides the latitude to test beyond-line-of-sight keeping AFRL on the leading edge of world-class research and accelerates the delivery of technology that makes a difference to the warfighter.” “By enabling our lower-altitude airspace for advanced modes of transportation, we'll be able to facilitate new opportunities around advanced autonomous aircraft research and development,” said Lt. Governor Husted. “This will bring investment to Ohio and solidifies Ohio's position as a world-recognized leader in aviation technology.” Ohio's SkyVision detection system could potentially be used by the state to develop and test UAS technology to assist citizens in the event of a natural disaster or to significantly enhance the capability of search and rescue teams to find missing persons in time-critical situations. Commercial companies, such as those looking to use drones to survey damaged infrastructure or hoping to launch drone commerce operations, will also now have incentive to move to Ohio to test their own UAS technology. VyrtX, a company based out of Dayton, is among the first companies that has committed to expand into Springfield to work with AFRL and the Ohio UAS Center. VyrtX is currently developing technology for the potential transport of organ donations between hospitals for transplant surgeries. UAS test flights will take place at heights ranging from 1,000 feet above ground to 10,000 feet mean sea level. Air traffic control experts from the Ohio UAS Center will operate SkyVision during each flight. The SkyVision detection system is located within a mobile unit so that it can be flexibly placed in optimum positions for each flight. “Today's announcement comes after years of hard work and collaboration among an incredible group of partners,” said Jeff Hoagland, President and CEO of the Dayton Development Coalition. “AFRL and Ohio had a bold vision to bring UAS into the national airspace for true beyond-visual-line-of-sight flight. The work done here will shape the industry for years to come.” The State of Ohio and AFRL both invested a combined $5 million for the research and development of SkyVision. Supported by the Ohio Department of Transportation, DriveOhio works to ensure Ohio's regulatory environment and public policies are conducive to the development of the infrastructure and technologies needed for smart mobility. AFRL and a delegation of Ohio UAS industry experts will showcase the SkyVision system at AUVSI Xponential in Chicago. https://www.unmannedsystemstechnology.com/2019/04/air-force-research-laboratory-tests-uas-traffic-control-system/