HYDEF project reaches next milestone

On the same subject

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  January 15, 2020 | International, Land

  Army Picks 2 Firms to Build Light and Medium Robotic Combat Vehicles

  By Matthew Cox The U.S. Army has announced that it plans to strike deals with QinetiQ North America and Textron Systems to build versions of the Robotic Combat Vehicle (RCV). Army Combat Capability Development Command's Ground Vehicle Systems Center, along with the service's Next-Generation Combat Vehicles cross-functional team, intend to award Other Transaction Agreements (OTA) to QinetiQ North America to build four light versions of the RCV and to Textron to build four medium versions, according to a recent news release from the National Advanced Mobility Consortium. The Army often uses OTAs under its new acquisition reform strategy, so it can have prototypes built quickly for experimenting with new designs. If all goes well in upcoming negotiations, the service intends to award the final OTAs for both variants by mid-February, the release states. The prototype RCVs will be used as part of the Army's "Robotic Campaign of Learning" in an effort to "determine the feasibility of integrating unmanned vehicles into ground combat operations," the release adds. The RCV effort is part of the Army's sweeping modernization effort, launched in 2017. The service wants to develop light, medium and heavy version of the RCV to give commanders the option of sending unmanned vehicles into combat against enemy forces. "Robots have the potential to revolutionize the way we conduct ground combat operations," Brig. Gen. Ross Coffman, director of the Next-Generation Combat Vehicle cross-functional team, said in the release. "Whether that's giving increased firepower to a dismounted patrol, breaching an enemy fighting position, or providing [chemical, biological, radiological, nuclear] reconnaissance, we envision these vehicles providing commanders more time and space for decisions and reducing risk to soldiers." Following final OTA notices, QinetiQ North America and Textron's RCVs will be used in a platoon level experiment in March and a company-level experiment in late 2021, the release states. The results of the experiments, along with the findings from several virtual experiments, will "inform a decision by the Army on how to proceed" with robotic combat vehicles in 2023, according to the release. Textron, along with its subsidiaries Howe and Howe Technologies and FLiR Systems Inc., displayed the Ripsaw M5 unmanned tracked vehicle as its RCV in October at the Association of the United States Army's annual meeting. QinetiQ North America teamed up with Pratt and Miller Defense to enter its Expeditionary Modular Autonomous Vehicle (EMAV) at AUSA as well. Jeffrey Langhout, director of the Ground Vehicle Systems Center, applauded the selection of QinetiQ North America and Textron as a "testament to the dedication and passion of the Army to giving our soldiers the best capabilities possible." "This is a great day for our Army, as we make another important step in learning how we can employ robotic vehicles into our future formations," he said in the release. https://www.military.com/daily-news/2020/01/14/army-picks-2-firms-build-light-and-medium-robotic-combat-vehicles.html

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  July 19, 2018 | International, Aerospace

  Contract award for US Air Force’s Huey replacement helicopter at risk of delay until FY20

  By: Valerie Insinna FARNBOROUGH, England — The U.S. Air Force's contract for a replacement to the UH-1N Huey helicopter could be delayed until fiscal 2020 unless Congress adds another $83.4 million to the program. According to a reprogramming request sent by the Defense Department to Congress, the UH-1N replacement effort is currently considered a “high risk” program due to a pre-award protest by competitor Sikorsky, a Lockheed Martin subsidiary, which was dismissed in May. The protest had temporarily put a hold source selection, deferring a contract planned for June to September. Current funds would expire at the end of the fiscal year on Sept. 30, meaning that if an award was further delayed it would take until FY20 to inject more money to continue on with the program, the request stated. Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson acknowledged in May that the contract could be awarded sometime this fall. “We're going to try and not let that slip too much because we know we need to get the Hueys replaced, but we did get a delay,” she had said. The Air Force's aging UH-1Ns are most well-known for the role they play defending nuclear missile sites, and it is the importance of this mission that has led to criticism from leaders in Congress and in the U.S. military — including U.S. Strategic Command head Gen. John Hyten — who have said the service needs to move more quickly to procure new helicopters. Three companies are competing for the Huey replacement award, with the first of a total of 84 new armored helicopters expected for delivery as early as 2020 — although if a contract is delayed until FY20 it seems likely that fielding will not be possible for another couple of years. Sikorsky is offering the HH-60U, a version of its UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter with modifications like a rescue hoist and electro-optical sensor. Sierra Nevada Corp. has pitched a modernized, life-extended version of used Army UH-60L aircraft that its calling “Sierra Force.” Meanwhile, Boeing and Leonardo are partnering on the MH-139, a militarized version of the Italian firm's civilian AW139 helicopter. Boeing submitted the final proposal for the aircraft Tuesday, it confirmed in a statement. “The Boeing MH-139 is capable, affordable, and ready to serve the United States Air Force's urgent UH-1N replacement needs,” the company said. "With a hot production line in Philadelphia, we are well-positioned to meet the USAF's delivery requirements for fielding this vital platform as soon as possible.” While the requirements for the helicopter were not made public, the Air Force has specified nine fully loaded troops without needing to be refueled for an endurance of at least 225 nautical miles. They also should be able to fly three hours while maintaining a 135-knot cruise speed. https://www.defensenews.com/air/2018/07/18/contract-award-for-air-forces-huey-replacement-helicopter-at-risk-of-delay-until-fy20

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  February 5, 2021 | International, Aerospace, Naval, C4ISR

  New Sonar Sees Underwater From The Air, Promising To Transform Anti-Submarine Warfare

  Researchers at Stanford University have developed a new type of sonar to overcome the previously insurmountable problem of seeing underwater from the air. Sound does not travel easily between air and water: there is a 65-decibel loss, which means roughly a million-fold decrease in intensity, making it makes it virtually impossible to pick up sound reflections from the air. The new technology can map the seabed and potentially detect mines, submarines and other underwater targets from aircraft. Currently, the only ways of using sonar from aircraft are sonar buoys (sonobuoys) dropped into the water, or dipping sonar lowered to the sea surface from a hovering helicopter. The helicopter cannot move while using dipping sonar, so it has to check one spot, raising the sonar, fly somewhere else, lowering the sonar again, and so on. By contrast, the new Photoacoustic Airborne Sonar System or PASS, developed at Stanford with funding from the U.S. Navy, will work from a moving aircraft. “Our vision of the proposed technology is to capture images continuously as the airborne vehicle flies over the water,” Stanford researcher Aidan Fitzpatrick told Forbes. “Similar to how synthetic aperture radar systems or in-water synthetic aperture sonar systems work today.” https://www.forbes.com/sites/davidhambling/2021/02/04/new-sonar-sees-underwater-from-aircraft/