Back to news

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

La nécessaire relance de la défense en France

Dans une tribune publiée dans le journal Les Echos, Cédric Perrin, sénateur (LR) du Territoire de Belfort, et l'économiste Bruno Alomar appellent à une relance économique de la filière défense. Les crises récentes et à proximité de l'Europe ont montré l'importance du rôle des armées et la nécessité d'un « Etat-puissance ». Une autre raison est économique. Les entreprises de défense sont « transverses » industriellement et sont réparties sur tout le territoire. Les armées représentent « également de formidables bancs d'essai pour de nombreuses entreprises de petite et moyenne taille qui trouvent dans le client militaire un outil de retour d'expérience, leurs matériels étant testés et éprouvés au-delà de toutes conditions ». La Base industrielle et technologique de défense (BITD) « n'assure pas seulement les besoins opérationnels de nos armées. Elle est très puissamment imbriquée avec les filières aéronautique et spatiale, au travers de la dualité des technologies, ainsi que de celle des compétences de pointe qu'elle mobilise ».

Les Echos du 29 juin 2020

On the same subject

  • NIWC Atlantic is Named First DoD Entity to Join Amazon Web Services Academy

    July 24, 2019 | International, Naval

    NIWC Atlantic is Named First DoD Entity to Join Amazon Web Services Academy

    By Diane Owens, Naval Information Warfare Center (NIWC) Atlantic Public Affairs CHARLESTON, S.C. (NNS) -- Certified cybersecurity instructors at Naval Information Warfare Center (NIWC) Atlantic's Cyber Education and Certification Readiness Facility (CERF) in Charleston are collaborating with Amazon Web Services (AWS) to train active duty military members and civilian employees in cloud computing. The training is part of the first Department of Defense (DoD) AWS academy and is offered to all branches of service. AWS Academy is a pathway for students and educators to gain AWS cloud computing skills and knowledge via AWS-authorized curriculum; the courses prepare students to pursue industry-recognized AWS certifications. “This is a tremendous honor and an incredible opportunity to lead the way in cloud computing education for DoD employees,” said Andrew Mansfield, NIWC Atlantic technical director. “Cloud computing is a key component of the next generation of IT and is critical to maintaining the military's technological advantage. It represents significant change – end-to-end.” CERF instructors met stringent requirements for certification as part of NIWC Atlantic's commitment to develop and retain a credentialed workforce. “The CERF team is providing active duty military members and civilian employees foundational opportunities to learn about and stay abreast of emerging technology domains such as cloud,” said Mansfield. Wesley Jones, NIWC Atlantic CERF instructor, taught the first one-week, face-to-face portion of the AWS Academy Cloud Foundations course to Marine Corps active duty members and civilian employees at the Pentagon June 10 – 14. The instructors used AWS-provided coursework including lectures, self-assessments and hands-on lab projects. In addition to classroom training, AWS Academy provides students with one-year online access to remote curriculum that supplements classroom training. Jones also distributed a step-by-step checklist he developed for self-study to help students pass the related AWS certification exam. He plans to track and encourage class members as they obtain certification. “The students loved the class; everyone was amped up,” Jones said. “Because I'm a government employee, it put them at ease. We were able to discuss and apply classroom concepts used in government projects during class.” The CERF has also partnered with AWS Educate, which makes a free online IT sandbox – Amazon Console – available to students for classroom labs and scenarios they create on their own. The students' sandbox and fresh expertise deploy and test networks, systems and applications relevant to their customers' requirements. “Bringing the instructor to the classroom to avoid having students travel to vendor training is convenient – and it's a huge cost avoidance,” said Jeff Hays, NIWC Atlantic Marine Corp team lead. “Classroom networking is also extremely beneficial; it allows students to discuss specific challenges from the perspective of a DoD environment and facilitates sharing experiences. You don't get that at vendor training.” NIWC Atlantic instructors Jones, Kamau Buffalo and Fred Bisel are working diligently to pass additional certification exams so they can teach more AWS courses as they are released. “The instructors are stars,” said Bisel. “They teach part-time and have other jobs as members of various integrated products teams – many involving cloud computing. Most of their certification study and classroom preparation occurs after business hours -- and they're also staying abreast of innovations that affect material in existing classes. It's a continuous learning process and they're highly motivated.” The second AWS Academy course for Marine Corps members took place at the Marine Corps Information Technology Center in Kansas City, Missouri, in July. To inquire about DoD cloud computing training, contact Bisel at earl.bisel@navy.mil. As a part of Naval Information Warfare Systems Command, NIWC Atlantic provides systems engineering and acquisition to deliver information warfare capabilities to the naval, joint and national warfighter through the acquisition, development, integration, production, test, deployment, and sustainment of interoperable command, control, communications, computer, intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance, cyber and information technology capabilities. Get more information about the Navy from US Navy Facebook or Twitter. For more news from Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command, visit www.navy.mil/local/spawar/. https://www.navy.mil/submit/display.asp?story_id=110327

  • Here’s all the military planes that GAO says fall short on readiness

    November 16, 2022 | International, Aerospace

    Here’s all the military planes that GAO says fall short on readiness

    About half of the aircraft studied never reached their annual readiness goal between fiscal 2011 and 2021, despite billions of dollars in spending.

  • The Army's M1 Abrams Tank Is About To Get Even Deadlier

    January 8, 2019 | International, Land, C4ISR

    The Army's M1 Abrams Tank Is About To Get Even Deadlier

    by Kris Osborn The Army is engineering new AI-enabled Hostile Fire Detection sensors for its fleet of armored combat vehicles to identify, track and target incoming enemy small arms fire. This system, integrated onto Apache Attack helicopters, uses infrared sensors to ID a “muzzle flash” or heat signature from an enemy weapon. The location of enemy fire could then be determined by a gateway processor on board the helicopter able to quickly geolocate the attack. The Army is engineering new AI-enabled Hostile Fire Detection sensors for its fleet of armored combat vehicles to identify, track and target incoming enemy small arms fire. Even if the enemy rounds being fired are from small arms fire and not necessarily an urgent or immediate threat to heavily armored combat vehicles such as an Abrams, Stryker or Bradley, there is naturally great value in quickly finding the location of incoming enemy small arms attacks, Army weapons developers explain. There are a range of sensors now being explored by Army developers; infrared sensors, for example, are designed to identify the “heat” signature emerging from enemy fire and, over the years, the Army has also used focal plane array detection technology as well as acoustic sensors. “We are collecting threat signature data and assessing sensors and algorithm performance,” Gene Klager, Deputy Director, Ground Combat Systems Division, Night Vision and Electronic Sensors Directorate, told Warrior Maven in an interview last year. Klager's unit, which works closely with Army acquisition to identify and at times fast-track technology to war, is part of the Army's Communications, Electronics, Research, Development and Engineering Center (CERDEC). Army senior leaders also told Warrior Maven the service will be further integrating HFD sensors this year, in preparation for more formals testing to follow in 2019. Enabling counterattack is a fundamental element of this, because being able to ID enemy fire would enable vehicle crews to attack targets from beneath the protection of an armored hatch. The Army currently deploys a targeting and attack system called Common Remotely Operated Weapons System, or CROWS; using a display screen, targeting sensors and controls operating externally mounted weapons, CROWS enables soldiers to attack from beneath the protection of armor. “If we get a hostile fire detection, the CROWS could be slued to that location to engage what we call slue to cue,” Klager said. Much of the emerging technology tied to these sensors can be understood in the context of artificial intelligence, or AI. Computer automation, using advanced algorithms and various forms of analytics, can quickly process incoming sensor data to ID a hostile fire signature. “AI also takes other information into account and helps reduce false alarms,” Klager explained. AI developers often explain that computer are able to much more efficiently organize information and perform key procedural functions such as performing checklists or identifying points of relevance; however, many of those same experts also add that human cognition, as something uniquely suited to solving dynamic problems and weighing multiple variables in real time, is nonetheless something still indispensable to most combat operations. Over the years, there have been a handful of small arms detection technologies tested and incorporated into helicopters; one of them, which first emerged as something the Army was evaluating in 2010 is called Ground Fire Acquisition System, or GFAS. This system, integrated onto Apache Attack helicopters, uses infrared sensors to ID a “muzzle flash” or heat signature from an enemy weapon. The location of enemy fire could then be determined by a gateway processor on board the helicopter able to quickly geolocate the attack. While Klager said there are, without question, similarities between air-combat HFD technologies and those emerging for ground combat vehicles, he did point to some distinct differences. “From ground to ground, you have a lot more moving objects,” he said. Potential integration between HFD and Active Protection Systems is also part of the calculus, Klager explained. APS technology, now being assessed on Army Abrams tanks, Bradleys and Strykers, uses sensors, fire control technology and interceptors to ID and knock out incoming RPGs and ATGMs, among other things. While APS, in concept and application, involves threats larger or more substantial than things like small arms fire, there is great combat utility in synching APS to HFD. Full article: https://nationalinterest.org/blog/buzz/armys-m1-abrams-tank-about-get-even-deadlier-40847

All news