August 12, 2020 | International, C4ISR
By THERESA HITCHENSon August 11, 2020 at 4:16 PM
WASHINGTON: As defense primes scramble to meet DoD's insatiable demand for AI and machine learning (ML) tools, Lockheed Martin is investing in startups like Fiddler with next-generation tech to help operators understand how autonomous systems actually work (and don't work) in the field.
“I think what everyone is seeing is that, as you go toward deploying an AI/ML system, people start questioning well, how does this thing work?,” Chris Moran, executive director and general manager of Lockheed Martin Ventures explained in an interview yesterday. “And how do you know, how are you sure, it's making the right decisions? And how can you change those decisions if they're the wrong ones?”
“You want to make sure that these things are behaving,” he added. “Fiddler provides some of that insight into how artificial intelligence is working. They're in what's called ‘explainable AI' space, so they can reveal things about how the neural network was created, and how it's made decisions, right, which gives people a level of comfort,” Moran said.
Lockheed Martin Ventures, the mega-prime's venture capital arm, announced its investment yesterday in Fiddler, a two-year-old Palo Alto startup.
According to the joint press release, the two firms will work together “on the development, testing and scaling of Fiddler's technology in applying explainable AI in the defense and aerospace industries. ... At the heart of Fiddler's Platform lies AI Explainability, which provides continuous insights understandable by humans to help build responsible, transparent, and fair AI systems.”
AI/ML and autonomy are two of the key focus areas for Lockheed Martin Ventures, which buys equity shares in infant companies interested in selling to both the defense commercial marketplace, Moran said.
Not only is DoD racing to deploy AI/ML capabilities for everything from killer drone swarms to spare parts management, such systems are being integrated into almost every civil market sector from aerospace to agriculture — meaning an almost guaranteed return on investment, Moran explained. That return is then re-channeled into future investments.
“AI is such a hot topic right now that every company, not just the Lockheeds and the Boeings and the Northrops, but every single Fortune 500 company, maybe even every Fortune 1000 company, has realized ‘wow, I can simplify my tasks and move some of these mundane things into autonomous system, and thereby have people work on more complicated things that maybe are not suited for autonomy'. So, everybody is trying to do this. Everybody!” Moran enthused. “There's a massive scramble for autonomy engineers, software, you name it.”
Another next-generation autonomous technology development that has caught Moran's eye for possible future investment is the advent of what he called “autonomy factories;” that is, the ability to automate the process of building neural networks that can then build autonomous systems, autonomously.
“What's happened is that companies are starting to figure out how to automate autonomy — how do you autonomously create neural networks and machine learning systems?” he said with a chuckle of amazement. “You know, necessity is the mother of invention.”
Moran and his team of some six scouts have a $200 million fund to bet on newbie entrepreneurs and their technology. Currently, he said, Lockheed Martin Ventures has an investment in 40-odd companies, across 18 focus areas ranging from AI to rockets and propulsion systems to quantum science.
The focus areas are determined by a conclave, usually held in March, with Lockheed Martin's business units, as well as via the Ventures team's own knowledge of the startup ecosystem, he explained. In addition, Lockheed Martin Ventures haunts the increasing number of DoD, and especially Air Force, “pitch days” in hopes of finding matches for the aerospace prime contractor's interests.
As Breaking D readers know, “pitch days” are one of the new methods being championed by acquisition czar Will Roper as a way for the service to harness commercial innovation. And the Air Force is one of Lockheed Martin's biggest customers, if not the biggest if you count space acquisitions.
The Ventures team invested in 10 startups last yea,r including one discovered at an Air Force pitch day, and is on a path to adding another 10 to its portfolio this year, Moran said. Finding those winners is an intensive process that involves scouting 700 to 1,000 startups per year, he explained.
Once a startup is chosen, Lockheed Martin Ventures gives it an opportunity to pitch ideas/products/services across all interested Lockheed Martin business areas.
“We have an internal, if you will, we call it ‘demo day,' that we're holding this week, and right now I think there are well over 100 Lockheed Martin engineers and technologists set up to listen to 12 or 13 of the portfolio companies that we've invested in the last year,” he said. “That's part of what we do as a service inside the company. And hopefully out of those discussions and presentations, there are further collaborations.”
Moran explained that those collaborations can include software licenses or contracts for services — and even, once a startup has established a larger market presence, traditional subcontractor ties.
And while investment allows Lockheed Martin Ventures to get in early on the startup's expertise and tech concepts, the prime contractor is not seeking to tie the hands of the entrepreneurs regarding clientele. Instead, he said, the objective is to grow the startup into the overall defense and aerospace industrial base.
“We're creating, eventually, a market for them,” Moran said. “And it's kind of a weird dynamic, but we give them money, and then my group goes off and works for them inside the company — so we're paying them for us to work. It's weird, but ... that money goes to supporting the small companies grow and scale so that they'll be around for when a Lockheed Martin or any large company wants to use their tools and services. So we look at it as a win-win.”
https://breakingdefense.com/2020/08/lockheed-martin-ventures-scouts-next-gen-ai-ml-tech
December 13, 2021 | International, Naval
The Navy is beginning to modernize and optimize a shipyard built in 1800 ' and is learning some important lessons already that will shape the 20-year, $21 billion planned effort to overhaul all four naval shipyards.
July 9, 2020 | International, Aerospace
Posted on July 9, 2020 by Laurent Heyligen Top Aces has acquired 25 former Belgian Air Force Dassault-Breguet/Dornier Alpha Jets, according to information from Belgian Press Agency Belga on July 8. The Montreal-based adversary air provider delivers combat training services to Canadian, American, German and Australian forces, among others, with a mixed fleet of Alpha Jet, Douglas A4 Skyhawk and Learjet 35A aircraft. The company also intends to add the Lockheed Martin F-16A fighter jet to its fleet, which offers superior speed, acceleration and manoeuvrability, all of which will benefit its aggressor air program. If finalized, the Belgian aircraft acquisition would more than double the size of Top Aces' current Alpha Jet fleet. The company operates about 20 of the Dornier jets, which were formerly owned by the German Air Force. The sale was led by the Belgian Directorate General of Material Resources (DG-MR) of the Defense Staff. No further information was provided on the contract award or cost. The Belgian Ministry of Defence announced the potential sale of 25 Alpha Jets in December 2018. The package included spares, ground equipment, additional engines and a simulator. The simulator was reportedly sold to an Austrian aerospace company, AMST, which specializes in training fighter pilots. The Alpha Jets were officially withdrawn from Belgian service during a small ceremony at Cazaux in France on Oct. 11, 2018, though they remained in service with the French Armée de l'Air until the end of 2019. The aircraft were operated by the joint Belgo-French AJeTS (Advanced Jet Training School) at Cazaux and had been gradually removed from service and stored over the past several years. One of the pioneers of what is often called aggressor or “red” air training, Top Aces in October 2019 was awarded part of US$6.4 billion contract for adversary air services to the United States Air Force (USAF). It was one of seven firms selected to participate in the Combat Air Force Contracted Air Support contract, a collective, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract that will solicit individual tenders for advanced adversary air capabilities at 12 USAF bases. Top Aces has been simulating hostile threats for fighter pilots, naval crews and land forces for the Canadian Armed Forces since the mid-2000s. In October 2017, it was awarded the permanent domestic Contracted Airborne Training Services (CATS) program under a 10-year deal worth about $480 million, including options to extend the service to 2031 and the value to as much as $1.4 billion. The company has secured a similar training support contract with the German Armed Forces in 2014 and, more recently, a two-year trial with the Australian Defence Force. It is also bidding on U.S. Navy aggressor air programs and partnering with Leonardo and Inzpire on the U.K.'s Air Support to Defence Operational Training (ASDOT) program. To date, the company has accumulated over 81,000 accident-free flight hours. https://www.skiesmag.com/news/top-aces-acquires-belgian-alpha-jets
November 15, 2017 | International, Aerospace, Security
The 36-State ICAO Council. In endorsing the very first Global Aviation Security Plan today to improve international coordination, reponse, and planning relating to threats to civil aviation passengers, aircraft and facilities, the Council encouraged the ICAO Secretariat to continue refining and improving it on the basis of close continued cooperation with States and security stakeholders globally, and with due attention to all applicable implementation assistance and capacity building requirements in ICAO's Regions. Montréal, 15 November 2017 – The ICAO Council took an historic step in endorsing the very first Global Aviation Security Plan to improve international coordination, response, and planning to counter threats to civil aviation passengers, cargo, aircraft and facilities. “This new strategic document will assist ICAO Member States in their aviation security coordination with other States and applicable security agencies, as well as helping to nurture security cultures and capabilities, place greater focus on the role of new technologies and innovations, and refine related frameworks for oversight and quality assurance,” affirmed ICAO Council President Dr. Olumuyiwa Benard Aliu. A set of indicators and target dates have also been established, and all associated targets and outcomes will be regularly reviewed and adjusted, taking into account all new and emerging aviation security threats. “The Council has encouraged the ICAO Secretariat to continue refining and improving this critical living document, on the basis of close continued cooperation with States and security stakeholders globally, and with due attention to all applicable implementation assistance and capacity building requirements in ICAO's Regions,” Dr. Aliu further commented. Subsequent to its first review of the new Global Aviation Security Plan in June 2017, the Council authorized its transmission to ICAO Member States and international organizations for comment. Ninety-six percent of those replies indicated agreement with its scope and purpose, as well as the related strategies and global targets, which will continue to be refined. “The ICAO Secretariat has developed this strategic document on an accelerated basis to answer the call of ICAO's Council and Member States and the respective commitments and actions of national governments will now be essential to its overall impact and value,” commented ICAO Secretary General Dr. Fang Liu. “This new Global Aviation Security Plan will now take its place alongside ICAO's existing Global Plans for aviation safety and system-wide capacity and efficiency, and importantly it directly responds to various resolutions and expectations regarding aviation security and terrorism which have been expressed to ICAO by the United Nations Security Council.” The ICAO Global Aviation Security Plan calls for action at the global, regional and national levels by States, industry and other stakeholders in raising the level of implementation of Annex 17 to the Convention on International Civil Aviation – Security. Secretary General Liu further confirmed that a roadmap outlining 94 tasks, accompanying 32 actions under five key priority outcomes, will be central to the new Global Plan's roll out. These lay the groundwork for objectives over the next three years until the 40th Session of the ICAO Assembly in 2019. In line with its contribution to the Global Counter-terrorism Strategy of the United Nations, ICAO will continue to coordinate with the Security Council and its various committees on all priorities relevant to aviation and border security, and bring together the private and public sector partners who help ensure our network remains at the dependable service of societies and economies. https://www.icao.int/Newsroom/Pages/ICAO-Council-endorses-new-Global-Aviation-Security-Plan.aspx