July 15, 2022 | International, C4ISR, Security
Officials have said the Terrestrial Layer System-Brigade Combat Team program will help defeat threats on an increasingly digital battlefield.
April 8, 2024 | International, Naval
During the first track event, SPY-7 radar tactical hardware and software tracked objects in space, which verified the maturity of the radar system and marked the beginning of comprehensive performance...
September 4, 2018 | International, Aerospace
By: The Associated Press MONTGOMERY, Ala. — An Air Force innovation hub has opened in Alabama to harness research and technology for the military. “Mission Launch 2018” was meant to introduce the hub's mission to defense and regional leaders, Al.com reported. MGMWERX will be operating out of the Montgomery Chamber of Commerce building. MGMWERX is a partnership with the Air Force Research Laboratory. The facility is part of a network of WERX hubs and will take ideas generated from nearby Air University at Maxwell Air Force Base to solve technological or efficiency problems faced by the military. Lt. Gen. Anthony Cotton, Air University president, said the hub will take concepts and "incubate them" to solve difficult Air Force and Department of Defense issues. “This is a direct link to the Secretary of Defense's National Defense Strategy developing a lethal force through evolving innovative operational concepts,” Cotton said. “That critical thinking happens right up the street at Maxwell Air Force Base and will blossom right here.” MGMWERX Director Bill Martin said a team of five will integrate concepts and technology "from the public sector with the broad spectrum of Air Force proposals brought forward by some of the brightest minds in the service." Anna Buckalew, executive vice president of the Montgomery Area Chamber of Commerce said MGMWERX “will be a model for communities around the world, fueling innovation and collaboration that creates solutions for some of the most critical issues the Air Force and our nation faces today.” https://www.airforcetimes.com/news/your-air-force/2018/09/02/air-force-innovation-hub-launches-in-alabama
August 10, 2020 | International, Aerospace, C4ISR
Andrew Eversden WASHINGTON ― An artificial intelligence algorithm will face off against a human F-16 fighter pilot in an aerial combat simulation in late August, the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency announced Aug. 7. The simulation — the third and final competition in DARPA's AlphaDogfight Trials — will take place Aug. 20. The event will be virtual due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic. The AlphaDogfight Trials was created to demonstrate advanced AI systems' ability in air warfare. Eight teams were selected last year to participate in the final competition that runs from Aug. 18-20. The competition is also part of DARPA's Air Combat Evolution, or ACE, program, which was started in 2019, and seeks to automate air-to-air combat as well as improve human trust in AI systems to bolster human-machine teaming. “We weren't able to host the finals at AFWERX in Las Vegas as we'd originally planned with fighter pilots from the Air Force Weapons School at nearby Nellis Air Force Base,” Col. Dan Javorsek, program manager in DARPA's Strategic Technology Office, said in a statement. “We are still excited to see how the AI algorithms perform against each other as well as a Weapons School-trained human and hope that fighter pilots from across the Air Force, Navy, and Marine Corps, as well as military leaders and members of the AI tech community will register and watch online. It's been amazing to see how far the teams have advanced AI for autonomous dogfighting in less than a year.” The eight teams are Aurora Flight Sciences, EpiSys Science, Georgia Tech Research Institute, Heron Systems, Lockheed Martin, Perspecta Labs, PhysicsAI and SoarTech. On the first day of the competition, the teams will fly their respective algorithms against five AI systems developed by the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Lab. Teams will face off against each other in a round-robin tournament on the second day, with the third day featuring the top four teams competing in a single-elimination tournament for the championship. The winner will then fly against a human pilot. “Regardless of whether the human or machine wins the final dogfight, the AlphaDogfight Trials is all about increasing trust in AI,” Javorsek said. “If the champion AI earns the respect of an F-16 pilot, we'll have come one step closer to achieving effective human-machine teaming in air combat, which is the goal of the ACE program.” https://www.c4isrnet.com/battlefield-tech/it-networks/2020/08/07/a-human-f-16-pilot-will-fight-against-ai-in-an-upcoming-contest/