August 17, 2018 | International, C4ISR
By COLIN CLARK
SUFFOLK, VA: Multi-domain command and control, one of the most important efforts the Pentagon is pursuing, is getting plumbed again by Lockheed Martin at its fourth wargame this week where the company will be testing four systems it believes can fuse data from sensors around the world and allow rapid communications to troops.
“Integrated teams” of air, space, and cyber experts representing the transparently named country of “Pacifica” will be planning missions and creating kinetic and non-kinetic effects. That's a major shift from the war game I attend a year ago, when separate groups of space, cyber and air tried to work together through a command and control unit.
As Breaking D readers may remember, it didn't work quite as planned. During the war game, the organizers separated the air, cyber and space teams, forcing them to communicate directly with the MDC2 leaders. While central coordination was necessary, so was close consultation between those managing both the conventional attacks and the silent strikes using cyber, electronic warfare and satellites as weapons. Hence the change.
Here'a a quick summary of the systems Lockheed will be putting through their paces.
Common Mission Software Baseline (CMSB): An open systems architecture, CMSB is a cluster of automated decision aids that link operational planning to tactical execution — in a multi-domain context. Most interestingly, it reaches all the way down to the tactical level and includes tactical decision aides and tools.
Cyber Attack Network Simulator (CANS): This is an internal Lockheed system that simulates cyber-attacks over a network. After all, you don't want Lockheed networks crashing when the teams launch a simulated attack.
Full article: https://breakingdefense.com/2018/08/lockheed-takes-another-shot-at-multi-domain-war
April 20, 2021 | International, Land
The Army has picked five innovative small businesses to help improve the rate of fire in artillery systems as it continues to work on an internally funded and developed autoloader for its future Extended Range Cannon Artillery system.
January 26, 2021 | International, Naval
By: Burak Ege Bekdil ANKARA, Turkey — Turkey on Jan. 23 launched its first locally built frigate, the I-class TCG Istanbul, advancing a program that involves the production of four corvettes and four frigates. Under the MILGEM program, Turkey manufactured and delivered four Ada-class corvettes to the Navy. The Istanbul is the first of the four I-class frigates. The Istanbul was built under a 2019 contract awarded by the government procurement agency SSB to STM, a government-controlled defense company. The warship will be used in advanced air defense, naval warfare and patrolling missions, and it will support underwater warfare missions. It will be delivered to the Navy in 2023. “The MILGEM program dates back to early 2000s. But it is delivering critical platforms just when needed, i.e., when Turkey needs hard power to support its assertive foreign policy in the eastern Mediterranean,” defense analyst Ozgur Eksi said. Turkey and its traditional Aegean rival Greece came close to military conflict several times during 2020 due to their disputes over continental shelf, airspace, territorial waters, demilitarization of Greek islands and islets, air traffic centers, and exclusive economic zones in addition to the broader territorial disputes around Cyprus. The I-class frigates will feature weapons systems including a locally made 16-cell MDAS vertical launching system (a total of 64 surface-to-air missiles yet to be specified); four-by-four SSM launch canisters for the Atmaca weapon; an Aselsan-made 76mm Gokdeniz close-in weapon system; two Aselsan-made 25mm machine guns; and a HIZIR torpedo countermeasures system. The ship class' specifications are: Dimensions: Length: 113.2 meters; Beam: 14.4 meters; Draught: 4.05 meters Displacement: 3,000 tons Speed: Max: 29-plus knots; Economic: 14 knots Range with economic speed: About 5,700 nautical miles Main Propulsion: CODAG, two MTU 20V 4000 M93L diesel engines (driving two shafts) and a LM2500 gas turbine (in CODAG configuration) Power generation: Four diesel generators Platforms: Capacity to carry two S70 Seahawk helicopters (one in the hangar and one on the platform); Two rigid hull inflatable boats Endurance: Minimum 15 days of operational capability without replenishments https://www.defensenews.com/naval/2021/01/25/heres-what-we-know-about-turkeys-newly-launched-homemade-frigate
December 19, 2024 | International, Naval
The extra boats are in line with Germany's expanded defense and naval aspirations.