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June 28, 2021 | International, Land

MBDA : le missile CAMM-ER franchit une étape majeure

MBDA a effectué avec succès un tir du missile de défense aérienne CAMM-ER contre une cible de manœuvre, « confirmant ainsi l'excellente capacité du système de la famille CAMM », précise le groupe. L'essai a eu lieu sur un champ de tir italien. Le CAMM-ER a été conçu pour remplacer la munition Aspide dans le Medium Advanced Air Defence System (MAADS) de l'armée de l'Air italienne et dans le système de défense aérienne GRIFO de l'armée italienne. Le CAMM-ER est le missile qui sera utilisé dans le système Albatros NG, qui offre une solution optimisée de défense aéronavale (NBAD) pour renforcer les capacités de défense des flottes navales, précise MBDA.

Naval News du 25 juin

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  • Air Force hopes to train 1,500 new pilots each year by 2022 to help solve shortage

    October 11, 2018 | International, Aerospace

    Air Force hopes to train 1,500 new pilots each year by 2022 to help solve shortage

    By: Stephen Losey The Air Force hopes to be able to train 1,500 new pilots each year by fiscal 2022 as part of its effort to solve its troubling shortage of aviators. Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson said at a Senate Armed Services readiness and management support subcommittee hearing Wednesday that the Air Force trained 1,160 new pilots in fiscal 2017, and expects to train 1,311 in fiscal 2019, before expanding further. The Air Force has taken several steps to try to improve air crew's quality of life and quality of service, and solve problems that might be leading some to choose to leave the Air Force. Wilson highlighted efforts to reduce operating tempos, revitalize squadrons and restore support staffs so air crew can concentrate on flying, as well as generous incentive pay and bonuses. The Air Force is also working on testing a “fly-only” technical track for interested airmen, and giving air crew greater input on assignments. But, Wilson said, “retention efforts alone will not solve the aircrew shortage," leading the Air Force to beef up its training capacity. Increased pilot training capacity could become even more important as the Air Force seeks to increase its number of operational squadrons from 312 to 386 by the end of 2030. Wilson told lawmakers that restoring readiness must be a top priority of the Air Force. The service is focusing on fixing readiness in the 204 operational squadrons that would be most important in a high-end fight. By the end of 2020, she said the Air Force hopes 80 percent of those units will have the right number of properly trained and equipped airmen. And two years after that, Wilson hopes 80 percent of all 312 operational squadrons will be ready. The Air Force has already made significant progress in cutting the maintainer shortage, Wilson said. Two years ago, the Air Force was short 4,000 maintainers, but by December, that gap is expected to be completely eliminated. But the Air Force's work on maintenance isn't done. Wilson said these new, green maintainers must be seasoned until they have enough experience to do more complicated or unsupervised work. Full article: https://www.airforcetimes.com/news/your-air-force/2018/10/10/air-force-hopes-to-train-1500-new-pilots-each-year-by-2022-to-help-solve-shortage

  • With cyber forces underequipped, DoD turns to rapid prototyping contracting

    July 23, 2018 | International, C4ISR

    With cyber forces underequipped, DoD turns to rapid prototyping contracting

    By: Mark Pomerleau U.S. Cyber Command's main warrior cadre has been deemed ready for war and now the organization is shifting its focus to readiness and operations. Sources have told Fifth Domain that DoD's cyber warriors lack certain skills, capabilities and even equipment. One source went so far as to say that the list of what these forces can do is short. As a result, the military wants to quickly get these new cyber warriors the tools they need. To do this, they are turning to contracting vehicles such as other transaction authorities and the so-called IT Box construct as a way to skirt the traditional acquisition system, which is often derided as lethargic, bureaucratic and not optimized for the high tempo of the software-centric world. These approaches allow for the government to partner with non-traditional companies for less mature technologies and prototypes meaning solutions, albeit some that are not always 100 percent mature, get to warfighters faster. This approach allows DoD to be more agile and flexible in procuring and equipping, multiple industry sources told Fifth Domain. However, one potential downside to this approach is a lack of competition for this work. What do cyber warriors need? As the command is growing, maturing and standing on its own, it needs training modules, infrastructure to conduct operations on and tools. Leaders say one of the most critical needs of cyber warriors is a training platform. And industry officials add that often the first time cyber warriors face certain techniques is during a mission. This is because of a lack of a holistic and robust training environment, similar to the Army's combat training centers or the Air Force's Red Flag. To change that the Army, on behalf of Cyber Command, is in charge of an effort called the Persistent Cyber Training Environment. The Army, using an OTA approach, is running a series of innovation challenges as a way to prototype capability. This approach would provide an interim solution to cyber warriors while at the same time reduce risk and help the larger program of record. Another capability cyber warriors will need is an operational platform from which to house tools, launch operations and perform command and control. Currently, the Air Force is working this program on behalf of Cyber Command. The Unified Platform, as it's called, is considered one of CYBERCOM's largest and most critical acquisition programs to date. Industry officials have said it is necessary to conduct cyber operations and is critical to national security. The Air Force's acquisition strategy is not totally clear, with some industry sources noting that they are not taking an OTA approach to this critical capability. The service is currently using the General Services Administration's premier enterprise Alliant Government wide Acquisition Contract vehicle in which multiple contractors will be awarded and will compete against each other for individual task orders on the final program. Federal agencies traditionally use Alliant to implement new and innovative technologies. (Potential) Drawbacks Despite being an attractive option to rapidly equip forces, these vehicles come with some risk. Industry officials acknowledge that OTAs were meant for prototyping, research and development and risk reduction for larger programs of record, not as a replacement for procuring large programs and platforms. While Congress has extended the use of OTAs for actual development of production, William LaPlante, senior vice president and general manager for MITRE National Security Sector, calls this “a dodgy area.” LaPlante, who served as assistant secretary of the Air Force for acquisition,, told Fifth Domain that the OTAs can limit competition. Since these rapid prototyping vehicles enable DoD to work with non-traditional companies that don't have to bring forth fully developed solutions, they tend to favor smaller tech companies as opposed to larger defense contractors. LaPlante said if one subscribes to the philosophy that the best product comes from a full competition, the competition part of these contracting mechanisms is not very clear. Second, he said, going faster means the upfront homework in the way of budgeting, market research and strategy may be neglected. While this work might take a bit of time, if it's not done, he said, the risk of making mistakes increases. Going forward, LaPlante noted that it will be important how blowback and failure is handled because “there's no question mistakes will be made." There is also the issue of integration. With a series of disparate systems, it is unclear who will be the integrator: government or industry? “It's a perpetual discussion of the last 20-30 years: is the government itself strong enough to assume the role of integrator? Probably not. You need some industry partner,” he said. https://www.fifthdomain.com/dod/2018/07/20/with-cyber-forces-underequipped-dod-turns-to-rapid-prototyping-contracting/

  • South Korea to develop electronic warfare aircraft, buy helicopters

    April 14, 2023 | International, Aerospace

    South Korea to develop electronic warfare aircraft, buy helicopters

    South Korea’s defense procurement agency has approved two major acquisition programs, cumulatively worth billions of dollars.

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