October 13, 2020 | International, Security, Other Defence
COLOGNE, Germany — As NATO officials hash out reform proposals aimed at reinvigorating the alliance, there will be a dedicated push to enhance military technology development among member states, Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg announced this week.
“As part of NATO 2030, I intend to put further proposals on the table to maintain our technological edge, to develop common principles and standards for new technologies, and to enhance cooperation between allies in areas like joint research and development,” Stoltenberg said during a speech at the Globsec think tank's Bratislava Forum event.
The NATO 2030 drill encompasses various strands of analyses by experts inside and outside the alliance command structure. The reform push goes back to a resolution from the 2019 London summit, which tasked the Norwegian prime minister at the time to lead a “reflection process” that would incorporate new threats like cyberwar, the rise of China, Russian saber-rattling, climate change and terrorism.
Over the summer, Stoltenberg unveiled a new political tack emanating from the NATO 2030 study, postulating that the alliance would strive to increase its global reach, including in the Indo-Pacific.
“Military strength is only part of the answer,” Stoltenberg said in a June speech. “We also need to use NATO more politically.”
He reiterated that objective this week, saying the alliance would seek deeper ties with “like-minded” nations outside of NATO.
Resilience is another key prong of the reform agenda, and Stoltenberg previewed a new push for member states to shore up their defenses against potentially hostile forces seeking to undermine the alliance through the back door. Such measures could come in the form of a common monitoring regime for keeping foreign investors from snapping up “critical infrastructure, companies and technologies,” Stoltenberg said.
“And we should agree common principles and whether to export technologies that we rely on for our security,” he added.
Also on the docket in the course of the reform process is a new strategic concept that would replace the existing version dating from 2010, Stoltenberg announced.
November 28, 2023 | International, Land
Early Ford-class maintenance costs are lower than expected, meaning the aircraft carriers could save more than predicted compared to the Nimitz class.
August 26, 2020 | International, Aerospace
By: Valerie Insinna NELLIS AIR FORCE BASE, Nev. — A new simulator campus at Nellis Air Force Base could be key for the U.S. Air Force as it grapples with the question of how it can train pilots against complex threats like Russia and China at a budget-friendly cost. On Aug. 17, the Air Force opened the doors of the Virtual Test and Training Center, or VTTC, a new, $38 million building where pilots will practice advanced tactics in a simulated environment that replicates war against a near-peer nation. “When you think about great power competition and where we might have to fight — shipping out to fight a China or Russia, particularly — there is no live training venue for the joint force, certainly for the Air Force, that's big enough, that has the threat density that can replicate what China or Russia can do,” said Maj. Gen. Chuck Corcoran, who leads the U.S. Air Force Warfare Center at Nellis. While live exercises will remain an important component of pilot training, the VTTC will give the Air Force a way to simulate a vast battlespace populated by high-end threats. Users will be able to network with other pilots on the system — who fly F-16s, F-22s, F-35s and F-15Es, with perhaps more to come — and fly complex missions against virtual enemies that are impossible to emulate in live training exercises like Red Flag. The VTTC building, which Defense News toured during an Aug. 21 visit to the base, is currently empty. But it won't stay that way for long, said Lt. Col. Chris Duncan, an F-35 operational test pilot and commander of Detachment 1, 29th Training Systems Squadron. F-15E Strike Eagle simulators are slated to be delivered to the center in October and will go online in April 2021. The joint simulation environment — a government-owned virtual training environment currently under development at Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Maryland, and when finished will emulate high-end threats — is set to be fielded at the VTTC in October 2021. “Typically aircraft simulators have taught pilots how to fly them and basic employment,” Duncan said. “We're not worried about those things. We're assuming they already know that.” Instead, the training will focus on more robust mission sets, including advanced training for Air Force Weapons School students, operational testing of new platforms and large-scale war games, he said. The Air Force is deliberating how best it can expand the VTTC's capabilities over time on a limited budget. Among the factors under consideration is whether to buy additional simulators, such as ones for the new F-15EX. It may roll out the Nellis Mission Operations Network, on which the VTTC will run, to other bases such as Whitman Air Force Base in Missouri — the home to the service's only stealth bomber. There is also discussion about how to integrate the simulators on the network with live aircraft flying on the Nevada Test and Training Range, which would allow the VTTC to project synthetic threats to jets practicing midair tactics. Historically, the Air Force has been hard-pressed to fund advanced simulation efforts. The ultimate success of the VTTC may ultimately come down to whether there is enough money to continue funding simulators for additional aircraft and to keep upgrading hardware and software. Duncan said the Air Force is already keeping that point in mind. Instead of simulators that provide a completely accurate cockpit experience, the service is looking to save money by prioritizing simulators that can provide the experience of advanced missions, even if the simulator imagery or cockpit experience isn't completely realistic. But he underscored the cost-effectiveness of virtual training when compared to its live counterpart. “The payoff, the bang for the buck,” Duncan said, “it far surpasses what we can do in live flying.” https://www.defensenews.com/air/2020/08/25/for-air-force-pilots-the-toughest-training-flights-are-going-virtual/
November 22, 2019 | International, Aerospace
ByChristen McCurdy Nov. 21 (UPI) -- Raytheon has been awarded a new contract to produce the Paveway Family of Weapons, kits that turn "dumb" bombs in the precision guided bombs, for allied militaries. The $386 million contract, announced Wednesday by the Department of Defense, covers "Paveway-specific activities," including studies, production, certification, integration and sustainment, referred to as a total package approach. Paveway bombs, really kits that convert "dumb" bombs into precision weapons, can use either GPS or laser guidance, increasing both accuracy and flexibility of existing munitions. According to Raytheon, Paveways have made up a significant number of air-to-ground precision-guided weapons used in recent years in Middle East missions, including Operation Iraqi Freedom, Operation Enduring Freedom and Unified Protector. The new contract is a modification to a previous one, increasing the ceiling of the previous contract, awarded in August 2018, from $110 million to $496 million. This modification involves 100 percent military sales to countries that have either contracted to acquire or expressed interest in acquiring Paveway weapons, and is funded entirely by foreign military sales funds, the Pentagon said. Work will be performed at Raytheon's Tucson site and at Air Force test ranges. https://www.upi.com/Defense-News/2019/11/21/Raytheon-awarded-additional-386M-for-foreign-Paveway-bomb-buys/2241574294851/