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August 29, 2023 | International, Aerospace

Netherlands doubles order of MQ-9 Reaper drones, plans to arm them

The Dutch want to be able to conduct more missions in more places, according to a government spokesperson.

https://www.c4isrnet.com/global/europe/2023/08/29/netherlands-doubles-order-of-mq-9-reaper-drones-plans-to-arm-them/

On the same subject

  • ‘No lines on the battlefield’: Pentagon’s new war-fighting concept takes shape

    August 17, 2020 | International, Land, C4ISR

    ‘No lines on the battlefield’: Pentagon’s new war-fighting concept takes shape

    By: Aaron Mehta WASHINGTON — For most of this year, Pentagon planners have been developing a new joint war-fighting concept, a document meant to guide how the Defense Department fights in the coming decades. Now, with an end-of-year deadline fast approaching, two top department officials believe the concept is coalescing around a key idea — one that requires tossing decades of traditional thinking out the window. “What I've noticed is that, as opposed to everything I've done my entire career, the biggest difference is that in the future there will be no lines on the battlefield,” Gen. John Hyten, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said during an Aug. 12 event hosted by the Hudson Institute. The current structure, Hyten said, is all about dividing areas of operations. “Wherever we go, if we have to fight, we established the forward edge of the battle area, we've established the fire support coordination line, the forward line of troops, and we say: ‘OK, Army can operate here. Air Force can operate here,' ” Hyten explained. “Everything is about lines” now, he added. But to function in modern contested environments, “those lines are eliminated.” What does that mean in practice? Effectively, Hyten — who will be a keynote speaker at September's Defense News Conference — laid out a vision in which every force can both defend itself and have a deep-strike capability to hold an enemy at bay, built around a unified command-and-control system. “A naval force can defend itself or strike deep. An air force can defend itself or strike deep. The Marines can defend itself or strike deep,” he said. “Everybody.” That “everybody” includes international partners, Hyten added, as the U.S. operates so often in a coalition framework that this plan only works if it can integrate others. And for the entire structure to succeed, the Pentagon needs to create the Joint All-Domain Command and Control capability currently under development. “So that's the path we've been going down for a while. And it's starting to actually mature and come to fruition now,” Hyten said. The day before Hyten's appearance, Victorino Mercado, assistant secretary of defense for strategy, plans and capabilities, talked with a small group of reporters, during which he noted: “We had disparate services [with] their concepts of fighting. We never really had a manner to pull all the services together to fight as a coherent unit.” Mercado also said the war-fighting concept will directly “drive some of our investments” in the future and tie together a number of ongoing efforts within the department — including the individual combatant command reviews and the Navy's shipbuilding plan. “I can tell you there's some critical components [from those reviews] — how you command and control the forces, how you do logistics; there are some common themes in there in a joint war-fighting concept,” he said. “I can tell you if we had that concept right now, we could use that concept right now to influence the ships that we are building, the amount of ships that we need, what we want the [combatant commands] to do. “So this war-fighting concept is filling a gap. I wish we had it now. Leadership wishes we had it now,” he added. “It would inform all of the decisions that we make today because now is about positioning ourselves in the future for success.” Like Hyten, Mercado expressed confidence that the concept will be ready to go by the end of the year, a deadline set by Defense Secretary Mark Esper. But asked whether the department will make details of the concept public when it is finished, Mercado said there is a “tension” between informing the public and key stakeholders and not giving an edge to Russia and China. “I think there is an aspect that we need to share of this joint war-fighting concept,” he said. “We have to preserve the classified nature of it. And I think I have to be careful what I say here, to a degree.” https://www.defensenews.com/pentagon/2020/08/14/no-lines-on-the-battlefield-the-pentagons-new-warfighting-concept-takes-shape/

  • DARPA’s Fast Lightweight Autonomy program tests the scouting software of tomorrow’s wars

    July 31, 2018 | International, C4ISR

    DARPA’s Fast Lightweight Autonomy program tests the scouting software of tomorrow’s wars

    By: Kelsey Atherton Every map is an outdated map. Buildings change, people relocate, and what was accurate a decade ago may mean nothing to someone on patrol today. Which is one reason the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency is pursuing Fast Lightweight Autonomy, a program designed to teach drones to effortlessly scout and map unfamiliar locations, without the help of GPS or external guidance tools, so that the military can rely on the freshest scouting information possible. For Phase II of the program, DARPA split the task into three parts. One team worked on better flight outdoors in a natural environment at full speed. Another team pursued drone flight in an urban environment, with the drone building a semantic map of the cars and buildings it encountered, while a third team focused on navigating indoors. Taken together, the teams are demonstrating in part the way robots can do what humans do when in unfamiliar terrain, but then speed it up and transmit that information back to humans following behind. First and foremost are the military applications. If DARPA's program results in workable code and sensors, future missions equipped with quadcopters could let the robots scout a contested area before putting any humans at risk. And that area could include dense woods, civilian-lined streets in an area that's seen some insurgent action, or even shelled-out buildings that may be hiding snipers or other traps. The robot explores and informs, and then the humans can follow afterwards, with fresh information loaded onto their tablets and guiding their movements. There are applications for the technology beyond a shooting war. Rescue workers could use drones based on this software to see if a damaged building is safe enough to send rescuers into, or to see if there are even people alive inside who might need rescuing. Drones that can fly quickly through forests could seek out lost hikers, shifting the human energy from search to rescue. Some of this, notes FLA program manager Jean-Charles Ledé, could be done at present by skilled human pilots, the kind that race drones with first-person view goggles. But, says Ledé, “We don't want to deploy a world-class FPV racer with every search and rescue team.” Drones that can navigate by software alone reduce the skill needed to manage the flying robots. In a pinch, the algorithm is a substitute for expertise, and far more scalable a solution. https://www.c4isrnet.com/unmanned/2018/07/30/darpas-fast-lightweight-autonomy-program-tests-the-scouting-software-of-tomorrows-wars/

  • Top Aces logs 80,000 hours of air combat training

    August 15, 2019 | International, Aerospace

    Top Aces logs 80,000 hours of air combat training

    Top Aces Inc. announced that it has broken its own record of 75,000 hours of operational air combat training, reaching an industry leading 80,000 flight hours. No other adversary air provider in the world has delivered this number of flight hours carrying out live air training missions. The milestone came on July 30, 2019, during two-ship Red Air support for German Air Force (GAF) Eurofighters from the Tactical Luftwaffen Wing 71 Richthofen in Wittmund, Germany. The pilots, Elmar “Elmo” Besold and Raimund “Lendi” Lendermann, are among Top Aces' most experienced. A proud provider of advanced and innovative adversary air services to the world's leading air forces in Canada, Australia, Germany, and soon the United States, Top Aces has earned a reputation for its commitment to professionalism, safety, and efficiency. “Our dedication to serving our customers as well as our motivation to always do better have allowed us to reach a record-breaking and unblemished 80,000 flight hours,” said Paul Bouchard, president and CEO of Top Aces. “We are very pleased with this milestone and are committed to continue to deliver the next generation of highly-representative adversary air to all our customers worldwide.” With a current fleet mix of Dornier Alpha Jets, Douglas A-4 Skyhawks, Learjet 35As, Westwinds and a future fleet of F-16s, Top Aces has a flexible offering ready to meet growing client needs. The company has plans for expansion as early as this year. At the prominent Royal International Air Tattoo (RIAT) in the United Kingdom last month, Top Aces had the opportunity to meet with senior leadership from the world's leading air forces to explore growth opportunities. “We are extremely proud to announce this exciting accomplishment for our company,” said Top Aces' chief commercial officer, Russ Quinn. “Our vision remains to be the most trusted provider of advanced air combat training solutions by delivering industry-leading standards of safety, airworthiness and operational excellence.” https://www.skiesmag.com/press-releases/top-aces-hits-80000-hours-of-air-combat-training/

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