New Case Study: Unmanaged GTM Tags Become a Security Nightmare

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  November 4, 2019 | International, Aerospace

  USAF Sees Five-Year Window To Invent A New Fighter Aircraft Industry

  By Steve Trimble and Lee Hudson The U.S. Air Force's vision to rapidly produce multiple fleets of advanced fighters the way Apple makes iPhones begins with an important change in plans for the secretive Next-Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) program. For three years, the Air Force analyzed how to replace the Lockheed Martin F-22 by 2030. The original plan—defined as the Penetrating Counter-Air capability in the Air Superiority Flight Plan released in 2017—called for developing a conventional replacement for the F-22, with a next-generation F-X fighter featuring a dazzling array of new technologies, ranging from adaptive cycle propulsion to advanced weapons and new sensors. As an extended, two-year-long analysis of alternatives neared a conclusion in mid-2018, the Air Force decided to shift to a new approach. The new strategy led Air Force leaders to drain about half of the $13.2 billion budget previously allocated to the NGAD program through fiscal 2024 in the Defense Department's five-year spending plan sent to Congress in March. Instead of launching full development of the F-X within that five-year window, the Air Force is developing a radical new aircraft design process—even as spending continues on deliveries of Lockheed F-35As, Boeing F-15EXs and a host of fighter upgrade programs. “We're at a good point to attempt something new because we have hot production lines for fifth [generation fighters]. [And] fourth-gen fighters [are] going through major multibillion dollar modernizations,” says Will Roper, the assistant secretary of the U.S. Air Force for acquisition, technology and logistics. “So it's a good time to try something new for a five-year window and see if we can create a new way to build airplanes for us that [is] between the building of one or two X-planes and the building of 1,000 units in a major defense acquisition program,” Roper, who is leading the new NGAD strategy, tells Aviation Week in an interview. Roper's comments on the sidelines of Aviation Week's DefenseChain Conference on Oct. 22, help clarify the dramatic shifts within the classified NGAD program over the last year. The U.S. Air Force essentially has delayed F-X development beyond the five-year spending plan to provide a window of time to invent a new business model for the combat aircraft industry, one ideally suited for a new era of air warfare with peer adversaries. The initiative will be supported by the new Program Executive Office for Advanced Aircraft that was established on Oct. 2. The office will be led by Col. Dale White, formerly the senior program director for the Northrop Grumman B-21 bomber development program at the Rapid Capabilities Office. Roper's vision for NGAD calls for a sharp break from the conventional acquisition approach adopted for the B-21, with a single prime contractor responsible for the full aircraft lifecycle, including at least a 10- to 15-year period between an initial contract award and delivering an operational capability. To Roper, the ideal model for NGAD is not another Western fighter program, but rather a consumer electronic device. Apple's customers buy an iPhone model that is designed to become obsolete within a few years, and replace it with a more advanced device, he says. The equivalent in the fighter business are aircraft designed to last perhaps 3,500 flight hours, which the U.S. Air Force buys in batches of hundreds and replaces in intervals of 10 years or less. “We want to retire airplanes when the next one is ready to be brought out—very similar to the iPhone model. So there's no reason to keep that old iPhone once you have the new one,” Roper says. Over the next five years, the Air Force wants to define the digital engineering-based approach to the hardware and common operating system approach to the software for the NGAD aircraft family. The goal is to attract new companies besides traditional defense firms to be involved in production, along with the specialized design units of the prime contractors such as Lockheed's Skunk Works, Boeing's Phantom Works and Northrop Grumman's Scaled Composites. “I could imagine companies that could build a few airplanes per month eventually breaking in and wanting to do it because there's an opportunity to do it frequently. And let's face it, design and cutting-edge airplanes [are] just wicked cool,” Roper says. https://aviationweek.com/defense/usaf-sees-five-year-window-invent-new-fighter-aircraft-industry

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  July 15, 2020 | International, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security

  Un rapport du Sénat appelle à sauver la BITD

  Un rapport du Sénat appelle le gouvernement à maintenir un effort de défense substantiel sous peine de voir disparaître des pans de la base industrielle et technologique de défense, la BITD. Celle-ci « joue dans les cinq ans qui viennent sa survie », estiment les auteurs, deux sénateurs de la commission des affaires étrangères et de la défense, Pascal Allizard (Les Républicains) et Michel Boutant (PS). Le nouveau gouvernement devrait annoncer après l'été un plan de relance. « Il est fondamental que ce plan comporte un volet spécifique pour la BITD, soulignent Pascal Allizard et Michel Boutant. Les entreprises de la BITD qui disparaîtraient faute de relance ne seront pas remplacées ». La Tribune du 14 juillet 2020

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  June 28, 2018 | International, Land, C4ISR

  Here’s how artificial intelligence could predict when your Army vehicle will break down

  By: Victoria Leoni The Army wants to use artificial intelligence software to predict when vehicle parts might break down and prevent equipment failures before they happen. Uptake, a Chicago-based AI company, recently received a $1 million contract from the Army to test its technology on a group of deployed Bradley M2A3 combat vehicles, according to the Washington Post. Depending on how the trial goes, the AI software could be applied on a much larger scale. “We're looking to see if we can leverage some of Uptake's machine learning algorithms to spot equipment failures before they happen,” Lt. Col. Chris Conley, Army program manager for the Bradley fleet, said in the report. “If this pans out and can provide some real capability, the Army could look to expand this to the entire Bradley fleet as well as other combat vehicle fleets.” Uptake's technology will analyze the signals produced by the Army's equipment to provide updates on the equipment's maintenance status. If a vehicle part shows signs of being faulty, for example, commanders will be alerted and have the ability to repair or replace the part before the entire vehicle is compromised. “Just like humans have been putting their statuses on Facebook and Twitter, these machines have been putting out their statuses for decades and nobody's been listening,” Ganesh Bell, president of Uptake Technologies, told the Post. “Only recently do we have the technology to understand that.” M2 and M3 Bradleys are some of the most widely used Army vehicles in peacekeeping and combat missions. This will be the first application of the technology to military vehicles. “I'm not convinced that this will be successful, but I'm really excited about the potential of it,” Conley told the Post. “We're doing a pilot test to verify their claims before we do anything at scale.” Retired Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and an Uptake shareholder, told the Post the AI technology is what the military needs to ensure readiness and efficiency. “What I've seen on the component side is you almost wait for failure and then figure it out,” he said. “Based on the results I've seen there is a huge potential here for better outcomes and a lot less expense, which is what anybody in the military is focused on.” https://www.armytimes.com/news/your-army/2018/06/27/heres-how-artificial-intelligence-could-predict-when-your-army-vehicle-will-break-down/