July 5, 2021 | International, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security
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April 26, 2018 | International, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security
New Pentagon research chief is working on lasers, AI, hypersonic munitions and more
By: Todd South
The new chief for research in the Pentagon is building an artificial intelligence center, pushing for self-driving vehicles in combat zones and more powerful lasers, and says solving the hypersonic gap means updating testing facilities.
Defense Undersecretary for Research and Engineering Michael Griffin testified before the House Armed Services Committee last week, answering questions on a range of gear and procurement questions.
But those most relevant to service members included weapons systems on the horizon that troops could see in combat with near peer adversaries.
More rapid development will include the use of unmanned ground vehicles in formations.
The Army recently announced the 10th Mountain Division and the 101st Airborne Division will have a robotic combat vehicle called the Squad Multipurpose Equipment Transport in the ranks this year for testing, which will develop the likely full-fielding gear mule-type robot.
Simple tasks, such as delivering food, mail, water and fuel, could be automated sooner than some think, Griffin said.
“I think, frankly, we're going to have self-driving vehicles in theater for the Army before we'll have self-driving cars on the streets,” Griffin said. “If that can be done by an automated unmanned vehicle with a relatively simple AI driving algorithm where I don't have to worry about pedestrians and road signs and all of that, why wouldn't I do that?”
Griffin pointed to Chinese systems that have been fielded or can be soon fielded that can launch a strike and reach out “thousands of kilometers” from the Chinese shore and “hold our carrier battle groups or forward deployed forces on land” at risk.
“We, today, do not have systems which can hold them at risk in a corresponding manner, and we don't have defenses against those systems,” Griffin told the House Armed Services Committee members on April 18.
Another Chinese technology threat includes the nation's development of swarm drone technologies to counter U.S. airpower and other strengths.
That means getting powerful laser systems up to snuff. But it won't happen tomorrow.
“We need to have 100-kilowatt-class weapons on Army theater vehicles. We need to have 300-kilowatt-class weapons on Air Force tankers,” Griffin said. “We need to have megawatt-class directed energy weapons in space for space defense. These are things we can do over the next decade if we can maintain our focus.”
Scientists he's been talking with have told him that level of laser power is five to six years away and a “megawatt laser” is within a decade with persistent investment.
‘An unacceptable situation'
Sen. Martin Heinrich, D-N.M., pointed out that the testing facilities, such as White Sands Missile Range in his state, have scarcely seen any upgrades or improvements in the past two decades, despite leaps in technology for missiles, lasers and other items.
Griffin agreed, saying at a low estimate at least 20 such testing facilities across the nation are in the same situation.
He said the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency does most of the leading-edge work on hypersonic missile systems and they have exactly one testing facility, a NASA wind tunnel near Langley, Virginia.
“This is an unacceptable situation,” Griffin said.
He promised to return with budget requests to renovate those facilities to improve testing.
Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., asked about a new area of focus that has broad-reaching effects: artificial intelligence.
Griffin oversees the creation of a Joint Artificial Intelligence Center that would create AI solutions for all the service branches.
He deferred on the details but told members that he expected to return with a plan within two months.
“We owe the Congress a report, I think, about two months from now on what our A.I. strategy will be. And the JAIC, the Joint Artificial Intelligence Center, will be a part of that overall strategy,” Griffin said.
The plan must consider the 592 projects across the Defense Department that have AI as part of their development.
On the same subject
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October 23, 2020 | International, C4ISR
Talk of national 5G plan from DoD causes confusion, concern among lawmakers
Joe Gould and Andrew Eversden The White House is reportedly pressuring the Pentagon to lease some of its prized spectrum for the lucrative 5G market to a single politically connected company, Rivada, using a non-competitive process. The White House's push to fast track a contract for mid-band spectrum to Rivada Networks has alarmed senior administration officials, according to CNN. Rivada and the Pentagon have both rejected those reports, but the denials haven't squelched concerns on Capitol Hill that the administration is using the Defense Department to make an end-run around regulators in pursuit of an expensive boondoggle. The concern on Capitol Hill and elsewhere stems from a September RFI from the Department of Defense that seeks industry input on dynamic spectrum sharing, or ways the Defense Department and commercial entities can safely operate on the same spectrum bands. The RFI asks “how could DoD own and operate 5G networks for its domestic operations?” and “what are the potential issues with DoD owning and operating independent networks for its 5G operations?,” which has fueled fears and pushback in industry about DoD nationalizing a 5G network. In a statement to C4ISRNET on Wednesday, Pentagon spokesperson Russ Goemaere said “No, DOD does not intend to own and operate a national 5G network.” Rather, he said, the DoD needs to better understand how dynamic spectrum sharing can support training, readiness and lethality in the contiguous United States. "This RFI will help DOD understand best methods and approaches for owning and operating independent DoD 5G networks supporting ‘spectrum for training, readiness, and lethality,' " Goemaere said. Rivada has also denied allegations that it's in favor of a nationalized 5G network. “We want to add our voice to those condemning, in the strongest terms, anyone planning to nationalize 5G in America. Whoever they may be. Assuming they exist,” the company said in a statement Oct. 8. The company also released part of its response to the RFI earlier in the week that listed several reasons the DoD shouldn't operate a national 5G network, including costs of operations and maintenance, as well as limited coverage and capacity. Frustration on the Hill The plan has been met with opposition from the wireless industry, Republican and Democratic lawmakers, and reportedly senior officials within the Trump administration. On Wednesday, Smith told reporters he too is opposed to what he has heard so far. “I don't initially support the idea of DoD controlling the 5G network and building it. Someone's going to have to do a lot of convincing to show me that's a good idea,” Smith said. Smith said he agrees with U.S. efforts to counter Chinese dominance in 5G and build a western alternative, and he supports spectrum sharing between the Pentagon and private sector as a way there. But the prospect of a nationalized, DoD-led 5G network has “a lot of folks a little bit nervous” about its feasibility and effectiveness, Smith said, adding the administration's true plans remained unclear. “There is concern if DoD comes in and says, ‘we're just going to build and control the network' — and it's a little murky right now exactly where the Trump administration's at or whether or not they're going to try to go forward with that plan,” Smith said. “That's what we're trying to get some answers to right now.” The direct nature of the White House's push, and emphasis on a fast result, has frustrated and confused congressional committees and agencies covering commercial spectrum allocation — such as the National Telecommunications and Information Administration and Federal Communications Commission — that are traditionally involved in forming telecommunications policy, according to one congressional staffer. Leading the effort on Capitol Hill are Fox News commentator and GOP strategist Karl Rove, who is also a lobbyist for Rivada, and former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, a close ally of the president. “When you have somebody going directly to members, that's usually a sign they're trying to pull one over because they're not interested in doing an evidenced-based approach, talking to experts for that member of Congress. Using people like Karl Rove and Newt Gingrich was an indicator early on that Rivada was not interested in engaging in good faith, but was interested in corporate welfare,” the staffer said. Two lawmakers with jurisdiction over the issue — Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Frank Pallone, Jr., D-N.J., and Communications and Technology Subcommittee Chairman Mike Doyle, D-Pa. — said they are probing reports the White House had “instructed DoD to proceed immediately to a Request for Proposal (‘RFP') in order to move forward toward a national 5G network.” “According to press accounts, several political operatives or lobbyists with close ties to President Trump or his staff – including Karl Rove, Peter Thiel, Newt Gingrich and Brad Parscale – are pushing for the seismic shift in spectrum policy contemplated by the RFI,” they said in a statement this month, referring to the DoD RFI on dynamic spectrum sharing. “These reports also suggest these Republican operatives are working for the benefit of a specific company, Rivada, Inc., which has long championed a national network that Rivada would construct and operate using its sharing technology.” They argued that DoD has “limited or no legal authority ... to construct, operate, or maintain a commercial communications network or lease its assigned electromagnetic spectrum (‘spectrum') to private entities to provide commercial communications service,” and asked that the Government Accountability Office conduct a legal analysis to confirm it. On the other side of the aisle, a Republican aide to the committee warned that Congress would have to be consulted before DoD proceeds beyond the initial RFI. “DOD is collecting information to build a public record, which is never a bad thing, but if the DOD takes additional steps forward we would have to evaluate whatever those proposals may be," the aide said. "[Energy and Commerce Committee ranking member Greg Walden, R-Ore.] has publicly stated that he opposes a nationalized 5G network, as do all five FCC commissioners.” Eighteen Senate Republicans led by Communications, Technology, Innovation, and the Internet Subcommittee Chairman John Thune, R-S.D., wrote to President Donald Trump, to argue against, “nationalizing 5G and experimenting with untested models for 5G deployment,” and in favor of previous White House efforts, which emphasized the private sector building multiple 5G networks. They did not mention Rivada. “While we recognize the need for secure communications networks for our military, we are concerned that such a proposal threatens our national security,” their letter said. “When bad actors only need to penetrate one network, they have a greater likelihood of disrupting the United States' communications services.” The spectrum sharing RFI Dynamic spectrum sharing is a technology the Defense Department is working to develop. The Pentagon recently announced six vendors would take part in a test bed at Hill Air Force Base in Utah, part of $600 million investment into 5G experimentation. The new RFI for spectrum sharing, developed in part by the office of DoD chief information officer, is another step forward in developing ways to share spectrum so the DoD systems that will rely on 5G, like many radar systems, can continue operating unencumbered. A major problem, according to former FCC commissioner Harold Furchtgott-Roth, is that the RFI is “vaguely worded and at times not very accurately worded.” “A benign interpretation of the RFI is that they're really focused on the technology and not on non-federal networks,” said Furchtgott-Roth, now a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute. “But the less benign is that ‘5G' is really a codeword for civilian networks.” Though the RFI has caused outcry, Furchtgott-Roth told C4ISRNET that the RFI did raise “good questions” about spectrum sharing with commercial companies. One of the routes the Pentagon explores in the RFI is leasing the spectrum it owns instead of reallocating. “The Department believes that more spectrum sharing must be the norm and that technology is a way to achieve greater sharing,” said Goemaere, the DoD spokesman. “As a result, DOD is looking for new approaches to spectrum policy, access, and use, and for innovative spectrum sharing technologies. This RFI seeks to expand DOD's knowledge base, understand the state-of-the-art, and inform future DoD research, development and acquisition activities.” Asked if the source selection process would be competitive, Goemaere told C4ISRNET that the DoD will “follow Federal Acquisition Regulations if any further acquisition is sought on this effort.” Furchtgott-Roth said that the leasing aspect raises questions about the DoD's authority to rent out federal assets — a piece that the DoD is also looking for answers to in its RFI. Any RFP would likely need to be a multi-award contract. Given the DoD's challenges with sole-source contracts in the past, particularly its Joint Enterprise Infrastructure Cloud, multiple vendors are likely needed. “It's hard to imagine that the Pentagon would want to repeat that disaster,” Furchtgott-Roth said. https://www.c4isrnet.com/battlefield-tech/it-networks/5g/2020/10/22/talk-of-national-5g-plan-from-dod-causes-confusion-concern-among-lawmakers/
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December 16, 2021 | International, Aerospace
Kuwait gets its first two Eurofighters
The first two of 28 Eurofighters ordered by Kuwait have been delivered to the Gulf state, Italy's Leonardo announced on Tuesday.