New Zealand’s military chief talks recruitment, drones and Ukraine

On the same subject

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  September 14, 2024 | International, C4ISR, Security

  17-Year-Old Arrested in Connection with Cyber Attack Affecting Transport for London

  17-year-old arrested over cyber attack on TfL, exposing 5,000 customers' sensitive data. Investigation ongoing.

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  January 4, 2019 | International, Aerospace

  New in 2019: Air Force looks for new bomb designs to fight Russia and China

  By: Kyle Rempfer A growing cohort of Air Force researchers are arguing that the service needs to undergo a munitions revolution if it is to take on a peer-level adversary in open conflict. “We're developing a range of technologies to enable next-generation and improve precision effects on the battlefield,” Col. Garry Haase, who helms the Air Force Research Lab Munitions Directorate, told an audience at the Air Force Association Annual Conference this fall. In some instances, that will mean more powerful munitions to breach and destroy Russian and Chinese structures in the event of war. “There is now a shift in emphasis away from minimizing to maximizing effects in a high-end fight,” said John Wilcox, vice president of advanced programs and technology at Northrop Grumman, at the conference. “Requirements from our missions directorate say we continue to have to deal with the whole spectrum of threats as we shift to more of a near-peer threat focus,” Wilcox added. “We are looking at larger munitions with bigger effects.” And while neither members of the AFA panel named Russia or China specifically, a recent study by the Mitchell Institute, which is aligned with the Air Force Association, certainly did. In the document, titled “The Munition Effects Revolution," several retired senior Air Force officers argue that the U.S. munitions arsenal is overdue for a shakeup. “The bomb body, a steel shell filled with explosive material, is relatively unchanged across the past 100 years," the study reads. "But some elements of modern munitions have significantly evolved—particularly guidance elements. Munition effects—the destructive envelope of heat, blast, and fragmentation—remain essentially unchanged.” High demand for combat aircraft is a key driver behind the need for enhanced munitions options, according to the Mitchell Institute. “The Air Force is currently operating the smallest and oldest aircraft force in its history,” the study reads. “Additionally, current mission capable rates are low and pilots are in increasingly short supply. To best meet combatant command requirements amidst these constraints, it is crucial to ensure each sortie flown and every bomb dropped yields maximum potential.” https://www.airforcetimes.com/news/your-air-force/2019/01/03/new-in-2019-air-force-looks-for-new-bomb-designs-to-fight-russia-and-china

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  August 28, 2018 | International, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR

  Here are the new areas of interest for the Army Rapid Capabilities Office

  By: Mark Pomerleau The Army's Rapid Capabilities Office is beginning to expand to new areas of interest. Initially stood up in 2016, the RCO was designed to address the Army's biggest capability gaps by delivering solutions in one to five years. The original focus areas for the office included electronic warfare, position navigation and timing and cyber. While in the past few years it has moved out a bit into areas such as countering unmanned aerial systems, officials presenting Aug. 22 at TechNet Augusta explained the organization is now officially looking into much broader areas. The first is in future communications and narrowband communications. Rob Monto, Emerging Technologies Office lead at the RCO, explained these new areas of interest for the RCO could allow for fall-back or redundancy in denied environments. They could also allow paths for certain specific messages, such as medevac, to be transmitted. Monto then outlined an interest in robotics for employing logistics and maintenance for heavy platforms. Robots can help replace parts faster during war or even augment humans in the way Special Operations Command has conducted experiments with exoskeletons. The next area is in conformal antennas, which Monto said were of interest in order to reduce the profile of vehicles. Monto described a keen interest for the RCO in electric drives and drivetrains, noting that commercial industry and heavy machinery have started to take this route. Lastly, Monto noted that the RCO is interested in high-energy lasers and directed energy technology. Anything in these areas are starting to become a broader portfolio for the RCO, Monto said, adding they are looking to bring new technologies in that might not be specifically leveraged today. https://www.c4isrnet.com/show-reporter/technet-augusta/2018/08/24/here-are-the-new-areas-of-interest-for-the-army-rapid-capabilities-office