USAF Chief Scientist Urges Focus On Autonomy Deployment

On the same subject

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  August 23, 2018 | International, C4ISR

  NSA approves tablet and communicator for Five Eyes special forces

  By: Kelsey Atherton At the moment it's most needed, every aspect of close air support comes down to communication. Close air support is essentially air strikes against targets when friendly forces are nearby. But to get there requires a long tail of set-up: the training for the pilot and the special operator calling in the strike, the decades of aircraft development that created the summoned plane or helicopter, the entire political and military rationale that went into the forward-basing of aircraft close enough to a potential crisis point that enables this all to happen. None of that matters, though, if the moment is lost, if the signal doesn't get through, if the support is too far away to make a difference. Viasat's new BATS-D AN/PRC-161 device is designed to close that gap, to make communication happen when it needs to happen, and today, the company is announcing that the device has been approved by the National Security Agency for use with all Five Eyes nations. Let's break this down into pieces. BATS-D stands for “Battlefield Awareness and Targeting System – Dismounted,” an acronym that invokes the Batman of comic and cinematic fame, and clarifies that this is a portable machine, one that can be used by people on foot and without vehicles (though maybe access to horses). The BATS-D is designed for use by U.S. Special Operations Forces and JTACs, or Joint Terminal Attack Controller (the people who call in close air support. Think the old-school radio operator in a pack of plastic army men, but modern). Now, calling in an airstrike involves more touching a location on a miniature tablet and then transferring that image to the pilot who will make the strike. Gone, in theory, are the days of shouting coordinates into an oversized radio and hoping the pilot can match the same spot on a paper map. Five Eyes, also abbreviated FVEY, is the intelligence sharing alliance of five major English-speaking nations: The United States, United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, and Canada. By having an approved communication device with these five specific nations, it means that forces from these nations fighting alongside one another can, in theory, communicate with the closest available aircraft, even if it's not flying the same flag. Full article: https://www.c4isrnet.com/c2-comms/2018/08/22/nsa-approves-tablet-and-communicator-for-five-eyes-special-forces

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  June 5, 2020 | International, Naval

  Kick-off NAVIRIS’ activities

  Genova, June 4, 2020 – Naviris, a 50/50 owned joint venture by Fincantieri and Naval Group, has signed its first contract regarding R&T with OCCAR, the European Joint Armaments Cooperation organisation. Naviris, as prime contractor, will coordinate technical activities managed by Fincantieri and Naval Group and will own the intellectual property of all the research findings. Naviris' R&T program is a cornerstone of a long-term cooperation between Fincantieri and Naval Group Claude Centofanti, CEO of Naviris, declared: “We are delighted that OCCAR has relied on us to participate to the Franco-Italian R&T program. This contract is the first step of more-to-come European projects, regarding not only joint research activities but also the upgrade of design and production process for the vessels destined to France, Italy and their export. We are enthusiastic to launch the activities of such a promising collaboration: the joint-venture Naviris will increasingly contribute to foster innovation and European leadership”. Pierre-Eric Pommellet, CEO of Naval Group, declared: “I am very proud of the kick off of Naviris activities. Thanks to France, Italy and OCCAR, our joint-venture is able to launch a very ambitious R&T program for the coming three and a half years. The extraordinary skills and experience of Fincantieri and Naval Group will contribute to the long term technological advantage of our vessels. This dynamic will sustain the economic recovery of both our countries, Italy and France, in the aftermath of Covid-19 and will contribute to increase our Navies superiority. This R&T program is the first of many more to come. In addition to research projects, Naviris' activities will soon encompass additional initiatives such as the Mid-Life Upgrade of the Horizon frigates”. Giuseppe Bono, CEO of Fincantieri, said: “Today we welcome the beginning of one of the most important projects we have worked on in recent years. We have long believed that the consolidation of the European naval industry represents one of the fundamental means, if not the main in terms of critical mass and synergies, to allow our continent not to be left on the sidelines and instead to play a pivotal role in the upcoming challenges worldwide”. Bono concluded: “On these grounds, we are grateful to the governments of our two countries for sharing the common vision and supporting the alliance between Naval Group and Fincantieri, which will mark the future of our sector”. This R&T program of Naviris encompasses five different projects all aiming at enhancing the performance of Fincantieri's and Naval Group's vessels This R&T program aims at improving the performance of Naval Group's and Fincantieri's vessels. The R&T program is divided into five different projects (see below): 1) Digital ship. This project will develop warship simulation capabilities throughout the whole ship's lifecycle in order to improve product performances assessment, while reducing the need of real testing, and optimize the use of Computer Aided Engineering to enhance both design definition (Hydrodynamics, Aerodynamics) and ship daily on-board operations (through the integrated approach of the Digital Twin Concept); 2) Energy consumption optimization. This project will identify new architectures and equipment useful to improve the global efficiency of the electrical network and monitoring electrical consumption on board Surface Vessels; 3) Fuel cells for surface vessels. This project will develop a modular Fuel Cell System (FCS) suitable for marine applications, capable of being fully integrated on board naval surface vessels; 4) Logistics of the future. This project will boost shipbuilding competitiveness by developing solutions able to increase production efficiency and effectiveness and to reduce costs during the entire product life cycle, ; providing new tools for inspection and maintenance purposes as well as on board management of components in a Naval Vessels working environment. 5) Winning a sea state. This project aims at developing methods, tools and engineering solutions to allow naval surface vessels to safely carry out daily operations (like launch and recovery of units) in worse environmental conditions than currently met. Three sites of Naval Group will be involved in the projects – Nantes-Indret, Ollioules and Lorient, as well as its subsidiary SIREHNA – while, for Fincantieri, the sites of Genova and Trieste will work on the project, along with the subsidiaries Cetena and Seastema. View source version on NAVIRIS: https://www.fincantieri.com/en/media/press-releases/2020/kick-off-naviris-activities/

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  August 22, 2024 | International, Aerospace

  US Army picks Sierra Nevada for long-range spy plane integration work

  The Army has taken a key step in selecting a lead integrator for the HADES program, a future spy plane with range capability well-suited for the Pacific.