U.S. military updates legacy systems as it eyes sixth-generation future

On the same subject

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  August 27, 2020 | International, Aerospace

  US Army pushes Air Launched Effects development with $30 million in contracts

  By Garrett Reim The US Army has awarded 10 contracts worth $29.8 million for development of Air Launched Effects technologies, which include unmanned air vehicles (UAVs) that the service sees as working alongside its helicopters. The projects are divided into three focus areas: air vehicle; mission systems; and payloads. The aim of the projects is to eventually produce a new and more advanced Air Launched Effect prototype, the service said on 24 August. Air Launched Effects are a broad category of UAVs that would act as extensions of rotorcraft, performing missions involving reconnaissance, electronic warfare and loitering munition strikes. The service sees Air Launched Effects as important tools for reaching into enemy territory while keeping rotorcraft beyond the range of adversaries' anti-aircraft weapons. It plans to use the drones from its Boeing AH-64 Apache attack helicopters and General Atomics Aeronautical Systems MQ-1C Gray Eagle UAVs, as well as its Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft. Alliant Techsystems Operations, Raytheon and Area-I won contracts for Air Launched Effects vehicle design development. In March, the army demonstrated a Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk launching an Area-I ALTIUS drone from just 100ft above the ground. L3 Technologies, Rockwell Collins and Aurora Flight Services won mission systems contracts, and Leonardo Electronics, Technology Service, Raytheon, and Alliant Techsystems secured payloads contracts. The army says it plans to select designs for the Air Launched Effect vehicle, payload and mission system for its final prototype in 15 months. The service wants to initially field its prototype in fiscal year 2024. https://www.flightglobal.com/military-uavs/us-army-pushes-air-launched-effects-development-with-30-million-in-contracts/139908.article?referrer=RSS

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  May 4, 2021 | International, Aerospace

  L’Armée de l’Air et de l’Espace (AAE), le Centre national d'études spatiales (CNES) et le Groupe ADP coopèrent dans la lutte anti-drones

  Selon les données de l'Agence européenne de la sécurité aérienne (AESA), le nombre d'incidents liés à des drones est en augmentation constante, étant passé de 600 événements entre 2011 et 2015 à près de 2 000 pour la seule année 2019. Dans ce contexte, l'AAE, le CNES et le Groupe ADP ont conclu une convention d'une durée de cinq ans visant à partager leur analyse de la menace, leur expérience et les solutions techniques pour la contrer, indiquent-ils dans un communiqué. Il s'agit pour le Groupe ADP de sécuriser la basse altitude, pour le CNES de renforcer la protection du Centre spatial guyanais et le centre spatial de Toulouse, et pour l'AAE de protéger le ciel français. La Tribune, 3 mai

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  October 5, 2018 | International, C4ISR

  Army chooses Raytheon, Lockheed to mature new missile defense radars

  By: Jen Judson WASHINGTON — The U.S. Army has picked Raytheon and Lockheed Martin to continue on the path to develop a next-generation air and missile defense radar following a concept design phase that looked at four different companies' technology, according to company representatives. The Department of Defense Ordnance Technology Consortium awarded contracts to four companies to come up with designs to help inform the Army's requirements for the Patriot AMD radar replacement a year ago. Because of their previous involvement, it came as no shock both Raytheon and Lockheed received contracts for the Lower Tier Air-and-Missile Defense Sensor. Northrop Grumman and dark horse Technovative Applications, based in Brea, California, were also awarded contracts. Raytheon is the manufacturer of the legacy Patriot system, and Lockheed Martin spent years developing a system to replace Patriot, from which the Army ultimately walked away. That system — the Medium Extended Air Defense Systems — is still in development with Germany. After spending years debating when and how it would replace its current Patriot system's radar with one that can detect threats coming from any direction, the Army decided to hold a competition for a brand-new 360-degree, lower-tier AMD sensor in early 2017. Replacing the radar becomes evermore critical as the Army looks at dealing with different threats: ones that fly slower, faster or maneuver differently. According to the Army's Air and Missile Defense Cross-Functional Team lead, Brig. Gen. Randall McIntire, the service is trying to move quickly to procure a radar more capable than the current one; any future radar must fit into the future Integrated Air and Missile Defense framework. The AMD CFT is part of the Army's new four-star organization — Army Futures Command — tasked to get after the service's top six modernization priorities. AMD is fifth on that list ahead of soldier lethality and behind the network. Each priority has an assigned CFT to manage modernization efforts. The concept design contracts were given a period of performance of 15 months, so the downselect to Raytheon and Lockheed came slightly early. Congress has mandated that the Army by 2025 find a way to produce a 360-degree radar, accelerating the service's effort to bring something online. The Army will get a capable radar over time, McIntire told Defense News in an Oct. 1 interview, but it might be worth quickly fielding a radar and then building capability into the system over time. McIntire noted that while a 360-degree capability is a top priority, there might be some key performance parameters that rank higher such as more efficiency and better range. “We are proud to be selected as one of the companies to move forward to the Technical Maturation and Risk Reduction phase for the Lower Tier and Air Missile Defense Sensor that will provide the United States Army the ability to detect, identify, track and report aircraft and missiles,” a Lockheed spokesperson said in an Oct. 3 statement to Defense News. Raytheon spokesman Mike Nachshen told Defense News that the company is entering the technology-maturation and risk-reduction phase of the program with a brand-new radar, rather than an upgraded Patriot radar. The capability was designed from the ground up using gallium nitride technology and a staring array, rather than a rotating one, to provide constant 360-degree coverage, according to Nachshen. The company has its own GaN foundry. Raytheon expects to begin discussions with the Army over the next few weeks to determine how the radar's performance will be evaluated, the timeline of the phase and how much the Army plans to invest. https://www.defensenews.com/land/2018/10/04/army-chooses-raytheon-lockheed-to-mature-new-missile-defense-radars