July 8, 2024 | International, Aerospace
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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July 25, 2018 | International, Naval
Navy, Marine Corps Racing to Increase Amphibious Fleet as Demand Rises
By: Ben Werner CAPITOL HILL — The Navy and Marine Corps are running up against a deadline to add more amphibious warships to the fleet before older hulls start retiring, Marine Maj. Gen. David Coffman told lawmakers and shipbuilding industry representatives at a congressional forum Tuesday. Recognizing this is a moment when the Hill is pushing to build more ships faster, Coffman said he's focused on ensuring these new ships are designed to accommodate changing technologies and remain useful for 50 years. “We're trying to make sure we have the full ability to take advantage of a multi-year buy,” Coffman, the director of expeditionary warfare on the chief of naval operations' staff (OPNAV N95), said. Coffman was referring to the possibility of the Navy buying 13 San Antonio-class LPD Flight II ships in a block buy contract. These ships are intended to replace Whidbey Island-class LSD ships. As an example, Coffman cited the need to prepare future ships to handle the networking needs of unmanned and autonomous surface and undersea vehicles, which will be incorporated into the amphibious forces of the future. Unmanned surface and undersea vehicles have the potential to dramatically change the way amphibious forces operate, he said. “We have a moonshot idea for amphibious assault, which says it'll be a long time before you see a Marine step off of something because we're going to go autonomous,” Coffman said. “Get autonomous and unmanned to do a lot of the work.” Also, incorporating the networking needs of the F-35B Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter into ship design is critical to the Marine Corps ability to use the aircraft, Coffman said. Future amphibious assaults will most likely occur in contested, even urban areas. Since the Marine Corps is counting on the F-35 playing an important role securing such contested locations, Coffman wants to continually ask what can be done better and how to improve the ship class' capabilities instead of just settling on a single design. “No one else on the planet can do what we do in the littoral space,” Coffman said. But the needs of the Navy and Marine Corps to perform in the littoral space currently outpaces the nation's amphibious warship capacity, said Rep. Rob Wittman (R-Va.). The Navy's shipbuilding plan, which calls for building a 355-ship fleet, is a good start, but the critical number Wittman said is the 38 amphibious ships included in that plan. Previously, Wittman has criticized the slow pace of the Navy's shipbuilding plan. USS Wasp (LHD-1) is expected to reach the end of its anticipated working life by 2030. The concern is older ships such as Wasp will retire before the Navy reaches the goal of 38 amphibious ships, making it nearly impossible for the shipbuilding pace to ever increase the total number of amphibious hulls in use. “Marines can do almost anything, Wittman said.”But until they can walk on water we better be building them more ships.” https://news.usni.org/2018/07/24/navy-and-marine-corps-racing-to-increase-amphibious-fleet
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March 26, 2024 | International, Aerospace
Space Development Agency may hire companies to tow defunct satellites
SDA satellite are designed to deorbit, but the agency is exploring commercial services as a backup option.