Oshkosh Defense Receives $407.3 Million Order for Joint Light Tactical Vehicles

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  August 22, 2019 | International, Aerospace

  B-21 Development Applying Tough Lessons From B-2

  By Lee Hudson PALMDALE, California— The U.S. Air Force is taking lessons learned from the plagued B-2 Spirit bomber development program and applying them to the next-generation B-21 Raider. While it is unknown when the B-2 will retire, the aging stealth bomber may end up flying alongside the B-21. The B-2 bomber flew its inaugural flight 30 years ago from the Plant 42 runway here. Today, the Northrop Grummansite is preparing for development of the Raider and two newly erected beige buildings have popped up, likely tied to the next-generation bomber. Although technical and acquisition problems inundated B-2 development, the classified B-21 is taking a different approach. Many details remain classified, but the company and service officials acknowledge the team is being run by the Rapid Capabilities Office instead of a traditional program office. B-21 development appears to be progressing; the Air Force's No. 2 officer—Air Force Vice Chief of Staff Gen. Stephen Wilson—has said first flight is slated for December 2021. But House Armed Services seapower and projection forces subcommittee Ranking Member Rep. Rob Wittman (R-Va.) alerted the public last year that there was a problem with the inlet design for the B-21's Pratt & Whitney-manufactured engines. Wittman says those issues were fully addressed and the program has made tremendous progress. “I've been pretty impressed by what both the Air Force and what Northrop Grumman have done in addressing these particular issues and I think we're on the right course,” he says. “Getting those things right to begin with and setting the tone and path I think is critically important.” An Air Force illustration issued in 2016 of the B-21 design suggests it may closely resemble the B-2. “The B-2 will be setting the path course for the B-21,” says Janis Pamiljans, aerospace systems sector president at Northrop Grumman. “What we've learned on B-2 are finding themselves baselined in the design for B-21 for supportability, sustainability, [and] mission capable rate.” The aging B-2s must be overhauled every nine years and are taken off the flight line for up to 12 months. Maintenance includes modifications and upgrades to antenna technology, avionics and software systems, costing U.S. taxpayers an average of $60 million for each aircraft, says Richard Sullivan, vice president and B-2 program manager at Northrop Grumman. Separately, the Air Force is funding the $3 billion B-2 Defensive Management System Modernization (DMS-M) program to enhance the aircraft's direct attack capability and upgrade its integrated air defense systems. The current DMS was designed in the 1980s and has not received any upgrades. “By leveraging ‘state-of-the-art' electronic warfare antennae, processors, controller and displays, B-2 aircrews will realize unprecedented situational battlespace awareness and dynamic, real-time threat avoidance in the most complex radio frequency emitter environments,” the Air Force says. “The inherent increased sensitivity of the modernized DMS over the legacy system, with increased processing power, will build a battlespace picture that could be shared with joint force platforms by onboard communication systems.” DMS-M is facing a possible eight-month delay as the service works with Northrop Grumman to implement an agile software development framework, Air Force acquisition executive Will Roper told lawmakers in March. Engineering and manufacturing development for the effort goes through July 2022, according to fiscal 2020 budget documents. Lawmakers acknowledge it is important that the nation's only operational stealth bomber remain relevant. But the House Armed Services Committee is concerned about DMS-M schedule delays, according to a report accompanying the lower chamber's mark of the fiscal 2020 defense policy bill. “Unless the B-2 DMS-M program makes significant changes, there may continue to be delays that will impact the success of the program,” the report says. The committee directs the Air Force to brief members on sufficient government software development expertise; contract definitization schedule; delivery schedule; determination of software baseline; and an assessment of related DMS-M-related program support. The Senate Armed Services Committee also is asking for answers regarding the U.S. bomber force. The upper chamber is requesting a brief on an updated bomber road map and plans for B-2 life cycle sustainment, among other items, according to a report accompanying the Senate's mark of the fiscal 2020 defense authorization bill. The upper chamber also would require details on Raider basing. To date, the service has been “real[ly] happy with the way Northrop has approached” the B-21 program, says Maj. Gen. James Dawkins, Eighth Air Force commander and overseer of the Joint-Global Strike Operations Center. The next-generation bomber completed a successful critical design review in December. “Everything I hear is that cost, schedule and performance is right on expectations,” Dawkins says. https://aviationweek.com/defense/b-21-development-applying-tough-lessons-b-2

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  July 14, 2020 | International, Aerospace

  Boeing lands the first order of the F-15EX

  By: Valerie Insinna WASHINGTON — The Air Force has officially placed an order for its first batch of F-15EXs, awarding Boeing a contract on Monday that puts a ceiling value for the entire program close to $23 billion. The first delivery order, which has a not-to-exceed value of about $1.2 billion, covers the first lot of eight F-15EX fighter jets, as well as support and one-time, upfront engineering costs. The contract award is a massive win for Boeing and gives a second life for the F-15 production line in St. Louis, Mo. After years of urging the Air Force to consider an advanced version of the F-15 as a complementary capability to Lockheed Martin's F-35, Boeing found an ally in the Defense Department's Cost Assessment and Program Evaluation office, which in 2019 forced the service to purchase F-15EX planes in order to build capacity. Although Air Force leaders at the time said that the service would have preferred funds to buy additional fifth generation planes like the F-35, officials now say that buying new F-15s is the quickest path for replacing aging Air National Guard F-15C/Ds that are reaching the end of their service lives. “The F-15EX is the most affordable and immediate way to refresh the capacity and update the capabilities provided by our aging F-15C/D fleets,” Gen. Mike Holmes, Air Combat Command commander, said in a statement. “The F-15EX is ready to fight as soon as it comes off the line.” The first two F-15EX aircraft are already being manufactured and will roll off the production line early next year, the company said in a news release. They will initially be based at Eglin Air Force Base, Fla., for testing, with the remaining six aircraft set to be delivered to the base in fiscal year 2023, the Air Force said. Along with the first eight F-15EXs, which were approved in the fiscal year 2020 budget, the Air Force has requested 12 F-15EXs in FY21 and plans to ask for 64 jets from FY22 to FY25. The service could buy as many as 144 aircraft, according to Boeing. The Air Force has not decided which bases will be the first to receive F-15EX jets, with the service adding in its news release that “the Strategic Basing Process is in work to determine the fielding locations for subsequent aircraft lots.” The F-15EX will be a two-seat jet with fly-by-wire controls, the new Eagle Passive Active Warning Survivability System electronic warfare system, an advanced cockpit, and new mission systems. But according to the Air Force, the most significant upgrade comes in the form of an open mission systems architecture that will allow the service to more rapidly update the F-15′s software. Another major advantage of purchasing additional F-15s is the aircraft's payload capacity, which will allow it to carry and launch hypersonic missiles at standoff distances. “The F-15EX is the most advanced version of the F-15 ever built, due in large part to its digital backbone,” said Lori Schneider, Boeing F-15EX program manager. “Its unmatched range, price and best-in-class payload capacity make the F-15EX an attractive choice for the U.S. Air Force.” Monday's announcement follows a firm, fixed-price contract worth up to $101 million that was awarded to General Electric in late June for the first lot of F-15EX engines. Under the contract, GE will provide “F110-GE-129 engines, including installs and spares, and modernized engine monitoring system computers,” the department stated. https://www.defensenews.com/air/2020/07/13/heres-how-much-money-boeing-is-getting-to-build-the-new-f-15ex/

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  February 3, 2020 | International, C4ISR

  Pentagon’s top artificial intelligence official to retire

  By: Mike Gruss and Jeff Martin The Pentagon plans to announce Jan. 31 that Lt. Gen. Jack Shanahan, the Department of Defense's top artificial intelligence official, will retire from the Air Force this summer, C4ISRNET has learned. Shanahan has served as the first director of the Pentagon's Joint Artificial Intelligence Center, an effort to accelerate the Pentagon's adoption and integration of AI at scale, since December 2018. Lt. Cmdr. Arlo Abrahamson, a spokesman for the center, confirmed the retirement in a Jan. 30 email and said a search for the next director is underway. Shanahan previously oversaw the Pentagon's algorithmic warfare cross-functional team, better known as Project Maven, a pathfinder effort to apply AI and machine learning in analyzing full-motion video. Pentagon leaders created the JAIC after noting nearly 600 projects and programs across the department had come to touch on artificial intelligence in some way. Officials wanted a central hub to help facilitate progress. In late 2018, Dana Deasy, the Defense Department's chief information officer, appointed Shanahan to lead the new center. During his tenure, Shanahan served as a voice of reason on how artificial intelligence could be used by the military and avoided the often popular science fiction comparisons that accompany discussions of AI. In an interview with C4ISRNET last year, Shanahan said the center has focused on using artificial intelligence for predictive maintenance efforts and to improve humanitarian relief. He also advocated for a greater understanding of the subject. “On one side of the emerging tech equation, we need far more national security professionals who understand what this technology can do or, equally important, what it cannot do,” Shanahan said during a talk at the Naval War College in December. “On the other side of the equation, we desperately need more people who grasp the societal implications of new technology, who are capable of looking at this new data-driven world through geopolitical, international relations, humanitarian and even philosophical lenses,” he said. Lawmakers approved $183 million for the center in the fiscal year 2020 budget. Shanahan also has been a vocal proponent for improving the department's cloud capabilities and specifically the Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure (JEDI) contract, which is expected to provide the infrastructure the Pentagon needs to boost artificial intelligence. https://www.c4isrnet.com/artificial-intelligence/2020/01/31/pentagons-top-artificial-intelligence-official-to-retire/