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December 27, 2022 | International, C4ISR

Pentagon, intelligence community eye cloud collaboration

The Department of Defense will work closely with the intelligence community as it establishes its cloud infrastructure.

https://www.c4isrnet.com/battlefield-tech/it-networks/2022/12/27/pentagon-intelligence-community-eye-cloud-collaboration/

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  • India Ban on $47 Billion Arms Imports Sowing Uncertainty

    August 18, 2020 | International, Land

    India Ban on $47 Billion Arms Imports Sowing Uncertainty

    By Sudhi Ranjan Sen 16 août 2020 à 18:00 UTC−4 Updated on 17 août 2020 à 04:58 UTC−4 India's move to ban the import of certain weapon systems will do little to boost local manufacturing and is sowing uncertainty at a time when the South Asian nation is trying to ramp up defenses on its restive borders with China and Pakistan, according to analysts. Prime Minister Narendra Modi's administration earlier this month announced curbs on $47 billion worth of imports that include communication satellites, conventional submarines and light machine guns. But defense experts said they didn't address critical issues such as the certification of systems and locally-made components, and won't prevent the military from making emergency purchases of equipment from foreign vendors. Modi has struggled to transform the world's second biggest arms importer into a defense manufacturing powerhouse since a 2014 proposal to produce indigenous equipment and systems worth $100 billion by 2020. The target has since been slashed in half and the deadline extended to 2027, while the need for more advanced weaponry grows more urgent following the most deadly border clash with China in four decades. Modi Backtracks on Free-Trade Vow With Import Curbs in India The ministry's ban on imports will have little impact beyond “measures already taken to localize defense production and reduce import dependency,” said Amit Cowshish, a consultant with the New Delhi-based Manohar Parrikar Institute For Defence Studies and Analyses and a former financial adviser on acquisitions in the Ministry of Defense. “The promotion of local manufacturing requires more cooperation between the military and domestic defense industry,” Cowshish said. “Mutual trust is missing, with everyone working at cross purposes.” While New Delhi is the world's third-biggest military spender, its air force, navy and the army are still equipped with weapons that are largely obsolete. ‘Self-Reliance Push' The push for locally-produced systems and hardware was a big step toward self-reliance in defense and creates an opportunity for the Indian defense industry to manufacture the items using their own design and development capabilities, the Ministry of Defense said in a statement on Aug. 9. A defense ministry spokesperson was not immediately available for a comment. Similar policy declarations to stem imports were made by India in 2013, under then prime minister Manmohan Singh, and also by Modi's administration in his first term in 2018, didn't significantly increase the ‘Made in India' products deployed by the military. “Time and access to technology is fundamental to such efforts -- currently a large proportion India's defense industry is little better than system integrators,” said Rahul Bedi, a New Delhi-based independent defense analyst. “A major dose of realism is needed.” The banned list is also vague on the position of joint-ventures between Indian and foreign manufacturers and license produced weapon systems, he said. Despite its drawbacks, India's nascent defense industry is cautiously optimistic about the new policy. “We are sure that this list will keep getting amended to add newer programs that lay a road map matching our nation's aspiration,” said Jayant Patil, senior executive vice president (defence & smart technologies), Larsen & Toubro Limited. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-08-16/india-s-tense-borders-threaten-plan-to-ban-some-weapons-imports

  • German air force plans major Asia-Pacific tour in 2024

    November 27, 2023 | International, Aerospace

    German air force plans major Asia-Pacific tour in 2024

    France and Spain are also slated to send aircraft for training visits, putting a "European face" on the summer deployment, the German air force chief said.

  • Iwakuni Marines use 3D printers to revolutionize maintenance for fighter jets

    January 30, 2019 | International, Aerospace

    Iwakuni Marines use 3D printers to revolutionize maintenance for fighter jets

    By JAMES BOLINGER | STARS AND STRIPES MARINE CORPS AIR STATION IWAKUNI, Japan — Using 3D printers, Marines based in southern Japan created two products that reduce the time it takes to repair F/A-18 Hornets and may save the Defense Department money. Called an engine ship kit, the first innovation is a set of plastic clips and plugs to prevent oil and hydraulic fluid leaking from aircraft engines removed for repairs. The other is a tool that helps maintainers grease the bearings on the F/A-18's high-speed Gatling gun. Designed by Marines from MCAS Iwakuni's Marine Aviation Logistics Squadron 12, the engine ship kit will have an immediate impact on operations, squadron commander Lt. Col. Javier Garcia recently told Stars and Stripes. The kit eliminates the need for maintainers to travel to austere locations to drain oil and hydraulic fluids so an engine can be taken safely back to Iwakuni for repair. The plastic drain plugs prevent the fluid from leaking and the clips ensure the plugs are not dislodged as the engine is readied for transport. The kit is the brain child of 1st Lt. Simon Miller and Chief Warrant Officer 3 Mark Willems, who needed to get a broken F/A-18 engine from Wake Island to MCAS Iwakuni late last year. The engine began to leak while a C-130 crew tried to load it, Garcia said. In the past, a team of maintenance Marines would have traveled to the location to prepare the engine for safe transport, but that takes away from their mission at MCAS Iwakuni. To solve the problem, Willems had the idea of creating plugs that would stop the leaks. Miller created the pieces using 3D drafting software and MALS 12's new 3D printers. “I'm not really sure why no one thought to make this kind of kit before, but this design is going to have an impact across the Navy and Marine Corps,” Garcia said. The same team behind the engine ship kit also created a tool that makes it easier for maintenance Marines to grease the bearing on the F-18's M61A Vulcan, a Gatling-style rotary cannon that can fire 6,000 rounds a minute. The bearing on the cannon must be packed with grease every 30,000 rounds, a job that used to take two Marines more than 30 minutes, said Cpl. Christian Smellie, an aviation life-support systems technician who works at Iwakuni's 3D printing lab. Full article: https://www.stripes.com/news/pacific/iwakuni-marines-use-3d-printers-to-revolutionize-maintenance-for-fighter-jets-1.566446

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