Rising B-21 production costs lead to $1.6B charge for Northrop

On the same subject

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  September 19, 2018 | International, Aerospace

  Air Force Uses AI to Accelerate Pilot Training

  By Mandy Mayfield The Air Force is hoping a suite of new artificial intelligence and augmented reality technologies will help accelerate the speed at which pilots and airmen are trained, the Air Education and Training Command leader said Sept. 18. “We are actually allowing our students to explore these [AI] tools of learning and measuring what's going on in their brain, what's going on in their body, what's going on with the effectiveness of them doing the job we are trying to teach them to do,” Lt. Gen. Steven Kwast, Air Education and Training Command commander, said at the Air Force Association's annual Air, Space and Cyber Conference at National Harbor, Maryland. AETC is in the midst of an experimental program, the Pilot Training Next initiative, which is utilizing AI to train pilots — in hopes of not only streamlining the process of airmen becoming flight ready — but also improving the quality of their education, Kwast said. “So the data is very promising in that we can accentuate the adult brain to learn fast, better and, I'll say, [with] more ‘stick' — meaning that when you learn something you remember it longer and better,” Kwast added. As pilots use the “emerging technologies” to learn, the Air Force is learning alongside them, aggregating each pilot's data onto a grade sheet, he said. Although leadership is enthusiastic about the new technologies, the program is still underway and results about its effectiveness aren't available yet,, Kwast said. “We aren't at the place where we can say what we can do with it yet.” Some of the beta testing should be completed by the summer of 2019, he added. Maj. Justin Chandler, a Pilot Training Next team member, also touted the technologies, saying they allow future airmen 24-hour access to pilot instruction. “The artificial intelligence allows us to ensure that they [student pilots] don't pick up bad habits,” Chandler said. http://www.nationaldefensemagazine.org/articles/2018/9/18/air-force-uses-ai-to-accelerate-pilot-training

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  May 20, 2020 | International, Aerospace, Naval

  BAE Systems Awarded $26.7 Million for Modification and Installation of Electronic Countermeasures Aboard KC-130J Aircraft

  May 18, 2020 - The U.S. Navy's Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division's (NAWCAD) Aircraft Prototyping Systems Division has awarded BAE Systems a prime position on a $26.7 million task order to install, integrate, and test the Department of the Navy (DoN) Large Aircraft Infrared Countermeasures (LAIRCM) system on KC-130J aerial transport and refueling aircraft. The DoN LAIRCM advanced missile warning system improves aircraft capability and survivability by countering advanced infrared missile system threats. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200518005382/en/ “We understand how vital the KC-130J is to the U.S. Navy and U.S. Marine Corps and the enhanced capability the DoN LAIRCM system brings to the fight,” said Pete Trainer, vice president and general manager of BAE Systems' Air Force Solutions. “With more than 40 years of experience managing complex aircraft modernization and sustainment programs, we're excited that NAWCAD has entrusted us to integrate this system onto their aircraft to ensure the safety of the aircrews and protect this vital capability.” The BAE Systems turnkey solution provides program management, inventory control, engineering support, installation, and system testing of the DoN LAIRCM upgrade. Aircraft maintenance and support activities will also be provided as required. This is the second task order awarded to BAE Systems under the Prototyping and Limited Production indefinite delivery indefinite quantity contract. The DoN LAIRCM installation will be performed on up to 19 KC-130J aircraft over the next five years; the work will take place in Crestview, Florida in partnership with Vertex Aerospace Aircraft Integration & Sustainment (AIS) Division. “The program office looks forward to working with BAE Systems on the DoN LAIRCM installations,” said CAPT Steven Nassau, program manager for Naval Air Systems Command's PMA-207. “This competitive award will allow the Marine Corps to move from government depot installation to industry without a gap in services. It is a great reflection on the dedication of the KC-130J Mission Systems Team and the contracts office. It also speaks to the flexibility of both the Navy and industry.” BAE Systems' Intelligence & Security sector has extensive experience in advanced aircraft engineering, fabrication, installation, modification, systems integration, and logistics support, and has performed more than 200 separate complex modification programs involving over 2,200 aircraft. The BAE Systems and Vertex AIS team have installed Directional Infrared Countermeasures and DoN LAIRCM systems for the U.S. Air Force and foreign military customers under previous contracts. View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200518005382/en/

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  November 5, 2020 | International, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security

  Armed Services committees and the election: Here’s what we know

  By: Joe Gould WASHINGTON — As results for key congressional races and the presidency continue to roll in, several Senate Armed Services Committee leaders are still battling tough races. But here is what we do know, as of mid-morning Thursday. This story will be updated as results come in: • Georgia Republican Sen. David Perdue, the chairman of the Seapower Subcommittee, is leading in his race against Democrat John Ossoff, potentially denying Democrats what would have been a vital pickup for seizing control of the Senate. It's also too soon to call the race between Vice President Joe Biden and President Donald Trump for the state's 16 electoral votes. Democratic hopes of controlling the Senate for the first since 2015 appear to be slipping. To win the Senate, Democrats would have to gain three seats if Biden prevails against Trump, or four seats if Trump wins the election. • Senate Military Personnel Subcommittee Chairman Thom Tillis, R-N.C., led challenger Cal Cunningham by 96,000 votes and declared victory Wednesday, but Cunningham refused to concede while more than 117,000 absentee ballots were outstanding. • Senate Readiness and Management Support Subcommittee Chairman Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, on Thursday morning appeared to have a 60,000-vote lead on Independent challenger Al Gross, with only half the votes counted. However, Alaska's tally is expected to take days as officials count mail-in ballots. • Sen. Joni Ernst, R-Iowa, had a similarly tough race but denied Democrats what would have been a key pickup for seizing control of the Senate. Ernst, the Emerging Threats and Capabilities Subcommittee chair and a member of Senate Republican leadership, is the first female combat veteran elected to Congress. • Michigan Democrat Sen. Gary Peters, the ranking member on the Emerging Threats and Capabilities Subcommittee, prevailed Wednesday night in a razor-tight race against businessman and Iraq war veteran John James. Hours after Biden defeated Trump in the state, Peters was roughly 60,000 votes ahead. • Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Jim Inhofe, R-Okla., and ranking member Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., both won reelection handily, and if the Senate stays in Republican hands, they will almost certainly stay in their leadership roles. Senate Airland Subcommittee Chairman Tom Cotton, R-Ark., had no Democratic challenger and won reelection. Senate Cybersecurity Subcommittee Chairman Mike Rounds, R-S.D., also won. New Hampshire Democrat Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, another senior member of SASC, easily won a third term. All three were projected wins. • SASC Republican Sen. Martha McSally, the Air Force's first female fighter pilot to fly in combat, lost to Mark Kelly, an astronaut and retired Navy captain, in Arizona. She has yet to concede, however. • SASC Democrat Sen. Doug Jones, D-Ala., lost decisively to Republican opponent Tommy Tuberville. • House Armed Services Committee Chairman Adam Smith, D-Wash., soundly defeated his Republican challenger, while two lead Republican contenders to replace Rep. Mac Thornberry, R-Texas, as ranking member ― Reps. Mike Turner of Ohio and Mike Rogers of Alabama ― also won reelection. • Two Democratic freshmen on HASC ― Reps. Kendra Horn of Oklahoma and Xochitl Torres Small of New Mexico ― lost seats that Democrats flipped in 2018. As of Wednesday afternoon, Rep. Anthony Brindisi, D-N.Y., was trailing his Republican challenger but refused to concede until absentee ballots are counted. • Nebraska Republican Rep. Don Bacon, a former Air Force one-star general whose policy positions sometimes clashed with Trump, carved out a reelection win. Because Nebraska awards its electoral votes by congressional district, NE-02 was also a crucial win for Biden. • Rep. Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., won reelection. Slotkin, a former CIA analyst and Pentagon official, is at the top of an influential class of Democratic freshmen who have hands-on national security experience. Addressing supporters Wednesday, she reportedly said Biden will win in Michigan, but there may be a tumultuous transfer of power. https://www.defensenews.com/congress/2020/11/04/armed-services-committees-and-the-election-heres-what-we-know/