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February 16, 2023 | International, C4ISR

Space Command crafting requirements to improve satellite mobility

Lt. Gen. John Shaw says the need for mobility is driving the command to explore options for what he calls "dynamic space operations."

https://www.c4isrnet.com/battlefield-tech/space/2023/02/16/space-command-crafting-requirements-to-improve-satellite-mobility/

On the same subject

  • Turkish firm develops AI-powered software for drone swarms

    November 25, 2020 | International, Aerospace

    Turkish firm develops AI-powered software for drone swarms

    Burak Ege Bekdil ANKARA, Turkey — A privately owned Turkish company says it has developed an artificial intelligence-based software for swarm drones. MilSOFT announced Nov. 19 it developed the software after four years of research, and the the technology could be used in both fixed- and rotary-wing drone platforms. A government aerospace official said swarm drones would be used in Turkey's future unmanned aerial combat concept due to their low hardware costs and stealth technology. “These drones could be ideal in asymmetrical warfare. They are quick, cost-effective and easy to operate,” the official said. “Most importantly, they are assets designed to minimize human loss in asymmetrical warfare.” The Turkish military has been operating a big fleet of tactical and armed drones primarily in combat against Kurdish militants in Turkey's southeast provinces but also in cross-border operations in northern Syria and Iraq. Turkish drones have also been used in Libya's civil war and, most recently, in conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan. Many countries have yet to try drone swarm technology in a simulated, controlled environment. Turkey is among those that have the technology and the ability to test it in the field during operations. Turkey's top procurement office, the Presidency for Defense Industries, launched its Swarm UAV Technology Development and Demonstration program with a view to develop algorithms and software for the use of unmanned platforms with a swarm capability. The program is also meant to involve micro-scale companies as well as small and medium-sized enterprises. MilSOFT has specialized in software solutions since 1998, and it is one of the participants of the government-run program. It has been offering products to the Turkish military for tasks including identifying detection by automatic moving target technology using AI, and machine-learning techniques with image-processing algorithms. The company said with the integration of intelligence and image evaluation products, drone swarms can be updated with additional capabilities such as reconnaissance, detection, recognition, search and rescue, and vehicle tracking. MilSOFT's software-based solution will allow drone swarms to be launched from aerial, land and naval platforms, and the images they obtain will enter a central command system. In the meantime, the drone flocks will transfer images between different military units with a relay function. AI technology can help catch elements that cannot be caught by the human eye and enable multiple attack capabilities by arming vehicles in operation. MilSOFT's AI-based software is also expected to enable swarm drones to perform frontal attacks on command from helicopters and provide operational support to other friendly platforms. The drones can reportedly operate autonomously from the beginning to the end of a mission, and can be instantly monitored and controlled via intelligence applications. The UAVs have a flight time of more than half an hour and a payload capacity of 1 kilogram (2.2 pounds). The vehicles work with landing gear that can land on rough terrain. While five UAVs are currently used in a herd in the field, this number can reach up to 25 in a controlled environment. MilSOFT aims to make a drone swarm of 50 operational vehicles. Communication between the drones is also provided by MilSOFT's own technology. Vehicles can communicate with each other from up to 500 meters. There is also a 10-kilometer network solution for data transfers. MilSOFT plans to integrate its technology for underwater and surface platforms as well as land vehicles. https://www.c4isrnet.com/unmanned/2020/11/24/turkish-firm-develops-ai-powered-software-for-drone-swarms/

  • US, UK launch military-space competition for startups

    July 22, 2020 | International, Aerospace

    US, UK launch military-space competition for startups

    By: Andrew Chuter LONDON – The U.K. and U.S. governments have turned to startups and inventors in a competition to adapt commercial technology solutions to answer pressing challenges in the military space sector. The two countries have jointly put up £1 million, or $1.3 million, to tap into potential new ideas in six technology areas from small companies, innovators and others around the world. The finalists will face a beauty parade in front of senior British, American and NATO military officials at a space conference scheduled to take place in London in November. Up to 15 proposals will be selected to go forward with further work on what is being called International Space Pitch Day. Launching the scheme, the U.K.'s first-ever, recently appointed director for space matters, Air Vice-Marshal Harv Smyth, said the initiative is “all about fast-tracking innovation and cutting-edge technology to the front line quicker than ever before, and fresh ways of working with industry to make sure we stay ahead of our shared adversaries and the threats they pose.” Smyth will be one of the judges at the conference, which will be held virtually if the live event is cancelled. The format will be the first international collaboration of its kind between two allies, the Ministry of Defence said. Organizations who make it through to the space conference final will be in contention to secure a $66,000 contract from the judges to speed up development of what is expected to be mainly commercial innovations and technology. The effort, run by Britain's Defence and Security Accelerator organization, is funded by the U.K. Defence Science and Technology Laboratory, the Royal Air Force and the US Air Force. The aim is to find, fund and fast track innovations by tech startups and other experts in order to accelerate the development of commercial space technology s to solve problems in the defense space sector. This year's competition is seeking solutions to six challenges set by the U.K. and U.S. space teams: Visualization of key events and information for combined space operations with allies and commercial partners. Understanding current satellite systems relevant to the operations of a particular commander. Understanding the present and potential impact of space weather on users across all domains. Provision of training against realistic threats and opportunities, incorporating live data, and integrating space across multiple domains. Enabling common and user-defined operational pictures to support multinational space domain awareness and command and control. A verification and comparison tool for space domain awareness, which can take orbital observation data from a variety of sources and in a variety of formats and produce a single, reliable operational picture. https://www.defensenews.com/global/europe/2020/07/22/us-uk-launch-military-space-competition-for-startups

  • NDIA’s Wesley Hallman on a liability shield and other defense priorities for the next stimulus

    May 4, 2020 | International, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security

    NDIA’s Wesley Hallman on a liability shield and other defense priorities for the next stimulus

    By: Joe Gould WASHINGTON―As the Pentagon works to defray the coronavirus pandemic's impact on its network of suppliers, it's worked hand-in-glove with defense and aerospace trade associations to find and address problems in the supply chain. The National Defense Industrial Association, whose members stretch into the lower tiers of the defense industrial base, surveyed more than 700 small businesses to find that cash-flow disruptions remained a problem as the Pentagon and major defense firms increase payments to suppliers. Retired Air Force Col. Wesley Hallman is NDIA's senior vice president of policy, charged with monitoring Capitol Hill on matters of concern to defense, including annual budgets, acquisition and procurement reform. This week, he spoke with Defense News about NDIA's priorities as Congress mulls how to follow its third coronavirus response bill, worth $2.2 trillion and intended to speed relief across the American economy. With NDIA's finger on the pulse of the supply chain and recent survey, how do you interpret the Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment Ellen Lord's numbers, demonstrating more defense firms that have closed now reopening? What are you seeing among your members? As you know, A&S has been holding a call on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays, and we've been participating in all of those. The Defense Contract Management Agency has really been the clearinghouse for all these companies' challenges, and in fact we've been pushing our member companies that are seeing challenges to go to the website and fill in information about what their challenges are what they're seeing. And DoD has been responsive when something has closed down for whatever reason. Undersecretary Lord herself has picked up the phone to make calls to state governors to explain that we work very hard to ensure that the defense industrial base is considered essential. That was a question when people were starting to call for shelters in place. The very issues these companies have been seeing are things you're expecting: the result of closures, and sometimes those closures aren't state and local but on installations. Many contractors have to go to work on installations, and installation commanders are the mayors of their bases; they're tasked with the safety and security of their installations, and sometimes they've made the call to close facilities that have an effect on those performing contracts. There's also a growing concern on liability. There's uncertainty surrounding contractors' liability during the crisis for heeding calls to keep everything turned on. They also have to make sure that they're keeping their workforce safe and secure, and sometimes that's an issue as you look at reopening everything. Our last NDIA survey was really about what kind of things do you need to reopen to get to a new normal, where we're producing on contracts. Access to personal protective equipment is a concern, safety is a concern and more. DCMA has been following up with those companies to see what those issues are and what would allow them to reopen. We all know the supply chain ― and I'm sure you remember our report on the health of the defense industrial base at the beginning of the year ― but one of the things we highlighted is we have a relatively fragile supply chain already. This is a concern of the associations, the Pentagon and particular House Armed Services Committee members. Cash flow was also identified as an issue in NDIA's survey, and it's been a feature of DoD's press conferences. Ellen Lord said she was relying on the trade associations to help DoD understand how its accelerated progress payments are trickling down the supply chain to smaller firms, from the primes. How detailed is the information the associations are providing, and are the primes doing what's expected of them? What I have is anecdotal. It's proprietary data, and our members don't necessarily share that with us. I did get calls from all of the majors asking about accelerating payments through the supply chain, and one company was very explicit that “we have access to capital to get through this, but our supply chain doesn't.” Lockheed Martin has been very public with their commitment, and I know they're worried, and they're incentivized to keep their supply chain healthy because they've got to produce. The companies know their supply chains better than anyone else, so they're incentivized to push those dollars. It's not the amount of money but the velocity, and they understand that. This is me talking, but what the Pentagon wants to show ― and you've seen multiple groups saying, “not a dime for defense” ― is that the money that's being accelerated to these companies is not going to line anybody's pocket. This is to allow folks to survive. And beyond the national security aspect of this, which we could talk about forever, these are real companies with real people, doing real jobs that are key to our economy. They're as valid as any of the other small businesses that apply for the Paycheck Protection Program. So, ‘not a dime for defense' is I think a very shortsighted bumper sticker, because these are real people developing real capabilities for the defense of our nation. There have been some progressive lawmakers, as well as the chairman of the House Armed Services Committee who have already pushed back on the Pentagon's upcoming request for funding. But more broadly, what would NDIA like to see legislatively in the next stimulus package, including policy―or are your priorities being addressed directly through the Pentagon? So there's only so much the Pentagon can do without appropriations. What we're looking at ― and we are a 501(c)3, non-lobbying organization, though we engage when asked what we think ― is we think, first off, there needs to be a plus-up in appropriations for FY20. We all know that there's a lot of challenges to performing on contracts right now that are going to extend the length of those contracts. There's been a slowdown in the ability to perform on contracts because of this, and in some cases it has made made delivery on contracts more expensive. We believe that should be reflected in appropriations, and that shouldn't steal from the future. You know, we have a National Defense Strategy, we have a future-years defense program, there's already president's budget in. We don't think that the FY21 should be paying the increased cost for FY20. So it would be a defense supplemental to cover the extra expense to produce on contract because of COVID-19. That's first and foremost. The other thing is ― and you may know the Defense Logistics Agency and others, they pay out of a working capital fund. Back in November, DLA stopped following the accelerated payment policy passed by Congress because their working capital fund didn't have the liquidity to make that happen. They backed off to a 30-day instead of a 15-day payout. Well, that was hard enough in November, December, January, February. But you start getting to March with COVID-19, and these folks that have already performed on contract and are waiting to get their money are waiting an extra 15 days because of the lack of liquidity in the working capital funds. That's not acceptable. So another thing we'd like to see is a bump up in the working capital fund so those accelerated payments can start happening the way that Congress intended. You referenced liability issues. There's been a movement afoot to shield companies from lawsuits as they seek to reopen that's been met with partisan pushback. Are liability protections something NDIA favors? You have to be very careful because you don't want companies to do something that is not smart or not safe, but you do have to look at it because there's a potential that this is a ripe avenue for liability suits. We would rather see that stemmed up front so we can focus on producing for the war fighter. On a positive note, are you seeing companies employing any novel solutions to problems stemming from the pandemic? The Defense Department has a Joint Acquisition Task Force where companies can go and say what they can produce. We have worked with a lot of companies who can do harnesses for parachutes or where they can shift production to make you masks or other PPE. So it's been kind of heartening to see. A lot of small businesses are saying, ‘Hey, we can do this.' And we direct them over to the Joint Acquisition Task Force, which can look at their capabilities and explore those. https://www.defensenews.com/congress/2020/05/02/interview-ndias-wesley-hallman-on-a-liability-shield-and-other-defense-priorities-for-the-next-stimulus

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