January 31, 2020 | International, Aerospace
Steve Trimble
A small start-up company in California has unveiled a new proposal for a stealthy unmanned aircraft system (UAS) to offer the U.S. Air Force as a “fifth-generation” target drone or a low-cost attritable aircraft.
Tehachapi, California-based Sierra Technical Services, a company founded by previously retired Lockheed Martin Skunk Works engineers, unveiled the first photos of the completed Fifth Generation Aerial Target (5GAT) prototype after completing engine tests on the ground. A first flight of the 5GAT is scheduled in early 2020.
The name of the aircraft is derived from its origins as a prototype funded by the Defense Department's Director of Operational Test and Evaluation (DOT&E), says Roger Hayes, president and CEO of Sierra Technical Services.
Several years ago, DOT&E recognized an emerging gap for a new target drone that could fly as a surrogate for fifth-generation fighters emerging in Russia and China such as the Sukhoi Su-57 and AVIC Chengdu J-20. In 2017, DOT&E awarded Sierra Technical Services a $15.9 million contract to develop the 5GAT prototype, Hayes said.
The pace of assembly has been dictated by the availability of parts cannibalized from other military aircraft, such as the engines and metallic components from the Northrop T-38 trainer and F-5 fighter, as well as aileron actuators from the Boeing F/A-18, Hayes said. Sierra Technical Services supplemented its revenue as assembly continued by working on other programs, including supplying components for the Kratos XQ-58A Valkyrie.
As development continued, the Air Force started to develop interest in a fifth-generation target. The service has awarded Lockheed Martin a contract to develop the AIM-260 Joint Advanced Tactical Missile, which is being designed to counter the PL-15 missile fielded on China's J-20 fighter. The Air Force needs to test the AIM-260 and other missiles against a representative threat. Last May, the Air Force released a request for information for the Next Generation Aerial Target, which included a version that can replicate fifth-generation fighter attributes, such as a stealthy airframe with canted tails and serpentine inlet ducts.
The Air Force also is developing a concept to pair manned fighters such as the F-22 and F-35 with an unmanned partner, known sometimes as a Loyal Wingman. The Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) funded Kratos' XQ-58A, which completed a first flight in March.
AFRL also plans to demonstrate a UAS controlled by a “software brain” using artificial intelligence. This Skyborg program is sometimes considered a follow-on for the XQ-58A program, but Hayes said Sierra Technical Services could offer the 5GAT for the Skyborg contract.
https://aviationweek.com/defense-space/stealthy-uas-unveiled-usaf-target-loyal-wingman-needs
March 22, 2021 | International, Aerospace, Naval
The US Navy is planning to award Northrop Grumman a sole-source contract to modify the E-2D Advanced Hawkeye’s mission computer and display software so that the early warning aircraft could control unmanned air vehicles.
October 23, 2024 | International, Land
Australian and Malaysian military personnel have reinforced their partnership through Exercise Southern Tiger.
December 31, 2018 | International, C4ISR
By: Todd South The agency that invented stealth technology, the internet, and the M16 has its sights focused on enhancing how the infantry squad works on the battlefield with robots, and advanced targeting and sensing gear. The Squad X program saw its first week-long series of tests at Twentynine Palms, California, this past year. At that event, Marine squads used air and ground vehicles to detect physical, electromagnetic and cyber threats, according to the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. The agency's program manager for their Tactical Technology Office, Army Lt. Col. Phil Root said that the first experiment in the program demonstrated “the ability for the squad to communicate and collaborate, even while ‘dancing on the edge of connectivity.'” Squad X Core Technologies program, or SXCT, is an ongoing effort to develop novel technologies that would “extend squad awareness and engagement capabilities without imposing physical and cognitive burdens,” according to a DARPA press release. They aim to speed the development of new, lightweight, integrated systems that provide infantry squads awareness, adaptability and flexibility in complex environments. That effort is to enable dismounted soldiers and Marines to more intuitively understand and control their complex mission environments, according to Root. Those efforts fit within wider work being done by the Close Combat Lethality Task Force, a group set up this past year to enhance close combat capabilities for infantry, special operations, scouts and some engineers. Root is also the program manager for Squad X Core Technologies. He laid out four key technical areas that the program is exploring: Precision Engagement: Precisely engage threats while maintaining compatibility with infantry weapon systems and without imposing weight or operational burdens that would negatively affect mission effectiveness. Capabilities of interest include distributed, non-line-of-sight targeting and guided munitions. Non-Kinetic Engagement: Disrupt enemy command and control, communications and use of drones. Capabilities of interest include disaggregated electronic surveillance and coordinated effects from distributed platforms. Squad Sensing: Detect potential threats at a squad-relevant operational pace. Capabilities of interest include multi-source data fusion and autonomous threat detection. Squad Autonomy: Increase squad members' real-time knowledge of their own and teammates' locations in GPS-denied environments using embedded unmanned air and ground systems. Capabilities of interest include robust collaboration between humans and unmanned systems. Some of those areas were previously explored in 2015 with DARPA's squad technology integration efforts. The tools used to detect threats in the experiments were newer, lighter, versions of previous capabilities. But the release did not provide detailed examples of the gear that Marines tested. “Each run, they learned a bit more on the systems and how they could support the operation,” said Root. “By the end, they were using the unmanned ground and aerial systems to maximize the squad's combat power and allow a squad to complete a mission that normally would take a platoon to execute.” The August event at the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center was one of a number of experiments in communications, cyber, EW, loitering munitions and targeting that was conducted over the past year. Both Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control, and CACI's BIT Systems are working for ways to enhance infantry capabilities using manned-unmanned teaming, according to the release. Marines testing Lockheed Martin's Augmented Spectral Situational Awareness, and Unaided Localization for Transformative Squads, known as the ASSAULTS system, used autonomous robots with sensor systems to detect enemy locations, allowing the Marines to target the enemy with a precision 40mm grenade before the enemy could detect their movement, according to the release. Small units using CACI's BITS Electronic Attack Module were able to detect, locate, and attack specific threats in the radio frequency and cyber domains. This is all part of larger efforts to put more detection and fires at lower echelons in both the Army and Marine Corps. https://www.militarytimes.com/news/your-army/2018/12/30/darpa-program-blending-robots-in-the-squad-to-find-and-destroy-threats