November 7, 2018 | International, Naval, C4ISR
By: Jill Aitoro
Most of us are comfortable with Suri, or Alexa, or “Hey, Google.” But many will tell you artificial intelligence and autonomy in the context of military operations is a whole a different animal.
That said, if you ask Rear Admiral David Hahn, one factor remains the same: the need for trust. Understand the algorithm and the consequences, he argues, but then relinquish (some) control.
He shared his vision of AI in the military in an interview following the Defense News Conference in September.
Much of the discussion around artificial intelligence and autonomy involves the proper role of machine versus human. Where do you stand?
We're at an inflection point for what technology will allow us to do. For artificial intelligence that could be brought to bear in the military context, there has been anexpectation that the human is always going to be in control. But as the sophistication of these algorithms and the sophistication of the application of the tools now out there mature, and are brought into the operational space, we need to get at a place of trust. [We need trust] between the algorithm, what's behind that curtain, and our ability as the humans to agree that the decision or the space that it's going to operate in – the context in which its making that decision – is understood by us. And that more and more is going to have to happen at machine speed, because when machines are interacting with machines, we're going to have to comfortably move from a human in the loop to a human on the loop. That doesn't mean it's an unsupervised act; it means we understand it well enough to trust it.
So, there is relinquishing of control?
There is, but there are clearly pieces of our system today where we do that. That happens when you let your car park itself – you relinquish that control and trust that the machine is not going to run into the grocery cart behind you or the car next to you. That's already part of the conversation. And as we get more used to machines performing, and performing accurately over and over and over, our ability to trust these machines [increases], if we understand the algorithm and the consequence. It's not ‘I just ran into a shopping cart' if the consequence we're talking about is the release of weapons, or something along those lines; but we've gotten to the point where we're comfortable [because of our understanding of the technology].
We had similar conversations in recent years on cybersecurity, in terms of confidence in the technology, whether we could be sure networks are properly protected, and accepting a degree of risk. Has progress there helped with progress in AI?
I think it's helping and it will continue to drive us toward this human-machine teaming environment that we all see coming. There are clearly pieces of our system that make us uncomfortable. But we see more and more, that if we don't take the action to allow it to occur, we might as well have not even created the tool.
It's a shift in culture, beyond policy. Is that happening yet? Or is it too soon to expect that?
I don't think we're too early, and I think it's happening. And it's going to be one of those things where we didn't know it was happening, then we find ourselves there. Ten years ago, the App Store opened. Can you imagine a world without the App Store and what that's enabled you to do in your daily life with your smartphone? The young people today are almost at a point where there was never a world without a smartphone, there was never a world without an App Store. If you start at that point, this is not a big leap. It's happening around us, and we just need to find a way to keep up.
Looking ahead, 5 or 10 years, how do you see AI being used in an operational capacity?
The limiting factor is not going to be the tools. To borrow a phrase, the ‘democratization' of the tools that are associated with developing AI capabilities will allow anybody to work on the data. Our challenge will be whether we have harnessed our own data and done it in a way where we can make the connections between relevant data sets to optimize the mission effect we could get by applying those tools available to everybody. That's our challenge. And it's a challenge we'll need to figure out within each service, amongst the services in the joint environment, from that joint environment into the same space with partners and allies, from the DoD or military into the industrial base, all while moving seamlessly across academia, and [keeping in mind how] the commercial industry plays.
If we don't all dogpile on this thing, were going to find ourselves behind in this great power competition in a very important space.
So, establish a playbook so to speak?
And recognize that as soon as we've established that playbook, it will change.
May 20, 2021 | International, Aerospace
Top Aces Corp., a leading provider of advanced adversary training, today announced a ground breaking milestone as its newly-acquired F-16 fighter aircraft earned FAA certification and completed its first flight. In order to support the US Air Force...
September 3, 2019 | International, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security
By: Mike Yeo MELBOURNE, Australia — Japan's Defense Ministry has requested a budget of $50.5 billion for its next fiscal year, an increase of 1.2 percent over the previous year and the eighth straight year of an increase. The funds will be used to acquire more Lockheed Martin F-35 fighter jets, including Japan's first short-takeoff-and-vertical-landing F-35B, as well as increasing its Boeing KC-46A Pegasus tanker fleet to six aircraft. The bulk of the budget request is for costs associated with U.S. military forces stationed in Japan, with $1.9 billion requested to pay the salaries of Japanese citizens employed by the U.S military, supporting training exercises, and performing maintenance on and improvements to U.S. military facilities. The ministry's request includes $1.08 billion for F-35s, which is made up of $291.3 million for three conventional takeoff and landing F-35As and $795.3m for six F-35Bs. These will be Japan's first F-35Bs, and it's expected the country will eventually order 42 "B" models, of which 18 will be acquired over the next five years, according to Japan's Mid-Term Defense Plan released late last year. It also has plans to eventually operate 105 F-35As. The F-35Bs are to be operated from two Izumo-class helicopter destroyers. Japan announced last year plans to convert both ships, which are currently designed to operate helicopters, to be able to handle F-35Bs. Notably, the budget request asks for $29.1 million for “partial refurbishment” to enable F-35B operations. According to other reports, modifications for the ships include improvements to the heat resistance of their flight decks as well as the installation of additional lighting for aircraft operations. Japanese Defense Minister Takeshi Iwaya added that F-35B deck trials could be conducted with U.S. Marine Corps F-35Bs based in Japan following the modification work. Beyond the jets The budget request also asks for $1.05 billion for four more Boeing KC-46A Pegasus tanker aircraft, and $284.8 million for more Raytheon SM-3 Block IIA ballistic missile interceptors. The request for funding for four KC-46As is a departure from normal procedure, Previously, Japan ordered one tanker each during the 2017 and 2018 fiscal years. According to the ministry, the batch order is a more cost-effective means of acquisition, resulting in $100 million worth of savings. Given that Japan already awarded contracts to Boeing for two of the three KC-46As previously on order, the budget request for four more tankers suggests the ministry wants funding for the last aircraft and and for an additional order of three KC-46s. Defense News has sought clarification from Japan's Defense Ministry over whether this is the case. The budget request also includes a number of acquisitions from Japan's defense industry, with $654.3 million for another Soryu-class diesel-electric attack submarine. And should the budget pass, Kawasaki Heavy Industries will be able to keep its aircraft production lines open, with the ministry seeking funds to acquire three more P-1 anti-submarine aircraft and six C-2 airlifters at $213.4 million and $599 million respectively. The ministry also wants money for more equipment destined for Japan's land forces: 33 Type 16 wheeled maneuver combat vehicles and seven Type 19 wheeled self-propelled howitzers. The Type 19 is a newly developed eight-wheel drive howitzer sporting a 155mm weapon mounted on the German MAN HX military truck chassis, and it's earmarked to replace the towed FH70 howitzer currently in service with the Japan Ground Self-Defense Force. The Defense Ministry also wants to continue funding the development of indigenous electronic warfare capabilities. Japan's next fiscal year begins April 1, 2020. The budget request is not necessarily the actual amount that will be allocated by the Finance Ministry. https://www.defensenews.com/global/asia-pacific/2019/08/30/heres-what-japans-defense-ministry-wants-to-do-with-505-billion
February 17, 2021 | International, Aerospace
By: Burak Ege Bekdil ANKARA, Turkey — Turkey's procurement agency has commissioned a local company to develop critical technologies for an engine that the government hopes will power its first indigenous fighter jet. A contract was signed Feb. 14 between two state-controlled companies for the development program. Under the deal, TRMotor, an engine maker, will develop an auxiliary power unit and an air turbine start system for what Turkey hopes will be critical components of an indigenous engine to power the TF-X aircraft. TRMotor signed the deal with the prime contractor of the TF-X program, Turkish Aerospace Industries, another state-controlled defense company. “The program aims to develop critical technologies ... that will enable us [to] possess indigenous engines,” said Osman Dur, general manager of TRMotor. “The [indigenous] TF-X engine is at the moment at its concept design phase.” TRMotor is completely owned by SSTEK A.S., a defense technologies company owned by Turkey's defense procurement agency, the Presidency of Defense Industries, or SSB. This is a milestone contract for the TF-X program,” said TAI CEO Temel Kotil. The deal comes as SSB is holding talks to co-produce an engine with a consortium of the British company Rolls-Royce and Turkish firm Kale Group. In 2017, Kale Group and Rolls-Royce launched a joint venture to develop aircraft engines for Turkey, initially targeting the TF-X. But the £100 million (U.S. $139 million) deal was effectively put on hold due to uncertainties over technology transfer. A year before the partnership, TAI signed a $125 million heads of agreement with BAE Systems to collaborate on the first development phase of the TF-X. Turkey originally planned to fly the TF-X in 2023, but aerospace officials put off the target date to the 2025-2026 time frame. The TF-X program, or MMU in its Turkish acronym, has been crawling over the past years due to technological failures and know-how transfer. Turkish engineers must first select an engine for the planned aircraft before they finalize their designing phase. https://www.defensenews.com/industry/techwatch/2021/02/16/turkey-hopes-new-engine-deal-will-power-future-tf-x-fighter-jet/