The Department of Defense wants ideas for a tiny autonomous space station

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  September 6, 2018 | International, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR

  Artificial intelligence expert gets top job at French defense innovation agency

  By: Pierre Tran PARIS — French Armed Forces Minister Florence Parly has appointed Emmanuel Chiva, a specialist in artificial intelligence and training simulation, as director of the newly formed agency for defense innovation, the ministry said. Chiva took up the post Sept. 1, when the innovation office was officially set up, the ministry said in a Sept. 4 statement. Parly made the appointment in consultation with Joël Barre, head of the Direction Générale de l'Armement procurement office. The innovation agency will report to the DGA. The agency will be the key player in a new strategy for innovation, seeking “to bring together all the actors in the ministry and all the programs which contribute to innovation in defense,” Parly said in an Aug. 28 speech to a conference held by Medef, an employers' association. The innovation office will be open to Europe, while allowing experiments to stay close to their operational users, she said. Parly has set a budget of €1 billion (U.S. $1.2 billion) for the agency, which will seek to coordinate attempts to apply new technology to military applications. Chiva has more than 20 years of experience in AI and training simulation. He previously held a senior post for strategy and development at Agueris, a specialist in training simulation for land weapon systems. Agueris is a unit of CMI Defence, a Belgian company specializing in guns and turrets for armored vehicles. Agueris was on the CMI stand at the Eurosatory trade show for land weapons in June. Agueris held three conferences on AI, with Chiva speaking at a roundtable debate on innovation. Chiva is a graduate of Ecole Normal Supérieure and a specialist in biomathematics, the study of the application of math to biology. “His appointment perfectly illustrates my vision of defense innovation: open to research and the civil economy, in which entrepreneurship is not a concept but a reality,” Parly said. https://www.defensenews.com/industry/techwatch/2018/09/05/artificial-intelligence-expert-gets-top-job-at-french-defense-innovation-agency

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  January 29, 2020 | International, C4ISR

  Next phase of Next Generation Jammer Mid-Band awarded

  El Segundo, Calif., January 28, 2020 /PRNewswire/ - Raytheon Company (NYSE: RTN) was awarded a $403M System Demonstration Test Articles contract with the U.S. Navy for Next Generation Jammer Mid-Band. The SDTA pods will be delivered to the fleet once developmental and operational testing is complete. "These test assets will be used to show NGJ-MB is ready for operation," said Dan Theisen, director at Raytheon Electronic Warfare Systems. "We're at the stage where testing is essential. The test program is on target to meet Initial Operating Capability in 2022." NGJ-MB provides significantly improved radar and communication jamming performance and capacity, as well as improved reliability and maintainability, for EA-18G Growler crews. Commanders will use NGJ-MB to deny, degrade and deceive the enemy's use of the electromagnetic spectrum through advanced jamming techniques. Raytheon delivered the first NGJ-MB pod to the U.S. Navy for testing in July of 2019. About Raytheon Raytheon Company, with 2018 sales of $27 billion and 67,000 employees, is a technology and innovation leader specializing in defense, civil government and cybersecurity solutions. With a history of innovation spanning 97 years, Raytheon provides state-of-the-art electronics, mission systems integration, C5I® products and services, sensing, effects and mission support for customers in more than 80 countries. Raytheon is headquartered in Waltham, Massachusetts. Follow us on Twitter. Raytheon Company Space and Airborne Systems McKinney, Texas Media Contact Dana Carroll +1.310.647.4352 saspr@raytheon.com View original content to download multimedia:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/next-phase-of-next-generation-jammer-mid-band-awarded-300994130.html

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  September 20, 2018 | International, Aerospace

  MBDA unveils Spectre combat UAV concept

  Robin Hughes, London - IHS Jane's Missiles & Rockets MBDA in the United Kingdom has unveiled a new combat unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) concept designed to provide on-call, low-cost organic precision effects close air support for forward-deployed land forces. Spectre is a tilt wing, electric vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) combat air system concept capable of quickly transitioning to forward flight mode for rapid traversal over complex terrain at low altitude. Designed with an integrated modular payload bay capable of incorporating systems up to 25 kg, Spectre can be equipped with either two MBDA Enforcers or a single Missile Moyenne Portee (MMP) multirole weapons system to address light armoured, soft-skinned and unmanned threats, or heavier armoured threats. The Spectre system can ‘find and fix' beyond line-of-sight threats in complex operational environments to assist deployed ground forces. It also incorporates a ‘watch and wait' mode with a top attack capability effectively giving the Spectre an overwatch/loitering munition utility. Other mission module options include re-supply payloads, improved sensors, or electronic warfare payloads. The latter payload can be combined with kinetic effects to disrupt adversary operations. Spectre's various mission modules can be replaced by the operator in-theatre, and the system design provides for the integration of new and upgraded modules and technologies and requirements evolve. As currently envisaged, Spectre will have a cruise speed of 180 km/h, a cruising altitude of less than 100 m, and combat range in excess of 10 km with a flight endurance of more than 60 minutes. The Spectre design provides for two (front and aft) 2 m tilt wings, with four rotor assemblies: one on each wing. The all-up weight of the concept system has not been disclosed. Other features include automatic navigation, operator-over-the-loop command and control (but with firing authority always with the human operator), and anti-jam GPS navigation. Spectre can be used as a single system, or as a scalable co-operative swarming capability. https://www.janes.com/article/83133/mbda-unveils-spectre-combat-uav-concept