The Pentagon wants self-sufficient search-and-rescue drones

On the same subject

• 

  March 18, 2020 | International, Aerospace

  BAE nabs next-gen seeker design work for US Army’s missile defense system

  By: Jen Judson WASHINGTON — Lockheed Martin, which builds the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense weapon system for the U.S. Army, has awarded BAE Systems a contract to design and manufacture a next-generation seeker for the system's interceptors, according to a BAE announcement posted March 17. “The sensor design work will improve the missile defense system's ability to neutralize more threats and improve its manufacturability,” the statement read. The company did not disclose the contract amount or timelines to develop a design. The THAAD weapon system is part of the Army's layered approach to missile defense, now with its ability to defeat ballistic missile threats in the terminal phase of flight, but the Missile Defense Agency also wants to make it part of its future homeland defense architecture. BAE already provides the seeker for the THAAD system, which uses infrared imagery to guide the interceptors to threat targets, and the company has delivered more than 500 THAAD seekers to date, according to the statement. While the seekers are built in Nashua, New Hampshire, and Endicott, New York, the company plans to conduct design work for the next-generation seeker in Huntsville, Alabama, home of Redstone Arsenal and the Army's missiles and space programs. BAE Systems is building a state-of-the-art facility that will house a “cutting-edge” design program in Huntsville, the company noted. While the Army plans to continue using THAAD far into the future, the MDA is, in fiscal 2021, planning to allocated $273.6 million for THAAD development efforts, including the THAAD homeland defense tier. Specifically, the agency is asking for $139 million in FY21 to start the development and demonstration of a new interceptor prototype for THAAD, which could support a tiered and layered approach to homeland defense. BAE Systems did not say whether the next-generation interceptor design work includes efforts related to MDA's desire to produce a new interceptor prototype. The agency is “challenging ourselves” to figure out how to develop a THAAD interceptor that would work against an intercontinental ballistic missile, Vice Adm. Jon Hill, the MDA's director, said when the FY21 defense budget request was released in February. To do that, the MDA is seeking to draw lessons from building THAAD batteries for Saudi Arabia, he said. The agency is also looking at the existing engineering trade space. “We may consider an upgraded propulsion stack to give [THAAD] extended range, don't know yet,” he said. “It could be that we don't want to update the propulsion. Maybe there is something in the seeker that would buy us more in the trade space now.” The THAAD interceptor program is a new start in the FY21 budget request, Hill noted. “We are working our way through what that program would look like.” https://www.defensenews.com/smr/army-modernization/2020/03/17/bae-nabs-next-gen-seeker-design-work-for-us-army-missile-defense-system/

• 

  November 29, 2019 | International, Naval

  Naval Group shares its industrial vision with the submarine community and broadens strategic partnership at NEDS

  28 November 2019 On November 28th 2019, Naval Group participates to the Defence & Security exhibition held at Rotterdam AHOY. During this event, Naval Group shares its vision on the development of the submarine community in the Netherlands. The project will generate a workload of 15 million man/hours and is expected to create over 2000 jobs in the Netherlands. In view of the Walrus capability replacement programme, Naval Group demonstrates their will to commit to a full submarine IP and knowledge-sharing with the Dutch knowledge centers and industry. This will empower the Netherlands submarine community to take part in the future design and build phase, thus reinforcing the existing knowledge and leading to an autonomous maintenance and upgrade of the submarine. Naval Group has successfully adopted this methodology in Australia, which is leading to the development of a game-changing capacity with a Barracuda-family submarine which offers outstanding acoustic superiority as well as expeditionary capabilities. Naval Group's vision of the future submarine project. “What is at stake in this project is not industrial workload for Naval Group in France-as our submarines factories will be quite busy along the next decades-but the European cooperation within the maritime industry of our two countries. Beyond the industrial workload which will be transferred to the Netherlands, Naval Group is totally committed to support the Netherlands in remaining fully autonomous on operational, strategical and technological aspects on the long- term basis.” declared Hervé Guillou during NEDS. With all the complexities and long lead-time involved in a submarine project, it is crucial to determine how strategic knowledge and expertise is shared, used and maintained over a period which exceeds thirty years. Defining all the required technical and operational trade-offs based on a value-mapping process through an in-depth dialogue with the client is key to reach the best possible submarine platform. For this purpose, Naval Group has released its plan for the future submarine design and production ecosystem at NEDS. One of the key features of Naval Group's vision to organize transfer IP rights and design authority to the Netherlands, which effectively will deliver to local industry and knowledge centers an in-depth understanding and mastering of the selected design. The submarine project will see the reinforcement of a submarine community whose contribution and expertise will grow over the years when key upgrades or changes are implemented on the chosen design. In this process, Naval Group has already qualified 30 new companies to be Tier 1 and 2 suppliers for this programme and other international programmes. In February 2019, Naval Group announced the partnership with Royal IHC. The two companies brought their complementary experience and expertise in designing and manufacturing complex maritime and defense systems together in order to offer the best submarine to the Netherlands and fully comply with the Defense Industrial Strategy (DIS). In continuity to this important first step, Naval Group now unveils one of its strategic partnerships: the teaming agreement with Contour, whose team possesses a comprehensive experience in providing simulation and digital training tools for the Netherlands MOD and notably the Royal Netherlands Army. Their expertise will allow modern simulation tools to be deployed to ease the crew's training period before the actual submarine is sent on trials. Using the Dutch world-class maritime ecosystem, Naval Group has identified more than 30 partners in the country partners of excellence which can provide critical systems and components for submarine and surface ships programmes alike. The submarine community will remain a center of excellence where the best Dutch expertise will be sustained.This ambitious industrial cooperation program is expected to generate over 2000 jobs, which represent 15 million man-hours, for the Netherlands economic growth during the design and build phase. Most of this capabilities will then be used for decades for through-life support. “Naval Group deliberately involves local partners in its international activities. The purpose of these agreements is to pool a Dutch submarine community for the Netherlands would Naval Group be selected for the Walrus replacement program. Key to a successful cooperation is a know-why methodology and a true IP and know-how repository to build-up and contribute that unique expertise, which will support in the long-term both the Netherlands' but also international submarine programmes” declared Mark van Rooij, Naval Group Netherlands CEO. A long-term commitment towards the Dutch industry The Dutch ecosystem has long been a partner with Naval Group on several major programmes; since 2013, a volume of 200 million euros contracts has been awarded to Dutch industrial and knowledge partners covering both French and international programmes. At NEDS, Naval Group deepens existing bonds with the Dutch maritime and defense industry, building and expanding existing relationships with more than 70 companies and knowledge institutes. The latest Naval Group surface ship (FDI) benefits from key Dutch technologies. Rubber Design has developed and supplied silencing elastic mounts to help reduce the ship's acoustic signature, whilst MAFO's door systems have been conceived as Radar Cross Signature reduction devices. Naval Group Netherlands, the Dutch subsidiary established in 2018 has played a significant role in the reinforcement of these long-term relationships. Sliedrecht-based company DBR has just been selected to supply key propulsion equipment on Naval Group's latest international ship programme. The company, well-known in the maritime industry, will for the first time enter the naval military market with this contract. For the Belgium-Dutch Mine Counter Measure Vessels program, several Dutch actors are about to be consulted. For instance, Dutch knowledge center Marin has already been selected by Naval Group in 2019 to test and improve its latest hull design, delivering improved hydrodynamic capabilities along with better energy-efficiency. For this program, other domains will be opened to Dutch competitors such as IPMS (Integrated platform management system), IBNS (Integrated Bridge Navigation System), radar, ventilation, firecontrol, speedboats and handling systems. Press contact Klara Nadaradjane Tel. +33 6 45 03 11 92 priya-klara.nadaradjane@naval-group.com View source version on Naval Group : https://www.naval-group.com/en/news/naval-group-shares-its-industrial-vision-with-the-submarine-community-and-broadens-strategic-partnerships-at-neds/

• 

  June 2, 2020 | International, Naval

  All aboard the Sea Train!

  Imagine the following scenario. Four medium-sized U.S. Navy vessels depart from a port along the United States' coast. There's no crew aboard any of them. About 15 nautical miles off the coast, the four vessels rendezvous, autonomously arranging themselves in a line. Using custom mechanisms, they attach to each other to form a train, except they're in the water and there's no railroad to guide them. In this configuration the vessels travel 6,500 nautical miles across the open ocean to Southeast Asia. But as they approach their destination, they disconnect, splitting up as each unmanned ship goes its own way to conduct independent operations, such as collecting data with a variety of onboard sensors. Once those operations are complete, the four reunite, form a train and make the return journey home. This is the Sea Train, and it may not be as far-fetched as it sounds. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency is investing in several technologies to make it a reality. “The goal of the Sea Train program is to be able to develop and demonstrate long-range deployment capabilities for a distributed fleet of medium-sized tactical unmanned vessels,” said Andrew Nuss, DARPA's program manager for Sea Train. “So we're really focusing on ways to enable extended transoceanic transit and long-range naval operations, and the way that we're looking to do that is by taking advantage of some of the efficiencies that we can gain in a system of connected vessels — that's where the name ‘Sea Train' comes from.” According to DARPA, the current security environment has incentivized the Navy and the Marine Corps to move from a small number of exquisite, large manned platforms to a more distributed fleet structure comprised of smaller vessels, including unmanned platforms that can conduct surveillance and engage in electronic warfare and offensive operations. While these unmanned vessels are smaller and more agile than their large, manned companions, they are limited by the increased wave-making resistance that plagues smaller vessels. And due to their size, they simply can't carry enough fuel to make the long-range journeys envisioned by DARPA without refueling. By connecting the vessels — physically or in a formation — the agency hopes the Sea Train can reduce that wave resistance and enable long-range missions. In February, the agency released a broad agency announcement to find possible vendors. Citing agency practice, Nuss declined to share how many proposals were submitted, although he did say there was significant interest in the announcement. The agency completed its review of any submissions and expects to issue contracts by the end of the fiscal year. Sea Train is expected to consist of two 18-month periods, where contractors will work to develop and test technologies that could enable the Sea Train concept. The program will culminate with model testing in scaled ocean conditions. If successful, DARPA hopes to see the technologies adopted by the Navy for its unmanned platforms. “What we're looking to do is be able to reduce the risk in this unique deployment approach,” Ness said. “And then be able to just deliver that set of solutions to the Navy in the future, to be able to demonstrate to them that there is, potentially, a new way to deploy these vessels, to be able to provide far more operational range without the risk of relying on actual refueling or in-port refueling.” And while DARPA's effort is focused on medium-sized unmanned vessels — anywhere from 12 to 50 meters in length — the lessons learned could be applied to larger or smaller vessels, manned or unmanned. https://www.c4isrnet.com/unmanned/2020/06/01/all-aboard-the-sea-train/