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June 12, 2019 | International, Aerospace, Naval

The US Navy is seeking upgrades for the F-35 radar’s sea-search mode

By: and

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Navy wants more from the F-35 jet's radar, which in sea-search mode is limited to what is directly in front of the aircraft, according to documents exclusively obtained by Defense News.

According to the documents, the radar, Northrop Grumman's AN/APG-81 active electronically scanned array radar, can either hone in on a sector based on a specific point on the ground, or work in what is commonly known as “snowplow mode,” which, as the name suggests, searches everything in front of the aircraft.

The Navy wants to be able to scan a wider area when in sea-search mode, something that the radar is currently not set up for, according to officials who spoke to Defense News.

Officials also said the problem is on track for a solution, but may not be implemented until as late as 2024 with the Block 4 upgrades, notably adding that a solution will not be in place before a full-rate production decision on the F-35 this year.

Ultimately, giving the Navy what it wants will be a matter of boosting computing power and upgrading software, officials explained.

The issue is listed as a category 1 deficiency, according to the documents, which further define the limitation as something that means “adequate performance [is] not attainable to accomplish the primary or alternate mission(s).” The issue dates back to 2012, according to the documents. In this scale, category 1 represents the most serious type of deficiency.

It's unclear why the issue is listed as a deficiency. The system is working in accordance with design specifications, according to both the documents and a statement from a Lockheed Martin executive.

“The F-35's current radar sea search function meets the enterprises' expressed required specification," said Greg Ulmer, Lockheed Martin's general manager of the company's F-35 program. “As we modernize the F-35, we are bringing enhanced search capabilities, which represent an increase from the original requirements, and we stand ready to integrate the upgrade in the future, based on customer priorities and direction.”

In an interview with Defense News, the head of the Pentagon's F-35 program office, Vice Adm. Mat Winter, said the issue was being resolved by software and computing upgrades, and there would be no requirement for a new radar.

“We're not mechanically scanning, we're electronically scanning,” Winter said. “And being able to accurately scan the maritime environment, it just takes increased computing power, and that's what we're doing. ... It's a software fix, and then an allocation of computing power.”

Winter may be referring to a planned bundle of computer upgrades called Tech Refresh 3, where the jet will get more modern computing systems that will increase the jet's processing power and memory. According to one document obtained by Defense News, TR3 is a prerequisite for a future radar fix. Those TR3-equipped jets won't roll off the production line until 2023.

Defense News submitted written questions to the Defense Department's F-35 program office concerning these and other deficiencies, but it did not respond by press time, despite multiple follow-ups over a period of months.

A retired fighter pilot, who reviewed the documents for Defense News and agreed to speak on condition of anonymity, agreed with Winter's assessment that the fix was likely software-based.

Early on in the F/A-18's APG-79 AESA radar, there were glitches in the operation, but software updates smoothed out the system. Fixing the APG-81 should follow a similar track as the aircraft progresses, the pilot explained.

“As long as the array itself is technically sound, I suspect over time they'll be able to find ways to continue to build out capability through software updates,” the retired fighter pilot said.

https://www.defensenews.com/smr/hidden-troubles-f35/2019/06/12/the-us-navy-is-seeking-upgrades-for-the-f-35-radars-sea-search-mode/

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  • Contract Awards by US Department of Defense - February 04, 2020

    February 5, 2020 | International, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security

    Contract Awards by US Department of Defense - February 04, 2020

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  • New leader wants Cyber Command to be more aggressive

    July 24, 2018 | International, C4ISR

    New leader wants Cyber Command to be more aggressive

    By: Mark Pomerleau In his first public comments since assuming the head of U.S. Cyber Command, Gen. Paul Nakasone said the Department of Defense is taking a more aggressive approach to protect the nation's data and networks and aims to stay ahead of malicious cyber and information-related activity. The command's new vision, called “Achieve and Maintain Cyberspace Superiority," published in April, describes the notion of “continuous engagement” and “defending forward” to understand adversary weaknesses and impose “tactical friction and strategic costs.” “Through persistent action and competing more effectively below the level of armed conflict, we can influence the calculations of our adversaries, deter aggression, and clarify the distinction between acceptable and unacceptable behavior in cyberspace,” the document reads. Nakasone speaking July 21 at the Aspen Security Forum, said adversaries have long worked below the threshold of war to steal intellectual property, personally identifiable information and undermine societal discourse. While individually, these activities don't appear sensational, taken in aggregate, Nakasone said, they have grave national economic and security implications. Many academics have criticized the U.S. response to Russian election interference and noted that the United States tends to view conflicts through the binary lens of war or peace while competitors such as Russia see themselves constantly engaged in a state of war. From the U.S. perspective, many cyber acts are considered beneath the threshold of war, denoting a lesser response. But Nakasone said the philosophy of continuous engagement is more in line with the new National Defense Strategy, one that suggests the return of great power competition with nations such as Russia and China. In practice, Nakasone articulated a more aggressive approach, one that involves entering an adversary's network to learn what they are doing as a means of improving defenses. The philosophy is “this idea that we want to have our forces to be able to enable our defensive capabilities and to act forward,” Nakasone said. “Act outside of the boundaries of the United States to understand what our adversaries are doing and be able to engage those adversaries and obviously [be] able to better protect our networks, our data and our weapon systems. Such action, penetrating a network or sovereign territory, has not typically been an action a military organization has taken outside an engaged hostility with an organization or nation vice a covert action finding. Nakasone's predecessor told Congress that the command was mulling over cyber operations in nations where the United States is not actively involved in a conflict. Then Adm. Michael Rogers, explained he is comfortable with his authorities to use offensive cyber tactics in Iraq, Syria and Afghanistan, however, he added that they need more speed and agility in employing these capabilities “outside the designated areas of hostility.” https://www.fifthdomain.com/dod/cybercom/2018/07/23/new-leader-wants-cyber-command-to-be-more-aggressive/

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    February 9, 2023 | International, Naval, C4ISR

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