Too much bureaucracy at NDHQ, top general says, but no changes offered to status quo

On the same subject

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  October 22, 2020 | International, Naval, C4ISR

  Elta Systems, Hensoldt partner on system to consolidate submarine capabilities

  Seth J. Frantzman JERUSALEM — Israeli company Elta Systems has partnered with German firm Hensoldt to develop a single piece of technology for submarine masts that combines optics, communications and other sensors. The Integrated Communication and Surveillance, or ICS, system combines Hensoldt's optical surveillance optronics mast OMS 150 with Elta's expertise in signals intelligence and satellite communications payloads. Elta, a subsidiary of Israel Aerospace Industries, said the product will address the need to combine operational possibilities on one mast while maintaining the submarine's stealth capability. “The collaboration is part of Elta's new strategy, leveraging our advanced technological experience and know-how accumulated over decades of defense operations. This collaboration will bring value to our customers by offering a unique, cost-effective, compact and high-utility solution,” Elta CEO Yoav Tourgeman said. The ICS system combines optics, radar warning, and monitoring of GPS and communications with other vessels and units. “The data gathered in real time can provide the submarine's crew vital information regarding the enemy's exact location and current situation. It is equipped with a SATCOM and Laser system for secure communications,” according to an Elta statement. The system is being rolled out as part of the European maritime trade show Euronaval, which is being held virtually this year due to the coronavirus pandemic. Brent Sadler, a senior fellow for naval warfare and advanced technology at the Heritage Foundation think tank, said submarine forces are likely to grow in the coming years, which means "the market for periscopes is growing faster than in the recent past.” “So the trend is to reduce the number of masts you stick out of the water,” he added, "so if you have a periscope and need to do radio communications or listen for hostile radar, better to have that on one mast.” According to two sources involved with developing the ICS system at Elta, the new integration seeks to provide submariners with additional capabilities that complement a naval task force. The demand for submarines is increasing, and as they performing less missions strictly alone, the subsurface boats need more sensors and communications tools to work with other vessels as well as airborne and ground assets. Sadler points out that one of the challenges here is not only miniaturizing add-on payloads but also cooling the thermals because these additions and sensors add heat that can be detected. The traditional dilemma for submariners is performing missions successfully while reamining stealthy, according to Elta naval systems expert and retired Israeli Navy commander Shlomi Dor. “You need a communication mast, and adding an ISR capability with SATCOM on the same periscope — it's the only mast that keeps safety for submarine[s] ... and communicate[s] to task force and headquarters, whoever you need to be in touch with. This mast is a very robust solution that I think will contribute a lot for mission's sake all over the world.” The integration of the ICS system on the mast can be done in a refit without changes to existing submarine infrastructure, according to Elta. Michael Sela of Elta told Defense News that the system builds on mature and field-proven sensors, and uses the company's expertise in phased array SATCOM antennas and other technology. It is expected to be operational in the near future. Developments in periscope design, among other technological trends, will impact submarine designs, perhaps making them smaller with taller periscopes, Sadler said. An uptick in submarine purchases means increasing economies of scale that lead to the research and development behind new designs. But Sadler raised concerns about Elta's parent company, IAI, cooperating with China on civil aviation projects. The West, in particular the United States, has raised the alarm over China's involvement in the defense industrial base. That is also true for potential customers in Asia and Europe, where partnerships with China are being questioned more, he said. “The capability has a niche and fills market demand, [but] make sure that the China connection [is] addressed.” https://www.c4isrnet.com/industry/techwatch/2020/10/21/elta-systems-hensoldt-partner-on-system-to-consolidate-submarine-capabilities/

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  November 6, 2019 | International, Aerospace

  Unmanned aircraft could provide low-cost boost for Air Force’s future aircraft inventory, new study says

  By: Valerie Insinna WASHINGTON — As the U.S. Air Force looks to increase the size and capability of its aircraft inventory, the service should assess the possibility of using drones as a low-cost and highly available alternative to manned airplanes, posits a new study by the Center for Strategic and International Studies. The CSIS report, which was obtained by Defense News and other news outlets ahead of its Oct. 29 release, compares three recent congressionally mandated studies on the Air Force's future force structure by the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments think tank, the federally funded research organization MITRE Corp. and the service itself. All three studies were broadly supportive of retaining existing unmanned aircraft, or as the Air Force terms them, Remotely Piloted Aircraft or RPAs. However, the CSIS report makes the case that the low cost and high mission capable rate of RPAs like the MQ-9 Reaper or RQ-4 Global Hawk merits more attention when making future force planning. “I think we need a roadmap for RPAs in terms of what are the new missions that we can begin to transition over to RPAs and some new operational concepts for how we use them,” CSIS senior analyst Todd Harrison told reporters at a Oct. 28 briefing. “I say this more from a cost perspective and a readiness perspective because our RPA fleet stands out from the rest of the Air Force in that it costs a lot less to operate [them] and we utilize them much more,” he said. “We need to leverage that. That's a strength that we need to double down on.” Harrison pointed to two data points supporting a wider use case for RPAs. Despite clocking in the highest number of flight hours per airframe, drones boast some of the highest mission capable rates in the Air Force's inventory, averaging near 90 percent for the MQ-9 and its predecessor, the MQ-1, and around 75 percent for the RQ-4 Global Hawk. Those aircraft are also cheap to operate, with some of the lowest costs per flying hour or total ownership costs in the inventory, Harrison said. The Air Force, MITRE and CSBA studies provide solid support for keeping the Air Force's current RPA force. The Air Force's study, which proposes a growth to 386 total operational squadrons, would add two squadrons of unmanned strike aircraft, although it does not say what kind of aircraft should be acquired. It also recommends an increase of 22 squadrons of aircraft devoted to command and control or the intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance mission sets, but does not provide a breakdown of what specific capability gaps need to be addressed or whether they could be filled by unmanned aircraft. The MITRE and CSBA study, by contrast, advocate retaining the current inventory of MQ-9 Reapers and RQ-4 Global Hawk surveillance drones. CSBA also recommends the procurement of a new, stealthy MQ-X drone that could be used for strike, electronic attack and other missions in a contested environment. Despite the broad support, the three studies do not necessarily portend a wider acceptance or demand for unmanned aircraft in the next budget, Harrison said. “I wouldn't count on it happening that soon. I think this is a wider term change that's going to be needed. Part of it is a cultural change within the Air Force and part of it requires some real strategic thinking about what are the types of missions where unmanned is going to make sense and how do we best leverage those,” he said. “The RPAs that we have today, they didn't come about overnight. They evolved. A lot of the time they faced a lot of institutional resistance, but they proved themselves. They proved themselves valuable in the kind of fights that we've been in in the past 20 years.” One mission area that could be flown by unmanned aircraft in the future is aerial refueling, Harrison said. The Navy in 2018 awarded Boeing a contract to produce an unmanned carrier-based tanker drone known as the MQ-25. That aircraft, like all Navy planes, will use the simpler probe and drogue for refueling. Refueling via a rigid boom, as utilized by Air Force tankers, makes for a more challenging development, but the remote vision system on Boeing's KC-46 tanker — which allows the boom operator to steer the boom using a series of cameras as his or her only visual cue — is a step in the right direction, he said. Another potential area for expanded RPA use could be the development of low-cost drones that can be flown in swarms or as “loyal wingmen” to manned aircraft, the CSIS report stated. These “attritable” aircraft can be expended during a conflict without making an adverse impact on the mission or putting human pilots at risk. https://www.defensenews.com/air/2019/10/29/unmanned-aircraft-could-provide-low-cost-boost-for-air-forces-future-aircraft-inventory-new-study-says/

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  August 28, 2020 | International, Naval

  US Navy wants to create a ‘hardware factory’

  Andrew Eversden WASHINGTON — A new request for information from the U.S. Navy outlines the service's interest in launching a “hardware factory and hardware pipeline” to keep its fleet computing platforms up-to-date. According to an Aug. 25 request posted by the Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA), the sea service wants the factory as part of a broader effort to “architect, implement, and migrate” to a universally managed, infrastructure as a service environment for the sea service's surface fleet. NAVSEA wants the pipeline and factory ready for use no later than fiscal 2023. The Navy wants to use the hardware factory and hardware pipeline concept to use agile development to accelerate the development of its computing infrastructure. The new model is part of the Navy's effort to transition away from technology insertions and move toward continuous hardware refreshes aboard its current and future surface fleet. The request is for a program called Future Integrated Combat System Infrastructure-as-a-Service and Computing Infrastructure (FICS-CI), managed by NAVSEA's Program Executive Office Integrated Warfare Systems. “The Navy envisions a transition to a HW Factory and HW Pipeline Process continuously delivering IaaS to pace technology, eliminate obsolescence, and enable continuous design and development of [computing infrastructure] solutions that meet ship needs with minimal deviation from commercial standards and practices,” the RFI states. The program is part of an effort by the NAVSEA's PEO IWS to migrate systems to a “common, scalable intermittently connected edge cloud architecture” using IaaS to enable platform as a service. NAVSEA wants to deploy the computing architecture to large and small combatants, aircraft carriers, amphibious ships, and “other related programs including U.S. Coast Guard, AEGIS Foreign Military Sales, and proposed future ship classes.” The RFI lists several interest areas for the Navy: systems engineering; IaaS design and integration; technical data packages; production; diminishing manufacturing sources and material shortages, hardware, and software version release tracking; and integrated logistics support, maintenance and operations training. “The HW Factory and HW Pipeline will streamline component selection, qualification, integration, life cycle support and training for the Fleet, leading to accelerated infrastructure development and fielding,” the RFI states. “The Navy envisions a continuous CI refresh cycle rapidly delivering improved Lethality, Combat Capability and Capacity to the Surface Navy Fleet to confront an increasing array of Strategic, Operational, and Tactical Challenges.” https://www.c4isrnet.com/battlefield-tech/it-networks/2020/08/27/us-navy-wants-to-create-a-hardware-factory/