January 20, 2022 | International, C4ISR
September 9, 2020 | International, Aerospace
Turkey develops AI-based simulator for light fighter jet
ANKARA, Turkey — Turkish Aerospace Industries says it has developed Turkey's first artificial intelligence-based simulator, which will be used in the design and development phases of Hurjet, a locally designed light assault aircraft.
TAI said the engineering simulator, Hurjet 270, is designed to collect feedback from test pilots to make the design of Hurjet “better, more solid and more efficient.” The simulator is also meant to detect design faults at the development stage. Company officials said the simulator will feature “human eye-level resolution.”
Atilla Dogan, TAI's deputy general manager for aircraft design, told the state news agency Anadolu that Hurjet 270 will help engineers improve designing flight control algorithms and avionics software based on feedback from test pilots.
The armed trainer Hurjet is a jet engine version of the turboprop Hurkus, Turkey's first indigenous basic trainer aircraft. TAI launched the Hurjet program in 2018, with a target of having the aircraft's maiden flight in 2022.
The Hurjet will have a maximum speed of Mach 1.2 and can fly at a maximum altitude of 45,000 feet. The aircraft will have a maximum payload of 3,000 kilograms, including ammunition, radar and camera.
Hurkus-C, the armed version of the base variant of Hurkus, features locally developed ammunition including CIRIT, TEBER, HGK and LGK. It can also use INS/GPS-guided bombs, conventional bombs, non-guided rockets and machine guns.
Hurkus-C also features armored body parts, a self-protection system, a data link, laser tacking, an electro-optical and infrared pod, an external fuel tank, and advanced avionics.
With a 1,500-kilogram payload that can be used through seven external hardpoints, the Hurkus-C can perform light-attack and armed reconnaissance missions.
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June 10, 2020 | International, Aerospace
This summer could be a make or break moment for US Air Force’s next fighter program
By: Valerie Insinna WASHINGTON — The U.S. Air Force is on track to finalize a business case for its ambitious next-generation fighter this summer, its top acquisition official said Tuesday, and the results could be a make or break moment for the program. The Air Force wants to radically shift its future fighter program — also known as Next Generation Air Dominance — to a model that the service's acquisition executive Will Roper calls the “Digital Century Series.” This model would use new development techniques like digital engineering, open architecture and advances in software development techniques like DevSecOps to field advanced aircraft more quickly and cheaply. At least, that's the theory. Last September, Roper told Defense News that the program's first order of business would be to present an acquisition strategy that would prove whether the Digital Century Series program is technologically feasible, how it should be structured and whether it would be cheaper than traditional forms of development. Now, the plan is almost ready, Roper said during a Tuesday event held by the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies. “I hope to have the acquisition plan for NGAD rolling into the Digital Century Series this summer,” he said. “I don't want to go more specific than that and timeline and drumbeat for the team, because I have given them an unprecedented task.” The Digital Century Series is much different than the Air Force's initial sixth-generation fighter project, known as Penetrating Counter Air, which the service wanted to field the early 2030s. That jet would be part of a networked family of systems that include drones, sensors and other platforms formed after a decade of prototyping efforts. In contrast, the Digital Century Series model would require multiple defense contractors to develop new fighter jets in a matter of years using whatever technological advances have recently emerged. The Air Force would then downselect to a single vendor, buy a small number of aircraft and restart the process — allowing for companies to constantly be designing and producing planes. The entire process, Roper said, could take as little as five years. In October, Col. Dale White was named head of the program executive office for advanced aircraft, which manages the NGAD portfolio of systems and oversees the Digital Century Series acquisition plan. That program office will become PEO Fighters and Advanced Aircraft at the end of June, with White having been selected for promotion to brigadier general. The Air Force has asked for $1 billion for the NGAD program in fiscal 2021. It received $905 million for the program the previous year. However, it's likely the Air Force will need to greatly increase that sum in future budgets. Roper has projected that aircraft development under a Digital Century Series model could be more expensive than legacy methods due to having multiple companies under contract and requiring them to design and prototype aircraft very quickly. However, he also believes sustainment and modernization costs will be far lower. If that theory can be proved out in the acquisition strategy, Congress might more likely agree to fund an unconventional, experimental program. “How long we keep the aircraft is one of the variables that they are weighing [as part of the business case]. How many years make sense? It's clearly not two, three, four, five, but we don't want it to be 30 either. So they're looking at that,” Roper said Tuesday. “They're looking at the amount of modernization that would be expected — what we would expect that to cost and if it gets easier with digital tools. And then summing it all up to see whether the cost of having a lethal airplane per year is less than for the Digital Century Series model than for the traditional." “If it is, that is going to really help us, I hope, because we'll show that data and argue that it is not just better from a ‘competing with China and lethality' standpoint. It's just better from a business standpoint,” Roper said. “If it breaks even or is less [than traditional methods], I will be exceptionally happy. If it's more expensive — and I hope not exceptionally more — then we're going to have to argue” on behalf of the program. https://www.defensenews.com/air/2020/06/09/this-summer-could-be-a-make-or-break-moment-for-the-air-forces-next-fighter-program/
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March 4, 2020 | International, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security
Qatar cancels major defense trade conference as coronavirus fears spread
By: David B. Larter WASHINGTON — The Qatari government announced March 3 that the Doha International Maritime Defence Exhibition and Conference, or DIMDEX, is now canceled as the region combats the spread of the new coronavirus known as COVID-19. DIMDEX is among the first major defense trade shows canceled as the virus has shown signs of community spread in the Arabian Gulf region, though several high-profile companies pulled out of the Singapore Airshow due to virus fears. The biannual event, hosted by Qatar's armed forces, in 2018 hosted about 13,000 attendees, according to a news release. The announcement was made on the DIMDEX website. “Following the cancellation of a number of global events including the Mobile World Conference in Spain, ITB in Germany and the Geneva International Auto Show, the DIMDEX 2020 organising committee has been consulting with public health officials and the Government of the State of Qatar regarding the status of the event,” the announcement read. “Though the risk to the general public in Qatar remains low, our primary concern remains the health and welfare of all residents and visitors to Qatar and for this reason the event will no longer be held,” it added. The number of cases of COVID-19 in Qatar stood at three, as of March 2, according to the World Health Organization, but there have been about 1,000 cases in Iran. In the United Arab Emirates, the WHO has determined that, while the number of cases is just about 20, the virus appears to be spreading in the community. Bahrain and Kuwait have about 50 cases each, while Iraq has about 20. https://www.defensenews.com/global/mideast-africa/2020/03/03/qatar-cancels-major-defense-trade-conference-as-coronavirus-fears-spread/