October 13, 2024 | International, Naval
Gulf countries beef up their undersea-warfare chops with European tech
French and Italian firms are on tap to supply sonar technology and miniature submarines to Saudi Arabia and Qatar, respectively.
June 27, 2019 | International, Aerospace, Other Defence
US Air Force looks to small businesses for an AI-integrated simulator
By: Kelsey Reichmann
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Air Force is hosting an innovation contest for small businesses to improve simulators with technology like artificial intelligence.
The Air Force released a list of areas in which it's interested, including interoperability among networked simulators; cloud-based simulators; and performance-based training, data collection and analysis.
Maj. Patrick Kawonczyk, who will lead the Simulators Pitch Day event Dec. 4, told Defense News that artificial intelligence can be used “within a learning management system to suggest techniques, tactics or procedures, which need to be practiced more for proficiency.”
Kawonczyk added that AI could benefit the service by improving data analysis, conceptual developmental ideas and predictive analysis in maintenance.
“AI bridges the gap between the human and machine interface,” Col. Philip Carpenter, the senior materiel leader with the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center's Simulator Program Office, said in an email. “It helps orchestrate the interaction with a student and then presents learning material in response to a student's performance. This allows better customization and can help address the unique needs of each student.”
Proposals from industry are due July 1, after which a two-week evaluation process will occur and then a one-week contracting period, according to an Air Force news release.
The proposal period will be broken up into two phases. The first will involve awards to small businesses, which can then submit proposals for the second phase.
“Select companies with Phase I or Phase II proposals will be invited to present to an Air Force panel at the Simulators Pitch Day event Dec. 4 in Orlando, Florida,” the release said.
After the Simulators Pitch Day, all companies involved can present pitches to defense industry executives and venture capitalists at a media event, the release notes.
“We are not asking small business to go out and invent something new,” Margaret Merkle, program manager in the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center's Simulators Division, said in the news release. “We are asking if they have technology that we can leverage for the Air Force. Ultimately the idea is to connect with industry which will help us move into the latest technological space faster.”
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October 2, 2020 | International, Aerospace
One KC-46 delivery has been halted due to electrical system problems
Valerie Insinna WASHINGTON — The U.S. Air Force halted a delivery of the KC-46 yet again after problems with the electrical system were found on one new tanker slated to make its way to the service. The issue was first disclosed during an Oct. 1 hearing of the Senate Armed Services Committee, when Sen. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., said that a KC-46 that was supposed to have been delivered Sept. 25 by Boeing to Pease Air National Guard Base had been delayed. “They just learned that that delivery was canceled due to electrical problems with the aircraft,” she said to Ellen Lord, the Pentagon's top acquisition official. In a statement, Boeing said a “minor electrical issue” on a single KC-46 was found by the company during acceptance tests. “In flight, one of the radar warning receivers is indicating a fault through the plane's fault management system,” Boeing spokesman Larry Chambers said. “We think it may be a poor electrical connection that needs to be re-seated. We are currently evaluating a fix. Resolving this has caused a minor delay to delivery of this single airplane. Boeing expects to conclude this activity within the next several days and is working with the Air Force on a new delivery schedule.” The issue is not a design or safety-of-flight issue that would pose risk to the aircrew, he added. But Shaheen, speaking at the hearing, expressed frustration with Boeing over its repeated difficulties designing and building the new tankers, with challenges over the life span of the program that have included wiring issues and problems with the vision system that allows boom operators to safely refuel other planes. “I've spoken to a whole number of officials from Boeing from our military leadership as recently as last week with Gen. [Jacqueline] Van Ovost, who is the head of Air Mobility Command, all of whom have assured me that we've had good conversations between the [Department of Defense] and Boeing, and that the problems are being worked out. We're not going to continue to see these challenges,” Shaheen said. “And yet we've got another aircraft that's not being delivered because of another problem. So how do we fix this? Because it is an ongoing challenge that's affecting our ability to our national security, long term if we don't get these refueling tankers up and running.” Lord responded that KC-46 problems have included design and engineering flaws as well as issues occurring during the manufacturing of the jet. “The KC 46 has been an extremely problematical program. I speak with Leanne Caret, the CEO of the defense side of Boeing, on a regular basis about it,” Lord said. “One issue is frankly the technical solution. That was the original design [and] is now being redesigned, but also we have had a myriad of manufacturing issues with [foreign object debris] and other issues.” However, she said the root cause of the problems is the fixed-price firm contract used for the KC-46 program, which makes Boeing financially responsible for any costs beyond the $4.9 billion ceiling. So far, Boeing has spent more than $4.7 billion in company funds on the KC-46 program — almost equivalent to the Air Force's own investment in the program. The Air Force plans to buy 179 tankers, 38 of which have already been delivered to the service. Seven KC-46s have gone to Pease ANGB. https://www.defensenews.com/air/2020/10/01/kc-46-deliveries-have-been-halted-due-to-electrical-system-problems/
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September 4, 2020 | International, Aerospace, C4ISR
M-Code GPS and inertial navigation for F-22 and E-2D finishes critical design review
By Garrett Reim Northrop Grumman's Embedded Global Positioning System and Inertial Navigation System-Modernization (EGI-M) programme recently finished its critical design review. https://www.flightglobal.com/fixed-wing/m-code-gps-and-inertial-navigation-for-f-22-and-e-2d-finishes-critical-design-review/140015.article