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August 1, 2023 | International, C4ISR

US military targets deepfakes, misinformation with AI-powered tool

Discerning fact from fiction is vital to military operations. The task is increasingly complex as bad information floods social media and other channels.

https://www.c4isrnet.com/information-warfare/2023/08/01/us-military-targets-deepfakes-misinformation-with-ai-powered-tool/

On the same subject

  • In newly inked deal, F-35 price falls to $78 million a copy

    October 30, 2019 | International, Aerospace

    In newly inked deal, F-35 price falls to $78 million a copy

    By: Valerie Insinna WASHINGTON —The Pentagon and Lockheed Martin have finalized a $34 billion deal for the next three lots of F-35 Joint Strike Fighters, setting the price of an F-35A jet below $80 million. The fresh price tag has come a year earlier than expected. The deal includes 478 F-35s for U.S. and international customers across lots 12, 13 and 14. On average, the price per aircraft will fall about 12.8 percent across all variants from Lot 11 to Lot 14, according to the Pentagon. “This is the first time the F-35 Joint Program Office will award a significant F-35 aircraft procurement in the same fiscal year as the congressional appropriation year,” Pentagon acquisition head Ellen Lord told reporters Tuesday. “We will reach a unit-recurring flyaway-cost-per-aircraft target of $80 million for a U.S. Air Force F-35A price by Lot 13, which is one lot earlier than planned — a significant milestone for the department,” she added. The F-35A conventional-takeoff-and-landing model — which is used by the U.S. Air Force and most international users — is set to decrease from a Lot 11 price of $89.2 million to $82.4 million in Lot 12; $79.2 million in Lot 13; and $77.9 million in Lot 14. The F-35B short-takeoff-and-vertical-landing model will fall to $108 million in Lot 12, $104.8 million in Lot 13 and $101.3 million in Lot 14. The F-35C variant, which can take off and land on aircraft carriers, also decreased in price, dropping to $103.1 million in Lot 12, $98.1 million in Lot 13 and $94.4 million in Lot 14. Lockheed will deliver 149 F-35s in Lot 12, 160 aircraft in Lot 13 and 169 for Lot 14. Neither Lord nor Lt. Gen. Eric Fick, the Pentagon's F-35 program executive, could explain why the size of the Lot 12 buy had dwindled from the 157 jets announced in June as part of the handshake deal to 149 jets in the definitized agreement. However, it's likely that the decrease is due to Turkey's removal from the program. After the handshake agreement was announced, a source with knowledge of the deal told Defense News that it included Turkish jets to the order of about five to 10 F-35s per lot. The Pentagon announced the contract definitization on Monday, awarding Lockheed Martin a $7 billion modification to a previous contract vehicle for the F-35. The Defense Department previously obligated funding to Lockheed through undefinitized contracts for about 255 aircraft, Fick said. The award, which comprises some Lot 12 jets as well as Lot 13 planes added by Congress in the fiscal 2019 budget, includes 114 F-35s: 48 F-35As for the U.S. Air Force 20 F-35Bs for the U.S. Marine Corps Nine F-35Cs for the U.S. Navy 12 F-35As for Norway 15 F-35As for Australia Eight F-35As and two F-35Bs for Italy Funds for obsolescent parts, software data loads, critical safety items, nonrecurring and recurring engineering, and the Joint Strike Fighter Airborne Data Emulator. “We are still left, then with about 100 aircraft to go and about another $7 billion to go associated with the work to be done for U.S. services in accordance with the [FY20 budget],” Fick said. “We don't have that budget yet. We can't make that contract award for the final aircraft until such time as we have this new statutory authority to do so.” In a statement, Lockheed's F-35 program head hailed the progress on the aircraft's price reduction. “With smart acquisition strategies, strong government-industry partnership and a relentless focus on quality and cost reduction, the F-35 enterprise has successfully reduced procurement costs of the 5th generation F-35 to equal or less than 4th generation legacy aircraft,” said Greg Ulmer, Lockheed's F-35 program vice president and general manager. https://www.defensenews.com/air/2019/10/29/in-newly-inked-deal-f-35-prices-fall-to-78-million-a-copy/

  • Inside The UK’s Integrated Defense Review  | Aviation Week Network

    March 24, 2021 | International, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security

    Inside The UK’s Integrated Defense Review | Aviation Week Network

    The UK military is aligning its focus to platforms that will serve it well in the Pacific, and this is a quick look at how the nation’s plans for aerospace programs are changing.

  • Lockheed to provide Hellfire II missiles for the Netherlands, Japan

    October 3, 2018 | International, Aerospace

    Lockheed to provide Hellfire II missiles for the Netherlands, Japan

    By Stephen Carlson Oct. 2 (UPI) -- Lockheed Martin has received a $631.8 million foreign military sales contract to sell the Netherlands and Japan Hellfire II missiles. Work on the contract, announced Monday by the Department of Defense, will be performed in Orlando, Fla., with an estimated completion date of September 2021. Army fiscal 2017 and 2018 foreign military sales and other procurement funds in the combined amount of $631.8 million were obligated at the time of award. The Hellfire II is the primary air-to-ground short-range precision guided missile for U.S. helicopters and unmanned aerial vehicles and is in service with many other nations. It has been produced in ground- and ship-launched models as well. The Hellfire uses a laser-guidance system that can either be directed by a laser targeting pod on the launching aircraft or a separate laser designator used by ground forces or other aircraft. A variant used by the AH-64 Apache Longbow uses a radar and inertial guidance system that utilizes a fire-and-forget capability which does not require continuous lock from the launching helicopter like the laser version does. The Hellfire was designed primarily as an air-launched anti-tank weapon and has been in service since 1984. It has seen widespread use in Iraq, Afghanistan and other theaters as a general precision strike weapon. It has also been the main weapon used by unmanned aerial vehicles in the Department of Defense and Central Intelligence Agency's targeted dronestrike program. Over 15,000 have been used in conventional and targeted attacks since 2001. https://www.upi.com/Defense-News/2018/10/02/Lockheed-to-provide-Hellfire-II-missiles-for-the-Netherlands-Japan/2961538484205/

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