US spy satellite launched into orbit from Vandenberg Air Force Base

On the same subject

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  September 25, 2020 | International, C4ISR

  How the Marines want to provide information on demand

  Mark Pomerleau The Marine Corps wants to provide information on demand. However, sensing, harnessing and acting upon the vast amounts of data produced daily is an enormous challenge and now the Corps is turning to its 2019 blueprint for the information environment. “If you were building a house, you would never just hire plumbers, framers, roofers and say build me a house,” Jennifer Edgin, Assistant Deputy Commandant for Information, said Sept. 22 during a virtual panel as part of Modern Day Marine. Rather, she noted, most would start with the design of the house and how things connect. “That's how we began with our journey in the Marine Corps Information Environment Enterprise, by publishing a blueprint. That outlined our future state vision, our case for change and the major muscle movements that we were tackling with that,” she said. Published in March 2019 and classified as “controlled unclassified information,” the blueprint is a unified technical, physical and business model that documents the design of the Marine Corps Information Environment, Edgin told C4ISRNET in written responses to questions. It connects users with data to support a mission and codifies the policies, standards, services, infrastructure, technical design and architectural elements required to deliver capabilities to Marines. Extremely technical in nature, the blueprint is meant to guide the development and employment of capabilities needed and provides acquisition officers guidance and constraints while also conveying a common language. The first iteration covers five key areas to include digital transformation, governance, transitioning to the cloud, standardization and information dominance. “The future state of warfare requires the Marine Corps to think differently, encourage innovation, and embrace new business models for change that focus on enhancing the access, capabilities, and user experience throughout the Information Environment,” Edgin said. “This blueprint unites and aligns efforts to digitally equip Marines for the future ... The benefit of the blueprint is that it articulates information that cannot easily be visualized. For example, it is very easy to see physical assets like trucks or planes however, it is difficult to articulate information technology assets and visualize how they are employed.” Edgin noted yesterday that the Marine Corps Enterprise Network modernization plan followed the blueprint, taking the blueprint and breaking it down into action plans. Taken together, both documents are meant to guide a transformation the office of the Deputy Commandant for Information is seeking to realize, one that provides secure information on demand leveraging technologies such as cloud computing, resilient mesh networks and emerging technology such as machine learning. “Information doesn't have a geographic boundary,” she said, “you're seeing more of that cross functional team, cross functional approaches where we can really harness all of the best and brightest of authorities and ideas so that we can provide that information on demand.” https://www.c4isrnet.com/it-networks/2020/09/24/how-the-marines-want-to-provide-information-on-demand/

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  March 1, 2019 | International, Aerospace

  What does Australia think of the F-35? One Air Force commander details his experience

  By: Nigel Pittaway MELBOURNE, Australia — The commander of the Royal Australian Air Force's Air Combat Group has provided insight into his experience with the Lockheed Martin F-35A Joint Strike Fighter, during the 2019 Avalon Airshow this week. Australia has 72 F-35As on order to replace the F/A-18A/B “Classic” Hornet fleet, as it's known Down Under; the country has received 10 aircraft to date. Two aircraft were delivered to RAAF Base Williamtown, north of Sydney, in December 2018, and a further eight are based in the United States at Luke Air Force Base, Arizona, in support of international F-35 pilot training with the U.S. Air Force's 61st Fighter Squadron. Air Commodore Mike Kitcher said two more aircraft will be delivered to Australia in early April and eight will have arrived by the end of 2019. “Those two jets at Williamtown are flying five to six sorties a week, largely for aircrew training at the moment. We'll add another two aircraft to that fleet in early April, and we'll have another four by the end of this year and eight aircraft in Australia by the end of the year,” he said. Kitcher also described a sortie he flew in the Red Flag 19-1 exercise held in Nevada in February, in which RAAF Hornets flew with U.S. Air Force F-35As as part of an international strike package. “One of the key strike missions I did that day was to watch an eight-ship [formation] of F-35s kick open a door, which was a fairly hard door to open. Some F-22s came in after that to hold the door open, and the F-35s went back and picked up a strike train that consisted of [RAAF] Hornets, Super Hornets from the U.S. Navy, Typhoons from the [British] Royal Air Force and U.S. Air Force F-16s, supported by U.S. Navy [EA-18G] Growlers and U.S. Air Force F-16s,” Kitcher said. “That was the first time I've been in a high-end exercise, involving a significant air threat, a significant surface-to-air threat and even a cyberthreat. You could see the way the F-35 was working with Classic Hornets, Super Hornets, Typhoons and Growlers to solve a very difficult problem. I'm confident that we'll be doing that in Australia with our F-35s and our Super Hornets and Growlers within the next couple of years.” Two RAAF F-35As from No. 3 Squadron were present at Avalon, and one of them participated in the daily flying display. https://www.defensenews.com/digital-show-dailies/avalon/2019/02/28/what-does-australia-think-of-the-f-35-one-air-force-commander-details-his-experience/

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  January 28, 2021 | International, Naval

  With Columbia revving up, General Dynamics expects submarines to be a cash cow

  By: David B. Larter WASHINGTON — General Dynamics' marine business expects its work in building submarines to drive hundreds of millions of dollars in annual revenue growth over the coming years, company head Phebe Novakovic told investors in a call Wednesday. The company is expecting a $300 million increase in revenue in 2021, with a rough estimate of between $400-500 million of growth a year, Novakovic said, citing submarines as a significant driver. The next-generation ballistic missile submarine Columbia will account for much of that growth, she said. General Dynamics Electric Boat and Huntington Ingalls Industries' Newport News shipyard are the nation's only two submarine builders. With China now operating the world's largest naval force, the U.S. is likely to look to submarines as its ace in the hole against an increasingly sophisticated competitor. “If you look at the U.S. Navy, submarines are its top priority and the Columbia in particular,” Novakovic said. “And why is that? It's because submarines remain a singular competitive advantage, a critical competitive advantage for the United States with near-peer competitors and peer competitors. “I am quite confident that given my belief that the defense budget is driven by the threats that are key elements of our marine group, growth will be nicely supported.” The company last year inked more than $10 billion in contracts for the first two Columbia-class boats. The Navy has consistently said fielding Columbia is its top acquisition priority. Electric Boat is also building the Virginia-class Block V submarine, along with HII Newport News. The Navy is expected to buy the Virginia class at a rate of two subs per year. General Dynamics, which also owns Arleigh Burke-class destroyer-builder Bath Iron Works, believes that platform will continue to be important to the Navy, Novakovic said. The Navy has been waffling about how many of its new Flight III Burkes it intends to buy. The service's 2021 budget proposal cut four destroyers from its five-year plan, proposing eight down from 2020′s proposal of 12. But General Dynamics continues to be bullish on submarines and is investing in its infrastructure at Electric Boat. The company spent nearly $1 billion on its facilities there in 2020, including $345 million in the fourth quarter alone. The investments are “in support of the unprecedented growth on the horizon,” Novakovic said. https://www.defensenews.com/naval/2021/01/27/with-columbia-revving-up-general-dynamics-expects-submarines-to-be-a-cash-cow