October 21, 2020 | International, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR

With artificial intelligence, every soldier is a counter-drone operator

With the addition of artificial intelligence and machine learning, the aim is to make every soldier, regardless of job specialty, capable of identifying and knocking down threatening drones.

While much of that mission used to reside mostly in the air defense community, those attacks can strike any infantry squad or tank battalion.

The goal is to reduce cognitive burden and operator stress when dealing with an array of aerial threats that now plague units of any size, in any theater.

“Everyone is counter-UAS,” said Col. Marc Pelini, division chief for capabilities and requirements at the Joint Counter-Unmanned Aircraft Systems Office, or JCO.

Pelini and Maj. Gen. Sean Gainey, JCO director, who spoke Thursday at the virtual Association of the U.S. Army conference, told reporters that the original focus was on smaller Tier I and II threats. But that has now extended to Tier III threats, traditionally covered by the Army's air defense community, such as Avenger and Patriot missile batteries.

Some of that work includes linking the larger threat detection to the smaller drones that now dot conflicts across the world, including the hot zone of the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict.

In June, the Department of Defense conducted a “down select” of existing or in-the-pipeline counter-drone systems from 40 to eight, as Military Times sister publication C4ISRNET reported at the time.

That was an effort to reduce redundancy in the flood of counter drone programs taken on in the wake of a $700 million funding push in 2017 to get after problems posed by commercially available drones being used more frequently by violent extremist organizations such as the Islamic State to harass, attack and surveil U.S. and allied forces.

Those choices, in the down select, included the following, also reported by C4ISRNET:

Fixed/Semi-Fixed Systems

* Fixed Site-Low, Slow, Small Unmanned Aircraft System Integrated Defeat System (FS-LIDS), sponsored by the Army

* Negation of Improvised Non-State Joint Aerial-Threats (NINJA), sponsored by the Air Force

* Counter-Remote Control Model Aircraft Integrated Air Defense Network (CORIAN), sponsored by the Navy

Mounted/Mobile System

* Light-Mobile Air Defense Integrated System (L-MADIS), sponsored by the Marine Corps

Dismounted/Handheld Systems

* Bal Chatri, sponsored by Special Operations Command

* Dronebuster, no sponsor, commercial off-the-shelf capability

* Smart Shooter, no sponsor, commercial off-the-shelf capability

* Forward Area Air Defense Command and Control (FAAD-C2), sponsored by the Army (includes FAAD-C2 interoperable systems like the Air Force's Air Defense System Integrator (ADSI) and the Marine Corps' Multi-Environmental Domain Unmanned Systems Application Command and Control (MEDUSA C2))

The four areas evaluated to determine which systems stuck around for use or further development were effectiveness, integration, usability and sustainment, Gainey said Thursday.

A kind of virtual open house with industry is planned for Oct. 30, in which JCO will evaluate what options are out there.

Some of what they're learning is being gathered through a consortium, of sorts, that involves regular meetings between service branch representatives during monthly sessions at the two-star level, Gainey said.

That goes into a real-time, updated “common threat library” that helps those in the field identify trends and changes that can be met across forces.

They use those sessions to share what each component is seeing in theater as far as drone use and changes. But it's more than simple intelligence gathering, he said.

They also form rapid response teams.

"My operations team works with the warfighters, [the] intelligence community” and others, he said. They “triangulate” common problems with drones and send the rapid response teams to the area of operations most affected.

https://www.armytimes.com/digital-show-dailies/ausa/2020/10/17/with-artificial-intelligence-every-soldier-is-a-counter-drone-operator/

On the same subject

February 19, 2019 | International, Aerospace

Defence Secretary announces first deployment for new sub-hunter aircraft
Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson has announced that the UK's new fleet of submarine hunting aircraft will take to the skies over the Arctic next year. While visiting Royal Marines and Royal Navy personnel on winter training in Norway, the Defence Secretary announced that as part of their first deployment next year the RAF P8 Maritime Patrol Aircraft will be in the Arctic to counter Russian submarine activity that has reached Cold War levels. This deployment is part of the Defence Arctic Strategy, which will be published this spring, deepening our relationship with regional partners and sharpen our expertise of operating in the extreme cold environment. Defence Secretary Gavin Williamson said: The Arctic Strategy puts us on the front foot in protecting Britain's interests in this expanding new frontier. Whether it's sharpening our skills in sub-zero conditions, learning from longstanding allies like Norway or monitoring submarine threats with our Poseidon aircraft, we will stay vigilant to new challenges. Nine of the P8 Poseidon aircraft will be delivered to RAF Lossiemouth in 2020 at which point they will begin reconnaissance patrols over a wide range including the High North and North Atlantic. While in Norway the Defence Secretary also met with the elite commandos of the Royal Marines and discussed the unique challenge of honing their combat skills hundreds of miles inside the Arctic Circle where temperatures drop as low as -30°C. As part of the Defence Arctic Strategy, the Royal Marines have committed to a 10-year training programme with their Norwegian counterparts, which will see around 1,000 Marines travelling North each year. A long-term NATO ally, Norway is also a fellow member of the Joint Expeditionary Force and Northern Group – two initiatives through which the UK is enhancing its co-operation with key northern European partners. Elsewhere in the region this year, RAF Typhoons will guard NATO's northern flank as part of the Icelandic Air Policing mission. https://www.gov.uk/government/news/defence-secretary-announces-first-deployment-for-new-sub-hunter-aircraft
January 21, 2020 | International, C4ISR

BAE Systems rachète pour plus de 2 milliards de dollars d'actifs à United Technologies et Raytheon
Le groupe britannique de défense BAE Systems a annoncé lundi le rachat en numéraire de plus de 2 milliards de dollars d'actifs aux groupes de défense américains United Technologies et Raytheon, en train de finaliser leur rapprochement. BAE va acquérir un système de géolocalisation militaire à Collins Aerospace, filiale de United, pour quelque 1,9 milliard, et également reprendre pour 275 millions de dollars l'activité de radio tactique aéroportée de Raytheon. Ces transactions sont soumises à "la réalisation effective de la fusion de Raytheon et United Technologies et à l'accord des autorités", précise BAE. Ces actifs, qualifiés d'"opportunités uniques" par le directeur général de BAE Charles Woodburn, sont sur le marché dans le cadre de désinvestissements requis par les autorités américaines de la concurrence pour approuver le rapprochement de Raytheon et United Technologies. Ils "complètent fortement notre activité de systèmes électroniques basée aux Etats-Unis" et présentent "de fortes perspectives de croissance". Ils devraient aussi "avoir un impact positif immédiat sur les résultats et la trésorerie" de BAE, précise le communiqué. L'activité de géolocalisation, dont le rachat sera financé par endettement, devrait générer un chiffre d'affaires de 359 millions de dollars et un excédent brut d'exploitation (adjusted EBITDA) de 127 millions de dollars en 2020. Celle de radio pour l'aviation militaire, "qui conçoit un vaste éventail de systèmes de communications sensibles avec le département américain de la Défense, les gouvernements alliés", affiche "un long historique d'innovations". Elle devrait générer un chiffre d'affaires de 125 millions de dollars en 2019, avec un effet positif immédiat sur les résultats et la trésorerie. Elle devrait être financée par des liquidités existantes. https://www.journal-aviation.com/actualites/43690-bae-rachete-pour-plus-de-2-milliards-de-dollars-d-actifs-a-united-technologies-et-raytheon
October 3, 2018 | International, C4ISR

The U.S. Department of Defense selects BAE Systems to help develop and deliver next generation mission technologies
The U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) has selected BAE Systems to compete for future research and development (R&D) task orders awarded under a nine-year, indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity (IDIQ) contract. The contract provides fast, flexible, low-cost solutions across technical disciplines to meet the current and future technology needs of the U.S. military. “This large-scale contract provides us with a tremendous opportunity to reach across BAE Systems and leverage our own internal research and development investments to help the DoD solve its most difficult mission challenges,” said Al Whitmore, president of BAE Systems' Intelligence & Security sector. “We are excited to help the government leverage innovations in artificial intelligence, machine learning, and directed energy technologies to enhance the security and effectiveness of our warfighters across physical and digital domains.” BAE Systems is one of 15 companies selected by the Defense Technical Information Center to compete for future R&D and support task orders expected to exceed $15 million. These task orders will be awarded by the Air Force Installation Contract Agency/KD Offutt AFB, Nebraska and support the DoD Information Analysis Center Program Management Office. The ceiling value for all future work awarded under the IDIQ is $28 billion. BAE Systems delivers a broad range of solutions and services enabling militaries and governments to successfully carryout their missions. The company provides large-scale systems engineering, integration, and sustainment services across air, land, sea, space, and cyber domains. BAE Systems takes pride in its support of national security and those who serve. https://www.baesystems.com/en/article/the-u-s--department-of-defense-selects-bae-systems-to-help-develop-and-deliver-next-generation-mission-technologies

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