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Andrew Eversden WASHINGTON — Experts expect President-elect Joe Biden's administration to build on the Trump administration's investments in emerging technologies, while adding to research and development budgets in the Defense Department and across the federal government. The incoming Biden administration signaled throughout the campaign that basic research and development funding would be a priority. Biden wrote in Foreign Affairs he would make research and development a “cornerstone” of his presidency and pointed to the United States having the “greatest research universities in the world.” “It's basic research that's the area where you get the breakthroughs, and you need long-term, sustained investments to build up a strong S&T base,” said Martijn Rasser, a senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security's technology and national security program. Biden's R&D investment is an expected change from the Trump administration's approach, which experts have noted is narrower in scope and focused on harnessing private sector innovation. “The reality is the U.S. private sector has eclipsed the government, which in some ways that can be good,” said Rep. Jim Langevin, D-R.I., chairman of the House Armed Services Committee's Subcommittee on Intelligence and Emerging Threats and Capabilities. “The private sector can move with greater agility than the government, but the private sector may not be focusing on developing those exquisite technologies that we need for the war fighter.” Experts told C4ISRNET they expect the Biden administration to invest more money in basic research areas and to reform immigration laws that slowed the innovation pipeline from abroad to the United States. “China is closing in. They are spending every year more and more on R&D. They will soon, if not already, be spending as much as we are, if not more on R&D,” Langevin said told C4ISRNET. “Congress has woken up to this problem.” Basic research Perhaps the most likely area the Biden administration is poised to change is basic research and development funding. According to annual reports from the Congressional Research Service, the Trump administration consistently proposed top-line cuts to federal research and development in yearly budget proposals. This included the fiscal 2021 budget proposal's $13.8 billion decrease in defense R&D over the fiscal 2020 funding enacted by Congress. While the Pentagon has often been spared from such cuts, the Trump administration has also suggested trimming the defense-related basic research budget line — money that is a “substantial source of federal funds for university R&D,” according to the Congressional Research Service. The White House's FY21 defense-related basic research budget line asked for a reduction of about 11 percent from FY20 enacted, or a $284.2 million decrease. Biden's campaign platform calls for a four-year investment of $300 billion in R&D for new technology such as 5G, artificial intelligence, advanced materials and electric cars. “A nation speaks to and identifies its priorities by where it puts its research dollars, where it puts its money,” Langevin said. “Basic research has to be more of a priority, and that's something I'm going to encourage the Biden administration to focus on.” Michèle Flournoy, thought to be a leading contender to become the next secretary of defense, has also written about the need to increase investment in emerging technologies to counter China. In Foreign Affairs in June, Flournoy wrote that “resilient battlefield networks, artificial intelligence to support faster decision-making, fleets of unmanned systems, and hypersonic and long-range precision missiles” will “ultimately determine military success.” “Continuing to underinvest in these emerging capabilities will ultimately have dire costs for U.S. deterrence,” she wrote. Congressional and think tank reports published during the Trump administration's tenure called for an increase in basic research funding. A report from the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence's strategic tech and advanced research subpanel, led by Rep. Jim Himes, D-Conn., recommended bumping up federal research and development funding from 0.7 percent to 1.1 percent of gross domestic product, or an increase of $146 billion to $230 billion. A report by the Council on Foreign Relations from 2019 applauded the Trump administration's requested increases in funding for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, now funded at $3.46 billion, and the Defense Innovation Unit, for which the Trump administration requested $164 million. Laying the groundwork Initiatives started under the Trump administration did provide a groundwork on which the Biden administration can build. Under the Trump administration, DARPA kicked off a $1.5 billion microelectronics effort. In artificial intelligence, the administration launched the American AI Initiative. However, the Council on Foreign Relations criticized that effort because it had no funding and left agencies to prioritize artificial intelligence R&D spending without metrics, while also drawing funds from other research areas. The administration also made an $1.2 billion investment in quantum information science. “The Trump administration started bringing national attention and federal focus to many of these technologies,” said Lindsey Sheppard, a fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. “I hope to see from the Biden administration perhaps a more cohesive guiding strategy for all of these pieces.” While the Trump administration has started many initiatives, the Council on Foreign Relations report also criticized the Trump administration's innovation strategy as an “incremental and limited approach,” writing that “action does not match the language officials use to describe the importance of AI to U.S. economic and national security.” While investment in future technology is important, defense budgets are expected to stay flat or decrease in the coming years. In her Foreign Affairs article, Flournoy acknowledge that the budgetary reality will require “tough tradeoffs.” Experts agree. “R&D programs are going to have to start being able to consistently, clearly articulate justifications for their budgets and the returns on investment,” Sheppard said. But the coronavirus pandemic has highlighted the need for increased investments in research and development, Himes and Langevin argued. Both lawmakers identified biothreats as something they fear for the future. Biological threats are one area that DARPA — an organization Langevin pointed to as a major federal R&D success story — has triumphantly address. Commercial partners from DARPA's 3-year-old pandemic prevention platform program announced they developed a COVID-19 therapeutic using new techniques. “There's absolutely going to be a rethink,” Himes told C4ISRNET in an interview. “Are we correctly allocating money between the possibility that there could be a pandemic that kills a million Americans, versus the possibility that we're going to have to fight the Russians in the Fulda Gap? I think there's going be a lot of thinking about that. And there should be thinking about that because our money should go to those areas where there's the highest probability of dead Americans.” Immigration innovation Another way to improve American innovation in critical future technologies is by allowing highly skilled foreigners to work in the United States. Biden has hinted at changes that will affect American innovation through the expected reversals of President Donald Trump's immigration policies, which limited high-skilled workers from legally working in the country. The Biden administration's platform states it wants to reform the H-1B visa process that the Trump administration restricted, much to the chagrin of American tech companies, which use the program to hire top talent from abroad. Think tanks have recommended reforming the current U.S. immigration policy to attract international students, entrepreneurs and high-skilled workers because of the innovative ideas they provide. For example, an analysis by Georgetown University's Center for Security and Technology found that 68 percent of the United States' top 50 artificial intelligence companies were co-founded by immigrants, most of whom came the U.S. as students. “A lot of the Trump administration's policies — we're shooting ourselves in the foot making it so much harder for people to come here,” said Rasser, who wrote a report for CNAS last year calling for H1-B caps to be increased. “Because of the fact that people want to come to the United States to live and work, that's one of our greatest competitive advantages. It's something I expect the Biden administration to reverse.” https://www.c4isrnet.com/smr/transition/2020/11/29/how-the-biden-administration-is-expected-to-approach-tech-research-and-development/

By: Sebastian Sprenger and Valerie Insinna COLOGNE, Germany, and WASHINGTON — Four aircraft makers have submitted final offers for Switzerland's $6.5 billion aircraft program, with Airbus and Lockheed Martin touting different approaches to assembling their planes locally. Nov. 18 was the deadline for the quartet of hopeful vendors, which also includes Boeing and Dassault, to deliver their vision — and price — for one of the largest procurement programs in Europe. Switzerland is looking for somewhere between 36 and 40 new aircraft to police the country's airspace. The degree of local industry participation is shaping up to be a major factor for the famously independence-minded Swiss. Airbus got an assist from four Eurofighter operators — Germany, Spain, Italy and the U.K. — who sent their ambassadors in Switzerland to a Nov. 19 news conference to talk up the prospect of a grander industrial and political partnership that would follow a Eurofighter pick. The Swiss are expected to make a decision in early summer 2021, following a referendum vote this September that narrowly greenlighted the budget. The Airbus offer includes final assembly of all aircraft by way of a partner company in Switzerland, the details of which the company plans to announce in December. Michael Flügger, Germany's ambassador in Switzerland, touted the possibility of Eurofighter-based airspace-patrol cooperation along the Italy-Switzerland-Germany axis. In addition, he said, Switzerland joining the airplane's user club would mean the country can “export” training flight noise to remote areas in the other partner countries. Franz Posch, who heads the Airbus campaign in Switzerland, told reporters that the company's plan to locally assemble all 40 of the notional aircraft would “more than fulfill” the offset requirements established by the Swiss government. Lockheed Martin, with its F-35, also has high hopes for the Swiss competition, hoping to broaden the plane's user base in Europe. The company's offer includes a basic program of 36 jets, with options for an additional four aircraft, Mike Kelley, who leads the company's F-35 efforts in Switzerland, said during a Nov. 19 roundtable with reporters. While Switzerland would be able to purchase parts through the spares pool shared by all F-35 operators, the offer also contains a six-month deployed spares package — a separate pot of parts that would be managed by the Swiss government, which was necessary to meet Swiss autonomy requirements. To meet requirements for industrial participation, Switzerland would have the opportunity to domestically produce about 400 canopies and transparencies for F-35 aircraft, and Lockheed would establish a European hub for the maintenance, repair and overhaul of F 35 canopies and transparencies in Switzerland. In addition, the country would take on certain F-35 engine and airframe sustainment projects focused on maintaining the Swiss Air Force's operational autonomy, Kelley said. Lockheed also plans to partner with Swiss industry to create a cyber center of excellence, which would prototype a unique data network for Switzerland and build a test bed that would allow Swiss companies to test cyber capabilities in a secure environment. On top of those efforts, Lockheed is offering one last industrial participation opportunity to Switzerland. For an additional cost, Switzerland will be able to conduct the final assembly of four F-35 aircraft at existing RUAG facilities in Emmen, allowing the Swiss technicians that currently work on the country's aging Hornet fleet to build a deeper knowledge of the aircraft's design. That option would add a “significant cost” to the total program, Kelley said, but could allow for overall savings throughout the life cycle of the program. Boeing, meanwhile, has positioned its offer of an F-18 Super Hornet fleet as a logical extension of Switzerland's existing F-18 infrastructure. “As an F/A-18 operator, Switzerland will have the option to reuse up to 60 percent of existing physical and intellectual infrastructure, making the transition to a Super Hornet easier and more cost effective over the life of the aircraft,” the company said in a statement. The aircraft offer, the statement added, would “easily fit” within Switzerland's current F-18 operating budget. The reference to cost comes after Swiss officials stressed that the fighter portion of the Air 2030 air defense modernization program includes a cost ceiling of 6 billion Swiss francs (U.S. $6.6 billion), with with an eye on potential price reductions along the way. “Currently, Boeing is working with more than 100 current and new partners across Switzerland to identify the right opportunities for its New Fighter Aircraft industry plan,” the company said. France's Dassault, with its offer of the Rafale, is the only vendor keeping its cards close to its chest. Citing a commitment to confidentiality, a spokeswoman told Defense News the company had no plans to characterize its offer nor the “nature of the relationship” between the Swiss and French governments to that end. https://www.defensenews.com/global/europe/2020/11/29/aircraft-makers-sweeten-their-offers-in-high-stakes-swiss-warplane-race/

By: Sebastian Sprenger COLOGNE, Germany — Rheinmetall has unveiled a new scouting configuration of its Mission Master ground robot, ratcheting up competition in a European market segment that is set to heat up in the coming years. The new version features a suite of sensors mounted on a collapsible, 3.5-meter mast, including an infrared sensor, a surveillance radar and a 360-degree camera. A laser rangefinder and target designator are also included on the vehicle, as is a 7.62mm gun on a remote-controlled weapon station, according to a company statement. “The Mission Master-Armed Reconnaissance is designed to execute high-risk scouting missions and deliver a real-time common operating picture without putting soldiers in danger,” the German company said. The six-wheeled vehicle's autonomous functions are powered by Rheinmetall's PATH kit, which the company advertises as a means to turn any vehicle into an unmanned platform. Multiple vehicles can be combined to operate as part a “Wolf Pack” cluster, a technology enabling communications, cueing and targeting toward a common mission objective, according to Rheinmetall. Ground robots with varying degrees of autonomy are rapidly becoming critical for ground forces worldwide. Cargo transport and surveillance are some of the most obvious applications. While some of the new robots carry weapons, Western manufacturers have shied away from connecting their most advanced autonomy algorithms to the process of firing them. Rheinmetall's Mission Master series is something of a counterpoint to Estonia's Milrem Robotics, which has been making inroads with European ground forces through its tracked THeMIS vehicle. Milrem has advertised its operational experience by way of a THeMIS deployment with the Estonian military to the French-led Barkhane counterterrorism mission in Mali. Milrem also sits atop a smattering of European companies charged with developing a common architecture for unmanned ground vehicles under the umbrella of the European Defence Industrial Development Programme. The effort is named iMUGS, which is short for “integrated Modular Unmanned Ground System,” and it received roughly $36 million in European Union funding over the summer. “The ambition is no less than developing an F-16 [fighter jet] of unmanned ground systems,” Kusti Salm, director general of the Estonian Centre for Defence Investments, was quoted as saying by the Baltic Times website in 2019. The iMUGS effort centers around Milrem's THeMIS vehicle as a prototype platform. Notable European land warfare companies are part of the consortium, including Germany's Krauss-Maffei Wegmann and France's Nexter. Absent from the EU-endorsed roster is Rheinmetall, which has mounted its own marketing and outreach campaign for the Mission Master series. Earlier in November, the company announced it had given a sample vehicle to the Royal Netherlands Army for experimentation. The robot will undergo a two-year evaluation toward what Rheinmetall described as “Future Manoeuvre Elements” to aid Dutch ground forces during operations. The Dutch previously ordered the THeMIS from Milrem. During the spring, Rheinmetall delivered four Mission Master vehicles configured for cargo transport to U.K. forces. “These unmanned ground vehicles will form part of the United Kingdom's Robotic Platoon Vehicle program,” Rheinmetall said in a statement at the time. “This program is designed to determine the extent to which unmanned vehicles can boost the combat effectiveness and capabilities of dismounted troops at platoon level.” https://www.defensenews.com/global/europe/2020/11/29/rheinmetall-unveils-new-ground-robot-for-armed-reconnaissance

by Melanie Rovery Textron Systems has developed an all-electric version of the Ripsaw M5 unmanned ground vehicle (UGV). Delivery of the platform for experimentation and trials will take place in 2021. The Textron Systems-led team, selected by the US Army in January 2020, are to provide four Robotic Combat Vehicles – Medium (RCV-M) with the Ripsaw M5 offering. In addition to the baseline hybrid electric drive (HED) platform, the team will also be delivering an all-electric version called the Ripsaw M5-E. The US Army Combat Capabilities Development Command Armaments Center (CCDC, also known as DEVCOM) will receive an M5-E in a flat-deck configuration to support weapons integration testing. Deliveries will start in the second quarter of 2021. The Ripsaw M5 platform is designed and built by Textron Systems' subsidiary Howe and Howe Inc, drawing from the latter's experience in UGV and specialty vehicle development. Despite Howe and Howe's knowledge, there are common issues associated with HED and electric drive (ED) development. One concern is ensuring there is sufficient battery capacity to power the electric motors. A Textron spokesperson told Janes that the company's experience “has allowed us to continually refine our [ED] systems and incorporate these lessons learned into the M5-E, which is designed to provide an all-electric test bed for our customer”. Future challenges for the HED/ED include electric efficiency and charge rates. Textron believes this will be mitigated by improved technology. “Our current solution leverages increased fuel efficiency and is enabled by agile logistics, ensuring adequate fuel is available,” the spokesperson explained. https://www.janes.com/defence-news/news-detail/textron-systems-readies-all-electric-ripsaw-m5-ugv

NAVY Lockheed Martin Corp., Rotary and Mission Systems, Syracuse, New York, was awarded a $14,108,019 cost-plus-fixed-fee and cost-only modification to previously awarded contract N00024-18-C-5300 to exercise options for AN/SLQ-32(V)6 design agent engineering services. Work will be performed in Syracuse, New York, and is expected to be completed by November 2021. Fiscal 2021 other procurement (Navy) (91%); and 2021 operation and maintenance (Navy) (9%) funding in the amount of $3,008,846 will be obligated at time of award, of which, $281,857 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, D.C., is the contracting activity. (Awarded Nov. 24, 2020) *Small business https://www.defense.gov/Newsroom/Contracts/Contract/Article/2428811/source/GovDelivery/

by Carlo Munoz The US Army is soliciting industry proposals to develop new cryptographic technologies, designed to ensure secure and compartmentalised communication capabilities in the wake of rapidly advancing cyber warfare and electronic warfare threats to those operations. The proposals being sought by the service's Program Manager Tactical Radios (PM TR), under Program Executive Office Command, Control, Communicate – Tactical (PEO C3T), will assist in the development of the advanced variant of the Next Generation Load Device-Medium (NGLD-M). Army officials anticipate developing and fielding a maximum of 265,000 NGLD-M units, at an estimated cost of USD850 million, according to the service's 18 November request for proposals (RFP). The new NGLD-M systems will replace the army's more than decade-old fleet of Simple Key Loaders (SKLs), which are designed to transfer, issue, fill, and manage electronic cryptographic keys to highly sensitive End-Cryptographic Units (ECUs), used by combat units to transmit and receive secure communications transmissions. Designed to meet the Type 1 cryptologic standards for secured data transmissions established by the National Security Agency (NSA), the NGLD-M will provide “the functionality of legacy fill devices while providing network connectivity to support Over the Network Key (OTNK) distribution”, the RFP stated. The new NGLD-M will also provide end users with a “reprogrammable crypto subcomponent to meet future modernisation requirements”, it added. “The NGLD-M will enable delivery of the strongest NSA-generated cryptographic keys to tactical, strategic, and enterprise network systems operating from secret to the highest levels of security classification,” according to a PEO C3T statement, issued shortly after the RFP's release. https://www.janes.com/defence-news/news-detail/us-army-solicits-bids-for-new-cryptographic-technologies

Northrop Grumman has been awarded a $4,800,000,000 contract for Global Hawk surveillance drone development, modernization, retrofit and sustainment activities for all Air Force Global Hawk variants, a Pentagon contract announcement said. This contract provides for management, including program, business and technical areas; configuration management, data management, reliability, availability and maintainability. Technical refresh; studies and analyses; design, development, integration, test and evaluation; contract/production line closeout/shutdown; training; sparing; overseas contingency operations support; fielding; cyber security/information assurance; interoperability support; facilities modifications/renovation; integrated logistics support; requirements management specification management; and quality assurance. Guidance will be included within each individual delivery order/task order statement of work and performance work statement regarding these and other tasks. This contract provides flexibility to accommodate the broad enterprise of activities associated with the Global Hawk program. Work will be performed in San Diego, California, and is expected to be completed Sept. 30, 2030. Global Hawk drones provide the US Air Force with wide area surveillance. The high-altitude, long-endurance unmanned system provides leading-edge intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capability that is able to deliver near real-time 24X7 situational awareness. https://www.defenseworld.net/news/28395#.X8U4681KiUk

Northrop Grumman has been awarded a $4,800,000,000 contract for Global Hawk surveillance drone development, modernization, retrofit and sustainment activities for all Air Force Global Hawk variants, a Pentagon contract announcement said. This contract provides for management, including program, business and technical areas; configuration management, data management, reliability, availability and maintainability. Technical refresh; studies and analyses; design, development, integration, test and evaluation; contract/production line closeout/shutdown; training; sparing; overseas contingency operations support; fielding; cyber security/information assurance; interoperability support; facilities modifications/renovation; integrated logistics support; requirements management specification management; and quality assurance. Guidance will be included within each individual delivery order/task order statement of work and performance work statement regarding these and other tasks. This contract provides flexibility to accommodate the broad enterprise of activities associated with the Global Hawk program. Work will be performed in San Diego, California, and is expected to be completed Sept. 30, 2030. Global Hawk drones provide the US Air Force with wide area surveillance. The high-altitude, long-endurance unmanned system provides leading-edge intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capability that is able to deliver near real-time 24X7 situational awareness. https://www.defenseworld.net/news/28395#.X8FOaM1KiUk

(Boursier.com) — La Bundeswehr allemande a commandé 31 hélicoptères NH90 (Sea Tiger), pour les opérations navales de la marine allemande. Nathalie Tarnaud-Laude (Présidente de NHI) et Giorgio Gomma (Directeur général de l'Agence OTAN de gestion des hélicoptères ; NAHEMA) ont signé ce contrat le 26 novembre, au nom de l'Office fédéral de l'équipement, des technologies de l'information et du soutien en service des forces armées allemandes (BAAINBw). Ces hélicoptères remplaceront la flotte Sea Lynx Mk88A de la marine allemande, entrée en service en 1981. La Bundeswehr a déjà commandé 18 hélicoptères de transport naval NH90 Sea Lion, dont 7 ont déjà été livrés. Rappelons que 100 hélicoptères NH90 ont déjà été livrés à 6 pays différents, et ont effectué plus de 70.000 heures de vol dans le cadre d'opérations de recherche et de sauvetage, humanitaires et militaires. Actuellement, 430 hélicoptères NH90 sont en service dans le monde et totalisent plus de 270.000 heures de vol. https://www.boursier.com/actions/actualites/news/airbus-group-la-bundeswehr-commande-31-helicopteres-nh90-836835.html