2 juin 2020 | International, Aérospatial
Bell 360 Invictus is a new attack and reconnaissance helicopter being developed by Bell Textron to deliver improved lethality, survivability, and extended range for army aviation.
The advanced helicopter is being offered for the US Army's Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft (FARA) programme, which mainly aims to replace the army's AH-65 Apache and OH-58D Kiowa Warrior helicopters.
The rotorcraft will offer security and situational awareness in the battlefield upon completion of its government flight test evaluation in 2023. It will serve as an affordable, lethal and sustainable solution, while delivering next generation performance.
Bell was contracted under other transaction authority for prototype (OTAP) agreement to design a vertical lift aircraft with advanced performance capabilities to face asymmetric threats in multi-domain operations, in April 2019.
In September 2019, Bell Textron entered a partnership agreement with Collins Aerospace Systems for avionics hardware and software incorporating cyber-hardened and enhanced digital solutions.
Collins Aerospace will also offer model-based systems engineering (MBSE) tools and processes to integrate mission avionics into the Bell 360 Invictus aircraft.
The attack and reconnaissance helicopter was unveiled at the Association of the United States Army (AUSA) National Conference held in Washington DC in October 2019.
In March 2020, Bell Textron was selected to continue its work on US Army's FARA programme, after almost a 12-month design and risk-reduction work.
Bell Textron preferred Triumph Systems & Support for the supply of hydraulic components for the Bell 360 Invictus aircraft in May 2020.
The rotorcraft's design will be based on Bell 525 Relentless aircraft, which will feature hydraulic pump and reservoir assemblies. The robust, articulated rotor, lift-sharing wing and optimised tail rotor ensure effective attack and reconnaissance operations in both urban and rural areas. The helicopter will accommodate a pilot and a gunner.
The lift-sharing wing of the aircraft will mainly reduce rotor lift demand during forward flight and will offer high-speed manoeuvrability without a complex propulsion and drive system.
A digital toolkit aboard will help in reducing hundreds of man hours and downstream costs. The advanced digital flight control system will further offer an enhanced flight operations.
The helicopter will be fitted with state-of-the-art sensors and air-launched effects to improve situational awareness and lethality across all domains.
The modular open systems approach (MOSA) digital backbone will allow plug and play capability, while the platform will be compliant with future airborne capability environment (FACE). The digital fly-by-wire flight control system of the rotorcraft will be upgradeable throughout its life cycle.
3D digital twin will serve as a common data source as it helps in monitoring survivability and supporting test scenarios for evolving battlefield technology.
The payload capacity of the aircraft will be approximately 635kg (1,400lb) and the helicopter can carry internal and external weapons payloads.
The aircraft will be armed with an integrated munitions launcher and a 20mm cannon and will have the capability to support air-launched effects. It can also accommodate future weapons and current inventory of munitions.
Bell 360 Invictus will be powered by General Electric's T901 turbo-shaft engine, which will serve as the main power unit. The Pratt & Whitney Canada PW207D1 engine aboard the rotorcraft will act as a supplemental power unit delivering power for ground maintenance and system checks. It will also enhance cruise airspeed, dash speed, hover payload and autorotative performance.
The helicopter will be able to fly at a maximum cruise speed of 180k and offer a range of approximately 135nm with more than 90 minutes of time on station.
The main rotor will have high flapping capability ensuring high-speed flight. It will achieve hover out of ground effect (HOGE) of 4k/95F.
4 janvier 2023 | International, Naval
âWe have lost significant flexibility,â said Rear Adm. David Proctor, âand we have lost the ability to undertake a number of concurrent activities.â
23 janvier 2019 | International, C4ISR
By: Justin Lynch If the U.S. Army has its way, soldiers deployed on the battlefield will be shielded from cyberattacks without human involvement. The Army's Aberdeen Proving Ground is conducting research into how artificial intelligence can protect soldiers' tactical networks and communications from cyberattacks, according to a Jan 14. announcement. Among the areas of research are ways for machine learning to automatically detect known cyber vulnerabilities, spot previously unknown malware and respond to a cyberattack. After the market research is submitted, the Army will use the submissions for informational and planning purposes only. The Army's hunt for AI research comes as the Pentagon has grown more interested in defending against cyberattacks that itself use machine learning. It is a future where machines will fight machines in cyberspace. That concern was evident in the service's announcement. “The cyber technology will secure automated network decisions and defend against adaptive autonomous cyberattacks at machine speed,” the Army wrote. Evidence of the Army's focus on AI was evident during the 2018 CyCon conference in November. The Army is interested in three primary categories of artificial intelligence attacks, Maj. Nathan Bastian, a researcher at the Army Cyber Institute said during the conference. First, data poisoning is a method in which an attacker inserts malicious information into a data set. Because artificial intelligence relies on these data sets to make decisions, their manipulation blunts machine learning's effectiveness, Bastian said. Second, an attack on artificial intelligence can take place by changing the classification methods. For example, if a cat is incorrectly labeled as a dog, than artificial intelligence's use is mitigated, Bastian said. Third, an inference attack, or figuring out where machine learning's boundaries lie, can be a weapon to defeat artificial intelligence. By discovering the limitations of the machine's algorithm, Bastian said hackers can manipulate its effectiveness. The Department of Defense has expanded its research into AI in recent months. In October 2018, the service created its AI task force, which is located at Carnegie Mellon University. Projects are initiated by the Army Futures Command. The Pentagon also created its Joint AI Center in the summer of 2018. At the CyCon conference, Brig. Gen. Matthew Easley, head of the Army's new AI task force, said that the Pentagon needs to integrate commercial AI products. “The commercial sector is driving current breakthroughs in applications of AI,” Easley said. Easley laid out four principles for what the Army sees as a successful AI project. They include clean data, an articulate use case, talent and technology. However, Easley cautioned about the boundaries of machine learning during the event. Limitations of AI can include a sample size that is too small and limited ability to use the machine learning in the field. He also said that AI struggles to detect zero-day attacks, which are programming bugs. “AI is not all that easy,” Easley said. “Realizing the potential of AI will require major transformation,” for the Pentagon. https://www.fifthdomain.com/dod/2019/01/22/the-army-wants-to-use-ai-to-prevent-cyberattacks
4 février 2020 | International, Naval
By: Mark Pomerleau The Marine Corps is creating new network battalions and companies in an effort to improve oversight and the command and control of its network. These new organizations — described as a “huge, huge deal” — are part of an effort to reduce the number of organizations charged with network functions. The move will also allow for more accurate readiness reporting, said Col. Ed Debish, commanding officer of the Marine Corps Cyberspace Operations Group. “Currently, we have six different commands that have something to do with managing the Marine Corps Enterprise Network,” he said at a Jan. 31 lunch hosted by the AFCEA Quantico chapter. Now, one commander — the head of Marine Corps Forces Cyberspace Command — will oversee and manage these groups. “Primarily, what they're going to do is deliver enterprise business services down to the end user device," Debish told C4ISRNET following his remarks. "They're also going to be responsible for managing the BAN and LAN — the building area networks and the local area networks on the bases and stations around the Marine Corps.” The new commands will absorb the organizations that previously performed many of these functions, including the Marine Air-Ground Task Force (MAGTF) Information Technology (IT) Support Centers, or MITSCs. “The problem that it was designed to solve was unity of command and unity of effort on the Marine Corps Enterprise Network. It's going to give us visibility all the way down to the end user device where we didn't have that visibility before,” he said. The arrangement will also help Marines better understand readiness of the network. Previously, it could be difficult to determine what equipment was working and part of the network. Now, with one command, those assessments should be easier, Debish said, as they'll be managed under a single entity. Additionally, the new organizations will help with one of the Marine Corps' top IT priorities: to deploy its network abroad in a more agile and mobile way. “The idea is to move that enterprise capability to the tactical edge with the deploying force,” Debish said. “If you were to just remotely connect back into the enterprise network, you're going over a VPN connection to a data center somewhere that might be thousands of miles removed from it. But if you lost that connection, then what happens? You don't have any access to any of your data or your network.” The first battalion will be created this year at Camp Pendleton. The battalion commander will assume command around April. The first company is expected to be created this year and be based out of Marine Corps Forces Europe/Africa, located in Germany. Next year, leaders expect to create the second and third network battalions at Camp Lejeune and Okinawa, respectively. https://www.c4isrnet.com/newsletters/daily-brief/2020/02/03/how-the-marine-corps-wants-to-improve-oversight-of-its-network/