Retour aux nouvelles

4 décembre 2019 | International, Aérospatial, C4ISR

Coming in 2020: A new technology to link F-35 simulators across the globe

By: Valerie Insinna

ORLANDO, Fla. — Next year, U.S. Air Force F-35 pilots will be able to hop into a simulator and practice large-scale coordinated attacks with other F-35A users in simulators around the globe, Lockheed Martin's head of F-35 training said Tuesday.

The capability, called Distributed Mission Training, will allow an unlimited number of F-35 simulators to be networked, enabling high-end training, said Chauncey McIntosh, Lockheed's vice president for F-35 training and logistics.

“We've been testing to ensure that it's ready to go with our first customer at Nellis Air Force Base [in Nevada]. We've got hardware that's going up there this month and we're starting our test connections, and everything is looking very well [regarding] this product,” he said during a briefing at the Interservice/Industry, Training, Simulation and Education Conference.

“Essentially we're waiting just to get the accreditation from the government. We'll connect that [hardware] and then we'll start running tests on site with software. And then we'll go to our final delivery in spring of 2020," he told Defense News.

Currently, F-35 bases can only link as many simulators as they have on site — usually as many as four. However, the Distributed Mission Training capability, or DMT, will allow every U.S. Air Force base to connect up to four of its F-35 simulators with those of every other air base, McIntosh said.

At some point, F-35A simulators may also be able to regularly connect with any other aircraft simulator that can be supported on the same network.

“Here at Orlando, in our labs, we've already connected to the F-22, the F-16, as well as to [E-3] AWACS [airborne early warning and control aircraft],” McIntosh said. “Almost every week we are writing test scenarios with additional platforms.”

Lockheed is under contract to provide DMT to the U.S. Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps, as well as to the United Kingdom. However, because all of those entities run their F-35 simulators aboard different networks, they will be unable to connect with variants from other services, McIntosh said.

While Nellis is slated to receive DMT early next year, the F-35 Joint Program Office and Lockheed are still discussing the schedule for further deployments to other bases and services, McIntosh explained.

“Our initial efforts are for the Air Force,” he said.

https://www.defensenews.com/digital-show-dailies/itsec/2019/12/04/coming-in-2020-a-new-technology-that-will-link-f-35-simulators-across-the-globe

Sur le même sujet

  • Roketsan chief says Tunisia interested in guided bombs for UAVs

    22 octobre 2020 | International, C4ISR

    Roketsan chief says Tunisia interested in guided bombs for UAVs

    Lale Sariibrahimoglu Tunisia and Indonesia are both interested in acquiring Roketsan guided munitions for their future unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), according to Murat İkinci, the Turkish company's general manager. “Countries like Indonesia and Tunisia, which are in search of unmanned aerial vehicles, have a high demand for the procurement of mini smart munitions MAM-L and MAM-C, the main weapon systems mounted on the Turkish UAVs,” İkinci said in an interview with state-owned Anadolu Agency (AA) on 18 October. It was reported earlier this year that Tunisia had ordered six Anka-S systemsfrom Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI), each with two UAVs. However, Africa Intelligence reported in September that the contract had been cancelled as Tunis could not find the funds. The Anka-S is the version of TAI's Anka family that has a satellite communications capability for beyond-line-of-sight operations. Roketsan's MAM-L and smaller MAM-C laser-guided bombs have been integrated with the Anka. These weapons have proved effective when used with the Bayraktar TB2, a smaller Turkish-made UAV, in Syria and Libya earlier this year. “Their usage in recent fights have changed the course of the operations in Turkey's favour,” İkinci noted. https://www.janes.com/defence-news/news-detail/rokestan-chief-says-tunisia-interested-in-guided-bombs-for-uavs

  • Airbus unveils B-model Lakota helos to enter US Army fleet next year

    31 août 2020 | International, Aérospatial

    Airbus unveils B-model Lakota helos to enter US Army fleet next year

    By: Jen Judson WASHINGTON — The newest version of the UH-72B Lakota light utility helicopter will enter the U.S. Army fleet in 2021, aircraft manufacturer Airbus announced Aug. 28 at the National Guard Association of the United States virtual trade show. Beginning with the newest orders placed in 2020, Airbus will deliver 17 UH-72Bs next year after supplying 460 UH-72As across the Army, Navy and National Guard. In September, the last UH-72A (the 463rd) will roll off the production line in Columbus, Missouri, according to the statement. The “B” model will look distinctly different from the “A” variant. The aircraft is based off the Airbus H145 and will feature a Fenestron tail rotor, which the current A model does not have, according to Airbus. The B model will also have more powerful engine technology, “enhanced” controls and the Airbus Helionix avionics suite, the company said. The new helicopter variant will go to the Army National Guard. “Since we first began operations with the UH-72 Lakota some 15 years ago, this helicopter has been the workhorse of the Army and National Guard, saving lives, assisting in disaster relief, training thousands of pilots, and, more importantly, helping to protect our communities and our country,” Col. Calvin Lane, the Army's project manager for utility helicopters, said in the statement. “Procuring the UH-72B Lakota provides tremendous value with no research and development costs for the Army.” Since the program's inception in 2006, the Army and National Guard have logged nearly 800,000 flight hours, serving as the initial entry rotary-wing training aircraft for the Army at Fort Rucker, Alabama, and has flown search and rescue, medical evacuation and disaster relief missions as well counter-drug operations at the Southwest border. The Army chose to make the Lakota the primary training helicopter and retire its TH-67 aircraft when it restructured its entire aviation fleet in 2013. The decision met some resistance. Several companies like Bell Helicopter and AgustaWestland were hoping at the time to sell military training helicopters to several armed services, including the Army. AgustaWestland, a Leonardo subsidiary, filed a lawsuit four years ago in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims over the Army's plan to buy 16 of the aircraft for the training fleet. The court ruled in favor of AgustaWestland, and the Army was barred from buying the Lakotas. But the U.S. Court of Appeals overturned the lower court's decision in early 2018, allowing the service to move forward in procuring Lakotas. https://www.defensenews.com/land/2020/08/28/airbus-unveils-b-model-lakotas-will-enter-us-army-fleet-in-2021/

  • Lockheed realigns space business to boost efficiency

    4 mai 2023 | International, Aérospatial

    Lockheed realigns space business to boost efficiency

    Lockheed Martin is realigning its space business operations, transitioning from five lines of business to three to enhance speed and effectiveness, the defense contractor said on Thursday.

Toutes les nouvelles