10 janvier 2023 | International, Aérospatial
Air Force unit exploring uses for small drones in Mideast
Small drones could help the Air Force map unexplored areas and disrupt enemy operations.
29 mars 2019 | International, Aérospatial
DARPA: In the Sky and on the Ground, Collaboration Vital to DARPA’s CODE for Success
On a brisk February morning in the Yuma, Arizona, desert, a swarm of unmanned aerial vehicles equipped with DARPA's Collaborative Operations in Denied Environment system, or CODE, successfully carried out mission objectives, even when communications were offline and GPS was unavailable.
One-by-one, six RQ-23 Tigersharks lifted off, fitted with an array of sensors onboard. Next to the runway at the U.S. Army's Yuma Proving Ground, the mission team inside a small operations center tracked the aircraft and as many as 14 additional virtual planes on an aerial map. The capstone demonstration paired program performer Raytheon's software and autonomy algorithms and Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory's White Force Network to create a realistic, live/virtual/constructive test environment. During four demonstration runs, the team activated a variety of virtual targets, threats, and countermeasures to see how well the Tigersharks could complete their objectives in suboptimal conditions.
“Exactly how the aircraft continue to work together in degraded conditions is the most challenging aspect of this program,” said Scott Wierzbanowski, the DARPA program manager for CODE in the Tactical Technology Office. “Current procedures require at least one operator per UAV in the field. Equipped with CODE, one operator can command multiple aircraft; and in a denied environment, the aircraft continue toward mission objectives, collaborating and adapting for deficiencies.”
Before, if operators lost communications with a UAV, the system would revert to its last programmed mission. Now, under the CODE paradigm, teams of systems can autonomously share information and collaborate to adapt and respond to different targets or threats as they pop up.
“CODE can port into existing UAV systems and conduct collaborative operations,” said Wierzbanowski. “CODE is a government-owned system, and we are working closely with our partners at the Air Force Research Laboratory and Naval Air Systems Command to keep each other informed of successes and challenges, and making sure we don't replicate work. In the end, our service partners will leverage what we've done and add on what they need.”
The Tigersharks employed in the demonstration are surrogate assets for CODE. Each has about one-tenth the speed and performance of the aircraft planned for integration, but shows traceability to larger platforms. Constructive and virtual threats and effects presented by the White Force Network are appropriately scaled to the Tigersharks' capabilities.
“It's easy to take the CODE software and move it from platform to platform, both from a computer and vehicle perspective. It could be a manned aircraft, unmanned aircraft, or a ground vehicle,” said J.C. Ledé, technical advisor for autonomy with the Air Force Research Laboratory. “The concept for CODE is play-based tactics, so you can create new tactics relatively easily to go from mission to mission.”
The Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR) will take ownership of CODE after DARPA closes out the agency's role in the program this year. It already has built a repository of algorithms tested throughout the development process.
“What we're doing with the laboratory we set up is not just for the Navy or NAVAIR. We're trying to make our capabilities available throughout the entire DoD community,” said Stephen Kracinovich, director of autonomy strategy for the Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division (NAWCAD). “If the Army wanted to leverage the DARPA prototype, we'd provide them not just with the software, but an open development environment with all the security protocols already taken care of.”
Kracinovich says NAWCAD has a cadre of people with hands-on knowledge of the system, and is ready to help port the capability to any other DoD entity. That ease of transition puts CODE technologies on a clear path to assist deployed service members by enabling collaborative autonomous systems to operate in contested and denied environments with minimal human supervision.
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16 septembre 2024 | International, Aérospatial
Houthi rebels claim they shot down another US MQ-9 Reaper drone
Brig. Gen. Yahya Saree, a Houthi military spokesperson, claimed it was the third MQ-9 drone downed by the group in a week.
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5 avril 2018 | International, Aérospatial
Pentagon formulating plan to move F-35 management from central office to services
By: Valerie Insinna and Aaron Mehta WASHINGTON — The Defense Department plans to dissolve the F-35 Joint Program Office and revert to a more traditional management structure where the U.S. Air Force, Navy and Marine Corps all run their own program offices – eventually. In a March 27 letter to Congress, the Pentagon's top acquisition official acknowledged that splitting up the F-35 management into smaller offices is likely the way to go for the future of the Pentagon's largest acquisition program. But exactly when such a transformation will occur was not defined in the letter written by Ellen Lord, undersecretary of defense for acquisition and sustainment, and the expectation in the Pentagon is that it could happen within the next several years. “In order to effectively integrate and sustain the F-35 in the joint force, the military departments must have more direct ownership of the F-35 program and leverage organic capabilities, processes and infrastructure,” Lord wrote in the letter, which was sent to the congressional defense committees and first acquired by Inside Defense. “The department will evaluate the right time to begin this transition through the F-35 executive steering group, which has participation across the department.” The department intends to formulate a plan over the next year on how best to transition to service-led offices, Pentagon spokesman Cmdr. Patrick Evans told Defense News. Evans told Defense News that the transition will occur in three phases: “A measured restructure of the existing F-35 management structure, which begins immediately.” A hybrid structure, where separate service-run F-35 program offices report to a Joint Program Executive Officer, a position currently held by JPO head Vice Adm. Mat Winter. The full transition, where the services will have separate program offices and program executives that will report to the military department's acquisition head. “The full transition dates will be determined through a conditions-based detailed implementation plan with risk-informed criteria,” he said. Lord's letter lays out nine near-term actions that will enable the stand up of F-35 program offices specific to each military department. Lord's letter specifies that the eventual management structure will be comprised of an F-35A office led by the Air Force and an F-35B/C program office run the Navy and Marine Corps. Some of the near-term changes involve greater participation by the services within the F-35 JPO. For instance, the Air Force, Marine Corps and Navy will establish service deputies at the O-6 level. Those officials will be collocated at the JPO to provide the services' feedback on JPO decisions and also to help execute the transition to separate service-led offices. The JPO will also bring in “F-35A, F-35B and F-35C variant leads” that will eventually form the “nucleus” of future transition teams, the letter states. Meanwhile, the services will “conduct a gap analysis, charter and implementation plan to stand up individual fleet management offices.” That plan will include a proposed schedule and criteria for initial and full operational capability for the offices. The Pentagon will also conduct an audit of the JPO's billet structure and review the F-35 program charter with the intent to optimize manpower and cut down on bureaucracy, it said. While the changes could make it easier for the services to have oversight over their respective F-35 variants, the eventual dissolution of the JPO could make it more difficult for international customers to interface with the program. The JPO currently functions as a one-stop shop for foreign buyers — some of which, like Japan, are considering buying more than one variant of the aircraft. The office also oversees the work done by final assembly lines in Japan and Italy, as well as at sustainment hubs around the world. Evans said that the department will continue to work closely with F-35 international partners, but acknowledged that “in the longer-term, current international agreements will need to be updated and transition to service-based agreements. The phased implementation approach allows time to work through these changes in close coordination with our international partners in a way that maintains our strong commitment to them and our partnership.” In an emailed statement, the JPO said it was supportive of this initiative to improve the management of the F-35 program. “We are implementing improvements to increase transparency, and we'll continue to assess and evaluate the most efficient ways to support and manage this vital national defense program,” the statement read. https://www.defensenews.com/air/2018/04/03/pentagon-formulating-plan-to-move-f-35-management-from-central-office-to-services/