DARPA wants a robotic satellite mechanic launched by 2022

Sur le même sujet

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  21 octobre 2018 | International, Aérospatial

  Le choix du remplaçant des F-16 belges va tomber

  Le gouvernement fédéral est désormais en mesure de formaliser sa décision sur le choix du prochain avion de combat de l'aviation belge. Un appareil qui devrait voler à partir de 2023 et durant au moins quatre décennies sous les cocardes tricolores rouges, jaunes et noires, qu'il soit américain ou européen. Les principaux ministres de l'équipe Michel ont été «briefés» mercredi par des experts sur le «retour sociétal» (les retombées économiques et les autres formes de coopération offertes à la Belgique) proposé par les promoteurs des deux candidats officiellement en lice pour le remplacement des F-16 vieillissants: le F-35 Lightning II du groupe américain Lockheed Martin et l'Eurofighter – alias Typhoon – du consortium européen éponyme promu par le Royaume-Uni, dans le cadre d'un marché d'État à État. Le 4 octobre, le conseil ministériel restreint (»kern») avait déjà entendu le rapport des militaires qui ont conduit l'évaluation exhaustive des deux candidats, sous l'égide d'une cellule de l'état-major de la Défense, l' «Air Combat Capability Program» (ACCaP), dirigée par le colonel Harold Van Pee. Un troisième candidat potentiel est le Rafale de l'avionneur français Dassault Aviation, pour lequel peu de données chiffrées sont disponibles. Car Paris n'a pas répondu à l'appel d'offres officiel, préférant proposer à la Belgique un «partenariat approfondi et structurant» fondé sur le Rafale et une implication belge dans le développement d'un avion de combat de nouvelle génération, envisagé par la France et l'Allemagne à l'horizon 2040 dans le contexte d'une relance de la défense européenne. Avant le départ de Vandeput? Le gouvernement dispose de toutes les informations pour faire son choix, dans un climat de lobbying intense et alors que les États-Unis ont accepté de prolonger pour une courte période – apparemment jusqu'à la fin du mois – leur offre pour le F-35 qui expirait formellement le 14 octobre, date des élections communales et provinciales. Le ministre de la Défense, Steven Vandeput (N-VA), qui quittera cette fonction d'ici le 1er janvier pour devenir bourgmestre de Hasselt, a dit lundi espérer encore pouvoir boucler cet épineux dossier avant son départ. «Ce serait beau si je pouvais conclure les gros investissements. Nous avons mis beaucoup de choses sur les rails qui sont aujourd'hui mûres pour être tranchées», a-t-il déclaré. Le Premier ministre Charles Michel (MR) a lui aussi cité, dans sa déclaration de politique générale à la Chambre le 8 octobre, les chantiers à boucler par le gouvernement – dont les décisions à prendre pour plusieurs programmes militaires, comme le remplacement des F-16 – mais en se montrant plus prudent sur l'échéance. «Nous prendrons très vite, et en tout cas avant la fin de la législature (en mai prochain, NDLR), les décisions qui s'imposent pour chacun de ces programmes», a assuré M. Michel. Car, comme souvent en Belgique, le dossier ACCaP s'est retrouvé mêlé à au moins deux autres programmes militaires: l'achat de nouveaux drones, potentiellement armés, et de nouveaux blindés pour la composante Terre, un programme baptisé «CaMo» portant sur 477 engins et à mener en coopération avec la France. L'approche de la dernière ligne droite avant une décision sur le nouveau chasseur-bombardier a accentué les efforts de lobbying dans ce marché d'un montant initial de 3,6 milliards d'euros – et une quinzaine de milliards sur la durée de vie attendue de l'appareil, soit une quarantaine d'années – même si les offres américaine et britanniques semblent «en dessous» de ce cadre financier, selon des sources concordantes. Les Britanniques, qui promeuvent le Typhoon au nom du consortium Eurofighter (rassemblant également l'Allemagne, l'Espagne et l'Italie), craignent une décision (trop) h'tive en faveur du F-35 prise en dépit de nombreuses incertitudes sur le coût du chasseur furtif américain, tant à l'achat – la version proposée à la Belgique est le Block 4, dont le développement n'a pas encore été financé – qu'à l'utilisation. Plusieurs ministres britanniques, dont ceux des Affaires étrangères et du Commerce international, Jeremy Hunt et Liam Fox, viennent ainsi d'écrire à leurs homologues belges pour, selon une source informée, leur rappeler l'intérêt pour la Belgique d'une solution européenne, l'Eurofighter étant produit à 75% sur le continent. https://www.lavenir.net/cnt/dmf20181018_01244354/le-choix-du-remplacant-des-f-16-belges-va-tomber

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  14 septembre 2020 | International, Aérospatial, C4ISR

  AI’s dogfight triumph a step toward human-machine teaming

  By: Joe Gould WASHINGTON ― Human fighter pilots, your jobs are safe for now. Weeks after an artificial intelligence algorithm defeated a human pilot in a simulated dogfight between F-16 jets, the Pentagon's director of research and engineering for modernization said Thursday at the Defense News Conference that it's more likely an AI will team with military pilots than replace them. “I don't see human pilots being phased out, I see them being enhanced, not physically, but I see their work, their effectiveness being enhanced by cooperation with artificial intelligence systems,” said Mark Lewis, who also serves as the acting deputy undersecretary of defense for research and engineering. The AlphaDogfight Trials in August marked the finale of the Pentagon research agency's AI air combat competition. The now-notorious algorithm, developed by Heron Systems, easily defeated the fighter pilot in all five rounds that capped off a yearlong competition hosted by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency ― which is overseen by Lewis and the Defense Department's research and engineering shop. “The key takeaway from that was the artificial intelligence system did so well because it wasn't so concerned about self-preservation, it was willing to do things that a human pilot wouldn't do. And that's the advantage of artificial intelligence,” Lewis said. “I think the real answer is teaming AI with a human for the best combination of both. So I'm pretty confident we're going to have human pilots into the future.” The AlphaDogfight Trials were a subset of the Air Combat Evolution program, or ACE, which is one of a few DARPA efforts exploring human-machine teaming, agency spokesman Jared Adams said in an email. ACE is using human-machine collaborative dogfighting to increase trust in combat autonomy, and the goal is for it to scale to more complex multi-aircraft scenarios to pave the way for live, campaign-level experimentation. Fiscal 2023 will see the first in a yearlong series of trials using tactical fighter-class aircraft (currently L-39 trainers), with safety pilots on board to assist in case of trouble. Those pilots would be given “higher cognitive level battle management tasks while their aircraft fly dogfights,” all while sensors gauge the pilot's attention, stress and trust in the AI, Adams said. DARPA foresees a single human pilot serving as a mission commander in a manned aircraft, orchestrating multiple autonomous, unmanned platforms that would all be engaged in individual tactics. ACE would ultimately deliver that capability. “ACE, therefore, seeks to create a hierarchical framework for autonomy in which higher-level cognitive functions (e.g., developing an overall engagement strategy, selecting and prioritizing targets, determining best weapon or effect, etc.) may be performed by a human, while lower-level functions (i.e., details of aircraft maneuver and engagement tactics) is left to the autonomous system,” Adams said. “In order for this to be possible, the pilot must be able to trust the autonomy to conduct complex combat behaviors in scenarios such as the within-visual-range dogfight before progressing to beyond-visual-range engagements.” In announcing the future trials using tactical aircraft on Wednesday, Defense Secretary Mark Esper said: “AI's role in our lethality is to support human decision-makers, not replace them.” “We see AI as a tool to free up resources, time and manpower so our people can focus on higher-priority tasks and arrive at the decision point, whether in a lab or on the battlefield, faster and more precise than the competition,” he added. But Esper warned that both Russia and China were pursuing fully autonomous systems, and drew a distinction between them and what he described as the U.S. military's ethically guided approach to AI. “At this moment, Chinese weapons manufacturers are selling autonomous drones they claim can conduct lethal targeted strikes,” he said. “Meanwhile, the Chinese government is advancing the development of next-generation stealth UAVs, which they are preparing to export internationally.” https://www.defensenews.com/congress/2020/09/10/ais-dogfight-triumph-a-step-toward-human-machine-teaming/

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  5 octobre 2018 | International, Terrestre

  Army testing more effective ghillie suits

  By David Vergun, Army News Service FORT BELVOIR, Va. -- The Army is looking for an improved ghillie suit to replace the flame-resistant, camouflage suit now worn by snipers to keep them from being seen by the enemy. The current ghillie suits are bulky, somewhat uncomfortable and hot in warm weather, said Debbie Williams, a systems acquisition expert with Program Executive Office Soldier, Product Manager Soldier Clothing and Individual Equipment. The current suit is known as the Flame Resistant Ghillie System, or FRGS. The replacement the Army is looking for will be called the Improved Ghillie System, or IGS, Williams said. She added that although the term "flame resistant" is not in the new name, the IGS will still have flame-resistant properties. Soldiers will receive most of their protection from the base layer worn under the IGS, such as the Flame Resistant Combat Uniform, or FR ACU. The IGS will be a modular system, worn over the field uniform, she said. It will be modular in that it can be taken apart, with pieces added or subtracted as needed, such as sleeves, leggings, veil, cape and so on. Another change is that the IGS will not come with the accessory kit, like the one supplied with the FRGS, Williams said. It was found that Soldiers were not using a majority of the items in their accessory kit or preferred a different material. Williams said the cost of the IGS will be lower than the current $1,300 FRGS. Mary Armacost, a textile technologist with Product Manager Soldier Clothing and Individual Equipment, said the IGS will be made of lighter, more breathable material than the FRGS. Also, the material for the skeins that accompany the IGS will be stiffer than that of the FRGS, thereby making the IGS more effective at camouflaging the Soldier. A request for proposal for the IGS went out Aug. 28 and closed Sept. 24, she said. Vendors must each provide three samples. About 3,500 suits are expected to be produced under the contract for approximately 3,300 snipers in all three Army components, as well as Soldiers in U.S. Special Operations Command, Williams said. After the samples are obtained, lab and field testing will begin at various locations in November, she said. For example, the Army's Night Vision Laboratory will do full-spectrum testing. It will also use night vision goggles to see how well the suits remain hidden in darkened conditions. Daytime testing for visual camouflage effectiveness will take place as well, with sniper-qualified Soldiers at Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, Williams said. Additionally, acoustic testing will be done by the Army Research Laboratory to determine how much noise the IGS produces in field conditions. ARL will also test the effectiveness of the fabric regarding tear resistance and fire retardant effectiveness, she added. Following all of this, a limited user evaluation should commence next spring using instructors from the Sniper School at Fort Benning, Georgia. https://www.army.mil/article/211933