24 septembre 2018 | International, Aérospatial, C4ISR

Here’s how Air Mobility Command will improve aircraft survivability

By:

In a great power conflict, mobility aircraft will be essential to deliver fuel and supplies to the warfighters. But increasing concern over anti-access/area denial threats from potential foes, and the fact that big bodied mobility aircraft present inviting, in fact, critical targets has the attention and concern of Air Force leadership.

The new head of Air Mobility Command is focusing on four key areas to improve the survivability of mobility aircraft and gain persistence over the battlefield.

Gen. Maryanne Miller, who took the controls Sept. 7 when Gen. Carlton Everhart retired, told reporters at the Air Force Association's annual Air, Space and Cyber Conference that the Illinois-based command is looking at four categories of survivability improvements:

  • Situational awareness of the battlefield
  • New countermeasures to operate in a combat environment
  • Self-defense systems
  • Disciplined signature management

“Looking at each one of these categories will help advance the survivability for our platforms in the threat environment,” Miller said Tuesday.

Miller is carrying forward work that was done under her predecessor. Early this year, AMC completed an assessment about how to improve the survivability of aircraft in contested environments. The “High Value Airborne Asset” study recommended improvements to communications, situational awareness and self-protection systems.

There are many different technologies to consider and develop for self-protection. including light armor, signature management tech and high-energy lasers. Former AMC commander Gen. Carlton Everhart often talked about his desire to put lasers on mobility aircraft, beginning with the KC-135, and the command has also been working to improve secure communications, notably on the C-17.

The service needs integrated situational awareness capabilities that provide all aspects of pertinent battlefield information.

New sensors will help the command better understand everything that's happening within the battlefield. As Air Mobility Command looks at how best to build that situational awareness, it could mean building sensors onto the aircraft or new air frames to meet those requirements.

“Given the threat environment, it's probably a little bit of both,” Miller said.

With signature management, or detection avoidance, Miller said AMC is looking at new air frames that will have common cockpits, advanced propulsion systems, payload, offload, range, speed and fuel efficiency.

Miller said the command is figuring out if modifications can be made on current air frames or if new ones need to be built.

“We're really trying to take advantage of signature management properties associated with each air frame itself,” she said.

Meanwhile, U.S. Transportation Command and the Cost Assessment and Program Evaluation organization within the Office of the Secretary of Defense have been assessing the number of tanker aircraft, airlift aircraft and sealift ships needed to meet future combatant commander requirements.

The study, known as the Mobility Capabilities and Requirements Study, is expected to be completed this fall.

“America's air refueling fleet is the most stressed of our air mobility forces," Gen. Darren McDew, commander of USTRANSCOM, told the House Armed Services Committee earlier this year. “The combination of an aging fleet, increasing demand, and global tanker distribution puts a significant strain on this scarce national resource.”

“Our ability to deploy decisive force is foundational to the National Defense Strategy. The size and lethality of the force is of little consequence if we can't get it where it needs to go when we want it there,” said McDew.

The rate of change in technology requires quick innovation to overcome threats, Miller said.

The force needs aircraft that are “able to survive, integrate and operate in DoD forces in current and future threat environments.”

Miller said the key is understanding the threats of the future and modifying or building a plane that allows the Air Force to operate through that threat environment.

https://www.airforcetimes.com/news/your-air-force/2018/09/22/heres-how-air-mobility-command-will-improve-aircraft-survivability

Sur le même sujet

  • L3Harris and Collins split $203M order for Army radios

    30 avril 2020 | International, C4ISR

    L3Harris and Collins split $203M order for Army radios

    Joe Gould The U.S. Army is ordering second-generation manpack radios from L3Harris Technologies and Collins Aerospace worth $203.2 million, ahead of a forthcoming operational test that will inform a full-rate production decision next fiscal year. The Army said April 29 it awarded a negotiated bilateral firm-fixed-price delivery orders to Collins, of Iowa, and L3Harris, of New York, for a total of 3,440 (1,720 each) radios and ancillaries. Delivery, which is part of its third low-rate production order, are to begin in the first quarter of fiscal 2021. The radios are a key element to what the service calls the integrated tactical network, the concept behind the Army's modernized battlefield network which will incrementally add capabilities units every two years beginning in 2021. The orders will support the ITN and tactical satellite modernization efforts, as well as security force assistance brigades and future deployments, according to the Program Executive Office Command, Control, Communications-Tactical (PEO C3T). L3Harris announced it received a $95 million low-rate initial production order for AN/PRC-158 multi-channel radios, while Collins said it received an order for its AN/PRC-162 ground radios, worth the remaining value of the award―about $108 million. Both fall under the five-year HMS (Handheld, Manpack & Small Form-Fit) indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity contract, which has a $12.7 billion ceiling and a five-year extension option for the Army. “L3Harris is proud to deliver the most critical part of the U.S. Army's Integrated Tactical Network, enabling secure multi-mission capability in the most challenging and contested environments,” said Dana Mehnert, L3Harris's president for communication systems. “The AN/PRC-158 will equip soldiers with cutting-edge waveforms, providing resilient SATCOM and advanced wideband networking at the tactical edge.” In a statement, Ryan Bunge, Collins Aerospace's vice president and general manager for communication, navigation and guidance solutions, said "our ground radio gives warfighters access to the most advanced networked communication technology available, ultimately leading to improved situational awareness and mission success. We've delivered superior communications capabilities with our airborne radios for decades, and we've leveraged that expertise to provide a complete, interoperable solution for both ground and air assets at the lowest life cycle cost.” https://www.c4isrnet.com/it-networks/2020/04/29/l3harris-and-collins-split-203m-order-for-army-radios/

  • Airline industry to meet in January over GPS spoofing spike | Reuters

    6 décembre 2023 | International, Aérospatial

    Airline industry to meet in January over GPS spoofing spike | Reuters

    Global aviation industry leaders will meet in January to discuss safety concerns around increased GPS interference by cyberattackers steering planes off course, an International Air Transport Association executive said on Wednesday.

  • Northrop Grumman explores ammunition co-production in Poland | Reuters

    16 novembre 2023 | International, Terrestre

    Northrop Grumman explores ammunition co-production in Poland | Reuters

    Northrop Grumman is exploring producing 120 millimetre tank ammunition in Poland as the U.S. ally surges defence production capacity, the company's chief told Reuters on Thursday.

Toutes les nouvelles