11 mai 2021 | International, Aérospatial
Pentagon orders small Israeli drones for indoor special operations
The department ordered the Skylord Xtender in partnership with the Israeli Defense Ministry.
28 juin 2018 | International, Terrestre, C4ISR
Here’s how artificial intelligence could predict when your Army vehicle will break down
By: Victoria Leoni
The Army wants to use artificial intelligence software to predict when vehicle parts might break down and prevent equipment failures before they happen.
Uptake, a Chicago-based AI company, recently received a $1 million contract from the Army to test its technology on a group of deployed Bradley M2A3 combat vehicles, according to the Washington Post. Depending on how the trial goes, the AI software could be applied on a much larger scale.
“We're looking to see if we can leverage some of Uptake's machine learning algorithms to spot equipment failures before they happen,” Lt. Col. Chris Conley, Army program manager for the Bradley fleet, said in the report. “If this pans out and can provide some real capability, the Army could look to expand this to the entire Bradley fleet as well as other combat vehicle fleets.”
Uptake's technology will analyze the signals produced by the Army's equipment to provide updates on the equipment's maintenance status. If a vehicle part shows signs of being faulty, for example, commanders will be alerted and have the ability to repair or replace the part before the entire vehicle is compromised.
“Just like humans have been putting their statuses on Facebook and Twitter, these machines have been putting out their statuses for decades and nobody's been listening,” Ganesh Bell, president of Uptake Technologies, told the Post. “Only recently do we have the technology to understand that.”
M2 and M3 Bradleys are some of the most widely used Army vehicles in peacekeeping and combat missions.
This will be the first application of the technology to military vehicles.
“I'm not convinced that this will be successful, but I'm really excited about the potential of it,” Conley told the Post. “We're doing a pilot test to verify their claims before we do anything at scale.”
Retired Navy Adm. Mike Mullen, former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and an Uptake shareholder, told the Post the AI technology is what the military needs to ensure readiness and efficiency.
“What I've seen on the component side is you almost wait for failure and then figure it out,” he said. “Based on the results I've seen there is a huge potential here for better outcomes and a lot less expense, which is what anybody in the military is focused on.”
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17 février 2021 | International, Aérospatial
Turkey hopes new engine deal will power future TF-X fighter jet
By: Burak Ege Bekdil ANKARA, Turkey — Turkey's procurement agency has commissioned a local company to develop critical technologies for an engine that the government hopes will power its first indigenous fighter jet. A contract was signed Feb. 14 between two state-controlled companies for the development program. Under the deal, TRMotor, an engine maker, will develop an auxiliary power unit and an air turbine start system for what Turkey hopes will be critical components of an indigenous engine to power the TF-X aircraft. TRMotor signed the deal with the prime contractor of the TF-X program, Turkish Aerospace Industries, another state-controlled defense company. “The program aims to develop critical technologies ... that will enable us [to] possess indigenous engines,” said Osman Dur, general manager of TRMotor. “The [indigenous] TF-X engine is at the moment at its concept design phase.” TRMotor is completely owned by SSTEK A.S., a defense technologies company owned by Turkey's defense procurement agency, the Presidency of Defense Industries, or SSB. This is a milestone contract for the TF-X program,” said TAI CEO Temel Kotil. The deal comes as SSB is holding talks to co-produce an engine with a consortium of the British company Rolls-Royce and Turkish firm Kale Group. In 2017, Kale Group and Rolls-Royce launched a joint venture to develop aircraft engines for Turkey, initially targeting the TF-X. But the £100 million (U.S. $139 million) deal was effectively put on hold due to uncertainties over technology transfer. A year before the partnership, TAI signed a $125 million heads of agreement with BAE Systems to collaborate on the first development phase of the TF-X. Turkey originally planned to fly the TF-X in 2023, but aerospace officials put off the target date to the 2025-2026 time frame. The TF-X program, or MMU in its Turkish acronym, has been crawling over the past years due to technological failures and know-how transfer. Turkish engineers must first select an engine for the planned aircraft before they finalize their designing phase. https://www.defensenews.com/industry/techwatch/2021/02/16/turkey-hopes-new-engine-deal-will-power-future-tf-x-fighter-jet/
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31 janvier 2024 | International, Terrestre
OCCAR-EA to sign off on night vision goggles for Germany and Belgium
A second amendment has been signed to a night vision goggle contract for up to 3,500 new pairs.