7 décembre 2023 | International, Aérospatial
US military grounds entire fleet of Osprey aircraft
The announcement comes one week after eight Air Force Special Operations Command service members died in an Osprey crash off the coast of Japan.
21 décembre 2020 | International, Aérospatial
Here’s why the Valkyrie drone couldn’t translate between F-35 and F-22 jets during a recent test
WASHINGTON — Earlier this month, the U.S. Air Force embarked on a hotly anticipated test: Could it use a semiautonomous drone, in this case a Kratos XQ-58A Valkyrie equipped with a special payload, to stealthily translate and send data between F-35 and F-22 fighter jets?
Air Force leaders still think the answer is “yes,” but because of technical issues encountered during the test, proof that the concept works is still months away.
During the Dec. 9 demonstration at Yuma Proving Ground in Arizona, the Valkyrie was outfitted with gatewayONE, a system capable of translating information from the F-35′s Multifunctional Advanced Data Link and the F-22′s Intra-Flight Data Link into a format that can be understood by other aircraft, all while maintaining a low probability of enemy forces intercepting that data.
But “shortly after takeoff, the communications payloads lost connectivity,” leaving nine out of 18 test objectives incomplete, the Air Force said in a news release.
Early feedback from the test team indicates that, during the rocket-assisted takeoff of the Valkyrie, some of the gatewayONE hardware came loose from where it was mated to the drone, said Air Force acquisition executive Will Roper.
“We think we had a connector that came loose during it because the gateway itself was fine when the Valkyrie landed. So [it's] a thing we've learned from and we'll fix next time,” he told reporters Dec. 18 during a Defense Writers Group roundtable. “Next time we get out, flying in the next on-ramp, we'll probably check those soldering points more than one time.”
Despite the setbacks, the Air Force still clocked in a number of wins during the exercise.
Because the service had a second, land-based version of gatewayONE, it was able to use that system to pass targeting cues from an F-35 to an F-22 and exchange other data between the two aircraft. GatewayONE also pushed data that usually is confined to operations centers on the ground to the F-35 and F-22, while allowing those aircraft to send precise location data back through the translating system to the operations center.
Although the Valkyrie couldn't transmit data between the F-22 and F-35, it still safety demonstrated that it could fly semiautonomously in operations with the two stealth jets for the first time ever.
Aside from the inclusion of the XQ-58A, it's unclear how the Dec. 9 demonstration differs from ground tests of a similar system during the first Advanced Battle Management System on-ramp exercise in 2019.
During that demo, the Air Force rigged together a number of radio systems built by F-35 and F-22 prime contractors Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman with antennas from Honeywell, and the aircraft flew over the test stand, exchanging data, officials said.
As early as 2015, Northrop has touted its Freedom 550 radio as a translator for the F-35 and F-22, but it is unknown whether the technology is part of the gatewayONE system. The Air Force did not respond to questions from Defense News seeking more information about gatewayONE, such as a request to identify the manufacturer.
During a phone call with reporters on Dec. 16, Air Force Chief Architect Preston Dunlap said the next opportunity for the service to experiment with the gatewayONE payload onboard Valkyrie is during the Advanced Battle Management System experiment slated for May 2021.
Using a low-cost, expendable drone like the XQ-58 to transmit data between platforms is a contrast from the Air Force's usual approach for solving communications challenges among its assets, Dunlap said. Usually, as new data links or waveforms are developed, aircraft must be retrofitted with new radios and apertures — an expensive and time-consuming process that often leaves platforms out of the loop.
“It's obvious to me that it's not a winning strategy and is a real estate problem on some of these platforms, but then it's a lost opportunity because when you have diversity of pathways, you have greater assurance,” he said.
By creating a small, modular payload like gatewayONE that can be carried by a number of manned and unmanned aircraft, the Air Force will have more options for getting data into the cockpits of all of its planes.
“The real big win — and we heard this from the pilots themselves — is being able to push information into their cockpits so that they have access to it in a way that is operationally relevant and useful to them,” Dunlap said. “It's not all the data they would want, but it has opened a door that's amazing. So we've got to keep pushing the technology.”
The Dec. 9 test was carried out by personnel from the Air Force Research Laboratory, Air Force Life Cycle Management Center and the 46th Test Squadron from Eglin Air Force Base, Florida.
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14 avril 2020 | International, Terrestre
Pandemic not slowing Army plans to field enduring indirect fires protection capability
By: Jen Judson WASHINGTON — The COVID-19 pandemic is not slowing down the Army's plans to field an enduring indirect fires protection capability, according to Lt. Col. Juan Santiago, the service's program development manager for the effort. The Army has had to take a few steps back over recent years to reconsider its ways forward to develop an enduring capability to defend against rockets, artillery and mortars as well as cruise missiles and unmanned aircraft systems. As the service re-examined its path, Congress mandated that it buy an interim capability aimed directly at protecting the force from a growing cruise missile threat, but the Army has stressed that the system it will use — Rafael's Iron Dome — won't cover all the bases needed for a lasting capability. Earlier this year, the Army sent a report to Congress outlining its plans to get after the enduring capability, partly by hosting a shoot-off with vendors that bring launcher and interceptor capabilities next year. The Army issued a request for information to industry at the beginning of March with plans to conduct an industry day. But with the COVID-19 pandemic raging in the United States and limiting travel and social contact, the IFPC program office had to get creative in order to keep the program moving forward. The office was able to host one-on-one meetings with interested vendors as part of an industry day this month and is planning to answer industry questions, which have been submitted virtually, Santiago told Defense News in an April 9 interview. To stay on track with the program, the office couldn't afford to delay industry engagements in order to keep the ball moving, Santiago explained. The next big step for industry is to submit white papers to the Army toward the end of April, Santiago said. The Army will review the papers over the course of a month and will notify industry by the end of May whether or not they will be invited to proceed into an agreement with the service to move forward, he said. Those selected will move into a modeling and simulation phase that will also include some hardware-in-the-loop activities where capabilities are demonstrated in a simulated environment to determine if they are ready to go out on the range for the live shoot-off next year in the 3rd quarter of fiscal 2021 at White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico. Santiago said he could not disclose the number of agreements that might be awarded. The Army will invite vendors to submit final proposals following the shoot-off, Santiago said, but even if a vendor isn't ready for that phase, it can still submit a final proposal that draws upon performance in a simulated environment and includes a plan to get to a live-fire capability within the desired timeline. The government will evaluate final proposals and choose one vendor to provide the launcher and interceptor solution in the fourth quarter of FY21, Santiago said. Initial capabilities are expected to be fielded by FY23. https://www.defensenews.com/land/2020/04/10/pandemic-not-slowing-down-army-plans-to-field-enduring-indirect-fires-protection-capability/
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25 février 2019 | International, Aérospatial
SpaceX, ULA each get Air Force contracts for trio of space launches
By: Valerie Insinna WASHINGTON — The battle between military space juggernaut United Launch Alliance and its upstart rival SpaceX continues, with the two companies splitting a collection of launch contracts worth $739 million awarded by the Air Force on Tuesday. ULA, a joint venture of Boeing and Lockheed Martin, picked up a $442 million award for three launches, while Elon Musk's SpaceX nabbed a $297 million contract for another three launches. Each company will be responsible for “launch vehicle production, mission integration, mission launch operations/spaceflight worthiness, and mission unique activities,” according to the contract award. ULA will deliver the following payloads as part of its contract: Silent Barker, a secret payload developed by the Air Force and National Reconnaissance Office, which will improve situational awareness after it is launched in fiscal year 2022. SBIRS GEO-5, the fifth geostationary satellite in the Space Based Infra Red Sensor constellation, will improve early warning for missile launches. SBIRS GEO-5 is set to be launched in FY21. SBIRS GEO-6, the sixth geostationary satellite in the SBIRS constellation, could be launched in FY22, but no firm date has been set. Meanwhile SpaceX will launch these payloads: NROL-85, a classified intelligence payload launched for the NRO, expected to be launched in FY21 NROL-87, another classified NRO payload set for a FY21 launch date. AFSPC-44, an Air Force satellite also set to be launched in FY21. The service hasn't released much information about this payload's capabilities or purpose. The contracts were awarded by the Air Force's Space and Missile Systems Center as part of the Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle program. In a statement, Lt. Gen. John Thompson, commander of SMC and program executive officer for space programs, defended the service's strategy of awarding launch contracts in a way that balances rewarding low-price bids while also maintaining competition among rocket makers. “The competitive award of these EELV launch service contracts directly supports SMC's mission of delivering resilient and affordable space capabilities to our nation while maintaining assured access to space” he said. https://www.defensenews.com/space/2019/02/20/spacex-ula-each-get-air-force-contracts-for-trio-of-space-launches/