27 novembre 2023 | International, Aérospatial
"If we can relax the heat problem," a DARPA program manager said, "we can crank up the amplifier and increase the range of radar."
2 avril 2024 | International, Aérospatial
This contract will provide JAGM and HELLFIRE procurement and production support for the U.S. Army, U.S. Navy and international customers
25 novembre 2019 | International, Aérospatial
Steve Trimble, Lee Hudson and Michael Bruno An ongoing legal dispute between the U.S. government and Lockheed Martin over intellectual property (IP) rights in the F-35 program has emerged as the source of a 2.5-year delay in activating a key system required to complete initial operational testing and the full-rate production decision. Involving the Pentagon's largest single weapons program ever—and with full-rate production critical to Lockheed's long-term profitability—the dispute has waylaid progress for both sides. But not only is the matter holding up the program, it may set a precedent for the military's increasing reliance on software and the government's desire to reap data-based rewards. “We still do have concerns,” says U.S. Air Force Lt. Gen. Eric Fick, F-35 program executive officer. “We don't need all the data, but the data that we need, it's important that we pursue it.” “We also have fundamental standards that we need to set down so that it is very, very clear,” adds Ellen Lord, undersecretary of defense for acquisition and sustainment. The military's open-air test ranges lack the capacity to fully test the F-35's advanced capabilities, so the Director, Operational Test and Evaluation (DOT&E) office is relying on the activation of the Joint Simulation Environment (JSE). The JSE creates a synthetic world that allows operational testers to gauge the F-35's performance in theater-level scenarios, with multiple aircraft flying against an adversary's full arsenal of fighters, missiles and electronic warfare capabilities. The JSE was supposed to be activated in late 2017 but now is scheduled to achieve the first-use milestone in July 2020, Robert Behler, the head of DOT&E, told lawmakers Nov. 13 during a House Armed Services subcommittee hearing on F-35 readiness. The DOT&E has completed 91% of open-air missions during the Initial Operational Test & Evaluation phase required to qualify the F-35 for a full-rate production decision, but the testers still need to use the JSE to complete all of the testing. According to Fick's testimony, the IP dispute has delayed activation of the JSE. The JSE requires Lockheed to supply the software to enable a function nicknamed “F-35 in a Box,” he says. This is a software module that allows the JSE to virtually replicate each of the F-35's sensor subsystems, along with the sensor fusion brain embedded in the operational flight program. The government would then add software modules to replicate various threats, including aircraft, weapons and sensors of various adversaries. A dispute arose because Lockheed asserted an IP claim over nine specific algorithms that were included in the “F-35 in a Box” software package, the general says. The program office responded by bringing in the Defense Contract Audit Agency (DCAA) to review Lockheed's records. The DCAA's auditors determined they could not find the proof in Lockheed's records that the nine algorithms had been developed solely at Lockheed's expense. Since Lockheed failed to prove its claim, the DCAA determined the nine algorithms belonged to the government. Lockheed has appealed the DCAA's decision to the Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals, where it is still being adjudicated, the general told lawmakers. The dispute over the JSE feeds into a larger source of tension between the government and contractors over IP rights. Lord testified that her office is in the final stages of approving a new, Pentagon-wide policy on preserving the government's rights to IP in acquisition contracts. The policy will be modeled on an approach adopted late last year by the Army, which requires program managers to establish the government's IP rights on specific systems up front, rather than treat the issue as an afterthought. “Before we put together an acquisition strategy, you have to think about what information is critical to a program, particularly in terms of sustainability, so that you're not always held hostage to the prime on that through the life of the contract and [so] that you can find better cost solutions through a variety of different providers,” she said. Still, the new approach could challenge the business models of prime contractors and suppliers, who traditionally have eaten costs up front or bid low to win weapons contracts, with the intent of making money in the two-thirds of the life cycle of the program that includes sustainment. At an Aviation Week defense conference years ago, defense executives were asked to address the idea of giving up IP rights to the government and were determined to resist. “No!” yelled one executive in the closed-door gathering. Indeed, the new policy—which will not require explicit congressional blessing, as it is internal rulemaking—still faces questions by industry lobbying groups, including the Aerospace Industries Association (AIA). John Luddy, AIA's vice president for national security policy, said IP policymaking is “probably the most important” issue currently between his trade lobby group and defense leaders. Industry is not yet behind the emerging Pentagon policy, he indicated during the ComDef 2019 conference in October, because it does not strike the proper “balance,” in industry's view, to allow it to reap profits while letting the government contract to sustain weapon systems more affordably. “We think [it] is headed toward the right kind of balance, but I would just encourage that to continue—we're engaged quite a bit with the department on that,” Luddy said. “We have to find that balance.” Diana Maurer, director of defense capabilities and management at the Government Accountability Office, noted that her auditing office flagged the IP issue in 2014 and is happy to see the Pentagon make progress on the issue. But the changing nature of warfare systems means the issue will likely only grow. “Weapon systems today are essentially flying or sailing or moving pieces of software, and the intellectual property is an important piece of that.” https://aviationweek.com/defense/lockheed-and-pentagon-joust-over-lucrative-f-35-data-rights
8 juillet 2020 | International, Aérospatial
Stephen Losey The Air Force Association announced Monday that it will hold its massive Air, Space and Cyber conference virtually this September, due to the coronavirus pandemic. AFA's annual conference typically draws about 12,000 airmen, civilians, contractors and other attendees to National Harbor, Maryland, and features addresses from major Air Force, Defense Department and industry figures. For the first time this year, the virtual conference will feature a combination of live and on-demand conference sessions streamed online, beginning Sept. 14 and lasting at least three days. The events will include live addresses from senior leaders, and will allow viewers to ask questions and engage in other “unique opportunities ... with Air Force, Space Force and industry leadership,” AFA said. There will also be a virtual exhibit hall to display developments and demonstrations from industry, online meetings and interactive presentations, AFA said. Retired Lt. Gen. Bruce Wright, the president of AFA, said the decision to move the conference online was “extremely arduous.” But with the pandemic still ongoing, he said, it would not be possible to safely host a conference in-person of the quality the association desired. AFA considered Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines, state and county directives, and feedback from potential speakers, attendees, sponsors and exhibitors. “Our goal is to continue AFA's long tradition of hosting the premier event for defense and aerospace professionals around the world,” Wright said in the release. “Our virtual Air, Space and Cyber conference will offer the same exceptional line-up of speakers, world-class exhibits, professional development opportunities, and networking opportunities for industry, government, media, academia and the public.” Air Force leaders often use their addresses to the AFA conference to make major announcements, such as former Secretary Heather Wilson's 2018 “Air Force We Need” address laying out a plan for a major expansion of the service's operational squadrons. Past speakers and guests at AFA's conference have included the top leaders of the Air Force, defense secretaries such as Jim Mattis, and Tuskegee Airman Charles McGee, who last year helped unveil the name of the T-7A Red Hawk. Staff Sgt. Spencer Stone, the airman who charged a knife-wielding terrorist on a train in France in 2015, also was celebrated at the conference that year, when the Air Force announced he would be promoted two grades for his heroism. https://www.airforcetimes.com/news/your-air-force/2020/07/06/coronavirus-drives-afa-s-massive-air-space-and-cyber-conference-online/