L3Harris Technologies equips the U.S Army’s first unit with enhanced night vision google-binocular

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  13 avril 2021 | International, C4ISR

  Airbus and TNO to Develop Aircraft Laser Communication Terminal

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  4 septembre 2020 | International, Autre défense

  AFWERX Announces the Global Reimagining Energy Challenge for the U.S. Department of Defense

  Open Call for International Entries to Reimagining Energy for the DoD Challenge. Creating the Future of Resilient Energy Production, Transmission, Use and Storage. LAS VEGAS, Sept. 4, 2020 /CNW/ -- AFWERX, the U.S. Air Force's innovation catalyst, announces the Reimagining Energy for the DoD Challenge, seeking solutions to create the future of resilient energy production, transmission, use, and storage. The Department of Defense (DoD) is currently the largest energy consumer globally. By reducing demand and reliance on petroleum and modernizing the energy infrastructure, the U.S. Air Force can improve the way it consumes energy, increases sustainability, and remains adaptable to future impacts of climate change and reduction in fossil fuels. This is an incredible opportunity for the DoD to partner with innovative industries and academia to identify, fund, and launch new energy strategies from now until 2045. The Challenge is seeking solutions that can be implemented immediately, those that require some further development and also moonshot ideas that may not be implemented until 2045. "The disruption of the energy sector is already happening. There's unbelievable innovation occurring in how we produce, transmit, and store energy. The DoD must partner with those leading this disruption in both industry and academia to ensure we maintain our competitive advantage," stated Colonel Charles Bris-Bois, Air Force Disruptive Technology Team. The Reimagining Energy for the DoD Challenge will gather the right people from industry, government, and academia to identify solutions for a sustainable energy infrastructure for the Department of Defense. The goals of the Challenge are to leverage all energy sources for military use such as wind, solar, thermal, hydro, nuclear, and hydrogen and increase mission effectiveness and quality of life, while reducing our dependence on fossil fuels. Our aspirational targets are to eliminate all fossil fuel dependency and achieve a carbon negative DoD. The Reimagining Energy for the DoD Challenge encompasses six specific topics: Permanent & Mobile Energy Generation Energy Transmission & Distribution Mobile & Fixed Energy Storage New Warfighting & Operational Equipment Not Dependent on Fossil Fuels Data Availability for Improved Planning & Decision Making Energy Culture, Policy & Education "I am really excited for this Challenge for two reasons. First, this will change the way the DoD consumes, stores, distributes, and uses energy which has strategic benefit and benefits the planet at the same time given the aspirational carbon-negative target. Second, this Challenge is running concurrently with a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) focus area which creates a lot of opportunity for small businesses in the U.S. to receive government funding to support this initiative," said Mark Rowland, Innovation Actualizer for AFWERX. The open call for solutions for the Reimagining Energy Challenge launches on Sept. 2, 2020. The submission window will remain open until Oct. 1, 2020. Teams that submit their solutions by Sept. 14 will be invited to participate in an event on Sept. 17 where they will receive feedback to improve their submissions; participate in a Q&A session and also a networking and collaboration opportunity. Submissions are accepted from across the globe, both domestic and international organizations and individuals are encouraged to participate. The full challenge overview and details to submit a proposed solution is available at afwerxchallenge.com/energy. Preview the video for additional information here. ABOUT AFWERX Established in 2017, AFWERX is a product of the U.S. Air Force, directly envisioned by former Secretary of the Air Force Heather Wilson. Her vision of AFWERX — to solve some of the toughest challenges that the Air Force faces through innovation and collaboration amongst our nation's top subject-matter experts. AFWERX serves as a catalyst to unleash new approaches for the warfighter through a growing ecosystem of innovators. AFWERX and the U.S. Air Force are committed to exploring viable solutions and partnerships to further strengthen the Air Force, which could lead to additional prototyping, R&D, and follow-on production contracts. https://www.newswire.ca/news-releases/afwerx-announces-the-global-reimagining-energy-challenge-for-the-u-s-department-of-defense-822922728.html

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  4 novembre 2019 | International, Aérospatial

  USAF Sees Five-Year Window To Invent A New Fighter Aircraft Industry

  By Steve Trimble and Lee Hudson The U.S. Air Force's vision to rapidly produce multiple fleets of advanced fighters the way Apple makes iPhones begins with an important change in plans for the secretive Next-Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) program. For three years, the Air Force analyzed how to replace the Lockheed Martin F-22 by 2030. The original plan—defined as the Penetrating Counter-Air capability in the Air Superiority Flight Plan released in 2017—called for developing a conventional replacement for the F-22, with a next-generation F-X fighter featuring a dazzling array of new technologies, ranging from adaptive cycle propulsion to advanced weapons and new sensors. As an extended, two-year-long analysis of alternatives neared a conclusion in mid-2018, the Air Force decided to shift to a new approach. The new strategy led Air Force leaders to drain about half of the $13.2 billion budget previously allocated to the NGAD program through fiscal 2024 in the Defense Department's five-year spending plan sent to Congress in March. Instead of launching full development of the F-X within that five-year window, the Air Force is developing a radical new aircraft design process—even as spending continues on deliveries of Lockheed F-35As, Boeing F-15EXs and a host of fighter upgrade programs. “We're at a good point to attempt something new because we have hot production lines for fifth [generation fighters]. [And] fourth-gen fighters [are] going through major multibillion dollar modernizations,” says Will Roper, the assistant secretary of the U.S. Air Force for acquisition, technology and logistics. “So it's a good time to try something new for a five-year window and see if we can create a new way to build airplanes for us that [is] between the building of one or two X-planes and the building of 1,000 units in a major defense acquisition program,” Roper, who is leading the new NGAD strategy, tells Aviation Week in an interview. Roper's comments on the sidelines of Aviation Week's DefenseChain Conference on Oct. 22, help clarify the dramatic shifts within the classified NGAD program over the last year. The U.S. Air Force essentially has delayed F-X development beyond the five-year spending plan to provide a window of time to invent a new business model for the combat aircraft industry, one ideally suited for a new era of air warfare with peer adversaries. The initiative will be supported by the new Program Executive Office for Advanced Aircraft that was established on Oct. 2. The office will be led by Col. Dale White, formerly the senior program director for the Northrop Grumman B-21 bomber development program at the Rapid Capabilities Office. Roper's vision for NGAD calls for a sharp break from the conventional acquisition approach adopted for the B-21, with a single prime contractor responsible for the full aircraft lifecycle, including at least a 10- to 15-year period between an initial contract award and delivering an operational capability. To Roper, the ideal model for NGAD is not another Western fighter program, but rather a consumer electronic device. Apple's customers buy an iPhone model that is designed to become obsolete within a few years, and replace it with a more advanced device, he says. The equivalent in the fighter business are aircraft designed to last perhaps 3,500 flight hours, which the U.S. Air Force buys in batches of hundreds and replaces in intervals of 10 years or less. “We want to retire airplanes when the next one is ready to be brought out—very similar to the iPhone model. So there's no reason to keep that old iPhone once you have the new one,” Roper says. Over the next five years, the Air Force wants to define the digital engineering-based approach to the hardware and common operating system approach to the software for the NGAD aircraft family. The goal is to attract new companies besides traditional defense firms to be involved in production, along with the specialized design units of the prime contractors such as Lockheed's Skunk Works, Boeing's Phantom Works and Northrop Grumman's Scaled Composites. “I could imagine companies that could build a few airplanes per month eventually breaking in and wanting to do it because there's an opportunity to do it frequently. And let's face it, design and cutting-edge airplanes [are] just wicked cool,” Roper says. https://aviationweek.com/defense/usaf-sees-five-year-window-invent-new-fighter-aircraft-industry