8 juin 2021 | International, Aérospatial, Naval, Terrestre, C4ISR, Sécurité
19 décembre 2018 | International, C4ISR
Marines look for IBM Watson-like artificial intelligence to plan large-scale wargames
By: Todd South
The Marines are looking to big data analysis and potentially an IBM Watson-like machine or software to help conduct complex wargaming and plan for future battles in an immersive environment.
The Corps' Program Manager for Wargaming Capability, Col. Ross Monta, told Marine Corps Times that a recent program announcement seeks to “bring advanced analytics, visualization, models and simulation together to create an environment that enables senior leaders” to make a host of decisions.
Those range from capabilities for the future force and ways to test operational plans, develop concepts of operations and help provide information to prioritize resources.
The announcement is the service's second round of information gathering in four technology areas that include modeling and simulation, wargame design, data services and visualization. The Marines are reviewing white papers submitted from industry in January, February, March and July. They're aiming to have testing begin as early as October.
At the 2017 Modern Day Marine Military Expo, then-Lt. Col. Monta spoke on how the Corps was developing a three- to five-year plan for a wargaming center at Marine Corps Base Quantico that would allow planners to conduct 20 wargames a year, including two large-scale, 250-participant exercises.
The simulation they sought at the time would provide, “accurate representation of future operating environments, simulate friendly and enemy capabilities” and perform “rapid, in-depth analysis of game-derived data or insights.”
The then-head of Marine Corps Systems Command, Brig. Gen. Joseph Shrader, said that wargaming had to get beyond “moving yellow stickies on a map.”
At that time the center was capable of conducting about 11 wargame scenarios a year, Monta said.
They were looking at partnering advanced simulation capabilities, such as the one they're seeking in the fbo.gov posting, with flesh and blood experts from the Ellis Group think tank to better see high-order, long-term warfighting needs.
The head of training systems command, Col. Walt Yates, told Marine Corps Times that the aim was to have ways of using artificial intelligence to run simulations as many as 1,000 times.
With those numbers, planners can learn probabilities of victory, casualty expectations and the logistics required to accomplish the mission.
Simulation capabilities would allow commanders to run scenarios against future threats to gauge what equipment and tactics are most needed to succeed.
These factors would inform planning for everything from buying the next piece of combat gear to how best to deploy forces, Yates said.
The big data analysis is just one of a list of items the Corps has been working in recent years to push their wargaming from squad to Marine Expeditionary Force-level, leveraging advances in computing, data analytics, virtual reality, augmented reality and gaming.
Beginning this past year, Marines at each of the Corps 24 infantry battalions began fielding Tactical Decision Kits, a combination of laptop, VR goggles and drones that allow small unit leaders to map battle spaces and then run operations plans in VR to rehearse missions.
Earlier this year, MARCORSYSCOM officials sought industry input on pushing weapons simulations for live training, force-on-force shooting past the decades old laser technology still in use today.
They want shooting systems that more realistically replicate how bullets and other projectiles move and the types of damage they cause.
The system that would be able to simulate all weapons and vehicles typically seen in a battalion, which would include at least: M4/M16; M9 or sidearm, the M27 Infantry Automatic Weapon; hand grenades; rocket propelled grenades; Light Anti-Tank Weapon; 60mm mortars; 81mm mortars; Claymore antipersonnel mine; Mk-19 grenade launcher; Russian machine gun; AK-47 variants; M41 TOW; Javelin missile and the Carl Gustaf recoilless rifle.
It would also allow for immediate after-action review so that trainers and commanders could see where their Marines were aiming, when and how much they fired to strike a target and what damage their opponents caused.
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26 décembre 2018 | International, C4ISR
How the new acting Pentagon chief views cybersecurity
By: Justin Lynch President Donald Trump announced in a Dec. 23 tweet that Patrick Shanahan will become acting secretary of defense Jan. 1, replacing outgoing Pentagon chief Jim Mattis two months early. While it is not clear how long Shanahan will remain in the job, he is on the short list of officials who could become the full-time Pentagon chief. Regardless of the length of his tenure, Shanahan, the Pentagon deputy since 2017, has been one of the Pentagon's top advocates for stronger contractor cybersecurity and IT acquisition and will lead the department months after it was given expansive and loosely defined authorities to conduct offensive cyber operations. How Shanahan will handle these greater cyber authorities, even on a temporary basis, remains an open question that will be tested immediately amid evolving challenges, such as an alleged hacking campaign from China. Unclear views on cyber operations In August, the secretary of defense was given the ability to conduct offensive cyber operations without informing the president as long as it does not interfere with the “national interest” of the United States, four current and former White House and intelligence officials have told Fifth Domain. A Pentagon official told Fifth Domain that while there is a general outline of what specific operations may affect the American “national interest,” some details are not explicitly defined. And a review of his public remarks show that Shanahan has not made significant comments about how America should conduct offensive cyber operations. He has shiedaway from giving detailed responses about U.S. Cyber Command. “There are two new war-fighting domains, cyber and space, for which we are developing doctrine and capabilities,” Shanahan said Sept. 19. A spokesperson for Shanahan did not respond to questions from Fifth Domain. Focus on defense contractors As deputy, Shanahan has focused on “re-wiring” the Pentagon. He has called good cybersecurity “foundational” to working with the department. “Cybersecurity is, you know, probably going to be what we call the ‘fourth critical measurement.' We've got quality, cost, schedule, but security is one of those measures that we need to hold people accountable for,” Shanahan said Sept. 19 during an Air Force Association conference. Shanahan's focus on contractor cybersecurity comes as China is believed to be targeting defense contractors, particularly those on the lower end of the supply chain, in an attempt to steal sensitive American secrets, according to intelligence officials and industry executives. Shanahan, however, has placed responsibility among the top defense firms. “I'm a real strong believer that the Tier 1 and Tier 2 leadership has a responsibility to manage the supply chain,” Shanahan said in the Sept. 19 speech. In October, Shanahan was put in charge of a new Pentagon task force to combat data exfiltration that focuses in part on these defense firms. “Together with our partners in industry, we will use every tool at our disposal to end the loss of intellectual property, technology and data critical to our national security,” Shanahan told Fifth Domain in October. A specific area of focus inside the department is finding out which companies are in the Pentagon's supply chain, according to officials involved in the process, but it is not clear if it is specifically part of Shanahan's task force. Inside the Pentagon, Shanahan has also emphasized the need for smarter IT acquisition. In an October. interview with Fifth Domain, Shanahan expressed frustration with the Pentagon's procurement process, but said to expect “a number of things that are foundational to being able to achieve enterprise solutions.” He hinted that those changes are focused on the “right platforms and the right level of integration” that can support high-end computing and artificial intelligence. “I'm super frustrated that we can't go faster on like basic things like the cloud,” Shanahan said. “Most of everything we do is software-driven.” Aaron Mehta contributed to this report. https://www.fifthdomain.com/dod/2018/12/24/how-the-new-acting-pentagon-chief-views-cybersecurity
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28 novembre 2023 | International, Sécurité
Cessna-maker Textron to cut 725 jobs as part of restructuring plan | Reuters
Business jet maker Textron said on Tuesday it would cut 725 jobs as part of its restructuring plan in an attempt to reduce operating expenses, sending its shares up more than 2% after the bell.