New Strategy Outlines Path Forward for Artificial Intelligence

Sur le même sujet

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  11 mai 2020 | International, Naval, Terrestre

  Pandemic Delays Industry Day for Marine Corps Light Armored Vehicle Replacement

  8 May 2020 Military.com | By Matthew Cox The novel coronavirus pandemic has forced the Marine Corps to postpone the industry day it had scheduled this month for its new reconnaissance vehicle effort. But the service still plans to invite industry to submit ideas for vehicle prototypes next spring. The Corps announced plans in April 2019 to begin replacing its legacy Light Armored Vehicle with the Armored Reconnaissance Vehicle, or ARV, in the late 2020s. Since then, officials managing the Light Armored Vehicles program have been talking with the defense industry to see which firms are capable of building the new vehicle, which will feature enhanced vision technologies for increased situational awareness and advanced target tracking and weapon systems. The COVID-19 pandemic forced the postponement of the industry day, at which officials had planned to answer questions about the request for information the Corps released last year. "We still want to hold an industry day, so we can have an open discussion with industry, provide more clarification and answer any questions from our industry partners," Maryann Lawson, Marine Corp Systems Command's project lead for the ARV effort, said in a recent announcement. The event is now scheduled for the fourth quarter of this fiscal year. The Marine Corps also plans to release a draft request for prototypes for the ARV base variant before the end of this fiscal year, according to the release. The Corps wants feedback from defense firms to help shape the requirement for the final prototypes request, which is scheduled for publication in spring 2021. The Army is also working on its Next Generation Combat Vehicle, an effort to replace the Cold War-era Bradley fighting vehicle. Part of the effort will be to field an Optionally Manned Fighting Vehicle, or OMFV. In late January, Army officials announced that the service would restart the high-priority OMFV effort after receiving only one valid bid for the $45 billion program. Marine ARV program officials are coordinating with Army OMFV officials, recognizing the commonalities that exist between the two programs, the release states. In 2019, the Office of Naval Research selected two defense companies to design, build and test full-scale technology-demonstration vehicles, an ARV science and technology effort which is part of the Navy's Future Naval Capabilities program, according to a September release. General Dynamics Land Systems is building a vehicle that will incorporate advanced technologies available today for the "base vehicle" approach, the release states. The Virginia-based IT company SAIC is building an "at-the-edge" vehicle designed around technologies that currently may not be fully mature but could be incorporated into the ARV as new capabilities, when threats and missions evolve, the release adds. Both vehicles are expected to be ready for evaluation in the fourth quarter of this fiscal year, Marine Corps Systems Command officials said. Last year, the Corps conducted a capability-based assessment that focused on armored reconnaissance, according to the release, which described how the assessment pitted Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalions against a peer threat, and identified shortfalls and gaps in capability. Marine Corps Combat Development Command, Combat Development and Integration produced an initial capabilities document -- which was validated by the Joint Requirements Oversight Council in 2019. "As the core-manned, next-generation system, ARV must possess transformational capabilities to enable LAR Battalions to gain contact with and collect on peer-threat forces," Marine Corps Systems Command officials said. "It must accomplish this goal without becoming decisively engaged, while also successfully waging the counter-reconnaissance fight." As the effort evolves, the Marine Corps has begun to view the ARV as more than just a replacement for the LAV, the release states. "Over time, officials began to view the ARV as a vehicle platform equipped with a suite of advanced reconnaissance capabilities, with an open-system architecture that can sense, shoot, move, communicate and remain transportable as part of the Naval Expeditionary Force," it adds. https://www.military.com/daily-news/2020/05/08/pandemic-delays-marine-corps-plans-replace-light-armored-vehicles.html

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  4 septembre 2024 | International, Aérospatial

  Space Development Agency’s first satellites demo key capabilities

  This week’s test involved two satellites, built by SpaceX, exchanging data via a laser-communication link.

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  11 décembre 2019 | International, Aérospatial, Naval, Terrestre, C4ISR, Sécurité

  Congress wants five-year budget plan for European defense fund

  By: Jen Judson WASHINGTON — Congress wants the Pentagon to produce a five-year plan for the European Deterrence Initiative fund, much like what is required each year when the Defense Department rolls out its base budget request. In the fiscal 2020 defense policy bill's conference report released Dec. 9, Congress gives the Pentagon a tight deadline to produce a future years plan for the EDI account for FY20 — no later than the end of the year — that covers “not fewer than the four succeeding fiscal years.” Congress wants the defense secretary and the head of U.S. European Command to submit to congressional defense committees subsequent future five-year plans beginning in FY21 at the same time as budget requests are submitted. The EDI account — initially called the European Reassurance Initiative — was created to help Eastern European allies deter Russia from further incursion into Europe following its annexation of Crimea from Ukraine and continued military activity in the region. The U.S. Army's presence at the time of the annexation had dwindled from roughly 200,000 troops in Europe in the 1980s to around 33,000 in 2015. The Army had only two permanently stationed brigade combat teams, had closed more than 100 sites since 2006, and was concentrated in Italy and Germany rather than along NATO's eastern flank. The plans should contain a description of the “intended force structure and posture” of the assigned forces in Europe for the last fiscal year as well as “the manner in which such force structure and posture support the implementation of the National Defense Strategy,” according to the bill's report. The plan should also detail infrastructure and military construction investments and the assessment of resources including cost estimates for each project needed to achieve requirements such as increased presence, exercises, training, enhanced pre-positioning of stocks and building partnership capacity, the bill noted. The Pentagon should also include a timeline to achieve force posture and capabilities to include permanent posture requirements as well as a detailed account of what has changed from the previous year, according to the bill. Additionally, the Defense Department is required to submit a report no later than the end of November 2020 and each year after summarizing in detail funds obligated for EDI for the past fiscal year, as well as a comparison of funds requested for the following fiscal year. Under the bill, the Pentagon must also provide an interim briefing no later than the end of March 2021 and each year after covering the status of all matters to be included in the future years plans and reports on EDI. Funding for EDI has continued to grow since its inception almost five years ago. In FY19, the Pentagon requested $6.5 billion, up from $4.8 billion in FY18 and $3.4 billion in FY17. Only in FY20 did the funding come down, when the Pentagon cut the account by 10 percent. The Pentagon said the cut accounted for some one-time expenses such as military construction and a look toward increased burden-sharing from allies. https://www.defensenews.com/congress/2019/12/10/congress-wants-five-year-budget-plan-for-european-defense-fund/