New Typhoon radar embodied for first flight

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  28 juillet 2020 | International, Aérospatial

  US eases military UAS export rules

  By Harry Lye The US has eased rules governing the export of military unmanned aerial systems (UAS) making it easier for it to sell UAS internationally. Under the new rules, announced by US State Department Assistant Secretary for Political-Military Affairs René Clarke Cooper, UAS that fly under 800kph (497mph) will no longer be subject to “presumption of denial” that made approving their sale more difficult. The change affects the US's implementation of the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR). Under the new rules, possible UAS sales will be vetted using rules already in place for other exports. Commenting on the change during a telebriefing, Cooper said: “All proposed transfers affected by this change will continue to be subject to the same rigorous review criteria that we have outlined in our UAS Export Policy, our Conventional Arms Transfer Policy, and of course, the Arms Export Control Act, as well as the specific non-proliferation criteria that has been identified in the MTCR Guidelines. “The United States is going to continue conducting our robust review procedures for exporting UAS technology to support global non-proliferation objectives, and we encourage members of the MTCR, as well as non-members such as China, to do the same.” The new rule change applies to UAS but will not affect systems such as cruise missiles, hypersonic aerial vehicles and ‘advanced unmanned aerial combat vehicles'. Cooper added that the subset of UAS covered by the new regulations ‘poses no risk for weapons of mass destruction delivery'. Commenting on the move in a statement the White House said: “While the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) is critical in slowing proliferation and promoting peace and security, it is in dire need of modernization as it applies to UAS. In a sector of rapidly-evolving technology, the MTCR's standards are more than three decades old. “Not only do these outdated standards give an unfair advantage to countries outside of the MTCR and hurt United States industry, they also hinder our deterrence capability abroad by handicapping our partners and allies with subpar technology. More than two years of discussion with MTCR partners were unable to produce consensus on this overdue reform.” The White House added that the move would bolster US National Security “by improving the capabilities of our partners and increase our economic security by opening the expanding UAS market to United States industry,” adding that it saw the decision as an example for other MTCR members to follow. https://www.airforce-technology.com/news/us-eases-military-uas-export-rules/

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  8 juillet 2020 | International, C4ISR, Sécurité

  Leonardo DRS delivers 70,000th mounted family of computer system to the U.S Army

  Arlington, VA, July 7, 2020 - Leonardo DRS, Inc. announced today that the company has delivered its 70,000th mission command computing system known as the Mounted Family of Computer Systems (MFoCS), to the U.S. Army. The delivery marks two decades of providing the U.S. military advanced tactical computing units for ground combat vehicles and command post operations. MFoCS systems provide ruggedized modular computing capabilities for the U.S Army and other services, giving warfighters the next-generation of computing and display technology with faster processing performance. This enables support for simultaneous applications as well as the integration of additional sensors and communications networks. “We are honored to continue supporting the delivery of the next generation of mission critical computing in support of our soldiers and Marines at the point of the spear,” said Bill Guyan, senior vice president and general manager of the Leonardo DRS Land Electronics business unit. “We take great pride in having designed a mission-critical family of network systems using the latest commercial off-the-shelf technologies that can be confidently relied upon when in harm's way,” Guyan said. Over a twenty year period working with our partners at the U.S. Army Project Manager - Mission Command, the Leonardo DRS Land Electronics business has designed and built multiple generations of MFoCS, building on each with innovative advancements in technology and supporting the Army's Network Modernization Plan. The platform has also continuously met the Army's current Mounted Computing Operating Environment requirements and is ready to satisfy the Army's advanced Mounted Mission Command requirements in the future. For more information about Leonardo DRS Mounted Family of Computer Systems, visit www.LeonardoDRS.com/MFOCS About Leonardo DRS Leonardo DRS is a prime contractor, leading technology innovator and supplier of integrated products, services and support to military forces, intelligence agencies and defense contractors worldwide. Its Land Electronics business unit Provides C4I Network computing and integrated situational awareness, as well as state-of-the-art embedded diagnostics, vehicle power management and combat vehicle integration products and services. Headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, Leonardo DRS is a wholly owned subsidiary of Leonardo S.p.A. See the full range of capabilities at www.LeonardoDRS.com and on Twitter @LeonardoDRSnews CONTACT US Michael Mount Vice President, Public Affairs mmount@drs.com +1 571 447 4624 View source version on Leonardo DRS: https://www.leonardodrs.com/news/press-releases/leonardo-drs-delivers-70-000th-mounted-family-of-computer-system-to-the-us-army/

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  15 juillet 2019 | International, Autre défense

  Army researchers building ‘smart’ landmines for future combat

  By: Todd South FREDERICKSBURG, Va. – Army leaders see a future battlefield with networked minefields a commander can see from across the globe through satellite communications and that can be scattered in minutes but also retrieved and reused when needed. The push is an effort to keep landmines of various types in the weapons portfolio while still meeting the agreements made to get out of the old school “dumb” landmine use. Smart mines being developed now are a way to replace some of the aging stocks in the “Family of Scatterable Mines” run by the Army's Program Manager Close Combat Systems. The program actually runs nearly half of all munitions from non-lethals to hand grenades to shoulder-fired rockets and counter explosives equipment. The portfolio, its challenges and what's happening now were laid out for attendees at the annual National Defense Industrial Association's Armament Systems Forum in June. Top of the priority lists are some simple munitions needs — more hand-grenade fuzes and better shoulder-fired weapons. But the big ticket items that need problem solving are how to use “terrain shaping obstacles,” or landmines, that can be delivered to close, middle and deep distances and then controlled to avoid the problems of scattering mines across war zones and then leaving them for an innocent passerby to trigger years or decades later. Small options such as the remote activation system used for current mine emplacements relies on radio frequency transmissions. But, as Pelino noted, in a near peer fight it's likely that adversaries will do RF jamming. The Army has a host of terrain-shaping obstacles, everything from the trusty standby Claymore mine which came online in the late 1950s and saw extensive use in the Vietnam War to the Gator system, which can be air dropped to take out everything from an individual soldier to a tank. They're also the anti-personnel area denial artillery munition, or ADAM, mine that can be launched using a 155mm round from artillery. Its cousin, the remote anti-armor munition, or RAAM, packs a bit more of a punch but also can be delivered from anything that fires a 155mm shell. Both are fired to the area of the threat and then roll out multiple mines that detonate when the appropriate level of vibration triggers them. Pelino described the Modular Pack Mine System, or MOPMS, like a minefield in a suitcase. Though coming in at 165 pounds, that's a very heavy suitcase. A single radio-control unit can run up to 15 MOPMS on the battlefield. They can also be hardwired to a controller. An upside to the MOPMS is it can be recovered and reused. On the lighter side is the M86 pursuit deterrent munition. It was designed for special operations forces to use when being pursued by an enemy. Think classic films where the character scatters nails or an oil slick to slow down their chaser, except with a lot more boom. Only instead of firing from a cannon, the soldier has to arm the device and deploy tripwires for bad guys to stumble upon. The Volcano mine system takes more of an industrial approach. Allowing a UH-60 Black Hawk to create a 1,000-foot minefield in less than a minute, Pelino said. The problem with all of those systems is they don't currently meet treaty obligations and many that had about a 20-year shelf life are pushing past 30 years now. Most will still be in stock at 2035, as the Army uses updates to keep them serviceable, Pelino said. The newer Spider System is one that allows soldiers to put in a porcupine-looking system that gives 360-degree coverage to deny enemy access to an area while also networking with other systems and a common controller. Future systems will look a lot more like Spider and a lot less like pressure plate mines of the World War II era or the venerable Claymore. The future minefield systems must have a 2 to 300km communications capability, an ability to be switched on and off, remotely modified self-destruct or deactivate mechanisms, self-report status so that users will know if they've been tampered with or if a mine went off. The Army also wants the mines to be able to not just blow up when something rumbles by but also detect, track and engage threat vehicles for everything from tanks to engineer equipment. Oh, and it must work in all terrain and weather conditions, be easily trained and employed, recoverable, reusable and affordable. The standard kit will include between half and a full brigade's worth of mines to block off areas for maneuver and prevent enemy flanking. https://www.armytimes.com/news/your-army/2019/07/12/army-researchers-building-smart-landmines-for-future-combat/