Royal Australian Air Force benefits from Airbus SmartForce digital services

Sur le même sujet

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  9 août 2019 | International, Aérospatial

  The $25 million contract will provide a system that supports the military’s complex weather prediction workloads.

  By Brandi Vincent, Through a strategic partnership unveiled Wednesday, the U.S. Air Force and Oak Ridge National Lab will acquire a high-performance supercomputing system from Cray Inc. that aims to improve weather forecasting for Air Force and Army operations across the globe. Under the $25 million contract, the new system—called HPC11—will bring supercomputing-as-a-service to the Air Force's 557th Weather Wing, which creates and supplies comprehensive terrestrial and space weather information to the two military branches. “The system's performance will be a significant increase over the existing [high-performance computing] capability and will provide Air Force weather operators with the ability to run the next generation of high-resolution, global and regional models, and satisfy existing and emerging warfighter needs for environmental impacts to operations planning,” Steven Wert, an Air Force official and member of the senior executive service said in a statement. The system is expected to help the Air Force execute its mission more effectively by offering new features that support the military's complex weather prediction workloads. Official expect the system to improve forecasts and weather threat assessments that insiders rely on. Supercomputer manufacturer Cray also recently announced it's delivering the world's fastest supercomputer to the Energy Department by 2021, which it plans to outfit with a first-of-its-kind storage system that can hold more than an exabyte of data. “This is a great example of the upcoming Exascale Era bringing a new set of technologies to bear on challenging problems and empowering the Air Force to more effectively execute on its important mission,” Cray's President and CEO Peter Ungaro said. The system is expected to be delivered at the end of the year and accepted in early 2020. The company also announced Wednesday that the Defense Department selected it for two contracts—together valued at $46 million—to provide supercomputer systems to accelerate research and development at the Army Research Lab, and the Army Engineering and Research Development Center. https://www.nextgov.com/emerging-tech/2019/08/air-force-and-oak-ridge-get-supercomputer-better-weather-forecasts/159037/

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  19 mai 2020 | International, Aérospatial, Naval, Terrestre, C4ISR, Sécurité

  Florence Parly souligne le « rôle majeur » du budget des Armées pour soutenir l'industrie de défense

  Le budget du ministère des Armées, premier budget d'investissement de l'État, a un « rôle majeur à jouer » pour soutenir l'industrie de défense française, dont de nombreuses entreprises sont affaiblies par la crise, a affirmé le 17 mai la ministre Florence Parly dans un entretien à Ouest-France. « Nous avons un rôle majeur à jouer pour répondre aux besoins de nos forces et pour soutenir l'ensemble de la base industrielle et technologique de défense, ses grands groupes et ses milliers de PME et PMI, et leur éviter d'être impactées par la crise du coronavirus », déclare-t-elle. Le secteur, réuni au sein du Conseil des industries de défense française (Cidef) juge ainsi « fondamental » un plan de relance de l'économie, dont il bénéficierait. Sans l'évoquer formellement, Florence Parly indique que le gouvernement y semble favorable. Le Premier ministre « a donné des éléments de réponse en disant que l'investissement de défense se construit dans le long terme, que le monde dans lequel nous vivons ne sera ni moins dangereux ni moins risqué, comme le montre la période actuelle », rappelle-t-elle. Le Figaro du 17 mai 2022 - AFP du 17 mai 2020 - Ouest-France du 17 mai 2020

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  7 août 2020 | International, Aérospatial

  Pilots try out new helmet in F-16V flight tests

  Seth J. Frantzman JERUSALEM — Recent flight tests of the F-16V fighter jet incorporated a new version of the pilot's helmet that introduces a visor with optical inertial trackers and is designed to provide improved durability, accuracy and comfort for long flights. The Joint Helmet Mounted Cueing System II is manufactured by Collins Elbit Vision Systems, a joint venture between Collins Aerospace and Elbit Systems of America. The flight tests followed a safety qualification test for the helmet last year meant as a step toward making the JHMCS II the baseline helmet for the F-16 Fighting Falcon Viper (V) Block 70/72, made by Lockheed Martin. The safety test was performed on the ground, and the helmet was subjected to wind blasts. Jeff Hoberg, a co-general manager with the joint venture, said the helmet was specifically created for aircraft like the F-16V and builds on the legacy of the earlier JHMCS variants used on F-15, F-16 and F-18 jets. With an optical inertial tracker, the JHMCS II is more accurate than previous models, and its improved center of gravity mitigates pilot fatigue, as the helmet aligns better with the spine, Hoberg said. The optical tracking is made possible by upgrades to algorithms and software, the placement of a tracking part on the front of the helmet above the eyes, and a reference unit on the dashboard console of the aircraft. “Likewise it has a color display, and when you add color to the display, air crew can absorb more information,” he added. The next step for the helmet, Hoberg explained, is to continue flight tests this year and through early next year, with the expectation that the new variant will be certified as the baseline helmet for the F-16V. The JHMCS II is the only helmet-mounted display integrated and tested on the F-16V. “Flight tests is the next milestone as we partner with Collins Elbit Vision Systems on the JHMCS II, and we look forward to continued collaboration,” said Danya Trent, vice president of the F-16 program at Lockheed. The F-16V aircraft, equipped with an active electronically scanned array radar, are part of a new Lockheed production line in Greenville, South Carolina, announced last year. The company said in a 2019 interview that it expected hundreds of aircraft to be upgraded to the Viper model and up to 500 more to be sold in the next decade, with F-16s estimated to be keep flying into the 2040s. The fourth-generation “V” model first flew in 2015 and is going through a flight test phase. F-16V sales and upgrades to the variant are in the works for Taiwan, Bahrain and Bulgaria, among other countries. https://www.c4isrnet.com/battlefield-tech/2020/08/06/pilots-try-out-new-helmet-in-f-16v-flight-tests/