28 juillet 2024 | International, C4ISR, Sécurité
Offensive AI: The Sine Qua Non of Cybersecurity
Explore the evolution of cybersecurity from the Creeper virus to offensive AI, shaping future defenses.
31 mai 2019 | International, Aérospatial
Spanish defense contractors are itching to get a piece of FCAS
MADRID — Spanish defense companies are chomping at the bit to get into the business of building Europe's next-generation combat aircraft, just as the government is about to formally enter the Franco-German project.
While the extent of the Spanish industry participation in the Future Combat Air System program is still an open question, some of the companies at the inaugural FEINDEF defense expo in Madrid, Spain, are beginning to jockey for position.
Brig Gen. Juan Pablo Sanchez de Lara, chief of the Spanish Air Force's plans division, told reporters at the expo that industrial cooperation is “essential for us.”
“We are not new in the business,” he said. “Of course Spanish companies are very keen to participate.”
Airbus, for example, which is already a prime contractor besides Dassault from France, is looking to bring into play its local work with the Spanish Air Force for the cockpit design of the future fighter aircraft.
The Spanish air service presented an Airbus-made cockpit prototype — part futuristic lab, part test bed for additional design work — at its booth, pitching it as a contender for the FCAS program. The setup features a large, panoramic screen similar to that in the F-35, sprinkling in some traditional controls beside the pilot.
Officials said the cockpit is the result of previous concept work, concluding that fusing information and commanding nearby drones, for example, are key requirements. Tests are ongoing based on operational vignettes crafted by the Air Force to see how pilots handle workload, stress and the torrent of information thrown at them during flight.
When the first FCAS aircraft takes to the skies around 2040, “the scenarios will be more complex,” Ignacio de Castro Vidal, Airbus Defence and Space future capabilities program manager at the defense giant's Madrid location, predicted in an interview with Defense News.
That is a reference to the expectation that warfare itself will be more complicated, but it's also an acknowledgment that the program is designed with so much networked technology that the task of flying the aircraft must be kept manageable.
To increase the ease of use for pilots, the company plans to lean heavily on voice commands to operate the aircraft's systems, de Castro Vidal said.
Spanish electronics specialist Indra is also eyeing work on elements of the next-gen fighter aircraft.
“Indra is the second provider of avionic systems for the Eurofighter,” Pedro Barco, the company's director of platforms, wrote in a statement to Defense News. “The experience gained in this project allows us to play a key role as integrator of the system of systems for the FCAS.
“In particular, we have a strong experience in electronic warfare systems, voice and data communications, and radar detection and identification systems.”
Eurofighter Typhoon-maker Airbus has pitched upgraded versions of that jet as a gap filler until the new aircraft is developed and built, saying that the planned upgrades would serve as something of a sandbox to try new air warfare concepts. Spain and Germany fly that aircraft, while France has the Rafale.
As for engines, ITP Aero, based north of Madrid, hopes to share development work with France's Safran and Germany's MTU.
“ITP is looking forward to the next step of the program, and we want to be a part of it from the beginning,” Marta Gimeno Garcia-Andrade, director of the company's defense business unit, told Defense News.
She said a key area of expertise for ITP Aero lies in low-pressure turbines and movable, “thrust-vectoring” nozzles.
Several Spanish defense executives at the FEINDEF expo said expect Spain's formal integration into FCAS to take place at the Paris Air Show in mid-June.
Officials in Germany, however, said earlier this week the exact sequence of extending the program's framework agreement to include Madrid was still in flux. That is because the German parliament has yet to greenlight funding for an ongoing study contract and because legal issues with the agreement text may not be fully sorted out in time.
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3 décembre 2020 | International, Aérospatial, Naval, C4ISR
Raytheon wins pair of Air Force and Navy IT contracts
Andrew Eversden WASHINGTON — Raytheon's intelligence and space business announced Wednesday it was awarded a five-year basic ordering agreement for software services by LevelUP, a U.S. Air Force software factory. The award to the defense giant comes after the company announced a $70 million contract for submarine communications sustainment with the Navy. A Raytheon spokesperson was unable to provide a contract value for the Air Force deal. According to Raytheon, the basic ordering agreement will be the “primary avenue” for the Air Force's Platform One system, which serves as the service's primary platform for software development. The deal also impacts the development of the Advanced Battle Management System, the Air Force's platform to enable the Joint All-Domain Command and Control concept. “To combat increasingly fast, capable and agile threats, we must be able to deliver services within hours, or even minutes,” said David Appel, vice president of defense and civil solutions for space and C2 systems with Raytheon Intelligence and Space. “This agreement provides an avenue for the Air Force to achieve that. We're now positioned to rapidly deliver agile cyber solutions to the Air Force and the Department of Defense.” The Air Force decided to create the LevelUP factory after its work developing U.S. Cyber Command's Unified Platform, the combatant command's first major weapons system. The Air Force wanted the factory to help other components with similar software projects. Submarine communications Meanwhile, below sea level, Raytheon was awarded a $70 million contract to provide sustainment services to Navy submarines, the defense giant announced Dec. 1. Under the five-year, indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity contract, Raytheon will provide test, inspection, evaluation and restoration services of Submarine High-Data Rate, or SubHDR, mast components. SubHDR connects submarines to the Defense Department's Global Broadcast Service, a network that allows for one-way communication of data and video files. The SubHDR systems relies on a special mast antenna that connects the subs to networks above the sea. The Global Broadcast Service relies on the Milstar satellite constellation and Defense Satellite Communication System. According to a Raytheon news release, SubHDR “vastly improves a submarine's mission capability and the quality of life for submariners by affording them high-data rate communications with the world outside of the sub.” “The SubHDR system was created to support protected high-data rate communications for submarines,” said Denis Donohue, vice president for communications and airspace modernization systems for Raytheon Intelligence and Space. “SubHDR mast is a protected, secure and survivable system to support all communications needs, from day-to-day messaging to ensuring the commander-in-chief can stay connected with his commanders.” Naval Undersea Warfare Center awarded the contract. https://www.c4isrnet.com/battlefield-tech/it-networks/2020/12/02/raytheon-wins-pair-of-air-force-and-navy-it-contracts/
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26 février 2020 | International, Aérospatial
Insufficient missile defense funding would leave Americans vulnerable
The U.S. Missile Defense Agency submitted its report on unfunded priorities to Congress last week, which includes a number of priorities worth more than $1.1 billion. The list demonstrates the tangible consequences of a flat Pentagon budget request and provides a road map for lawmakers to ensure that the U.S. homeland and America's forward-deployed troops have sufficient missile defense protection. The Trump administration requested $705.4 billion for the Department of Defense for fiscal 2021, a level that fails to keep pace with inflation. Accordingly, the DoD is only requesting $9.2 billion for FY21 for the MDA — more than an 11 percent reduction from the FY20 enacted amount of $10.4 billion. The National Defense Authorization Act requires the MDA to submit a list to Congress of items not included in the administration's budget request but that are “necessary to fulfill a requirement associated with an operational or contingency plan of a combatant command or other validated requirement.” The list includes programs that combatant commanders genuinely need and would have included if additional resources were available. The MDA's top unfunded priority for FY21 is $231 million for 10 additional Standard Missile-3 Block IIA missiles. The SM-3 IIA missile is designed to intercept medium- and intermediate-range missiles. This additional purchase would bring the total number to 24 missiles a year, which MDA calls the “maximum sustainable production rate per year without further investment.” In addition to the SM-3 IIA's vital existing capabilities against medium- and intermediate-range missiles, the DoD believes that the missile could potentially be adapted to intercept intercontinental ballistic missiles. In response to a mandate in the NDAA, the MDA plans to conduct a flight test this spring, known as FTM-44, to determine whether an SM-3 IIA could intercept an ICBM. If successful, the SM-3 IIA could then provide an additional and complementary layer of protection for the U.S. homeland against a limited ICBM attack from an adversary such as North Korea. Consequently, keeping the SM-3 IIA production line at full speed would enable the U.S. to meet combatant commander requirements for medium- and intermediate-range ballistic missile defense. And if the test this spring is successful, optimized ongoing production would also allow the DoD to more quickly field SM-3 IIAs for homeland defense against ICBMs. The MDA's second- and third-highest unfunded priorities relate to the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense system. These include $319 million to procure an eighth THAAD battery for the United States and $30 million to procure trucks required to support THAAD systems. The THAAD is a rapidly deployable land-based missile defense system designed to intercept incoming ballistic missiles during their terminal (or final) phase of flight. Since the program was initiated, the MDA reports, THAAD has completed 15 successful intercepts in 15 attempts. THAAD uses hit-to-kill technology to destroy an incoming warhead. It is effective against short-, medium- and some intermediate-range ballistic missile threats. The DoD can transport the THAAD system by air, land or sea. Iran's January ballistic missile attack on U.S. service members at two bases in Iraq highlighted the lack of sufficient U.S. ballistic missile defense capacity. With no U.S. ballistic missile interceptors in range, U.S. forces could only watch and wait for impact. Had a THAAD system been deployed in the region, the U.S. could have intercepted the Iranian ballistic missiles and better protected U.S. troops. Acquiring an eighth THAAD battery makes not only operational sense, but also financial sense. Saudi Arabia is purchasing a large quantity of THAAD systems. A U.S. and Saudi “synchronized” purchase would enable the U.S. to benefit from the associated economies of scale. The fourth priority on MDA's unfunded list is $39 million to “develop technology and advanced command and control to integrate networked sensors to detect and track advanced cruise missile threats.” As Gen. Terrence O'Shaughnessy, the commander of Northern Command, highlighted in congressional testimony on Feb. 13, the U.S. homeland remains incredibly vulnerable to a cruise missile attack. He testified that “advanced cruise missiles now carried by Russian aircraft and submarines present a growing challenge to our current sensor networks and have the range and accuracy to strike military and civilian targets throughout the United States and Canada.” O'Shaughnessy argued that investments in cruise missile defense capabilities “are necessary to defend our vital facilities and infrastructure, preserve our national ability to project power abroad, and help to safeguard our citizens and vital institutions.” That is exactly what MDA's unfunded priority would do, and the burden of proof should be on those who argue that it should not be funded. A fundamental responsibility of the federal government is to protect the American people. The MDA's report on unfunded priorities to Congress demonstrates that the agency requires additional funding from Congress to fulfill this important responsibility. Bradley Bowman is the senior director for the Center on Military and Political Power with the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. https://www.defensenews.com/opinion/commentary/2020/02/25/insufficient-missile-defense-funding-would-leave-americans-vulnerable/