12 août 2023 | International, Aérospatial
The time is now to go all in on modernizing weapon systems
Just as kinetic capabilities are crucial to success on the ground, so too is data crucial to operational success in cyberspace.
16 janvier 2020 | International, C4ISR
The Pentagon wants help for its satellites to talk to each other
By: Nathan Strout
The Space Development Agency wants its satellites to be able to easily talk to each other and is considering using optical intersatellite links for communications within its future low earth orbit space architecture.
Now, the organization is looking for industry's help on what standards should be used for those links.
On Jan. 15, the agency issued a request for information to industry to inform its attempt to establish an Optical Intersatellite Link Open Standard.
Most satellites don't speak with each other directly. Instead, they utilize radio-frequency communications with a ground station to relay communications between satellites. Some satellites, however, are able to use optical links to provide direct communications between satellites without a ground station acting as an intermediary. The SDA wants to use this technology for what it calls its “transport layer,” the backbone of its plans for a new space architecture in low earth orbit.
The SDA was established in March 2019 to design the Department of Defense's future threat-driven space architecture, a setup it has since defined as a multi-layered constellation of hundreds of small satellites providing several capabilities from LEO. The SDA will not be directly responsible for every layer or constellation within the architecture — most notably, the Hypersonic and Ballistic Tracking Space Sensor is being developed primarily by the Missile Defense Agency — however, the SDA will be the agency in charge of integrating those various efforts into a single architecture.
Key to the entire enterprise is the Tracking Layer, a family of satellites in low earth orbit that will facilitate the flow of data between satellites in orbit and between satellites and the ground. The Transport Layer will be essential in connecting the various sensors and capabilities on orbit with weapons systems on the ground or in the air.
In order to build that capability, the SDA plans to use Optical Intersatellite Links. The optical links will also need to provide range estimates of the distance between satellites in orbit and between satellites and the ground to within a meter in order to provide highly precise timing and positional data for the constellation. The SDA also envisions each satellite utilizing a chip-scale atomic clock as well as GPS signals.
The problem is that there are currently no industry standards for those links. To ensure the interoperability of various vendor technologies used for those links, the SDA wants to establish that standard, and it's asking industry for help.
Responses are due by Feb. 5. More specifics about what the SDA is considering for its standards is available on beta.sam.gov.
According to the request, the SDA plans to issue a solicitation for Tranche 0 of the Transportation Layer in Spring 2020, with additional solicitations for the other capability layers to follow in the summer. That first tranche, known as the war fighter immersion tranche, will consist “of tens of satellites providing periodic, regional sensing and data transport capabilities, including the capability to detect hypersonic glide vehicles and to disseminate time sensitive targeting solutions over tactical data links.” According to the agency, that initial tranche could be delivered as early as fiscal year 2022
Sur le même sujet
-
-
13 mars 2020 | International, Aérospatial
America’s bomber force is too small and getting smaller
By: Gen. John Michael Loh (ret.) America's bomber force is now in crisis. In the Air Force's fiscal 2021 budget request, one-third of the B-1 fleet is set for retirement, B-2 survivability modernization is canceled and the new B-21 is at least a decade away from contributing significantly to the bomber force. The venerable B-52 requires new engines and other upgrades to be effective. The number of bombers are at their lowest ever, but demand for bombers increases every year, particularly in the vast and most-stressed region of the Indo-Pacific. Bombers are the preferred weapon system there because of their long range and huge payload capacity. At the end of the Cold War in 1989 and just prior to the Gulf War in 1990, America had over 400 bombers. After these proposed cuts, there will be only 140. This decline is curious in light of recent Air Force declarations and testimony before Congress. In the document “The Air Force We Need,” Air Force leaders insisted last fall they need five more bomber squadrons — about 65 more bombers. Just last month, the Air Force chief of staff testified that the need is for “200 bombers, of which 145 would be B-21s.” These numbers have been validated by think tanks such as MITRE Corp., the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments, Rand, and the Mitchell Institute. In today's global threat picture, bombers become the coin of the realm. Bombers have dual strategic roles. They provide flexible deterrence with their nuclear capability, forcing adversaries to think twice before starting an attack. Bombers also carry the brunt of conventional operations. In our wars in the Middle East, the B-1s, B-2s and B-52s have all played central roles attacking fixed targets and in close-air support of ground troops. Their long range and on-station times, combined with huge weapons loads, make them the weapon of choice for combatant commanders in both the Middle East and Pacific regions. A single B-2 can carry and launch 80 precision-guided weapons, each assigned a different target, and can penetrate contested airspace. The B-1s and the B-52s have similar direct-attack capabilities plus the ability to carry and launch cruise missiles from standoff ranges. No other weapon system, in the air or on the sea, can come close to this massive firepower. The need for more bombers is increasing. Whether facing nonstate actors like ISIS, mid-tier threats like North Korea and Iran, or peer threats such as China and Russia, the ability to strike targets quickly and in large numbers is crucial. This flexibility was vividly demonstrated in the first three months of Operation Enduring Freedom after 9/11. Bombers flew 20 percent of all sorties, but dropped 76 percent of the munition tonnage. Despite those who thought bombers were only useful in long-range nuclear or strategic missions, the reality is that a wide variety of combat missions are simply impossible to execute without bombers. But bombers and their crews are worn thin. The Air Force bought 100 B-1s in the 1980s. When demand for them surged post 9/11, the Air Force retired 30 B-1s to free up funding to sustain the remaining force. This, combined with earlier divestitures, saw the Air Force fly 61 B-1s relentlessly for nearly 20 years. The fleet was in such bad shape in 2019 that mission-capability rates were less than 10 percent. The Air Force's request to retire a further 17 B-1s to boost the health of the remaining fleet looks like a repeat of the last B-1 retirements. Among the 140 bombers that remain, only the 20 stealthy B-2s have the ability to penetrate modern air defenses to strike critical targets — a priority of the National Defense Strategy. Yet the FY21 budget request cancels the B-2's Defensive Management System Modernization program and puts our only operational stealth bomber on a path to early retirement. Given the unmet demand for penetrating platforms and the time it will take for the B-21 to be delivered in numbers, halting modernization of the 20 stealth bombers we have today is risky. Finally, the 78 B-52Hs are planned to be re-engined in the years ahead. New, fuel-efficient and more reliable engines should increase their life and capability. The ultimate cost of this modification is not known. One of the unknowns is the extent of corrosive structural and wiring problems that will inevitably emerge when each B-52 is unbuttoned. Discovery of such problems is not new. When the Air Force upgraded its C-5M fleet with new engines, the Air Force had to retire the older C-5A fleet to pay for unknown repairs. Even if the B-52 re-engining goes smoothly, a significant portion of the force will be unavailable as each moves through the depot for modifications. Last year Congress increased funding for the F-35 fighter and added funds for unrequested F-15EX procurement. Now is the time for Congress to restore funding for existing bombers to avoid this shortfall in a most vital component of our nation's defense. The Air Force entered the new decade with the smallest bomber force in its history, and the FY21 budget request erodes it further. There comes a point where doing more with less does not work, especially with B-21s not available in numbers for several years. It is time to recognize the gravity of the situation and build up the nation's bomber force. A good “plan B” does not exist without bombers. Gen. John Michael Loh is a former U.S. Air Force vice chief of staff and had served as the commander of Air Combat Command. https://www.defensenews.com/opinion/commentary/2020/03/12/americas-bomber-force-is-too-small-and-getting-smaller/
-
1 octobre 2020 | International, Terrestre, C4ISR, Sécurité
En Lituanie, Macron fustige la dépendance européenne aux équipements militaires américains
Piotr Smolar Lors de sa visite à Vilnius, le président français a appelé de ses vœux la montée en puissance de capacités européennes autonomes de production de matériels de défense, dans un pays dont la sécurité est d'abord garantie par les Etats-Unis. La séquence se voulait télégénique. Elle devait aussi illustrer, de façon pratique, la solidarité promue par Emmanuel Macron avec les pays baltes, la prise en compte de leurs préoccupations sécuritaires. Tel était le but recherché par le président français en se rendant, mardi 29 septembre, sur la base militaire de Rukla, en Lituanie. Depuis juillet, 300 militaires français y servent dans un bataillon de l'OTAN sous commandement allemand, dans le cadre de la « présence avancée renforcée » (eFP) de l'Alliance dans les pays baltes et en Pologne. « C'est aussi notre sécurité qui se joue dans ces confins de l'Europe », a noté M. Macron. Huit pays participent à ce bataillon de 1 200 soldats. La France est la seule à faire des rotations de ses effectifs chaque année entre les pays baltes, depuis 2017. Cette position particulière s'explique notamment par les engagements militaires multiples de la France, qui sollicitent beaucoup ses effectifs, à commencer par le Sahel. Pour Emmanuel Macron, cette visite était tout de même la démonstration de l'engagement inconditionnel de la France aux côtés des Baltes, à la fois Etats-membres et alliés au sein de l'OTAN. Le nom de la menace n'était prononcé par aucun responsable militaire, mais cette opération de l'Alliance, de nature défensive, est clairement organisée pour contrer la Russie. Contrairement aux attentes, cette visite n'a pas été le principal événement d'actualité militaire, dans le programme chargé du président français. Celui-ci a en effet consacré plusieurs minutes très instructives à la question de la défense européenne, au cours de ses échanges avec des étudiants de l'université de Vilnius. M. Macron a placé son intervention à l'aune de la souveraineté européenne, sa préoccupation centrale dans tous les dossiers-clés. « Nous ne pouvons pas accepter de vivre dans un monde qui serait structuré par un duopole, Chine-Etats-Unis, a-t-il dit. Le risque c'est ça, si nous sommes divisés. Si nous sommes divisés, nous aurons le choix entre la technologie chinoise ou américaine, de choisir l'investissement qui apparaît le plus attractif au moment où on le choisit. Nous serons les vassaux ou de l'un ou de l'autre, avec des incohérences (...) L'Europe ces dernières années a construit un chemin qui n'est pas praticable. » Le président a appelé à une mise en commun des capacités, des financements et de l'intelligence Emmanuel Macron a désigné le cyber et le secteur spatial comme deux secteurs essentiels dans lesquels les Européens doivent investir massivement, alors que les acteurs y deviennent « de plus en plus agressifs ». Il a aussi appelé à une mise en commun des capacités, des financements et de l'intelligence, en ne se contentant pas des coopérations, de plus en plus pertinentes, sur un plan opérationnel. Il vous reste 53.79% de cet article à lire. La suite est réservée aux abonnés. https://www.lemonde.fr/international/article/2020/09/30/en-lituanie-macron-fustige-la-dependance-europeenne-aux-equipements-militaires-americains_6054245_3210.html