Thunderstorm damage to Vance’s T-6 fleet will slow pilot training

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  28 janvier 2021 | International, Naval

  With Columbia revving up, General Dynamics expects submarines to be a cash cow

  By: David B. Larter WASHINGTON — General Dynamics' marine business expects its work in building submarines to drive hundreds of millions of dollars in annual revenue growth over the coming years, company head Phebe Novakovic told investors in a call Wednesday. The company is expecting a $300 million increase in revenue in 2021, with a rough estimate of between $400-500 million of growth a year, Novakovic said, citing submarines as a significant driver. The next-generation ballistic missile submarine Columbia will account for much of that growth, she said. General Dynamics Electric Boat and Huntington Ingalls Industries' Newport News shipyard are the nation's only two submarine builders. With China now operating the world's largest naval force, the U.S. is likely to look to submarines as its ace in the hole against an increasingly sophisticated competitor. “If you look at the U.S. Navy, submarines are its top priority and the Columbia in particular,” Novakovic said. “And why is that? It's because submarines remain a singular competitive advantage, a critical competitive advantage for the United States with near-peer competitors and peer competitors. “I am quite confident that given my belief that the defense budget is driven by the threats that are key elements of our marine group, growth will be nicely supported.” The company last year inked more than $10 billion in contracts for the first two Columbia-class boats. The Navy has consistently said fielding Columbia is its top acquisition priority. Electric Boat is also building the Virginia-class Block V submarine, along with HII Newport News. The Navy is expected to buy the Virginia class at a rate of two subs per year. General Dynamics, which also owns Arleigh Burke-class destroyer-builder Bath Iron Works, believes that platform will continue to be important to the Navy, Novakovic said. The Navy has been waffling about how many of its new Flight III Burkes it intends to buy. The service's 2021 budget proposal cut four destroyers from its five-year plan, proposing eight down from 2020′s proposal of 12. But General Dynamics continues to be bullish on submarines and is investing in its infrastructure at Electric Boat. The company spent nearly $1 billion on its facilities there in 2020, including $345 million in the fourth quarter alone. The investments are “in support of the unprecedented growth on the horizon,” Novakovic said. https://www.defensenews.com/naval/2021/01/27/with-columbia-revving-up-general-dynamics-expects-submarines-to-be-a-cash-cow

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  20 avril 2020 | International, Aérospatial

  L'Iran dote son armée de trois drones "Made in Iran" d'une portée de 1.500 km

  Par latribune.fr Les drones pourront surveiller "les mouvements ennemis à une distance considérable" et seront capables d'effectuer des missions de combat, selon le ministre de la Défense iranien L'Iran poursuit la modernisation de ses armées avec de nouveaux systèmes de défense "Made in Iran". Ainsi, les forces armées iraniennes ont fait l'acquisition de trois drones de combat dotés d'une capacité de portée de 1.500 kilomètres, a annoncé samedi le ministre iranien de la Défense Amir Hatami. Les drones pourront surveiller "les mouvements ennemis à une distance considérable" et seront capables d'effectuer des missions de combat, a déclaré Amir Hatami à la télévision d'Etat. Ces appareils peuvent être équipés de bombes et de missiles, et voler à une altitude allant jusqu'à 45.000 pieds (13.716 mètres), a-t-il ajouté, sans préciser le nom des nouveaux drones. Les drones ont été fabriqués par l'industrie militaire iranienne avec la participation d'universités locales, a encore dit Amir Hatami. Les drones sont déterminants pour la surveillance des frontières de l'Iran, en particulier dans les eaux du Golfe autour du détroit d'Ormuz, par où transite un cinquième de l'approvisionnement mondial en pétrole. https://www.latribune.fr/entreprises-finance/industrie/aeronautique-defense/l-iran-dote-son-armee-de-trois-drones-made-in-iran-d-une-portee-de-1-500-km-845512.html

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  21 mai 2020 | International, C4ISR

  This platform will help train AI algorithms for the military

  Nathan Strout After landing a contract with the U.S. Air Force in April, California-based company Labelbox announced May 20 it is making its artificial intelligence training data platform available more widely to the federal government and intelligence community. Labelbox offers a software platform by the same name that allows development teams to manage the data used to train machine learning algorithms. For instance, in order for a machine learning tool to successfully begin identifying missile launchers in satellite imagery, it needs to be fed hundreds — or even millions — of pre-labeled pictures identifying the objects it needs to identify. The more accurate training data is fed to the algorithm, the better it works. Some government machine learning projects need to process petabytes of data per day, the company says, a flow of data that can be overwhelming. “Labelbox is an integrated solution for data science teams to not only create the training data but also to manage it in one place,” said CEO Manu Sharma in a statement. “It's the foundational infrastructure for customers to build their machine learning pipeline.” The platform can be used in the cloud or on-premises, allowing data science teams to work together across agencies or locations, the company claims. In April, the company announced it had won an Air Force Innovation Hub Network (AFWERX) Phase 1 Small Business Innovation Research contract to conduct feasibility studies on how their platform could integrate with ongoing Air Force efforts. Now, the company is partnering with Carahsoft Technology Corp. to make their platform more widely available to the federal government and the intelligence community. Carahsoft will be able to provide the platform to interested agencies through its NASA Solutions for enterprise-wide procurement contracts and reseller partners, the company announced May 20. https://www.c4isrnet.com/artificial-intelligence/2020/05/20/this-platform-will-help-train-ai-algorithms-for-the-military/