25 janvier 2023 | International, C4ISR
Pentagon updates autonomous weapons policy to account for AI advances
The Pentagon's director of emerging tech policy said the changes incorporate the Defense Department's vision for AI.
9 mars 2020 | International, Aérospatial
On Friday, a missile fired by a Turkish drone destroyed a Russian-made Pantsir-S1 deployed by the Syrian Army in Idlib province. This video released by Turkish media, shows an active Syrian Pantsir being destroyed by a Turkish drone.
According to Turkish media, the Pantsir radar was active when it was hit, indicating that the system failed to detect the incoming missile.
The Syrian Air Defense Force reportedly has more than 30 $14 million Pantsir S1 (SA-22) air defense systems. Russia has also strengthened its Syrian Khmeimim air base with Pantsir systems to prevent air strikes. The systems were deployed in Khmeimim after a series of drone attacks in 2018.
Combat unmanned aerial vehicles used by the Turkish military against the Syrian army led to Syria's largest losses, according to the Turkish Ministry of Defense. After Turkey started using drones against the Syrian Armed Forces, Assad's army has lost about a hundred units of armoured vehicles and several hundred military personnel.
Russian news outlet Avia.pro writes that, for unknown reasons, Turkish drones are invisible to Syrian air defense systems. According to the news outlet, Pantsir radars are possibly “blinded” by Turkish electronic warfare systems. Reportedly, Turkey has been using it Koral jamming system built by Aselsan, to degrade the effectiveness of Syrian air defense radars. The Koral, which has a range of 124 miles, has support sensors designed to detect and classify other systems in the area, and an electronic attack element designed to jam, deceive and overload enemy sensors
The Turkish drones are reportedly using MAM-C and MAM-L ‘micro-munitions'—70- and 160-millimeter rockets respectively, weighing only 14 and 48.5 pounds designed to strike targets illuminated by a laser. These can carry high explosive, armour-penetrating shaped charges, or (on the MAM-L) lung-rupturing thermobaric warheads, while remaining light enough to mount on relatively small drones. The larger MAM-L can also extend range from 5 to 8.6 miles by using GPS or inertial guidance.
Syrian air defenses have managed to shoot down at least three Turkish Anka-S drones in February, and Damascus claims as many as six. As these are larger and newer drones, their loss may be keenly felt, but obviously less so than manned aircraft.
https://www.uasvision.com/2020/03/06/turkish-drones-destroy-russian-made-air-defense-systems/
25 janvier 2023 | International, C4ISR
The Pentagon's director of emerging tech policy said the changes incorporate the Defense Department's vision for AI.
21 novembre 2023 | International, C4ISR
German arms company Rheinmetall expects sales of 13 billion to 14 billion euros ($14.18 billion to $15.27 billion) in revenue in 2026 and operating margins of more than 15%, it said on Tuesday in a presentation for an investor day.
29 octobre 2018 | International, Aérospatial
By: Jeff Martin GRAPEVINE, Texas — The U.S. Air Force is exploring the logistics of space-based cargo operations under the purview of Air Mobility Command, even as the impact of a new Space Force on the mobility community remains to be seen. “I don't know how it will affect mobility, but most of you know space affects mobility every day,” Gen. Paul Selva, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said Thursday at the 2018 Airlift/Tanker Symposium outside Dallas, Texas. “Whatever the Space Force is or does, it has to protect our national interest in space,” he said, adding that GPS is critical to the air mobility community. As for what space cargo operations could look like, the previous head of Air Mobility Command, Gen. Carlton Everhart, espoused the possibility of moving cargo using rocketsduring a Defense Writers Group breakfast in August. “Think about this. Thirty minutes, 150 metric tons [and] less than the cost of a C-5,” he said at the time. Apart from cargo operations, such a focuses space presence could help with pre-positioning equipment and supplies in orbit, ready to be dropped to Earth. But in a roundtable with reporters Friday, the new commander of AMC, Gen. Maryanne Miller, said while the command continues to study the possibility, space cargo operations remain at the conceptual stage. “We're continuing, our [planning] community is going to continue to have discussions with the space companies, and we have agreed to just sit with them and just stay up to date with where they're going with their future plans, to just be at the table with them” she said. “We won't commit any resources, but we've committed to work with them to see how quickly they progress through that." One potential would be SpaceX's next-generation reusable BFR rocket, currently under development. During the roundtable, Miller confirmed that the Air Force had spoken to SpaceX about the idea. “They have talked about moving cargo in space, and we've sat down with SpaceX and had that discussion. But it's really just discussion at this point," she said. “Our connection with space is really just going to be at the table with them, to look at how much progress they're making.” As for what type of cargo could possibly be moved, that's still being discussed. But in August, Everhart said he'd be willing to stick “anything” in space. https://www.defensenews.com/digital-show-dailies/airlift-tanker-annual/2018/10/26/us-air-force-explores-space-based-cargo-operations-confirms-talks-with-spacex