31 octobre 2024 | International, Aérospatial, C4ISR

Ukraine rolls out dozens of AI systems to help its drones hit targets

Sur le même sujet

  • France, Germany sign agreement to build sixth-generation fighter plane

    25 février 2020 | International, Aérospatial

    France, Germany sign agreement to build sixth-generation fighter plane

    By Ed Adamczyk Feb. 24 (UPI) -- An agreement to advance construction of a joint advanced combat aircraft program was ceremonially signed by French and German defense ministers. A contract for the first phase of the program to build the main aircraft of the Future Combat Air System was awarded last week. It covers the plane's propulsion system, data architecture and simulation environment, the German Defense Ministry said. Airbus, MTU, Safran and Dassault are the lead contractors. Plans for the program include development of a Next-Generation Weapon System whose components include remote carrier vehicles known as "swarming drones" and a sixth-generation fighter plane intended to be ready by 2035 to replace current Rafales, Eurofighters and F-18 Hornet planes. The plane and drones are expected to work in tandem. Two additional areas of work, involving the plane's sensors and stealth capabilities, remain under discussion. The cost of the first phase of the program, which is expected to take 18 months, will cost about $166 million and will be equally shared by Germany and France. Florence Parly, the French defense minister, and her German counterpart Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer ceremonially signed the agreement in Paris on Thursday. While Spain joined the program after it was announced in 2019, and Angelo Olivares, Spain's deputy defense minister, was present at the signing, it is currently a two-nation project. Spain's contributory share remains a topic of negotiation, but it is expected to join and help pay for the project later this year. A flying demonstrator version of the fighter plane is expected by 2026. A mockup of the plane, a shell with no internal components, was unveiled in June 2019 at the Paris Air Show. https://www.upi.com/Defense-News/2020/02/24/France-Germany-sign-agreement-to-build-sixth-generation-fighter-plane

  • With artificial intelligence, every soldier is a counter-drone operator

    21 octobre 2020 | International, Aérospatial, Naval, Terrestre, C4ISR

    With artificial intelligence, every soldier is a counter-drone operator

    Todd South With the addition of artificial intelligence and machine learning, the aim is to make every soldier, regardless of job specialty, capable of identifying and knocking down threatening drones. While much of that mission used to reside mostly in the air defense community, those attacks can strike any infantry squad or tank battalion. The goal is to reduce cognitive burden and operator stress when dealing with an array of aerial threats that now plague units of any size, in any theater. “Everyone is counter-UAS,” said Col. Marc Pelini, division chief for capabilities and requirements at the Joint Counter-Unmanned Aircraft Systems Office, or JCO. Pelini and Maj. Gen. Sean Gainey, JCO director, who spoke Thursday at the virtual Association of the U.S. Army conference, told reporters that the original focus was on smaller Tier I and II threats. But that has now extended to Tier III threats, traditionally covered by the Army's air defense community, such as Avenger and Patriot missile batteries. Some of that work includes linking the larger threat detection to the smaller drones that now dot conflicts across the world, including the hot zone of the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict. In June, the Department of Defense conducted a “down select” of existing or in-the-pipeline counter-drone systems from 40 to eight, as Military Times sister publication C4ISRNET reported at the time. That was an effort to reduce redundancy in the flood of counter drone programs taken on in the wake of a $700 million funding push in 2017 to get after problems posed by commercially available drones being used more frequently by violent extremist organizations such as the Islamic State to harass, attack and surveil U.S. and allied forces. Those choices, in the down select, included the following, also reported by C4ISRNET: Fixed/Semi-Fixed Systems * Fixed Site-Low, Slow, Small Unmanned Aircraft System Integrated Defeat System (FS-LIDS), sponsored by the Army * Negation of Improvised Non-State Joint Aerial-Threats (NINJA), sponsored by the Air Force * Counter-Remote Control Model Aircraft Integrated Air Defense Network (CORIAN), sponsored by the Navy Mounted/Mobile System * Light-Mobile Air Defense Integrated System (L-MADIS), sponsored by the Marine Corps Dismounted/Handheld Systems * Bal Chatri, sponsored by Special Operations Command * Dronebuster, no sponsor, commercial off-the-shelf capability * Smart Shooter, no sponsor, commercial off-the-shelf capability * Forward Area Air Defense Command and Control (FAAD-C2), sponsored by the Army (includes FAAD-C2 interoperable systems like the Air Force's Air Defense System Integrator (ADSI) and the Marine Corps' Multi-Environmental Domain Unmanned Systems Application Command and Control (MEDUSA C2)) The four areas evaluated to determine which systems stuck around for use or further development were effectiveness, integration, usability and sustainment, Gainey said Thursday. A kind of virtual open house with industry is planned for Oct. 30, in which JCO will evaluate what options are out there. Some of what they're learning is being gathered through a consortium, of sorts, that involves regular meetings between service branch representatives during monthly sessions at the two-star level, Gainey said. That goes into a real-time, updated “common threat library” that helps those in the field identify trends and changes that can be met across forces. They use those sessions to share what each component is seeing in theater as far as drone use and changes. But it's more than simple intelligence gathering, he said. They also form rapid response teams. "My operations team works with the warfighters, [the] intelligence community” and others, he said. They “triangulate” common problems with drones and send the rapid response teams to the area of operations most affected. https://www.armytimes.com/digital-show-dailies/ausa/2020/10/17/with-artificial-intelligence-every-soldier-is-a-counter-drone-operator/

  • Drone corps proposal would disrupt US Army plans, says undersecretary

    19 mai 2024 | International, C4ISR

    Drone corps proposal would disrupt US Army plans, says undersecretary

    The branch would be responsible for integrating drones across the Army, providing specialized training as well as leading research and development efforts.

Toutes les nouvelles