21 juillet 2020 | International, Terrestre
by Ashley Roque
Industry is concerned about a potential US Army plan to bid on, judge, and select its own M2 Bradley Fighting Vehicle replacement, and is likening such a measure to a metaphorical self-licking ice cream cone.
During the past few weeks, defence companies have been eagerly awaiting the release of a draft request for proposal (RFP) for the army's latest attempt to design and field an Optionally Manned Fighting Vehicle (OMFV). Although they were interested in learning more about what the army is seeking this time around, they were also keen to see if a provision was included that enabled the service's Ground Vehicle Systems Center (GVSC) to also compete as a prime contractor. As several sources suspected, the draft RFP publicly released on 17 July included such provision.
“Potential offerors are notified that a US government entity may submit a proposal as a prime offeror,” the army wrote.
Ashley John, the public affairs director for the army's Program Executive Office for Ground Combat Systems, confirmed to Janes on 19 July that the service is exploring options to “leverage its core competencies and compete with industry in the design of a future combat vehicle”. More specifically, she said that the service wanted to use its science and technology community and engineers to “potentially develop” a Bradley replacement vehicle.
As a result, interested vendors now have a flurry of questions over the ethics and legality of such a measure. One industry source that closely collaborates with the service and GVSC told Janes
17 février 2023 | International, Autre défense
The U.S. government on Thursday issued a declaration on the responsible use of artficial intelligence (AI) in the military, which would include "human accountability."
10 mai 2023 | International, Naval
The unit aims to leverage reservists' contacts in the business and tech worlds to quickly solve modernization problems.
9 juillet 2020 | International, Aérospatial, Naval
Leverages Navy investments to bring significant leap in training capabilities to the Air Force sooner Provides a digital foundation for secure cross-service air combat training and joint Live, Virtual, and Constructive-enabled capabilities CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa (July 7, 2020) – The U.S. Air Force has joined the U.S. Navy's Tactical Combat Training System Increment II (TCTS Inc. II) program, making it a collaborative effort to field a next-generation air combat training solution. Developed and built by Collins Aerospace Systems, TCTS Inc. II is a scalable and flexible Multiple Independent Levels of Security (MILS)-based open architecture system that enables highly-secure air combat training between US and international aircraft, including advanced 5th generation platforms. Collins Aerospace is a unit of Raytheon Technologies Corp. (NYSE: RTX). By making it a collaborative effort, the Air Force leverages investments already made by the Navy to deliver a significant leap in training capabilities sooner and at less cost. The Air Force will call this the P6 Combat Training System (P6CTS), which will significantly improve training realism in simulated, highly-contested combat environments and allow pilots to ‘train as they fight'. “This capability can't be overstated. The TCTS Inc. II and P6CTS programs will enable joint tactics, techniques and procedures in a secure environment against a peer adversary threat, unlike anything the services have been able to do in the past. We're excited about the potential," said Heather Robertson, vice president and general manager, Integrated Solutions for Collins Aerospace. P6CTS fills gaps from currently fielded air combat training equipment such as encrypted time, space, position information (TSPI), multi-level security, and mesh networking waveform enabling services to move faster toward next-gen capabilities that will increase mission readiness. This collaboration lays the digital foundation for bringing secure, cross-service air combat and joint Live, Virtual, and Constructive training to the U.S. and its allies in 2022. With an open systems architecture that is conformant with the Future Airborne Capability Environment (FACE™) standard, TCTS Inc. II ensures interoperability between platforms, reducing test time and ultimately increasing rapid, affordable deployment of the solution. Collins Aerospace recently announced the completion of the first pre-production TCTS Inc. II training pod, a key component of the solution that provides connectivity to and from the aircraft for data and weapons activity during training exercises. This pre-production maturity will enable early Air Force fielding of P6CTS to all 55 training ranges. About Collins Aerospace Collins Aerospace Systems is a leader in technologically advanced and intelligent solutions for the global aerospace and defense industry. Collins Aerospace has the capabilities, comprehensive portfolio and expertise to solve customers' toughest challenges and to meet the demands of a rapidly evolving global market. With 2019 net sales of approximately $26 billion, the business has 78,000 employees across more than 300 locations globally. It is one of the four businesses that form Raytheon Technologies. About Raytheon Technologies Raytheon Technologies Corporation is an aerospace and defense company that provides advanced systems and services for commercial, military and government customers worldwide. With 195,000 employees and four industry-leading businesses ― Collins Aerospace Systems, Pratt & Whitney, Raytheon Intelligence & Space and Raytheon Missiles & Defense ― the company delivers solutions that push the boundaries in avionics, cybersecurity, directed energy, electric propulsion, hypersonics, and quantum physics. The company, formed in 2020 through the combination of Raytheon Company and the United Technologies Corporation aerospace businesses, is headquartered in Waltham, Massachusetts. https://www.collinsaerospace.com/newsroom/News/2020/07/US-Air-Force-joins-Navy-TCTS-II-program-field-next-gen-air-combat-training-Collins