2 octobre 2020 | International, C4ISR

US Army to upgrade bigger units with new electronic warfare gear

WASHINGTON — In what some observers might view as back to the future, the U.S. Army is altering the way it fights to keep up with sophisticated adversaries, which means shifting from the brigade-centered focus of the last decade to bringing the division and corps levels into the fold.

As a result, new capabilities are under development to increase range, fight deeper and bolster presence on the nonphysical battlefield, such as the electromagnetic spectrum.

Officials said a fight against a nation-state like Russia or China must begin at the corps level, where the focus is destroying high-priority systems to lay the groundwork for lower echelons. They added that the corps level must eliminate these targets first, passing them to the lower echelons to include division and brigade, which are both designed for a closer fight to move the enemy back.

“We have got to be able to see deep. If we don't have the ability to sense at the corps level, really what we're doing is we're deferring that fight down to the brigade level,” Col. Clint Tracy, III Corps cyber and electromagnetic activities chief, said during a Sept. 29 virtual panel hosted by the Association of Old Crows. “If we build the other way up, from the brigades to corps ... they may not necessarily be equipped without additional enablers to kill those things in the battlespace.”

Enter what officials are calling the Terrestrial Layer System-Echelons Above Brigade, or TLS-EAB, formerly referred to as TLS-Extended Range.

Army leaders this week detailed the first initial notional concepts and timeline for the new capability, which will be mainly a division and corps asset capable of reaching and prosecuting targets that the TLS system at the brigade combat team level cannot.

“TLS-EAB is intended to provide commanders at echelons above brigade the ability to sense, provide improved precision geolocation, conduct non-kinetic fires and support kinetic targeting for a broad coverage of targets ... [that] are unreachable by TLS at BCT,” Col. Jennifer McAfee, Army capability manager for terrestrial layer and identity, said during the same event. TLS-BCT, or Terrestrial Layer System-Brigade Combat Team, is the Army's first brigade-focused, integrated signals intelligence, electronic warfare and cyber platform.

“TLS-EAB also provides defensive electronic attack to protect our critical nodes, i.e., our command posts and other critical nodes vulnerable to the adversary's precision fires,” McAfee added.

She also said TLS-EAB will address several gaps in large-scale combat operations to include deep sensing to help target enemy systems in anti-access/area denial environments, and to conduct reconnaissance and security at long ranges.

It will also provide capabilities for signals intelligence and electronic warfare teams within the Multidomain Task Force's Intelligence, Information, Cyber, Electronic Warfare and Space (I2CEWS) battalion, as well as signals intelligence and electronic warfare battalions at the division and corps levels.

How is TLS-EAB different from existing capabilities?

The key difference between TLS-EAB and other electronic warfare, intelligence and cyber platforms — both airborne or ground-based — is that the former protects static assets from enemy missiles and unmanned systems that use radar fusing and homing.

Officials said the new system will be broken into two broad threat categories: the aforementioned protection against precision-guided munitions dependent on the electromagnetic spectrum; and theater, corps and division targets to include ISR, command and control, low- and mid-altitude beyond-line-of-sight comminutions, navigation, and air and ground radars.

The service will achieve these effects through advanced electronic attack techniques, radio frequency-delivered cyber effects, military information support operations (formerly called psychological operations), and the deception of adversary sensors.

More granularly, TLS-EAB will be broken into two subsystems for those two missions: one for long-range collection, electronic support and effects; and one for defensive electronic attack. Each will include a trailer attached to the eventual vehicle the Army determines for TLS-EAB.

While a specific platform hasn't specifically been identified for TLS-EAB, officials said they are eyeing something wheeled from the family of medium tactical vehicles.

Interoperability and long range

Moreover, the system will connect with other reconnaissance systems in an attempt to shorten the sensor-to-shooter timeline, which involves rapidly delivery sensitive data from sensors to the platforms or individuals who take action.

These include the Tactical Intelligence Targeting Access Node, or TITAN; the Multidomain Sensing System; TLS-BCT; the Electronic Planning and Management Tool; the Multifunction Electronic Warfare-Air Large; and the integrated tactical network.

TLS-EAB is one of the top priorities of the Army's ISR Task Force, which is modernizing the service's ability to see across huge ranges through a layered approach that involves the ground, air and space domains.

U.S. adversaries have invested in capabilities that aim to keep forces at bay, such as advanced missiles and radars. To allow American forces to penetrate those capabilities and move back ground-based adversaries, larger echelons such as the corps must be able to see and understand these regions in full, which could be over thousands of miles.

This also means sifting through all the noise in the congested electromagnetic spectrum to understand and prioritize specific targets.

As such, the corps level must see more of the spectrum than the brigade, said Tracy of III Corps, because if the higher echelons did their jobs right, there shouldn't be a whole lot left for brigades to deal with in the non-kinetic realm when they are eventually deployed.

Timeline

Units aren't expected to first receive TLS-EAB until at least fiscal 2022, the same year as TLS-BCT.

The current plan outlined by officials, which they stressed is all notional, is to have a total of 67 TLS-EABs: four per I2CEWS equaling 16; three per corps equaling nine; four per division equaling 40; and two at training locations.

The sketch provided by Army leaders is an industry day in January, with a draft request for proposals set for February and bids in October.

https://www.c4isrnet.com/electronic-warfare/2020/10/01/us-army-to-upgrade-bigger-units-with-new-electronic-warfare-gear/

Sur le même sujet

30 avril 2019 | International, Aérospatial, Naval, Terrestre, C4ISR, Sécurité, Autre défense

Contract Awards by US Department of Defense - April 29, 2019
AIR FORCE The Boeing Co., Seattle, Washington, has been awarded a $5,700,000,000 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for KC-46 Pegasus Combat Capability (PC2). This contract provides for a broad range of post-production related non-recurring and recurring requirements centered on user-directed and Federal Aviation Administration-mandated KC-46 air vehicle needs. Work will be performed in Seattle, Washington, and is expected to be complete by April 28, 2029. This award is the result of a sole-source acquisition. Fiscal 2018 research, development, test, and evaluation funds in the amount of $9,121,895 are being obligated on the first delivery order at the time of award. Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, is the contracting activity (FA8609-19-D-0007). AAI Corp., doing business as Textron Systems, Hunt Valley, Maryland, has been awarded a $19,592,850 firm-fixed-price non-commercial requirements contract for the Joint Service Electronic Combat Systems Tester (JSECST). This contract provides for the production of the base JSECST, the laboratory JSECST and retrofit kits used on many aircraft, such as F-15, F-16, A-10, CV-22, C-130, UH-47, UH-60, F/A-18 and AV-8B. Work will be performed in Hunt Valley, Maryland, and is expected to be complete by April 28, 2021. This award is the result of a sole-source acquisition. No funds are being obligated at time of award. Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Automated Test Sets Contracting Division, Robins Air Force Base, Georgia, is the contracting activity (FA8533-19-D-0005). NAVY Lockheed Martin Corp., Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Co., Fort Worth, Texas, is awarded a $1,148,847,334 cost-plus-incentive-fee, cost-plus-fixed-fee, firm-fixed-price, cost share contract for sustainment services in support of the F-35 Lightning II aircraft for the Air Force, Navy, non-U. S. Department of Defense (non-U.S. DoD) participants and Foreign Military Sales (FMS) customers. Services to be provided include ground maintenance activities, action request resolution, depot activation activities, Automatic Logistics Information System operation and maintenance; reliability, maintainability and health management implementation and support; supply chain management; and activities to provide and support pilot and maintainer initial training. Work will be performed in Fort Worth, Texas (60 percent); Orlando, Florida (24 percent); Greenville, South Carolina (7 percent); Samlesbury, Preston, United Kingdom (5 percent); and El Segundo, California (4 percent). Work is expected to be completed in December 2022. Fiscal 2019 operations and maintenance (Air Force, Navy/Marine Corps); non-U.S. DoD participant; and FMS funds in the amount of $1,135,420,262 will be obligated at time of award, $811,246,309 of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was not competitively procured pursuant to Federal Acquisition Regulation 6.302-1. This contract combines purchases for the Air Force ($477,920,120; 41.60 percent); Navy ($346,753,261; 30.18 percent); non-U.S. DoD participants ($231,207,693; 20.13 percent); and FMS customers ($92,966,260; 8.09 percent). The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity (N00019-19-C-1022). Northrop Grumman Systems Corp., Aerospace Systems, Melbourne, Florida, is awarded $38,775,625 for cost-plus-fixed-fee modification P00007 to a previously awarded contract (N00019-18-C-1037) to procure the product support and software support activity efforts for the E-2D Advanced Hawkeye full-rate production Lot 7. Work will be performed in Melbourne, Florida (72 percent); Liverpool, New York (14 percent); St. Augustine, Florida (5 percent); Norfolk, Virginia (5 percent); Greenlawn, New York (2 percent); Woodland Hills; California (1 percent); and Indianapolis, Indiana (1 percent), and is expected to be completed in April 2020. Fiscal 2019 aircraft procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $38,775,625 will be obligated at time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity. Mancon LLC, Virginia Beach, Virginia, is awarded $30,000,000 for an indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity, fixed-price contract that includes provisions for economic price adjustment to acquire supplies and provide related store operation services required by Naval Supply Systems Command Fleet Logistics Center Norfolk for two commercial retail stores on the Naval Support Activity, Crane, Indiana, for materials needed by the Naval Facilities Command Public Works Department. The contract includes a five-year base ordering period with an option to extend services for a six-month ordering period pursuant to Federal Acquisition Regulation 52.217-8 which if exercised, the total value of this contract will be $33,263,944. All work will be performed in Crane, Indiana. The ordering period is expected to be completed by April 2024; if the option is exercised, work will be completed by October 2024. Fiscal 2018 working capital funds (Defense) in the amount of $100,000 will be obligated to fund the contract's minimum amount, and funds will expire at the end of fiscal 2019. This contract was competitively procured with the solicitation posted to the Federal Business Opportunities website, with five offers received. Naval Supply Systems Command Fleet Logistics Center Norfolk, Contracting Department, Norfolk, Virginia, is the contracting activity (N00189-19-D-0008). Bell Boeing Joint Project Office, Amarillo, Texas, is awarded $29,772,039 for cost-plus-fixed-fee modification to order N61340-18-F-0001 against a previously issued basic ordering agreement (N00019-17-G-0002). This order provides software and hardware upgrades for 13 flight training devices to modernize critical system components in the MV-22 simulator to increase training fidelity for aircrew and maximize training capability. Work will be performed in Jacksonville, North Carolina (42 percent); Miramar, California (24 percent); Quantico, Virginia (13 percent); Okinawa, Japan (13 percent); Chantilly, Virginia (5 percent); Fort Worth, Texas (2 percent); and Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (1 percent), and is expected to be completed in December 2024. Fiscal 2019 aircraft procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $29,772,039 will be obligated at time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Warfare Center Training Systems Division, Orlando, Florida, is the contracting activity. Raytheon Missile Systems, Tucson, Arizona, is awarded $19,530,007 for modification P00006 to a previously awarded cost-plus-incentive-fee contract (N00019-18-C-0088) for the engineering and manufacturing development and payload integration of the Miniature Air Launched Decoy-Navy. Work will be performed in Tucson, Arizona (50 percent); and Goleta, California (50 percent), and is expected to be completed in October 2019. Fiscal 2019 research, development, test and evaluation (Navy) funds in the amount of $9,765,002 will be obligated at time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity. ARMY Raytheon Co., Dulles, Virginia, was awarded a $663,060,634 firm-fixed-price contract for Troposcatter Transmission System, spares, repairs, warranty, system engineering, field support, training and sustainment. Bids were solicited via the internet with two received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of April 25, 2029. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland, is the contracting activity (W15P7T-19-D-0218). (Awarded April 26, 2019) The Boeing Co., Mesa, Arizona, was awarded a $171,887,544 hybrid (cost, cost-plus-fixed-fee, and firm-fixed-price) contract for performance based logistics service in support of the AH-64E Apache attack helicopter fleet. One bid was solicited with one bid received. Work will be performed in Mesa, Arizona, with an estimated completion date of April 30, 2020. Fiscal 2018 working capital funds in the amount of $63,779,957 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, is the contracting activity (W58RGZ-19-C-0024). (Awarded April 26, 2019) Golden Valley Electric Association, Fairbanks, Alaska, was awarded a $40,964,160 firm-fixed-price contract for electric utility service. Work will be performed in Fort Wainwright, Alaska, with an estimated completion date of April 30, 2029. Fiscal 2019 operations and maintenance, Army funds in the amount of $653,355 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army 413th Contracting Support Battalion, Fort Wainwright, Alaska, is the contracting activity (W912D0-19-F-8U95). (Awarded April 26, 2019) The Boeing Co., Mesa, Arizona, was awarded a $39,478,219 modification (PZ0017) to Foreign Military Sales (Saudi Arabia) contract W58RGZ-17-C-0031 for post-production system support, which includes integrated product support, of the AH-64 aircraft in support of the Saudi Arabia National Guard. Work will be performed in Mesa, Arizona; Hazelwood, Missouri; and Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, with an estimated completion date of April 29, 2020. Fiscal 2019 foreign military sales funds in the amount of $39,478,219 were obligated at the time of the award. Army is the contracting activity. Lockheed Martin Corp., Orlando, Florida, was awarded a $30,794,224 modification (P00080) to Foreign Military Sales (Saudi Arabia) contract W31P4Q-15-C-0043 for Hellfire guided missile launcher and electronic assembly. Work will be performed in Orlando, Florida, with an estimated completion date of April 30, 2023. Fiscal 2010, 2011, 2017, 2018 and 2019 aircraft procurement, Army; operations and maintenance, Army; research, development, test and evaluation; foreign military sales; and other funds in the combined amount of $30,794,224 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, is the contracting activity. Maverick Constructors LLC,* Lutz, Florida (W911YN-19-D-0001); ABBA Construction Inc.,* Jacksonville, Florida (W911YN-19-D-0002); Warden Construction Corp.,* Jacksonville, Florida (W911YN-19-D-0003); D & M Construction Group Inc.,* Gainesville, Florida (W911YN-19-D-0004); J.A.M. Construction Services Inc.,* Merritt Island, Florida (W911YN-19-D-0005); Core Engineering & Construction Inc.,* Winter Park, Florida (W911YN-19-D-0006); Johnson-Laux Construction LLC,* Orlando, Florida (W911YN-19-D-0007); and E.L.C.I. Construction Group Inc., North Miami, Florida (W911YN-19-D-0008), will compete for each order of the $30,000,000 firm-fixed-price contract for construction projects in support of the Florida National Guard. Bids were solicited via the internet with 28 received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of April 25, 2024. U.S. Property and Fiscal Office of Florida is the contracting activity. (Awarded April 26, 2019) Saint-Gobain Performance Plastics, Merrimack, New Hampshire, was awarded a $19,491,157 firm-fixed-price contract for protective fabric shelter kits. One bid was solicited with one bid received. Work will be performed in Merrimack, New Hampshire, with an estimated completion date of April 28, 2024. Fiscal 2018 other procurement, Army funds in the amount of $1,681,301 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Rock Island Arsenal, Illinois, is the contracting activity (W52P1J-19-D-3013). JCB Inc., Pooler, Georgia, was awarded a $17,071,687 modification (P00001) to contract W56HZV-19-F-0046 for High Mobility Engineer Excavator vehicles. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of Jan 31, 2021. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Warren, Michigan, is the contracting activity. (Awarded April 26, 2019) System Studies & Simulation Inc., Huntsville, Alabama, was awarded a $12,364,338 modification (0004 19) to contract W31P4Q-09-A-0019 for technical support services. Work will be performed in Huntsville, Alabama, with an estimated completion date of March 31, 2020. Fiscal 2020 and 2021 other procurement; and research, development, test and evaluation funds in the amount of $12,364,338 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, is the contracting activity. Travis Association for the Blind, Austin, Texas, was awarded an $11,287,227 modification (P00003) to contract W56HZV-18-C-0067 for the repair, cleaning, warehousing, and distribution of organizational clothing and individual equipment. Work will be performed in Austin, Texas, with an estimated completion date of April 30, 2020. Fiscal 2019 operations and maintenance, Army funds in the amount of $11,287,227 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Warren, Michigan, is the contracting activity. PAE Government Systems Inc., Arlington, Virginia, was awarded an $8,153,796 modification (P00011) to Foreign Military Sales (Afghanistan) contract for the National Maintenance Strategy Ground Vehicle Support effort. Work will be performed in Kabul, Afghanistan, with an estimated completion date of Aug. 30, 2022. Fiscal 2019 other procurement, Army funds in the amount of $8,153,796 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Warren, Michigan, is the contracting activity. (Awarded April 26, 2019) MISSILE DEFENSE AGENCY Raytheon Missile Systems Co., Tucson, Arizona, is being awarded $26,991,627 for a modification (P00155) to the previously awarded sole-source, cost-plus-incentive-fee Standard Missile-3 Block IIA contract (HQ0276-10-C-0005). This modification provides for additional Ballistic Missile Defense upgrades and flight test support. The work will be performed in Tucson, Arizona, with an expected completion date of June 2020. Fiscal 2019 research, development, test and evaluation funds in the amount of $15,858,243 will be obligated at time of award. The modification increases the total cumulative face value of the contract by $26,991,627 (from $2,105,137,599 to $2,132,129,227). The Missile Defense Agency, Dahlgren, Virginia, is the contracting activity. DEFENSE INFORMATION SYSTEMS AGENCY Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI), Atlanta, Georgia, was awarded a sole source, non-commercial, cost-plus-fixed fee contract on April 28, 2019, in support of the Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) National Leadership Capability Command office. This contract will provide for development and deployment of the Secure Integration Cloud, the Joint Access Database Environment and the encompassing system architecture known as Secure Web Services. The face value of this action is $8,508,928 funded by fiscal 2019 operations and maintenance funds. The total cumulative face value is $48,248,311. Performance will be at the contractor's facility. Proposal was issued via request for proposal, and one proposal was received from GTRI. This was a sole-source requirement sent to Georgia Tech Applied Research Corp. The period of performance is for a base period of 12 months beginning April 28, 2019, and two 6-month option periods through April 27, 2021. The DISA/Defense Information Technology Contracting Organization, Scott Air Force Base, Illinois, is the contracting activity (HC1028-19-C-0008). *Small business https://dod.defense.gov/News/Contracts/Contract-View/Article/1829432/source/GovDelivery/
18 février 2022 | International, Aérospatial

Airbus completes midair automatic refueling trials with Singapore's F-16, preps for tests with F-15
The A3R system automatically flies the boom and maintains alignment between the boom tip and the receiver receptacle with an accuracy of a couple of centimeters.
14 août 2018 | International, Aérospatial

New defense budget bill foresees US-Israel counter-drone cooperation
By: Seth J. Frantzman JERUSALEM — For the first time, the National Defense Authorization Act includes a section on U.S.-Israel cooperation in countering unmanned aerial systems, in the fiscal 2019 version. The cooperation will identify “capability gaps” of the U.S. and Israel in countering UAVs and seek out projects to address those gaps to strengthen U.S. and Israeli security. The new cooperation envisions funding for research and development efforts and identifying costs that foresee close cooperation modeled on previous successful programs that Israel and the U.S. have collaborated on, including missile defense and anti-tunneling initiatives. Israel and the U.S. have been at the forefront of air defense cooperation for decades. U.S. Reps. Charlie Crist and Mike Johnson introduced in February a bill titled “United States-Israel Joint Drone Detection Cooperation Act.” Parts of the bill were included in the NDAA passed in both houses of Congress in July. “I am honored to have our bill included in the NDAA and to see it signed into law by President [Donald] Trump. This is an important step not only for our strongest ally in the Middle East but for the United States as well,” Johnson said in July. The president signed the NDAA into law on the afternoon of Aug. 13. The initiative foresees “joint research and development to counter unmanned aerial vehicles [which] will serve the national security interests of the United States and Israel.” Included as Section 1272 of the final NDAA presented to the president on Aug. 3, the cooperation contains five parts, including identification of the capability gaps that exist, identifying cooperative projects that would address the gaps, assessing the costs of the research and development, and assessing the costs of procuring and fielding the capabilities developed. Reports on the cooperation will be submitted to the congressional defense committees, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and the House Foreign Affairs Committee. The threat of drones has increased in recent years. On Feb. 10 an Iranian-made drone entered Israeli airspace near the northern town of Beit Shean. It had flown from the T4 air base in Syria. Israel identified and tracked the drone from Syria and sent an Apache helicopter to shoot it down. The drone was revealed to be armed with explosives. Former Mossad chief Danny Yatom said in an interview in April that the drone was sophisticated and “an exact replica of the U.S. drone that fell in their territory,” referring to the American RQ-170 Sentinel, which was downed in Iran in 2011. Iran developed two drones based on the Sentinel, one called Shahed 171 and an armed version dubbed Saeqeh, which debuted in 2016. In 2012, Hezbollah used a drone to try to carry out surveillance of the Dimona nuclear reactor in southern Israel. “It's not the first time and it will not be the last,” warned Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah. Conflict Armament Research reported in March 2017 that kamikaze drones using Iranian technology were being used by Houthi rebels in Yemen against Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. The UAE has sought to bring attention to this threat during the conflict in Yemen, in which a Riyadh-led coalition is fighting the Houthis. Drones were also used by the Islamic State group to attack U.S.-led coalition forces in Syria and Iraq. And Afghan officials reported an Iranian drone entered their airspace in August 2017. In September 2017, Israel used a Patriot missile to down a Hezbollah drone. Israel used Patriotmissiles twice to down Syrian UAVs near the Golan Heights demilitarized zone in July 2018. The U.S. reportedly used an F-15E Eagle to shoot down an Iranian-made Shahed 129 drone in June 2017 in Syria. The drone was heading for the U.S. base at Tanf, which is located in Syria near the Jordanian border. A systematic examination of the emerging drone threat is in the works. The U.S. Defense Department has been allocating resources to counter UAVs, with U.S. Central Command requesting up to $332 million over the next five years for efforts to counter drones. The U.S. Army has been looking for new missiles to defend against a variety of threats, including drones. This will include the Expanded Mission Area Missile and may include other Israel missiles such as the Tamir interceptor for use with a multimission launcher. https://www.defensenews.com/unmanned/2018/08/13/new-defense-budget-bill-foresees-us-israel-counter-drone-cooperation/

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US Army to upgrade bigger units with new electronic warfare gear

Sur le même sujet

Airbus completes midair automatic refueling trials with Singapore's F-16, preps for tests with F-15 The A3R system automatically flies the boom and maintains alignment between the boom tip and the receiver receptacle with an accuracy of a couple of centimeters.

Airbus completes midair automatic refueling trials with Singapore's F-16, preps for tests with F-15
The A3R system automatically flies the boom and maintains alignment between the boom tip and the receiver receptacle with an accuracy of a couple of centimeters.