30 mars 2022 | International, Terrestre

US Army's $178 billion FY23 budget protects modernization, cuts end strength

The U.S. Army's fiscal 2023 budget request is only a 1.7% increase over the FY22 enacted budget for a total of $178 billion but service officials say the request preserves its modernization efforts and its readiness for another year while reducing its end strength by 12,000 troops in order to preserve quality.

https://www.defensenews.com/land/2022/03/28/us-armys-178-billion-fy23-budget-protects-modernization-cuts-end-strength/

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  • Failure to communicate: US Navy seeks faster data transfers amid Arctic ice

    13 mai 2020 | International, Naval, C4ISR

    Failure to communicate: US Navy seeks faster data transfers amid Arctic ice

    Andrew Eversden WASHINGTON — Research in the Arctic Ocean is no small feat. The area can prove inaccessible at times, and sensors can fail to communicate data from under the ice or get crushed by slabs of ice. But with the Arctic getting warmer and ice melting at an accelerated rate, the U.S. Navy is preparing to operate in newly available waterways. To do that effectively, the service knows it will take intense research to create durable, innovative solutions that can withstand harsh conditions, while also relaying data to researchers. “If the Navy's thinking about having to run operations up there with submarines, surface vessels and aircraft, you really need to understand that operational environment,” Scott Harper, the Office of Naval Research's program manager for Arctic and global prediction, told Defense News in a May 4 interview. “Where is that sea ice and how quickly is it retreating? And what is it doing to the upper water column in the ocean? "To really understand all that, you need to have a lot of observations.” Navy and academic researchers are working together to improve the service's forecasting models in the Arctic. The Navy currently has research buoys, sensors and other technology floating in the water to track a variety of metrics: waves, atmospheric and water circulation, sea ice thickness and cover, speed at which the ice moves, and several other factors. All those metrics factor into Arctic forecasting. In order to improve its forecasting capabilities, the Navy needs to improve its numerical models, or complex equations used in predictions. But to do that, the service needs more up-to-date data. “These numerical models are kind of like balancing your checkbook,” Harper said. “You need to start with what your current checking account balances [to[ if you're going to predict what it's going to be at the end of the month. And so even if you had a perfect numerical model that you could use to make a forecast, if you don't know what the conditions are right now, you're not going to be able to forecast what the future state is going to be.” To do this, the Navy wants to more quickly collect data through an effort called the Arctic Mobile Observing System, or AMOS. The program aims to create near-real-time data transmission of the sea condition under the ice, and communicate that information to the Navy via satellite. “You have satellites that can look down at the surface of the Arctic Ocean and the sea ice conditions,” Harper said. “But what we don't have [is] the ability to look under the ice and understand what the ocean conditions are, and that's what we're really trying to enable with Arctic Mobile Observing System prototype.” The AMOS program has deployed gliders underneath the sea that are collecting and storing data about the oceanic conditions under the ice, and tracking the location of frozen water using acoustics. In a few months, Harper said, researchers will send an icebreaker to the Arctic and gather the data collected by the gliders. The Office of Naval Resarch, however, would like to bypass the multi-month delay involved in collected the data. To do so, the office plans to enable two-way communication so underwater sensors can communicate data via floating buoys in the ice that, in turn, communicate the data via satellites back to the Naval Oceanographic Office. The project is currently two years into the five-year project. According to the project website, it's slated to end in fiscal 2023 with the recovery and evaluation of the initial prototype in the late summer of 2023. Harper said the project's biggest success has been the navigation system that's currently working underneath the ocean surface. “The fact that we can put sensors out that will know where they are without having to come to the surface to get a GPS fix — because they can't come to the surface because there's sea ice there for nine months out of the year," he said. "That's a big win.” Another critical component to the real-time data collection are the buoys that ultimately must be able to survive the cruel nature of Arctic ice. The AMOS team has deployed prototypes of “ice-hardened” buoys that survived “multiple months” in the Arctic environment, Harper said, paving the way for a fully equipped communications buoy that can talk with underwater sensors. “You can go out there and you can put your sensors in the ice, but a lot of times they'll fail,” Harper said. “And they'll fail because they'll get crushed in the ice or tipped over or toppled by changing ice conditions. And so the ability to deploy a buoy that is robust enough to survive the sea ice is one of the technological hurdles to doing this.” https://www.c4isrnet.com/smr/frozen-pathways/2020/05/11/failure-to-communicate-us-navy-seeks-faster-data-transfers-amid-arctic-ice/

  • Pentagon Rethinks Troubled F-35 Logistics System

    13 août 2020 | International, Aérospatial

    Pentagon Rethinks Troubled F-35 Logistics System

    Lee Hudson August 12, 2020 The Pentagon is in the early stages of replacing the troubled Lockheed Martin F-35's autonomous logistics system with a new, cloud-based network, and hopes to get it up and running by the end of 2022. The Operational Data Integrated Network (ODIN) is intended to reduce workload and increase F-35 mission readiness rates by using a smaller, deployable, commercial and cloud-native architecture. Right now, F-35 users operate the Autonomic Logistics Information System (ALIS) that collects inflight information for maintainers to predict part failures. However, the problem-plagued logistics system has encountered numerous issues that range from directing unnecessary maintenance actions, taking too long to boot up and time-consuming data entry. For example, users told the Government Accountability Office (GAO) that electronic records are frequently corrupt or missing, resulting in ALIS signaling the jet should not fly. This occurs in cases where maintainers know the aircraft is safe for flight. Maintainers at one location told the GAO they experienced as many as 400 issues per week for one six-month period in 2019. The F-35 Joint Program Office (JPO) plans to begin installing hardware this September that can run software from both the legacy and new systems until ODIN is deployed fully. ODIN initial delivery is planned for September 2021. ODIN hardware is designed to have a 75% smaller footprint than the legacy system, and be approximately 94% lighter—50 lb. compared with 891 lb. Another radical difference between the two systems is F-35 prime contractor Lockheed owns ALIS development and the new network is being developed by the JPO. The JPO is using agile software development tools that allow rapid updates and improvements like how Apple updates its iPhones, while Lockheed employs waterfall development that allows for updates every 12-18 months. In January, the JPO hit its first milestone by moving existing F-35 data into a new, integrated environment that will support applications designed by organizations such as Kessel Run, one of the Air Force's software factories. Kessel Run formed a team called Mad Hatter and tasked it to build software applications to render F-35 logistics more user-friendly. A key complaint about ALIS was the lack of realistic operational requirements. In other words, user needs can become outdated. To address this shortcoming, the JPO partner nations agreed in January to update a requirements document for ODIN annually—if needed. Instead of crafting a rigid requirements document that will be outdated in 10 years, the new strategy calls for updating protocols based on reality, according to a program office maintenance systems expert. This strategy complies with the software acquisition policy of Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment Ellen Lord. It calls for the users, developers and software designers to come together and produce a customer-centric design as development progresses. The requirements document features six capability needs: deployment planning and execution; unit maintenance planning; sortie generation; sustainment readiness; information management, and ODIN support. The document also includes 43 performance measurements that the JPO will use as metrics to track ODIN development. Beyond better programmatic planning, the Pentagon is facing a considerable obstacle as it transitions from ALIS to ODIN. The JPO is having trouble receiving technical data from Lockheed, Lord told the House Committee on Oversight and Reform. “While the department recognizes industry's interest in protecting intellectual property, there is technical data that the department has rights to and needs in order to enable effective organic sustainment,” Lord noted in written testimony submitted to the committee. In response to Lord's comments, Lockheed noted the company does not own all the logistics system's intellectual-property and data rights. “ALIS software is also government-owned, per contract requirements with Lockheed, and our suppliers retaining intellectual property and data rights to portions of software that were developed using industry's investment funds is in accordance with the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulations Supplement,” Lockheed spokesman Brett Ashworth tells Aviation Week. The Pentagon's overarching goal is to drive down F-35 sustainment pricing, which is where most of a program's cost resides. The government is still upgrading ALIS, an effort known as ALIS Next, before ODIN comes online to manage costs. ALIS Next consists of more regular software updates, instead of the program's current 12-18 month cycle. An updated version of ALIS, known as 3.5, is outfitted with 300 stability fixes, says F-35 Program Executive Officer Lt. Gen. Eric Fick. Air Force software developers and Lockheed Martin personnel are simultaneously continuing to issue ALIS software patches. ALIS Next provides an opportunity to reduce the amount of administrative personnel needed to support the logistics system's operations in the field. An important step to lowering the overall F-35 sustainment price is reducing the cost per flying hour. The goal is for the F-35A conventional takeoff and landing jet, the most popular variant, was $25,000 by 2025. “We are confident $25,000 is attainable, but it will require collaboration with the JPO, services, allies and our industry partners to reduce overall cost,” Lockheed F-35 Vice President and General Manager Greg Ulmer submitted in written testimony to the House Committee on Oversight and Reform. Over the past five years, the company has reduced a portion of the F-35's operations and sustainment costs by 38%. Lockheed is responsible for 39% of all F-35 sustainment costs, according to Ulmer. The company estimates it will drive down controlled cost another 50% in the next five years, and it is working with the government to achieve similar savings on the remaining 61% of flight-hour costs that are under the purview of the Defense Department and propulsion suppliers. Although in its infancy, ODIN is set to be the cornerstone for the next major wave of F-35 sustainment improvements over the next two years as ALIS is retired. https://aviationweek.com/defense-space/aircraft-propulsion/pentagon-rethinks-troubled-f-35-logistics-system

  • U.S. Army extends contract for Bradley Fighting Vehicle upgrades

    9 octobre 2019 | International, Terrestre

    U.S. Army extends contract for Bradley Fighting Vehicle upgrades

    October 8, 2019 - The U.S. Army has awarded BAE Systems a contract modification worth up to $269 million for continued production of the Bradley Fighting Vehicle (BFV). The award for an additional 168 upgraded Bradley A4 Infantry Fighting Vehicles is part of the Army's combat vehicle modernization strategy and helps ensure force readiness of the Armored Brigade Combat Teams (ABCT). The Bradley A4 is equipped with an enhanced powertrain that maximizes mobility and increases engine horsepower, providing rapid movement in reaction to combat or other adverse situations. Wide angle Driver's Vision Enhancer, improved Force XXI Battle Command Bridge and Below (FBCB2) software integration improves friendly and enemy vehicle identification, enhancing situational awareness. The addition of a High Speed Slip Ring, greater network connectivity and Smart Displays that simultaneously display classified and unclassified information also improve situational awareness. “The Bradley is one of the most critical vehicles in the Army's ABCT today because it allows the Army to transport troops to the fight, and provide covering fire to suppress enemy vehicles and troops,” said Scott Davis, vice president of combat vehicle programs for BAE Systems. “Upgrading to the A4 configuration provides soldiers with more power to increase their speed and ability to integrate enhanced technology to ensure they maintain the advantage on the battlefield.” Previously awarded funding for initial production of 164 Bradley A4 vehicles allowed BAE Systems to begin production. The award of this option brings the total production funding to $578 million. It includes upgrades and associated spares of two Bradley variants: the M2A4 Infantry Fighting Vehicle and the M7A4 Fire Support Team Vehicle. BAE Systems is a premiere supplier of combat vehicles to the U.S. military and international customers. The company has an extensive manufacturing network across the United States and continues to invest in it. Work on the program will take place at Red River Army Depot in Texarkana, Texas, and BAE Systems' facilities in Aiken, South Carolina; Anniston, Alabama; Minneapolis, Minnesota; San Jose, California; Sterling Heights, Michigan; and York, Pennsylvania. View source version on BAE Systems: https://www.baesystems.com/en/article/u-s--army-extends-contract-for-bradley-fighting-vehicle-upgrades

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