21 octobre 2020 | International, Aérospatial, C4ISR
The Air Force is in the market for upgrades to its counter-drone technologies, according to an Oct. 16 request for information posted on a federal contracting website.
The service is in the early stages of deploying lasers, microwaves, and other weapons more advanced than a shotgun to deal with potentially threatening drones loitering around bases. In particular, the RFI is looking for ideas to fend off the smallest unmanned aerial systems like quadcopters.
“These threats may have characteristics such as small size, low radar cross-sections, low infrared or radio frequency signatures (or no RF signatures), ability to hover, and low-altitude flight capability, which may render them difficult to detect and/or defeat,” the Air Force stated. “These UAS are typically either controlled remotely from a ground control station or capable of flying pre-planned routes.”
Cheap aircraft can be turned into battlefield weapons when modified to drop hand grenades, and they can spy on military installations or heavily damage jets if sucked into an engine. American military officials have warned for years that small drones pose a pervasive threat to troops in the Middle East.
Over the next year, the Air Force wants to pursue updates to counter-drone command-and-control, radar, and electronic warfare systems related to directed-energy weapons. It's soliciting concepts in 12 areas from lethality to crunching weather data. Responses are due Nov. 17.
For instance, the service suggests automating the process of targeting, tracking, and shooting at an incoming drone instead of relying as heavily on a human operator.
“At a minimum, the ideal configuration is for [a high-energy laser] system to have its beam director/optics automate all steps between acquisition, tracking, aimpoint selection, and only requires a human to interact with it through final approval to fire from operator/battle commander,” the RFI said.
The service also considers being able to compile and send reports with the details of drone threats and conflicts to other units, which could give the military a better understanding of an enemy in a particular area.
Pentagon researchers are looking into several different counter-UAS system designs spanning the weapons themselves to the subsystems that point and shoot them. The Air Force is currently testing high-powered lasers and microwaves overseas while it takes less-destructive approaches—like using gun-fired nets to trap quadcopters—in the continental U.S.
https://www.airforcemag.com/usaf-scoping-out-upgrades-to-counter-uas-weapons/
7 juillet 2021 | International, Aérospatial, Naval, Terrestre, C4ISR, Sécurité
Huntington Ingalls Industries has announced an agreement to buy Alion Science and Technology for $1.65 billion in cash from Veritas Capital ― the latest in a string of acquisitions for the military shipbuilding titan.
18 juin 2024 | International, Terrestre, C4ISR
The agreement covers the initial provision of over 3,500 SquadNet tactical radios and around 2,500 radios from the SYNAPS product family.
29 juillet 2020 | International, Naval
By: Mike Yeo MELBOURNE, Australia — Singapore's ST Engineering believes that a new joint venture with Israel Aerospace Industries, to market and sell advanced naval missile systems, will leverage both companies' strengths and track records to address a growing demand for guided munitions. The joint venture, announced in mid-July, is called Proteus Advanced Systems, with ST Engineering's land systems arm and IAI each having a 50 percent share. According to the news release announcing the joint venture, the new entity will “market and sell advanced naval missile systems, including a next generation anti-ship missile system.” ST Engineering confirmed to Defense News that its next generation anti-ship missile is called the Blue Spear, a system that it says it has been working with IAI over the past few years, although it declined to divulge the exact timeline. A spokesperson from the company added that Blue Spear, which was also known as the 5G SSM, is “is an anti-ship missile system that introduces an advanced and novel approach which addresses the challenges of the modern naval arena for years to come,” and confirmed reports elsewhere that ST Engineering's role in the Blue Spear's development includes the design, development and production of major subsystems like the booster motor and warhead. The spokesperson added that the land systems arm of the company, ST Engineering Land Systems, was chosen to participate in the development of the missile as it “has been in the business of conventional munitions for many years.” The division has manufactured NATO-standard ammunition for small arms and artillery systems, and has been involved in license-production of both the Rafael Spike anti-tank and the Russian 9K38 Igla surface-to-air missiles used by Singapore's military. No other technical details of the Blue Spear were made available. IAI has previously developed the Gabriel family of anti-ship missiles, with the latest being the Gabriel 5, which the Israeli company says is designed to penetrate modern hard- and soft-kill anti-missile defenses. ST Engineering says that the development of the Blue Spear and the formation of the joint venture was a commercial venture by both companies and is “not driven by any ongoing customer requirement.” However it has not escaped notice that the Republic of Singapore Navy's current anti-ship missile is the Boeing RGM-84C Harpoon, a weapon that was introduced in the early 1980s. The Harpoon is used by Singapore's six Formidable-class multi-role frigates and a similar number of Victory-class missile corvettes, while the air-launched AGM-84C can be carried by Singapore's Fokker 50 maritime patrol aircraft and its Lockheed-Martin F-16C/D multi-role fighter jets. The service plans to buy six multi-role combat vessels, starting the middle of this decade, to replace its missile corvettes, and will almost certainly equip these with a new anti-ship missile given several of Singapore's neighbours are introducing much more modern capabilities. The Singaporean frigates, which entered service between 2007 and 2009, will likely receive new missiles in the future as part of a continuing program to refresh its capabilities. Singapore's defense ministry has yet to respond to questions from Defense News about potentially acquiring a new anti-ship weapon. Singapore and Israel have enjoyed a close defense relationship spanning several decades, with the latter providing extensive assistance in setting up Singapore's military when it became independence in 1965. The relationship extends to both countries defense industries, and Singapore is a major user of Israeli defense equipment although the relationship is usually kept low-profile. https://www.defensenews.com/global/asia-pacific/2020/07/28/singapore-israeli-firms-team-to-develop-new-ship-killing-missile/