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Turkish Aerospace, Aselsan ink $2B in deals to upgrade F-16 jets
The Biden administration has backed Turkey’s desire to buy 40 new F-16s as well as modernization kits from the U.S.
21 octobre 2020 | International, Aérospatial, C4ISR
USAF Scoping Out Upgrades to Counter-UAS Weapons
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/
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Milrem Robotics Led Consortium Awarded 30,6 MEUR by the European Commission to Develop a European Standardized Unmanned Ground System
June 17, 2020 - A consortium led by Milrem Robotics and composed of several major defence, communication and cybersecurity companies and high technology SMEs was awarded 30,6 MEUR from the European Commission's European Defence Industrial Development Programme (EDIDP) to develop a European standardized unmanned ground system. During the project, a modular and scalable architecture for hybrid manned-unmanned systems will be developed to standardize a European wide ecosystem for aerial and ground platforms, command, control and communication equipment, sensors, payloads, and algorithms. The prototype system will utilize an existing unmanned ground vehicle – Milrem Robotics' THeMIS – and a specific list of payloads. The outcome of the project will be demonstrated in operational environments and relevant climatic conditions as part of participating member states military exercises or at separate testing grounds. The total cost of the project, titled iMUGS (integrated Modular Unmanned Ground System), is 32,6 million euros of which 30,6 million will be provided by the European Commission. “Robotic and autonomous systems will tremendously enhance defence and military capabilities in the coming years all around the world. iMUGS is an excellent example of how Europe can utilize and develop high-end technologies as a joint effort while avoiding scattering activities and resources,” said Kuldar Väärsi, CEO of Milrem Robotics. “It is nice to see, that the European Defence Fund is efficiently consolidating the requirements of EU member states and the European industry's capabilities to increase defence capabilities and strategic autonomy. The European industry is determined and ready to provide efficient and deployable technologies already over the next three years in the course of this project,” Väärsi added. The project is led by Estonia and its technical requirements have also been agreed with Finland, Latvia, Germany, Belgium, France, and Spain who are planning on financing the remaining 2 MEUR of the projects budget. During the project operational know-how will be gathered and concepts for the combined engagement of manned and unmanned assets developed, while considering the ethical aspects applicable to robotics, artificial intelligence, and autonomous systems. State-of-the-art virtual and constructive simulation environments will also be set up. iMUGS will be a cooperation between 14 parties: Milrem Robotics (project coordinator), GT Cyber Technologies, Safran Electronics & Defense, NEXTER Systems, Krauss-Maffei Wegmann, Diehl Defence, Bittium Wireless, Insta DefSec, (Un)Manned, dotOcean, Latvijas Mobilais Telefons, GMV Aerospace and Defence, the Estonian Military Academy and Royal Military Academy of Belgium. Background The objectives of the EDIDP programme are to contribute to the strategic autonomy of the European Union and to strengthen the cooperation between Member States. The priorities include enabling high-end operations of military forces with special focus on intelligence and secured communications and cyber. Actions include development of next generation ground combat capabilities and solutions in Artificial Intelligence, Virtual Reality and Cyber technologies. View source version on Milrem Robotics: https://milremrobotics.com/milrem-robotics-led-consortium-awarded-306-meur-by-the-european-commission-to-develop-a-european-standardized-unmanned-ground-system/