4 novembre 2019 | International, Aérospatial
By Steve Trimble and Lee Hudson
The U.S. Air Force's vision to rapidly produce multiple fleets of advanced fighters the way Apple makes iPhones begins with an important change in plans for the secretive Next-Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) program.
For three years, the Air Force analyzed how to replace the Lockheed Martin F-22 by 2030. The original plan—defined as the Penetrating Counter-Air capability in the Air Superiority Flight Plan released in 2017—called for developing a conventional replacement for the F-22, with a next-generation F-X fighter featuring a dazzling array of new technologies, ranging from adaptive cycle propulsion to advanced weapons and new sensors.
As an extended, two-year-long analysis of alternatives neared a conclusion in mid-2018, the Air Force decided to shift to a new approach. The new strategy led Air Force leaders to drain about half of the $13.2 billion budget previously allocated to the NGAD program through fiscal 2024 in the Defense Department's five-year spending plan sent to Congress in March. Instead of launching full development of the F-X within that five-year window, the Air Force is developing a radical new aircraft design process—even as spending continues on deliveries of Lockheed F-35As, Boeing F-15EXs and a host of fighter upgrade programs.
“We're at a good point to attempt something new because we have hot production lines for fifth [generation fighters]. [And] fourth-gen fighters [are] going through major multibillion dollar modernizations,” says Will Roper, the assistant secretary of the U.S. Air Force for acquisition, technology and logistics.
“So it's a good time to try something new for a five-year window and see if we can create a new way to build airplanes for us that [is] between the building of one or two X-planes and the building of 1,000 units in a major defense acquisition program,” Roper, who is leading the new NGAD strategy, tells Aviation Week in an interview.
Roper's comments on the sidelines of Aviation Week's DefenseChain Conference on Oct. 22, help clarify the dramatic shifts within the classified NGAD program over the last year. The U.S. Air Force essentially has delayed F-X development beyond the five-year spending plan to provide a window of time to invent a new business model for the combat aircraft industry, one ideally suited for a new era of air warfare with peer adversaries.
The initiative will be supported by the new Program Executive Office for Advanced Aircraft that was established on Oct. 2. The office will be led by Col. Dale White, formerly the senior program director for the Northrop Grumman B-21 bomber development program at the Rapid Capabilities Office.
Roper's vision for NGAD calls for a sharp break from the conventional acquisition approach adopted for the B-21, with a single prime contractor responsible for the full aircraft lifecycle, including at least a 10- to 15-year period between an initial contract award and delivering an operational capability.
To Roper, the ideal model for NGAD is not another Western fighter program, but rather a consumer electronic device. Apple's customers buy an iPhone model that is designed to become obsolete within a few years, and replace it with a more advanced device, he says. The equivalent in the fighter business are aircraft designed to last perhaps 3,500 flight hours, which the U.S. Air Force buys in batches of hundreds and replaces in intervals of 10 years or less.
“We want to retire airplanes when the next one is ready to be brought out—very similar to the iPhone model. So there's no reason to keep that old iPhone once you have the new one,” Roper says.
Over the next five years, the Air Force wants to define the digital engineering-based approach to the hardware and common operating system approach to the software for the NGAD aircraft family.
The goal is to attract new companies besides traditional defense firms to be involved in production, along with the specialized design units of the prime contractors such as Lockheed's Skunk Works, Boeing's Phantom Works and Northrop Grumman's Scaled Composites.
“I could imagine companies that could build a few airplanes per month eventually breaking in and wanting to do it because there's an opportunity to do it frequently. And let's face it, design and cutting-edge airplanes [are] just wicked cool,” Roper says.
https://aviationweek.com/defense/usaf-sees-five-year-window-invent-new-fighter-aircraft-industry
18 juillet 2023 | International, C4ISR
The just-passed House version of the annual must-pass National Defense Authorization Act contains a host of cybersecurity provisions, including new authorization for Cyber Command to analyze dark web information and work with Taiwan on defensive cybersecurity.
20 septembre 2018 | International, Aérospatial, C4ISR
By: Brandon Knapp The Defense Advanced Research Agency announced an $8 million contract modification for the University of Southern California's Information Sciences Institute to work on a program that develops circuits that be quickly adapted rather than wholesale reinvented. The work is part of DARPA's Circuit Realization at Faster Timescales (CRAFT) research program. The modification brings the total value of the contract to $28 million, according to a Sept. 17 announcement from the Pentagon. The program is designed to dramatically shorten the design cycle and the expense numbers for custom integrated circuits, which are essential in a wide variety of military equipment such as drones and tactically useful 3D imagery production. Currently, it can cost up to $100 million and take more than two years to design these circuits, according to a DARPA release. The CRAFT program aims to cut that timeline down to a matter of months. “Reducing the time and cost for designing and procuring custom, high-efficiency integrated circuits, should drive more of those in the DoD technology community toward best commercial fabrication and design practices,” CRAFT program manager, Dr. Linton Salmon in a program information release. “A primary payoff would be a versatile development environment in which engineers and designers make decisions based on the best technical solutions for the systems they are building, instead of worrying about circuit design delays or costs.” Work will be performed by USC in Marina Del Ray, California, with an expected completion date of December 2019. DARPA has been working on the program since 2015. https://www.c4isrnet.com/industry/2018/09/19/darpa-contract-aims-to-design-circuits-in-months-not-years
30 juin 2020 | International, Aérospatial
By: Mike Yeo MELBOURNE, Australia – South Korea is set to acquire more airborne surveillance and intelligence gathering aircraft, as the U.S. ally seeks to bolster its capabilities in both areas. The country's Defense Project Promotion Committee approved last Friday plans to acquire an undisclosed number of airborne early warning and control, or AEW&C aircraft, according to the Defense Acquisition Program Administration or DAPA. The committee also approved plans to acquire more signals intelligence or SIGINT gathering aircraft. Approximately $1.3 billion has been earmarked for the acquisition of the AEW&C aircraft for entry into service by 2027 while a further $725 million has been set aside for the SIGINT platforms, which are expected to enter service in 2026. The announcement did not disclose the platforms being pursued for either program, but South Korea is almost certain to go with additional Boeing 737 AEW&C aircraft. The Republic of Korea Air Force or ROKAF is already operating four such aircraft, acquired from the United States under the Peace Eye program, since 2012. The Peace Eye 737s are derivatives of Boeing's 737 Next Generation airliners fitted with a distinctive dorsal radar housing containing a Northrop Grumman Multi-Role Electronically Scanned Array or MESA radar. The L-band radar is reportedly capable of simultaneous air and sea search, fighter control and area search, simultaneously tracking 180 targets and conducting 24 intercepts. The DAPA announcement said the acquisition of additional AEW&C aircraft will be to further minimize gaps in South Korea's air defence coverage. South Korea has in recent months publicised the intercept of Chinese and Russian military aircraft entering the Korean Air Defense Identification Zone or KADIZ. The new SIGINT aircraft will be used to replace four older platforms based on the Hawker 800 business jets. DAPA says the new aircraft will be equipped with indigenous systems and will serve alongside two Dassault Falcon 2000 SIGINT aircraft delivered to the ROKAF in 2017. The older Hawker 800 platforms were acquired in 1996 under the Paekdu project and were modified by E-Systems Incorporated for its SIGINT role. The aircraft were delivered in the early 2000s along with four other Hawker 800XPs modified for imagery reconnaissance with synthetic aperture radars and moving target indicators. https://www.defensenews.com/global/asia-pacific/2020/06/29/south-korea-to-spend-2-billion-on-aircraft-buy/