When it comes to military AI, there is no second place

Sur le même sujet

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  21 octobre 2024 | International, Terrestre

  No pilots, all cargo: Airbus tests loading of autonomous helicopter

  The nose of this autonomous variant of the UH-72 Lakota will open up, allowing weapons or larger pieces of cargo to be front-loaded into the helicopter.

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  29 juillet 2020 | International, C4ISR

  BAE Systems Australia welcomes $30 million periscope contract

  July 29, 2020 - BAE Systems Australia has welcomed an additional two year, AU$30 million contract extension to ongoing sustainment of the Collins Class periscopes. The original five year contract began in 2015 and encompasses engineering, program management, supply support and highly specialised maintenance services. During this two year extension period, BAE Systems will continue to maintain Search and Attack periscopes and undertake the necessary updates to the periscope systems. BAE Systems has been maintaining and updating the Collins Class submarine periscopes for more than three decades, developing an important sovereign capability. The company began supporting the Collins Class submarines periscopes in 1988 at the start of the periscope build program. The company has continued to develop this sovereign capability through the provision of maintenance, repair and update services in two states. Periscope work is undertaken by 34 specialist employees working in purpose built facilities at Mawson Lakes South Australia and at HMAS Stirling Naval Base, in Western Australia. The largest update project undertaken during this time was the transition from analogue to digital periscopes which are now also transitioning into service. BAE Systems Australia Managing Director Defence Delivery Andrew Gresham said: “Now, more than ever, Defence programs will have an important role in Australia's post-COVID economic recovery. “We began supporting the Collins-class submarine periscope systems with an 11-year manufacturing and build program for attack and search periscope systems “Some three decades later, we continue to build and grow our experience in maintaining and updating this critical piece of defence equipment. During this time we have also supported the development of new capabilities in our local supply chain. “Defence projects are high value, create and sustain new industrial capabilities, require leading edge technologies and can run over decades which is why they are so important to our nation's economy.” Contact Default Profile ImageKaye Noske Media Manager BAE Systems Australia Mobile +61 (0) 401 121 444 View source version on BAE Systems Australia: https://www.baesystems.com/en-aus/article/bae-systems-australia-welcomes--30-million-periscope-contract

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  3 juillet 2019 | International, Aérospatial

  These 4 technologies are big problems for US military space

  By: Nathan Strout A recent report highlights the fact that the commercial space sector is an increasingly important part of the military's efforts in space, but there are places where industry falls short. The national security space arena is a niche market, characterized by low production runs paired with a need for high-quality products. That combination makes it a difficult area for the commercial sector. While national security space increasingly relies on industry to provide components for space vehicles, the fact remains that in some key areas there are no domestic suppliers for critical technologies, leaving the United States dependent on foreign suppliers. Here are four such technologies singled out in a recent report on the United States military's industrial base: Solar cells According to the report, the commercial sector is not investing in the research and development needed to improve solar cells, which are used to power satellites. Businesses have maxed out the capacity for triple-junction solar cells, but do not appear capable of pushing forward to four- or five-junction solar cell technology. The Pentagon also wants solar cells that are able to withstand more radiation for longer than current products on the market. Improving solar cells to get the same or more power out of even slightly smaller panels could have a major impact when it comes to launching a satellite into space, meaning that reducing solar panel size is highly valuable. Tube amplifiers Starting in the 1990s, the domestic supplier market share for traveling-wave tube amplifiers — electronic devices used to amplify radio frequency signals to high power — dropped from 50 percent to just 12 percent. While that market has shown a slight recovery, the presence of heavily subsidized companies like Thales in France make it difficult for American companies to compete. Gyroscopes Precision gyroscopes are used in spacecraft to determine altitude and are essential to providing inertial navigation systems. According to the Department of Defense, there is only one domestic supplier of hemispherical resonating gyroscopes, resulting in long lead times — the report claims that the company can only produce one to two units per month. Fiber optic gyroscopes fair better with three domestic suppliers currently manufacturing them, but those companies are themselves vulnerable to overseas supply issues with their subcomponents. Infrared detectors Just one foreign manufacturer produces the substrates necessary for space infrared detectors, and the Pentagon warns that a disruption of any more than a few months of production of the substrates could negatively impact the quality and completion of American satellites. Because of this, the U.S. government has used a Defense Production Act of 1950 provision that allows it to offer economic incentives to either develop, sustain or expand domestic production of technology critical to national defense, and an Industrial Base Analysis and Sustainment program is in the works to support the remaining two American foundries for one type of substrate. https://www.c4isrnet.com/battlefield-tech/space/2019/07/02/these-4-technologies-are-big-problems-for-us-military-space/