Nouvelles

Nathan Strout Persistent Systems will receive $25 million to upgrade hardware for the Wave Relay Tactical Assault Kit (WaRTAK) program, which provides multidomain communications and situational awareness to Air Force convoys, the company announced April 8. “It ties radio, GPS, cellular and satellite internet connections — everything — into our self-healing Wave Relay [mobile ad hoc network],” Adrien Robenhymer, vice president of business development for Persistent, said in a statement. The mobile ad hoc network allows users to share voice, video, text, GPS location and sensor data without fixed infrastructure or a central node, providing resilient communications and situational awareness to the convoy. The system uses a shared digital map to allow users to coordinate with friendly units or identify unknown or enemy vehicles that may pose a threat to the convoy. WaRTAK is used by the 90th Missile Wing, 91st Missile Wing and 341st Missile Wing, according to the company. The WaRTAK hardware ― the MPU5 system — can be installed on ground vehicles and on support aircraft, or carried by dismounted individuals. Persistent is to supply 400 MPU5 systems under the four-year contract, replacing and adding to the 350 MPU3 and MPU4 systems it previously delivered to the Air Force. The company claims the fifth-generation hardware will be 55 percent smaller than previous iterations, while resulting in power savings of 30 percent. https://www.c4isrnet.com/battlefield-tech/it-networks/2020/04/09/this-upgrade-will-help-air-force-convoys-communicate-at-the-edge

By Anthony Capaccio As of Wednesday, 86 sites were closed out of 10,509 locations Boeing's aircraft plant closings are one big exception The Pentagon's contractors have largely avoided widespread closings or “major impacts” so far from the coronavirus pandemic, according to a running tally compiled by its contracts management office. Of 10,509 locations tracked or monitored by the Defense Contract Management Agency, 135 had closed at some point as of Wednesday. Forty-nine of those reopened after an average of about 10 days. “These closures have generally been short-term in order to clean facilities” or to “reduce the potential exposure of employees,” agency spokesman Matthew Montgomery said in a statement. The agency doesn't track how many workers are affected, he said. And the numbers on closings don't reflect defense contractors that have cut back their operations -- or the outsized impact of Boeing Co.'s shutdowns. Boeing, the No. 2 U.S. defense contractor, has indefinitely halted assembly of the KC-46 refueling tanker and the P-8A Poseidon maritime patrol aircraft at its facilities in Washington State, the initial U.S. center of the pandemic. Last Friday, the company began a two-week shutdown of the Philadelphia-area factory where it manufactures military rotorcraft, including the Chinook CH-47 cargo helicopter and the tilt-rotor V-22 Osprey. Huntington Is Open By contrast, Huntington Ingalls Industries Inc., has had no closings to this point, according to spokeswoman Beci Brenton. With 42,000 employees, it's the sole U.S. builder of aircraft carriers and the co-contractor of Navy attack submarines and DDG-51 destroyers. Montgomery said the Defense Department “has worked closely with local and state governments to ensure that the defense industrial base is considered critical infrastructure to help minimize the impact of statewide closures.” Impacts from closings “are being seen across all sectors including but not limited to clothing and textiles, aerospace, shipbuilding, and ground vehicles,” he said. Many Pentagon contractors “are struggling to maintain a mission-ready workforce due to work site closures, personnel quarantines and state and local restrictions on movement” that can't “be resolved through remote work,” Kim Herrington, the Defense Department's pricing and contracting director, said in a memo Wednesday. To support the defense industry, the DCMA has modified about 1,400 contracts to increase the rate for “progress payments” for work completed on time from 80% to 90% of costs incurred for large businesses and from 90% of cost to 95% for small businesses. The move resulted in $3 billion being advanced to industry, according to Herrington. That's in addition to $882 million that the Air Force is providing to Chicago-based Boeing. The funds were being withheld until the company corrected or provided sufficient plans to correct numerous deficiencies with KC-46 tankers. Most of those flaws remain unresolved. Also, the Pentagon issued guidance Thursday that lets military contracting officers reimburse companies for documented payments to employees who can't work because of coronavirus facility closings or related restrictions. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-04-10/defense-contractors-keep-most-plants-running-despite-outbreak

By: Valerie Insinna WASHINGTON — Boeing will restart production of the P-8 and KC-46 on Monday after a three-week pause in operations spurred by the spread of the novel coronavirus in Washington state. The company temporarily shut down operations in the Puget Sound region on March 25. Boeing's sites in Washington focus primarily on the development and production of commercial airliners and militarized variants of those aircraft, such as the KC-46 tanker made in Everett and the P-8 submarine hunting plane made in Renton. While the resumption of operations will focus on defense programs, the company will also reopen the facilities necessary for 737 MAX storage as well as other laboratories and functions deemed as essential. “Boeing's work supporting the Department of Defense as a part of the defense industrial base is a matter of national security and has been deemed critical. The work we do directly supports the servicemen and women protecting the nation around the clock – and they are counting on us to get it done,” the company said in a statement. The phased re-opening of Boeing facilities will help support its supply base and will ensure the company has enough protective equipment available for the 2,500 employees who will return to work, the company said. Boeing will also enact additional health checks at the Puget Sound sites, including wellness checks at the start of every shift, staggered shift times, additional handwashing stations and cleaning supplies, and a requirement that employees wear a mask at work to comply with state guidance. The company's Ridley Park, Penn.-facility remains closed. That site produces military helicopters including the H-47 Chinook cargo helicopter, the V-22 Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft as well as the MH-139A Grey Wolf, which will be used by the Air Force to defend missile fields. Monday's reopening is especially good news for the KC-46 program, as the production line is already making tankers at full rate. Boeing has delivered 33 tankers to the Air Force so far, with the production of a total 179 KC-46s expected to be produced in the program of record. Will Roper, the Air Force's acquisition executive, said in March that the pause in KC-46 production wouldn't become a problem unless it extended past a month. “We've tried to make it very clear to our industry partners that we expect them to do whatever is necessary to keep our critical defense-industrial base workforce and their families healthy,” Roper said then. “The standing back up will be important too, because that sends a message to our adversaries that a domestic crisis is not a time of opportunity nor does it create a readiness bathtub in the future.” https://www.defensenews.com/industry/2020/04/13/boeing-to-reopen-the-kc-46-and-p-8-production-lines/

Nathan Strout VOX Space will launch 44 technology demonstrator satellites into orbit for the U.S. Space Force, the Space and Missile Systems Center announced April 10. Under the $35 million task order, VOX Space, a wholly owned subsidiary of Virgin Orbit, will provide launch services for Space Test Program-S28 (STP-S28), an effort to put demonstrator satellites on orbit to test and develop new space situational awareness and communications technologies for the military. VOX Space will launch the 44 small satellites into low earth orbit using three of their LauncherOne rockets. Unlike traditional launches where the rockets start from a vertical position on a pad, the LauncherOne rockets are launched in midair from a Boeing 747 aircraft. The first launch is tentatively slated for October 2021. While four companies are battling for five years of contracts under the National Security Space Launch effort, which will place the country's large exquisite satellites on orbit, the U.S. military and the intelligence community have looked to exploit the growing commercial small launch market under new contracting mechanisms. For instance, the National Reconnaissance Office has begun using its new “rapid acquisition of a small rocket” contract vehicle in 2020, successfully launching its first payload under that program with Rocket Lab in January. A second planned launch with Rocket Lab slated for March was delayed due to the COVID-19 situation. The VOX Space award is the first task order under Orbital Services Program-4 — an indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity contract awarded to eight companies by the Space and Missile Systems Center in October. OSP-4 is a follow-on to OSP-3, which expired in November. Like it's predecessor, OSP-4 is the Defense Department's effort to leverage the growing commercial small launch market to put government payloads on orbit. The program enables the launch of payloads greater than 400 pounds to any orbit within 12-24 months after a task order is awarded. Last year, the Air Force said it expected to use OSP-4 to launch 20 missions over a nine-year period. “The competitive award of the STP-S28 task order is a prime example of the flexible and responsive contracting processes the Launch Enterprise is using to deliver resilient and affordable space capabilities to our Nation,” said Col. Rob Bongiovi, director of SMC's Launch Enterprise Systems Directorate. “In today's contested space domain, contracts must be flexible and responsive to meet the challenges facing the warfighter. I'm proud of the work the Small Launch and Targets Division accomplished in awarding the STP-S28 task order in only five months using the OSP-4 contract.” https://www.c4isrnet.com/battlefield-tech/space/2020/04/13/space-force-picks-launch-provider-for-44-technology-demonstration-satellites/

By: Bryan Clark Anti-submarine warfare, or ASW, is one of a navy's most difficult missions. Sonars detect submarines with only a fraction of the range and precision possible using radars or visual sensors against ships above the water. Submarines can carry missiles able to hit targets hundreds of miles away, requiring searches to cover potentially vast areas. And the torpedoes that aircraft and surface ships use to sink submarines need to be dropped right on the submarine to have any chance of sinking it. These challenges led the Cold War-era U.S. Navy to rely on a sequential approach for tracking enemy submarines. Electronic or visual intelligence sources would report when an opposing sub was leaving port, and it would hopefully get picked up by sound surveillance, or SOSUS — sonar arrays on the sea floor — as it entered chokepoints, like that between Iceland and the United Kingdom. Patrol aircraft would then attempt to track the submarine using sonar-equipped buoys, or sonobuoys, and eventually turn it over to a U.S. nuclear attack submarine, or SSN, for long-term trail. The U.S. ASW model broke down, however, in the decades following the Cold War as U.S. submarine and patrol aircraft fleets shrank, the Chinese submarine fleet grew, and Russian submarines became quieter. Today, the U.S. Navy devotes enormous effort to tracking each modern Russian submarine in the western Atlantic. During the 2000s, the strategy of full-spectrum ASW started an essential shift in goals, from being able to sink submarines when needed to being able to defeat submarines by preventing them from accomplishing their mission. Full-spectrum ASW and other current concepts, however, still rely on aircraft, ships and submarines for sensing, tracking and attacking enemy submarines to bottle them up near their own coasts or sink them in the open ocean. Although SOSUS has improved since the Cold War and is joined by a family of new deployable seabed arrays, the next link in the U.S. ASW chain is still a P-8A Poseidon patrol aircraft, an Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer, or a U.S. SSN. These platforms are in short supply around the world, cost hundreds of millions to billions of dollars to buy and cost hundreds of thousands of dollars a day to operate. With defense budgets flattening and likely to decrease in a post-COVID-19 environment, the U.S. Navy cannot afford to continue playing “little kid soccer” in ASW, with multiple aircraft or ships converging to track and destroy submarines before they can get within missile range of targets like aircraft carriers or bases ashore. The Navy should instead increase the use of unmanned systems in ASW across the board, which cost a fraction to buy and operate compared to their manned counterparts. Unmanned aircraft could deploy sonobuoys or stationary sonar arrays, and unmanned undersea or surface vehicles could tow passive sonar arrays. Unmanned surface vehicles could also deploy low-frequency active sonars like those carried by U.S. undersea surveillance ships that can detect or drive off submarines from dozens of miles away. Although autonomous platforms will not have the onboard operators of a destroyer or patrol aircraft, improved processing is enabling small autonomous sensors to rapidly identify contacts of interest. Line-of-sight or satellite communications can connect unmanned vehicles and sensors with operators ashore or on manned ASW platforms. A significant shortfall of today's ASW concepts is “closing the kill chain” by attacking enemy submarines. Air- or surface-launched weapons have short ranges and small warheads that reduce their ability to sink a submarine, but their cost and size prevents them from being purchased and fielded in large numbers. Unmanned systems could address this shortfall in concert with a new approach to ASW that suppresses enemy submarines rather than destroying them. During World War II and the Cold War, allied navies largely kept submarines at bay through aggressive tracking and harassing attacks, or by forcing opposing SSNs to protect ballistic missile submarines. The modern version of submarine suppression would include overt sensing operations combined with frequent torpedo or depth-bomb attacks. Although unmanned vehicles frequently launch lethal weapons today under human supervision, the small weapons that would be most useful for submarine suppression could be carried in operationally relevant numbers by medium-altitude, long-endurance UAVs or medium unmanned surface vessels. Moreover, the large number and long endurance of unmanned vehicles would enable the tracking and suppressing of many submarines over a wide area at lower risk than using patrol aircraft or destroyers. Today the U.S. Navy uses unmanned systems in ASW primarily to detect submarines. To affordably conduct peacetime surveillance and effectively defeat submarines in wartime, the Navy should increase the role of unmanned systems. Using manned platforms to conduct command and control, and unmanned vehicles to track, deter and engage submarines, could significantly reduce the costs of ASW operations and enable the Navy to scale its ASW efforts to match the growing threat posed by submarine fleets. Bryan Clark is a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute. He is an expert in naval operations, electronic warfare, autonomous systems, military competitions and war gaming. https://www.defensenews.com/opinion/commentary/2020/04/13/us-navy-should-turn-to-unmanned-systems-to-track-and-destroy-submarines/

Mise à jour : 14/04/2020 - Direction : AID Cet appel à projets du ministère des Armées, lancé par l'Agence de l'Innovation de Défense (AID), dans le cadre du plan gouvernemental de lutte contre le COVID-19, vise à disposer de propositions pour lutter contre la pandémie de COVID-19. Il porte sur la recherche de solutions innovantes, qu'elles soient d'ordre technologique, organisationnel, managérial ou d'adaptation de processus industriels, qui pourraient être directement mobilisables afin de : protéger la population, soutenir la prise en charge des malades, tester la population, surveiller l'évolution de la maladie au niveau individuel et l'évolution de la pandémie, ou aider à limiter les contraintes pendant la période de crise. Important : les projets devront être d'une maturité technologique suffisante pour être employables pendant l'actuelle pandémie. Ces solutions innovantes devront être facilement et rapidement reproductibles et s'appliquer à l'échelle de l'ensemble du territoire national dans l'enveloppe budgétaire définie. Un budget de 10 000 000€ TTC est prévu pour cet appel à projets, qui vise à financer un à plusieurs projets d'intérêt. Pour permettre le soutien d'un maximum de projets prometteurs, sauf exceptions dûment justifiées, les projets retenus par cet appel à projets ne seront pas cumulables avec les financements flash mis en place par l'UE ou l'ANR : Appel à projets de l'Agence nationale pour la recherche (ANR) : https://anr.fr/fr/detail/call/appel-a-projets-flash-covid-19/ Appel à projets de la Commission européenne : https://ec.europa.eu/info/news/startups-and-smes-innovative-solutions-welcome-2020-mar-13_en Les propositions de réponse sont attendues et évaluées au fil de l'eau jusqu'au 12 avril 2020. Les propositions déposées tardivement, jusqu'au 12 avril inclus, pourront être étudiées mais leurs chances d'être retenues seront fortement réduites. Ce que nous recherchons Nous avons identifié un certain nombre de domaines et de situations concrètes pour lesquels nous pressentons des améliorations possibles : Protections individuelles ou collectives, soignants et populations (e.g. masques, « hygiaphones de fortune », concepts innovants de protection, de barrières, techniques de recyclage, Do It Yourself, etc.) ; Gestion de la distance de sécurité entre individus ; Automatisation de t'ches pour le prélèvement, le nettoyage du matériel ou des salles ; Facilitation du déploiement d'hôpitaux de campagne en soutien aux populations ; Gestion de crise, aiguillage, structuration/modularité des chaînes de prise en charge (e.g. gestion logistique, RH, etc.) ; Production de nouvelles solutions de décontamination pour tout type de surface, pour petits et grands matériels, pour les espaces de vie, etc. ; Capacité de production en masse de solutions de décontamination ; Soutien à la prise en charge médicale (production du matériel ou traitement manquant, concept de recyclage, de détournement ou autre idée permettant de pallier ces manques) ; Détection du virus dans l'environnement ; Diagnostic et autodiagnostic rapide et conduite à tenir associée - dépistage massif - dépistage participatif ; Gestion de l'impact psychologique individuel et sociétal (communication et sensibilisation sur la crise et l'épidémie, amélioration de la perception du risque d'épidémie, gestion de l'après crise, etc.) ; Facteurs de limitation des déplacements et lutte contre la transgression ; Amélioration du travail à distance (outils de continuité numérique, sécurisation, etc.) ; Amélioration de la vie en isolement à domicile (numériques mais aussi hors solutions numériques) ; Autres thèmes dûment argumentés. NOTE IMPORTANTE aux producteurs de masques de protection : Dans le contexte de la crise sanitaire du COVID-19, les autorités gouvernementales ont sollicité l'appui de la direction générale de l'armement (DGA) du ministère des armées afin d'aider à identifier et caractériser des solutions permettant d'accroître la disponibilité de masques de protection face au virus. Nous travaillons en étroite collaboration avec la direction générale des entreprises (DGE) du Ministère de l'économie et des finances. Devant le succès de cette initiative, deux adresses m.él dédiées ont été créées et nous demandons aux entreprises d'adresser toute correspondance à ces deux adresses pour en accélérer le traitement. Adresse mél DGA : dga.Masques-Contact.fct(a)intradef.gouv.fr Adresse mél DGE : masques.dge(a)finances.gouv.fr Une fois l'accord préalable de la DGE obtenu pour la mise en test d'un prototype, les échantillons sont à envoyer à : DGA Maîtrise NRBC 5 rue Lavoisier 91710 VERT-LE-PETIT Nous ne sommes pas seulement intéressés par des technologies nouvelles ; le caractère innovant des propositions pourra consister à réorienter des technologies ou des processus industriels existants (par exemple détourner une usine de production de parfum pour en faire du gel hydroalcoolique). Nous acceptons les propositions provenant de tous types d'opérateurs : académiques, petites, moyennes entreprises, entreprises de taille intermédiaire, grands groupes. Des groupements constitués de ces différents types d'opérateurs seront possibles. En fonction du vecteur de financement ou d'acquisition utilisé, des restrictions sur l'origine ou la taille des opérateurs économiques pourront être appliquées. Les propositions internes des personnels civils et militaires du ministère des Armées sont également les bienvenues. Ce dont nous ne voulons pas Votre proposition ne doit pas proposer une innovation en cours de maturation qui n'a aucune chance d'être employée pour lutter contre l'actuelle pandémie. Contenu de la proposition Compte tenu de l'urgence du projet, la présentation et les justificatifs devront être les plus concis et précis possibles. La proposition doit contenir les documents suivants : le descriptif technique de la solution proposée et le cas d'usage (utilisateur, situation d'emploi) auquel cette solution répond. le plan projet comprenant : Un planning des développements et de la mise en service identifiant les jalons et les livrables permettant de suivre l'avancement du projet ; Une décomposition du prix de la proposition, en distinguant le cas échéant la part financée par le ministère des Armées et d'autres sources de financement. Le déposant pourra utilement proposer des éléments optionnels dans sa proposition. Un document de justification explicitant l'apport du projet pour chacun des 3 critères d'évaluation infra (impact, crédibilité, calendrier). Le dossier total ne dépassera pas 30 pages. Sélection des projets d'intérêt Critères obligatoires Les propositions seront analysées au regard des critères obligatoires ci-dessous : La solution proposée s'inscrit dans le périmètre de l'appel à projets (cf. « Ce que nous recherchons » et « Ce dont nous ne voulons pas ») ; La proposition contient un plan projet ; La proposition justifie l'intérêt du projet pour chacun des trois critères d'évaluation présentés infra. Seules les propositions remplissant l'ensemble des critères obligatoires seront analysées au fil de l'eau lors de la sélection des projets. Critères d'évaluation Un comité d'évaluation impliquant différents experts du ministère des Armées évaluera les propositions au fur et à mesure de leur réception. Les évaluateurs, pourront, s'ils le jugent nécessaire, entrer en contact avec les déposants afin de leur demander des clarifications sur leur proposition. Les évaluateurs ne pourront utiliser les informations contenues dans les propositions qu'aux seules fins de l'évaluation. Cette évaluation sera fondée sur les 3 critères suivants : Impact : les bénéfices anticipés (pour la population, les cycles de décision, les personnels de santé...) ; Crédibilité : tout élément de preuve, scientifique ou technique, permettant de confirmer la faisabilité du projet ; Calendrier : délai de mise en œuvre de la solution. Le choix de financer une proposition est fondé sur les résultats d'évaluation, sur le coût de chaque proposition vis-à-vis du budget disponible et sur des considérations d'ordre stratégique pour la personne publique. Les déposants dont la proposition n'aura pas été retenue pourront demander un avis synthétique sur leur proposition. Modalités pratiques Budget et contractualisation L'AID prévoit un budget total de 10 000 000 € TTC, visant à financer entre un et plusieurs projets. Date limite de remise des propositions Les propositions de réponse sont attendues et évaluées au fil de l'eau jusqu'au 12 avril 2020. Les propositions déposées tardivement, jusqu'au 12 avril inclus, pourront être étudiées mais leurs chances d'être retenues seront fortement réduites. Les propositions émises par les opérateurs économiques (personnes morales ou personnes physiques) doivent être déposées à l'adresse suivante : https://www.demarches-simplifiees.fr/commencer/appel-a-projets-aid-covid-19 Les propositions émises par les personnels civils et militaires du ministère des Armées (personnes physiques) doivent être déposées à l'adresse suivante : https://www.demarches-simplifiees.fr/commencer/appel-a-projets-aid-covid-19-innovateurs-minarm Un accusé sera transmis dès réception de la proposition. Important : en remettant son dossier, le déposant accepte sans réserve les conditions de l'appel à projets. Questions Vous pouvez poser toute question relative à l'appel à projets via l'adresse suivante : agenceinnovation.dir.fct(a)intradef.gouv.fr Protection des données à caractère personnel Les données à caractère personnel portées en réponse aux formulaires de dépôt de projet font l'objet d'un traitement mis en œuvre par le directeur de l'Agence de l'Innovation de Défense. Nous traitons vos données dans le but unique de permettre l'évaluation des projets et leur concrétisation éventuelles suite à l'évaluation. Les données seront conservées pendant une période de 6 mois après la date de clôture de l'appel à projet. Pendant cette période, nous mettons en place tous moyens aptes à assurer la confidentialité et la sécurité de vos données à caractère personnel, de manière à empêcher leur endommagement, effacement ou accès par des tiers non autorisés. Conformément à la loi « Informatique et Libertés » du 6 janvier 1978 modifiée et au Règlement Général sur la protection des données (RGPD) en vigueur depuis le 25 mai 2018. Vous bénéficiez d'un droit d'accès et de rectification sur vos données que vous pouvez exercer en contactant l'Agence de l'Innovation de Défense à l'adresse suivante : agenceinnovation.dir.fct(a)intradef.gouv.fr Mise à disposition des moyens du GENCI Les chercheurs académiques et industriels travaillant sur le sujet peuvent avoir accès immédiatement aux moyens de calcul et de stockage de la TGIR GENCI. Créée en 2007 par le MESRI, le CNRS, le CEA, la CPU et Inria, GENCI met à disposition des chercheurs français des moyens de calcul (supercalculateurs) et de stockage, souverains, opérés en France au TGCC (CEA), IDRIS (CNRS) et CINES (Universités) afin d'accélérer les travaux de recherche en modélisation/simulation, traitement de données massives et usage de l'intelligence artificielle (GENCI est une des composantes du plan français AIForHumanity avec la machine Jean Zay qui dispose notamment de 1300 GPU et 35 Po de stockage haut débit).Ces moyens et les services de support des centres sont accessibles gratuitement par le biais d'une procédure accélérée, pour plus d'information sur les moyens mis à disposition par GENCI vous pouvez vous référer ici : http://www.genci.fr/fr/node/1036 ; ou contacter directement Stéphane Requena, Directeur Technique & Innovation : stephane.requena(a)genci.fr Droits : AID

On April 8, 2020, the DARPA Small Business Programs Office (SBPO) pre-released the following SBIR/STTR Opportunities (SBOs): "Seabed Simulation Synthesis", Announcement Number HR001120S0019-04, published at https://beta.sam.gov/search?keywords=HR001120S0019-04 "Wearable Laser Detection and Alert System", Announcement Number HR001120S0019-05, published at https://beta.sam.gov/search?keywords=HR001120S0019-05 "Open Source Wide Band Software Defined Acoustic Modem", Announcement Number HR001120S0019-06, published at https://beta.sam.gov/search?keywords=HR001120S0019-06 These SBOs will open for proposals on April 23, 2020 and close on May 26, 2020. If you have any questions on the open BAAs or DSIP, please contact the DSIP Help Desk Monday – Friday, 9:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. ET at 703-214-1333 or DoDSBIRSupport@reisystems.com. Thank you for your interest in the DoD SBIR/STTR Program. DoD SBIR/STTR Support Team

By: Valerie Insinna WASHINGTON — Last week's deal between Boeing and the U.S. Air Force on a fix for the KC-46 could pave the way for the tanker to refuel other aircraft without a person needed to manually control the process, a top service official said Thursday. On April 2, Boeing agreed to fix the KC-46's troubled Remote Vision System by creating an overhauled RVS 2.0 with new hardware and software. Air Force acquisition executive Will Roper told reporters those changes would include the addition of 4K high-definition cameras that will display imagery in color as well as modern processors and LiDAR (light detecting and ranging) sensors that will help improve depth perception. “A proper RVS like that is right on the doorstep to autonomy,” Roper said. “All you have to do is take that data that tells the world inside the jet the reality of geometries between the airplane and the boom outside the jet. Once you have that, you simply need to translate it into algorithms that allow the tanker to tank itself.” The KC-46's Remote Vision System has been a thorn in the side of the aircraft program since 2017, when issues with the system were first discovered. The RVS is basically a suite of cameras, sensors and software that is supposed to allow boom operators sitting inside the aircraft to safety steer the boom into the aircraft needing fuel. But in certain conditions, the system produces distorted imagery that increases the risk of the boom hitting another aircraft. The new LIDAR system will be key to fixing that problem, said Roper, who likened it to a backup camera on a car that also provides cues to a driver for parallel parking or assessing whether a vehicle is aligned flush to a curb. “We'll have something very similar to that for the boom operators, so telling them are they left, right and how close are they getting to the airplane,” he said. “[It's] something very intuitive and easy to work with, and I think that will help significantly with them understanding their distance [from the other aircraft] because LIDAR is extremely accurate.” Because Boeing is locked into a firm fixed-price contract for the development of the KC-46, it will have to pay for the upgrade to RVS 2.0 out of its own pocket, as the Air Force maintains that the current system does not meet requirements. But the service is so confident in the prospect of using the RVS 2.0 as a stepping stone to an autonomous tanker that it included an option in last week's agreement to fund the development of technologies that enable autonomous or semiautonomous refueling. “We have added an engineering change proposal into the deal with a not-to-exceed threshold of $55 million, so that when RVS 2.0 is done, we can then take the next step beyond 2.0 to develop those autonomy algorithms and install them if we think we can certify them for safe use,” Roper said. “We took that step because, one, we're excited about being on the doorsteps of autonomy and, [two], we wanted to send a clear signal in the deal that this is our tanker for the future,” he said. If the Air Force decides to move forward with those design changes, more will need to be done to hammer out the contractual details, said Jamie Burgess, Boeing's KC-46 program manager. “There was no commitment one way or another on who pays for what. But there's definitely a strong partnership between Boeing and the Air Force as far as developing this technology,” he said. Autonomous refueling capability has been of increasing interest to the Air Force over the past few years, as sensing and artificial intelligence technologies grow by leaps and bounds. Boeing previously signaled it could include such technology as part of a menu of potential upgrade options for the KC-46, as reported by FlightGlobal in 2018. https://www.defensenews.com/air/2020/04/08/boeings-kc-46-tanker-now-has-a-pathway-for-autonomous-aerial-refueling

Shawn Snow A series of wargames conducted between 2018 and 2019 helped inform the Corps' decision to divest of tanks and outmoded units and equipment that will have trouble surviving in fight with peer adversaries like China, according to a Marine Corps force redesign report. From those wargames the Corps learned that the unit that shoots first has a “decisive advantage” on the battlefield and forces that can operate inside the range of enemy long-range precision fires “are more operationally relevant than forces which must rapidly maneuver to positions outside the ”weapons engagement zone, the report reads. The Corps' decision to divest of tanks, cut ground cannon artillery and light attack air platforms has stoked some criticism. Tanks historically have had success in high-end and urban warfare for decades boasting devastating firepower highly lethal to ground forces. But tanks and armored vehicles have had trouble surviving against the threat of precision strike and the plethora of drone and reconnaissance systems flooding conflict zones across the Middle East. For recent evidence, a Turkish launched operation targeting Syrian regime army troops in late February decimated more than a hundred tanks and armored vehicles, dozens of artillery pieces and hundreds of Syrian forces, according to the Turkish National Ministry of Defense. Turkey posted videos highlighting a mixed role of drones, Paladin artillery systems and aircraft pounding Syrian armor from the skies over the course of several days. The Syrian army appeared helpless to defend from the onslaught of long range systems. Even tanks camouflaged by buildings and bushes were no match for sensors and thermal imaging watching from the skies. The problem is exacerbated by the number of sophisticated anti-tank systems flooding counterinsurgency conflicts across the globe and access to long range drones once only in control by state actors are now being operated by militia groups. In Libya, the Libyan National Army has the upper hand in its drone war with the UN-backed Tripoli government. It's equipped with an alleged UAE-supplied Chinese drone known as the Wing Long II that boasts a 2,000 km range through a satellite link and is reportedly armed with Chinese manufactured Blue Arrow 7 precision strike air-to-surface missiles. “Mobility inside the WEZ [ weapons engagement zone] is a competitive advantage and an operational imperative,” the Marine Corps report reads. The Corps instead is looking for mobile systems and units that can survive within the reach of precision fires to “attrit adversary forces," create dilemmas for the enemy and “consume adversary ISR resources,” according to the report. “The hider-versus finder competition is real. Losing this competition has enormous and potentially catastrophic consequences,” the report reads. Reconnaissance and counter-reconnaissance capabilities will be key on the modern battlefield. “We have sufficient evidence to conclude that this capability [tanks], despite its long and honorable history in the wars of the past, is operationally unsuitable for our highest-priority challenges in the future,” the report said about the divestment of Marine tanks. But tanks aren't disappearing from the fight. The Corps says heavy ground armor will still be provided by the Army. The Corps says it plans to develop heavily into unmanned ground and air systems and rocket artillery and long range fires. According to the report, the Corps is increasing its rocket artillery batteries by 14 to 21 over a 10-year period. Wargaming that inferred the Corps' force redesign efforts were carried out by the Marine Corps Warfighting Lab, U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, among others. https://www.marinecorpstimes.com/flashpoints/2020/03/26/the-marines-want-to-get-rid-of-their-tanks-heres-why