Air Force a step closer to swarming enemy with low-cost drones - Dayton Business Journal: The U.S. Air Force is moving ahead with a program to develop a lower cost, more disposable unmanned aircraft.
Air Force Research Laboratory this week announced it would soon be taking proposals for a Low Cost Attritable Strike UAS Demonstration program. The work is expected to come with a $7.4 million contract.
The idea here is unmanned aircraft are currently too expensive to send on high-risk missions, such as in swarms to overwhelm enemy air defenses. Developing a lower-cost UAS that could be lost in large numbers would give the Air Force a completely new tactic — and big advantage — in the field.
Last fall, AFRL began asking for information on the topic of developing an inexpensive, configurable and producible on-demand air vehicle.
Saturday, June 6, 2015
US Lawmakers Pass Bill for Space Mining in the Future
US Lawmakers Pass Bill for Space Mining in the Future: Under the Spurring Private Aerospace Competitiveness and Entrepreneurship (SPACE) Act, which the US House of Representatives passed Thursday, firms involved in asteroid mining will be able to keep whatever they dig up.
"Any asteroid resources obtained in outer space are the property of the entity that obtained such resources, which shall be entitled to all property rights thereto, consistent with applicable provisions of Federal law," the SPACE Act reads, in part.
The bill, sponsored by House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, a republican from California, passed with broad bipartisan support, 284-133.
"This bill will encourage the private sector to launch rockets, take risks, and shoot for the heavens," said Lamar Smith, a Texas Republican who chairs the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee.
And while the section of the bill declaring "finders keepers" for asteroid miners may seem ridiculous or unnecessary, it addresses a dilemma that one day could arise as the commercial space industry gains momentum.
"Any asteroid resources obtained in outer space are the property of the entity that obtained such resources, which shall be entitled to all property rights thereto, consistent with applicable provisions of Federal law," the SPACE Act reads, in part.
The bill, sponsored by House Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy, a republican from California, passed with broad bipartisan support, 284-133.
"This bill will encourage the private sector to launch rockets, take risks, and shoot for the heavens," said Lamar Smith, a Texas Republican who chairs the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee.
And while the section of the bill declaring "finders keepers" for asteroid miners may seem ridiculous or unnecessary, it addresses a dilemma that one day could arise as the commercial space industry gains momentum.
Thursday, June 4, 2015
Admiral ‘Frustrated’ by Delay in Competition to Build Carrier Drones | DoD Buzz
Admiral ‘Frustrated’ by Delay in Competition to Build Carrier Drones | DoD Buzz: The head of air warfare for the U.S. Navy said he’s frustrated by a delay in the plan to build a fleet of drones aboard aircraft carriers.
Rear Adm. Michael Manazir, the service’s director of air warfare, on Wednesday said he didn’t know when exactly the Navy expects to solicit bids from companies to begin developing the so-called Unmanned Carrier Launched Airborne Surveillance and Strike System, or UCLASS.
“The UCLASS RfP has been ready to release now for over a year,” he said, referring to a request for proposals to begin a competition for the weapons program. “We should have it on the street. We have lost this time to put that technology to work. That’s where my frustration is.”
Rear Adm. Michael Manazir, the service’s director of air warfare, on Wednesday said he didn’t know when exactly the Navy expects to solicit bids from companies to begin developing the so-called Unmanned Carrier Launched Airborne Surveillance and Strike System, or UCLASS.
“The UCLASS RfP has been ready to release now for over a year,” he said, referring to a request for proposals to begin a competition for the weapons program. “We should have it on the street. We have lost this time to put that technology to work. That’s where my frustration is.”
Sensor upgrades top USAF wish list for F-35 Block 4 - 6/3/2015 - Flight Global
Sensor upgrades top USAF wish list for F-35 Block 4 - 6/3/2015 - Flight Global: Improving two of the Lockheed Martin F-35’s key sensors should be priorities for a future operational standard called Block 4, says a top US Air Force general.
Upgrading the Lockheed electro-optical targeting system and adding a wide-area high-resolution synthetic aperture radar (SAR) mode – dubbed “– Big SAR” to the Northrop Grumman APG-81 active electronically scanned array (AESA) are must-haves, says Gen Herbert “Hawk” Carlisle, chief of Air Combat Command.
“I think as we look to the future, the Big SAR and advanced EOTS are the things we have to have on the sensor side,” says Carlisle, who spoke at an Air Force Association even in Washington, DC, this week. “The Big SAR radar can’t afford to move, and we’ve got to get to that advanced capability on the EOTS. Those are two that are kind of in the lurch right now. I’ll tell you, the advanced capability on the EOTS is one we’re working hard on.”
In 2007, Flight International magazine reported that the Big SAR capability was originally approved to be introduced in Block 3, which enters service next year. But that capability was delayed to at least Block 4.
The Pentagon is deciding what new weapons and capabilities will be integrated with the fifth-generation aircraft beyond those planned for the Block 3F configuration, which represents the “full warfighting capability.”
Those improved capabilities will be rolled out in Block 4, which will be delivered in cycles through the early 2020s.
Upgrading the Lockheed electro-optical targeting system and adding a wide-area high-resolution synthetic aperture radar (SAR) mode – dubbed “– Big SAR” to the Northrop Grumman APG-81 active electronically scanned array (AESA) are must-haves, says Gen Herbert “Hawk” Carlisle, chief of Air Combat Command.
“I think as we look to the future, the Big SAR and advanced EOTS are the things we have to have on the sensor side,” says Carlisle, who spoke at an Air Force Association even in Washington, DC, this week. “The Big SAR radar can’t afford to move, and we’ve got to get to that advanced capability on the EOTS. Those are two that are kind of in the lurch right now. I’ll tell you, the advanced capability on the EOTS is one we’re working hard on.”
In 2007, Flight International magazine reported that the Big SAR capability was originally approved to be introduced in Block 3, which enters service next year. But that capability was delayed to at least Block 4.
The Pentagon is deciding what new weapons and capabilities will be integrated with the fifth-generation aircraft beyond those planned for the Block 3F configuration, which represents the “full warfighting capability.”
Those improved capabilities will be rolled out in Block 4, which will be delivered in cycles through the early 2020s.
USAF moving past cluster munitions, CALCM cruise missile - 6/4/2015 - Flight Global
USAF moving past cluster munitions, CALCM cruise missile - 6/4/2015 - Flight Global: The US Air Force expects that production of a 500-pound, iron-spraying bomb, among other efforts, will eliminate the need for cluster munitions after 2018, in accordance with a timeline set by the Pentagon in 2008.
Although precision-strike weapons like hellfire missiles and small diameter bombs are more commonly used today, the head of Air Combat Command Gen Hawk Carlisle says there is still demand for cluster munition-type capabilities on the Korean Peninsula, where the US maintains a steady presence to deter an attack by the north. And as the January 1, 2019 deadline approaches for ending the use of cluster munitions, which case unintended harm to civilians, Carlisle says the air force has a “pretty good plan” for replacing them.
“We’re making advances and we don’t think we’ll have any problem meeting the timeline of 2018,” he says. “I’ll tell you, the Korean Peninsula is the place with the greatest demand for that capability. [We] need volume. In fact, the amount of cluster munitions we talk about in use is pretty small right now.”
Carlisle acknowledged one effort to produce an air-delivered “cast ductile iron” bomb, which sprays fragments over a wide area but does not leave behind unexploded bomblets.
Although precision-strike weapons like hellfire missiles and small diameter bombs are more commonly used today, the head of Air Combat Command Gen Hawk Carlisle says there is still demand for cluster munition-type capabilities on the Korean Peninsula, where the US maintains a steady presence to deter an attack by the north. And as the January 1, 2019 deadline approaches for ending the use of cluster munitions, which case unintended harm to civilians, Carlisle says the air force has a “pretty good plan” for replacing them.
“We’re making advances and we don’t think we’ll have any problem meeting the timeline of 2018,” he says. “I’ll tell you, the Korean Peninsula is the place with the greatest demand for that capability. [We] need volume. In fact, the amount of cluster munitions we talk about in use is pretty small right now.”
Carlisle acknowledged one effort to produce an air-delivered “cast ductile iron” bomb, which sprays fragments over a wide area but does not leave behind unexploded bomblets.
European Activity Set proves successful, being expanded | Article | The United States Army
European Activity Set proves successful, being expanded | Article | The United States Army
"The European Activity Set proved so successful that the Army chief of staff approved growing it to a full brigade combat team," Lt. Gen. Larry Wyche said.
These activity sets allow a combatant commander to have a forward capability without permanent stationing of troops, he said.
Wyche, deputy commander of Army Materiel Command, or AMC, was keynote speaker at the Association of the United States Army's Institute of Land Warfare-sponsored Hot Topics: "Strategic Sustainment for a Globally Responsive and Regionally Engaged Army," June 3.
The European Activity Set, or EAS, are combined-arms, battalion-sized groups of vehicles and equipment that are pre-positioned in Europe to outfit Army regionally-aligned forces when they rotate into theater for training, disaster relief, theater security or contingency operations, he said.
The activity set includes vehicle systems and equipment, which would outfit a combined-arms battalion, such as M1A2 SEP v2 Abrams Main Battle Tanks and M2A3 Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicles, as well as the standard array of tracked and wheeled support systems, according to the U.S. Army Joint Multinational Training Command, or JMTC.
Pre-positioning vehicles and equipment in Europe allows the Army to save time, money and resources by only rotating personnel into theater, rather than shipping large equipment back and forth across the Atlantic Ocean, according to JMTC.
Wyche revealed that the Army is also building activity sets for U.S. Africa Command and for U.S. Pacific Command. The latter sets will likely be located in Southeast Asia. Activity sets will also be built for Special Operations Command, he said.
OTHER PRE-POSITIONING
Positioning of forward-deployed equipment is not limited to activity sets. The Army Pre-positioned Stocks, or APS, program positions warfighting equipment ashore and afloat worldwide to reduce the deployment response times.
While Wyche did not mention all of the APS locations in the world, he touched on a few, noting that mine-resistant, ambush-protected vehicles and bridging capability are being pre-positioned in the United States.
Also, an APS set consisting of an added sustainment brigade and route-clearing package are being added to South Korea. And, he said, the Army is fielding a humanitarian-assistance and disaster-relief set with U.S. Southern Command and adding an infantry battalion to U.S. Central Command.
All of that equipment needs a place to stay, and much of it is now outside in the weather.
AMC is constructing 15 climate-controlled warehouses, which will "extend equipment shelf-time and realize annual savings of $100 million in reduced lifecycle costs just by removing equipment out of the weather," he said.
LOGISTICS MODERNIZATION
Wyche addressed a number of other AMC initiatives, including the Logistics Modernization Program, or LMP.
"LMP is a $1.1-billion investment, replacing 35-year-old legacy systems, improving accuracy, reliability, speed to better deliver readiness support in global environment," Wyche said.
Before the LMP was conceived, AMC depended on "ponderous, 30-year-old [information technology] systems to manage its logistics operations and supply critical equipment and repair parts to the Soldiers," according to AMC.
These systems - the largest of which were the Commodity Command Standard System and the Standard Depot System - "evolved into a complex web of software solutions that were difficult to maintain and almost impossible to update to address the Army's rapidly expanding supply needs," according to AMC.
EAGLE INITIATIVE
Another AMC initiative is the Enhanced Army Global Logistics Enterprise, or EAGLE, a strategic sourcing strategy to integrate supply, maintenance and transportation service requirements across the Army, Wyche said.
For example, there are transport agreements with 146 companies, he said, and EAGLE streamlines the acquisition of logistics services at 73 logistics readiness centers at Army installations.
EAGLE also promotes better buying power by increasing competition and increasing opportunities for small businesses to become prime contractors, he added.
In the past, many installations placed separate contracts for maintenance, supply, and transportation support services. The EAGLE acquisition strategy centralizes functional responsibility, eliminates redundancy, and maximizes efficiency by combining these, according to AMC.
Lastly, and on an unrelated topic, Wyche announced that AMC just launched a program called AMC 1000, which will offer 1,000 high school and college students intern opportunities for the next five years throughout AMC starting this month.
"The European Activity Set proved so successful that the Army chief of staff approved growing it to a full brigade combat team," Lt. Gen. Larry Wyche said.
These activity sets allow a combatant commander to have a forward capability without permanent stationing of troops, he said.
Wyche, deputy commander of Army Materiel Command, or AMC, was keynote speaker at the Association of the United States Army's Institute of Land Warfare-sponsored Hot Topics: "Strategic Sustainment for a Globally Responsive and Regionally Engaged Army," June 3.
The European Activity Set, or EAS, are combined-arms, battalion-sized groups of vehicles and equipment that are pre-positioned in Europe to outfit Army regionally-aligned forces when they rotate into theater for training, disaster relief, theater security or contingency operations, he said.
The activity set includes vehicle systems and equipment, which would outfit a combined-arms battalion, such as M1A2 SEP v2 Abrams Main Battle Tanks and M2A3 Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicles, as well as the standard array of tracked and wheeled support systems, according to the U.S. Army Joint Multinational Training Command, or JMTC.
Pre-positioning vehicles and equipment in Europe allows the Army to save time, money and resources by only rotating personnel into theater, rather than shipping large equipment back and forth across the Atlantic Ocean, according to JMTC.
Wyche revealed that the Army is also building activity sets for U.S. Africa Command and for U.S. Pacific Command. The latter sets will likely be located in Southeast Asia. Activity sets will also be built for Special Operations Command, he said.
OTHER PRE-POSITIONING
Positioning of forward-deployed equipment is not limited to activity sets. The Army Pre-positioned Stocks, or APS, program positions warfighting equipment ashore and afloat worldwide to reduce the deployment response times.
While Wyche did not mention all of the APS locations in the world, he touched on a few, noting that mine-resistant, ambush-protected vehicles and bridging capability are being pre-positioned in the United States.
Also, an APS set consisting of an added sustainment brigade and route-clearing package are being added to South Korea. And, he said, the Army is fielding a humanitarian-assistance and disaster-relief set with U.S. Southern Command and adding an infantry battalion to U.S. Central Command.
All of that equipment needs a place to stay, and much of it is now outside in the weather.
AMC is constructing 15 climate-controlled warehouses, which will "extend equipment shelf-time and realize annual savings of $100 million in reduced lifecycle costs just by removing equipment out of the weather," he said.
LOGISTICS MODERNIZATION
Wyche addressed a number of other AMC initiatives, including the Logistics Modernization Program, or LMP.
"LMP is a $1.1-billion investment, replacing 35-year-old legacy systems, improving accuracy, reliability, speed to better deliver readiness support in global environment," Wyche said.
Before the LMP was conceived, AMC depended on "ponderous, 30-year-old [information technology] systems to manage its logistics operations and supply critical equipment and repair parts to the Soldiers," according to AMC.
These systems - the largest of which were the Commodity Command Standard System and the Standard Depot System - "evolved into a complex web of software solutions that were difficult to maintain and almost impossible to update to address the Army's rapidly expanding supply needs," according to AMC.
EAGLE INITIATIVE
Another AMC initiative is the Enhanced Army Global Logistics Enterprise, or EAGLE, a strategic sourcing strategy to integrate supply, maintenance and transportation service requirements across the Army, Wyche said.
For example, there are transport agreements with 146 companies, he said, and EAGLE streamlines the acquisition of logistics services at 73 logistics readiness centers at Army installations.
EAGLE also promotes better buying power by increasing competition and increasing opportunities for small businesses to become prime contractors, he added.
In the past, many installations placed separate contracts for maintenance, supply, and transportation support services. The EAGLE acquisition strategy centralizes functional responsibility, eliminates redundancy, and maximizes efficiency by combining these, according to AMC.
Lastly, and on an unrelated topic, Wyche announced that AMC just launched a program called AMC 1000, which will offer 1,000 high school and college students intern opportunities for the next five years throughout AMC starting this month.
Wednesday, June 3, 2015
ACC commander predicts up to seven-year fight in Iraq, Syria
ACC commander predicts up to seven-year fight in Iraq, Syria: Since August, coalition forces have conducted about 4, 200 strikes and dropped 14,000 weapons, Carlisle said. About 13,000 enemy fighters have been killed, and about 25 percent of territory has been retaken. Carlisle's optimistic statements come, however, as Islamic State fighters have been able to retake other ground, like the Iraqi city of Ramadi, and is still able to heavily recruit to their ranks, both locally and internationally.
This is all part of a "dynamic and rapidly changing" fight that Carlisle said he expects to last up to seven years. The coalition has been able to make a difference with airpower, but broader issues of the Syrian and Iraqi governments, along with a messy surveillance picture, makes the fight challenging, Carlisle said.
This is all part of a "dynamic and rapidly changing" fight that Carlisle said he expects to last up to seven years. The coalition has been able to make a difference with airpower, but broader issues of the Syrian and Iraqi governments, along with a messy surveillance picture, makes the fight challenging, Carlisle said.
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