By
Theresa Hitchens on March 05, 2021 at 3:20 PM
AFRL image of autonomous swarming munitions
WASHINGTON: Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) is shifting the focus of its Golden Horde program from testing its own swarming weapons to developing a digital environment, nicknamed Colosseum, to test vendors bringing their own concepts.
“What we are looking to do is beginning a phase of an open, collaborative autonomy architecture, and this government-owned reference architecture is really going to be an environment where more players can come and compete their own versions of what autonomous collaborative weapons should be,” AFRL Director Brig. Gen. Heather Pringle said last week during the Air Force Association’s annual winter meeting.
By
Sydney J. Freedberg Jr. on February 26, 2021 at 11:55 AM
Troops practice assaulting a building under cover of smoke as an observer looks on during last year’s AEWE exercises.
WASHINGTON: As the Army rebuilds its long-neglected electronic warfare arm, it’s finding simple tools can have a big impact – at the right place and time.
While EW is best known for
disrupting radio and radar, recent wargames at Fort Benning showed tremendous tactical value to simply
detecting hostile transmissions. EW troops following behind the frontline infantry used portable sensors to detect “enemy” units’ transmissions a kilometer or more away, long before regular soldiers could see them.
By
Theresa Hitchens on February 23, 2021 at 1:38 PM
T-7A Red Hawk, Boeing image
WASHINGTON: Boeing is talking with the Navy about the T-7A Red Hawk trainer replacing the service’s aging T-45 Goshawk jet trainer, says Chuck Dabundo, program vice president.
“We’ve been in some discussions with the Navy about a couple of different variants of the T-7,” he told reporters today. “There is no program of record right now, [but] we’re working closely with them in answering questions about the platform and its capabilities. And we’re hopeful that it will be able to play a role in the Navy’s training systems as well.”
By
Sydney J. Freedberg Jr. on February 18, 2021 at 4:50 PM
Gen. James McConville
WASHINGTON: As budget battles intensify in the face of COVID relief and the shift to the Pacific, Army Chief of Staff James McConville argues that the Army’s new missiles, aircraft, & networks can help the other services in long-range, fast-paced, high-tech combat.
“The future is all about range and speed,” Gen. McConville declared, and longtime Army watchers perked up. With the other services circling for a prophesied budgetary “bloodletting”, the Army really needs a clear and catchy argument for its modernization program.
Yes, Army leaders have previously touted the range and speed of specific weapons systems they’re developing – especially hypersonic & other long-range missiles, manned and unmanned Future Vertical Lift aircraft, and command networks capable of transmitting targeting data in seconds. But yesterday’s remarks by McConville were the first time the four-star Army
As the United Arab Emirates (UAE) enhances the situational awareness capabilities of its army, other Arab Gulf States are also seeking to provide their land forces with state-of-the-art systems to keep their troops well informed of their operating environment and increase their lethality on the battlefield.
By
Riad Kahwaji on February 18, 2021 at 9:25 AM