Defense`s Feeds

A new EDA research project, for which the Agency Steering Board has just given its go-ahead, will help participating Member States’ Armed Forces to step up their collaborative air training & exercise capabilities thanks to improved modelling and simulation.

The overarching aim of the project called MAJES (Modelling and simulation as a service applications for Air and Joint Exercises & Simulation) is to develop an interconnected and interacting system/network that will allow the military of participating Member States to perform training simulations for coalition operations in a distributed manner from different locations. This will allow much more realistic conditions than in the past when simulations were traditionally configurated and done locally, in isolation, which meant they were mostly unable to take into account external factors and changes and requested participating Member States to meet physically in specific training centres.

MAJES will thus help Member States in the preparation, execution and after-service of collective (but not physically joint) military trainings and exercises for air and joint operations using LVC (Live-Virtual-Constructive) technologies which suppose a mix of physical and simulated assets, including virtual adversaries. This will support as well the management and control of so-called ‘Battlelabs’ (digital distributed defence laboratories) for the concept, development and testing of System of Systems (such as the next 5th generation aircraft systems - FCAS) supporting experiment plan and data farming automation. The project also aims to improve the data collection from exercises for Artificial Intelligence learning in this distributed simulated environment which allows cooperation without joint physical presence.

The project will run over 36 months, starting from the signing of the project contract expected to take place early next year. Three countries are participating so far: France, the Netherlands and Norway (which is not an EDA Member State but has concluded an Administrative Agreement with the Agency). Industry from the participating countries is also involved.

Americas

Lockheed Martin won a $7.3 million contract modification for Apache modernized day sensor assembly kits. The Apache is the Army’s primary attack helicopter. It is a quick-reacting, airborne weapon system that can fight close and deep to destroy, disrupt, or delay enemy forces. The Apache is designed to fight and survive during the day, night, and in adverse weather throughout the world. The principal mission of the Apache is the destruction of high-value targets with the HELLFIRE missile. Work will take place in Florida. Estimated completion date is August 31, 2020.

Boeing delivered the first MH-47G Block II Chinook helicopters to Army Special Operations Command, the company announced. Under the current iteration of the contract, Boeing will build a total of 24 aircraft for a total potential value of $602.2 million. The company had signed a $265 million deal in July to to build upgraded Chinook aircraft for SOCOM. The Block II version of the Chinook includes newly designed rotorblades, changes to the drive system and improvements like non-segmented fuel cells.

Middle East & Africa

Israeli strikes on Syria killed one civilian, three government troops, and seven allied foreign fighters, a war monitor said on Tuesday in a new toll. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which had previously put the toll from Monday’s strikes at five, said Iran-backed paramilitary fighters were among those killed in the attack. The Britain-based monitor said the strikes hit Syrian army positions south of Damascus as well as positions belonging to Iran-backed paramilitaries, including fighters of the Lebanese Hezbollah movement, in the southern province of Daraa.

Europe

UKspace is working in partnership with the Royal Air Force (RAF) to develop a new Commercial Integration Cell at the UK Space Operations Centre (SpOC), which will enable enhanced coordination of military and commercial space operations. They say that the partnership will establish a CIC in the UK similar to that currently operated by the US Space Force at the Combined Space Operations Centre in Vandenburg, further improving interoperability between the allied nations in support of Operation OLYMPIC DEFENDER and national operations.

The Russian state-owned Sukhoi Su-27 fighter jets are suspected to have violated Danish airspace on Friday, August 28, according to HQ Allied Air Command. The Russian Su-27, flying from Kaliningrad, followed the US Air Force B-52 bomber well into Danish airspace over the Island of Bornholm, committing a significant violation of airspace of a NATO nation. Danish Quick Reaction Alert aircraft were launched to counter the violation, however the violating Russian fighter turned back before interception. The Danish jets remained airborne and patrolling to protect the sovereignty of Danish airspace.

Asia-Pacific

China plans to double its stockpile of nuclear warheads within the next decade, but its nuclear force would still be a fraction of that of the United States, says a Pentagon report released on September 1. In its to Congress on military and security developments in China, the Pentagon said Beijing is working to develop a more assertive position and match or surpass the United States as the dominant power in the Asia-Pacific region. Part of that strategy is a plan to modernize and expand its nuclear forces, the report said.

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Americas

General Dynamics Mission Systems won a $17.5 million deal for wide band radomes. The deal provides for production of wide band radomes supporting Air Force F-16 aircraft outfitted with Active Electronically Scanned Array (AESA) radars. AESA is a phased array system in which the beam of signals can be steered electronically in any direction, without physically moving the antenna. The antenna consists of an array of an array of small antennas each with a separate feed. The beam is steered by electronically by controlling the phase of the radio waves transmitted and received by each of the multiple radiating elements in the antenna. Work will take place in Marion, Virginia and expected completion date is by August 30, 2032.

Day & Zimmermann Lone Star LLC won a $39.4 million contracts for the manufacture of M500 cartridge actuated cutters used on the C-130 and C-17 aircraft during load airdrop sequence. The deal includes a five-year ordering period with no options. The Lockheed Martin C-130 is the US Air Force’s principal tactical cargo and personnel transport aircraft. The C-130J Hercules is the latest model, featuring a glass cockpit, digital avionics and a new propulsion system with a six-bladed propeller. The Boeing C-17 Globemaster III military airlift aircraft is a high-wing, four-engine, T-tailed military transport vehicle capable of carrying payloads up to 169,000lb. Work will take place in Texas and South Dakota. Estimated completion will be in August 2025.

Middle East & Africa

Leidos won a $35.8 million contract modification for continued contractor logistics support services for special mission wing Mi-17/PC-12 aircraft fleets in support of the government of Afghanistan. The PC-12 is a single-engine turboprop passenger and cargo aircraft. The Mi-17 is a medium twin-turbine helicopter. Work will take place in Maryland. Estimated completion date is November 30, 2020.

The US Air Force Security Assistance and Cooperation Directorate’s Foreign Military Sales Construction Division awarded a $36.1 million contract to the United States Army Corps of Engineers, Europe District to support the beddown of a A-29 Super Tucano wing at an air base in Nigeria. The facilities will support 12 Nigerian Air Force A-29 aircraft, and include the construction of new airfield hot cargo pad, perimeter and security fencing, munitions assembly and storage, small arms storage, a flight annex wing building for simulator training, airfield lighting, and various airfield apron, parking, hangar, and entry control point improvements.

Europe

On August 31, the German Air Force Eurofighter detachment took over the augmenting role of NATO’s Baltic Air Policing mission from the French Air Force at Ämari Air Base, Estonia. The French Air Force Mirage 2000-5 detachment, deployed at Ämari since last May, handed over its augmenting role in NATO’s Baltic Air Policing to a German Air Force Eurofighter detachment during a ceremony today. The second Air Policing detachment at Ämari takes place under NATO’s assurance measures introduced in 2014 as the Alliance’s response to Russian interventions in Ukraine and is aimed at reassuring eastern Allies and demonstrating NATO’s commitment and resolve.

Asia-Pacific

India’s Ministry of Defense inked a $353.5 million contract with two domestic private-sector companies and a public-sector enterprise for the supply of six regiments’ worth of indigenously developed Pinaka Mk I multi-barrel rocket launcher (MBRL) systems to the Indian Army (IA). The Indian government’s Press Information Bureau (PIB) announced on August 31 that the deal includes procuring 114 launchers with automated gun alignment and positioning systems (AGAPSs) and 45 command posts from Tata Power and Larsen & Toubro. A total of 330 high-mobility vehicles – worth a combined INR8.42 billion – will be manufactured by BEML Limited at its Palakkad plant in Kerala, with deliveries expected to be completed within three years. The majority of these vehicles, however, will not be fitted with launchers, but will instead be used to carry additional rockets for the Pinaka systems.

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Americas

M1 Support won a $25.6 million contract modification for the T-38 aircraft maintenance program.  The modification will provide intermediate and organizational maintenance of T?38 aircraft for Air Combat Command, Air Force Materiel Command and Air Force Global Strike Command. The Northrop T-38 Talon is a two-seat, twinjet supersonic jet trainer. It was the world’s first supersonic trainer and is also the most produced. The T-38 remains in service as of 2020 in several air forces. Work will take place in California, New Mexico, Virginia, Florida, Missouri and is expected to be completed by September 30, 2021.

Lockheed Martin won a $911.8 million modification for Terminal High Altitude Area Defense element development and support services. The modification provides for the extension of the period of performance for additional incremental development, support to flight and ground test programs and responsive support to warfighter requirements to sustain the Ballistic Missile Defense System throughout the acquisition life cycle. THAAD is an American anti-ballistic missile defense system. It is designed to shoot down short-, medium- and intermediate-range ballistic missiles in their terminal range. Work will take place in California and Alabama. Expected completion dates will be established under subsequent task order awards.

Middle East & Africa

Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey was quoted in local media saying that the country requires three aircraft carriers in order to be a “a deterrent at sea”. “Turkey is among the 10 countries that can design and produce its own warships. I see some shipbuilders with us today. We can build the second and third aircraft carriers, right? Can we? Because we need those to be a deterrent at sea. We continue to work and produce with the conscience that we don’t have a minute to lose“, he said. Turkey is building helicopter carriers, not aircraft carriers. Aircraft carriers carry fixed wing aircraft, rather than just rotary wing aircraft like helicopters.

Europe

Two Russian Su-27 Flanker pilots intercepted a US Air Force B-52 bomber over international waters in the Black Sea Friday, according to the Air Force. In a press release, the US said Russian pilots flew in an unsafe and unprofessional manner while crossing within 100 feet of the nose of the B-52 multiple times, causing turbulence and restricting the B-52?s ability to maneuver. American B-52 Stratofortress bombers flew over all 30 NATO countries on Friday in an exercise the US military said was meant to demonstrate the alliance’s solidarity, amid growing signs of cracks. The single-day mission is part of regular flight missions that have been taking place in Europe since 2018, but is meant specifically to “demonstrate NATO solidarity, enhance readiness and provide training opportunities” by involving the airspace of every member nation, the US European Command said.

Asia-Pacific

Taiwan decided not to buy three sets of Centurion C-RAM system from the US after it was told by the Pentagon that no evaluation testing data exists for the Centurion. Taiwan had wanted the Centurion to act as an area defensive weapon system to protect its airfields but the system can only do point defense. Therefore, the military has decided to invite the local National Chung-Shan Institute of Science and Technology (NCSIST) to modify the Phalanx close-in weapon system (CWIS) for its needs. The institute had previously taken a Phalanx CIWS from the Navy’s Yang-class destroyer and installed it on a mountain top to protect the Songshan radar station on the top of Zhuzi Mountain. A total of seven Gearing-class destroyers transferred to Taiwan as the Yang-class had been upgraded under Wu Chin III program that turn these World War Two ships into guided-missile destroyers. However, since the Air Force’s requirement is for area defense, the new system will have to be integrated with the service’s Sky Guard air defense system. It will modify existing Phalanx CIWS in the inventory for the purpose.

South Korea is moving forward with a reshuffle of top brass, nominating military officials specializing in OPCON or transfer of wartime operational control from the United States. The decision comes a day after a US military vehicle crashed, killing South Koreans near a U.S. military complex outside Seoul. South Korea’s defense ministry said in statement on Monday that Gen. Won In-choul, Seoul’s Air Force chief of staff, was nominated to chair the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Won has “excellent strategic insight into operational command capability,” and the Air Force chief is “equipped with the competence and expertise to systematically advance defense reform and OPCON,” Seoul said.

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The Agency’s Steering Board has given its green light to the launch of a new EDA research project which aims to improve and harden Armed Forces’ communication and radar systems with the help of Artificial Intelligence (AI) to make them more resilient, even in contested electronic warfare environments. Three Member States - Germany, the Netherlands, Poland – will participate in the project. 

Armed Forces’ radiocommunication and radiolocation services are faced with increasing challenges: the spectrum is becoming denser and more users are contending for limited frequency bandwidth, while the risk of interference is increasing. In addition to that, scenarios are becoming more and more dynamic with mobile high-speed communication, highly agile targets, and electronic warfare methods that are much more efficient than simple noise jamming.  

Cognitive systems supported by AI technologies are a promising option to harden the equipment against such interferences as cognitive radios and radars have the capability to respond to dynamically changing environments. This allows them to offer stable communication based on optimal utilisation of radio frequency spectrum by sensing free spectrum availability and minimizing interference between users, e.g. managing reliable communication dynamically.  

EDA’s new project, called ‘Communications and Radar Systems hardened with Artificial Intelligence in a contested electronic warfare environment’ (CRAI), will produce a study which will significantly help to make progress in the use of AI-supported cognitive systems for the benefit of military communications and radar systems. More precisely, the study notably aims to:  

• investigate future military scenarios and use cases for relevant communication and radar systems, where cognitive methods, combined with AI, offer potential operational benefits; 

• identify potential new communication disturbance based on the past experiences; 

• review and adapt AI methodologies for spectrum Situational Awareness and surveillance; 

• specify the requirements for the common cognitive system acting in contested electronic warfare environments; 

• analyse potential AI techniques that could be used for cognitive communications and radars; 

• design and implement cognitive techniques combined with AI for both communication and radar systems using common interfaces; 

• do the testing, verification and evaluation of AI based communications and radar concepts; 

• and verify, validate and demonstrate the test system in a (field) exercise. 

The project is expected to last for 36 months, starting with the signing of the project arrangement expected to take place in 2021. It will also involve a number of European defence industry players active in the communications and radar domain.  

Americas

Leidos won a $58.9 million contract modification, which provides for the development of Adaptive Radar Countermeasure (ARC) Software/Firmware (SW/FW) capabilities and integration of ARC SW/FW on the AN/ALQ-214A electronic countermeasure host. ARC SW/FW supplements F/A-18C-F survivability in the presence of radio frequency guided surface-to-air and air-to-air weapons systems. Work will take place in Virginia, New Jersey, California, Missouri, North Carolina and Alabama. Expected completion date is in February 2023.

Lockheed Martin won a $35.3 million deal, which procures labor and hardware for the development of preliminary software for Phase 2 Network Enabled Weapons (NEW) capabilities. Specifically, this order provides software coding, testing and integration of NEW into a software development branch of the MH-60R/S software configuration with a merge into MH-60R/S fleet release baseline after the capability has established maturity. Work will take place in Owego, New York. Expected completion will be in August 2023.

Middle East & Africa

Reports in the Israeli media said that snipers from the Hezbollah terrorist group were responsible for Tuesday night’s incident in which IDF troops near the northern border were fired upon from Lebanese territory. The reports said the snipers took position about 300 meters away from the border in an area between two positions of the UNIFIL peacekeeping force. They fired two shots, which both missed. There were no casualties among the IDF troops. In retaliation for the incident, IDF attack helicopters and other aircraft attacked Hezbollah targets in Lebanon including observation posts. The IDF also conducted an intensive sweep of the border area to ensure that there was no infiltration.

Europe

Greek newspapers report that Greece will be getting 18 Rafale fighters. The report says a preliminary agreement for the acquisition has been reached. Ten of these fighters will be the F3-R variant built from scratch while the other 8 jets will be second-hand aircraft that will be transferred free to Greece from the French Air Force. Rafale is a twin-jet combat aircraft capable of carrying out a wide range of short and long-range missions, including ground and sea attack, air defense and air superiority, reconnaissance, and high-accuracy strike or nuclear strike deterrence.

Saab announced that it is developing a new decoy missile system, the Lightweight Air-launched Decoy Missile, as part of Gripen’s E/F Electronic Warfare capability. The company will offer the missile together with the new Electronic Attack Jammer Pod for Finland’s HX fighter procurement program. It also revealed that the missile has a stand-in jammer that can jam or create false targets for acquisition, tracking, fire control and airborne radars. “The decoy missile, that we present today, will constitute a strong addition to Gripen E/F’s built-in electronic attack capabilities.The payload of the new decoy missile is to a large extent developed in Finland and this will strengthen our offer to Finland even further,” says Jonas Hjelm, Senior Vice President and Head of Saab Business Area Aeronautics.

Asia-Pacific

The Indian government is expected to clear the purchase of two A-50EI airborne early warning platforms that are equipped with the Israeli EL/W-2090 radar. This is the second time that the Cabinet Committee on Security (CCS) is reviewing the purchase. India has three PHALCON AWACS with a 360 degree rotodome mounted on top of the aircraft and two DRDO-built AWACS with 240 degree rotodome. China has 28 AWACS and Pakistan has seven for directing the air battle in the worst case scenario.

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Americas

Northrop Grumman Systems won a $44.6 million contract modification, which increases the ceiling of the contract for the production and delivery of an additional 228 H-1 Tech Refresh Mission Computers, increasing the quantity from 545 to 773 in support of domestic and Foreign Military Sales UH-1Y and AH-1Z aircraft. Northrop Grumman Gen III mission computers are at the heart of the company’s avionics system that powers the glass cockpit avionics of AH-1Z and UH-1Y. The conduction-cooled Gen III mission computer has a ruggedized 6U VME PowerPC-based single board computer. Interfaces include Fast Ethernet, four serial ports, parallel I/O, and built-in-test. It has a standard partitioned real-time operating system called INTEGRITY-178 tuMP for multicore architectures from Green Hills Software in Santa Barbara, Calif., with ARINC 653 and POSIX support. Work will take place in Utah, Maryland and California. Estimated completion is in December 2023.

The Navy awarded Lockheed Martin a $7.5 million modification, which exercises options to procure Intel Diminishing Manufacturing Sources parts that have reached end of life in support of the F-35 program future aircraft production and deliveries for the Air Force and Navy. The largest procurement program in the Department of Defense, the F-35 Lightning II is a strike fighter aircraft being procured in different versions for the United States Air Force, Marine Corps, and Navy. Work will take place in Fort Worth. Expected completion will be in December 2020.

Middle East & Africa

Kellogg Brown & Root Services won a ceiling $974 million contract for US Air Forces in Europe – Air Forces Africa (USAFE-AFAFRICA) base operating support. This contract provides day-to-day base operations and maintenance services throughout locations within USAFE-AFAFRICA. Air Force Installation Contracting Command at Ramstein Air Base in Germany received three offers for the indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract and will obligate $10M on the first two task orders under the IDIQ. Work will take place at Spain’s Moron AB and Turkey’s Incirlik AB, Izmir Air Station and Office of Defense Cooperation. DoD expects contract services to be complete by Aug. 27, 2028.

Europe

The US State Department has authorized a British purchase of three hundred and ninety-five AGM-114R2 Hellfire missiles for an estimated cost of $46 million. The required certification notifying Congress about this possible sale was delivered by the Defense Security Cooperation Agency. The UK Government had put a request for the acquisition of the 395 missiles and this request also included technical assistance, publications, integration support, and other related aspects regarding logistics and program support. The proposed sale will not only support the foreign policy but also the national security objectives of the US Government by bolstering the security of a Nato ally. Furthermore, the acquisition of these missiles is expected to help the UK to replace expiring and unserviceable missiles and bolstering its capability to meet current and future threats. The missiles are also expected to help maintain its ability to carry out missions across a wide range of military operations. These missiles will also be easily inducted by the UK into its armed forces.

Asia-Pacific

The US government approved a possible Foreign Military Sale to Japan of 32 AIM-120C-8 Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missiles (AMRAAM) with support for an estimated cost of $63 million. Along with the missiles, the sales package includes one AIM-120C-8 AMRAAM guidance section spare, containers, support and support equipment, spare and repair parts. The Government of Japan had requested to buy 32 AIM-120C-8 AMRAAM and one (1) AIM-120C-8 AMRAAM guidance section spare.  Also included are containers, support and support equipment, spare and repair parts, US Government and contractor engineering, technical and logistical support services, and other related elements of logistical and program support. The estimated total cost is $63 million.

Taiwan has deployed a small number of its indigenous Albatross UAVs to Pratas and Taiping Islands in the South China Sea. Each island had one set of system which consists of 4 aircraft along with its ground control station. The system deployed to Pratas Island is tasked with monitoring the military exercises that China is executing off Shantou. It complements the reconnaissance assets that Taiwan will deploy from the island to monitor those exercises. The other system on Taiping Island will help monitor the artificial islands that China had constructed in the South China Sea. Previously operated by the Army Aviation and Special Forces Command, these UAVs were transferred to Naval Fleet Command in 2017.

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Americas

PAE Aviation and Technical Services won a $19.7 million contract modification for the Aerial Targets Program.  The contract modification provides for the exercise of an option for an additional year of service under the multiple year contract which directly supports live-fire weapon system testing and enables the 53rd Weapons Evaluation Group to perform developmental and operational weapons testing for all air-to-air missiles for F-15, F-16, F-22, and F-35 aircraft. Work will take place at Tyndall Air Force Base, Florida; and Holloman Air Force Base, New Mexico. Expected completion date is September 30, 2021.

Oklahoma City Water Utilities Trust won a $16.5 million deal for the ownership, operation and maintenance of the water and wastewater utility systems at Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma. Earlier this month Oklahoma City officials authorized the city’s Water Utilities Trust and the city attorney’s office to finalize a draft contract with the federal government to modernize the base’s aging water and sewer systems. In March 2017 the Air Force tapped Honeywell with a $243 million contract to reduce energy consumption and costs at Tinker. That deal included updating wastewater treatment systems as well modernizing manufacturing lines, installing two new 2,000-ton chillers, installing smart meters and LED lighting and decentralizing the steam heating plant to use less energy. Work will take place in Oklahoma. Estimated completion date is August 31, 2071.

Middle East & Africa

The Israeli Ministry of Defense released the first images from the new Ofek 16 satellite on August 25. The Ofek 16 was launched on July 6. According to the ministry, this is the first time it has released recent imagery from one of its satellites. The greyscale images showed the Roman Theatre and Temple of Bel in the ruined city of Palmyra in central Syria. In a statement, the Defense Ministry said the camera on Ofek 16 that took the photos was developed in a hitherto-classified joint project by the ministry’s research and development department, known by the Hebrew acronym MAFAT, and the Elbit Systems defense contractor.

Europe

Three kayakers have been rescued in a multi-agency response featuring a Royal Navy warship, the BBC reports. It is understood that HMS Sutherland was sailing along the west coast near Skye when it received a request to assist coastguard teams in rescuing three individuals from a nearby loch. The operation also involved the RNLI, the coastguard and nearby fishing boats. A Maritime and Coastguard spokesman said: “HM Coastguard received a report of three kayakers in difficulty at Loch Torridon, in the north-west Highlands. Kyle Coastguard Rescue Team, the Portree RNLI lifeboat and the HM Coastguard search and rescue helicopter from Stornoway were sent to assist at the scene. HMS Sutherland and a number of nearby fishing boats and other vessels also responded immediately and assisted.“

Asia-Pacific

South Korea’s Joint Chiefs of Staff is expected to rectify a plan to buy 20 F-35As and 20 F-35Bs under phase 2 of its FX III fighter program in October’s meeting. The purchase is expected to cost $6.7 billion and the priority is to acquire the B-model first in order for the short take-off and vertical landing aircraft (STOVL) to operate on the light aircraft carrier that Seoul intends to build.

Former Indian Navy aircraft carrier and Falklands War veteran INS Viraat will arrive at Alang shipyard next month to be dismantled. It was purchased by shipping firm Shri Ram Shipping after attempts to convert it into a museum failed. The iconic warship is hailed as the longest serving warship in the world. It was first commissioned as HMS Hermes by the British Royal Navy in 1959. It was deployed for peacekeeping mission to Sri Lanka in 1988 and Kargil War in 1999.

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Artificial intelligence (AI) has been around for a long time since the first, if crude, modern calculating machines were created more than a century ago. However, it is only in the past ten years or so with the advent of deep-learning techniques that AI has started to come into its own, with profound implications for the defence world.

This article has first been published in EDA's 'European Defence Matters' magazine N° 19 published in June 2020. 

The European Defence Agency aims to marshal its Member States’ research and development (R&D) in this sector in important ways, from creating a common set of AI references and terminology to pinpointing logical areas for their cross-border collaboration to framing the most important areas of AI for Europe’s strategic autonomy. 

“AI is not new for the defence world. There have been a lot of expectations pinned to it since the end of the Second World War: many trends and crazy predictions that have promised so much, only to fade away,” said Panagiotis Kikiras, EDA’s head of unit for technology and innovation. 

“We have avoided jumping on these trends by taking a very cautious approach. That said, this latest wave in AI’s evolution has been different. Enablers that were not around in the 1980s and ‘90s such as massive processing power and huge databases of near-real time information are accelerating. This wave of innovation stands in sharp contrast to previous advances in AI capability and makes possible new deployable solutions,” he said. “That is what we want to capitalise on as we look ahead.”
 

Taking stock

To do so first requires getting a solid idea of how military AI is being researched across the EU, what it has to offer Europe’s militaries – including its limitations – and, just as important, a common technical language for analysing it.

“In our discussions with Member State experts over the past few years, we saw a lot of discrepancies or divergent interpretations about what AI and ‘deep learning’ actually mean,” said Ignacio Montiel Sanchez, EDA’s project officer for information technologies research. 

Thus, the Agency decided three years ago to launch a preliminary blueprint to promote and coordinate AI innovation across its Member States. This was approved by its board in February 2019, and has been unfolding in phases since then. 

A first phase was to develop a common understanding of AI related to defence. “Everyone needs to read from the same ‘sheet of music’ so that all refer to and use AI terms and definitions the same way,” observed Montiel Sanchez. “This domain is really extensive, so we decided to demystify which AI elements are relevant for defence and which were not. That meant putting together a common definition, a technology taxonomy relevant to defence, and a glossary of terms in order to produce a clear vocabulary for everyone within EDA.”
 

Common definition, taxonomy, glossary

For instance, a first task was to set out the limits to AI and then converge on a common definition of it. “We saw too many divergent concepts, so the common denominator we settled on was, in brief: the capability of algorithms to select optimal or quasi-optimal choices to achieve specific goals,” he said.

With that done, EDA could then begin framing its AI taxonomy. “As we built the taxonomy, for example, we did not find a comprehensive taxonomy anywhere else. The Finnish Ministry of Defence is doing some work in that area, but it has not been completed yet to the best of our knowledge,” he said. 

The goal was not, however, to create a full taxonomy but instead “to do what was feasible within the EDA framework by focusing on what areas of activity could be clustered to help us further develop AI-related projects and programmes,” said Kikiras. In the end, EDA’s taxonomy was structured along three lines: algorithms, functions carried out by algorithms, and support or related areas such as ethics, hardware implementation or learning techniques. 

EDA’s AI definition, glossary and taxonomy were completed in December 2019. Since then these touchstones have been proving their worth, particularly regarding the AI taxonomy. The latter’s utility is such that other EU entities such as the European Commission’s research policy department, known as DG RTD, have expressed their appreciation and interest in following the evolution of this work.

Moreover, the taxonomy will be a living document. “We will soon have a dedicated place on our website for the taxonomy where it can be regularly updated,” said Kikiras.
 

Identifying defence applications

The second phase has been to identify and analyse applications within the scope of EDA’s research work that are relevant to the military and which can be affected by AI. 

“This is less about identifying technology and more about addressing the lack of awareness of knowledge about AI at all levels of defence planners,” said Kikiras. “They are trying to use it to incrementally improve their current systems and scenarios, something that is desirable and increases operational capacities. However, AI will transform the future battlefield far beyond that. For example, to survey the Arctic, ships are used supported by satellites. But this could be done more nimbly with unmanned systems. We need a new generation of planners who understand the optimisations AI can induce to their systems, and who think differently.”
 

Looking for synergies

The blueprint’s third phase is also its most strategic: to get an overview of the AI’s military status and strategies across the Member States, and to propose ideas where more AI synergies between them might be possible.

“We know from the recent study that EDA commissioned on the subject that not many Member States have a dedicated AI strategy for defence: most have a more general reference to defence in their national AI strategies. The important thing is that the study identified the gaps and patterns of potential collaboration such as data management, the ethical dimensions, certification of AI applications and systems or standardisation,” he said.  “We now need to get our CapTech groups of national experts to identify how AI can be folded into their work, and to ensure they have a better understanding of what other Member States – and third countries such as the USA, Singapore and China – are doing in the sector.”

Ultimately, the challenge will be to tackle all these things the right way, top-down as well as bottom-up. “There are different levels of AI maturity across the Member States, and that is a concern for us. While the experts within our CapTechs are eager to find solutions – and there are a lot of projects possible – once you move to the strategic level, it becomes more difficult,” said Kikiras. 

Montiel Sanchez added: “At the tactical level, AI is more about the intelligent automation of functions, like those on platforms aiming for autonomous systems. But at the strategic level, this goes straight to (AI-enabled) intelligence and support to decision-making, which immediately gets more complicated for cooperation, given the sensitivities from the different parties.”
 

AI Action Plan

This third phase includes a new EDA draft AI action plan, based on the Member States’ requirements and identifying how they could collaborate to develop AI for their militaries. National capitals had until May to comment on the action plans, after which it will be formally validated by end-2020. 

Virtual testing for real-life military AI solutions

AI products and services need standardisation and certification if they are going to be readily accepted into the military sector. One idea EDA has proposed to its members is to create a repository, or ‘data lake’, of less sensitive but anonymous military operational data on vehicles, air platforms and so on. By giving research and technology organisations, SMEs and large industry access to it, these players could devise new AI solutions such as platform-specific smart software.

“Let’s say you have a company working on predictive maintenance for a helicopter type and it has developed a great algorithm. How to test it? Traditionally, they would have to go to the manufacturer or military user, where it can be difficult or slow to get the right data sets for testing and validation,” said Kikiras. 

With the repository, however, a company could go to EDA as the trusted third-party to link the innovator with the Member State that controls and owns the operational data needed. “This would create a one-stop shop for testing AI products. But first we have to see whether our militaries will be willing to do this. France is already moving in that direction with its own repository, for example,” he said.
 

Artificial intelligence vs. machine learning: what are the differences?

The commingling is found everywhere, whether in articles for the layman or scientific texts. The terms ‘artificial intelligence’ (AI) and ‘machine learning’ (ML) are used so interchangeably that it suggests a complete synonymity between them, and thus the same concept. But this is certainly not the case, and it is important to understand the differences between them to avoid confusion. 

Artificial intelligence is the broad and overarching term. It encompasses various algorithms and techniques which exploit the huge power of computers (in their widest sense) to quickly make an immense number of calculations to solve specific goals. This capability can provide useful responses that can be construed as or equivalent to those coming from an intelligent human being. However, that is not a very precise or useful definition. 

Many AI definitions refer to human intelligence (itself not a well-defined term), reasoning (not clearly described either), concepts such as perception, cognition, intelligence or vague allusions to applications such as ‘computer vision’, ‘natural language understanding’ or ‘problem solving’.

To avoid confusion and establish a common reference, EDA has settled on a ‘minimum common denominator’ definition of the functional perspective of AI. For example, AI is very good at proposing the best option among a range of choices regarding a decision needed. The Agency has thus adopted the following definition: 

AI is the capability provided by algorithms of selecting, optimal or sub-optimal choices from a wide possibility space, in order to achieve specific goals by applying different strategies including adaptivity to the surrounding dynamical conditions and learning from own experience, externally supplied or self-generated data. 

This definition helps clear the way for EDA to support European defence cooperation in AI. 

As for machine learning, this can be understood in two ways related to the AI domain. One is that ML represents the ability of certain algorithms to learn without being explicitly programmed to do so. The other way refers not to their learning ability but to the algorithms themselves.  

For EDA, machine learning means the ability of algorithms “to model systems by learning from the data these systems produce”. These models identify and extract patterns, thus acquiring their own knowledge and inferring from the data how to predict the outcome of new inputs not previously seen. 

An exemplary illustration of ML would be so-called deep learning algorithms such as ‘Convolutional Neural Networks’ or ‘Recurrent Neural Networks’. These have produced spectacular results and are behind the explosion of AI in the last ten years regarding image- and voice-identification (Google, Facebook, Apple, etc.). They are also the reason why ML is erroneously taken as the whole body of AI when, in fact, it is only a part of it. Why? ML is a subset of AI because many AI algorithms do not have ML’s self-learning ability. 

 

Americas

General Atomics Aeronautical Systems won a $15.5 million contract modification, that adds performance for site relocation activities and exercises an option to extend intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance services utilizing contractor-owned/contractor-operated MQ-9 unmanned air systems. The Reaper is a UAV capable of remotely controlled or autonomous flight operations. The MQ-9 Reaper has an operational ceiling of 50,000ft, a maximum internal payload of 800lb and external payload over 3,000lb. It can carry up to four Hellfire II anti-armor missiles and two laser-guided bombs (GBU-12 or EGBU-12) and 500lb GBU-38 JDAM (joint direct attack munition). In May 2008, a USAF Reaper successfully test dropped four Raytheon GBU-49 Enhanced Paveway II 500lb bombs, which have laser and GPS guidance. Work will take place in Arizona, California and other locations outside the continental US. Expected completion is in December 2020.

Areté Associated von a $9.7 million contract for integration services supporting incremental upgrades, block upgrades and future generations of MK 18 Family of Systems unmanned underwater vehicles (UUVs), additional UUVs and remotely operated vehicles. This 17-month contract includes no options.The Mk 18 Mod 1 Swordfish UUV is capable of performing low-visible exploration and reconnaissance in support of amphibious landing; mine countermeasures operations such as search, classification, mapping, reacquire, and identification; hydrographic mapping at depths from 10 to 40 feet. Work will take place in Arizona and Florida. Estimated completion is August 24, 2020-

Middle East & Africa

Turkey and Qatar will help restructure forces loyal to Libya’s Government of National Accord (GNA) into a regular army based on the model that Turkey used to train the military of Azerbaijan after it became an independent country, turkish media reported. The three-way agreement was announced after talks in Tripoli between GNA Deputy Defense Minister Salah al-Namroush, Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar, and Qatari Defense Minister Khalid bin Muhammad al-Attiyah.

Europe

According to Rheinmetall, Hungary has embarked on a massive program worth over two billion euros (2.4 billion dollars) to modernize the country’s defense industry and military capabilities. Rheinmetall will be cooperating with Hungary to create a joint venture and production facility in Hungary to manufacture the most modern Lynx infantry fighting vehicle. Hungary is the first NATO and EU member state to choose the Düsseldorf-based Group’s innovative new IFV.

A giant Antonov AN-124 cargo aircraft touched down at Glasgow Prestwick Airport to make an oversized delivery of a new Operational Flight Trainer (OFT) heading to RAF Lossiemouth, according to the UK Ministry of Defense. The simulator is one of two that will be installed in the new £100-million strategic facility built by Boeing Defence UK. From Autumn 2020, RAF Lossiemouth will be the headquarters of the UK’s submarine-hunting Poseidon MRA Mk1 Maritime Patrol Aircraft fleet.

Asia-Pacific

According to Indian media, the United States and India seem to be finally ready to sign an agreement to share geospatial defense intelligence. The two countries might sign the Basic Exchange and Cooperation Agreement (BECA) during a virtual “2+2” foreign and defense ministers/secretaries’ dialogue in September. BECA is the last of the four “foundational” agreements that underpin deepening defense cooperation between the two countries. When signed, BECA will allow the United States to share satellite and other sensor data with India in order to improve the Indian military’s targeting and navigation capabilities.

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Americas

BAE Systems Surface Ships won a $19.9 million contract for Archerfish Destructor full rate production, maintenance and associated technical services.  The work to be performed under this contract will include maintenance, spare and repair parts and evolution of the Archerfish Destructors. BAE Systems will manage the destructor configuration as well as integrate new or upgraded capability and assess the destructor configuration for application to in-service upgrade efforts. Flown on board the MH-60S, Archerfish is a remotely-controlled underwater vehicle equipped with an explosive warhead to destroy sea mines. Work will take place in the UK, France and West Virginie. Expected completion will be by January 2023.

Lt. Col. Luke Sustman, commander of the newly-activated 249th Special Operations Squadron, is the first US Air Force pilot to clock more than 3,000 hours on the tiltrotor. He is a 19-year veteran who has flown the CV-22 since 2006. Sustman’s milestone achievement precedes the squadron’s historic activation, which is scheduled for later this month. “Nothing really compares to a CV-22. Going from 230 knots to a hover to landing in the middle of nowhere without a runway is amazing,” he said. “The flying is great but I find that the experiences and people I’ve had the opportunity to work with have made it the most rewarding“, says Sustman

Middle East & Africa

In mid-August, a Turkish and a Greek warship collided in the Eastern Mediterranean, raising tensions in the most combustible naval stand-off the region has witnessed in 20 years. The crisis had started two days before, when Turkey deployed an energy exploration ship along with its naval escort to search for oil and natural gas in waters near the Greek island of Kastellorizo—waters Athens claims as its own maritime territory. The Turkish geological survey vessel Oruç Reis continued to chart an area in the eastern Mediterranean claimed by both Greece and Turkey following the collision of frigates from the two countries. AIS tracking of the survey vessel showed it continuing its movement pattern on August 13-20. Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis’s national security advisor, Rear Admiral Alexandros Diakopoulos, resigned on August 19 after he pointed out the day before that the Oruç Reis was continuing its research activities. For decades, Eastern Mediterranean maritime boundary disputes were a local affair, confined to sovereignty claims and counterclaims among Cyprus, Greece, and Turkey. But over the past five years, the region’s offshore natural gas resources have turned the Eastern Mediterranean into a key strategic arena through which larger geopolitical fault-lines involving the EU and the MENA region converge.

Europe

A report on Russia’s military doctrine indicates a shift away from reliance on nuclear capability and emphasis on the military as only one element of strategy. The report by the Congressional Research Service on Thursday, notes Russia’s “new generation warfare.” It points out that Russia has expanded its military capabilities in the past decade, noting the Russian invasion of Crimea and its standing army in Syria. However, it acknowledges the military as a single component of an overall approach to warfare.

Asia-Pacific

Lockheed Martin Rotary and Mission Systems won an $18.8 million contract modification under previously awarded Aegis Combat Weapon System development contract HQ0276-10-C-0001. Under this modification, the contractor will continue performing engineering design support and analysis of alternative services necessary for continuation of planning efforts and risk reduction efforts required to support the Aegis Ashore Japan analysis of alternatives and Foreign Military Sales. Japanese Defense Minister Taro Kono had cancelled plans to build two Aegis Ashore sites, citing cost and concerns that falling booster stages from the interceptor missiles could drop on residents. Japan, however, has reportedly not cancelled the $1 billion contract for the defense system’s radars, built by Lockheed Martin. Work will take place in Moorestown, New Jersey. Estimated completion date is December 31, 2020.

An aviation brigade of China’s People’s Liberation Army Ground Force (PLAGF) conducted an exercise at sea showing its ability to utilize a commercial semi-submersible heavy-lift ship as a flight deck. Video footage released on August 19 on the js7tv.cn website of the state-owned China Central Television 7 (CCTV 7) channel, shows Z-19 and Z-8 helicopters landing on and taking off from the vessel’s deck, which was marked with three operating spots. From the video it is clear that the exercise included serials for aircraft refueling, using conventional fuel bowser lorries embarked on the ship, and re-arming the attack helicopters with missiles.

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Americas

Honeywell International won a $20.8 million deal for the repair of the advanced display core processor (ADCP) and digital mapping service (DMS) in F-15Es. The Boeing F-15E dual-role fighter is an advanced long-range interdiction fighter and tactical aircraft. The F-15E is the latest version of the Eagle, a Mach 2.5-class twin-engine fighter. More than 1,500 F-15s are in service worldwide with the US Air Force, US Air National Guard and the air forces of Israel, Japan and Saudi Arabia, including over 220 F-15E fighters. Work will take place in Phoenix, Arizona. Estimated completion date is August 19, 2025.

Lockheed Martin won a $8 million cost-share order, which is to consolidate Lots 12-14 known issues, funding and requirements on a single contract vehicle to ensure the most fiscally responsible business deals for customers. This supports concurrency related modification and retrofit activities for delivered air systems for the F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter aircraft for non-Department of Defense (DOD) participants and Foreign Military Sales (FMS) customers. The F-35 is a stealthy, supersonic multirole fighter. It is being built in three variants: a conventional take-off and landing aircraft (CTOL) for the US Air Force; a carrier variant (CV) for the US Navy; and a short take-off and vertical landing (STOVL) aircraft for the US Marine Corps and the Royal Navy. A 70%-90% commonality is required for all variants. Work will take place in Fort Worth, Texas. Expected completion date is in December 2025.

Middle East & Africa

KBR Wyle Services won an $8.7 million cost contract to provide technical assistance, program management, engineering, financial and logistics support for the integrated product teams that acquire and sustain F-18 series aircraft for Foreign Military Sales customers and the governments of Finland and Kuwait. Delivery of the very first F-18s to Finland happened between November 1995 and ended in August 2000. Kuwait had ordered its first 32 F/A-18C and eight F/A-18D Hornets i 1988. Delivery took place between 1991 and 1993. Work will take place in Maryland, Pennsylvania, Kuwait, California, California and ist expected to be finished by August 2025.

Europe

Six US Air Force B-52 bombers from the 5th Bomb Wing, Minot Air Force Base, North Dakota, arrived on August 22, 2020, at RAF Fairford, England for a long planned training mission, US Air Forces in Europe and Air Forces Africa Public Affairs has announced. “B-52s are back at RAF Fairford, and will be operating across the theater in what will be a very active deployment. Our ability to quickly respond and assure allies and partners rests upon the fact that we are able to deploy our B-52s at a moment’s notice,” said Gen. Jeff Harrigian, US Air Forces in Europe and Air Forces Africa commander. “Their presence here helps build trust with our NATO allies and partner nations and affords us new opportunities to train together through a variety of scenarios.” According to local spotters, the bombers landed at around 7:30 a.m. local time.

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is deploying four of its F-16 fighters to Souda Air Base to Crete, Greece. The jets will be there to train with the Hellenic Air Force over the eastern Mediterranean. In the next days, these aircraft and their crews will carry out joint training with the Greek Armed Forces over the Eastern Mediterranean. The F-16 crews will be joined by support staff – engineers and ground personnel.

Asia-Pacific

Chinese state-owned media released video footage showing what appears to be a new tracked amphibious ferry and bridging system for use by the People’s Liberation Army Ground Force (PLAGF). The footage, which was released on August 20 on the Weibo social media page of the js7tv.cn website, shows two of the tracked vehicles deploying their pontoons before entering the water. It appears that the platform can provide both a ferry and bridging capability across rivers and other water obstacles. However, the video provided no further details about the system, including its designation and whether it is already in PLA service.

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Americas

The US Missile Defense Agency (MDA) is on course to conduct the first ever intercept of a intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) target using a SM-3 Block IIA interceptor this year. Vice Adm. Jon A. Hill, director of MDA, says this will be executed under Flight Test Maritime 44 (FTM-44). It will be conducted in a “defense of Hawaii” scenario, with a ship and the SM-3 Block IIA, Hill added. Hill was speaking at a August 18 webinar sponsored by the Heritage Foundation, he said his agency is evaluating the feasibility of using the Aegis Combat System together with the SM-3 Block IIA interceptor as a layer in the missile defense of the US homeland.

The US Air Force’s Air Education and Training Command confirmed that it intends to scale down the T-1 Jayhawk fleet and students on the air mobility track will spend more time on the simulator instead. Pilots at Laughlin Air Force Base, Texas, and Columbus Air Force Base, Mississippi, will reportedly continue with the normal T-1 program but students assigned to Randolph Air Force Base will not fly the T-1 aircraft. Those at Vance Air Force Base will be exposed to a modified T-1 training syllabus. Senior leaders will make a decision whether to expand the program after gathering feedback from the two courses at Vance and Randolph. Maj. Gen. Craig Wills, 19th Air Force commander, said that this will lead to a reduction of T-1 aircraft if the program is successful. The T-1 fleet at NAS Pensacola will be retained to train combat systems officers.

Middle East & Africa

According to Jane’s Israeli company Rafael Defense is partnering with Pratt Miller and Oshkosh Defense in order to win a contract to provide 30 mm cannons for US Army Stryker vehicles. After a two-and-a-half-month deadline extension, all Medium Calibre Weapons System (MCWS) program proposals and bid samples are due on August 24. Although many vendors are remaining tight lipped over whether they are still competing, Janes confirmed with multiple, wholly separate, sources that Pratt Miller is no longer teaming up with CMI Defence and is now saddled up with Rafael and Oshkosh for its bid. Under the competition, the army wants to select a team to outfit Stryker vehicles with 30 mm cannons. Service plans called for a two-phased, concurrent approach involving a design integration study phase to help inform requirements development and the acquisition strategy, and a separate Stryker MCWS request for proposal.

Europe

British Army and German Bundeswehr Joint Terminal Attack Controllers (JTACs) trained together at Kazlu Ruda training ranges in Lithuania on Exercise FURIOUS WOLF, alongside Typhoon aircraft from No. 6 Squadron Royal Air Force. The British and German troops have been training alongside other NATO JTAC partners across the Baltic States to hone their skills in accordance with NATO standardized practices. According to the British Army, all NATO JTACs use the same procedure when working with alliance aircraft. According to NATO, JTACs from Estonia, Denmark, Germany, Lithuania, Norway, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and the United States all worked together with air crews from the Estonian Air Force, the Royal Air Force as well as the Spanish Air Force.

Ukraine’s NATO-funded disposal of old and obsolete ammunition resumed this week after the project was interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic, the alliance said. Ukraine acquired vast amounts of weapons and ammunition after the Soviet Union withdrew from Warsaw Pact countries in the 1990s. NATO’s Trust Fund Demilitarization Project has been working since 2005, at the request of Ukraine’s government in order of reducing the accumulation of unstable and potentially dangerous munitions. A second phase of the project, which will dispose of 29,600 tons of ammunition, 2.4 million antipersonnel mines and 1,500 tons of other unserviceable ordnance by the end of the year, began in 2011 but was halted to deal with the pandemic, NATO reported on Tuesday.

Asia-Pacific

Indonesia’s National Board for Disaster Management (BNPB) has leased a CH-47D helicopter from Billings Flying Service of the United States for forest fire fighting and COVID-19 relief operations. The large rotorcraft is on a one month trial and will assist in the distribution of test kits to remote regions. It arrived in Sumatra on August 18 and is already painted in BNPB colors. The board says it will also lease a Black Hawk helicopter for similar duties.

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When seven EDA Member States established a Working Group in 2013 to improve collaboration and information-sharing in what was then a small and totally fragmented European Medium Altitude, Long Endurance, Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (MALE RPAS) domain, they instantly realised that cooperation on education and training offered the biggest potential for tangible results. Seven years on, there is a very tangible outcome: a joint RPAS Training Technology Demonstrator deployed to ten Member States.

This article has first been published in EDA's 'European Defence Matters' magazine N° 19 published in June 2020. 

The Working Group started with an in-depth analysis of the varying national approaches to RPAS crew training. It revealed that the paths into the RPAS aircrew pipeline varied significantly from country to country with disparate entry standards, methodologies and qualifications everywhere. Aligning the various approaches did not seem to offer any obvious immediate operational benefits to the fielded capability of the front line crews involved, a problem further compounded due to the remote and segregated nature of their daily tasks (often highly classified) which offered very few opportunities for multinational interaction. 

Against this backdrop, in late 2015, the Working Group reached a consensus that the only viable way forward was to construct a generic common MALE RPAS training platform that would be independent of bilateral obligation and not directly challenge national approaches. Instead, the common training platform would serve as a catalyst for slower convergence of training approaches, as a tool for improved interoperability as well as a framework for structured sharing of lessons, improved procedures and for general capacity development. The quest for improved interoperability was not unique to EDA, nor the Working Group itself, and, in early 2016, the European Air Group (EAG) was invited to contribute to the workstream as they had a strong interest in practical operator level improvements to interoperability, doctrine and procedures.  
 

RPAS Training Technology Demonstrator (RTTD)

The joint approach proved fruitful, and with funding support from EDA’s operational budget, a plan was developed to build a RPAS Training Technology Demonstrator (RTTD), the results of which would be shared across all EDA participating Member States.
 
Practically speaking, the RTTD project would equip each of the national training establishments with a desktop MALE RPAS simulator comprised of separate pilot, sensor operator and instructor consoles – all of them connected over a virtual private network that would enable both local and distributed training and the opportunity to test how interoperability could be improved through regular joint exercises and an annual face-to-face meeting of operators and instructors. 

EDA took care of the provision of the equipment and initial systems training, whereas the EAG focused on structured exercise collaboration and the tactical procedural dimensions to author a dedicated training manual through a parallel effort to be called the Interoperable MALE RPAS ISR Trainer (IMRIT) project. EDA rapidly progressed with the writing of a technical specification for the RTTD and opened a contract call in late 2016 for a four-year framework contract to provide the hardware, software and associated support services. The contract was awarded in February 2017 to DCI and DIGINEXT, a French consortium, who specialised in military simulation and had already developed a stand-alone system for the French Air Force.
 

First deployments to France, Italy, Spain

After several operator led design review and acceptance meetings, the first console was deployed in December 2017 at the French Air Force, Drone Centre of Excellence at Salon de Provence, followed quickly by deployments to the Italian Drone Centre in Amendola and the Spanish RPAS Training School, in Salamanca, Spain. The system immediately proved popular for local training and inter site communication, file transfer, debrief and replay functions were tested. 

The remaining deliveries to Belgium, the Czech Republic, Germany, Greece, the Netherlands, Poland and the United Kingdom (prior to Brexit) were conducted as soon as possible between March 2018 and February 2019. Issues were resolved as they came to light and Full Operational Capability was declared in March 2019. 
 

Desert, maritime and Middle East scenarios

Aside from the equipment deployment, the first MALE RPAS symposium was held at High Wycombe in the UK in November 2018 and the Member States and the EAG began work on designing three operational scenarios covering desert, maritime and Middle East based urban storyboards to form the framework for increasingly complex operational challenges.  

Each scenario was developed over three levels of difficulty: basic, advanced and advanced plus. Member States were each allocated a scenario in groups of three and four with the objective of refining the scenarios and further improving operational procedures. The EAG offered a vision of running a large collaborative personnel recovery exercise in late 2020 called VOLCANEX, but planning is currently held up due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
 

Unique training network for MALE RPAS operators 

Results from the RTTD/IMRIT project will be made available to all EDA participating Member States in late 2021 with a view to reviewing the membership and scope of the Working Group and to perhaps continue the Demonstrator project as a longer lasting endeavour. 

Initial impressions of the joint project have highlighted several significant benefits including the value of mentoring in terms of capability development, language and cultural context as drivers for change, the value of low cost simulation employing commercial off-the-shelf gaming technologies and the very high degree of fidelity achievable using common locally shared environments and synchronisation tools. 

Although Covid-19 has enforced a regrettable operational pause to further system development, the demonstrator has already proved its worth enhancing both local and networked training but, perhaps more importantly, establishing an ongoing and trust based dialogue between European MALE RPAS operators. 

Training together in peacetime should be the normal approach to delivering success on deployed operations and in that respect the RTTD/IMRIT has already broken down several cultural barriers that in time will improve deployed operational capability. 

 

Americas

Teledyne Defense Electronics won a $23.6 million deal for the repair of the electron tubes associated with the ALQ-99 system in support of the F/A-18G aircraft. This contract includes a five-year base period with no options. The AN/ALQ-99 is an airborne electronic warfare system, found on EA-6B and EA-18G military aircraft. Receiver equipment and antennas are mounted in a fin-tip pod while jamming transmitters and exciter equipment are located in under-wing pods. Work will take place in Rancho Cordova, California. Expected completion will be by August 2025.

The Army has reportedly developed a new system for land mine identification that it says will greatly reduce false alarm rates. Vadum, Inc., North Carolina State University, the Georgia Institute of Technology and the Army Research Office all collaborated to develop the Vibration-Enhanced Underground Sensing system called Venus. Instead of detecting the electromagnetic signature of the mine, which can be confused with other buried metal objects or with wet or magnetic patches of soil, the Venus system uses a pulsed magnetic field to stimulate the metal parts inside a landmine to vibrate. The Army has awarded the research team an additional two-year Phase II STTR contract to mature the technology and make it ready for outdoor testing at the Army’s range.

Middle East & Africa

Iran unveiled the upgrade it appears to be implementing for its T-72M1 main battle tanks (MBTs) when Minister of Defense Amir Hatami inaugurated the production line at the Bani-Hashem Armour Industrial Complex near Dorud in the mid-August. General Hatami reportedly expressed hope that the experts of the defense ministry will be able to upgrade all the operational main battle tanks of the Armed Forces, saying that Iran is currently capable of manufacturing tanks equipped with an electro-optical fire control system, laser rangefinder system, ballistic computer, and a system to fire at fixed and moving targets, day or night.

Europe

A new Russian medium-altitude long-endurance (MALE) Unmanned Aerial Vehicle was reportedly unveiled to the public during a visit by the Minister of Industry and Trade to Kronstadt Group on August 18. The UAV is named Helios and is likely a mock-up at this stage. At the production site, the head of the Ministry of Industry and Trade of Russia was shown the diversification of technologies developed for civilian use, technologies for creating parts of UAVs

The US military lost two MQ-9 UAV over Syria when both aircraft collided with each other in mid-air. A defense official told the Air Force Times that while there were indications that both drones collided, whether it was due to enemy fire is still unclear at the moment. Locals had photographed the drones flying over north of Idlib just before the incident. The Reaper has also been reportedly deploying a “flying Ginsu” weapon. The weapon has been in use for some time, while its existence has been kept under wraps by the Central Intelligence Agency and the Pentagon, according to the Wall Street Journal.

Asia-Pacific

The Japanese government may reportedly cancel the acquisition of three RQ-4 Global Hawk surveillance drones from the United States, slated for procurement through Washington’s Foreign Military Sales (FMS) system. The government is apparently reconsidering the plan and will soon make a decision, which could be the cancellation of the purchase, according to informed sources. It is the second time for Japan to review a procurement deal under Washington’s Foreign Military Sales program, following the recent decision to scrap the plan to deploy the US-made Aegis Ashore land-based missile defense system.

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Americas

According to Boeing, the 20th US Navy F/A-18 Super Hornet entered Boeing’s Service Life Modification program for upgrades and extension of use. The SLM program adds a Block III conversion to the plane, in use since 1999, with features including enhanced network capability, added fuel tanks, an advanced cockpit system, signature improvements and an enhanced communication system. Each plane’s life is extended from 6,000 flight hours to 7,500 flight hours, with the intent of keeping the F/A-18 in active service for decades to come.

The submarine tender USS Emory S. Land arrived in California Monday for maintenance after a nearly eight-month deployment with the US 7th Fleet. The ship will spend 150 days in port at Mare Island Dry Dock in Vallejo, Calif., for a regular overhaul through an awarded contract of $33.5 million, the Navy said. The ship departed Guam, and completed a 14-day sequester period to guard against the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic, before arriving in California. The USS Emory S. Land is one of two submarine tenders in the Navy.

Middle East & Africa

The United States and the United Arab Emirates concluded a joint live fire exercise in the Arabian Gulf last week, the Navy Central Command said on Monday. The four-day exercise involved the UAE’s Joint Aviation Command and the US Naval Forces Central Command, US Air Forces Central Command and US Special Operations Central Command in air operations supporting maritime surface warfare, the Navy said. US and Emirati pilots also participated in live fire exercises, which officials said offers an opportunity to practice strike capabilities against simulated surface targets.

Europe

For the first time, the air forces of Israel and Germany began a two-week joint exercise over Germany on August 17. Six IAF F-16C/D “Barak” fighter planes of the Israel Air Force, two “Re’em” Boeing 707 aircraft known as “Re’em,” and two Gulfstream G-550 surveillance planes known as “Nachshon-Eitam” arrived at Germany’s Norvenich base, marking the first time that IAF aircraft landed on German soil, Israeli officials said. “The flights will be carried out using NATO’s combat doctrine as opposed to ours, which creates a challenge for the pilot and weapons systems operator in the cockpit,” Lt. Col. A said.

According to the Royal Navy, it has has “shown its commitment” to using autonomous and robot systems for underwater survey work. The Royal Navy, the Defense Science and Technology Laboratory (DSTL) and the National Oceanography Center have expanded their Memorandum of Understanding for the underwater environment. The first iteration of the memorandum, signed in 2014, focused on the joint development and trials of unmanned underwater vehicles. Potential projects coming up include further testing of gliders and autonomous surface and underwater vehicles as well as the development of robotics systems and their possible military use.

Asia-Pacific

Australian Defense reports that the Boeing Australia’s Loyal Wingman prototype unmanned aircraft has been spotted out in the open and is being prepared for taxi trials. While the actual location was not disclosed, it is likely to be in Amberley. A Boeing spokesperson confirmed that the first flight will take place this year. Australia is spending $40 million for three prototypes under Project 6014.

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Americas

Kaman Precision won a $57.3 million contract for joint programmable fuze-152. The deal provides a cockpit-selectable bomb fuze employed in MK-80 series warheads (both guided and unguided variations). The Mk 80 series of bombs are a group of heavy, high-explosive weapons, weighing between 500lbs and 2,000lbs. The largest in this family is the Guided Bomb Unit-10 (GBU-10). The GBU-10 consists of an Mk 84 bomb fitted with a Paveway II laser guidance system. Work will take place in Orlando, Florida. Expected completion will be by July 2024.

The US Air Force Global Strike Command announced on August 14 that military construction activities to support the initial beddown of the Ground Based Strategic Deterrent (GBSD) will start as early as 2023. F.E. Warren AFB, Wyoming is the first site followed by Malmstrom AFB, Montana in 2026 and Minot AFB, North Dakota, beginning in 2029. The GBSD will replace the aging Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missile.

Middle East & Africa

Israel’s Elbit Systems announced that its THOR multi-rotor Vertical Take-off and Landing (VTOL) mini Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) successfully completed a series of environmental durability tests ahead of the delivery of more than 1,000 units to an army in Southeast Asia. As announced on October 6, 2019, the company was awarded a $153 million contract to provide a networked multi-layered UAS array to a Southeast Asian army, including more than 1,000 THOR drones. The tests measured the operational durability of the THOR VTOL mini-UAS under a range of extreme environmental conditions and its capability to withstand the physical stress requirements under the MIL-STD-810, a US Department of Defense equipment testing standard.

Europe

Hungary says it intents to conclude a multi-part deal to purchase the National/Norwegian Advanced Surface to Air Missile System (NASAMS). The purchase is worth approximately $1 billion and is a mixture of Foreign Military Sales and Direct Commercial Sale packages. The systems’s Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missiles (AMRAAM) will be bought under the Foreign Military Sales route with the United States.

A chartered Ukrainian An-124 airlifter delivered British Army Foxhound armored patrol vehicles to the Bosnian capital, Sarajevo, ahead of the start of the annual reinforcement exercise by the EU Force (EUFOR) peacekeeping force in the Balkan country, dubbed ‘Quick Response 2020’. The deployment, based on A Company, The Parachute Regiment, is the first time British Army troops will have participated in the event since the United Kingdom left the EU earlier this year.

Asia-Pacific

Elbit Systems announced that it won a $27 million deal to supply air-to-air combat training systems for the Navy of a South Asian Country. The contract will be performed over a two-year period, to be followed by three years of availability-based maintenance. The contract calls for the supply of EHUD Air Combat Maneuvering Instrumentation (“EHUD ACMI”) systems, to be operated from the Navy’s shore bases as well as onboard aircraft carriers. According to the company, EHUD ACMI offers advanced air-to-air combat training capabilities, including features such as real-time hit notification and removal, real-time electronic warfare and air-to-air weapons delivery, simulation and advanced debriefing.

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Americas

BAE Systems won a $103.6 million contract to prepare for and accomplish repair and alteration requirements for USS Preble (DDG 88) Chief of Naval Operations scheduled depot maintenance period. This contract includes options, which, if exercised, would bring the cumulative value of this contract to $117,754,630. The purpose is to maintain, modernize, and repair the USS Preble. The USS Preble will receive comprehensive modernization for DDG 51 Class ships to ensure a mission relevant service life. This is a “long-term” availability and was solicited on a coast-wide (West Coast) basis without limiting the place of performance to the vessel’s homeport. BAE Systems will provide the facilities and human resources capable of completing, coordinating, and integrating multiple areas of ship maintenance, repair, and modernization for USS Preble. Work will take place in San Diego, California. Expected completion will be by February 2022.

J.F Taylor won a $23.2 million deal, which provides for the production and delivery of a maximum quantity of six first article test external quick-disconnect umbilical cable assemblies and a maximum quantity of 2,500 external quick-disconnect umbilical cable assemblies in support of advanced anti-radiation guided missile production. Additionally, this contract procures a maximum quantity of six first article test external quick-disconnect umbilical cable assemblies and a maximum quantity of 5,000 production representative external quick-disconnect umbilical cable assemblies for various military standard 1760 compliant weapons for the F/A-18 series and EA-18G aircraft. The F/A-18 “Hornet” is a single- and two-seat, twin engine, multi-mission fighter/attack aircraft that can operate from either aircraft carriers or land bases. The Growler is a derivative of the F/A-18 Hornet. The Growler was developed as a replacement for the US Navy EA-6B Prowler aircraft that entered service in 1971 and retired in March 2019. Work will take place Maryland. Expected completion will be in July 2025.

Middle East & Africa

The Pentagon contracted Lockheed Martin with $62 billion to build 90 F-16 fighters for Foreign Military Sale customers. Twenty-four of those fighters will be for Morocco while the rest is for Taiwan. Assembly will be carried out at the new F-16 plant at Greenville, South Carolina and all aircraft will be delivered by 2026. Work will take place in Greenville, South Carolina; and Fort Worth, Texas, and is expected to be completed December 31, 2026. The contract involves 100% FMS to FMS partner nations and is the result of a sole-source acquisition.

Europe

General Atomics von a $188.9 million contract action for Belgium MQ-9B SkyGuardian procurement. This contract provides for four MQ-9B unmanned air vehicles, two Certifiable Ground Control Stations, spares and support equipment. The MQ-9 Reaper is the primary offensive strike unmanned aerial vehicle for the US Air Force. Given its significant loiter time, wide-range sensors, multi-mode communications suite, and precision weapons, it provides a unique capability to perform strike, coordination, and reconnaissance against high-value, fleeting, and time-sensitive targets. Work will take place in Poway, California. Estimated completion is March 31, 2024.

Lufthansa Technik has placed an order with Airbus Corporate Jets (ACJ) for two A321LR airliners that will be operated by the Luftwaffe. The A321LRs will be able to fly up to 163 passengers, up to 6 intensive care patients and up to 12 medium care patients, depending on the installed configuration, with a maximum range of 4,200nm/7,800km or 9.5 flight hours, said the press release. Lufthansa Technik is the launch customer for the ACJ variant of the A321LR.

Asia-Pacific

India will ban the imports of 101 items of military equipment in an effort to boost local production and improve self-reliance in weapons manufacturing. Defense Minister Rajnath Singh said the government is planning to progressively implement the embargo on select military imports between 2020 and 2024. The military equipment includes some high technology weapon systems and range from assault rifles and artillery to transport aircraft and light combat helicopters, the Defense Ministry said in a statement.

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Americas

Boeing won a $15.6 million order, which provides for the production and delivery of 25 Harpoon Block II+ captive air training missiles and 24 tactical missiles. Harpoon Block II is an over-the-horizon, anti-ship missile manufactured by Boeing Defence, Space & Security. It is the world’s superior anti-ship missile capable of performing land-strike and anti-ship missions. The all-weather missile can engage a wide variety of land-based targets, including coastal defense sites, surface-to-air missile sites, aircraft, port or industrial facilities, and naval ships anchored in ports. Work will take place in Missouri, Kansas, Pennsylvania, Oklahoma, Alabama, Minnesota, Arizona and Iowa. Estimated completion will be in August 2023.

Capco won a $13.3 million contract for the manufacture of M943 impulse cartridges used on B-1B and B-52H aircraft during the ejection sequence. The deal includes a five-year ordering period with no options. The B-52H is the US Air Force’s long-range, large-payload multirole bomber and is known as the Stratofortress or the Buff. It is the USAF’s principal strategic nuclear and conventional weapons platform that supports the US Navy in anti-surface and submarine warfare missions. Work will take place in Colorado. Estimated completion will be by August 2025.

Middle East & Africa

An attempted cyberattack on Israeli defense companies was stopped, the country’s Defense Ministry announced on Wednesday. Government officials said the attack came from an “international cyber group called ‘Lazarus,'” which used fake profiles on the social media platform LinkedIn in an attempt to gain access to computer systems. The scheme aimed to send corrupt computer files hidden in job offers from impersonated CEOs and human resources offices at Israeli high-tech firm in order to eventually gather sensitive information, officials said. Israel did not identify a foreign country as the attacker. The cyberattacks were discovered in real time, with no interruption to the work of the defense companies, the Defense Ministry said.

Europe

According to the British Ministry of Defense, a Royal Air Force P-8 Poseidon patrol aircraft has flown from its base at Kinloss Barracks this morning to support Border Force Operations in the English Channel. The Poseidon made its operational debut last week tracking a Russian warship near the UK coast, it is now looking for dinghies. The task was previously performed by an A400M Atlas transport aircraft. The P-8 Poseidon is designed to conduct anti-submarine warfare (ASW), anti-surface warfare (ASUW), and shipping interdiction, along with an electronic signals intelligence (ELINT) role. This involves carrying torpedoes, anti-ship missiles and other weapons.

The fourth remotely piloted aircraft of NATO’s Alliance Ground Surveillance (AGS) Force has arrived at the Italian Air Force Base in Sigonella, Italy. NATO say that the aircraft took off from Edwards Air Force Base in California, USA, at 18:33 local time on July 25th and landed at Sigonella at 16:20 local time the following day, almost 22 hours later. The arrival of the fourth aircraft represents another successful step for NATO’s Alliance Ground Surveillance Force. Less than two weeks after the landing of the third RQ-4D remotely piloted aircraft, also called ‘Phoenix’, the NATO AGS Force’s fleet of five total aircraft is near completion.

Asia-Pacific

The Japanese Ministry of Defense revealed plans to build a Japan Self-Defense Forces (JSDF) base, as well as a training site for US carrier-based aircraft on Mage Island off Kagoshima Prefecture. Reportedly, the new base, where between 150 and 200 JSDF personnel are set to be stationed, will enable field carrier landing practice (FCLP) for the US Navy (USN) once or twice a year. At the base, the JSDF will practice take-offs and landings with its future shipborne F-35B Lightning II Joint Strike Fighters, as well as to carry out drills with several other aircraft, including its recently acquired MV-22B Osprey tiltrotor aircraft.

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Americas

Sikorsky won a $25.1 million delivery order, which provides non-recurring engineering for the development of logistics support products for the Maintenance Task Analysis Phase II, a provisioning database of technical information to include 2D drawings that supports all operational, intermediate, and depot level maintenance for the CH-53K helicopter. The CH-53K Super Stallion can be fielded from amphibious assault ships for the transportation of personnel and equipment. It will also be used to carry external cargo loads. The aircraft can be operated from austere and remote forward operating bases. Work will take place in Connecticut, Florida, Missouri, France, Georgia, England, New York, New Jersey and Ohio. Expected completion will be in August 2024.

DigiFlight won a $15.3 million contract modification for logistic support services for the Apache Attack Helicopter Project Manager’s Office. The Apache Program Office is responsible for all duties and functions associated with being the Army’s central point of contact for all materiel system matters pertaining to the AH-64. The Apache attack helicopter was developed by McDonnell Douglas for the US Armed Forces. It entered service with the US Army in 1984. The Apache is a twin-engined army attack helicopter. It was first used in combat in 1989 in the US military action in Panama. Work will take place in Columbia, Maryland an estimated completion date is August 10, 2020.

Middle East & Africa

The 968th Expeditionary Airborne Air Control Squadron broke its previous record on August 3 when it generated its 34th consecutive combat mission while deployed to Al Dhafra Air Base, UAE. “The squadron embraced the challenge to provide critical combat air power across three areas of responsibility for coalition forces,” said Lt. Col. Terry “Val” Hjerpe, 968 EAACS commander. “We exceeded all expectations.” The 968 EAACS’s aircraft, the E-3G Airborne Warning and Control System, is the newest model of the E-3 Sentry that includes a modernized computer system and software that vastly enhances mission capability. The unit was tasked last month to increase its operations tempo to deliver significantly increased airborne command and control in theater, above their historic operational pace.

Europe

The Royal Netherlands Air Force resumed flights with its NH90 helicopters after they were grounded following the crash of one into the Caribbean Sea on July 19, Dutch Defense Minister Ank Bijleveld-Schouten told parliament. Meanwhile, the wreck of the crashed RNLAF NH90 has been found. “Based on the first investigation results it seems unlikely that a technical or mechanical failure of the helicopter was the cause of a crash with an NH-90 helicopter on July 19 in the Caribbean Sea whereby two crew members died,” it was stated in a press release.

Asia-Pacific

The Indian government has approved a purchase of 106 HTT-40 basic trainers made by Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL). The aircraft will be ordered in two batches, the first order is for 70 aircraft followed by another 36 after the type is declared operational. With Hindustan Aeronautics Limited (HAL) having successfully developed Basic Trainer Aircraft (HTT-40) Prototypes and certification process underway, the DAC approved procurement of 106 Basic Trainer Aircraft from HAL to address the basic training requirements of the IAF.

A Indonesian Air Force T-50I advanced jet trainer was significantly damaged when the jet veered off the runway during take off at Iswahjudi Air Force Base on August 10. Air Force spokesperson Air Commodore Fajar Adriyanto said a student pilot and instructor were aboard the aircraft and both were able to walk away without scratches.

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