Defence`s Feeds

Last week, EDA hosted a virtual workshop on ‘Artificial Intelligence (AI) for defence’ which brought together over 230 industrial and experts from 20 Member States who shared insight on the impact and potential of AI for defence. With the AI work strand, EDA is entering a promising territory as it prepares to foster further integration of AI in R&T projects for defence business cases. 

To pursue a more structured and focused dialogue with industry and to facilitate industry engagement in EDA activities as supported by the EDA Steering Board, EDA is organising a series of workshops with industry on a number of capability development and R&T areas in support of its work related to the Overarching Strategic Research Agenda (OSRA), the revised Capability Development Plan (CDP) and the associated Strategic Context Cases (SCC) through which the priorities are being implemented, as well as the Key Strategic Activities (KSA). 

Artificial Intelligence has become a hot topic as many countries and entities are investing in it and because it is among the top priorities for research and development of future systems and concepts. EDA is very active in this domain and has provided a number of  papers and presentations to its Steering Board, aiming at developing an action plan and a Strategic Research Agenda (SRA) on Artificial Intelligence for defence. 

This week’s industry expert-based workshop was one of several steps taken by the Agency to work towards the action plan and the SRA. The following steps will be the development of AI based ad hoc projects and technology building block (TBB) roadmaps to further stimulate the application of AI in future defence activities. 

In view of developing a meaningful SRA, the participation of and interaction with industry and academia at the early stages of drafting is particularly important in order to gather and analyse their inputs concerning technological and industrial challenges and expected developments, thus enriching the SRA. 

The ambition of this workshop was to evaluate the various possibilities in which AI can be integrated to further support defence capability needs and EU research initiatives, by exploring the AI definition and taxonomy on which AI activities will be based and by identifying enablers and obstacles as well as its possible effects on the application of AI in this domain. 

The workshop identified areas within the defence realm which are expected to become substantially impacted by AI applications (e.g. multi sensor fusion, predictive maintenance, simulation etc.) and it addressed the key challenges related to  the introduction of AI in defence. The workshop also analysed the missing enablers required for the future expansion of AI in defence while also listing various requirements needed for developing trusted AI systems. The workshop served as a consultation platform with industry which will help EDA to launch additional initiatives to incorporate AI in defence  and to experiment with current and new operating concepts.  

With a really thin margin of just 9,000 votes, Swiss citizens have approved the multi-billion procurement of new fighter jets to replace both the F-5 and F/A-18 jets in service today. The majority (50.2%) of [...]

The post Swiss Citizens Have Just Given The Go Ahead To The Purchase of New Fighter Jets For The Air Force appeared first on The Aviationist.

After Flying Multiple Missions From Kadena Air Base, Japan, the experimental ARTEMIS (Airborne Reconnaissance and Targeting Multi-Mission Intelligence System) Deployed to the Black Sea Region. The ARTEMIS, is the U.S. Army’s first ever Manned Aerial [...]

The post The U.S. Army’s First Ever Manned ISR ARTEMIS Jet Has Carried Out Missions Over Georgia And Abkhazia appeared first on The Aviationist.

Thailand Military Strength and Expenditure in 2020

A Magnetic Anomaly Detection Sensor Will Complement The Already Announced Sonobuoys To Detect Submarines. Icarus Aerospace announced last week the partnership with CAE Defence & Security to provide their Wasp-M, the fully militarized version of [...]

The post Icarus Aerospace Continues Development Of Anti-Submarine Warfare Capability For Their Wasp-M Aircraft appeared first on The Aviationist.

The aircraft has crashed in the Kharkiv region. An Antonov An-26 of the Ukrainian Air Force has crashed around 20.50LT on Sept. 25, 2020. The military aircraft came down about 1.2 km from the the [...]

The post Ukrainian Air Force Antonov An-26 Crashes in Eastern Ukraine. At Least 22 Killed in the Incident. appeared first on The Aviationist.

vASC2020 Conference Provided Interesting Details About The Current Situation Of The U.S. Bomber Force. As you may already know, this year’s edition of the Air Force Association Air, Space & Cyber Conference was held virtually [...]

The post Here Is The Status Of The U.S. Bomber Force Outlined By The vASC2020 Conference appeared first on The Aviationist.

The Aircraft, Designated F-39 By The Brazilian Air Force, Will Be Officially Presented Next Month. The first Gripen-E for the Brazilian Air Force flew for the first time in Brazil on Sept. 24, 2020. The [...]

The post First Brazilian Gripen-E Flies For The First Time In Brazil appeared first on The Aviationist.

Americas

Oshkosh Defense won an $11.1 million contract modification to retrofit mufflers, forward facing cameras, rear-door transparent armor and muffler robustness into the baseline configuration of the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle family of vehicles. The joint light tactical vehicle (JLTV) is a light utility/combat multi-role vehicle. There are two different types of the JLTV, a four-seat and the two-seat design meant to provide the occupants with significantly more protection against mine-resistance and ambush protection. Additionally, the JLTV is approximately two-thirds lighter than the previously used Humvee, offering greater speed over terrain, and better fuel efficiency. Work will take place in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. Estimated completion date is September 23, 2021.

Raytheon won a $17 million modification for dual band radar spares in support of DDG 1000. The Zumwalt-class (DDG 1000) is the largest and most technologically advanced surface combatant in the world.  Zumwalt is the lead ship of a class of next-generation multi-mission destroyers designed to strengthen naval power from the sea.  Work will take place in Massachusetts. Estimated completion will be by July 2024. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, DC, is the contracting activity.

Middle East & Africa

General Dynamics won a $7.9 million contract modification for logistical staff augmentation support throughout the Central Command area of responsibility. US Army Contracting Command, Rock Island Arsenal, Illinois, is the contracting activity. work will take place in Bagram, Afghanistan; and Kuwait City, Kuwait. Estimated completion date is September 25, 2021.

Europe

The US Army Tapped Raytheon with a $9.8 million contract modification to procure Excalibur Ib projectiles. The M982 Excalibur (previously XM982) is a 155 mm extended range guided artillery shell developed during a collaborative effort between the US Army Research Laboratory (ARL) and the United States Army Armament Research, Development and Engineering Center (ARDEC). Work will take place in Sweden, Arizona, the UK, Iowa, Ohio, Alabama, California, Oklahoma and New Mexico. Estimated completion date is December 31, 2022.

Croatia’s Defense Minister Mario Banozic told the press that a delegation will be dispatched to France, Sweden and United States to validate the bids for the fighter competition that the country is running. The country received bids from four countries but the press report did not state Banozic as saying that the delegation will visit Israel. Two bids are for new jets and two for used fighter jets. Norway had announced that it would bid but it withdrew as it could not fulfill the set criteria. Greece and Italy were not able to respond within the set deadline.

Asia-Pacific

A small team of about 10 officials from South Korea’s Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) and Korean Aerospace Industries (KAI) are in Jakarta for negotiations with local officials over the South East Asian country’s participation in the KF-X fighter program. Indonesia had indicated that it wants to reduce its share in the program from the promised 20 percent to 15 percent.

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One of the BUFFs, used radio callsign “LEMAY 35”, that appears to be a tribute to famed SAC Commander Gen. Curtis E. LeMay. On Sept. 23, 2020, five U.S. B-52H Stratofortress strategic bombers belonging to [...]

The post Listen To Three B-52s Discussing Their “Gameplan” For Landing After Black Sea and Astral Knight Missions appeared first on The Aviationist.

The 14 Jets Represent The Largest Air Group Of Fifth Generation Fighters At Sea In The World The Royal Air Force 617 Squadron “Dambusters” and the United States Marine Corps Marine Fighter Attack Squadron (VMFA) [...]

The post U.S. Marine Corps and British F-35Bs Embark On HMS Queen Elizabeth For Joint Exercises appeared first on The Aviationist.

Source : © European Union, 2020 - EP

Americas

Boeing won a $75.1 million contract modification, which exercises options to provide aircraft inspections, modifications and repairs as well as inner wing panel (IWP) modifications and repairs for the F/A-18 E/F and EA-18G series aircraft. These efforts restore the aircraft and IWP to meet service life projections in accordance with new design specifications. The US Navy F/A-18 E and F Super Hornets are twin-engine, carrier-capable multirole fighter aircraft. Super Hornet is about 25% larger than its predecessor the F/A-18C/D, but contains 42% fewer structural parts. The single-seat F/A-18/E and the two-seat F/A-18/F fly greater ranges with heavier payloads, have more powerful engines and provide greater survivability. Work will take place in Florida, Missouri and California. Estimated completion will be in September 2021.

Boeing won a $21.9 million contract modification, which exercises an option for test and evaluation support for Next Generation Jammer integration on the EA-18G aircraft. The Next Generation Jammer is a program to develop an airborne electronic warfare system, as a replacement for the AN/ALQ-99 found on the EA-18G military aircraft. It will reach Initial Operating Capability in 2021. The EA-18G Growler is an airborne electronic attack (AEA) aircraft, capable of operating either from an aircraft carrier or from land-bases. 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 in Missouri and estimated completion will be in September, 2021.

Middle East & Africa

Lockheed Martin has awarded Israeli defense company Elbit Systems – Cyclone a contract to supply additional complex composite structural assemblies for forward equipment bay assemblies on all F-35 variants. The deal is in an amount that is not material to Elbit Systems and will be performed over a period of four-years. The contract calls for Elbit Systems to supply assemblies for the F-35’s Forward Equipment Bay – made from composite materials and the associated structures – for all F-35 aircraft variants. Elbit Systems will deliver more than 1,400 components to Lockheed Martin during the contract period.

Europe

Germany is establishing a new multinational unit to operate the Airbus A400M transport aircraft, with Hungary committed as its first partner. The Bundeswehr announced that the Multinational Air Transport Unit (MNAU) was being established at Wunstorf Air Base in northern Germany, home to the Luftwaffe’s A400M force. This new international unit will relocate to Lechfeld Air Base in the far south of the country with 10 of the Luftwaffe’s 53 contracted A400Ms, as well as additional A400Ms that might be provided by partner nations.

Russia’s Western Military District reports that a Su-30SM had crashed in the Tver region on September 22 during a training flight. Both pilots were able to eject safely. Later in the day, a post on Telegram said the jet has hit by cannon rounds fired from a Su-35 during dogfight training. The rounds were not remove from the Su-35 and as the pilot pulled the trigger to record the kill, the cannon fired and hit the Su-30SM.

Asia-Pacific

Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen visited the airbase on Penghu island today and the IDF detachment there displayed the Wan Chien cruise missile for all to see. The Wan Chien is an indigenous land attack missile similar to the AGM-154 Joint Standoff Weapon. It is carried by the IDF. The significance of the indigenous Wan Chien missile within the ROCAF armory in particular is its ability to be launched from F-CK-1C/Ds operating above the Taiwan Strait and hit targets on the Chinese mainland.

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Kosovar war veterans say that an unidentified man has again handed them files from a war crimes court in The Hague probing alleged crimes during and after the 1998-99 war, in what appears to be a security breach exposing protected witnesses.

Assistant Secretary of State for Political-Military Affairs R. Clarke Cooper and Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Nguyen Minh Vu met virtually September 23, 2020, to discuss bilateral security cooperation at the eleventh U.S.-Vietnam Political, Security, and Defense Dialogue.

Saudi Arabia's king expressed support for peace in the Middle East at the U.N. General Assembly on Wednesday, but did not suggest that Riyadh was likely to soon follow the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain in normalizing relations with Israel.

China aims to push back against the United States by reopening talks with 10 Southeast Asian nations on a code of conduct that would help prevent mishaps in a crowded, disputed Asian sea, political scholars say.

India and China have agreed to not send more troops to a disputed border region in the Himalayas, where their respective troops engaged in deadly hand-to-hand fighting in June.