Next month, the Air Force will see if it can launch a live cruise missile from a pallet that was air dropped by a cargo plane.
By Valerie Insinna“We often talk about ‘interoperability’, okay, the ability to operate with another nation, or even among the services,” says Rear Adm. Loren Selby, Office of Naval Research chief. “But there’s a distinct difference between interoperability and interchangeability,” which involves developing “specs and standards together” to meet mutual requirements.
By Theresa HitchensThe new simulation environment will use ‘digital twins’ to rapidly test and iterate “collaborative autonomous networked technologies,” AFRL explains.
By Theresa Hitchens“Certainly, we’re in the in the conversation for the HACM as that gets developed,” Global Strike Command head Gen. Timothy Ray said.
By Theresa Hitchens“I’ve watched it in action and its really quite impressive,” says Air Force Chief Scientist Richard Joseph.
By Theresa HitchensThe Pentagon will retain strict security protocols to ensure “we’re not training Chinese scientists that are going to go help their programs” said Gillian Bussey, head of the Joint Hypersonic Transition Office
By Paul McLearyThe exercise also served as the Air Force’s third “On Ramp” demo for its Advanced Battle Management System (ABMS), demonstrating a new software for battlefield situational awareness.
By Theresa Hitchens“How are we going to employ hypersonic weapons, what do they bring to the battlefield?,” asks Maj. Gen. Mark Weatherington, commander of the 8th Air Force and the Joint-Global Strike Operations Center.
By Theresa HitchensThe Pentagon’s draft “reference architecture,” which also covers high-powered microwave weapons, will be circulated for industry comment early next year.
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.THOR puts high-powered microwaves to fry drone swarms’ electronics in a rugged and deployable package.
By Theresa Hitchens“Our mission in the Space Force will become to protect that commerce, and I like to talk about it in terms of protecting the ‘celestial lines of commerce,’ or the space lines of commerce,” says Col. Eric Felt, head of the Space Vehicles Directorate at Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL).
By Theresa HitchensThe drone’s mission set “could be anything from base defense to communications to sensing,” said AFLCMC’s Brig. Gen. Dale White.
By Theresa Hitchens“I spent the first 15 years of my career walking around in a lab with a laser, saying ‘does anyone want this…’ and the warfighter [kept] going ‘that’s adorable,’” Craig Robin recalled ruefully. “Just recently there’s been a tremendous pull [because] we simply just got out it into the user’s hands and they recognized the value.”
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.