Drone-hunting on the border, plus turmoil at an Air Force think tank
NORTHCOM is testing ways to counter drone incursions, while an Air Force institute focused on China faces questions about its future.
Northrop Grumman adds AI to Army’s command system for counter-drone defense
The new “Advanced Battle Manager” for the widely used Forward Area Air Defense (FAAD) command-and-control system was field-tested at Yuma Proving Grounds this summer, the company says.
Building logistics networks for contested environments
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Army Completes Second Counter-Small Drone Demonstration
Some systems shot the drones, others brought hit them with electronic attacks.
Joint Force Vs. China: Project Convergence 21
“This is a journey to see what's possible, what can we do with today's technologies, for a relatively minor cost,” Gen. John Murray told us. “Project Convergence ’20 cost us about the same thing as one Combat Training Center rotation” -- $23 million.
DoD Drone Strategy Focuses On Low-End Threats – Not Nation-States
In April, the Yuma, Ariz. test range will host a competition of “low collateral damage” countermeasures designed to stop mini-drones without firing a shot. But can such a restrained approach stop the drone swarms Russia and others are developing?
Longer-Range Missiles & More AI: Project Convergence 2021
Next fall, the Army aims to test a new artificial intelligence for artillery and fire the prototype PrSM missile to its full 300-plus-mile range -- once they find a venue that's big enough.
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European-made Black Hawk gets an armed upgrade
New kits turn Black Hawks into attack Hawks in just three hours.
Marine F-35s Share Targeting Data With Army: Project Convergence
The Army’s future-warfare exercise overcame a host of technical glitches to link systems ranging from NRO and NGA spy satellites to Marine Corps fighter jets.
Pushing Data ‘From Space To Mud’: Project Convergence
“I have never in my life seen the cooperation between the agencies…the services…[and] across the Army” that’s happening in this fall’s wargames, Army space expert Willie Nelson told me.
‘Improvised Mode’: The Army Network Evolves In Project Convergence
How do you get targeting data from satellite to howitzer in less than 20 seconds, on a tactical network that was never designed to do that? You improvise, Maj. Gen. Peter Gallagher told me.
A Slew To A Kill: Project Convergence
Instead of a single centralized Skynet trying to mastermind (or micromanage) operations, the Army is looking at a federation of more specialized, less ambitious AIs, each assisting humans in different ways.
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Three exercises that proved a new approach to C-UAS
Architecture that linked sensors, C2, RF effects, and lasers into a distributed c-UAS kill chain.
Target Gone In 20 Seconds: Army Sensor-Shooter Test
This fall’s first Project Convergence exercise aims to feed targeting data from satellites to artillery so fast that gunners can unleash precision fire in much less than a minute. And that’s just the start.
New Army Cannon Doubles Range; Ramjet Ammo May Be Next
BAE will deliver the first 18 ERCA vehicles by 2023 – but the Army is already working on further upgrades.
Army IBCS Missile Defense System Tracks Jets Despite Jamming
The Army’s embattled missile defense network, IBCS, passed a major field test at Yuma Proving Ground in October, contractor Northrop Grumman announced today. In stark contrast to chronic software crashes early on, the command-and-control system accurately tracked everything from drones to helicopters to fighter jets, both Army aircraft and Marine ones. (It’s hit ballistic and […]
The Next Century For Marine Aviation: The F-35B Comes To Yuma
YUMA: The first F-35 Bravos are arriving at Marine Corps Air Station (MCAS) Yuma later this month. By early next year, the full complement of 16 F-35 Bs will have arrived to replace Yuma’s four existing squadrons consisting of 56 AV-8B Harriers. This is the beginning of the next 100 years of naval aviation for […]