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Navy secretary, congressional and military leadership top 2017 Defense News Conference agenda

Rachael Kalinyak — Wed, 16 Aug 2017 19:37:27 +0000

Navy Secretary Richard Spencer will be among the keynote speakers at the inaugural 2017 Defense News conference Sept. 6, providing him with one of his first opportunities since he was confirmed by the Senate Aug. 1 to address a large audience of both military and industry leaders.

Spencer is scheduled to speak late morning, not long after a naval panel focusing on fleet capabilities. He will join top leadership from Capitol Hill and across the military services to help define the defense priorities of today, and requirements of tomorrow.

Opening the conference will be Rep. Mac Thornberry, chairman of the House Defense Appropriations Subcommittee. Also representing the Hill will be Rep. Kay Granger, chairwoman of the House Committee on Appropriations, who will sit down for a fireside chat about program priorities.

Other featured speakers include Adm. Charles Michel, vice commandant of the Coast Guard; Tom Mellon, executive director of the F-35 program; and Air Commodore Ralph Reefman, assistant chief of staff for Defense Planning at NATO Allied Command Transformation.

Also a highlight for the conference are five interactive panels with top leadership from across the Defense Department and national security community, covering important topics about the global defense community. These panels include:

‘Space and missile defense: Mission-defined requirements,’ which will explore the various vulnerabilities of space infrastructures and the threats that missiles pose to these infrastructures. In addition, the panel will examine the current and progressing missile detection and early warning capabilities.
‘Naval: Global capabilities race,’ which will look at fleet capabilities, evolution in design, and how sea warfare capabilities of our adversaries influence U.S. naval investments.
‘NATO: Fostering global partnership amid geopolitical strife,’ which will explore the challenges in NATO capability development – ensuring NATO has the right capabilities in quality and quantity to fulfill its core tasks, while considering the domestic needs of member states.
‘Unmanned: The evolving mission,’ which will dig into the missions of unmanned systems, how they’re being integrated into missions, and how intelligence gathered from unmanned can better influence military decision making.
‘Innovation: Current and future tech evolution in defense,’ which will examine the tech programs that are just beginning to gain the Pentagon’s attention, as well as those that are proving their worth. Through the examination of these programs, the panel will consider what is promising for the defense world, and what programs may need more investment to be worthwhile.

Among the expert panelists are Lt. Gen. Robert Walsh, deputy commandant for combat development and integration at the U.S. Marine Corps; Lt. Gen Veralinn “Dash” Jamieson, deputy chief of staff for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance at the U.S. Air Force; Brig Gen Mark Baird, director of space programs for the the Air Force‘s Office of the Assistant Secretary for Acquisition; Rear Adm. Jon Hill, deputy director of the Missile Defense Agency; Frank Kelley, deputy assistant secretary of the Navy for unmanned systems; and Dr. Bradford Tousley, director of the Tactical Technology Office at DARPA.

For more information on the conference, panelists, or to register, go here.

Simulated IED-equipped drone provides military training

Rachael Kalinyak — Fri, 14 Jul 2017 13:38:28 +0000

Florida-based business Explotrain has announced the creation of a realistic drone and improvised explosive device-integrated simulation and training system.

The system can provide troops with accurate and realistic training, according to the company.

“A key challenge in developing, testing and validating the current crop of counter-unmanned aerial systems (cUAS) is a lack of true simulators,” said Michael Hopmeier, an expert on cUAS system strategy and technology. “Faked YouTube videos and staged tests are entertaining, but they are what lead to so many casualties from IEDs just a decade ago.”

The device, dubbed the ExploDrone, is capable of being reused and is advertised as a money-saver for the military. The drones that carry the simulators are repurposed military- and improvised-munitions interfaces that are positioned in or on target areas before training begins, providing for more effective and realistic psychological training.

The new device addresses the latest threat to U.S. troops from adversaries that use small UAVs to deliver and deploy explosives.

Soldiers deter simulated tank assault with cyber, electronic warfare

Rachael Kalinyak — Thu, 08 Jun 2017 15:43:40 +0000

A simulated tank assault was deterred using cyber weapons and electronic warfare technology during a training exercise, according to Defense Systems.

Trainers stopped a simulated assault by targeting the tank crew’s radio and communication systems during the exercise at the Army’s National Training Center in Fort Irwin, California.

“These tanks had to stop, dismount, get out of their protection, reduce their mobility,” Capt. George Puryear, an Irregular Operations Officer at Fort Irwin told Defense Systems in the report. The vulnerability allowed the tanks to be easily defeated.

The Army Rapid Capabilities Office and U.S. Cyber Command are working on technology to protect against cyber and electronic warfare attacks.

The broad category of cyber warfare includes jamming communication signals and infiltrating networks, both of which were demonstrated during the exercise. If a network is successfully infiltrated, it can be disabled or manipulated, allowing enemies to halt communication or relay false information to troops.

The demonstration allowed the Army to explore the possibilities of infiltrating civilian networks to subdue the populace and invade territories, an official told Defense Systems.

These exercises help the Army determine the technology that is needed in the field, and the Army RCO helps to develop and distribute the needed technology. The technology is not only focused on offensive and defensive strategies, but also part of an effort to obtain protection capabilities using EW and cyber, as well as having GPS alternatives, which are being explored.

Fort Irwin and Europe will continue to test and train cyber offensive and defensive weapons because “if we don’t win the cyber and EW fight, then the [next] maneuver may not matter, because we may not get it,” Maj. Gen. Wilson A. Shoffner, director of operations at the Army RCO, told Defense Systems.

Defense industry execs among top-paid female CEOs

Rachael Kalinyak — Wed, 24 May 2017 18:48:27 +0000

WASHINGTON — General Dynamics and Lockheed Martin are among the top-paid female CEOs, according to a report by The Associated Press.

General Dynamics CEO Phebe Novakovic is fifth on the list. According to the study conducted by executive data firm Equilar and AP, she was paid $21.2 million last year — a 4 percent increase from 2015.

Lockheed Martin’s CEO, Marillyn Hewson, is next in line. As sixth on the list, Hewson experienced a 4 percent decrease from her 2015 pay, having been paid $19.4 million in 2016, according to the report.

The study notes that the highest paid female CEO was Virginia Rometty at International Business Machines Corp. With an increase in pay of 63 percent, she was paid $32.3 million last year. This increase is mostly due to a $12.1 million stock option award she received in 2016 that was not provided the previous year.

Companies who had filed proxy statements with federal regulators between Jan. 1 and April 30, 2016, were taken from the Standard & Poor’s 500 index for the study. Equilar and AP excluded any CEOs that were hired within the last two years, to exclude any sign-on bonuses, and added together their earnings including salary, bonuses, perks, stock option awards and any other compensations.

US Air Force general has eyes on sci-fi tech, fixing pilot shortage

Rachael Kalinyak — Wed, 05 Apr 2017 17:56:58 +0000

WASHINGTON — A U.S. Air Force general is interested in retrofitting tankers with technology that will alter the radar image of the plane, making it appear to be “either in a different location” or “reduced [in size] or disappears altogether: Now you see me, now you don’t.”

Gen. Carlton Everhart, the head of the Air Mobility Command, has spoken about this to technology companies, defense contractors, military service laboratories and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, according to Bloomberg Politics. His request stems from his concern that “the enemy doesn’t have to look for the fighter” but merely needs to find the tankers that are refueling them.

Everhart said industry members wondered if he’d been watching too much science fiction, but he stood firm in his request. “I said: ‘Listen to me — this is what I want — something that would be able to change the waveform.”

In the meantime, the Air Force commander is focused on the threat of a pilot shortage, which threatens to get worse. There is a shortage of 300 pilots within Air Mobility Command; however, this number threatens to increase as an estimated 1,600 more pilots will become eligible to leave the service in 2021.

Everhart will attend a conference at the Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, on May 18. The conference will host representatives of 23 civilian airlines, top service officials, and representatives of the National Guard and Air Force Reserve to discuss joint efforts for training and recruiting pilots.

Everhart said he is unable to “outspend the airlines” and therefore must “be complementary” with the competition.

Raytheon radar executes first ballistic missile test

Rachael Kalinyak — Fri, 31 Mar 2017 20:10:52 +0000

After a series of previous successes, Raytheon’s AN/SPY-6(V) Air and Missile Defense Radar (AMDR) successfully searched, acquired, and tracked a ballistic missile during the first dedicated ballistic missile defense exercise at the U.S. Navy’s Pacific Missile Range Facility (PMRF), the company announced March 31.

Tad Dickenson, Raytheon’s director of the AMDR program, indicated that “all systems were green” and the successes seen at the PMRF are “significant achievements and a testament to the expertise and commitment of this government and Raytheon team.”

The AN/SPY-6 remains on track for delivery to DDG 51 Flight III. After completing several milestones throughout the radar’s advancement, it will transition to low-rate initial production. The AN/SPY-6(V) is the first scalable radar built with radar modular assemblies, also known as radar building blocks, which are standalone radars that can be grouped together to build a radar of any size. Because of this, the radar is capable of increasing battlespace, situational awareness, and reaction time thanks to the greater capacity in range, sensitivity, and discrimination accuracy.

The AMDR will replace SPY-1D radars on new Aegis warships.The scalable sensor – meant to scale up for larger warships with more installed power and down for smaller vessels – is key to the Aegis system’s ability to track and defeat enemy air and ballistic missile targets.

US to review new Lockheed Martin helicopter

Rachael Kalinyak — Thu, 30 Mar 2017 15:49:30 +0000

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Defense Acquisition Board is to consider whether the low-rate production for the initial 24 King Stallion helicopters should be approved, according to Bloomberg Technology.

The contract initially will cover two of the aircraft, which are capable of lifting 27,000 pounds; however, quantities would grow annually.

The approval to continue would be the first major acquisition decision under Defense Secretary James Mattis while also beginning to unlock the revenue that Lockheed Martin expects to gain from sales, spares and repairs throughout the lifetime of the program. Spending is increased, per the latest budget plan, to $1.9 billion in fiscal 2020 from the $892 million of this year.

The King Stallion is the same size as the Super Stallion, but able to haul triple the amount of cargo. Bruce Tanner, Lockheed’s chief financial officer, explained in an interview that the CH-53K’s potential revenue was the primary reason for Lockheed’s acquisition of the Sikorsky unit from United Technologies Corp. in 2015.

The helicopter is currently projected to have production costs of $122 million per chopper, a cost that exceeds the price tag of Lockheed’s F-35. The cost of the King Stallion is estimated to drop below $89 million after full production begins. And although that is still expensive, Lt. Gen. Gary Thomas, deputy of programs and resources with Headquarters Marine Corps, said he is working with Lockheed to “keep the cost down and to drive value for the taxpayer.”

The Pentagon’s test office revealed that the helicopter is on course to meet key parameters for range, payload and reliability. The helicopter has demonstrated its capacity to support the “most stressing” missions but maintains a serious problem with the high temperatures of engine exhaust from two of the three engines.