“So there’s a sweet spot for where we can prime it and there’s a stretch area. … What I hope is you see the sweet spot increases and the stretch area is moving to higher” program sizes and complexities, Kratos’s Steve Fendley told Breaking Defense.
By Michael MarrowAI can make logistics data as valuable as intelligence or operational data for mission success
Valuable intelligence insights can be gleaned from logistics or flight-test data when artificial intelligence or machine learning is applied.
Details of the AFRL’s Off-Board Sensing Station program remain highly classified, though the effort is expected to field an unmanned aircraft that can fly ahead of fighters and relay targeting information and other threat data back.
By Michael Marrow
Within five to 10 years, clocks “a million times” more precise than GPS could improve accuracy, communications, and electronic warfare – without relying on an easily jammed satellite signal.
By Sydney J. Freedberg Jr.
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High-value assets in space means positioning both exquisite payloads and quick-react, short-term, inexpensive small sats across orbital regimes to accomplish specific missions.
By Breaking Defense
The Defense Innovation Unit in FY22 awarded $203 million in prototype contracts across 165 vendors, started 52 new projects and saw a 47 percent increase in the total number of companies competing for a contract, according to DIU’s annual report.
By Jaspreet Gill
“So you can have something that the chief wants that will solve the problem, but if you don’t have a way to sell it in a way that the government can buy it – and then the challenge is not, you know, in many cases the buyer isn’t the customer,” James Guerts said. “And so I think where the services are really working hard is to compress that so the buyer and the customer are more closely aligned.”
By Jaspreet Gill
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The Air Force Research Laboratory and Kratos are developing the Off-Board Sensing System to deploy less expensive UAS in large numbers.
By Breaking Defense
What’s new in naval radars and missiles: Defending the Pacific
Defending U.S. naval forces in the Pacific, Red Sea, and elsewhere require a range of systems from close-in weapons to anti-ballistic missiles.
The 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 McLeary
“It’s gonna hurt a little bit,” said new AFRL Commander Brig. Gen. Heather Pringle. “We can’t do everything — we don’t have the budget to do everything under the sun.”
By Theresa Hitchens
“I think it can be done as an experiment, but as a weapon system to equip an airplane with the kinds of lasers we think necessary…that combination of things doesn’t go on one platform,” Mike Griffin, head of Pentagon research. “So, I’m just extremely skeptical of that.”
By Paul McLeary
ABL’s planned timeline would see the vehicle integration of the RS-1 this quarter, with a test launch in the third quarter of this year and the first commercial launch sometime after the end of the year.
By Theresa Hitchens
AFRL will test Capella’s SAR satellites ability to provide “object identification, change detection, and tip and cueing with other military systems,” says Capella’s Dan Brophy.
By Theresa Hitchens
The nine startups are pitching everything from composite materials to small propulsion units that can enable hypersonic (i.e. faster than Mach 5) flight.
By Theresa Hitchens
AFRL’s new Air Force Explore challenge intends to make four to seven awards, each in the $1 million to $2 million range.
By Theresa Hitchens
