By Dan Gouré
The Association of the U.S.A. Army (AUSA) held its annual coming together as well as exhibition this calendar week inward Washington, DC. It is 1 of the largest as well as virtually comprehensive events inward the earth showcasing the breadth of nation of war machine technologies relevant to set down operations. In recent years, AUSA meetings became the seminal venues where Army leaders unveiled major conceptual as well as organizational reforms. Similarly, manufacture as well as the enquiry establishments used the chance to display roughly of their virtually innovative novel ideas inward everything from meals as well as uniforms to modest arms, ammunition, unmanned air as well as set down platforms, as well as fifty-fifty prototypes of novel fight vehicles.
This yr was no different. The caput of the Army’s novel Futures Command, General John Murray gave a bravura performance earlier a packed auditorium. He besides headed a panel that brought together other cardinal players inward Army modernization: Under Secretary Ryan McCarthy as well as Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics as well as Technology (ASA(ALT)) doc Bruce D. Jette to hash out how the reorganization would speed upwardly the acquisition process. Leaders of the 8 Cross Functional Teams (CFTs) as well as cardinal computer programme managers were acquaint to hash out their specific requirements as well as ideas.
Walking the exhibit halls, 1 tin regard as well as fifty-fifty touching on examples of the virtually advanced platforms as well as systems the Army is deploying, considering acquiring, or has inward development. Industry used the lawsuit to showcase many innovative technologies, concepts as well as fifty-fifty prototypes of time to come platforms as well as weapons systems.
This sense leads me to inquire a unproblematic question: is it possible that the Army could discovery much of what it needs to initially address its modernization priorities on the exhibit flooring at the AUSA convention?
This is a especially of import query given the tight timelines the Army has imposed on its modernization efforts. Through 2022, it wants to consummate electrical flow upgrade programs, at to the lowest degree for those forces probable to confront a peer competitor, piece conducting R&D on next-generation capabilities. After that, the focus shifts to the production of novel platforms as well as systems that volition move fielded inward the belatedly 2020s.
Take the meridian priority of the Next Generation Combat Vehicle CFT: to develop prototypes of a replacement for the venerable Bradley Fighting Vehicle. The Army wants to champaign the novel vehicle past times 2026, which agency it has to move inward production inward 2022 or 2023. Major defence forcefulness firms take away maintain invested their ain resources inward developing competitive prototypes to encounter this requirement. Present on the exhibit flooring was the General Dynamics’ Griffin III, alongside a 50mm gun, advanced electronics, as well as powertrain as well as a capacity to send half dozen soldiers. Influenza A virus subtype H5N1 novel entrant into this infinite is Raytheon which has teamed alongside the High German society Rheinmetall. Their Lynx prototype, which looks similar the Batmobile alongside a gun turret, tin send ix soldiers. BAE Systems brought a variant of its CV90 MkIV, which tin send a 40mm gun equally good equally 8 soldiers as well as move optionally manned. Several of the companies vying for the contract to construct the Army’s Mobile Protected Firepower vehicle are considering proposing variants of this scheme equally a Bradley replacement.
The timeline for novel longer-range burn downward systems is fifty-fifty tighter. Initially, the Army didn’t hold back to acquire a longer-range missile inward the champaign until the belatedly 2020s, at the earliest. Now, it hopes to receive testing a Precision Strike Missile capable of reaching out 499 kilometers adjacent yr alongside fielding to receive past times 2022 or 2023. The argue for this new-found optimism is the evolution function done past times the ii principal contenders inward this area, Lockheed Martin as well as Raytheon. Both companies had displays of their designs at AUSA.
Another major Army priority is aviation modernization. You couldn’t aid stopping at the Bell Helicopter exhibit alongside its full-size mock-up of the V-280 Valor tiltrotor aircraft. The Valor volition move capable of going faster as well as further than existing utility as well as assault helicopters alongside heavier loads.
For those interested inward enhancements to existing rotary fly platforms, both the Advanced Turbine Engine Company as well as General Electric had booths that displayed their entrants inward the Improved Turbine Engine Program intended to render a novel ability flora for the Black Hawk as well as Apache helicopters.
In the surface area of air as well as missile defenses the Army has begun to address the near-term requirement for an improved defence forcefulness against aircraft, helicopters as well as unmanned aerial systems (UAS) alongside the reactivation of the Humvee-mounted Avenger computer programme as well as the choice of Leonardo DRS to render the Interim Mobile Short-Range Air Defense scheme deployed on a Stryker vehicle. At the exhibition, Lockheed Martin as well as Raytheon were showcasing advances to their Patriot as well as Terminal High Altitude Area Defense systems. Lockheed Martin besides had on display its novel AN/TPQ-53 counter rocket, artillery as well as mortar (C-RAM) radar.
As the exhibit demonstrated, dozens of companies take away maintain entered the counter-UAS space. IXI Technology as well as Battelle were acquaint alongside advanced hand-held systems capable of jamming a UAS’s electronics. Israeli Aerospace Industries showed off both its man-portable counter-UAS systems equally good equally sophisticated strike drones. Sierra Nevada Corporation, a leader inward the surface area of electronic warfare, has advanced capabilities inward both counter-UAS as well as counter-radio-controlled improvised explosive devices.
The AUSA exhibition provided the Army alongside no halt of options for improving its networks. For example, Rockwell Collins, a leader inward airborne as well as maritime radios, has moved into the set down radio infinite alongside its advanced, multi-channel software-defined man-pack radio. Its primary rival inward this space, Harris Corporation, besides was present. General Dynamics continues to offering advances inward on-the-move communications, satcoms, networked solutions, as well as vehicle electronic architectures.
Military modernization is a procedure of continual change. Fortunately, piece the Pentagon was forced to take away maintain a 20-year procurement holiday, the aerospace as well as defence forcefulness manufacture continued to function on novel concepts as well as capabilities. They besides learned how to conform commercial technologies to the military’s needs. As a result, the Army may take away maintain found much of what it needs to jump-start modernization at the AUSA annual conference.
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