In a press release and conversations over email, officials unveiled a new prize challenge for low-cost sensing technologies to enhance counter unmanned aerial systems and — in partnership with the Joint Counter-small UAS Office — a new solicitation for “low-collateral defeat options” that can be quickly integrated into existing C-sUAS programs of record across the joint force via the Replicator initiative.

“DIU’s low-cost sensing prize challenge combined with the LCD [solicitation] are a part of the overall strategic push to get after the toughest challenges and most pressing C-UAS problems identified by the warfighter,” David Payne, the unit’s C-UAS program manager, told DefenseScoop.

The new announcement marks the latest move associated with the Defense Department’s high-stakes — but hush-hush — Replicator effort. 

DOD leadership under the Biden administration established Replicator in August 2023 as a key military technology and procurement modernization initiative. At the time, it was billed as a strategic campaign to confront China’s massive, ongoing military buildup by incentivizing U.S. industrial production capacity and the DOD’s adoption of advanced warfare technologies en masse — through replicable processes — at a much faster pace than has been achieved before.

Tranches within the first capability focus area, Replicator-1, broadly encompass the purchase and making of loitering munitions and other technologies associated with all-domain autonomous systems. In September 2024, Pentagon officials revealed plans to prioritize the high-volume production of C-UAS capabilities through Replicator-2.

In DIU’s press release, officials wrote that Replicator aims to “deliver strategic capability and to build new innovative muscle for” DOD, and that the forthcoming solicitation aligns with the Trump administration’s recent executive order entitled “Modernizing Defense Acquisitions and Spurring Innovation in the Industrial Base.” 

The solicitation will be open for submissions from industry through May 16. 

Officials also noted that the call for LCD capabilities is envisioned to supply the military with the “most effective defeat options” for increasingly complex and custom-built drones — and also “help to minimize risk to friendly forces, civilians, and infrastructure in the homeland and abroad.”

“North America faces a variety of non-traditional threats, and key among these is the use of small uncrewed aircraft systems operating near installations and critical infrastructure — addressing these threats is a top priority and essential task,” NorthCom Commander Gen. Gregory Guillot said in the press release. “Partnering with DIU to employ low-collateral defeat capabilities is one example of how we are developing the forward-looking capabilities and policies necessary to ensure a seamless and well-coordinated defensive enterprise.”

The call for capabilities will also build on other ongoing DOD technology-enabling efforts, including collaborative work with the United Kingdom.

A DIU spokesperson told DefenseScoop that this is the first time the unit launched a bilateral commercial solutions opening where the U.K. government’s Ministry of Defence was involved from the start. They also confirmed that this effort “is very much part of the new U.K. Defence Innovation organization that will officially be stood up in July.” 

“This is both nations leveraging the commercial sector to develop novel technology to solve a defense requirement,” the spokesperson said.

Regarding the separate prize challenge that DIU is also posting Monday, the official said that it seeks “to enhance the DOD’s [C-UAS] capabilities while addressing cost and scalability limitations associated with traditional radars, optical sensors, and radio frequency detection systems.”

The post DIU, NorthCom partner up to confront the military’s ‘most pressing’ counter-drone challenges appeared first on DefenseScoop.

“These were the first direct U.K. strikes under this new U.K. [Labour Party-led] government — the last time was on 30 May 2024,” a spokesperson with the British Embassy in Washington, D.C., told DefenseScoop on Wednesday.

These strikes also mark the first to be authorized by the Brits during President Donald Trump’s second presidency.

They were conducted directly in support of Operation Rough Rider — the aggressive campaign Trump initiated in March to dismantle Houthi infrastructure and leadership, as the group continues to carry out intensifying one-way attack drones and missile assaults against military and commercial watercraft in the Red Sea. The Yemen-based fighters kicked off the attacks in 2023 and have indicated they’re meant as a form of protest of America’s support for Israel’s military actions in Gaza.

On Monday, before the U.S.-U.K. joint mission, the Office of the Navy Chief of Information released a statement confirming that a F/A-18 Super Hornet fighter jet (valued at more than $60 million) was “lost at sea” after falling overboard the USS Harry S. Truman — reportedly as that aircraft carrier made a sharp turn to evade Houthi fire. 

“This action was taken in response to a persistent threat from the Houthis to freedom of navigation. A 55% drop in shipping through the Red Sea has already cost billions, fuelling regional instability and risking economic security for families in the U.K.,” British Secretary of State for Defence John Healey said in a statement to reporters late Tuesday about the latest joint mission.

The strikes happened after dark and Houthi facilities targeted were located around fifteen miles south of Sanaa, Yemen’s largest city.

“Royal Air Force Typhoon FGR4s, with air refuelling support from Voyager tankers, engaged a number of these buildings using Paveway IV precision-guided bombs — once very careful planning had been completed to allow the targets to be prosecuted with minimal risk to civilians or non-military infrastructure,” the British Embassy spokesperson told DefenseScoop.

They added that U.K. forces have also recently supplied routine allied air-to-air refueling support “to aid the self defense of U.S. forces” in the region prior to these strikes.

“We have been clear that the U.K. will not hesitate to take action to protect innocent lives and preserve freedom of navigation,” the official said.

A Pentagon spokesperson referred DefenseScoop’s questions Wednesday to U.S. Central Command. Spokespersons from the command did not immediately respond to the request.

The post Brits join US Operation Rough Rider to bomb Houthi drone hub in Yemen appeared first on DefenseScoop.

The Royal Artillery Trials and Development Unit and 7 Air Defence Group “successfully targeted and engaged” uncrewed aerial systems with the “Radio Frequency Directed Energy Weapon” at a range in West Wales, the MOD said in a press release Monday. “The user experimentation trials completed in recent months have enabled Army air defence personnel to explore and exercise the capability’s potential in different configurations across a variety of range environments, threat types and engagement scenarios.”

The effort comes as many nations, including the United States, are in search of new tools to defeat large numbers of drones without firing expensive missiles at them.

Pentagon officials have highlighted the U.S. military’s defensive operations in the Middle East region against Houthi and Iranian UAS over the past year as indicators of the need for more cost-effective solutions.

Other events in recent weeks have raised concerns about mysterious drones near military bases.

For example, last month, U.S. and U.K. military personnel were actively monitoring installations around and airspace over Royal Air Force Lakenheath, RAF Mildenhall, RAF Feltwell and RAF Fairford for small UAS that were repeatedly spotted near those facilities. Earlier this month, mysterious drones were also sighted in New Jersey over Picatinny Arsenal and Naval Weapons Station Earle.

In May, the U.K. MOD put out a release noting that a new Radio Frequency Directed Energy Weapon (RFDEW) was under development.

The demonstrator platform that was recently tested was built by a Thales-led consortium that includes subcontractors such as QinetiQ, Teledyne e2v and Horiba Mira. The industry team was awarded a contract for the technology by the MOD’s Defence Equipment and Support organization and the Defence Science and Technology Laboratory, according to a press release issued Monday.

The system is designed to detect, track and attack a variety of targets and provide the ability to engage them up to 1 kilometer away.

“The weapon uses high frequency waves to disrupt or damage critical electronic components inside devices such as drones, causing them to be immobilised or fall out of the sky,” per the release, which noted that the technology can also be used against threats in other warfighting domains such as land and sea.

The capability only costs 10 pence — or about 13 cents — per shot, according to the MOD.

“Its high level of automation means the system can be operated by a single person and could be mounted onto a military vehicle … to provide mobility,” officials wrote in a release.

In a statement, Maria Eagle MP, minister for defence procurement and industry, said the successful test marked “another step forward for a potentially game-changing sovereign weapon for the UK.”

Officials plan to continue to work with operators to refine these types of technologies and develop requirements and doctrine.

On a company website, Thales referred to its RFDEW by name as RapidDestroyer.

Meanwhile, the U.S. military is also reaching out to industry as it looks for new directed energy weapons that can take down enemy drones.

For example, Epirus has been developing a high-power microwave weapon prototype, known as Leonidas Expeditionary, as part of the Defense Department’s Expeditionary Directed Energy Counter-Swarm (ExDECS) initiative. The Office of Naval Research, Marine Corps Warfighting Lab and Joint Counter-small Unmanned Aircraft Systems Office (JCO) are also involved in the effort.

Other Leonidas-derived prototypes have been acquired for the Army’s Indirect Fire Protection Capability-High-Power Microwave (IFPC-HPM) initiative and the Navy’s Advanced Naval Technology Exercise (ANTX) demonstrations.

Just last week, Pentagon Press Secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder told reporters that the Defense Department was deploying Dronebusters and other capabilities to the bases in New Jersey where UAS incursions had recently occurred.

A Dronebuster “essentially emits a signal which is able to interrupt the signal on the drone which can affect its flight. So, that’s a methodology that we have that is able to essentially bring drones down non-kinetically should we need to do that,” Ryder said.

The post British troops test new drone swarm zapper appeared first on DefenseScoop.

But so far, there’s been no associated operational or safety impacts to troops on the ground there, defense officials told reporters Tuesday.

“The U.S. military are guests in England … at the indication of the government of the United Kingdom. So, certainly we’re working very closely with the authorities there. We are taking it seriously. We’re monitoring and taking appropriate measures,” Pentagon press secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said at a briefing Tuesday afternoon.

Beyond that, he and other American and British defense officials who spoke to DefenseScoop about the incursions this week declined to share explicit details about the type of drones or their features — or the tactics and procedures the U.S. and U.K. forces could apply to counter them.

The first reports of these still-unexplained unmanned aerial system capabilities surfaced about a week ago in notable locations where the two militaries and some of their closest allies are jointly operating. Among other U.S. assets deployed across these bases, Lakenheath is headquarters for the Air Force’s 48th Fighter Wing, deemed the “foundation of USAFE’s combat capability.”

“The number of systems has fluctuated, and they have ranged in sizes and configurations. Our units continue to monitor the airspace and are working with host-nation authorities and mission partners to ensure the safety of base personnel, facilities and assets,” a spokesperson for Air Forces in Europe and Africa told DefenseScoop in an email Tuesday.

They added that, to date, installation leaders have determined that none of the incursions have harmed residents, facilities or assets on any of the bases.

In response to questions at the Pentagon press briefing, Ryder told DefenseScoop: “Right now, the assessment is that these drones have had no operational impact or safety impact on our personnel at any of these facilities — and we’re keeping a close eye on them.”  

The press secretary would not comment on whether these UAS appeared to be the same as or similar to those that were detected over Langley Air Force Base in October. 

Regarding defense mechanisms to pinpoint and take down the drones, Ryder said the U.S. and U.K. militaries have a variety of methods at their disposal — and that they are committed to protecting personnel and facilities.

Spotlighting the emerging and historic nature of this threat, Ryder noted that the Defense Department and Federal Aviation Administration are beginning to cooperatively explore — “in this modern era of small aircraft” — the best approach to ensure they are responsibly protecting all assets, without assuming every new aircraft is a threat.

“I have a very close relative of mine who’s a drone pilot, and he flies his drone all over and does amateur photography,” he said.

“Just to kind of put this into context, even here in the United States, if there are drones that are being flown by hobbyists or some other entity, you want to make sure that you’re doing due diligence — not only to protect yourself and the safety of others — but also using appropriate measures in order to not inadvertently create second-order effects, or in other words, potentially harming the civilian communities in which we operate in and around,” Ryder told DefenseScoop. 

Spokespersons from the U.K.’s Ministry of Defence on Tuesday did not confirm whether they have determined the source of the latest drones reported or how the military forces are planning to counter any future incursions.

“We take threats seriously and maintain robust measures at defence sites. We are supporting the U.S. Air Force response,” an MOD spokesperson told DefenseScoop in an email.

The post US, UK jointly tracking mysterious drone incursions near England military bases appeared first on DefenseScoop.

Signed under Pillar 2 of the AUKUS trilateral security pact, the so-called Hypersonic Flight Test and Experimentation (HyFliTE) project arrangement includes plans to conduct at least six flight test campaigns by 2028, according to a news release from the Pentagon. A funding pool worth $252 million will be used to finance the efforts, the release noted.

“We are increasing our collective ability to develop and deliver offensive and defensive hypersonic technologies through a robust series of trilateral tests and experiments that will accelerate the development of hypersonic concepts and critical enabling technologies,” U.S. Undersecretary of Defense for Research and Engineering Heidi Shyu said in a statement.

As one of Shyu’s 14 critical technology areas, hypersonic weapons are a key development effort at the Defense Department. The missiles are able to fly and maneuver through the atmosphere at speeds of at least Mach 5 — or five times the speed of sound — making them difficult to intercept and defeat.

The U.S. Air Force, Army and Navy have each invested significant time and money into developing their own hypersonic missiles, but individual efforts have faced hurdles during their testing campaigns that have stalled final acquisition and fielding decisions. Those challenges, in part, have been attributed to a limited number of testing facilities and ranges within the United States.

Through HyFliTE, the three AUKUS nations are looking to ramp up the pace of hypersonic weapons testing through collaboration on resources, experience and test facilities. 

“Collaborative efforts are accelerating the development of underpinning enabling technologies, such as high temperature materials, advanced propulsion systems, and guidance and control,” Shyu said. “Each of these technologies is integral to the performance of hypersonic weapon systems and provides enhanced operational capability.”

Australia has previously partnered with the United States on hypersonics through the Southern Cross Integrated Flight Research Experiment (SCIFiRE) effort. The nation is also home to the Woomera Range Complex, a large and highly specialized testing center that could be leveraged for live flight testing of these types of systems.

“This agreement will accelerate Australia’s sovereign ability to develop and deliver offensive and defensive hypersonic technologies — through a robust testing and experimentation campaign under AUKUS Pillar II,” Tanya Monro, Australia’s chief defense scientist, said in a statement.

According to a news release from the United Kingdom, the HyFliTE project is also expected to foster deep collaboration between the three allies’ industrial bases in order to break down acquisition barriers and strengthen supply chains.

The U.K. has also sourced domestic industry support for hypersonic weapons development through its Hypersonic Technologies and Capability Development Framework, including more than 90 suppliers and a commercial headroom of up to 1 billion British pounds, the news release added.

“This landmark arrangement with our US and Australian partners demonstrates the commitment of AUKUS partners to staying at the forefront of battle-winning defence technology,” United Kingdom Secretary of State for Defence John Healey said in a statement. “This work will keep us ahead of our adversaries on the battlefield, enhance our collective security and contribute to maintaining peace and stability in an increasingly complex and dangerous world.”

The post AUKUS alliance seals plans for collaboration on hypersonics testing appeared first on DefenseScoop.

The effectiveness of this working toward and eventually achieving true integration was recently examined during Project Convergence Capstone 4 (PCC4), which took place over several weeks spanning February and March 2024. Hosted by the U.S. Army, PCC4 acts as an experimentation venue for joint services and multinational partners to test capabilities and concepts associated with CJADC2. This year’s exercise achieved a higher level of integration between mission partners than has even been achieved in previous CJADC2 experimentation — by, with and through experimental software that the U.K. largely championed to speed up the notoriously manual workflows around a coalition’s command and control of targeting.

While the inevitable “scripting” of outcomes for higher visibility of course took place, PCC4 served as a prime model for some key areas of defense-industry partnership that should be replicated in future exercises, experiments and actual missions to bring our allies closer together. Capstone is just one example of how the right technology and industry partner matched with the right government sponsors can generate mission-critical digital integration.

The success of Capstone yielded three major takeaways on government-industry partnerships:

Lesson learned #1: Warfighter input is critical

Continuous warfighter input and corresponding agile development are critical in identifying rapidly achievable software improvements. At Capstone, industry operational and technical expertise listened to and understood the sponsor’s operational needs and employed an agile development process to ensure rapid and responsive software updates were conducted successfully throughout the event. Some software even required 10 instances of produced and deployed code on a single day PCC4 execution. This model demonstrated the powerful impact of agile development with warfighter input, specifically the speed and accuracy with which software can be modified and improved to align with warfighter needs. It also hit home the fact that this model will need to occur in conflict, not just experimentation. Industry will need to be at the edges of warfare, right alongside the users of their capabilities.

In preparation for future experiments, DOD leaders should establish structured and ongoing processes to gather continuous warfighter feedback. This feedback should be gathered from various operations and echelons of the chain of command to ensure all experiences are accounted for.

Lesson learned #2: Interoperability and security come first

Capstone specifically leveraged mature prototypes with proven data-centric security models, along with identity, credentialing, and access management (ICAM) capabilities, allowing partnerships to establish a zero-trust environment that empowered the secure sharing of data across the U.K. and the U.S. The real challenge wasn’t actually the interoperability between allies but between industry organizations. Without the U.S. Army (or anyone else) clearly defining and mandating a set of standards to govern data sharing, it was left entirely to industry to determine if they were willing to share, and why. Needless to say, allowing business calculus to impact experimentation outcomes was a losing battle.

For future exercises, defense and industry leaders should collaborate on best practices to make more standardized protocols or guidelines for data sharing and handling, making a certain standard for interoperability and security a necessity.

Lesson learned #3: Avoid vendor lock-in

Many forget that experimentations like Capstone, by its nature, involve trial and error. This requires removing the layer of vendor preference that is ever-present at these events. Government and industry need to fully embrace experiments as a space to fail safely and explore new methods for testing integration capabilities — as well as to entertain other capabilities and industry partners to fill gaps. This approach underscores the importance of the DOD remaining flexible and agile, avoiding reliance on a single vendor for an entire problem area, especially in the software space, where any proficient software capability can become any solution with enough money and time. Additionally, to promote ongoing innovation, the DOD must continue to foster an environment where increasing competition ensures that the “best solution” is based strictly on performance, not just preference. 

At Capstone, many can agree that U.K. participants were successful in part due to their openness to collaborating with a diverse range of vendors that were focused on a single problem (as in, not just a diverse range of problems each with a single vendor), as well as bringing their own solutions to bear. The U.S. should aim to convey this same openness within future experiments. This entails limiting pre-ordained outcomes and fully embracing a variety of software vendors, technologies and approaches.

PCC4 represented a golden opportunity for government-industry collaboration on real operational problems, leveraging emerging technology and capturing feedback to rapidly improve the technology to meet warfighter requirements. As CJADC2 continues to mature and improve, we must continue to reflect on our past successes and identify new opportunities to advance integration.

Nick Woodruff is the chief strategy officer at Research Innovations Inc. (RII). He’s responsible for the development of partnerships, both domestic and internationally, and the leadership of select strategic initiatives in pursuit of global impact. He previously served in uniform for 14 years in organizations within U.S. Special Operations Command, including as a professional in information and unconventional warfare.

Chris Compton is the senior capture manager at Research Innovations Inc. (RII). He’s responsible for driving strategy and development of RII’s Joint Targeting Platform, a suite of software capabilities designed to enable joint targeting and employment of all-domain fires and effects. He previously served in the U.S. Army for more than 26 years, which included an assignment as chief of concepts development at the Fires Center of Excellence.

The post Achieving digital integration across allies: Lessons learned from Project Convergence appeared first on DefenseScoop.

The gathering in London, dubbed Innovation Foundry 15 (IF15), will be hosted by the Tampa, Florida-based SOFWERX hub in partnership with SOCOM’s Science-and-Technology Futures Directorate and U.K. Strategic Command, which oversees the British directorate of special forces.

Selected participants from industry, academia, labs, government, futurists and other subject matter experts are expected to be on hand.

The event “will explore the challenges of physical and remote SOF operations in a range of future complex smart city scenarios,” according to a special notice published on Sam.gov.

“The rapidly changing nature of the future operating environment will increasingly involve operations in smart, interconnected cities. More than 50% of humanity resides in cities, and by 2030 there will be more than 60 cities with populations between 5-10 million … These dense urbanities are becoming ever more complex; socially, physically, and technically,” the notice states. “This presents new challenges and opportunities for SOF operations across the full breadth of potential mission sets, in an interconnected environment where access and [maneuver] will be challenging … Virtual and physical theatre entry, combat operations, sustainment, and partnering will all require novel approaches.”

Attendees of IF15 — the latest in a series of innovation foundry events — are expected to brainstorm how technologies might be used to overcome these challenges. Participants will also be tasked to identify the investments special ops organizations need to make in the near term to set them up for success in future urban battles. After the event wraps up, SOCOM and U.K. Strategic Command may negotiate awards with contractors, according to the post.

“This Innovation Foundry is the first phase of the Innovation Cycle and will be focused on idea generation. Deliverables for the IF15 event will include preliminary capability concepts targeting the defined problem areas which may impact SOF and operations in the 2035 timeframe in interconnected smart cities. This event will be followed by 1) a Rapid Capability Assessment (RCA) to further develop the preliminary capability concepts, and 2) a series of Integrated Technology Sprints (ITS), to demonstrate proofs of concept,” per the special notice.

People with expertise in AI and machine learning; robotic and autonomous systems; advanced energy systems; communications tech; biometric systems; cyber ops; edge computing; influence operations; sensors; wearable technologies; Internet of Things; smart cities and other areas of interest, may apply.

The deadline for CV submissions is March 4. Those who make the cut will be invited to attend the confab, which is scheduled to take place April 17-19 in London.

The post SOCOM taking innovation foundry to London to focus on special ops in ‘smart cities’ appeared first on DefenseScoop.

Australia’s Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defence Richard Marles, U.K. Secretary of State for Defence Grant Shapps and U.S. Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin, met at the Defense Innovation Unit’s headquarters in Silicon Valley, where the primary focus of their discussions was on advancing Pillar 2 of the trilateral military partnership.

Pillar 2 of AUKUS is geared toward developing and fielding emerging technologies including artificial intelligence and autonomy, advanced cyber, hypersonics and counter-hypersonics, quantum tech, undersea warfare and electronic warfare.

The new innovation challenge falls under that umbrella.

“We have innovation hubs, obviously, in the Defense Department … [that] run prize challenges from time to time, designed to facilitate collecting the best technologies and ideas from the commercial sector with the goal of leveraging those to enhance U.S. military capabilities,” a senior U.S. defense official told reporters on condition of anonymity during a background briefing at the Pentagon ahead of the trilateral meeting and official announcements. “What we’re going to be announcing is doing essentially a trilateral innovation challenge where … each country will release a common innovation prize challenge, and it will be eligible to companies from all three nations. So, it’s illustrative of the way that AUKUS is deepening our ability to innovate together and work together.”

The U.S. and other nations have been moving to boost their offensive and defensive EW arsenals to try to gain an edge and protect themselves against growing threats in the electromagnetic spectrum.

“The first area that we’re focusing on [for the new innovation challenge] is electronic warfare, because we view enhancing our electronic warfare capabilities as critical from the perspective of all of our defense strategies. And it’s an area that we’ve been working together on in AUKUS,” the official told reporters. “I think for the innovation prize challenge, we were really focused on what are areas that our national defense strategies across all three countries identify as important, and … where we are working together in AUKUS, and where we see opportunities for further collaboration. And electronic warfare clearly fits into all three categories. You know, it’s clear that enhancing our capabilities in that arena will be essential on the 21st century battlefield.”

They declined to reveal how much money will be up for grabs for the prize competitions.

“We don’t have anything we’re ready to announce today on the specific dollar amounts involved, other than to say that we think that it will provide important incentives for industry partners from all three countries to contribute ideas to the first challenge focused on electronic warfare … The Defense Innovation Unit has been spearheading some of our efforts in the United States. And so our plan is for the release of the first prize challenge in early 2024,” the official told DefenseScoop at the briefing.

DIU will be overseeing the competition on the U.S. side, according to the official.

They did not disclose what the next focus of the innovation series will be after EW.

“But I think that future topics are likely to, you know, hit some of the same criteria that I just laid out and that capability areas that we’re working on in AUKUS and which are central to all of our national defense strategies,” the official said.

AUKUS leaders are also set to announce other initiatives, including a new series of experimentation and exercises focused on autonomous capabilities in the maritime domain.

“It’s a bold new effort aimed at testing, developing and delivering advanced maritime autonomous systems to our warfighters,” the senior DOD official told reporters during the background briefing.

It will involve a series of integrated trilateral activities aimed at boosting capability development and improving interoperability, the senior DOD official told reporters during the background briefing.

The experiments and exercises will provide additional opportunities for defense companies to participate in technology demonstrations, development and delivery, they noted.

The official suggested the events could include tech that’s similar to what Task Force 59 under U.S. Navy Central Command has been using in the Middle East region. The task force has been using a variety of unmanned systems, sensors and artificial intelligence capabilities to create a “mesh network” for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions.

The unit also recently successfully tested the ability of a robotic surface vessel to launch a loitering munition and hit its target.

More broadly, the alliance is establishing an AUKUS industry forum with government and industry representatives from the three countries to help inform policy, technical and commercial frameworks to facilitate the development and delivery of advanced capabilities that the nations are pursuing. The first meeting is slated for the first half of next year, according to the official.

The announcements came as the alliance is gearing up to deliver AI algorithms to their militaries in an effort to bolster intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR), precision targeting and other mission areas.

The nations have been testing common algorithms on multiple systems, according to the official. As an example, they pointed to the P-8 maritime patrol aircraft. Using the AI technology will allow military personnel to more quickly process large amounts of data from all three nations’ sonobuoys, thereby enhancing AUKUS’ anti-submarine warfare capabilities, they noted.

“In April, we successfully conducted an autonomous swarm demonstration in the U.K. In October, we conducted trials of trusted robotics and autonomous systems in South Australia. Because we’re focused on getting capabilities to the warfighter in AUKUS, we’re integrating these technologies into national programs starting next year, focused first on the land and maritime domains,” the official said.

The post AUKUS launching new electronic warfare prize competition, other initiatives appeared first on DefenseScoop.

This meeting in the U.K. marks the first official international engagement Hicks and her team will hold on the Replicator initiative, Pentagon Spokesperson Eric Pahon told DefenseScoop on Monday.

“She is going to talk with U.K. counterparts about their successes with similar innovation initiatives, and brief our initiative. This is an example of the close information sharing and collaboration we share with partners and allies,” Pahon said. 

Questions have continued to emerge regarding what the anticipated cost and full implementation of Replicator will eventually look like, since Hicks first unveiled the pursuit in late August. 

Last week, she announced that Defense Department leadership is about to select which specific existing programs and systems will be fast-tracked via this initiative. However, the winners will likely not be publicized immediately. The deputy and her team have repeatedly emphasized that they are not inclined to reveal many details broadly about Replicator, particularly early on — so as not to inform military adversaries like China about its elements.

On Monday, both Pahon and Pentagon Press Secretary Brig. Gen. Pat Ryder were not forthcoming in response to DefenseScoop’s questions about whether Hicks will push to bring international partners such as the U.K. into this initiative in the near term.

“We’ll obviously have a readout coming out of her visit. But, you know, the United States — when it comes to the kinds of capabilities that we employ — works very closely with partners and allies. So, as it pertains to Replicator, we’ll have more to provide on that in the future,” Ryder told DefenseScoop during a meeting with reporters.

Among other activities during her trip abroad this week, Hicks will participate in the biannual U.S.-UK defense dialogue, and also tour infrastructure improvements and observe U.S. capability demonstrations at Royal Air Force Lakenheath. Her visit also immediately follows the joint release of new guidelines by American and British authorities on Sunday, which aim to inform the secure development and deployment of artificial intelligence assets — including autonomous systems.

The post Hicks to host first international briefing on Replicator with UK counterparts appeared first on DefenseScoop.

The demo took place Nov. 15 off the coast of Virginia. The trial came as the United Kingdom, United States and other nations’ militaries are pursuing new robotic platforms for strike, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, and other missions.

The drone’s avionics and flight control systems stem from General Atomics’ MQ-1C Gray Eagle and the iconic MQ-9 Reaper. The technology also leverages U.S. Army investments in open architecture, autonomy and “machine learning processing” capabilities, according to the manufacturer.

The platform is 29 feet long with a 52-foot wingspan. It can fly for more than 25 hours, carry up to 16 Hellfire missiles and ISR equipment, reach an altitude of 25,000 feet, and fly at a top speed of 140 knots, per a product description.

During this week’s demo, which entailed takeoff, circuits, approaches and landing back onto the Prince of Wales, the UAS was remotely operated from a control station onboard the aircraft carrier, General Atomics said in a release.

The flight deck of the ship is 70 meters wide and 280 meters long, according to the Royal Navy.

The sea service has been operating drones from its carriers — including hand-launched systems — but they are smaller than the Mojave and aren’t capable of performing long-endurance missions, it noted in a release.

“The Mojave trial is a European first – the first time that a Remotely Piloted Air System of this size has operated to and from an aircraft carrier outside of the United States,” Rear Adm. James Parkin, director develop for the Royal Navy, said in a statement. “The success of this trial heralds a new dawn in how we conduct maritime aviation and is another exciting step in the evolution of the Royal Navy’s carrier strike group into a mixed crewed and uncrewed fighting force.”

The event had been highly anticipated after plans for it were announced earlier this year.

“With so many international partners interested in the results of these Mojave trials on board HMS Prince of Wales, I am delighted that we are taking the lead in such exciting and important work to unlock the longer-term potential of the aircraft carrier and push it deep into the 21st Century as a highly-potent striking capability,” Second Sea Lord Vice Adm. Martin Connell said in a statement.

The demo came about three months after General Atomics tested the Mojave’s ability to conduct short takeoffs and landings on a dirt strip near El Mirage, California.

“We knew our STOL capability would enable a UAS to safely take off and land on the Prince of Wales. Seeing our Mojave operate successfully in this environment opens myriad new ways our aircraft can be used to support multi-domain naval operations,” General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc. CEO Linden Blue said in a statement Friday.

The company is also planning for a STOL variant of the larger and more capable MQ-9B drone that would also be able to operate from a flat-deck warship, according to the contractor.

C. Mark Brinkley, a General Atomics spokesperson, told DefenseScoop that the company’s STOL capabilities for medium-altitude, long-endurance drones offer possibilities for the U.S. military services, as well as special operations forces.

“We are actively discussing and promoting both the Mojave STOL and MQ-9B STOL concepts at air shows and trade shows around the world, including U.S. military shows, and talking about the possibilities with defense leaders at every opportunity,” he said in an email in August shortly after a demo of the Mojave in California took place.

The post Mojave drone takes off and lands aboard Royal Navy aircraft carrier appeared first on DefenseScoop.