The Special Operations Command plans to apply artificial intelligence into its operations to help the U.S. stay ahead of Russia, China and other adversaries in employing new technologies to boost military power, National Defense Magazine reported Tuesday. Officials from SOCOM’s component commands discussed the efforts of near-peer competitors to modernize capabilities during the Special Operations Forces Industry Conference in Tampa, Fla. 

“We must sharpen our competitive edge by keeping the latest technology in the hands of our teams unencumbered by legacy systems and slow processes,” said Lt. Gen. Francis Beaudette, commander of Army SOCOM. “We cannot expect success fighting tomorrow’s wars with yesterday’s weapons or equipment.” 

Rear Adm. Collin Green, commander of Naval Special Warfare Command, said man-machine teaming will help service members improve efficiency, training and readiness. SOCOM also wants to integrate AI into radio frequency, 5G network and airborne mission network to improve security and how the command detects threats.

Col. Steve Butow, space portfolio director for the Defense Innovation Unit, said that the recently established agency is looking to issue its first contract award within 60 days, Space News reported Tuesday.

“At DIU, we don’t like to pick winners, we build menus. Sometimes we get two solutions that are quite unique and we want both of them,” he noted during this year’s Space Tech Expo in Pasadena, Calif. 

According to Butow, DIU is interested in reducing latency in satellite communications and improving data transmission between ground systems and satellite platforms. Other technical areas that DIU is prioritizing include GPS resiliency, hardware and software modernization, power management, supply chain operations, space situational awareness and logistics.

Raytheon announced on Tuesday that the company has completed technical testing for the U.S. Army’s ring Lower Tier Air and Missile Defense Sensor (LTAMDS) sense-off at White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico. The two-week missile defense demonstration highlighted Raytheon’s readiness to deliver mission-critical LTAMDS capability.

During the sense-off, Raytheon’s LTAMDS solutions include demonstrating the key mission and advanced capabilities to service members, validating the maturity of the LTAMDS design, acquiring and tracking a variety of threat-representative targets and showcasing the ease of maintenance and sustainment to U.S. soldiers.

“Raytheon’s clean-sheet approach and decades-long investments in gallium nitride technology allowed us to demonstrate and deliver a mature solution that will meet the Army’s initial operational capability,” said Tom Laliberty, vice president of integrated air and missile defense at Raytheon’s Integrated Defense Systems business.

Crane Aerospace & Electronics, Cummings Aerospace, IERUS Technologies, Kord, Mercury Systems and nLogic were integral to achieve the U.S. Army’s timetable along with significant investments from Raytheon.

“Our industrial partners contributed the unique technology and capabilities necessary to ensure our LTAMDS solution supports service members,” said Doug Burgess, Raytheon’s LTAMDS program director.

During the next phase of the competition, Raytheon will develop and deliver a final proposal addressing the Army’s key evaluation criteria.

About Raytheon

Raytheon Company, with 2018 sales of $27 billion and 67,000 employees, is a technology and innovation leader specializing in defense, civil government and cybersecurity solutions.

With a history of innovation spanning 97 years, Raytheon provides state-of-the-art electronics, mission systems integration, C5I® products and services, sensing, effects and mission support for customers in more than 80 countries.

The Army Combat Capabilities Development Command’s Aviation and Missile Center is developing a simulator to equip warfighters with reinforced survivability, lethality and situational awareness functions, Dvids reported Monday. 

“We’re looking to evaluate the impact of autonomy, the human-machine interface, and decision-aiding tools on an air mission commander performing manned/ unmanned teaming missions,” said Tom Alicia, engineering research psychologist at AvMC’s Aviation Development Diretorate.

The Future Open Rotocraft Cockpit Environment simulator is a configurable portable tool to utilize an open-system framework allowing rapid integration and technology assessment. AvMC will also allow three firms to install their systems to the simulator to help the center assess the tool’s human-machine interface, autonomy and decision-making components.