US Space Force increases efforts to plug training capabilities gaps
The service has been seeking simulation and emulation solutions capable of reproducing multiple in-orbit threats.
The Enterprise Air Surveillance Radar being built by Raytheon is set to begin live testing at the Surface Combat Systems Center at Wallops Island, Virginia, the company announced on 19 March.
EASR, the newest sensor in the US Navy's SPY-6 family of radars, has recently completed subsystem testing and is now set to undergo system-level testing tracking a variety of aircraft through the end of 2019.
The EASR is under development for the navy's aircraft carriers and amphibious warfare ships, to provide simultaneous anti-air and anti-surface warfare, electronic protection and air traffic control capabilities.
The EASR is being built in two versions – a single-face rotating array designated AN/SPY-6(V)2 for amphibious assault ships and Nimitz class carriers, and a three fixed-face array designated as AN/SPY-6(V)3 for Ford class aircraft carriers and the future FFG(X) guided missile frigates.
Both versions are built on scalable radar modular assembly (RMA) technology as well as a software baseline. Each RMA is a self-contained radar in a two-inch x two-inch x two-inch box. These individual radars can integrate together to form arrays of various sizes to address missions on any ship. EASR also adds air traffic control and weather capabilities to the mature SPY-6 software baseline.
Following completion of system-level testing in fourth quarter 2019, EASR will shift from the engineering and manufacturing development phase to the production phase.
The service has been seeking simulation and emulation solutions capable of reproducing multiple in-orbit threats.
The service has been conducting several acquisition and upgrading efforts involving artificial intelligence and machine learning to improve communication, data analysis and ISR systems.
The Syracuse 4B communications satellite, developed by Airbus and Thales Alenia Space, was launched last year, bolstering secure military satellite communications for the French Armed Forces. Thales has now been selected to provide terminals for vehicles.
The growing importance of space in modern warfare, advancements in satellite technology, and increasing threats from rivals like China and Russia were among the topics of a Eurosatory 2024 panel on military space operations.
AN/ARC-232A is a Starfire radio that provides VHF/UHF communications to airborne platforms and the transceiver is software-programmable, allowing for multiple waveform support as well as optional national electronic counter counter-measure (ECCM) capability.
During the 18-month period of the contract, Lockheed Martin will apply Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) techniques to create surrogate models of aircraft, sensors, electronic warfare and weapons within dynamic and operationally representative environments.