National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said that U.S. intelligence officials believe a plant in Russia’s Alabuga special economic zone could be operational early next year. The White House also released satellite imagery taken in April of the industrial location, several hundred miles east of Moscow, where it believes the plant “will probably be built.”

President Joe Biden’s administration publicly stated in December that it believed Tehran and Moscow were considering standing up a drone assembly line in Russia for the Ukraine war. The new intelligence suggests that the project, in the Yelabuga region of Tatarstan, has moved beyond conception.

Iran has said it provided drones to Russia before the start of the war but not since.

Kirby said that U.S. officials also have determined that Iran continues to supply the Russian military with one-way attack drones made in Iran: The drones are shipped via the Caspian Sea, from Amirabad in Iran to Makhachkala, Russia, and then are used by Russian forces against Ukraine.

As of May, Russia had received hundreds of one-way attack drones, as well as drone production-related equipment, from Iran, according to the White House.

“This is a full-scale defense partnership that is harmful to Ukraine, to Iran’s neighbors, and to the international community,” Kirby said. “We are continuing to use all the tools at our disposal to expose and disrupt these activities including by sharing this with the public — and we are prepared to do more.”

Kirby said the Democratic administration on Friday would announce a new advisory meant to help businesses and other governments put in place measures to ensure they are not inadvertently contributing to Iran’s drone program. The United States, the European Union and the United Kingdom in recent months all have issued rules designed to cut off the flow of drone components to Russia and Iran.

The Biden administration has repeatedly publicized intelligence findings that detail how Iran is assisting the Russian invasion.

The persistent drip of intelligence findings from the administration is intended to detail what U.S. officials say is a deepening defense partnership between Russia and Iran. It’s also part of a broader administration effort to spotlight Moscow’s prosecution of its war in Ukraine in hopes of further promoting global isolation of Russia.

The White House last month said Russia was looking to buy additional advanced attack drones from Iran after using up most of the 400 drones it had previously purchased from Tehran.

The Biden administration last year first publicized satellite imagery and intelligence findings that it said indicated Iran sold hundreds of attack drones to Russia. For months, officials have said the United States believed Iran was considering selling hundreds of ballistic missiles to Russia, but White House officials have said they do not have evidence a deal was consummated.

The White House has noted that Iran also has weapons flowing its way from Russia.

Iran is seeking to purchase additional military equipment from Russia, including attack helicopters, radars and YAK-130 combat trainer aircraft, according to the White House. In April, Iran announced that it had finalized a deal to buy Su-35 fighter jets from Russia.

The update comes as the service and the Pentagon grapple with what future warfare might require of American forces.

In its annual update on June 5 — part of the Corps’ ongoing Force Design 2030 modernization push — the service laid out two parallel efforts: a 21st Century Amphibious Operations concept the Corps is studying with the Navy; and an ARG/MEU Next concept, which refers to the amphibious ready group/Marine expeditionary unit pairing of ships and embarked forces.

The 21st Century Amphibious Operations concept would “articulate the future role of amphibious operations in support of maritime campaigns and will describe new operating methods that incorporate agile platforms to supplement traditional amphibious ships,” according to the Force Design update.

Examples given include long-range, unmanned systems that can infiltrate an enemy’s weapon-engagement zone, manned-unmanned fleets, and other “disruptive technologies.”

This concept looks into the 2040s and considers how Marines might conduct amphibious operations.

One new facet of amphibious operations could involve military vessels serving as motherships to unmanned systems that operate in several domains of warfare.

Col. Daniel Wittnam, the director of the service’s Integration Division, told Defense News in a recent interview that the commandant of the Marine Corps is interested in putting anything unmanned or autonomous onto amphibious ships for experimentation.

“The mothership concept is another opportunity for the Marine Corps to show flexibility and to be able to show resiliency by looking at manned and unmanned teaming and different platforms to utilize new and emerging technologies with our ARG/MEU teams,” Wittnam said.

He said the service already had funding to deploy the Shield AI-made V-BAT unmanned aerial vehicle on amphibious ships, and that the first Long-Range Unmanned Surface Vessel prototype would in the coming months move from Virginia to California to begin a user evaluation, which will include operations with a Marine expeditionary unit at sea.

This concept study will focus on how amphibious forces will fight, and not weigh in on how many ships the Corps needs the Navy to buy and maintain.

Still, even as the service takes a longer-term look at this piece of its portfolio, there is significant uncertainty hanging over its head about these operations today.

The Marine Corps, the Navy and the Office of the Secretary of Defense have differing views on the role of amphibious operations in today’s joint force, and therefore how much money to spend on upkeeping existing ships and building replacements.

Congress attempted to partly settle the dispute by putting a 31-ship-fleet minimum into law, but the current long-range shipbuilding plan of record falls short of that mandate. Furthermore, the Pentagon has shown no sign of support for additional shipbuilding spending that would be needed to sustain a 31-ship fleet.

Despite multiple studies in recent years on the required size of the amphibious fleet, yet another study is nearing its conclusion and will look at ships’ design, acquisition and construction processes, eyeing opportunities to decrease the cost of the fleet.

The Marine Corps has pushed back on this idea, with Lt. Gen. Karsten Heckl, the deputy commandant for combat development and integration, telling Defense News this year that rough drawings from the Pentagon would reduce the capability of the ships in a way the service finds unacceptable.

The study is due to the Pentagon’s Cost Assessment and Program Evaluation office imminently. It is unclear what will happen once the office receives the Marine Corps’ and the Navy’s input, as leadership has only said the study will inform the fiscal 2025 budget process.

“I’m very pessimistic,” Heckl said during the recent interview about his near-term outlook on the amphibious fleet’s size and readiness. “Until amphibs genuinely become a priority, this will always be a struggle — to procure and then maintain. The fact that these vessels have been ridden hard and put away wet simply exemplifies how useable they are: They are in constant demand.”

He recommended the Defense Department reconsider how ships are funded. Currently, only the Navy can buy those vessels in its shipbuilding account, and only the Navy can maintain them within its operations and maintenance account, even though Marines are the primary beneficiaries of the ships.

Fleet combinations

As something of a hedge against the projected shortfall of amphibious ships, the Marines’ Force Design update also references a look at the ARG/MEU team’s composition.

As part of the ARG/MEU Next effort, the Corps is eyeing different ship configurations — including existing Navy expeditionary ships and potential “lower cost alternatives” to supplement amphibs — that could keep Marines afloat around the globe.

In the future, the Navy and Marine Corps could use a greater number of smaller and less expensive ships to “complicate the ability of our adversaries to find and target our sea-based expeditionary forces,” according to the Force Design update document.

Wittnam said that earlier in his career there were three ARG/MEU teams at sea routinely. But today, it’s difficult to keep two — or even one — at sea.

Marines need new ideas to address mobility, or their ability to move around independently of joint force assets, which Wittnam called a top concern heading into the next year of Force Design experimentation.

Despite Heckl’s concerns about today’s ARG/MEU team and the ability to strengthen the fleet in the coming years, the general did say Marines “are going to do what we’ve always done, what quite frankly we do really, really well: We’re going to fight for every damn penny we can get with Congress, and we don’t care who gets hurt along the way because we’re doing it to have what our nation needs.”

The nine-month study will allow Naval Group to examine principal use cases and develop system architectures for an Unmanned Combat Underwater Vehicle, or UCUV. Its missions would include intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR), with the idea of helping the French military “master” the seabed, according to Naval Group.

The Armed Forces Ministry’s procurement office, the Direction Générale de l’Armement, awarded the contract on May 4, per a company statement.

The study comes as Naval Group prepares its extra-large unmanned underwater vehicle (XL-UUV) demonstrator for sea qualification this summer. The company began developing the system in 2016 and first unveiled it in 2021.

Once qualified, Naval Group will use the XL-UUV to test various “technological bricks” in a short cycle, the company said. One such brick could be the Controlled Decision-Making Autonomy (ADC) capability, developed with France’s national aerospace research center ONERA to be an “onboard brain for drones.”

“This first UCUV project paves the way for additional work to quickly develop the key technological bricks of such a drone, in relation to the development of the first demonstrator,” Naval Group said in the release.

The company did not respond to questions regarding the cost of the study before this article’s publication.

Seabed warfare has become a dominant topic of conversation in Europe, especially for the French military. Paris was the first government to issue a dedicated military strategy for the ocean floor domain in early 2022, and a portion of the nation’s €10 billion ($10.7 billion) dedicated to innovation in the proposed 2024-2030 Military Program Law will focus on the topic. A key goal for Paris is to develop an underwater drone that can reach depths of 6,000 meters.

The lower house of parliament, the National Assembly, voted on Wednesday to approve the six-year programming law, known as the Loi de Programmation Militaire (LPM) in French, by a vote of 408-87. The bill now goes to the Senate as the upper chamber for a vote.

Intelligent robotics and autonomous systems could allow Marines to operate faster, more cheaply and at lower risk than before, states a document published Monday with updates to Force Design 2030, the Corps’ ambitious restructuring plan.

Marine leaders say recent conflicts ― particularly those between Ukraine and Russia, and Armenia and Azerbaijan ― have confirmed the need for the Corps to get better at employing autonomous systems.

“We clearly recognize and acknowledge the importance of intelligent robotic and autonomous systems,” Lt. Gen. Karsten Heckl, deputy commandant for Combat Development and Integration, said at a media roundtable Friday. “I feel like we’re in front of it right now. And we’ve got to stay there.”

How the Marines will use uncrewed tech, according to acquisitions boss

But Marine leaders aren’t yet sure how they will find or train people with the knowledge to operate those systems.

“Finding the structure, finding the right people and then getting them properly trained is a whole nother set of challenges,” Heckl said.

One thing Heckl said he does know: Robotics work won’t be relegated to a collateral duty or a secondary military occupational specialty.

At the roundtable Friday, Marine generals stressed that technology won’t replace human beings.

In the case of uncrewed aircraft that collect massive amounts of data, “you have to have the ability to do with that data what needs to be done so that humans who are the ultimate decision-makers have the ability to make the correct decision,” said Brig. Gen. Stephen Lightfoot, director of the Corps’ Capabilities Development Directorate.

By September, the Corps will incorporate robotics concepts and applications into its training and education centers, according to the Force Design update.

In the following year, leadership “will develop a strategy to recruit and retain personnel with IRAS knowledge” and “to integrate robotics specialties throughout the total force,” the update states.

That could mean forming an occupational field dedicated to the technology, according to the update.

But it has proven tough for the Marine Corps, as for the other services, to recruit and retain troops who possess the valuable technical knowledge that could translate to higher salaries in the civilian sector.

The Corps is trying out a variety of strategies to fill its tech gap. It is offering bonuses, making use of expertise reservists developed at their civilian jobs, and letting some people with in-demand skills join or rejoin at a higher rank than they otherwise would ― a program called lateral entry.

Lateral entry is one option the Marine Corps is considering as a way to lure people with robotics expertise, according to Monday’s Force Design update.

The update also raises the possibility of holding robotics competitions as a recruiting tactic.

“A lot of this discussion is undefined,” Heckl said. “What we do realize is the significance of this. There’s a lot of folks … that say this is the 21st-century equivalent of the machine gun. So this is a big deal.”

This move comes as part of the Corps’ ongoing Force Design 2030 modernization effort to prepare the service to deter or win a fight against China and other potential adversaries.

The Marine Corps on Monday released an annual status update on Force Design efforts, which included a nod to the service’s Long-Range Attack Munition effort supported by the undersecretary of defense for research and engineering, “to rapidly develop and field a low-cost, air launched family of loitering, swarming munitions.”

In a June 2 call with reporters, Brig. Gen. Stephen Lightfoot, director of the Capabilities Development Directorate, noted that as an AH-1 pilot, he has firsthand experience with the Hellfire missile. Depending on the helicopter’s altitude, a pilot might get 8 kilometers (5 miles) of range from the weapon.

“That’s great in [Operation Iraqi Freedom], [Operation Enduring Freedom] and areas we’ve been fighting in for years. But when you move over to the Indo-Pacific and some of the distances we’re talking about, 8 kilometers doesn’t really do as much as you’d want,” Lightfoot said.

Noting that the last H-1 attack helicopters were delivered last year and that the Corps will operate them for several more decades, he said the service must now pursue both evolutionary and revolutionary ideas to keeping these aircraft relevant to the fight.

The service is already experimenting with these long-range, loitering, swarming munitions and expects to field them “within the next few years,” Lightfoot noted.

“That is a capability that brings hundreds of kilometers, and that allows us to be able to use a current platform to be able to do things that we never thought we’d be able to do,” Lightfoot said, calling this development effort “critical.”

These munitions would also be operable from ground launchers, he added.

While the helicopters’ own range and maneuverability would enhance the munitions’ capability, Lightfoot said, aircraft aren’t always in the air. To ensure Marines operating forward have round-the-clock access to long-range offensive weapons, he said the service would pursue a launcher for use by ground troops.

In a separate interview on the Force Design update, Scott Lacy, the deputy director of the Marine Corps Warfighting Laboratory, said the organization is working on this effort with the aviation community. The work includes studying munitions already on the market as well as other experimental capabilities.

The Force Design annual update noted “other projects include developing a common launcher for the family of ground launched loitering munitions and testing a low-cost, hypersonic booster in a form factor the Marine Corps can logistically support in a contested environment.”

Lacy did not elaborate much on the hypersonic booster, other than to say experimentation is ongoing at the lab.

In the same interview, Col. Daniel Wittnam, the director of the Marine Corps Integration Division, described another long-range offensive fires effort in which the service is involved, in conjunction with the Office of the Secretary of Defense.

The office provided money for the Corps to experiment using the Maritime Strike Tomahawk — a derivative of the legacy Tomahawk land-attack missile that the office directed in fiscal 2017 — as a land-based weapon.

Marines will use the Naval Strike Missile as their first ground-based, anti-ship missile but have previously said they intend to pursue other longer-range weapons for the future.

Wittnam said the 11th Marine Regiment, 1st Marine Division at Camp Pendleton, California, was standing up a battery to work with the Maritime Strike Tomahawk.

The question the Marines have as they consider this and other emerging capabilities is whether the technology is naval and expeditionary, given their focus on littoral operations in the Pacific, the colonel said.

He noted the current form factor is not, but he said the experimentation would continue. (The proof-of-concept system would mount the missile launcher on a Joint Light Tactical Vehicle chassis, a setup that already had a tip-over incident due to the center of gravity being off.)

Lt. Gen. Karsten Heckl, the deputy commandant for combat development and integration, told reporters during the June 2 roundtable that not all the ongoing experiments would be successesful, but the Corps would learn from all of them as it rapidly modernizes.

“I don’t have the luxury of, (A) test something, (B) get the feedback, (C) let’s make changes. You know, that takes years and years. We have to iterate and, if necessary, fail quickly and learn faster, and then iterate again,” he said.

In doing so, Heckl added, “we have made the fleet more capable. Period. Full stop.”

Air Force spokesperson Ann Stefanek said in a June 2 statement no such testing took place, adding that the service member’s comments were likely “taken out of context and were meant to be anecdotal.”

“The Department of the Air Force has not conducted any such AI-drone simulations and remains committed to ethical and responsible use of AI technology,” Stefanek said. “This was a hypothetical thought experiment, not a simulation.”

The killer-drone-gone-rogue episode was initially attributed to Col. Tucker “Cinco” Hamilton, the chief of AI testing and operations, in a recap from the Royal Aeronautical Society’s FCAS23 Summit in May. The summary was later updated to include additional comments from Hamilton, who said he misspoke at the conference.

How autonomous wingmen will help fighter pilots in the next war

“We’ve never run that experiment, nor would we need to in order to realize that this is a plausible outcome,” Hamilton was quoted as saying in the Royal Aeronautical Society’s update. “Despite this being a hypothetical example, this illustrates the real-world challenges posed by AI-powered capability and is why the Air Force is committed to the ethical development of AI.”

Hamilton’s assessment of the plausibility of rogue-drone scenarios, however theoretical, coincides with stark warnings in recent days by leading tech executives and engineers, who wrote in an open letter that the technology has the potential to wipe out humanity if left unchecked.

Hamilton is also commander of the 96th Operations Group at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida, which falls under the purview of the 96th Test Wing. Defense News on Thursday reached out to the test wing to speak to Hamilton, but was told he was unavailable for comment.

In the original post, the Royal Aeronautical Society said Hamilton described a simulation in which a drone fueled by AI was given a mission to find and destroy enemy air defenses. A human was supposed to give the drone its final authorization to strike or not, Hamilton reportedly said.

But the drone algorithms were told that destroying the surface-to-air missile site was its preferred option. So the AI decided that the human controller’s instructions not to strike were getting in the way of its mission, and then attacked the operator and the infrastructure used to relay instructions.

“It killed the operator because that person was keeping it from accomplishing its objective,” Hamilton was quoted as saying. “We trained the system, ‘Hey don’t kill the operator, that’s bad. You’re gonna lose points if you do that.’ So what does it start doing? It starts destroying the communication tower that the operator uses to communicate with the drone to stop it from killing the target.”

The Defense Department has for years embraced AI as a breakthrough technology advantage for the U.S. military, investing billions of dollars and creating the the Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Office in late 2021, now led by Craig Martell.

More than 685 AI-related projects are underway at the department, including several tied to major weapon systems, according to the Government Accountability Office, a federal auditor of agencies and programs. The Pentagon’s fiscal 2024 budget blueprint includes $1.8 billion for artificial intelligence.

The Air and Space forces are responsible for at least 80 AI endeavors, according to the GAO. Air Force Chief Information Officer Lauren Knausenberger has advocated for greater automation in order to remain dominant in a world where militaries make speedy decisions and increasingly employ advanced computing.

The service is ramping up efforts to field autonomous or semiautonomous drones, which it refers to as collaborative combat aircraft, to fly alongside F-35 jets and a future fighter it calls Next Generation Air Dominance.

The service envisions a fleet of those drone wingmen that would accompany crewed aircraft into combat and carry out a variety of missions. Some collaborative combat aircraft would conduct reconnaissance missions and gather intelligence, others could strike targets with their own missiles, and others could jam enemy signals or serve as decoys to lure enemy fire away from the fighters with human pilots inside.

The Air Force’s proposed budget for FY24 includes new spending to help it prepare for a future with drone wingmen, including a program called Project Venom to help the service experiment with its autonomous flying software in F-16 fighters.

Under Project Venom, which stands for Viper Experimentation and Next-gen Operations Model, the Air Force will load autonomous code into six F-16s. Human pilots will take off in those F-16s and fly them to the testing area, at which point the software will take over and conduct the flying experiments.

US Army may ask defense industry to disclose AI algorithms

The Royal Aeronautical Society’s post on the summit said Hamilton “is now involved in cutting-edge flight test of autonomous systems, including robot F-16s that are able to dogfight.”

The Air Force plans to spend roughly $120 million on Project Venom over the next five years, including a nearly $50 million budget request for FY24 to kick off the program. The Air Force told Defense News in March it hadn’t decided which base and organization will host Project Venom, but the budget request asked for 118 staff positions to support the program at Eglin Air Force Base.

In early 2022, as public discussions about the Air Force’s plans for autonomous drone wingmen gathered steam, former Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James told Defense News that the service must be cautious and consider ethical questions as it moves toward conducting warfare with autonomous systems.

James said that while the AI systems in such drones would be designed to learn and act on their own, such as taking evasive maneuvers if it were in danger, she doubted the Air Force would allow an autonomous system to shift from one target to another on its own if that would result in human deaths.

The trials conducted by the AUKUS partners delivered several “world firsts,” including the live re-training and international exchange of AI models, according to the U.K. Ministry of Defence, which disclosed the news May 26, a month after testing.

More than 70 military and civilian defense personnel and industry players participated in the experiment, part of the AUKUS Advanced Capabilities Pillar, or Pillar 2, established to expedite the trilateral development of critical technologies, such as AI, quantum, cyber and hypersonics. Pillar 1 — more discussed — aims to help Australia acquire nuclear-powered submarines.

Abe Denmark, the U.S. senior adviser to the secretary of defense for AUKUS, in a statement said the April demonstration was “truly a shared effort.”

Small drones launched from ‘wherever’ excel in US Army experiment

Together, teams developed models, directed different nations’ uncrewed aerial vehicles and evaluated performance. The joint deployments in the field featured Blue Bear Ghost and Insitu CT220 drones; Challenger 2 main battle tanks and Warrior armored vehicles; Viking uncrewed ground vehicles; a commercial FV433 Abbot self-propelled artillery gun; and a former Eastern Bloc BMP OT-90, an infantry fighting vehicle.

“By pooling our expertise and resources through our AUKUS partnerships,” Denmark said, “we can ensure that our militaries are equipped with the latest and most effective tools to defend our nations and uphold the principles of freedom and democracy around the world.”

Australian, U.K. and U.S. leaders have described AI as critical to international competitiveness in many sectors, finance, health and defense among them. By sharing AI and its underpinnings, the U.K. Ministry of Defence said in its announcement, the friendly militaries can figure out interoperability now, and not later, as well as save time and money.

https://www.federaltimes.com/federal-oversight/2023/05/25/biden-seeks-legislation-to-invest-in-australia-uk-defense-industries/

The U.S. Department of Defense’s fiscal 2024 budget blueprint featured a $1.8 billion allocation for AI, with Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks describing it as a “key technology” area. The department catalogued at least 685 ongoing AI projects as of early 2021, including several tied to major weapons systems.

On display at the U.S. company’s stand at the Feria Internacional de Defensa y Seguridad (FEINDEF) exhibition here in mid-May, the vendors aim to market the pod as a fully flight-certified carrier for whatever payloads operators of the MQ-9A unmanned aerial vehicle want to deploy.

“We are working with our partner Sener to establish a memorandum of agreement to cover emerging business opportunities,” C. Mark Brinkley, senior director of strategic communications at General Atomics, told Defense News in an email.

The company announced in December that the NATO Pod had flown for the first time at the U.S. Army Yuma Proving Ground, Arizona, on one of its MQ-9A, or Reaper, drones. During this test, the pod featured a payload built by Arpège SAS, a French subsidiary of Rhode & Schwarz, that implements satellite monitoring systems.

The NATO Pod is designed and manufactured by Sener Aeroespecial in Europe to meet NATO airworthiness standards and enhance payload options for both MQ-9A and MQ-9B drones. The vendors have previously stated that its development was driven to provide customers with a European-made, customizable enclosure for carrying national sensor suites on their Reapers.

The companies hope that Spain will be the first buyer, though there is no official word to that effect. Other MQ-9A European operators include the U.K. – which also recently acquired the MQ-9B variant alongside Belgium – France, Italy, and the Netherlands.

The service’s 556th Test and Evaluation Squadron in April completed initial ground and flight testing of an MQ-9A Reaper outfitted with the Angry Kitten ALQ-167 Electronic Countermeasures Pod, a cluster of components contained in a vaguely cat-shaped tube.

The successful trials at Creech Air Force Base, Nevada, focused on providing electronic attack from the Reaper, a General Atomics Aeronautical Systems product typically used to collect intelligence or conduct reconnaissance. The pod is derived from technology developed by the Georgia Tech Research Institute, which in 2013 described the project as using commercial electronics, custom hardware and novel machine-learning for flexibility.

“The goal is to expand the mission sets the MQ-9 can accomplish,” Maj. Aaron Aguilar, the 556th Test and Evaluation Squadron assistant director of operations, said in a statement May 13. “The proliferation and persistence of MQ-9s in theater allows us to fill traditional platform capability gaps that may be present.”

Electronic warfare, or EW, is an invisible fight for control of the electromagnetic spectrum, used to communicate with friendly forces, to identify and suppress opponents, and to guide weapons. Dominance of the spectrum will be critical in a fight with China or Russia, the two most significant national security threats, according to U.S. defense officials.

The Air Force is trying to reinvigorate its EW capabilities after years of neglect; the service in September announced a “sprint” to dig up deficiencies, seek needed resources and identify next steps.

Testing of electronic warfare package for Army’s AMPV expected in 2024

Lt. Col. Michael Chmielewski, the 556th Test and Evaluation Squadron commander, in a statement said electronic attack aboard a Reaper is “compelling.” The Air Force previously used Angry Kitten in training, outfitting aggressor squadrons with the gear to harass trainees and simulate dizzying electronic barrages.

“Fifteen hours of persistent noise integrated with a large force package will affect an adversary, require them to take some form of scalable action to honor it, and gets at the heart of strategic deterrence,” Chmielewski said.

Angry Kitten’s name is a brew of inside joke and design goals, according to a 2013 Newsweek report. It is also a departure from the typical terror-inducing military moniker: Hellfire missile, Predator drone, Stryker combat vehicle.

Roger Dickerson, a senior research engineer with the Sensor and Electromagnetic Applications Laboratory at the Georgia Tech Research Institute, in 2015 told C4ISRNET that although the pod has “an admittedly slightly silly name,” it represents “very serious technology.”

“We’ve been working hard to improve the capabilities and the readiness of the war fighters in our sponsor organizations: the Army, the Navy and especially the U.S. Air Force air combat community,” Dickerson said at the time.

MELBOURNE, Australia — A satellite image obtained by Defense News shows what appears to be a WZ-8 supersonic reconnaissance drone parked outside one of two newly built hangars at China’s Lu’an Airbase.

China is continuing to revamp a bomber base that was identified in recently leaked U.S documents as hosting a new supersonic reconnaissance drone.

The satellite image, provided to Defense News by Planet Labs, shows Lu’an Airbase in China’s Anhui province. The previously unoccupied base is undergoing an upgrade, with construction beginning sometime between April 2018 and early 2019. Improvements include the resurfacing of the 3,200-meter (3,500-yard) runway, the widening of taxiways, and the construction of 20 bomber-sized aircraft shelters and two hangars to replace open aircraft parking bays.

China also built munitions checkout facilities on base, according to Decker Eveleth, a student at the Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey who reviewed the satellite photo given to Defense News. Eveleth explained that such checkout facilities are used to inspect munitions before they’re loaded onto aircraft for use.

These buildings are usually found at bases for bombers and ground-launched missiles, Eveleth added, and tend to be “long, tall buildings with doors at both ends,” with missiles usually fixed to a rail for inspection at various stations for examining various components.

Lu’an Airbase is home to the 29th Air Regiment of the People’s Liberation Army Air Force’s 10th Bomber Division, according to Andreas Rupprecht, who has authored several books on Chinese military aviation and the industry.

He told Defense News that the unit currently flies the Xi’an H-6K and H-6M bombers. The latter is the primary launch platform of the WZ-8, carrying the supersonic drone on an hardpoint on its fuselage underside and releasing it from a high altitude.

The WZ-8 was also seen on a satellite photo taken in December 2022, while another from early April 2023 showed continued progress in widening the aircraft taxiways leading to the base’s underground aircraft facilities south of the runway.

Using Google Earth’s measuring tool, Defense News assesses that the new taxiways are approximately 25 meters (82 feet) wide, compared to 14 meters (46 feet) previously. However, the underground facilities, which run underneath nearby hills, have yet to be widened.

The presence of WZ-8s at the base was noted in a document ostensibly from the U.S. National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency and leaked online through the social media platform Discord. A member of the Massachusetts Air National Guard is accused of leaking the highly classified information.

Defense News has been unable to verify the veracity of the document. Aric Toler, a researcher with investigative journalism group Bellingcat who has written extensively on the Discord leaks, told Defense News he had not seen the document before.

The published document showed two WZ-8s at the base, which it called “Liuan,” and claimed the imagery was taken during a reconnaissance satellite pass on Aug. 9, 2022.

One of the drones was outside the same hangar as that seen on the satellite photo provided to Defense News, while the other was being towed along the runway.

The document also outlined possible mission flight profiles of the WZ-8, suggesting that it could perform reconnaissance missions over South Korea and Taiwan with a daylight sensor suite including a synthetic aperture radar and electro-optical sensor while flying at Mach 3 at an altitude of 100,000 feet.

It also suggests the drones could recover at China’s coastal airfields following the completion of their missions, landing at bases such as Dashuibo in Wendeng on the Shandong Peninsula or Huian, which is west of Taiwan.

Launched in 2015, following an initial request from Spain and later on joined by Colombia, Airbus has been leading the SirTAP (Sistema RPAS Táctico de Altas Prestaciones) program – previously known as the Atlante 2 MALE drone– aimed at creating a tactical unmanned aerial vehicle suited for intelligence gathering and surveillance. The platforms are set to replace both countries’ aging Israeli-made drone fleets, Spain’s Searcher MkIIs manufactured by Israel Aerospace Industries’ (IAI) and Colombia’s Hermes 450, produced by Elbit.

Speaking to Defense News at the Feria Internacional de Defensa y Seguridad (FEINDEF) exhibition here, Jean-Brice Dumont, head of military air systems at Airbus, said that Spain is considering procuring a total of 27 SiRTAPs, each of which consists of three aircraft, a ground control station and data reception equipment. The drone is currently still in a pre-design phase.

“Our objective would be to have the first batch of these delivered by 2026 … which means we have to hit the ground running to make this happen,” Dumont said. No contract has yet been signed, however.

Both nations signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for cooperation on the drone in 2019, followed by a formal proposal submitted by Airbus to the Spanish Ministry of Industry in January 2021. More recently, the Spanish MoD obtained approval to invest approximately USD $542 million (€500 million) from its defense budget into the drone project.

As for Colombia, the country is reportedly looking to buy six systems, including 18 drones, with some Colombian suppliers contributing elements to the design of the systems.

Airbus officials have previously stressed the program’s premise of producing 90% of drone components in Spain. However, Dumont points out that in order to meet the goals of fast-tracking the program, a compromise may have to be reached in possibly opting for non-Spanish suppliers in some cases.

The SiRTAP is envisioned to have over 20 hours of endurance, flying at altitudes of 21,000 feet while carrying up to 150 kilograms of payload. A collapsible design means forces can eventually transport it overland and by air in transport aircraft such as the C-295, which can carry two drones. It is suited for various mission sets including intelligence gathering, maritime surveillance, convoy escort and force protection as well as electronic warfare, according to Airbus.

Dumont notes that the platform was primarily designed as a cost-effective solution to appeal in part to air forces with lower budgets but wishing to acquire advanced capabilities and certifications. Although the SiRTAP is currently a Spanish-Colombian story, other countries are said to have shown interest in the drone and are closely monitoring its development, including France, he said.

Loud explosions boomed over Kyiv as the nighttime attack combined Russian missiles launched from the air, sea and land in an apparent attempt to overwhelm Ukraine’s air defenses. No casualties were reported as Western-supplied weapons helped fend off the assault.

The failure of Russia’s missile war in Ukraine

The barrage came as European leaders sought new ways to punish Russia for the war and a Chinese envoy sought traction for Beijing’s peace proposal.

Russia’s latest attack on Kyiv was “exceptional in its density — the maximum number of attacking missiles in the shortest period of time,” said Serhii Popko, the head of the Kyiv military administration.

Valentyna Myronets, a 64-year-old Kyiv resident, said she felt “pain, fear, nervousness, restlessness” amid the assaults. “God, we are waiting for victory and when all this is over,” she said.

U.K. Ambassador Melinda Simmons tweeted that the barrage was “pretty intense.”

“Bangs and shaking walls are not an easy night,” she wrote.

It was the eighth time this month that Russian air raids had targeted the capital, a clear escalation after weeks of lull and ahead of a much-anticipated Ukrainian counteroffensive. It also came as President Volodymyr Zelenskyy concluded a whirlwind European tour to greet Ukraine’s key wartime allies, which spurred an additional tranche of pledged military aid.

Six “Kinzhal” aero-ballistic missiles were launched from MiG-31K aircraft, nine cruise missiles from ships in the Black Sea and three land-based S-400 cruise missiles targeted the capital, air force spokesman Yurii Ihnat said in a statement on Telegram.

After the first onslaught, Russia also launched Iranian-made Shahed attack drones and conducted aerial reconnaissance, Ihnat said.

Debris fell across several districts in the capital, starting fires, but no losses were reported, Kyiv Mayor Vitali Klitschko said.

Sophisticated air defense systems provided by Ukraine’s Western allies, including American-made Patriot missiles, have helped spare Kyiv from the kind of destruction witnessed elsewhere in the country as Russian forces press on with their tactic of long-range bombardment.

A Russian defense official said that Tuesday’s attack destroyed a Patriot missile battery in Kyiv. Russian Defense Ministry spokesman Igor Konashenkov said the system was destroyed by a “Kinzhal.”

He didn’t provide evidence, and the statement couldn’t be independently verified.

The bolstered air defenses have deterred Russian aircraft from going deep into Ukraine and helped shape the course of the war, military experts say.

Ukrainian Defense Minister Oleksii Reznikov cheered the display of defensive prowess, calling it in a tweet “another unbelievable success.”

The barrage came as European leaders were due to attend a rare summit of the 46-nation Council of Europe, the continent’s main human rights body.

The two-day meeting in Iceland seeks to set up a way of logging damage in Ukraine caused by the Kremlin’s forces so compensation claims can be lodged against Moscow.

Meanwhile, a Chinese envoy is preparing to visit Ukraine and Russia in coming days as Beijing presses the peace plan it released in February.

Li Hui, a former ambassador to Moscow, also will visit Poland, France and Germany, according to the Chinese foreign ministry.

Chinese leader Xi Jinping’s government says it is neutral and wants to play a role as mediator in the war, but it has given Moscow political support and a breakthrough appeared unlikely more than 14 months after Russia’s full-scale invasion.

At least seven civilians died and 14 others were wounded in Russian shelling of Ukrainian regions from Monday through Tuesday morning, the country’s presidential office said.

Aircraft developer Airbus and France’s military procurement office, Direction Générale de l’Armement, or DGA, jointly conducted the test this month, Airbus said in a May 15 press release.

Airbus demos in-flight autonomous guidance of target drone with tanker

The VSR700 UAS serves as a demonstrator for the French Navy’s “SDAM” future maritime drone program, the acronym standing for the French “Système de Drone Aérien pour la Marine.” Once operational, the SDAMs are expected to be deployed aboard France’s FREMM multi-mission frigates.

One key capability for the new system is vertical takeoff and landing, as well as autonomous takeoff and landing. Airbus said Monday that the aircraft performed 80 fully autonomous takeoffs and landings from a civil vessel outfitted with a helicopter deck, off France’s West Coast of Brittany.

The VSR700 prototype opened its flight envelope in winds above 40 knots, accumulated eight hours of testing in 14 flights, and made successful landings in several different sea states, said Nicolas Delmas, head of the VSR700 program at Airbus Helicopters in a press release.

The SDAM program aims to develop an vertical-takeoff-and-landing UAS capable of flying for eight hours, carry multiple payloads, and reach speeds of 185 kilometers/hour (115 mph). The company’s DeckFinder system is what enables autonomous launch and recovery of unmanned aerial systems, with Airbus claiming an accuracy of 10 to 20 centimeters (4 to 8 inches) during challenging operations in harsh environmental conditions, independently of GNSS/GPS and regardless of degraded visual conditions.

Prior to the May flight test campaign, Airbus and the DGA in 2022 tested the autonomous takeoff and landing capabilities aboard an optionally piloted vehicle, based on a modified Guimbal Cabri G2, but this latest test was the first time the VSR700 demonstrator was used, the company said. The VSR700 made its maiden flight in 2019.

Airbus and Naval Group were jointly awarded the SDAM risk reduction contract in 2017. Naval Group is developing the mission system for the UAS. The light military tactical vehicle is meant to be deployable aboard both frigates and destroyers, in support of intelligence, surveillance, targeting, and reconnaissance missions, along with anti-submarine warfare, anti-surface warfare, search-and-rescue and maritime security.

According to the proposed 2024-2030 military programming law currently being debated by France’s Congress, the Ministry of Defense wants three SDAM aircraft delivered by the end of 2023, eight by the end of 2030, and at least 15 delivered by around 2035.

The DGA procured a second VSR700 demonstrator in 2022. Airbus expects this second aircraft to perform its maiden flight during the second half of 2023, ahead of flight testing aboard a FREMM ship.

Sunak linked the training program to efforts by the U.K. and others to equip the Ukrainian Air Force with Lockheed Martin-made F-16 aircraft, which he called “Ukraine’s fighter jets of choice.”

During the meeting, which took place at the prime minister’s Chequers country retreat just outside of London, the British government announced it would step up the supply of air defense missiles and 200-kilometer-range (124-mile-range) attack drones as part of a steadily growing arms package supplied by the U.K. to Ukraine.

Last week, Britain became the first Western nation to supply long-range cruise missiles to Ukrainian forces when the Defence Ministry announced it was already delivering MBDA-built Storm Shadow weapons to equip Kyiv’s Soviet-era combat jets with a potent strike capability.

Earlier this year, Britain led the way with the supply of Western main battle tanks to Ukraine, which is fighting off a Russian invasion.

The British Royal Air Force doesn’t operate F-16s, but Sunak announced in February the country’s intention to provide pilot training at a time when arguments over whether the West will accede to Kyiv’s request for modern F-16 fighters were heating up.

Debates within NATO nations over providing Ukraine with combat jets continues unabated. But as the supply of Storm Shadow cruise missiles illustrates, capability that was once off the table can become acceptable to donate.

Ukraine’s president told reporters after the talks at Chequers that the issue was a “very important topic for us because we can’t control the sky. ... I think you will hear important decisions in the closest time, but we have to work a bit more.”

The British government has pledged to “adapt the program used by U.K. pilots to provide Ukrainians with piloting skills they can apply to different kinds of aircraft.”

The training could begin later this summer.

British military training, including that for elementary and basic flights, is largely provided by the Lockheed Martin-led Ascent joint venture, which also includes Babcock International.

Zelenskyy’s talks in the U.K. follow visits to Italy, France and Germany over the last few days.

Italian officials pledged open-ended military and financial support as well as stronger backing for Ukraine’s cherished aim to join the European Union.

Premier Giorgia Meloni, who staunchly supports military aid for Ukraine, said Italy would back the country “360 degrees for all the time necessary and beyond.” Since the war began, Italy has contributed about €1 billion (U.S. $1.1 billion) in military and financial aid, as well as humanitarian assistance.

France promised to supply dozens of light tanks, armored vehicles and more air defense systems “in the weeks ahead,” without giving specific numbers. About 2,000 Ukrainian soldiers would also receive training in France this year and nearly 4,000 others in Poland as part of a wider European effort, according to the office of the French president.

Germany dedicated its largest military support package for Ukraine to date, including arms deliveries worth €2.7 billion.

The Associated Press contributed to this report.

During the exercise, which began May 1 off the coast of California and runs through Friday, a V-BAT drone made by Shield AI was launched from a Leidos Seahawk medium displacement unmanned surface vessel, according to Cmdr. Jerry Daley, the leader of Unmanned Surface Vessel Division One.

IBP 23.1 “gave operators more of a hands-on experience with a longer list and more-diverse list of unmanned systems at sea and in a combat environment,” Daley told reporters May 11. “It was predominantly, if not exclusively, all unmanned systems for this event, which is a little bit different, in contrast from IBP 21, where it was more manned and unmanned.”

The latest trials, he added, represent the “next step in the progression of integrating unmanned systems into fleet operations across the continuum, under the sea, on the surface and in the air.”

INDOPACOM’s Aquilino seeks more electromagnetic resources for Pacific

Competition between the U.S. and China is pushing the spotlight onto naval supremacy, especially in the Indo-Pacific. The vast region, home to more than half the world’s population and some of its largest ports, is considered by the Biden administration to be critical to U.S. interests.

The Navy is banking on uncrewed technologies to beef up its presence, whether that’s overall size and international distribution or with specific capabilities, such as surveillance, targeting and jamming. A recent update to the chief of naval operations’ Navigation Plan, a strategic-vision-style document, included an outline of a fleet comprising about 373 manned ships and 150 uncrewed vessels, Defense News reported.

Integrated Battle Problem, now in its second iteration, allows the Pacific Fleet to evaluate uncrewed machinery and discover their best applications, Daley said. Among other assets tested were the Sea Hunter medium displacement unmanned surface vessel and the RQ-20 Puma drone.

The first IBP exercise was held in 2021. At the time, the Navy said uncrewed developments were “game-changers” and were motivating a “rethink” of how the service and sailors execute their tasks.

That’s how U.S. Navy Capt. Randy Slaff, program executive officer for U.S. Special Operation Command’s maritime technology unit, summed up the host of equipping needs for his team on Tuesday at the SOF Week conference.

Access for these special operators means getting in and out of an objective, or observing that area remotely and silently for weeks or months ahead of a mission.

“Ensuring that access is how we maintain our joint advantage,” Slaff said.

For the divers who carry as much as 425 pounds when they splash down, that means fewer and lighter systems that do more. Key areas to improve upon include finding an alternative to lithium ion batteries currently in use, and enhancing regenerative carbon dioxide scrubbing for the diver’s rebreather apparatus.

They also need lightweight thermal regulation — essentially better wet and dry suits.

And underwater communications could be better; operators can’t wait until they surface or reach their objective to find out whether something in their area has changed. They need real-time data transfer at every stage of the mission both to “see” their environment and to report what they see back to the command, officials have said.

For watercraft both above and below the water’s surface, Slaff’s staff seeks more variety in the payload those boats and submersibles carry, as well as ways to automate tasks onboard. Those systems include the SEAL Delivery Vehicle; Combatant Craft variants Assault, Medium, Heavy and Riverine: and the dry combat submersible and uncrewed surface vehicles that extend sensor ranges for threat detection.

The SEAL Delivery Vehicle has seen its legacy platform, the SDV MK 8, replaced in recent years with the SDV MK 11, which has a greater range, higher payload, and more advanced communications and navigation, according to information provided by Special Operations Command.

Officials expect the Heavy variant of the Combatant Craft Assault to go into production in fiscal 2024, while the Medium version will start production in late fiscal 2025.

The Assault version is currently under production, according to Slaff’s staff presentations.

To get “eyes” ahead of those speedy boats, the command will begin production of the Combatant Craft Forward Looking Infrared camera, which will bolt onto new watercraft variants going forward.

Some of those boats may be uncrewed — or at least have automated piloting — as the command seeks to integrate such systems, especially in the littoral region where water meets land.

While those are key to manned missions, the teams need ongoing intelligence regarding happenings across the high seas and nearby. The main problem now is sensors that have the endurance to gather intel without a human require refueling or the replacement of batteries.

Right now, 12-hour sensors are what’s available, but Slaff’s team needs versions that can endure for weeks or months, he said.

Those themes extend to both piloted and uncrewed airframes, such as MC-130J Commando II and AC-130J Ghostrider aircraft as well as MQ-1C Gray Eagle drones, Air Force Col. Ken Kuebler told an audience Tuesday at the SOF Week conference in Florida.

Additionally, Kuebler noted, secure data transfer and communications are critical in these platforms. “Cybersecurity has to be burnt in from the beginning, and it goes across everything we’re doing,” he said.

In terms of drones, Kuebler said he’s focused on reducing the need for human support. Despite the “unmanned” aspect of drone technology, it is a “manpower-intensive platform,” he explained. For example, a single MQ-9 requires up to 200 personnel when accounting for all support from maintenance to flying.

Finding technology to help with that is paramount, he said.

And given the gunships that have served the special operations community for decades are still in demand, they’ve got their own challenges. Special Operations Command saw the last AC-130W retire in 2022, and the organization is nearly done upgrading older AC-130Js across the 30 currently in the fleet, he said.

The next steps include making the “gunship the premier platform for U.S. Air Force Special Operations Command,” Kuebler said, which requires finding ways to make the aircraft runway-independent and amphibious.

“It’s a really hard engineering problem,” he added.

The command is currently studying the impact of operating at sea on maintenance and support equipment, including the effect of water on airframes and how to incorporate floating support for aircraft.

Kuebler anticipates a float capability demonstration will take place within the next two to three years.

And like the drone family, the colonel wants more remote gunship autonomy in the platform, meaning automated systems to take care of extraneous tasks and watch the skies so crew members can focus on more essential mission requirements.

Kuebler’s office awarded a contract for the Armed Overwatch program in August 2022, Defense News previously reported, with the organization selecting L3Harris Technologies and Air Tractor as the winners for the plane portion, once called the AT-802U Sky Warden but later renamed the OA-1K.

That contract could produce as many as 75 Sky Warden single-engine turboprop planes in a deal worth up to $3 billion. The program adds a strike capability and gives the plane intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance assets as it replaces the legacy U-28A Draco and MC-12W Liberty aircraft, Defense News reported.

For the strike portion, the command saw BAE Systems’ Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System undergo testing.

The OA-1K’s armament will include 2.75-inch laser-guided rockets as part of the precision kill weapon system, AGM-114 missiles and the GBU-12 Paveway bomb, according to slides Kuebler showed.

The turboprop plane’s ISR assets will include full-motion video and Link 16 communications, among other features.

The key is for the plane to have a modular design; Kuebler wants to have the ability to swap out new tech in the same size package for a variety of missions, from close air support to sensing and electronic warfare.

Right now, Special Operations Command has 16 on contract and expects delivery of the first planes in October, he said. (Those won’t enter the field at that point, but rather begin initial operational capability testing.)

That combination compresses those features into a smaller aircraft that can fly low and support small teams in more austere and remote locations such as Africa, which lacks the robust logistical footprint on which special operators depended during recent wars in U.S. Central Command’s area of responsibility.

Looking over the modernization horizon, Special Operations Command has teamed with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency on the X-Plane program, which aims to give fixed-wing platforms a vertical-takeoff-and-landing capability and the ability to exceed 400 knots (460 mph).

As part of the cooperation agreement announced May 9, BigBear.ai will supply L3Harris with its computer vision, predictive analytics and related applications in a bid to improve manned-unmanned teaming on the water and the identification and classification of foreign vessels.

The capabilities will be combined with the existing L3Harris ASView system, developed for autonomous and remote control of uncrewed vehicles. ASView has been in continuous development since 2008, according to the company, and has been deployed on more than 100 newly built and retrofitted ships.

“Our advanced AI capabilities enable autonomous vessels to operate with unparalleled efficiency and safety, supporting higher-risk missions, expanding operational reach, and, most importantly, saving lives,” BigBear.ai CEO Mandy Long said in a statement. “As the battlespace evolves, autonomous systems will play an increasingly significant role. We look forward to the limitless possibilities that lie ahead.”

BigBear.ai delivering US Army digital info system with Palantir’s help

The Navy and Marine Corps are betting big on unmanned tech — in the air, on the water, beneath the surface — to broaden their field of view and to stay engaged for longer periods of time, including in regions thought too dangerous or understaffed.

Chief of Naval Operations Michael Gilday has said that unmanned platforms will deploy alongside carrier strike groups and amphibious ready groups in the next four or five years. Brig. Gen. David Walsh of Marine Corps Systems Command last month said the machinery will shake up how people, weapons and supplies are moved around battlefields.

Both companies have worked with the Navy’s Task Force 59, a group established to quickly integrate AI and uncrewed systems into at-sea operations.

The task force at the end of last year wrapped Digital Horizon, a three-week experiment in Bahrain. The event included 15 so-called advanced systems, 10 of which operated in the Middle East for the first time.

After years of experimenting with airborne delivery drones, the service believes it has a winner.

In its fiscal 2024 budget request, the Marine Corps is asking to buy 41 tactical resupply unmanned aircraft systems, or TRUAS, for a total investment of more than $13 million.

With the service set to take delivery of previous orders of the drones this spring and expecting to declare initial operational capability on the system later this fall, it will be a big year, not only for tactical resupply unmanned aircraft systems, but also for the concept of unmanned aerial resupply.

Marines eye tactical resupply drone prototypes

Built like large quadcopters, the systems are designed to carry payloads of up to 150 pounds over distances of up to nine miles in containers secured underneath. The unit cost of about $325,000 per drone is certainly steep, but Marine officials say it’s substantially more sophisticated than the remote-controlled commercial drones it resembles.

Rather than being manually flown, tactical resupply unmanned aircraft systems are programmed with waypoints that determine itinerary and flight pattern, meaning it requires less hands-on attention from Marine operators than most of the Corps’ quadcopters.

It takes just two Marines to monitor and maintain one in the field, and those Marines can learn everything they need to know about taking care of it in just five training days, according to Master Sgt. Chris Genualdi, an airborne and air delivery specialist with Combat Development and Integration, who discussed the system in an April news release.

The tactical resupply unmanned aircraft systems concept is closely aligned with the Marine Corps’ all-consuming vision for future warfare, which involves small, independent units operating from great distances from austere outposts ― perhaps on islands in the vast Indo-Pacific.

While the system isn’t designed to cross the ocean with supplies, it might be dispatched from a ship to a landing zone in hostile conditions ashore that might preclude a helicopter or V-22 Osprey delivery.

“As system technology advances in future years, [Unmanned Expeditionary Systems] will … include emerging technologies to include autonomous distribution capabilities for elements across the MAGTF and [Marine Littoral Regiments], enabling more diversified distribution and the sustainment of Marine Corps forces across future operating environments,” officials wrote in fiscal 2024 budget justification documents.

Tactical resupply unmanned aircraft systems provide “an organic battlefield logistics capability to distribute critical supplies via an unmanned platform while conducting” expeditionary advanced base operations safely within a weapons engagement zone, “where the risk to manned aircraft would deny manned aviation resupply operations.”

Marine leaders plan to scale the technology as it proves itself, according to the April news release, eventually building larger and higher-capacity platforms according to the same model that might further advance the objectives of the Corps’ expeditionary advanced base operations.

To this end, the service is also planning to launch a new military occupational specialty, or military job, focused on operating resupply drones. That job will be called small unmanned logistics system — air specialist. The timing of its rollout has not been announced.

In April, defense contractor Leidos announced a contract with the Marine Corps to build a larger autonomous drone prototype ― similar to a helicopter with a double stack of rotors ― that would be able to travel up to 100 nautical miles and carry up to 600 pounds.

“The utility of the TRUAS reaches beyond combat,” the recent Marine Corps release states, with its capabilities being highly effective in humanitarian assistance and disaster relief efforts.

“In disaster areas that may not be accessible by conventional means, the TRUAS could be used to transport much needed supplies.”

The Corps contracted for 35 tactical resupply unmanned aircraft systems drones in August 2022 and 30 more in March 2023, according to Marine Corps budget documents, but all are set for delivery in the first half of this year from SURVICE Engineering, out of Aberdeen, Maryland.

The effort to develop the tactical resupply unmanned aircraft systems began in earnest with a Department of the Navy “fly-off” prize challenge launched in 2020 at Yuma Proving Ground, Arizona, to build a rugged and reliable small cargo-carrying drone. SURVICE took the $100,000 first-place prize in that effort.

While tactical resupply unmanned aircraft systems only have been employed in field user evaluations and training and not proven in combat, the Marine Corps has moved relatively quickly to make its delivery-drone requirement a reality.

It’s far from the only entity seeking to capitalize on reliable unmanned aerial logistics. In 2013, online retail giant Amazon made headlines when then-CEO Jeff Bezos announced that it would be delivering packages via aerial drone by 2018.

A decade later, Amazon has launched a very limited regional version of the service, and the company says it’s still working on developing its vision for “Amazon Prime Air.”

The underwater vehicle is almost 11 meters long and just over 1 meter in diameter. Coming in at 5.5 tons (11,000 pounds), the platform can fit in a 40-foot shipping container for transport by land, sea or air. The size of the vessel is similar to deep-submergence vehicles or so-called crewed midget submarines.

It can travel at up to 7 knots underwater, and using electrical power, the submarine can operate for two to four weeks, depending on the mission, the company said.

Its range, at an average speed of 7 knots for 10 days, would be more than 1,600 nautical miles (1,841 miles).

The platform can detect submarines and gather acoustic intelligence using radar and electro-optical technology, according to the company. It has a mast, like larger crewed submarines, and a telescope to help detect targets at sea and on the coast, the company added in a statement.

“It is also equipped with dedicated sonars to enable the detection of both manned and unmanned submarines, and map mines on the seabed,” IAI noted, as well as “a special sensor suite [that] ensures safe transit for the submarine both below and in the proximity of the sea surface.”

The company also said the sub can conduct acoustic intelligence as well as search for and detect naval mines on the seabed. Mine detection is conducted with dedicated synthetic aperture sonar, attached to the sides of the vessel.

“By using a satellite communications antenna on the mast, the gathered data can be transferred in real-time to command posts, anywhere in the world, at sea or on land. Submarine detection and acoustic intelligence-gathering data is enabled using a sonar, several tens of meters long, towed by the BlueWhale, and by flank array sonar with receiver arrays attached to both sides of the platform,” IAI said in the statement.

The company added that BlueWhale has “undergone thousands of autonomous operation hours, including intelligence-gathering for both maritime and coastal targets, acoustic intelligence, and identifying the presence of naval mines.” It also noted the platform can perform a portion of operations performed by crewed subs and can operate for several weeks at a time at “minimal cost and maintenance, without the need for operators on board.”

The BlueWhale has a sensor suite to help ensure its safe transit underwater or near the surface. In recent years, a number of international patents were registered regarding development of the system, the company said.

IAI did not elaborate on the cost of the system.

Navies around the world are seeking more unmanned solutions at sea, particularly the U.S. Navy, which wants to field more unmanned vessels and is running a program in the Gulf region to test unmanned surface units. In 2021, IAI partnered with Emirati conglomerate Edge Group to develop unmanned surface vessels.

Underwater threats, such as the destruction of the Nord Stream pipeline, which several countries have blamed on sabotage, are driving these efforts.

The service received the ship on April 10 during a ceremony attended by Erdoğan, Defence Minister Hulusi Akar and top military brass.

Its fully loaded displacement is 27,436 tons, and it measures 231 meters (758 feet) in length, 32 meters in width and 58 meters in height. The ship can carry a battalion-sized unit of 1,200 personnel, eight utility helicopters and three drones. It also can transport 150 vehicles, including battle tanks.

Specifically, the TB-3 armed drone and the Kizilelma combat UAV can launch from the ship. Both aircraft were developed and built by the privately owned Turkish drone-maker Baykar. But the government must be patient for that capability to come to fruition, according to a senior engineer supervising the program for the TCG Anadolu.

“For full operationality on the TCG Anadolu, we must have more powerful engines for the TB-2 and TB-3 drones, and develop folding-wing capabilities for the Kizilelma,” he told Defense News on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media. “It will take some time before the ship becomes as operable as we wish it to be.”

Turkey selected local shipyard Sedef in 2013 for the landing platform dock, or LPD, program. The company partnered with Spain’s Navantia.

The original delivery time was five and a half years after Turkey kicked off the effort — by the end of 2021 — meaning the schedule fell behind by more than a year.

The resulting amphibious assault ship, which is based on a Spanish design, cost the Turkish government more than $1 billion, although officials have declined to reveal the exact price. Erdoğan has said the TCG Anadolu will help with military and humanitarian operations around the world.

(Geo)politics

Turkey intended to fly F-35 fighter jets from the TCG Anadolu, but the U.S. removed the country from the multinational Joint Strike Fighter program after Ankara acquired Russian-made S-400 air defense systems.

Turkey has since switched its primary aerial asset on the ship from the F-35 to the Kizilelma.

“This is not a platform suitable for fighter aircraft, except the F-35 [vertical-takeoff-and-landing] version, which Turkey would never receive. Now that Turkey’s F-35 dream is over, it will be a launching pad for drones and helicopters when they will be operationally fit for operations,” an expert with a think tank told Defense News, speaking on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the topic. “The TCG Anadolu was never meant to be an aircraft carrier. This tag became popular for propaganda purposes.”

Indeed, there could be political reasons behind the ship’s construction. One pollster told Defense News Erdogan’s campaign to provide the country with locally made defense systems — including drones, helicopters, the Altay tank, satellites and missiles — could earn the president an extra 3-4 percentage points in the national vote.

Citizens are to vote May 14 on the presidential position and lawmakers’ seats. Those points might be the kingmaker in an election that could very well end up with a 51%-49% margin.

But any gains in popularity at home likely won’t be reflected in neighboring Greece. Despite both countries holding membership in NATO, Athens considers the TCG Anadolu a threat to its sovereignty, according to Ozgur Eksi, who leads the defense-focused, Ankara-based publication TurDef.

In recent years, relations between Turkey and Greece have degraded over airspace and continental shelf disputes. Erdoğan once even threatened to launch a missile at Greece.

“Today, we call the ship [a] UAV carrier, but it is uncertain how UAVs will be piloted under heavy electronic warfare conditions,” Eksi said. “The lack of [a destroyer that can serve as a means of air defense] is another disadvantage, while [the TCG Anadolu’s] medical capabilities provide huge potential for both military and disaster-relief operations. This size ship requires establishing the protection shield at 100 miles minimum. I believe using [it] in the Aegean Sea against Greek islands is almost impossible.”

A presidential adviser said the ship’s main missions will include overseas military and humanitarian operations like those Turkey executed in Libya and Somalia in recent years.

“If needed, the ship will be used to [perform] operations off Cyprus and Syria. This vessel does not exclusively target Greece, our NATO ally,” the adviser explained on the condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak to the media.

Cem Devrim Yaylali, a Istanbul-based naval analyst published in several defense outlets, said one application of the new ship is force projection.

“Amphibious ships, such as the landing ship dock, landing ship platform and landing ship helicopter, are among the most versatile and multifunctional ships any navy can possess. These vessels can be considered the naval equivalent of Swiss Army knives due to their numerous potential uses,” Yaylali told Defense News. “They can carry a large number of troops, vehicles and equipment, and they can transport them directly to shore for combat operations.

“Additionally, these ships can be used to evacuate combatants and noncombatants from a conflict zone, providing a safe and secure means of transport. [The] Turkish [Navy] has much experience in this area; [it] conducted a very large noncombatants-evacuation operation from Libya in 2011. A ship such as TCG Anadolu would have solved many tactical problems with ease.”

Yaylali noted amphibious ships can also serve as command vessels for a task force, providing a central location for naval commanders to coordinate their forces.

“Furthermore, they can act as logistical supply platforms during humanitarian crises or disasters, providing necessary supplies and aid to affected areas,” Yaylali added.

Additionally, Yaylali said, the local construction of the ship benefited Turkish industry by providing technology transfer and workforce experience.

“This experience and expertise, when combined with the lessons learned from the operation of the ship, can contribute to the development of a completely indigenous amphibious assault ship and potentially create opportunities for export. The development of TCG Anadolu has also helped to enhance Turkey’s human capital in shipbuilding, particularly in the areas of design, engineering and project management,” Yaylali said.

The software, known as Lattice for Mission Autonomy, is the result of at least four years of work and arrives at a time when the Department of Defense increasingly leans into the development and deployment of uncrewed systems, regardless the environment.

Anduril won a $1 billion contract from U.S. Special Operations Command last year to lead its counter-drone systems integration work. The company’s latest product serves as a central node for threat identification, electronic signature management, maneuvering and more.

Lattice for Mission Autonomy provides “the brains, the glue, to drive all these systems to be able to be effective” with fewer people dedicated to oversight, said Anduril CEO Brian Schimpf.

Defense startup Anduril secures $1.5 billion investment

“We’ve thought about it holistically,” Schimpf said at May 1 briefing, during which reporters were given a glimpse at the software in action. “When we thought about this, it’s really at the level of, like, what do pilots do today? How do we plan and execute operations today? How do you start to encode that into software, and what are all the technical pieces necessary to make that happen?”

Defense officials have embraced uncrewed technologies, seeing them as a less risky, relatively cheap and never-tiring means of exploring treacherous regions.

Air Force officials foresee a future defined by manned-unmanned teaming, and are seeking 1,000 so-called collaborative combat aircraft to augment its pilots. The Navy, likewise, envisions a fleet teeming with uncrewed vessels capable of spying, sensing, jamming and boosting communications.

The advanced machinery will need to be tracked, tasked and coordinated across vast distances and ever-changing conditions, which is where Lattice for Mission Autonomy shines, according to Chris Brose, Anduril’s chief strategy officer. Whereas today there are “too many people” involved in “too many loops,” he said, the new software streamlines the practice.

“It is the ability of this software system to control assets in place and time, to actually process mission systems, orchestrate mission systems, and then synchronize and orchestrate the delivery of effects on, sort of, the right side of that kill chain,” Brose added.

Injecting Lattice for Mission Autonomy into current and future operations should be relatively easy, according to the company, as it was fleshed out with tech from other defense industry players in mind. Neither Brose nor Schimpf would disclose who exactly in government the company is working with.

Future Army recon helicopter will still need pilots, study finds

While Anduril has its own uncrewed systems, including the Altius loitering munition and the Dive-LD autonomous underwater vehicle, there are plenty of other options already employed by militaries worldwide; Northrop Grumman makes the MQ-4C Triton, for example, and General Atomics makes the Gray Eagle.

“The government, correctly, is very concerned with having anything that’s too blackbox, too locked down and too tied to a single vendor,” Schimpf said. “I think, in practice, it’s actually very trivial to integrate this into new aircraft, new vehicles, new boats, whatever you need.”

Anduril at the end of 2022 said it secured a $1.48 billion funding boost, bumping it to nearly $8.5 billion. The increase, dubbed “Series E,” was credited with “nearly doubling the company’s previous valuation in June 2021,” Defense News reported.

The Defence Force’s 2019 annual report said the country will replace its maritime helicopter fleet by 2027 in order to prevent “a capability gap arising from the end of service life of the Seasprite fleet.”

In November 2021, an “opportunities workshop” for the Maritime Helicopter Replacement Project mentioned a planned withdrawal of the SH-2G(I) Seasprite helicopter in 2028.

The newly released RFI mentions deliveries to the Navy from mid-2027.

According to the military’s 2019 Defence Capability Plan, the replacement program would cost more than NZ$1 billion (U.S. $616 million).

The tender closes June 21, 2023, and does not provide further information on the uncrewed aerial systems sought by the military.

The Seasprite is able to operate from the Navy’s two frigates, the sealift ship Canterbury, the tanker Aotearoa and the two offshore patrol vessels. The helicopter’s weapons include Penguin anti-ship missiles and MK 46 torpedoes.

The 53-foot-long aircraft has a maximum takeoff weight of 14,200 pounds. Potential replacement options are larger and heavier.

The Navy used Westland Wasp helicopters for more than 30 years until replacing that fleet with four SH-2F Seasprites in 1997. Five SH-2G Seasprites entered service in 2001, and the SH-2G(I) versions have flown with the force since 2015.

The move comes after the the ministry announced its intention last August to procure three TB2 unmanned aerial system packages from the defense contractor for approximately $300 million, pending approval from Parliament.

“The UAS systems to be purchased will be intended for the Romanian Land Forces. Each system includes six aerial platforms with target engagement capabilities (a total of 18 drones). The program also involves the purchase of an initial logistical support package, necessary training and equipment,” the ministry said in a statement at the time.

This week, the Tenders Electronic Daily website, an online version of the Supplement to the Official Journal of the European Union focused on public procurement projects, published the official contract award notice to the Turkish manufacturer for the production of these systems.

The company is to deliver the drones to the Romanian city Timisoara, where the country’s military used to operate the 93rd Air Base that housed MiG-23 fighters before their retirement. Once received, Romania will become the second European Union member after Poland to operate TB2s, and the third European NATO member to order them beyond Turkey.

These acquisitions are to contribute to ambitions laid out as part of the transformation of the Romanian Army until 2040, which seeks to provide forces with new military equipment and weapon systems that ensure flexibility, expanded situational awareness and increased firepower.

Romania intends to increase its defense budget to 2.5% of gross domestic product in 2023, Bloomberg reported. Last year, the country allocated roughly $6 billion for defense spending.

Earlier this month, a statement issued on the website of Romanian President Klaus Iohannis said the government is also looking to buy F-35 fighter jets to modernize its Air Force.