Agile product management: how to build weapons faster and better. (Breaking Defense) “This level of integration introduces complexity to the point where agile software development methods, and the “five really smart engineers” approach just isn’t enough… Combining agile software development with product management is the secret weapon that can help the DoD maintain America’s innovation advantage — and protect its global preeminence.”
Engineers have proposed the first model for a physically possible warp drive. (Science Alert) “His idea, proposed in 1994, was that a spacecraft powered by something called an ‘Alcubierre drive’ could achieve this faster-than-light travel. The problem is it requires a lot of negative energy in one place, something that’s simply not possible according to existing physics. But the new study has a workaround… You won’t be able to book tickets just yet though – the amount of mass required to produce a noticeable gravitational effect on space-time would be at least planet-sized.”
Democrats lead the return to earmarks on Capitol Hill. (NY1 Spectrum News) “An earmark is congressionally-assigned spending asked for by a member of Congress that directs funding for a project, tax benefit, or a tariff… ‘The House Democrats have proposed some guardrails. They’ve proposed capping overall money spent on earmarks to 1% of the discretionary funding. Lawmakers can’t submit more than 10 earmarks per bill and all requests have to be posted on line. And of course, you shouldn’t even have to say this but lawmakers’ families can’t benefit from the earmarks and it can’t go for a for-profit entity.'”
Who will lead the world in artificial intelligence? (C4ISRNET) “Congress can help by alleviating some of the risks with recommended pilot programs to signal support for a more agile approach to both acquisition and oversight. Policymakers and the defense workforce should be able to balance creativity, speed, transparency and stewardship.”
NASA sends AI to space with first commercial edge computing system. (FedScoop) “The most important benefit to delivering reliable in-space computing with Spaceborne Computer-2 is making real-time insights a reality. Space explorers can now transform how they conduct research based on readily available data and improve decision-making.”
Something federal contractors thought they’d gotten rid of is popping up. (Federal News Network). “… we have seen over the years an increase in LPTA contracts when there is budget pressure and not as much money to spend. So that’s a cheap way of getting around the initial concerns.”
Boeing’s first fighter-like jet completes historic test flight. (Yahoo!) “Boeing and the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) announced Tuesday local time that they’ve completed the first test flight of a pilotless fighter-like jet devised to operate alongside crewed aircraft… The Australian government has invested US$31 million in the product.”
Meet the swirlon, a new kind of matter that bends the laws of physics. (Live Science) “Fish school, insects swarm and birds fly in murmurations. Now, new research finds that on the most basic level, this kind of group behavior forms a new kind of active matter, called a swirlonic state.”
Drone maker Skydio hits unicorn status with $170M in new funding. (Silicon Angle) “Skydio becomes the first U.S. drone company with a valuation of more than $1 billion, a market that has been dominated by Chinese manufacturers… “The real shift that’s happening in the market is this transition to fully autonomous operations, where the drone lives in a dock, it’s connected to the internet and it flies itself on demand wherever it’s needed.” Including the new funding, Skydio has raised $340 million to date.”
Quantum electronic warfare (EW) radio frequency spectrum. (Military & Aerospace Electronics) “Using laser beams to create excited Rydberg atoms, Army researchers say they built a quantum sensor to detect the complete radio frequency spectrum. The findings, published in the Physical Review Applied, show the Rydberg sensor can pick up Bluetooth, Wi-Fi, AM and FM radio, and other communications signals on frequencies as high as 20 GHz.”
SpaceX lands Starship prototype for the first time — then the it blows up. (The Verge) ““As a reminder, the key point of today’s test flight was to gather the data on controlling the vehicle while reentering, and we were successful in doing so,” he said.” (Eric: this development and testing strategy for starship would be impossible for a DoD program, right? Congress would not accept the apparent waste of having something blow up for “information” they do not understand. Well, Congress used to allow such practices, but not for 50 years.)
Former Air Force acquisition boss joins drone maker Volansi. (Defense News) “According to Volansi, Roper “will focus on the company’s strategy, operations, and growth in defense markets.” … Volansi is already a player in developing the service’s Skyborg AI-equipped drone, after being awarded a contract in December 2020. The company has also received money from the Air Force through the Small Business Innovation Research program.”
Budget delay is the enemy of defense. (The Hill) “The Trump administration was the fastest of the lot, delivering a budget only 38 days late. The Obama administration was the slowest; its budget request was more than three months (94) past due. George W. Bush and Bill Clinton were close to the average, with 63 and 66 days of delay, respectively.”
USAFE’s ABMS on-ramp included partner nations, base defense scenario. (Air Force Magazine) “U.S. Air Forces in Europe last week wrapped its Advanced Battle Management System demonstration, bringing together dozens of aircraft from U.S. military services and multiple countries to find new ways to share data and operate together.”
Drones could be SOCOM armed overwatch contenders, Slife says. (Air Force Magazine) “SOCOM needs to finish the demonstration before it can decide “what an acquisition program would look like,” including how many platforms it’ll choose and whether it’ll lease or buy them, Air Force Magazine previously reported. The demonstration will help SOCOM assemble its “final requirement document” before it makes its ultimate “procurement decision,” he added.”
National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence issues report on how to maintain US dominance. (Venture Beat) “The 756-page report calling for the United States to be AI-ready by 2025 was approved by commissioners in a vote.”
Hypersonic boost-glide ARRW missile scheduled to fly this week. (Flight Global) ““There’s real hardware coming. We’re also getting ready to transition into production within about a year on that programme.” … The service plans to have an operational weapon on hand by 2022, it says. The USAF has pushed to field ARRW ahead of air-breathing hypersonic missiles because the boost-glide missile is easier to develop and manufacture… “I can put four ARRWs on a bomber, but I could put 20 HACMs on a bomber, if done right, and maybe more if I have different pylons,” he says.”
SpaceX wins Air Force manufacturing research contract for hypersonic vehicle thermal shield. (Space News) “The Air Force Research Laboratory awarded SpaceX an $8.5 million contract to investigate advanced materials and manufacturing techniques for heat shields that protect hypersonic vehicles in flight.”
DARPA kicks off feasibility study of military jetpacks. (Flight Global) “The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) is studying the technical feasibility of military jetpacks, and other personal flying platforms, potentially for use by US special forces.” (Gated)
Pratt & Whitney makes hypersonic revival as Pentagon pushes reuse. (Aviation Week) “Already at least two years old, Metacomet—a name linked to a 17th century Wampanoag chief, the namesake of a ridge overlooking a Pratt & Whitney research facility in Connecticut—marks the company’s return to Mach 3-plus propulsion nearly a decade after selling its scramjet pioneer Rocketdyne arm to the parent company of Aerojet in 2012.”
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