Tag: Lockheed Martin

RISE OF THE MACHINES: AI to the Rescue as the Military Continues to Struggle With Pilot Shortage

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

AI to the Rescue as the Military Continues to Struggle With Pilot Shortage

Only further causing headache this year was the fact that the Air Force had to temporarily ground nearly 300 trainer aircraft over concerns that their ejection seats would not fire correctly in an emergency. The problem, which also impacted the entire Air Force’sF-35A Lightning II fleet, was also discovered in 203 T-38 Talons and 76 T-6 Texans IIs.

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There are now various efforts underway to use advanced technology to address the pilot shortage gap. The United States Air Force and Merlin Labs are now developing software that could allow the Lockheed Martin C-130J Hercules to fly with just a single pilot, whereby artificial intelligence (AI) would act as the second pilot. The C-130, built at Lockheed Martin’s facilities in Marietta, Georgia, now holds the record for the longest continuous production run of any military aircraft – first entering service in 1954.

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The software will be able to follow verbal instructions* from air traffic control, while the goal is for it to respond much like a human pilot. It is just one of several efforts currently underway to explore how AI can fill the pilot shortage.

The U.S. Army is also looking at how AI could be employed in its aircraft. Earlier this year, a Sikorsky UH-60A successfully conducted a 30-minute flight over Fort Campbell, Kentucky. It had no pilot or aircrew. The test was conducted as part of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s (DARPA) Aircrew Labor In-Cockpit Automation System (ALIAS) program.

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“All modern combat jets are inherently instable, which makes them more maneuverable, and only fly due to the help of a computer,” explained technology industry analyst Roger Entner of Recon Analytics.

Hope that it’s better than Apple’s Voice Control.

Did the Syrian Revolution Have Popular Support?

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

by William Van Wagenen | Aug 3, 2022

In the mainstream view, the armed groups fighting the Syrian government since 2011, collectively known as the Free Syrian Army (FSA), were part of a Syrian revolution that represented the Syrian people. At the same time, the Syrian government, or Assad regime, allegedly represented only a small number of loyalists, in particular from President Assad’s minority Alawite community. Such a view undergirded demands by Western and Gulf-funded think tank scholars, who claimed that the Syrian people wished for FSA groups to be armed, and even for Western military intervention on behalf of the FSA, whose fighters they sympathetically described as rebels.

Did the Syrian Revolution Have Popular Support?

Oliver Boyd: From Our Taxes, Windfall Profits for “Defense” Industry. What Ukraine is mainly about

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

By Prof. Oliver Boyd-Barrett, Substack, 8/14/22

Yes, it would be simpler and less messy all around if we just transferred the money directly from our bank accounts to Raytheon, Lockheed and the rest of them.

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Should Ukraine simply sign over sovereignty to Russia? Well, Ukraine already signed over sovereignty, but to the USA, in 2014. The current war serves Washington interests, not Ukrainian.

Oliver Boyd: From Our Taxes, Windfall Profits for “Defense” Industry. What Ukraine is mainly about

Previously:

Russian Ops in Ukraine – Russian Advances, Ukraine Shelling Nuclear Power Plant

Russian Ops in Ukraine – Russian Advances, Ukraine Shelling Nuclear Power Plant

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

Aug 13, 2022 Update on Russian military operations in Ukraine for August 14, 2022:

– Russian forces continue to make incremental progress along the Siversk-Bakhmut defense line even according to pro-Ukrainian sources;

– There is no sign of any Ukrainian offensive around Kherson, even according to the Western media;

– Another US-supplied HIMARS has been destroyed according to the Russian MoD, that is now 8 out of 16 sent to Ukraine destroyed;

– The Pentagon is now struggling to explain why it is unable to supply Ukraine with sufficient weapons needed to execute the ever-pending “Kherson Offensive” yet to materialize;

– Claims made by the Pentagon regarding the effectiveness of various weapon systems sent have been contradicted by recently discovered documents from the US military itself;

– The US Army claims the effectiveness of common US anti-tank weapons like the Javelin and the AT-4 is around 19% among trained US soldiers. This would be much lower among Ukrainian troops;

– The Western media has decided to assign credit to Ukraine for a recent explosion in Crimea despite Kiev denying any involvement;

– Ukraine is shelling Zaporozhzhia Nuclear Power Plant in an attempt to force Russian troops to leave through international pressure;

Russian Ops in Ukraine (August 14, 2022) – Russian Advances, Ukraine Shelling Nuclear Power Plant (Odysee) via The New Atlas

References:

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Biden Administration Approves Massive Arms Deals for Saudi Arabia, UAE

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

Biden Administration Approves Massive Arms Deals for Saudi Arabia, UAE

The approval for the Patriot sale comes as a fragile four-month truce in Yemen has been extended for another two months. While there is still fighting on the ground and the Saudis are still enforcing the blockade, there has been no Saudi-led coalition airstrikes and no Houthi attacks inside Saudi Arabia since March.

Biden Authorizes Additional $550 Million Military Aid for Ukraine + Are There Enough Guided Rockets For HIMARS To Keep Up With Ukraine War Demand?

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

Biden Authorizes Additional $550 Million Military Aid for Ukraine

The new aid was authorized by the presidential drawdown authority, which allows Biden to send Ukraine weapons and ammunition directly from US military stockpiles. The funds were pulled from the $40 billion Ukraine aid bill that Biden signed back in May, which is meant to last through September 30.

Related:

Are There Enough Guided Rockets For HIMARS To Keep Up With Ukraine War Demand?

So in essence, at a pace suggested by Hertling, Ukraine’s GMLRS monthly burn rate would equal about 29% of the entire planned U.S. procurement for the next five years, not withstanding production rates of the ER GMLRS which have yet to be set.

Given those numbers, what does Ukraine’s use of HIMARS portend for that nation, and the U.S., which might find itself needing these systems in case of a future fight with China, Russia or some other adversary?

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“If each of 16 HIMARS fires three rockets per day, that’s 48 a day or 1,440 per month. 10,000 rockets would last well into 2023 at that rate. On the other hand, if the Ukrainians get the 100 HIMARS they are requesting and each one fires three rockets per day, that’s 300 per day or 9,000 per month.”

Senate Passes $280 Billion Industrial Policy Bill Meant to Counter China

Tina Marie (Ms. Cat)

Senate Passes $280 Billion Industrial Policy Bill Meant to Counter China

The CHIPS and Science Act of 2022 passed in a vote of 63-33, with 17 Republicans voting in favor. The over 1,000-page legislation includes $52.7 billion for direct funding for the construction and expansion of semiconductor manufacturing and $24 billion for tax incentives and other purposes.

The bill will authorize roughly $200 billion in science and technology research funding that will be spread across several government agencies over the next five years. The largest recipient of the research funds will be the National Science Foundation, which will receive $81 billion.

Related:

CHIPS Won’t Help China

Third, the CHIPS Act actually has provisions designed specifically to restrict investments in China. These so-called “guardrails” require that companies taking federal dollars for American projects must also agree not to invest in state-of-the-art technology in China—not just with the federal dollars, with any dollars. Good-faith critics have raised fair concerns that these guardrails should be broader, tougher, and firmer. But any guardrails at all represent unprecedented restrictions on what U.S. companies can do in the People’s Republic. It’s one thing to say an ideal bill would hurt China even more; it’s quite another to try and claim that less-than-perfect restrictions count as “help.”

Pelosi’s Husband Dumped Up to $5M of Tech Stock Right Before Senate Passed CHIPS