Defense News Digest: September 2024

Welcome to IDGA’s monthly news roundup. For over two decades, the Institute for Defense and Government Advancement has served as a non-partisan events and thought leadership organization connecting the Defense and Security communities interested in solving high-level challenges. Now, through this weekly series, we look to educate the community on the latest research, program updates and news in the defense and government sector.

This month, we will examine several stories you might have missed, including Air Force efforts for sustainable energy solutions, the latest on NGAD/CCA programs, and an industry partnership on a mixed reality tool for soldiers.

Air Force Seeking Geothermal Solutions

The Air Force is seeking commercial technologies to generate electricity and hydrogen for U.S. installations using geothermal energy. Geothermal energy is preferred because it can supply continuous, resilient and carbon-free electricity in all weather conditions. The solution will also allow the department to comply with congressional requirements to support energy resilience for important missions at USAF bases. The government is looking to work with potential partners in developing prototypes to test if the desired electricity-generating technologies could be used at Air Force installations in the United States.

During the prototyping work at Travis Air Force Base in California, the selected vendors would collect data through geoscientific exploration and design a utility-scale facility to produce electricity and green hydrogen. The vendors are also expected to propose a deal structure to sell the generated electricity to the Air Force and other customers. If the service determines that the proposed electricity production capability is technically and economically viable, the prototype would be considered in building a future facility to generate electricity and hydrogen.

Interested parties must submit their proposals here by Nov. 15.

For more on DoD sustainable energy initiatives, register for IDGA’s Operational Energy Summit this February 25-26 in Washington, DC. This year’s event will feature speakers from the US DoD, DoE, allied military, industry, and academia to discuss the current state of military energy. 

NGAD/CCA Update

The Air Force’s Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) and Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) programs have had several updates emerge in the past month.

First, the Defense Department's Inspector General (DoD IG) has terminated a review of the NGAD  fighter program due to other priorities. The review was initiated to determine if the critical technologies used in the NGAD fighter were mature enough to enter the engineering and manufacturing development (EMD) phase. However, the review was terminated before it could make significant progress. 

In other news, a defense industry official recently told Breaking Defense the Air Force wants to reduce the cost of its NGAD fighter jet to F-35 levels. This is challenging due to the design parameters, materials, and fleet sizes required for a sixth-generation fighter. The Air Force may need to offload some mission systems to CCAs to reduce costs, but this could make the fighter more dependent on the CCAs and increase their costs. The Air Force may also need to focus on ease of production and upgradeability to lower costs. 

This September, Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall revealed that the upcoming NGAD fighter jet may not control the CCA drones as originally planned. He emphasized that any fighter jet controlling CCAs would be manned and would need line-of-sight communications to maintain tight control. Kendall also discussed the operational limitations and ethical issues associated with employing CCAs. While the Air Force is still working on NGAD, Kendall said a decision on its development should be reached within the next few months. The cost of NGAD is a major factor that officials have to consider, as more expensive options could prevent the service from fielding the fighter in sufficient numbers.

Finally, both Anduril and General Atomics put their CCA prototypes on display at a recent Air Force conference. The drones are designed to fly alongside manned fighter jets and will be judged on factors including cost, ease of production, and ability to operate long distances. The Air Force will make a production decision in 2026. Other defense contractors may compete for a second round of contracts. 

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SAIC Wins NORAD Modernization Contract

SAIC has been awarded a $229 million contract to modernize IT systems for NORAD and US Northern Command (NORTHCOM). According to SAIC executive Vinnie DiFronzo, this effort is crucial for ensuring national security, particularly in the Arctic, where threats from Russia and China are intensifying.

The contract, part of the NORAD and NORTHCOM Information Technology Enterprise Services (NITES) program, will focus on moving the commands to the cloud, improving cybersecurity, and integrating artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) technologies. These advancements aim to enhance situational awareness and decision-making by enabling the commands to more effectively process data and address emerging cyber threats. DiFronzo highlighted that SAIC's work on the Air Force’s Advanced Battle Management System (ABMS) will help accelerate modernization efforts for NORAD and NORTHCOM.

Aptos (Body) Anduril, Microsoft Team Up on Mixed Reality Device

Anduril has partnered with Microsoft to develop the US Army's next version of the Integrated Visual Augmentation System (IVAS), a mixed-reality device for soldiers. This partnership will integrate Anduril's Lattice platform, which collects data from various sensors and provides soldiers with real-time information on threats like drones. The upgraded IVAS will enhance situational awareness, allowing soldiers to detect and respond to threats faster.

The collaboration is part of the Army’s ongoing efforts to improve IVAS, which has faced setbacks in previous versions due to technical issues and user discomfort. The IVAS 1.2 version, now in testing, includes major design improvements like a flip-up display and a smaller field of view for better clarity. Meanwhile, the Army is preparing for a potential IVAS Next competition, where companies like Microsoft and Kopin could compete for future development.

While details of Anduril's future IVAS plans remain undisclosed, founder Palmer Luckey has hinted at new hardware developments that may fulfill both military and non-military needs. This collaboration with Microsoft reflects Anduril’s broader ambitions in the military tech space. 

To learn more about how the military is integrating mixed-reality solutions for training, register for the Military Simulation Training Summit this February 25-26 in Orlando, Florida. The two-day event will showcase the evolution of simulation and simulated training across the military branches and NATO nations. We will extensively explore interoperability, expansion, and implementation of military-simulated training.