Saturday New Tech

We mentioned the dual-band radar on the Gerald Ford yesterday – today we turn our attention to non-floaty toys.

First up – the Marines are looking for a few good choppers hybrid planes Osprey replacements.

A newly released U.S. Marine Aviation Plan shows the service is now looking at a successor to its MV-22 Osprey tilt-rotors actively enough to give it a name: the Next Generation Assault Support (NGAS) aircraft. The Marines have previously said that they expect the Osprey to serve into the 2060s, but have left the door open for that to change depending on other developments.’

“Configuration, inventory, and supply chain management remain the top areas of focus as the MV-22B Osprey fleet right-sizes to meet future requirements and challenges,” the Osprey section of the 2025 Aviation Plan says. The document highlights various ongoing modernization efforts, including plans to integrate new electronic warfare, communications, survivability, and Degraded Visual Environment (DVE) flight capabilities. It also notes continued safety and reliability-related work, including improvements to the proprotor gearbox that was at the center of the crash that led to last year’s fleet-wide grounding.  The War Zone

Yeah, “not crashing” is a good spec to have in there.

Going over to the Army, they are testing a new gee-whiz optic for the new battle rifles.

A 1-8×30 variable magnification direct view optic built by Vortex Optics subsidiary Sheltered Wings, the XM157 incorporates advanced technologies such as a laser rangefinder, aiming lasers, environmental sensors, ballistic solver, compass and a digital display overlay, all of which are designed to “increase the probability of hit and decrease the time to engage” with a computerized assist, according to the Army’s fiscal 2025 budget request.

The XM157 also features wireless connectivity that will purportedly allow it to integrate with heads-up displays like the Army’s current Enhanced Night Vision Goggle-Binocular, or ENVG-B, and future Integrated Visual Augmentation System, or IVAS, do-it-all goggles, allowing soldiers to survey the battlefield from cover using a live video feed from their weapon optic.

Does everything but a) wind the cat and b) put the clock out. Oh, EXCEPT c) work well.

…it clearly states that soldiers “assessed the usability of the XM157 as below average/failing.”

“The XM7 with mounted XM157 demonstrated a low probability of completing one 72-hour wartime mission without incurring a critical failure,” the Operational Test and Evaluation report adds.

The dour XM157 assessment emerged as part of a classified combined operational demonstration and limited lethality assessment report in May, according to the DOT&E assessment. Ironically, that report was apparently authored shortly after the Army released video of a noncommissioned officer with the 101st Airborne Division praising the advanced optic following a month of testing — praise the NCO himself later claimed was the “one nice thing” he had to say about the XM157 after 10 minutes critiquing the system.  Military.com

Sounds like somebody is trying to spin a rocky start-up. Vortex optics are generally considered pretty decent, but it sounds like more work is needed. Why we are hearing this after the Amy has taken delivery on over 50,000 of them for over $584 million….

And in low tech news – you may recall that the Army brought in a program to help youngsters who are otherwise unqualified  prepare for basic training. Sort of a primer Basic Training, or basic training for Basic Training if you will. Surprisingly, the program has hit a home run (ah, the sweet sound of baseball season approaching…)  and the Army has 11,000 kids in Deferred Enlistment pending available entry training. We mentioned this last month here, too, saying that actual Basic Combat Training was constrained by all the normal BCT units doing the pre-training.

By April, the service expects to have 10 additional basic training units established across Fort Leonard Wood, Missouri, and Fort Sill, Oklahoma — some of which are already established. In total, that would allow the Army to train up to 9,600 new recruits per year, according to Lt. Col. Randy Ready, a service spokesperson.Military.com II

Get ’em in, train ’em up…hopefully they will not be availing themselves of any WWII Quonset huts. Some of them going through later in winter will, however, learn why, in addition to being called Lost in the Woods, Leonard Wood is also nicknamed “Little Korea.”

Category: "Your Tax Dollars At Work", Army, Marines, Science and Technology