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13 Mar 24. Shield AI Selected by NAVAIR PMA-281 to Integrate Hivemind AI Pilot Onto 8th Aircraft: the Kratos BQM-177A.
Shield AI, the defense technology company building the world’s best AI pilot, today announced it has been selected by NAVAIR PMA-281 to integrate its AI Pilot onto the Kratos BQM-177A to enable advanced AI-based autonomy.
Shield AI will work closely with the original equipment manufacturer (OEM), Kratos, to contribute to the U.S. Navy’s objective of increasing capabilities to provide fleet protection by utilizing AI-powered crewed-uncrewed teaming (CU-T) capabilities.
“This will be the eighth different type of aircraft integration we’ve done; it will be the fourth jet aircraft. We are getting faster and faster at integrating our AI pilot onto other aircraft because we deliberately architected our AI pilot product and associated software infrastructure as an open, modular platform play that can be systematically reused across DoD hardware. The last integration we did was about 165 days from contract award to first AI-piloted flights, and so we’re hoping to top that. I’m also excited to see what our AI pilot will do with the Kratos BQM-177 — an amazing aircraft capable of flying .95 Mach and as low as 6.6 feet above the ocean. Kratos has been a terrific partner in rolling out our AI pilot onto jet aircraft,” said Brandon Tseng, Shield AI’s President/Cofounder, a mechanical engineer, and a former U.S. Navy SEAL.
Shield AI’s innovative technical approach for the Navy contract employs an AI architecture that starts with foundational autonomy behaviors. These core behaviors, essential for both administrative and tactical operations, are enhanced to support advanced, collaborative tactics among multi-agent systems. Utilizing Expert Systems and Reinforcement Learning, this method enables precise, autonomous coordination of multiple sensor-equipped or shooter-equipped uncrewed aircraft, marking a significant advancement in collaborative tactical behaviors for defensive counterair (DCA) operations.
Shield AI’s flagship product, Hivemind, is an AI pilot that enables teams of intelligent aircraft to operate and complete missions autonomously in high-threat environments, without the need for remote operators or GPS. Hivemind is an aircraft-agnostic autonomy stack similar to the self-driving technology found in cars. It has flown on six different aircraft and deployed on hundreds of aircraft. The different aircraft include three quadcopters, the MQ-35A V-BAT, the F-16, and Kratos MQM-178 Firejet. Later this year, it will fly Kratos’ XQ-58 Valkyrie. Shield AI’s work as part of the DARPA ACE Team, where its AI Pilot won the DARPA AlphaDogFight and later flew F-16 completely autonomously, has been named a finalist for the Collier Trophy – an annual award given to the “greatest achievement in aviation and astronautics.” (Source: ASD Network)
13 Mar 24. £35m boost for British semiconductor scientists and businesses on international chip research. British semiconductor researchers and businesses now have enhanced access to research funding backed by the UK government and Horizon Europe, now the UK has joined the EU’s ‘Chips Joint Undertaking’.
UK becomes participating state in EU semiconductor chips joint undertaking.
- Semiconductor sector to benefit from up to £35m, plus European funds, in a boost to British leadership in research of cutting-edge chip technology
- UK joins European initiative to access €1.3bn Horizon Europe funding pot for collaborative semiconductor research projects
- Boost to help push boundary of semiconductor design, improving tech used in all digital devices and advances the government’s plan to secure long term growth
British semiconductor researchers and businesses now have enhanced access to research funding backed by the UK government and Horizon Europe, now the UK has joined the EU’s ‘Chips Joint Undertaking’.
The move provides the UK semiconductor sector enhanced access to a €1.3bn pot of funds set aside from Horizon Europe to support research in semiconductor technologies up to 2027.
Access to the one of the Chips Joint Undertaking’s funds is being backed by an initial £5 m this year from the Department for Science, Innovation and Technology, and delivered by Innovate UK. An additional £30m is due to support UK participation in further research between 2025 and 2027.
By joining the fund and contributing in the same way as all other countries who take part, the UK sector has enhanced access to bid for funding support from the €1.3bn pot, funded by Horizon Europe.
Announcing the move at a conference of global semiconductor leaders in London, Technology Minister Saqib Bhatti said: “Our membership of the Chips Joint Undertaking will boost Britain’s strengths in semiconductor science and research to secure our position in the global chip supply chain. This underscores our unwavering commitment to pushing the boundaries of technology and cements our important role in shaping the future of semiconductor technologies around the world. This follows the UK joining Horizon Europe through a bespoke new agreement with the EU last year. The programme is giving UK companies and research institutions unrivalled opportunities to lead global work to develop new technologies and research projects, in areas from health to AI.”
Tens of thousands of UK companies are now eligible for Horizon Europe grants, which are worth £450,000 to a business on average. UK firms already benefitting from Horizon funding include Nova Innovation, whose consortium won over £17m to develop tidal energy in Orkney, and South Yorkshire tech firm The Floow who are part of a project awarded just under £3m, looking into road safety.
Jari Kinaret, Chips JU Executive Director, said: “We are very happy to welcome the UK to the Chips Joint Undertaking as a participating state. We are looking forward to working with the UK partners to develop the European industrial ecosystem in microelectronics and its applications, contributing to the continent’s scientific excellence and innovation leadership in semiconductor technologies and related fields. This year, the Chips Joint Undertaking fund is well aligned to UK research expertise. In 2024, it includes two focussed calls for funding bids on semiconductors for cars and other vehicles as well as RISC-V, an open-source architecture that aims to accelerate semiconductor innovation by lowering the cost of chip design. It also provides more open opportunities for scientists and firms to bid for research support.”
Sean Redmond, Managing Partner at SiliconCatalyst, said: “UK Semiconductor startups have a rich history of collaboration with the European Union. Our semiconductor research base is the fourth largest in the world. Commercialising these inventions with the help of the EU Chips Joint Undertaking will significantly increase their probability of success, mitigating risks by local collaborations that provide a clear path from lab to fab.”
Jalal Bagherli, Chairman, PTSL, Chair, Williams Advanced Engineering and Co-Chair of UK Semiconductor Advisory Panel, said: “As the UK Semiconductor Strategy ramps up its implementation phase in support of a thriving industry, I believe this initiative is the next major step enabling engagement with our global partners to advance the state of the art in chip development and innovative packaging technologies in the UK.
The UK has joined the initiative as a “Participating State”, allowing the country to collaborate more closely with European partners on semiconductor innovation. As a Participating State, the UK will have a role in setting research priorities and funding decisions as the fund evolves in the years ahead.
This includes the opportunity for the UK to be a part of a new funding opportunity with the Republic of Korea to research ways to combine semiconductor chips to improve performance through advanced packaging – which the UK-Republic of Korea Semiconductor Framework, signed in November last year.
British research has elsewhere led global efforts to push semiconductor technology forward in fields like “silicon photonics”, which creates faster chips by using light instead of electricity, and compound semiconductors, which enable improved performance over silicon in key applications such as power transmission and radiofrequency communications.
Martin Kuball, Chair of the Royal Academy of Engineering in Emerging Technologies, professor in physics at the University of Bristol, United Kingdom, and director of the Centre for Device Thermography and Reliability, said:
We are excited for the UK to participate in the EU Chips Joint Undertaking. This will enable us to work with key EU partners to advance and commercialize high voltage power electronics we develop within in the IKC REWIRE, as well as high power high frequency RF technology we develop within UK, US and European Space Agency (ESA) programmes.
This follows DSIT and UK Research and Innovation investing £22 m in two Innovation and Knowledge Centres located in Southampton and Bristol, aimed at reinforcing these key areas of British research leadership. These centres are dedicated to advancing cutting-edge chip technologies, such as silicon photonics and compound semiconductors, toward commercialisation.
Chris Meadows, Director, CSconnected, said: “CSconnected, the organisation representing the South Wales Compound Semiconductor sector, warmly welcomes the news that the UK is to join the EU Chips Joint Undertaking. Collaboration is at the very heart of our fast growing and rapidly evolving semiconductor sector that underpins technologies of today and is key to enabling our future connected world, AI, robotics, and in meeting global net-zero ambitions.”
Jen Walls, Chief Executive Officer Clas-Sic Wafer Fab, said: “This is good news for UK Semiconductors, opening up opportunities for UK Companies to compete with our European peers on a more level playing field. The UK has a lot to offer in this sector and we are grateful as this will foster a more supportive environment for innovation.”
Vaysh Kewada, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Salience Labs, said: “Semiconductors are critical to the UK’s economic and national security. They underpin crucial technologies such as advancement in AI. The UK produces world-leading research in silicon photonics, compound semiconductors and others. This government support is a good step forward to foster growth and to ensure that the UK remains relevant in the critical technologies of tomorrow.”
Martin McHugh, CEO at CSA Catapult, said: “This is an excellent opportunity for UK researchers and businesses to strengthen links with our EU partners and collaborate on cutting-edge semiconductor projects of national importance.
Access to the Horizon Europe funds will enable the UK to partner on projects where we have mutual and significant strengths, such as design, advanced packaging and compound semiconductors.
Dr. Giorgia Longobardi, Founder and CEO Cambridge GaN Devices, said: “The UK joining the European initiative to access €1.3bn Horizon Europe fund for collaborative research in semiconductors is an exciting news. Semiconductors are at the base of core technologies that can solve important societal challenges, among which net zero and electrification, and significant advancements in the field can be achieved only thanks to collaborative efforts and government support.”
The deadline for Phase 1 applications this year is 14 May.
Jari Kinaret, Executive Director of the Chips Joint Undertaking, will provide an online information session at 1pm on 19 March 2024. Sign-up is available via this link .
Innovate UK will also be hosting an information session on the 25 March. Here’s the link to our event on 25 March to add .
Innovate UK has a Horizon Europe hub on its website with information on upcoming funding calls and details on how to receive advice and support from National Contact Points. It also offers travel grants for SMEs who want to build networks in Europe. (Source: https://www.gov.uk/)
11 Mar 24. Honeywell (NASDAQ: HON) announced today it has successfully demonstrated the ability to upgrade the current cooling capacity of the F-35’s Power and Thermal Management System (PTMS) to 80kW. Honeywell has been the supplier of the F-35’s PTMS for the past two decades and will now be best-positioned to support future mission systems’ modernization requirements. With this significantly enhanced cooling capability, Honeywell now far exceeds the current 32kW cooling needs of the U.S. military and its allied partners.
Although Honeywell’s PTMS meets the current airframe requirement in service for the F-35, the F-35 Lightning II Joint Program Office (JPO) indicated in 2023 that more cooling power would be needed in the F-35 to support advanced avionics in future generations of aircraft. Honeywell has now proved it can offer a low-risk and affordable solution that meets the JPO’s future needs all while utilizing the existing supply base and sustainment network.
To demonstrate the 80kW cooling capability, Honeywell used a Digital Twin of the PTMS, which utilized data from over 2,500 hours of performance testing in Honeywell’s test facility, and more than 750,000 hours of in-flight experience. The Digital Twin incorporated low-risk advancements to heat exchangers and controls changes that further optimize system performance. These modest changes significantly increased cooling potential, while simultaneously maintaining all existing critical interfaces with airplane thermal systems without invasive redesigns or concurrency.
“Today, we have successfully demonstrated that we not only meet the F-35’s current operational needs, but we are ready to service future F-35 modernization upgrades without the need for expensive changes to the aircraft for either forward-fit or retrofit scenarios,” said Matt Milas, president, Defense and Space, Honeywell Aerospace Technologies. “By enabling F-35s to update cooling capacity within our existing PTMS architecture, we can now eliminate the risks that would otherwise come from qualifying and fielding a new system that would cost taxpayers bns of dollars without any additional benefit.”
Honeywell’s PTMS is a proven, low-risk solution that has undergone years of development and decades in service. Since 2006, more than 1,000 PTMS have been delivered, with more than 750,000 flight hours logged and an extensive network of sustainment depots established across the globe. In addition to providing cooling systems aboard the F-35, PTMS also serves many other purposes critical to flight safety.
“Honeywell’s PTMS is key to many aircraft systems integrated into the F-35, and any changes to the PTMS would affect other critical components of the aircraft,” said Matt Schacht, vice president, Engineering, Honeywell Aerospace Technologies. “We believe the lowest risk path forward for the F-35 is to maintain the existing architecture of the PTMS to preserve its many critical functions, while increasing cooling capacity for future generations of the aircraft.”
12 Mar 24. Startup Figures the Best Way to Control Drones is Talking to Them. Connecticut-based Primordial Labs has developed a voice-based interface for small UAVs. A soldier simply speaks into a radio and tells the drone what to do.
In partnership with RedCat Holdings, Primordial is incorporating an AI-driven voice control technology called “Anura” into RedCat subsidiary Teal Drones’ Teal 2 reconnaissance UAV. The combination could give users the most intuitive form of command and control known to mankind – and RCA’s famous terrier, “Nipper” – the human voice.
“The idea is to make collaborating with robots more natural for humans,” Primordial Labs’ CEO and cofounder, Lee Ritholtz, explained in a phone interview. “It’s not necessarily making the robot more human, which I think is the traditional [view]. Rather, it’s to make the mechanism of communication more human.”
Anura is software that can run alongside command and control (C2) software on a variety of devices using standard and custom application interfaces (APIs) and protocols.
For example, a soldier operating a Teal 2 ISR drone one quarter-mile behind the front line could use an ATAK device (Android Tactical Assault Kit, basically a software-enabled chest-mounted Samsung phone) or a body-worn Tomahawk Robotics KxM controller running Anura to relay voice commands to the Teal 2 using a headset.
“They’re just talking to the [drone], giving it durable, mission type orders,” Ritholtz explains. “For example, if there are routes or points that exist on the ATAK map, they could say something like, ‘Fly route Blue then go to point Echo… Fly 45 degrees for 20 meters, then look at me.”
“Instead of flying the UAV with [a joystick] they just state a command and we carry out the rest. Anura is translating all that natural language into physical action in the real world.”
“Using natural language, drone operators can be more “heads-up” than those using tablets to issue keystroke/button commands or those flying a first-person-view (FPV) UAV via tablet-linked video according to Ritholtz.
How engaged users are for different levels of complicated missions is important. Is the user face-down flying something or can they be doing something else while we’re carrying out the flying? “
In the real world, semi-autonomous robots currently in use with the military (aerial or ground-based) are typically identified by call signs much like F-35s in a flight of two or more might be identified. Individual drones, for example, could be referred to as “Eagle Six” or “Falcon 4”. Human operators would likely interact with Teal 2 drones using such callsign identifiers via Anura to control them in the battlespace.
With the battlespace in mind, Ritholtz says Primordial Labs is constantly building a broader tactical model inside Anura based on the common operating picture provided by the C2 software it runs alongside. Applying a continually updated common operating picture to Anura allows a user to refer to environmental or tactical changes that take place in real time.
On the spur of the moment for example, an operator could tell the Teal 2 to stare at a tank that has just popped up on an ATAK map, instructing it look three-eighths of a mile to the right at its three o’clock position.
“It’s very flexible. You can instruct it as if you’re a little pilot in the UAV. You could say, ‘Drop a [map] pin where you’re looking called Echo.’ You can add things to the [common operating] map that others can see using natural language. Or you could issue an instruction relative to the entire global [map] view, saying, ‘Drop a pin 50 meters from my position and call it Delta.”
Voice interaction with semi-autonomous aerial or ground-based drones fosters more effective interaction and increased trust Ritholtz maintains. He asserts that Anura has the effect of turning C2 operators into macro-managers, not micro-managers. Primordial, he says, has seen such results in action.
Anura is already running on (unspecified) government-furnished equipment including program-of-record platforms and user devices according to Ritholtz. The interface was experimented with last September during Trident Spectre, an annual government exercise coordinated by the Naval Special Warfare Command (NSWC) that focuses on multi-agency collaboration.
Assessments have been made at several U.S. Special Operations Command (SOCOM) technical experimentation (TE) events as well. Primordial’s goal has to been to gain as much operator feedback with early versions of Anura as possible Ritholtz emphasizes.
The company’s principals came out of Lockheed MartinLMT +0.7% where Ritholtz and co-founder, Adrian Pope, built Group 2 and 3 UAVs at Lockheed’s famed Skunk Works. In 2021, they began a year-plus process of building the Anura software, taking the system out into the field and gaining feedback, some from recently-hired ex-military small UAS operators, some from the events above.
“We saw a very strong demand signal, so we productionized the system and started talking to customers across SOCOM and the Army,”
Ritholtz says. Special Operators and the Army saw value in Anura’s ability to lower the cognitive burden on drone operators.
“We’ve been talking to the Program Offices, to the requirements writers. There’s also a training burden,” Ritholtz says. “Users want to be able to choose different [drones]. When we bring Anura [to various systems] the user can just think about utilizing them rather than going through the training regimen for each one… They can just get the [drone] out there, talk to it naturally, and we take care of the rest.”
The Army’s interest has thus far translated into a direct to Phase II Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) grant awarded last August through U.S. Army Special Operations Command (USASOC). The grant will allow Primordial Labs to deliver prototype kits for multiple, fielded Group-1 small unmanned aerial systems platforms over the next 18 months.
Primordial Labs’ formal partnership is with RedCat Holdings, essentially an investment venture designed to support companies which integrate robotic hardware and software for military, government and commercial operations like Teal Drones.
RedCat’s chief technology officer, George Matus, told me that thanks to the small size of the defense-aerospace startup community, RedCat had been aware of Primordial and the work it was doing for over a year.
“They’re one of the only vendors in the space doing this kind of thing. That, combined with us wanting to build out an ecosystem of partners, made sense. It allows us to fill a capability gap that we’ve heard about from a lot of end users… It also begins to unlock some inflection points that we’ve envisioned, allowing one operator to control many drones across domains.”
The Pentagon’s much-hyped Replicator effort will likely hinge on such capability and the potential of yoking Anura to the C2 problems that operating masses of drones suggests is a logical hypothesis.
“The way that Anura is architected, it is straightforward to integrate on a variety platforms,” Matus says. “It mostly comes down to business partnerships and negotiations.”
The Army has its own standardized C2 user interface for small UAVs called RAC-2 (Robotic and Autonomous Command and Control) which could be used with Replicator-produced drones. Anura could theoretically plug into RAC-2 but Matus says a unified C2 for the Army and other services has yet to be chosen.
Given the early stages of its development, nor has an optimal way of using Anura. The interface does not rely on keywords or a specific command script which must be memorized, speeding both operational C2 and training.
Its flexibility could be a double-edged sword however. The absence of structured commands suggests that Anura could be successfully hijacked by an adversary if an enabled device (or drone) fell into their hands.
Ritholtz admits that like the rest of the AI-enabled drone development community, Primordial Labs has struggled with this question for many years. He says Anura has protections in place including role-based authentication (user and super-user distinctions), voice-based authentication and randomly generated daily pass keys.
None of these is foolproof and a clever enemy will find workarounds. Adversaries will seek to intercept voice command signals and at minimum use their own AI to drive pattern recognition and other intelligence. As with any other technology, Anura may well be compromised by insiders, turned over to strategic competitors before it ever sees real world conflict. It will have to survive analog, cyber, and electronic warfare threats.
Obviously, the software is not immune to the connectivity vulnerabilities (cyber, EW) that can potentially disrupt all military communication and C2 on the battlefield, making voice, video or machine commands difficult or impossible. Similarly, PNT (position/navigation/timing) disruptions would degrade operators’ ability to use the Anura interface and many other C2 tools.
“The surface area of threats is massive,” Ritholtz acknowledges. “That said, there are things you can do in your software architecture from using memory-safe [programming] language to fundamentally assuming the adversary is in your system.”
Millenniums of experience in human-to-human communication have also taught us that two or more individuals can interpret the same phrase in surprisingly different ways, a risk Anura must minimize. It does so Ritholtz claims by employing domain adaptation – using a large training data set to form an understanding of the jargon, commands, common mission language and instruction used in a particular tactical setting like a land battlefield where ground forces employ ISR drones.
Anura is essentially tuned to a specific domain to reduce the amount of possible misunderstanding that could arise between operator and drone. The system offers feedback and if command is not understood, the user hears a tone in their headset. A visual readback of commands is provided as well, bolstering mutual understanding.
The software is English language-only (including accents in English) and has a degree of resilience which can be aided by structured user command language. Despite Primordial Labs’ emphasis on natural language, for efficiency and security it will have to operate within the discourse of C2 in any domain.
Ritholtz says non-English language versions of Anura may be developed. Overall, there is much more to be learned and more experience should aid in reducing if not eliminating the substantial risk of miscommunication.
Anura is set for further experimentation and evaluation in the immediate future. Primordial Labs will participate in SOCOM’s TE 24-2 at Avon Park Air Force Range, Florida in early April and TE 24-3 at Fort Liberty, North Carolina in June to name a couple.
As development progresses, Primordial Labs is considering possible alternative applications, combining Anura with ground robotics and even space systems. But it has enough development work ahead with Teal’s ISV drone to occupy it for now.
While it remains an independent startup, its status as perhaps the only company advancing an AI-enabled voice interface for military C2 suggests that success could lead to its acquisition by RedCat Holdings. But as Lee Ritholtz notes, there’s likely ample opportunity for a mature Anura.
“We’re a software company that lives and dies by its relationship with OEMs. The nice thing right now is that there are so many OEMs building great platforms.” (Source: UAS VISION/Forbes)
11 Mar 24. DOD Looks to Establish ‘Mine-to-Magnet’ Supply Chain for Rare Earth Materials. The Defense Department has in recent months advanced its goal of developing domestic supply chains to ensure continued access to the rare earth materials needed to manufacture the permanent magnets used in important U.S. military weapons systems.
“DOD’s recently published National Defense Industrial Strategy will guide the creation of a modernized defense industrial ecosystem,” said Laura Taylor-Kale, assistant secretary of defense for industrial base policy. Taylor-Kale has a doctorate in management science and engineering with a specialization in organizations, technology and entrepreneurship from Stanford University’s School of Engineering.
“Resilient supply chains are essential to this goal. The U.S. can no longer afford to rely on overseas, single-points-of-failure for critical components,” Taylor-Kale added.
Rare earth permanent magnets are not only essential components in a range of defense capabilities, including the F-35 Lightning II aircraft, Virginia and Columbia class submarines and unmanned aerial vehicles, but also a critical part of commercial applications in the United States. They are also used to generate electricity for electronic systems in aircraft and focus microwave energy in radar systems.
Since 2020, DOD has awarded more than $439 m to establish domestic rare earth element supply chains. This includes separating and refining rare earth elements mined in the U.S., as well as developing downstream stateside processes needed to convert those refined materials into metals and then magnets.
“DOD’s strategic investments are building capability at multiple stages of the rare earth supply chain and will provide a clear signal to private capital that the time is right to build additional resiliency,” said Danielle Miller, acting deputy assistant secretary of defense for industrial base resilience. “We are on track to meet our goal of a sustainable, mine-to-magnet supply chain capable of supporting all U.S. defense requirements by 2027.”
In addition to the F-35, Virginia and Columbia class submarines, magnets produced from rare earth elements are used in systems such as Tomahawk missiles, a variety of radar systems, Predator unmanned aerial vehicles, and the Joint Direct Attack Munition series of smart bombs. The F-35, for instance, requires more than 900 pounds of rare earth elements. Each Arleigh Burke DDG-51 destroyer requires 5,200 pounds, and a Virginia class submarine needs 9,200 pounds.
Rare earth elements are also used in other ways that don’t involve magnets. Vehicle-mounted laser range finders, such as those found on Abrams M1A1/2 tanks, make use of rare earth elements, as do their portable counterparts and target designators. Also making use of rare earth elements are; fiber optics communication systems; cerium-polished optical lenses; and sonic transducers used in submarine sonar systems.
There are 17 elements on the periodic table referred to as “rare earth” elements. While DOD needs nearly all of them in some capacity, three are used to make the permanent magnets critical to so many defense systems.
Continued U.S. reliance on foreign sources for rare earth products poses a risk to national security. The U.S. and most of the world depends on China for many rare earth elements.
Through the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Industrial Base Policy, the Manufacturing Capability Expansion and Investment Program directorate has embarked on a five-year rare earth investment strategy to build “mine-to-magnet” domestic capacity at all critical nodes of the rare earth supply chain. Those critical nodes include sourcing, separation, processing, metallization, alloying and magnet manufacturing.
The first of those critical nodes, the sourcing of rare earth elements, means mining rare earth elements out of the ground. Today in the U.S., there is only one rare earth mine currently active and selling to the commercial market.
Separation includes a series of processes that take out extractable rare earth elements from other elements and compounds in the mineral rock. Processing involves concentrating separated rare earth elements and then chemically treating them to produce high-purity rare earth oxides or rare earth salts. The metallization step transforms rare earth salts into rare earth metals. Depending on the application, those metals can be combined with various alloying elements to produce a variety of rare earth alloys.
Finally, rare earth magnets are typically produced from alloys that are sintered, or bonded, into magnet block and then cut and coated according to specification.
It’s important that all those critical nodes happen inside the U.S. so the Defense Department can have a secure supply of the rare earth materials and rare earth magnets it needs.
Projects underway have already helped the U.S. establish growing capacity in rare earth element separation and processing, as well as magnet manufacturing.
Among the U.S.-based companies involved in DOD’s “mine-to-magnets” initiative is MP Materials, which is headquartered in Nevada. With $45 m in support from MCEIP awards, MP Materials established the only integrated rare earth mine and oxide production facility in the U.S. The company is expected to continue to add capacity for additional oxide products through 2025, when they are projected to reach full-scale production.
Right now, domestic and partner demand for rare earth materials outpaces the production of any single partner nation. To build resiliency in these critical, early stages of the supply chain, Lynas USA, LLC was awarded a combined $288m in MCEIP funding to establish a second domestic, commercial-scale oxide production capability by 2026.
MCEIP has also invested $10m to explore the development of extraction technology and alternative sources of rare earth minerals from coal ash, acid mine drainage and other waste streams.
Noveon Magnetics has established a rare earth magnet manufacturing facility in San Marcos, Texas, with a $28.8m award from MCEIP. The company produces qualified magnets from extracted or recycled material for both defense and commercial applications.
An additional award of $2.3m from MCEIP has also helped TDA Magnetics to demonstrate a capability to source, produce and sell qualified magnets into DOD supply chains.
Finally, with a $94.1m award, E-VAC Magnetics will establish a commercial-scale rare earth magnet manufacturing capability by 2025. As part of this project, E-VAC will also develop domestic capacity to produce rare earth metals and alloys, a critical node of the supply chain linking early-stage rare earth processing to magnet production.
These awards from the Defense Department are expected to help develop the domestic market for magnet production to serve both defense and commercial markets.
Future MCEIP investments are expected to focus on closing remaining supply chain gaps and promoting integration among the tiers. DOD expects its support of these emerging capabilities will attract additional investment in rare earths from both defense and commercial manufacturers. With these additional investments, the Department will be able to meet its future demand for magnets without overseas dependencies. (Source: U.S. DoD)
11 Mar 24. DARPA sets high goals for 3D printing microelectronics.
DARPA’s Additive Manufacturing of Microelectronic systEms (AMME) programme aims to allow multi-material 3D printing of advanced electronic components.
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) are setting a high goal for their research into 3D-printing with the Additive Manufacturing of Microelectronic systEms (AMME) programme, aiming to print penny-sized microsystems in with a 500nm resolution within three minutes.
The goal of AMME will be to make it possible to create microsystems that would be able to integrate mechanical, electrical, or biological subcomponents, and do so while achieving a trifecta of advances in materiel quality, high resolution, and massive print throughput.
The development of microprocessors is of critical strategic importance to nations with advanced manufacturing bases, and has special significance for defence industries seeking to support the most highly advanced technologies in procurement.
The Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), the world’s largest semiconductor manufacturing foundry, among other major chip fabrication facilities in Taiwan, has been assessed to be of such strategic importance that an influential research paper suggested the destruction of the facilities in the event of Taiwan’s invasion by China.
AMNE is trying to tackle the challenge that additive manufacturing processes such as 3D-printing face in maintaining a high throughput of systems while manufacturing high resolution technology.
Shortages of semiconducting microprocessors during the various supply chain disruptions of the last few years have had notable effects on the capability of major engineering companies to continue production.
“AMME is inspired by new insights from selective material synthesis and volumetric additive manufacturing that would enable a new class of microsystems,” said Michael Sangillo, AMME program manager.
“We want to remove design rules imposed by traditional manufacturing tools and demonstrate novel microsystem technologies that create new opportunities for national security and emerging applications.”
“Our objective is to demonstrate a novel, functional microsystem that achieves additive manufacturing advances not possible today – advances like the ability for astronauts to make on-demand repairs in space,” Sangillo said. “AMME will also focus on the commercialisation approach, so we can produce a manufacturing system that can be quickly adopted by the broader industrial community, including DOD and other US government organisations.”
The challenge for AMME is to invent radical new approaches for 3D additive manufacturing, creating precursor materials that are able to be used in multi-material printing that has so far not been possible.
As well as multi-material printing, AMME seek torrent at a sub-micron resolution at extremely high speeds.
GlobalData’s ‘Thematic Intelligence: 3D Printing’ report identifies the dilemma faced by current additive manufacturing processes in attempting to increase speed of printing and throughput: “Effective 3D printing is not just about having more speed but also getting the right balance between speed and quality. Too little speed increases the risk of imperfections; too much speed may lead to uneven deposition or shifting layers.”
Despite the potential trade-off, the report identifies that the current trend in additive manufacturing is one of much greater speed as the technology advances.
According to GlobalData, the 3D printing market is predicted to surpass $70bn by 2030, which is expected to have an impact on supply (Source: naval-technology.com)
chains and operational capabilities.
11 Mar 24. Roke boosts sustainability drive: Joins Hellios’ JOSCAR Zero Initiative.
Roke proudly announces its participation in JOSCAR Zero, a pioneering decarbonisation programme by Hellios Information. Roke, an early adopter of the JOSCAR program, is committed to environmental responsibility and its determination to achieve net-zero carbon emissions.
JOSCAR Zero collects, measures, and identifies how carbon emissions can be reduced across supply chains. This initiative empowers companies to systematically reduce their carbon footprint, implement sustainable practices, and work towards net-zero carbon operations.
JOSCAR Zero was developed in response to the government’s pledge to a 100% reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, marking a significant milestone in the defence, aerospace, and security industry’s ongoing commitment to achieving net-zero by 2050.
Roke recognises the urgent need for businesses to take proactive measures in addressing climate change and is excited to leverage the practical guidance and support offered by JOSCAR Zero.
“Joining JOSCAR Zero is a significant milestone for Roke as we continue to evolve our sustainability strategy. This collaboration with Hellios through JOSCAR Zero will provide us with valuable insights and best practices to accelerate our journey towards a sustainable future,” said Paul MacGregor, Managing Director of Roke.
Colin Maund, CEO of Hellios Information, commended Roke’s commitment, stating: “JOSCAR Zero’s collaborative approach measures, manages, and cuts carbon emissions in the defence supply chain. Through community efforts and targeted advice, it builds on JOSCAR’s successful system, reducing redundancy and enhancing visibility. We’re especially mindful of supporting smaller suppliers throughout this process.”
Roke recently published its Carbon Reduction Plan as part of its commitment to achieving Net Zero emissions by 2050. Find out more here: https://www.roke.co.uk/media/asuiwsxf/carbon-reduction-plan-v1-1-feb-2024.pdf
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Oxley Group Ltd
Oxley offer a range of Military Marine NVG friendly LED lighting that includes navigation lights and controls, flight deck landing lights and interior compartment lighting. Our lighting products are used by Navies around the world including our own Royal Navy on UK Aircraft Carriers, Canadian Frigates, Swedish Submarines, Australian Surface vessels and Submarines, on board French Naval Carriers and in Naval Gun Turrets.
https://oxleydevelopments.cmail20.com/t/t-l-cdhkulk-yujhutkljd-r/
The technology is extremely energy efficient and built robustly, with proven long life. The lighting is NVG friendly, dimmable and programmable to allow for operations with aircraft pilots using military night vision goggles. They offer superior design giving high reliability for the most demanding environments with high sealing and the ability to meet the most stringent EMC standards.
https://oxleydevelopments.cmail20.com/t/t-l-cdhkulk-yujhutkljd-y/
Oxley are proud to say that we are working in partnership with SeaKing to enable a control panel to be offered with our LED Navigation Lighting. All of Oxley navigation lights have been specifically developed for vessels over 50 metres.
Contact Marcus Goad on 07850 917 263 for more information or to arrange samples.
Oxley specialises in the design and manufacture of advanced electronic and electro-optic components and systems for air, land and sea applications within the military sector. Established in 1942, Oxley has manufacturing facilities in the UK and USA and enjoys representation worldwide. The company’s products include night vision and LED lighting, data capture systems and electronic components. Oxley has pioneered the development of night vision compatible lighting. It offers a total package incorporating optical filters, equipment modification, cockpit and external lighting along with fleet wide upgrade services including engineering, installation, support, maintenance and training. The company’s long experience of manufacturing night vision lighting and LED indicators, coupled with advances in LED technology, has enabled it to develop LED solutions to replace incandescent and fluorescent lighting in existing applications as well as becoming the lighting option of choice in new applications such as portable military hospitals, UAV control stations and communication shelters.
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