NEWS IN BRIEF

Sponsored by Exensor

www.exensor.com

————————————————————————-
09 June 22. BWXT to Build First Advanced Microreactor in United States.
U.S. Department of Defense Strategic Capabilities Office Selects BWXT to Manufacture and Deliver Project Pele Prototype Reactor to Idaho National Laboratory in 2024. BWX Technologies, Inc. (NYSE: BWXT) will build the first advanced nuclear microreactor in the United States under a contract awarded by the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) Strategic Capabilities Office (SCO). The Project Pele full-scale transportable microreactor prototype will be completed and delivered in 2024 for testing at the Idaho National Laboratory.
SCO has partnered with the U.S. Department of Energy to develop, prototype and demonstrate a transportable microreactor that can provide a resilient power source to the DoD for a variety of operational needs that have historically relied on fossil fuel deliveries and extensive supply lines. Transportable microreactors deliver clean, zero-carbon energy where and when it is needed in a variety of austere conditions for not only the DoD, but also potential commercial applications for disaster response and recovery, power generation at remote locations, and deep decarbonization initiatives.
The prototype will be built under a cost-type contract valued at approximately $300 m, depending on options selected, by BWXT Advanced Technologies LLC in facilities in Lynchburg, Virginia and Euclid, Ohio. Over the next two years, BWXT expects that approximately 120 employees will work on the project, including roughly 40 skilled trades, engineers and other positions that will be hired to support this effort and other projects.
“We are on a mission to design, build and test new nuclear technology to protect the environment while providing power, and we are thrilled with this competitively bid award after years of hard work by our design and engineering team,” said Joe Miller, BWXT Advanced Technologies LLC president. “The entire nuclear industry recognizes that advanced reactors are an important step forward to support growing power needs and significant carbon reduction imperatives.”
Safe Design
The high-temperature gas-cooled reactor (HTGR) will operate at a power level between 1 and 5 MWe and will be transportable in commercially available shipping containers. It will be powered by TRISO fuel, a specific design of high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU) fuel that can withstand extreme heat and has very low environmental risks.
The transportable reactor core and associated control system is designed to maintain safety under all conditions, including transitional conditions throughout transport. The fuel has been tested and verified to temperatures far exceeding the operating conditions of the reactor.
The transportable design consists of multiple modules that contain the microreactor’s components in 20-foot long, ISO-compliant CONEX shipping containers. The reactor is designed to be safely and rapidly moved by road, rail, sea or air. The entire reactor system is designed to be assembled on-site and operational within 72 hours. Shut down, cool down, disconnection and removal for transport is designed to occur in less than seven days.
Team Members
A diverse team of experienced companies are joining BWXT to support delivery and successful operation of the Project Pele prototype. BWXT is the prime contract and integration lead, and is responsible for reactor module manufacture. Among the other companies playing key roles on the team are:
• Northrop Grumman
• Aerojet Rocketdyne
• Rolls-Royce LibertyWorks
• Torch Technologies, Inc.
Testing and Licensing
The reactor and fuel will be safely shipped separately, with fueling to occur at the test site. Once fueled, the system will undergo up to three years of testing at Idaho National Laboratory to confirm performance and operability. The test program will demonstrate that the reactor can produce reliable off-grid electric power. Power generated by the reactor will be transferred to load banks that accurately mimic the operational load that a power source would see in actual application. In addition, the system will be disassembled and re-assembled to prove transportability.
Consistent with the non-commercial nature of the project, testing and operation of this prototype reactor will proceed under authorization by the Department of Energy. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission, consistent with its role as an independent safety and security regulator, is participating in this project to provide SCO with accurate, current information on applicable regulations and licensing processes. (Source: BUSINESS WIRE)

09 June 22. DOD Looks at U.S.-South Korea Technology Collaboration. The partnership between the United States and South Korea has grown for more than 70 years now and continues to strengthen every year.
One area that the Defense Department emphasizes is in technology development between the two nations, said David A. Honey, deputy undersecretary of defense for research and engineering.
President Joe Biden recently visited with South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol to discuss, among other things, efforts to broaden cooperation on technologies, such as semiconductors, batteries, civil nuclear power, space development and cyberspace.
“Fully recognizing that scientists, researchers and engineers of countries are among the most innovative in the world, both presidents agreed to leverage this comparative advantage to enhance public and private cooperation to protect and promote critical and emerging technologies, including leading-edge semiconductors, eco-friendly EV batteries, artificial intelligence, quantum technology, biotechnology, bio-manufacturing and autonomous robots,” said Honey during a keynote address today at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.
Honey said DOD officials have identified five, key technology areas the department aims to develop further in partnership with South Korea. All, he said, have an impact on global supply chain security, and first among those is artificial intelligence.
“As AI, machine learning and autonomous operations continue to mature, the DOD will focus on evidence-based AI assurance and enabling operational effectiveness,” he said.
In communications, 5G technology and the next generation of communications technology are also critical to the department, he said.
“As fifth generation wireless technology is adopted and provides building blocks for capability, the DOD will also look forward to future G for leap-ahead technologies to lead in creating future standards,” Honey said. “The department will invest in future G technology development to lay the groundwork for continued United States leadership in information technology, which is vital to maintaining our economic and national security.”
Quantum computing, Honey said, can provide DOD with computational speeds that are unprecedented and will allow the department to solve some of its most difficult analytical problems.
“Quantum sensors promise the ability to provide unprecedented accuracy in position, navigation and timing,” he said. “Our near-term technology focus is on advanced atomic clocks and quantum sensors to improve navigation and timing reliability beyond GPS and improve our access to the spectrum.”
Further investments in biotechnology, Honey said, can help with everything from fighting global pandemics to reducing logistics and sustainment costs and increasing energy efficiency.
“Biotechnology can help change the way the department conducts missions, performs in contested logistics environments, and adapts to major global changes,” he said. “Biotechnology innovation is largely through global collaborations. DOD partnerships domestically and internationally de-risk and accelerate the transition of research to operational demonstrations and capabilities.”
Finally, he said, renewable energy generation and storage are critical to DOD’s future operations.
“Renewable energy generation and storage promises to decrease warfighter vulnerability and deliver new operational capabilities for the department,” he said. “From more efficient batteries to diversifying energy sources and reduced fuel transportation risks, renewable energy generation and storage will add resilience and flexibility in a contested logistics environment.” (Source: US DoD)

09 June 22. Digital Transformation, AI Important in Keeping Battlefield Edge, Leaders Say. Defense Department officials discussed the importance of digital transformation and artificial intelligence in enabling warfighters to maintain a battlefield advantage, even as China and Russia develop their own AI for military purposes.
John B. Sherman, DOD’s chief information officer, held a fireside chat June 8 with Craig Martell, DOD’s chief digital and artificial intelligence officer, at the DOD Digital and AI Symposium.
Sherman congratulated Martell on his appointment to this new leadership position. He brings a valuable industry perspective to the team, Sherman said, noting that Martell has only been on the job for three days and is hitting the ground running.
The chief of digital and artificial intelligence, which uses the acronym CDAO, reached Full Operating Capability June 1 and is charged with leading and overseeing DOD’s strategy development and policy formulation for data, analytics and AI; breaking down barriers to data and AI adoption within appropriate DOD institutional processes; and creating enabling digital infrastructure and services that support Components’ development and deployment of data, analytics, AI and digital-enabled solutions.
Sherman noted that the CDAO has his hands full of real-world operational requirements, including such diverse things as the war in Ukraine, business analytics, counter unmanned aerial systems and data governance.
Martell said he will focus not only on the fight today but also future fights five or 10 years later.
“We need to find the gaps, the right places where we can leverage value, and then that value is going to drive a virtuous cycle of change,” Martell said. “A lot of folks think that DOD should be more like industry. Some of that is true. But a lot of things about the DOD that can’t be more like industry. … We need to find out how to keep the DOD but also make it more efficient and work better.”
Sherman mentioned that his and Martell’s work involves a lot of coordination and communications with the military services, the Defense Information Systems Agency and combatant commanders regarding everything they do, such as the Artificial Intelligence and Data Accelerator and digital services. They are the ultimate customers.
The team, Sherman continued, constantly thinks about what sort of AI and machine learning capabilities would help them get ahead of specific problem sets, which will vary from combatant command to combatant command.
For instance, U.S. Southern Command might be focused on transnational criminal organizations, while U.S. European Command might be focusing on threats from Russia and U.S. Indo-Pacific Command on threats from China, he said.
Sherman also mentioned cybersecurity as it relates to securing data and algorithms.
“We talk a lot about zero trust,” he said. “That assumes an adversary is already on our network. How do we micro-segment our network so as to prevent that adversary from moving laterally? And, we’re going to leverage AI to help us get even better as we employ zero trust.”
Sherman also said that AI will be important in satellite communications as well as command and control.
Martell said leveraging the relationship with industry is important. “It doesn’t make any sense for us to build things that we shouldn’t be building here if industry already has a solution.”
Also, Martell mentioned that startups and innovative small industries should be sought out by DOD for their creative solutions.
Sherman said he agreed and added that DOD needs to work with small and medium industries to help them bolster their cybersecurity needs.
Both men said that acquiring and retaining talent in the workforce must be a priority and that the hiring practice needs to be tweaked so that people in industry can do a stint in DOD, go back to industry with more tools in their toolkit and maybe eventually return to DOD in a revolving door sort of scenario.
Also, they both mentioned upskilling in DOD, which means getting meaningful work in the department so that when these professionals return to industry, they will have new and marketable skills that are desirable and cutting edge.
Martell noted that he took a pay cut coming into his current position. While the government usually cannot pay as much as the private sector, he said the intangible benefit that attracts him and others, is DOD’s mission and service to country.  (Source: US DoD)

08 June 22. Lockheed expects to begin deliveries of F-16 combat jets in 2024. Lockheed Martin Corp (LMT.N) expects to produce its new-build F-16 fighter jets next year and commence deliveries in 2024, its chief financial officer Jesus Malave said on Wednesday.
The company has a list of key U.S. allies including Bahrain, Taiwan, Slovakia, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia eager to purchase the jet.
Malave flagged that hiring new workforce and training employees to build the aircraft was a “little bit of a challenge” for the company than expected.
Advertisement · Scroll to continue
“So the ramp is taking a little bit longer. As a result, we will probably see some cost burden on our initial contract there,” Malave said while speaking at the UBS Global Industrials and Transportation Conference.
The F-16 is considered a highly maneuverable aircraft proven in air-to-air combat and air-to-surface attack.
In April, the U.S. State Department approved the potential sale of up to eight F-16 aircraft and related equipment to Bulgaria, in a deal valued at $1.673 bn, and said Lockheed will be the principal contractor.
Advertisement · Scroll to continue
“There’s a lot of interest in the aircraft. I think an aspiration probably the next few years would be probably [production of] 3 per month,” Malave added. (Source: Reuters)

08 June 22. U.S. suspends three firms’ export privileges for alleged illegal exports to China. The U.S. Commerce Department on Wednesday suspended the export privileges of three U.S.-based firms for 180 days for what it said was the illegal export of satellite, rocket and defense technology to China.
Quicksilver Manufacturing Inc, Rapid Cut LLC and U.S. Prototype Inc received technical drawings and blueprints from U.S. customers and sent them to manufacturers in China to 3-D print satellite, rocket, and defense-related prototypes without authorization, the department said.
Advertisement · Scroll to continue
The three companies, which share the same Wilmington, North Carolina, address, could not immediately be reached for comment.
“Outsourcing 3-D printing of space and defense prototypes to China harms U.S. national security,” Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Export Enforcement Matthew Axelrod said in a statement.
“By sending their customers’ technical drawings and blueprints to China, these companies may have saved a few bucks, but they did so at the collective expense of protecting U.S. military technology.”
Advertisement · Scroll to continue
Liu Pengyu, a spokesperson for the Chinese Embassy in Washington, said the United States was using export controls as a tool of “economic bullying.” Its actions damaged international trade and free-trade rules, and posed a serious threat to global supply chains, he said.
The Commerce Department said the information illegally sent to China included sensitive prototype space and defense technologies and that the 180-day export suspension could be renewed.
Advertisement · Scroll to continue
It did not identify the companies who had contracted with the North Carolina firms. But, according to the department’s June 7 order denying export privileges, a U.S. aerospace and global defense technology company notified the department in February 2020 of a third-party supplier’s unauthorized export of controlled satellite technology.
The department’s investigation revealed that Quicksilver got an order in July 2017 for satellite parts for the aerospace company’s prototype space-satellite. To make components, Quicksilver was given about a dozen technical drawings and 3-D graphic/computer aided drawing files.
A company employee signed a non-disclosure agreement, which included that the work be conducted in compliance with U.S. export control regulations, the order said. Those regulations required licenses that likely would have been denied.
But Quicksilver fulfilled the order that August without seeking a license, and included an invoice that indicated the products had been shipped from China, the order said.
The Commerce Department said it had discovered a similar violation last July by Rapid Cut, whose ownership and personnel are also related to Quicksilver, involving technology that is controlled for national security. Quicksilver was also involved in a violation relating to a third U.S. company, an advanced science and engineering company with contracts with the Department of Defense, the department said. (Source: Google/Reuters)

06 June 22. Fewer devices, more automation and a better interface would help fight ‘alert fatigue.’ Special operations communicators receive so much information that they’re beginning to experience what one expert calls “alert fatigue,” putting them in danger of making fatal mistakes.
In response, U.S. Special Operations Command is asking industry for more capabilities that involve less gear and simpler user interfaces.
Cyber, computing and communications experts spoke May 19 at the Special Operations Forces Industry Conference in Florida, echoing concerns over the flood of information coming at special forces and calling for solutions.
In some ways, the “alert fatigue” is a byproduct of technological development and mass data gathering techniques, said Mark Taylor, who serves as the command’s chief technical officer.
But there’s a cost.
“We cannot put these people in jeopardy of alert fatigue in which case they now get one of another 100 blips that might have been the one that tells them they need to hit this house and not that one,” Taylor said.
That means less gear, fewer processes, more automation and a simpler user interface, experts agreed.
“I think as technology grows, our communicators get more and more inundated with more technology,” said Army Sgt. Maj. Matthew Jacobs, the senior enlisted adviser to SOCOM J6.
He and others noted that automating some of the many tasks of a special ops communicator could reduce that mental burden, and that less gear would reduce the physical burden.
“I think weight is a huge issue,” he said. “It all goes on somebody’s back.”
In a separate panel, Art Coon, deputy program executive officer for SOCOM’s command, control, communications and computers office, provided an example of that physical burden.
Under their tactical communications portfolio alone, just taking into account radio technology, operators carry the legacy hand-held, man-packable radio, another hand-held radio device for specific frequency work, and the next-generation high-frequency hand-held, man-packable radio.
But there’s been progress, Coon noted: A capability once provided by a 78-pound radio system and carried by the AH-63 Apache helicopter is now available via a tactical hand-held device.
To ease the cognitive load, operators need a way to effectively use multiple waveforms and data systems. A radio integration system allows for one tactical operations center to merge line-of-sight and beyond-line-of-sight devices, talk to all systems, and push data over a single network using broadband satellite communications, Coon said.
That’s supported by satellite-deployable nodes, or broadband satellite communication terminals that can connect with the tactical local area network, connecting commanders at a major installation or in the United States directly to an operational network in the field.
And for contested environments, Coon said, a system called SCAMPI serves as “our version of an [internet service provider].”
SOCOM has those devices “scattered globally” to move data to forward-deployed troops, he added.
Operators must also have the ability to quickly grab and go with their hardware and data, Coon said. “I should be able to pick up my laptop or my workstation in the garrison environment, jump on a plane, fly to wherever, get off that plane, and have the connectivity on the services I need wherever I’m at.”
A soldier navigates through an augmented reality lab at the Center for Applied Brain and Cognitive Sciences, a cooperative research initiative between Tufts University School of Engineering and Combat Capabilities Development Command’s Soldier Center. (David Kamm/U.S. Army)
But the secret and unclassified systems don’t work as well together as they should. SOCOM’s chief information officer, Joe Tragakis, said that’s because there are too many machines to do a basic task.
He’s currently looking for a way to allow an analyst to simultaneously search for data on both the classified and unclassified networks on a single machine, “as opposed to the current practice of getting four, five or six different machines to do it.” (Source: Defense News Early Bird/Defense News)

06 June 22. Army Forms 11th Airborne Division Amid Focus on Arctic Warfare. The Army on Monday activated the new 11th Airborne Division in Alaska, a historic move that brings the service’s 12,000 soldiers in the state under a single banner.
The change will bring the service closer to its mission in Alaska of mastering the frigid, inhospitable Arctic terrain. Previously, two of its brigades were loosely associated with the 25th Infantry Division, an element known for its specialty in jungle warfare. The new division has also folded in U.S. Army Alaska, which mostly served a headquarters role in the region.
As the Army reorients after decades of counterterrorism operations back to conventional warfare, it is anticipating that frigid environments will play a huge role in modern conflicts. Adversaries Russia and China have already laid claims to the Arctic Circle, where melting ice is freeing up territory, natural resources and new sea routes.
Read Next: Chinese D-Day Ranger Who Fought on Omaha Beach Set to Receive Second Congressional Gold Medal
“They will be the experts for our Army, and we like to see the best in the world operating in this environment,” Gen. James McConville, the Army’s chief of staff, told reporters at a press conference Monday.
The 11th Airborne will take center stage in that strategy, as commanders in the region refine doctrine and fit their troops with the gear they need to survive in extreme temperatures. Unlike other environments in which soldiers train, the environment itself is deadly — sometimes dipping to minus-65 degrees Fahrenheit.
It isn’t Alaska itself the Army is planning to defend. Any invading forces there would have to cross hundreds of miles of frozen terrain, a virtually impossible task for vehicles and a challenge for the sustainment of troops, including feeding them.
Commanders in the region have pointed to past conflicts as examples of why the Army needs a unit dedicated to fighting in the extreme cold, such as the Battle of the Bulge and the campaign in Italy during World War II, and much of the Korean War, where freezing temperatures were often as deadly as the enemy.
Commanders have told Military.com they aim for units there to be a prestigious force, having to carry more gear and thrive in more difficult conditions than other conventional units in the Army. Given the frigid climate, service planners have acknowledged Alaska isn’t for everyone and have made moves to slowly make it more of a volunteer force, including allowing new recruits to pick Alaska as their duty station when they enlist.
Most significantly, the new formation eliminates a brigade of Strykers for the Army, redesignating the 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 25th Infantry Division, to the 1st Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 11th Airborne Division. The service will take Alaska’s aging fleet of 320 Strykers and scrap some vehicles for parts, and update others to send to other units.
The new formation will not add any more airborne capabilities to the Army’s bottom line with the former Stryker brigade redesignated as a light infantry brigade. McConville said those troops will instead focus on air assault operations.
The division reintroduced the patch used decades ago by the 11th Airborne Division, but with an Arctic twist. The original unit fought in the Pacific Theater in World War II and later tested out air assault tactics before it was deactivated in 1965.
That new patch will add an “Arctic” tab above the classic “airborne” tab seen with other units such as the 82nd Airborne Division. Previously, the Arctic tab was an award for completing an 11-day Arctic survival course in Alaska. (Source: Military.com)

06 June 22. Taser maker halts drone project; most of its ethics panel resigns. Taser-maker Axon Enterprise Inc (AXON.O) said it was halting a project to equip drones with stun guns to combat mass shootings, a reversal that did not stop most of its ethics advisory board members from announcing their resignation on Monday in protest over the original plans.
The May 24 school shooting in Uvalde, Texas, which killed 19 children and two teachers, prompted Axon to announce last week it was working on a drone that first responders could operate remotely to fire a Taser at a target about 40 feet (12 m) away.
Nine of 12 members of the company’s AI Ethics Board quit over concerns the drones would harm over-policed communities and that Axon publicized its ambitions without consulting the group. The resignations and Axon’s scuttled plans were first reported by Reuters.
“In light of feedback, we are pausing work on this project and refocusing to further engage with key constituencies to fully explore the best path forward,” Chief Executive Rick Smith said in a statement.
The action by ethics board members marked a rare public rebuke for one of the watchdog groups some companies have set up to gather feedback on emerging technologies, such as drones and artificial intelligence (AI) software.
Smith said it was unfortunate that members withdrew before Axon could address their technical questions, but the company “will continue to seek diverse perspectives to challenge our thinking.”
Axon, which also sells body-worn cameras and policing software, has said its clients include about 17,000 out of the roughly 18,000 law enforcement agencies in the United States.
It explored the idea of a Taser-equipped drone for police since at least 2016, and Smith depicted how one could stop an active shooter in a graphic novel he wrote. The novel shows a daycare center with what looks like an enlarged smoke alarm, which first recognizes the sound of gunfire and then ejects a drone, identifying and tasing the shooter in two seconds.
Axon first approached its ethics board more than a year ago about Taser-equipped drones, and the panel last month voted eight to four against running a limited police pilot of the technology.
The company announced the drone idea anyway, as it said it wanted to get past “fruitless debates” on guns after the Uvalde shooting, sending shares up nearly 6%. They were down 0.5% on Monday.
Ethics board members worried the drones could exacerbate racial injustice, undermine privacy through surveillance and become more lethal if other weapons were added, member Wael Abd-Almageed said in an interview.
“What we have right now is just dangerous and irresponsible,” said Abd-Almageed, an engineering research associate professor at University of Southern California.
The board likewise had not evaluated use of the drones by first responders outside police, it said. And members questioned how a drone could navigate closed doors to stop a shooting.
The drone is “distracting society from real solutions to a tragic problem,” resigning board members said in a Monday statement.
CEO Smith has said drones could be stationed in hallways and move into rooms through special vents. A drone system would cost a school about $1,000 annually, he said.
Formed in 2018, the ethics panel has guided Axon productively on sensitive technologies such as facial recognition in the past.
Giles Herdale, one of the remaining ethics board members, told Reuters he chose not to resign because he could have more influence “if I am in the tent than outside it.”
For others, the company’s drone announcement prior to a formal report by the board broke with practice, said member Ryan Calo, a University of Washington law professor.
“I’m not going to stay on an advisory board for a company that departs so far from expectation and protocol or, frankly, who believes ubiquitous surveillance coupled with remote non-lethal weapons is a viable response to school shootings,” he said.
Barry Friedman, the board chairman, resigned as well. (Source: Reuters)

08 June 22. US: DHS warning of heightened threat of extremist violence further underscores risks of terrorist attacks. On 7 June, the latest National Terrorism Advisory System Bulletin, released by the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS), warned that the threat environment in the US is likely to worsen and become more dynamic in the next six months, as several high-profile events could become a catalyst for further extremist violence. The bulletin lists the upcoming US Supreme Court ruling on abortion rights, the increase of migrants arriving at the US-Mexico border, and the November US midterm elections as some of the events that could be “exploited to justify acts of violence against a range of possible targets” by domestic extremist groups. It states that these groups are likely to make increasing calls for violence targeting democratic institutions, government facilities and personnel, critical infrastructure, faith-based institutions, minority communities, the media, and any perceived ideological opponents. The DHS considers that the primary threat is that of lone perpetrators or small groups carrying out attacks, elevating physical risks for assets and staff.
————————————————————————-
Founded in 1987, Exensor Technology is a world leading supplier of Networked Unattended Ground Sensor (UGS) Systems providing tailored sensor solutions to customers all over the world. From our Headquarters in Lund Sweden, our centre of expertise in Network Communications at Communications Research Lab in Kalmar Sweden and our Production site outside of Basingstoke UK, we design, develop and produce latest state of the art rugged UGS solutions at the highest quality to meet the most stringent demands of our customers. Our systems are in operation and used in a wide number of Military as well as Homeland Security applications worldwide. The modular nature of the system ensures any external sensor can be integrated, providing the user with a fully meshed “silent” network capable of self-healing. Exensor Technology will continue to lead the field in UGS technology, provide our customers with excellent customer service and a bespoke package able to meet every need. A CNIM Group Company
————————————————————————-

Sponsored by Exensor

www.exensor.com

————————————————————————-

09 June 22. BWXT to Build First Advanced Microreactor in United States.

U.S. Department of Defense Strategic Capabilities Office Selects BWXT to Manufacture and Deliver Project Pele Prototype Reactor to Idaho National Laboratory in 2024. BWX Technologies, Inc. (NYSE: BWXT) will build the first advanced nuclear microreactor in the United States under a contract awarded by the U.S. Department of Defense (DoD) Strategic Capabilities Office (SCO). The Project Pele full-scale transportable microreactor prototype will be completed and delivered in 2024 for testing at the Idaho National Laboratory.

SCO has partnered with the U.S. Department of Energy to develop, prototype and demonstrate a transportable microreactor that can provide a resilient power source to the DoD for a variety of operational needs that have historically relied on fossil fuel deliveries and extensive supply lines. Transportable microreactors deliver clean, zero-carbon energy where and when it is needed in a variety of austere conditions for not only the DoD, but also potential commercial applications for disaster response and recovery, power generation at remote locations, and deep decarbonization initiatives.

The prototype will be built under a cost-type contract valued at approximately $300 m, depending on options selected, by BWXT Advanced Technologies LLC in facilities in Lynchburg, Virginia and Euclid, Ohio. Over the next two years, BWXT expects that approximately 120 employees will work on the project, including roughly 40 skilled trades, engineers and other positions that will be hired to support this effort and other projects.

“We are on a mission to design, build and test new nuclear technology to protect the environment while providing power, and we are thrilled with this competitively bid award after years of hard work by our design and engineering team,” said Joe Miller, BWXT Advanced Technologies LLC president. “The entire nuclear industry recognizes that advanced reactors are an important step forward to support growing power needs and significant carbon reduction imperatives.”

Safe Design

The high-temperature gas-cooled reactor (HTGR) will operate at a power level between 1 and 5 MWe and will be transportable in commercially available shipping containers. It will be powered by TRISO fuel, a specific design of high-assay low-enriched uranium (HALEU) fuel that can withstand extreme heat and has very low environmental risks.

The transportable reactor core and associated control system is designed to maintain safety under all conditions, including transitional conditions throughout transport. The fuel has been tested and verified to temperatures far exceeding the operating conditions of the reactor.

The transportable design consists of multiple modules that contain the microreactor’s components in 20-foot long, ISO-compliant CONEX shipping containers. The reactor is designed to be safely and rapidly moved by road, rail, sea or air. The entire reactor system is designed to be assembled on-site and operational within 72 hours. Shut down, cool down, disconnection and removal for transport is designed to occur in less than seven days.

Team Members

A diverse team of experienced companies are joining BWXT to support delivery and successful operation of the Project Pele prototype. BWXT is the prime contract and integration lead, and is responsible for reactor module manufacture. Among the other companies playing key roles on the team are:

Northrop Grumman
Aerojet Rocketdyne
Rolls-Royce LibertyWorks
Torch Technologies, Inc.

Testing and Licensing

The reactor and fuel will be safely shipped separately, with fueling to occur at the test site. Once fueled, the system will undergo up to three years of testing at Idaho National Laboratory to confirm performance and operability. The test program will demonstrate that the reactor can produce reliable off-grid electric power. Power generated by the reactor will be transferred to load banks that accurately mimic the operational load that a power source would see in actual application. In addition, the system will be disassembled and re-assembled to prove transportability.

Consistent with the non-commercial nature of the project, testing and operation of this prototype reactor will proceed under authorization by the Department of Energy. The Nuclear Regulatory Commission, consistent with its role as an independent safety and security regulator, is participating in this project to provide SCO with accurate, current information on applicable regulations and licensing processes. (Source: BUSINESS WIRE)

09 June 22. DOD Looks at U.S.-South Korea Technology Collaboration.

The partnership between the United States and South Korea has grown for more than 70 years now and continues to strengthen every year.

One area that the Defense Department emphasizes is in technology development between the two nations, said David A. Honey, deputy undersecretary of defense for research and engineering.

President Joe Biden recently visited with South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol to discuss, among other things, efforts to broaden cooperation on technologies, such as semiconductors, batteries, civil nuclear power, space development and cyberspace.

“Fully recognizing that scientists, researchers and engineers of countries are among the most innovative in the world, both presidents agreed to leverage this comparative advantage to enhance public and private cooperation to protect and promote critical and emerging technologies, including leading-edge semiconductors, eco-friendly EV batteries, artificial intelligence, quantum technology, biotechnology, bio-manufacturing and autonomous robots,” said Honey during a keynote address today at the Center for Strategic and International Studies.

Honey said DOD officials have identified five, key technology areas the department aims to develop further in partnership with South Korea. All, he said, have an impact on global supply chain security, and first among those is artificial intelligence.

“As AI, machine learning and autonomous operations continue to mature, the DOD will focus on evidence-based AI assurance and enabling operational effectiveness,” he said.

In communications, 5G technology and the next generation of communications technology are also critical to the department, he said.

“As fifth generation wireless technology is adopted and provides building blocks for capability, the DOD will also look forward to future G for leap-ahead technologies to lead in creating future standards,” Honey said. “The department will invest in future G technology development to lay the groundwork for continued United States leadership in information technology, which is vital to maintaining our economic and national security.”

Quantum computing, Honey said, can provide DOD with computational speeds that are unprecedented and will allow the department to solve some of its most difficult analytical problems.

“Quantum sensors promise the ability to provide unprecedented accuracy in position, navigation and timing,” he said. “Our near-term technology focus is on advanced atomic clocks and quantum sensors to improve navigation and timing reliability beyond GPS and improve our access to the spectrum.”

Further investments in biotechnology, Honey said, can help with everything from fighting global pandemics to reducing logistics and sustainment costs and increasing energy efficiency.

“Biotechnology can help change the way the department conducts missions, performs in contested logistics environments, and adapts to major global changes,” he said. “Biotechnology innovation is largely through global collaborations. DOD partnerships domestically and internationally de-risk and accelerate the transition of research to operational demonstrations and capabilities.”

Finally, he said, renewable energy generation and storage are critical to DOD’s future operations.

“Renewable energy generation and storage promises to decrease warfighter vulnerability and deliver new operational capabilities for the department,” he said. “From more efficient batteries to diversifying energy sources and reduced fuel transportation risks, renewable energy generation and storage will add resilience and flexibility in a contested logistics environment.” (Source: US DoD)

09 June 22. Digital Transformation, AI Important in Keeping Battlefield Edge, Leaders Say. Defense Department officials discussed the importance of digital transformation and artificial intelligence in enabling warfighters to maintain a battlefield advantage, even as China and Russia develop their own AI for military purposes.

John B. Sherman, DOD’s chief information officer, held a fireside chat June 8 with Craig Martell, DOD’s chief digital and artificial intelligence officer, at the DOD Digital and AI Symposium.

Sherman congratulated Martell on his appointment to this new leadership position. He brings a valuable industry perspective to the team, Sherman said, noting that Martell has only been on the job for three days and is hitting the ground running.

The chief of digital and artificial intelligence, which uses the acronym CDAO, reached Full Operating Capability June 1 and is charged with leading and overseeing DOD’s strategy development and policy formulation for data, analytics and AI; breaking down barriers to data and AI adoption within appropriate DOD institutional processes; and creating enabling digital infrastructure and services that support Components’ development and deployment of data, analytics, AI and digital-enabled solutions.

Sherman noted that the CDAO has his hands full of real-world operational requirements, including such diverse things as the war in Ukraine, business analytics, counter unmanned aerial systems and data governance.

Martell said he will focus not only on the fight today but also future fights five or 10 years later.

“We need to find the gaps, the right places where we can leverage value, and then that value is going to drive a virtuous cycle of change,” Martell said. “A lot of folks think that DOD should be more like industry. Some of that is true. But a lot of things about the DOD that can’t be more like industry. … We need to find out how to keep the DOD but also make it more efficient and work better.”

Sherman mentioned that his and Martell’s work involves a lot of coordination and communications with the military services, the Defense Information Systems Agency and combatant commanders regarding everything they do, such as the Artificial Intelligence and Data Accelerator and digital services. They are the ultimate customers.

The team, Sherman continued, constantly thinks about what sort of AI and machine learning capabilities would help them get ahead of specific problem sets, which will vary from combatant command to combatant command.

For instance, U.S. Southern Command might be focused on transnational criminal organizations, while U.S. European Command might be focusing on threats from Russia and U.S. Indo-Pacific Command on threats from China, he said.

Sherman also mentioned cybersecurity as it relates to securing data and algorithms.

“We talk a lot about zero trust,” he said. “That assumes an adversary is already on our network. How do we micro-segment our network so as to prevent that adversary from moving laterally? And, we’re going to leverage AI to help us get even better as we employ zero trust.”

Sherman also said that AI will be important in satellite communications as well as command and control.

Martell said leveraging the relationship with industry is important. “It doesn’t make any sense for us to build things that we shouldn’t be building here if industry already has a solution.”

Also, Martell mentioned that startups and innovative small industries should be sought out by DOD for their creative solutions.

Sherman said he agreed and added that DOD needs to work with small and medium industries to help them bolster their cybersecurity needs.

Both men said that acquiring and retaining talent in the workforce must be a priority and that the hiring practice needs to be tweaked so that people in industry can do a stint in DOD, go back to industry with more tools in their toolkit and maybe eventually return to DOD in a revolving door sort of scenario.

Also, they both mentioned upskilling in DOD, which means getting meaningful work in the department so that when these professionals return to industry, they will have new and marketable skills that are desirable and cutting edge.

Martell noted that he took a pay cut coming into his current position. While the government usually cannot pay as much as the private sector, he said the intangible benefit that attracts him and others, is DOD’s mission and service to country.  (Source: US DoD)

The company has a list of key U.S. allies including Bahrain, Taiwan, Slovakia, Jordan, the United Arab Emirates and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia eager to purchase the jet.

Malave flagged that hiring new workforce and training employees to build the aircraft was a “little bit of a challenge” for the company than expected.