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Main article: US Armed Forces
2024
Decrease in the number of military aircraft by 41% over 30 years
The first successful AI tests for controlling a combat aircraft
Main article: Artificial intelligence at the Pentagon
In early May 2024, the Associated Press, citing representatives Pentagon , reported that the US Air Force successfully tested artificial intelligence (AI) for the first time to control a combat aircraft: according to the publication, the F-16 independently conducted a training air battle.
This happened at Edwards Air Base in California, where test pilots train neural networks on special simulators. At the same time, there was still a pilot in the fighter cabin, but he only controlled the process and collected data to improve the system.
According to journalists, the Pentagon is serious and at the moment intend to equip up to 1000 of its F-16s with artificial intelligence. The Americans plan to commission the first of these boards by 2028.
The event clearly demonstrates the growth in the scale of the use of AI in the military sphere: if initially it was about using it in drones, analyzing information and supporting decision-making, now it will gradually come to fighter aircraft.
The advantages of such solutions are visible to the naked eye, and the point is not only in reducing the risk of death of flight personnel. After all, the introduction of AI in the future allows you to "put on the wing" a lot of old stored aircraft and use them in combat formations, "pressing the mass" on the enemy.
2023
Air bases of the United States and its allies
F-35 stealth plane crash in South Carolina
On September 17, 2023, the US Air Force lost an F-35 stealth plane over South Carolina. Literally. A freelance situation happened, the pilot ejected, and the plane flew further. Local authorities cannot understand where he crashed. Based on the location and flight path of the missing F-35, its search is focused on Lakes Moultrie and Marion. But so far without a result.
American politicians are already trying to earn points on the situation. U.S. Rep. Nancy Mace, who represents South Carolina, made a fuss on Twitter:
"How the hell can you lose an F-35? How can there be no tracking devices and we ask the public to find the plane and hand it over? "
The aircraft and pilot belong to the 501st Marine Fighter Training Squadron, based in Beaufort, near the Atlantic coast of South Carolina.
The wreckage of the side was eventually found in the vicinity of the airfield, where it was based. Apparently, the F-35 crashed in a poorly populated area in the forests of South Carolina, which caused such a relatively long search.
Disruption of deliveries of new F-35 aircraft with TR-3
The American military-industrial corporation Lockheed Martin in June 2023 suspended the supply of new F-35s to the US Air Force due to the refusal of the Ministry of Defense to accept aircraft until the completion of technical tests. Read more here.
Map of bases around China
Only half of the Pentagon's F-35 fighter fleet is considered mission-friendly
Only about half of the Pentagon's F-35 fighter fleet is considered suitable for missions, well below the 65% target and in a state of readiness that the program manager calls "unacceptable."
As of February 2023, the average monthly indicator of fighter readiness for tasks in the American fleet of more than 540 F-35s was 53.1%.
The percentage of aircraft capable of performing all their tasks - the so-called full mission readiness rate - is less than 30%.
2021
Using virtual reality to prevent suicide
At the end of September 2021, one of the units of the US Air Force began to conduct training of its personnel using the virtual reality system (VR) to prevent suicide, the number of which is reportedly growing in all the armed forces of the country.
VR typically includes headsets that depict a computer-generated environment with simulated scenes and objects that seem real to users. Starting in 2018, the U.S. military and numerous government organizations are increasingly investing in the technology and using it for educational and other purposes.
 | Training definitely takes you out of your comfort zone. It makes you think critically about what you are going to say or do, and depending on what you choose, a person who is in upset feelings will react. VR training has better prepared me to meet with Air Force personnel showing signs of distress, "said Senior Sergeant William Parisse, Occupational Safety Technician of the Sixth ARW Unit of the US Air Force. |  |
The coordinator of public support for the sixth ARW Integrated Resilience Office, Lisa Williams, noted that in this case, this allowed Air Force leadership to offer options that could best meet the needs of personnel who have to undergo annual training. In the latest version of training using VR, participants ended up in scenarios where they had to interact with a person who was in obvious emotional distress and ultimately convince this person to seek help, so undoubtedly our future lies behind such technologies.
Suicide is considered one of the leading causes of death in U.S. service members. According to a new analysis published on September 30, 2021, the number of military personnel who died in this way increased by 15% in 2020.[1]
Preparing to launch 5G networks in space
In early March 2021, the US Air Force Space Command began preparations for the launch of 5G networks in space. It is assumed that such a system will improve the transmission of data of both space and ground communications.
Adding next-generation network space layers could expand the military's ability to share data and support enterprise networks with more bandwidth, according to the Defense Department. The command has already requested information on how the industry can build and use 5G networks in space operations.
With the planned increase in space missions NASA and the newly Space Force established Air Force, networking outside the Earth's atmosphere is of increasing interest to the government. Private companies, such as Microsoft and, are Amazon also interested in the possibilities of a new space market. Now the air force is looking for ways to connect this type of computing power to and from operators in space.
| | Any aspect of 5G applicable to any aspect of space systems is of potential interest, the Air Force said in a statement. | |
Some aspects of particular interest include "massive MIMOs" (multi-input and multi-output networks) for communication with spacecraft, limiting radio access networks (RANs), the use of AI that is capable of prioritizing data flows in networks to accelerate transportation and enable cybersecurity.
5G includes many uses for artificial intelligence and machine learning, and the Air Force wants to know which specific AI-based 5G tools and methods will enable message flow recognition and content analysis to prioritize data streaming rates.[2]
Launch a Massive IT Infrastructure Upgrade Program
In early March 2021, the US Air Force launched a program for a large-scale update of the IT structure of its organization, called Operation Flamethrower. The program aims to eliminate any policies that stand in the way of the transition of the Air Force to the corporate IT as a service model.
At the same time, the air force faces budgetary problems, because the operation of several networks increases the cost of the IT structure during the transition period. In addition, abandoning outdated policies built around outdated technologies is also difficult. The program has existed for several months, but Brigadier General Chad Raduege at the AFCEA virtual meeting in St. Louis noted that the Air Force has only embarked on a long-term path to transform the network.
According to him, Operation Flamethrower is aimed at creating so-called "compensations" that would reduce the volume of network operations by automating and protecting endpoint vulnerabilities. According to General Rainbow, the "reduction of AFnet," the Air Force's corporate network, is central to this revision of the policy.
In the course of transformation and abandonment of old policies, enterprise IT-as-a-Service must replace legacy systems that are more vulnerable and restrict connectivity. Operation Flamethrower also aims to reduce the redundancy of the old corporate network and to eliminate outdated systems that become unnecessary as new services become available.
| | Now we are trying to understand how to get out of the outdated network we inherited into the future, - said General Rainbow. | |
He also said that the project received the support of the senior leadership of the Air Force and has the support of the Cyberspace Capabilities Center at Scott Air Force Base[3]
2020: Funding Civil Air Taxi Projects
In April 2020, it became known about the intention of the US Air Force to accelerate the emergence of commercial electric air taxi with vertical take-off and landing (eVTOL) by investing in the development of technologies that can be used in both civil and military aviation.
The Air Force is interested in five aspects of the creation of eVTOL: low maintenance costs due to its simple design, increased safety, sufficient capacity, an acceptable level of operational noise and the absence of the need for supporting ground infrastructure.
At the end of April 2020, the US Air Force plans to introduce Agility Prime - the first aircraft with vertical take-off and landing, designed to transport soldiers. The device will run on electric engines. It is planned to send it on its first flight by the end of 2020.
The project is led by Will Roper, Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Procurement, Technology and Logistics.
| | Now is the right time to make airmobiles a reality, "he said. | |
Some US military units are assessing the prospects for using unmanned aerial vehicles to quickly supply military formations with military supplies, food, medicines, fuel, as well as to disperse troops without risking the pilot to be hit.
Commercial companies such as Airbus, Bell and Embraer are showing interest in eVTOL because they see them as the future of public transport. Bell is developing an aircraft called the Nexus 4EX, which should be able to move 4-5 passengers (not including the pilot) over distances up to 97 km.
Ultimately, manufacturers expect to make eVTOL unmanned by assigning the management of ships to software.[4]
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1961: Doomsday Aircraft Launch
On February 3, 1961, the United States launched Operation Looking Glass. A special aircraft was launched that provides command and control over US nuclear forces in the event that ground headquarters were destroyed. The United States believed that the USSR had so many missiles with nuclear warheads that the first strike would destroy all ground command points.
These special aircraft were in the air for 24 hours until 1990, it is believed that they exist now.
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Greenland, 1951]]
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1945
Main article: World War II
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