Aviation Systems

This project provides for the development, rapid prototyping, demonstration, and integration of current and maturing technologies for Special Operations-peculiar (SO-p) aviation and training requirements to transform the foundation of future SOF aviation for the Joint Force. Timely application of SO-p technology is critical and necessary to meet requirements in areas such as: Aviation Engineering Analysis (AEA); Electronic Warfare (EW)-Radio Frequency Countermeasures (RFCM); MH-47G and MH-60M SOF Common Terrain Following (TF)/Terrain Avoidance (TA) Silent Knight Radar (SKR); Precision Strike Package (PSP), Medium Altitude Long Endurance Tactical (MALET) MQ-9, and the Adaptive Airborne Enterprise (A2E). AEA provides engineering analysis, market research, and conceptual designs to mature critical technology priorities for crewed and uncrewed SOF airborne platforms, including but not limited to aircraft survivability, signature management, mission autonomy, reduced workload, advanced ISR capabilities, situational awareness, precision strike, resilient architectures, secure communications & networks, enhanced logistics, and next-generation mobility. The EW-RFCM supports development, integration, and test activities to provide EW capability against Radio Frequency (RF) threats for SO-p AC/MC-130J aircraft. MH-47G and MH-60M SOF Common TF/ TA SKR supports development, integration, and testing of SOF Common TF/TA Multi-Mode Radar (MMR) that provides Low Probability of Intercept (LPI) and Low Probability of Detection (LPD) capabilities for MH-47G and MH-60M aircraft. The PSP supports systems engineering, analysis, development, and enhancement of the baseline PSP for integration, installation, and test for the SOF AC-130J aircraft and other SOF aviation platforms. MQ-9 identifies, develops, rapidly prototypes, integrates, and tests Special Operations (SO)-peculiar mission kits, mission payloads, weapons, and modifications on MQ-9 Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), Ground Control Stations (GCSs), and training systems. MQ-9 funding also integrates A2E capabilities into this mission. The Adaptive Airborne Enterprise (A2E) is AFSOC’s modernization effort to enhance Intelligence, Surveillance, Reconnaissance (ISR), Electronic Warfare (EW), and precision strike capabilities.

This project provides for the development, rapid prototyping, demonstration, and integration of current and maturing technologies for SO-p rotary wing aviation and training requirements. This project provides next generation mobility to allow SO-p helicopters to operate in denied environments. Rotary wing aircraft supported by this project include currently fielded: MH-60M; MH-47G; A/MH-6; and Future Long-Range Assault Aircraft (FLRAA). The currently fielded aircraft provide aviation support to SOF in worldwide contingency operations and low-intensity conflicts. These aircraft must be capable of rapidly deploying, penetrating hostile areas undetected, and operations at extended ranges under adverse weather conditions to infiltrate, provide logistics for, reinforce, and extract SOF. The anti-access/area denial (A2/AD) threat is characterized by an extensive and sophisticated ground-based air defense system and an upgraded air-to-air capability targeted against helicopters. The Mission Processor Upgrade (MPU) program provides non-recurring engineering, systems engineering/testing, and future aircraft architecture studies that support replacement and upgrade of the current mission and video processors for all Army Special Operations Aviation (ARSOA) rotary wing aircraft. Airborne Mission Networking (AMN) focuses on technology development of platform software and hardware systems with capabilities to enable aircraft to effectively adapt and overcome the challenges of a highly contested and congested Radio Frequency (RF) environment.

This project supports the development, rapid prototyping, integration, automation, and testing of the AC-130J and MC-130J aircraft. The AC-130J Ghostrider provides close air support (CAS), air interdiction, and armed reconnaissance in support of special operations and conventional forces in contested and degraded environments. The MC-130J Commando II provides clandestine, or low visibility, single or multiship, low-level infiltration (infil), exfiltration (exfil), and resupply of Special Operations Forces (SOF), by airdrop or airland and air refueling missions for special operations helicopters and tiltrotor aircraft, intruding politically sensitive or hostile territories. Incremental upgrade and agile software delivery approaches will be used to rapidly prototype, integrate and mature SOF capabilities onto the AC-130J and MC-130J aircraft. Capability Release Two (CR2) enhances SOF efficiency by building on Capability Release One (CR1) and improving the Special Mission Systems (SMS) and Defensive System Upgrade (DSU). Key CR2 systems such as Terrain Following (TF)/Terrain Avoidance (TA) radar, Airborne Mission Networking (AbMN), and Electronic Warfare (EW)/Radio Frequency Countermeasures (RFCM) are critical for USSOCOM's contested infil/exfil, battlefield management, and aircraft survivability missions. Additionally, Capability Release Three (CR3) builds upon the CR2 configuration through integration of an enhanced Tactical Flight Management System (TFMS), Tactical Mission Route Replanner (TMRR)/Auto-Route Replanner (ARR), integrated Defensive Countermeasure (DCM) Suite implemented in alignment to the Open Mission Systems (OMS) standard reference architecture and hosted on an upgraded Next Generation SMS. Efforts like Integrated Tactical Mission Systems (ITMS) in CR3 provide critical automation and integration of SOF Tactical Mission Systems (TMS), including navigation, communication, precision fire control and defensive systems required for safe flight in AC-130J and MC-130J aircraft. Requirements include upgrades to integrate and automate SOF TMS such as AbMN interoperability, data fusion and improved situational awareness, improved threat detection and avoidance, integrated TF / TA and Silent Knight Radar (SKR) improvements, DCM suite, Precision Strike Package (PSP) interoperability, integrated EW, and embedded training.

This project supports integration, design, development, rapid prototyping, and test to provide improved capabilities to include, but not limited to: more robust performance in situational awareness (SA); intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR), weapons, avionics; Special Operations Forces (SOF) communications; defensive/survivability systems; interoperability; speed and maneuverability; mission deployment and improved reliability and maintainability of the CV-22 platform. The CV-22 Osprey is a SOF variant of the V-22 vertical medium lift, multi-mission aircraft. The CV-22 provides long-range, high speed, all weather, infiltration (infil), exfiltration (exfil), and resupply of SOF teams in hostile, denied, and politically sensitive areas that allows the Joint Force to be more agile and responsive. These capabilities are not currently provided by other existing SOF vertical lift aircraft. Funding supports the following CV-22 requirements: CV-22 SOF Common Terrain Following (TF)/Terrain Avoidance (TA) Silent Knight Radar (SKR), Development, Reliability Improvements, and Test Aircraft Flying Hours and Maintenance.

This project supports integration and testing of Special Operations-peculiar (SO-p) capabilities and aircraft certification efforts for the OA-1K Skyraider II program. The OA-1K Skyraider II provides Special Operations Forces (SOF) with crewed deployable, affordable, and sustainable crewed aircraft systems capable of executing close air support (CAS), precision strike, and armed intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance (ISR) requirements in primitive environments for use in Irregular Warfare operations.

This project funds the definition, design, development, prototyping, integration, and testing of Mission Training and Preparation Systems (MTPS) to support training, avoid obsolescence, and maintain simulator concurrency with weapon system configurations; support mission planning and rehearsal systems enhancements required to meet Special Operations-peculiar (SO-p) mission requirements and correct deficiencies identified in previous testing; and support mission planning and rehearsal capabilities in current MTPS. The MTPS project also includes program management, systems engineering, configuration management, architecture development, risk reduction, and trade study initiatives, as well as initiatives to assure interoperability and commonality between diverse SOF training systems. Additionally, this project funds the Extended Reality (XR) Training Transformation Simulator Block Upgrade Fixed Wing (SBUDF) program that develops and integrates training innovation and transformation solutions across the United States Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) fixed wing and special tactics augmented and virtual reality (AR/VR) mission training device portfolio, to include AC-130J, MC-130J, CV-22, OA-1K and C-146.