Gallery: U.S. Army Tests New Technologies In Project Convergence

Brian Everstine November 15, 2021
UH-60 helicopter in desert
Credit: Austin Thomas/Army Futures Command

A UH-60 with soldiers from the 82nd Airborne Division who took part in an air assault exercise on Nov. 3 as part of Project Convergence 21. During the exercise, soldiers, while in flight, wore Integrated Visual Augmentation System goggles that received surveillance feeds and other data about a landing zone.

UH-60L Black Hawk helicopter
Credit: U.S. Army

A U.S. Army UH-60 Black Hawk served as a surrogate for the Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft (FARA), flying with the new Modular Effects Launcher during the Project Convergence 21 experiment at Yuma Proving Ground, Arizona. During the event, the helicopter launched reconnaissance drones and weapons to help define the requirements for FARA and the launcher.

soldier working on unmanned aerial system
Credit: Patrick Hunter/Army Futures Command

U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Elise Denning of the Artificial Intelligence Integration Center worked on an unmanned aerial system for Project Convergence at Yuma Proving Ground, Arizona, on Oct. 20. The drones tested autonomous surveillance as part of the military’s overall effort for Joint All-Domain Command and Control.

soldiers loading a missile
Credit: Patrick Hunter/Army Futures Command

Soldiers from the 82nd Airborne Division loaded an AGM-114 Hellfire missile onto an AH-64 Apache on Oct. 19 at Yuma Proving Ground. During Project Convergence, attack helicopters and other aircraft participated in scenarios to practice new ways to connect sensors with aircraft and other weapon systems.

helicopter test of Load Stability System–Litter Attachment
Credit: Patrick Hunter/Army Futures Command

An Army UH-60 tested a Load Stability System–Litter Attachment on Oct. 28 at Project Convergence 21. The new litter features fans and other systems designed to prevent it from spinning—a problem with current litters—as it carries a person.

soldier using robotic controller of autonomous vehicle
Credit: Patrick Hunter/Army Futures Command

U.S. Army Pfc. Daniel Candales, with the 82nd Airborne Division, uses a tactical robotic controller for an expeditionary modular autonomous vehicle on Oct. 19 at Project Convergence 21. Autonomous vehicles worked with drones to conduct reconnaissance with limited human involvement.

soldiers performing maintenance on an MQ-1 Gray Eagle
Credit: Sgt. Marita Schwab/U.S. Army

U.S. Army Pfc. Terry Hollywood with the 224th Military Intelligence Battalion conducts maintenance on an MQ-1 Gray Eagle during Project Convergence 21 at Yuma Proving Ground, Arizona. As part of the experiment, the Army tested new ways to control the MQ-1, including with a personal computer from the field instead of a large ground control station.

The U.S. Army experimented with more than 110 systems for seven weeks as part of Project Convergence 21—the service’s contribution to the Pentagon’s overall Joint All-Domain Command and Control effort—to inform future acquisition plans. The event, largely focused at Yuma Proving Ground, Arizona, brought together sensors from all military services to find new ways to share data, using autonomy and artificial intelligence to target weapons on the ground and in the air more quickly. Army Secretary Christine Wormuth says she expects experiments such as this to last for another 10 years to shape what the service buys and how it fights. “Frankly, we went 20 years as a joint force without a lot of experimentation, without paying a lot of attention to innovation. . . . As a result, countries like China made a lot of progress in those intervening years. So we have quite a bit still of experimentation and innovation to do,” she says.

Brian Everstine

Brian Everstine is the Pentagon Editor for Aviation Week, based in Washington, D.C. Before joining Aviation Week in August 2021, he covered the Pentagon for Air Force Magazine. Brian began covering defense aviation in 2011 as a reporter for Military Times.