Air Force Research Lab’s Human Effectiveness Directorate at Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio, has been key to the new speech recognition system that will premiere with the first production F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, reports the directorate’s John Schutte. The F-35 is the first US fighter that will be able to “hear” a pilot’s spoken commands to manage communications, navigation, and other subsystems. Work is still ongoing to “pinpoint problem phrases and recommend alternatives” to ensure “optimal performance” as the system heads into operational testing. SRI International’s DynaSpeak, developed for noisy environments, is speaker independent, so it doesn’t matter which pilot gives commands. SRI is working with Adacel Systems, Inc. to tailor the system for the JSF.
Amid NATO’s continued push to ramp up air defenses in Eastern Europe, Secretary of the Air Force Frank Kendall swung by seven allied countries to boost relations last week, including those on Russia’s and Ukraine’s doorstep.