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10 May 21. tpgroup awarded MOD contract award to support next generation military communications. tpgroup announced a new order for Consulting and Digital Services from the UK Ministry of Defence (MOD) worth £1.1m. tpgroup will be working on the MOD’s £3.2bn MORPHEUS Programme to scope the next generation of applications that will be used by military personnel deployed around the world to exploit information faster and enable better decision making. This contract sits within the broader LE TacCIS (Land Environment Tactical Communications and Information Systems) Programme where the Army is transforming its global military communications and information management. Supporting this programme since 2016, tpgroup is providing guidance on requirements capture, and matching these with emerging technologies to remain future proof and avoid being locked into a single approach, equipment type or technical solution. This work adds to a number of smaller contract wins for tpgroup‘s emerging Digital Services Delivery offering that combines activities previously provided separately by its Consulting and Software & Digital Solutions businesses. This holistic approach to implementing complex digital programmes balances technical, commercial and user aspects to help customers use information and make better decisions in critical activities. tpgroup’s offering is well-timed to support the Government’s current demand for responsive software that can be developed and updated at pace, coupled with an acceleration in digital transformation across multiple sectors.
06 May 21. The US Army seeks AI-enabled analytics in constrained environments. In a world of rapid data proliferation, the US Army xTechGlobal Artificial Intelligence (AI) Challenge seeks to find an AI-based solution to data analytics. The ability to collect, process and interpret data quickly and efficiently is vital across the broad spectrum of defence and security. However, in a world where more and more data is generated from a growing number of sources, the capability to effectively assess data information is hindered by issues such as insufficient computing power and limited bandwidth at the point of need. Fortunately, our colleagues in the US Army have an ongoing competition that aims to address data analytics challenges, which will be of particular interest to UK defence innovators in the AI-enabled analytic space.
The xTech Global Artificial Intelligence (AI) Challenge is a two-round competition, where up to ten finalists will receive an award of $10,000 each and pitch their dual-use technologies at the Innovation Hub (I-HUB) Imperial College London this July 2021, where DASA has its London office.
In conjunction with the pitch event, DASA will host UK Venture capitalists who are looking to invest in the AI technology area.
Check out their website for more details.
https://www.arl.army.mil/xtechsearch/competitions/xtechglobal.html
xTech Global Artificial Intelligence (AI) Challenge
The xTech Global Artificial Intelligence (AI) Challenge is the first international tri-service competition that aims to engage with international small to medium enterprises in the US Army combat Capabilities Development Command (DEVCOM) Atlantic Area of responsibility, which includes Europe.
It is also the first international prize competition held by the United States Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics (ASA(ALT)).
What is the aim of the competition?
The Department of Defence (DoD) is seeking AI-enabled capabilities to manage, process and reason disparate data/information sources for rapid decision making. The competition has a particular focus on AI/Machine learning (ML) algorithms and software tools that enable data analytics, especially in resource-constrained environments.
When is the deadline?
The xTechGlobal AI Challenge will comprise a two-round competition:
• a call for white papers
• a finalist pitch event
The deadline to submit a white paper proposal is 12 May 2021, where up to ten finalists of this round will win $10,000 each.
(Source: https://www.gov.uk/)
06 May 21. Sharp SABER. Transitioning the capabilities of the USAF’s Compass Call jamming aircraft to a new plane gather pace. The US Air Force overhaul of its tactical and operational Communications Jamming (COMJAM) capabilities has taken a step forward. BAE Systems confirmed in early April that flight tests of its Small Adaptive Bank of Electronic Resources (SABER) capability had been performed. The flights were completed using an air force Lockheed Martin EC-130H Compass Call COMJAM aircraft. Eleven flights were made from Davis Monthan airbase, Arizona.
Cross Deck
Although trialled onboard an EC-130H, SABER is destined to equip the air force’s forthcoming Gulfstream EC-37B Compass Call COMJAM planes. Reports say that ten EC-37Bs will be acquired. The first should enter service in 2023.
The air force has taken a novel approach to the EC-37B’s capabilities. It is not developing new Communications Intelligence (COMINT) and COMJAM apparatus for the EC-37B. Instead, existing COMINT and COMJAM systems from the EC-130H will ‘cross deck’ onto the EC-37B.
Equipment
Few details exist in the public domain regarding the EC-130H’s COMINT/COMJAM subsystems. Official US government documents say these include BAE Systems’ Special Purpose Emitter Array (SPEAR). SPEAR jams multiple emitters simultaneously via a phased array antenna. Armada records state that SPEAR covers Very/Ultra High Frequency (V/UHF) wavebands of 30 megahertz/MHz to three gigahertz/GHz.
The aircraft is also outfitted with the Tactical Radio Acquisition and Countermeasure Subsystem (TRACS-C). SPEAR is though to be used against civilian communications, with TRACS-S employed against military V/UHF networks. Finally, the aircraft’s NOVA equipment jams remote-controlled improvised explosive devices.
SABER
SABER adds a software defined architecture to the EC-130H that will also transition to the EC-37B. At the heart of SABER is an ensemble of software defined radios. These use open architecture. This may allow the easy introduction of new COMJAM waveforms and techniques as and when needed. These can then be transmitted through SPEAR, TRACS-C and NOVA. This will help the EC-130H and EC-37B stay abreast of emerging civilian and military communications protocols as they proliferate.
Pam Potter, BAE Systems’ director of electronic attack solutions, told Armada that the latest test flights demonstrated and verified the ability of the radios to host third party software. Although not divulged by the firm this could include the COMJAM waveforms and techniques discussed above. Ms. Potter continued that SABER is “being evaluated for fielding on the EC-130H … with upgraded versions of the capability planned for EC-37B.” SABER ground and flight will continue for the rest of this year.
The USAF and its sister services face distinct COMINT/COMJAM challenges. So-called fifth-generation wireless communications protocols in V/UHF wavebands and beyond are proliferating. These herald a step change in the number of subscribers and quantities of data handled by individual wireless networks. Meanwhile, the military world is showing interest in avantgarde communications techniques like Millimetric Wave (MMW) radio. MMW radio transmits in frequencies of 30GHz and above. This could provide wideband, discrete, point-to-point communications for land forces. The EC-130H and its EC-37B successor will be busy. (Source: Armada)
06 May 21. Viper-Active. L3Harris takes another stride forward with its electronic warfare offerings for F-16 Fighting Falcon series combat aircraft. The company produces the AN/ALQ-211(V) Integrated Self-Defence System (ISDS) series which equips various marques of F-16. The AN/ALQ-211’s Electronic Support Measure (ESM) can reportedly detect continuous wave and pulse Doppler radars on frequencies of two gigahertz/GHz to 18GHz, possibly jamming such threats. The system’s architecture also includes a radar warning receiver and electronic countermeasure. It can be linked to an aircraft’s countermeasures dispenser to launch chaff and flare artridges.
AN/ALQ-211(V) deliveries commenced in 1993 with service entry two years later. The ensemble is available in two flavours: The internally-mounted AN/ALQ-211(V)4 and the podded AN/ALQ-211(V)9. A one-off version, the AN/ALQ-211(V)8 is internally mounted which Armada records note is flown on a single Indian Air Force Embraer ERJ-135 turbofan transport used by dignitaries. Our records say that sales of the AN/ALQ-211 have been made to the air forces of Chile, Oman, Pakistan, Poland and Turkey equipping F-16A/B jets which use the AN/ALQ-211(V)9 and F-16C/Ds using the AN/ALQ-211(V)4.
AN/ALQ-254(V)
The AN/ALQ-254(V) ISDS takes things a step further. This is intended for the F-16V Block-70/72. The F-16V is the latest incarnation of the venerable Viper. Among its improvements vis-à-vis legacy marques is the addition of Northrop Grumman’s AN/APG-83 X-band (8.5GHz to 10.68GHz) Scalable Agile Beam Radar.
Ted Damaskinos, L3Harris’ vice president and general manager for electronic defence solutions told Armada that the Viper Shield will be installed internally on Block-70/72 jets. It will be available for new build aircraft but can be retrofitted to existing models. He said that the programme is currently in the design phase and heading towards production, expected in circa 2023.
Compared to legacy L3Harris F-16 ISDSs the Viper Shield “has a smaller form factor and reduced weight.” This is thanks to the use of fewer components than used in its predecessors. Significant use of commercial off-the-shelf components have been made in the AN/ALQ-254’s architecture. Mr. Damaskinos says that a modular design and a software-defined approach will ease the upgrade path of the system as it confronts new and emerging threats.
Lockheed Martin will integrate the Viper Shield with the AN/APG-83. This will deepen situational awareness by merging the threat picture of the radar with that generated by the AN/ALQ-254’s ESM. Aircrew can then decide which of these threats they wish to engage kinetically and electronically. At the heart of the Viper Shield effort is ensuring that the F-16V can survive in the heavily contested airspace of tomorrow’s conflicts. Mr. Damaskinos believes that there may even be the opportunity to fold elements of Viper Shield into legacy US Air Force F-16 jets in the future. (Source: Armada)
06 May 21. Active Ingredient. The USAF’s new B-21 Raider strategic bomber may use active RF decoys to enhance its protection against radar-guided missiles. The USAF’s new B-21 bomber may be outfitted with active jamming decoys to enhance self protection. Sources close to the United States Air Force (USAF) Electronic Warfare (EW) community have told Armada that Northrop Grumman may be developing an active Radio Frequency (RF) countermeasure. The decoy could be launched from standard combat aircraft countermeasure dispensers. It would protect against radar-guided Surface-to-Air and Air-to-Air Missiles (SAMs/AAMs). Such a decoy may emit jamming gals on frequencies of 8.5 gigahertz/GHz and above. This would be sufficient to attack active and semi-active radar homing seekers routinely used by SAMs and AAMs. These weapons use X-band (8.5GHz to 10.68GHz), Ku-band (13.4GHz to 14GHz/15.7GHz to 17.7GHz), K-band (24.05GHz to 24.25GHz) and Ka-band (33.4GHz to 36GHz) radar seekers. The relatively short wavelengths of these frequencies, 35mm to 8.3mm, gives a sharp image of the missile’s target enhance precision.
The decoy maybe capable of transmitting standard spot and barrage jamming waveforms. The addition of a digital RF memory would allow transmission of complex, discreet jamming techniques. These could help overcome missile electronic counter-counter measures. The decoy would provide last ditch protection against incoming SAMs and AAMs during the missile’s endgame.
Raider
Interest in active RF decoys is gaining momentum. The Royal Air Force performed trials with Leonardo’s BriteCloud family of countermeasures onboard its Eurofighter Typhoon F/GR4 combat aircraft in 2019. That same year, it was revealed that the US Air National Guard would evaluate the BriteCloud decoy.
Further information on Northrop Grumman’s active RF decoy is scant. Speculation is focusing on the decoy as an enhancement to the self-defence systems onboard the USAF’s forthcoming B-21 Raider strategic bomber. The company is the prime contractor for this aircraft expected to include other avantgarde self-protection kit like a kinetic anti-missile system.
Armada asked Northrop Grumman for more information on the active RF decoy. The company told us via a written statement that it was “advancing the state-of-the-art in low-size, weight and power technologies for active radio frequency countermeasures and decoys that can protect a wide range of platforms, including aircraft and surface vessels.” This seems to be an implicit admission that the technology is under development, although the firm declined to provide more details.
Extensive investments in ground-based air defence technology by the People’s Republic of China and Russia means that the B-21 will be arguably the best protected aircraft of its kind when it enters service in circa 2025. Equipping the jet to launch active RF decoys will be an important part of this effort. (Source: Armada)
05 May 21. Tough Conditions and Contested Communication Are Forcing the US Military To Reinvent AI. Those miracle apps on your phone are powered by cloud computing and high-bandwidth data transfer. What does AI look like when those features are missing?
The era of artificial intelligence presents new opportunities for elite troops like the Army Rangers or Navy SEALs, but those opportunities are conscribed by some hard limits: for example, the power and connectivity of computers behind enemy lines, or the span of human attention in dangerous, stressful environments.
U.S. Special Operations Command, or SOCOM, is working with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, or DARPA, on new projects and experiments to bring artificial intelligence to operators working in the sorts of environments where the computing power and data to run commercial AI applications aren’t present. Lisa Sanders, SOCOM’s director of science and technology for special operations forces, acquisition, technology, and logistics, told Defense One that in many cases that means re-inventing artificial intelligence from the ground up and developing completely new insights into how humans use it.
Much of the artificial intelligence that regular consumers use every day work by connecting the device to large cloud computing capabilities elsewhere. Perhaps the most prominent are digital assistants such as Siri and Alexa that derive their power from natural language processing, a fast-growing subset of AI that applies machine learning to spoken language. But there are hundreds of other AI tools that consumers use without even realizing it. When the map on your phone suggests re-routing to avoid a traffic jam, that’s AI at work. Most of the recommendation engines you come across on streaming video or music services can be considered artificial intelligence with narrow application. But most developers in this burgeoning field rely on being able to reach back through a network to huge databases and powerful cloud computing centers.
“The commercial world is used to being able to walk into a restaurant anywhere in the world, take a picture of the menu and hit ‘translate.’ But that presumes that you have access to a common set of readily available information about that language and ready access back to the cloud, because that’s not really processed in your handheld phone,” said Sanders.
That kind of connectivity is often lacking where U.S. forces operate, but AI could still make a big difference in achieving missions. So U.S. SOCOM is developing an entirely new understanding of not just how to expand artificial intelligence, but how to shrink it, determining which problems operators face could be overcome with a small amount of artificial intelligence.. That’s a fundamentally different challenge than the one that the commercial world faces as it develops AI for consumer uses.
Through a broad effort launched in 2019 to create what Sanders calls hyper-enabled operators, SOCOM has been looking to define what areas to focus on. “What are use cases where I can create some things that AI at the edge can process? Things like being able to tell a direction, a distance,” she said.
One of the challenges that arose early in SOCOM’s conversation with operators was translation, which hindered attempts to train Syrian opposition forces against ISIS. The U.S. is still a decade away from giving soldiers a handheld translator that works on obscure dialects and doesn’t need cloud connectivity to deliver fluency, Sanders said. So SOCOM is breaking the problem into smaller pieces, to create software tools that are useful now. That means anticipating what sort of communication is absolutely necessary.
“We’re doing a six-month effort where we are doing a representative language (not a high-density language)… to figure out how big that thesaurus needs to be. How much flexibility does it need to have to be operationally relevant? That’s an example where processing at the edge is going to limit us. Those analytics need power to run,” she says.
DARPA is working a similar set of challenges through several programs. The key, DARPA program manager John Waterston said, is to “give the computer the problems that are just beyond the scale of the human operator.”
One of his programs, called Phorcys, looks to integrate military tools like drones and sensors on commercial vessels. “There’s this multi-objective optimization that has to be done. To kind of say, what is the shipping traffic in the area? The surface picture? What is the mission you want to get done? The weather? The availability of communications and all these questions.” A big part of the program is figuring out what needs to be done by the computer and what needs to be done by a human, as well as what doesn’t actually need to happen at all. That’s not the sort of design choices programmers face in Silicon Valley, where off-platform cloud capabilities are always available.
Another program, called Ocean of Things, is intended to give operators a much better intelligence picture of what’s happening on the seas, through a wide distribution of floating sensors. But while the sensor network may be large, the amount of data the sensors send also has to be prioritized, saidWaterson, and small enough to fit into a tweet. “We’re using iridium small burst data, which is 240 bytes [similar to a tweet.] You have to have an edge device to extract the data and encapsulate it in 240 bytes.”
One way they’ve been able to do that is training an AI with pictures, so it can recognize and then ignore objects, rather than bug the operator with every new entity that shows up on the seascape. “We’ve trained a neural net ashore in the cloud with a bunch of relevant naval pictures. We take that neural net and only report the output if it’s a person, ship, building, not a bird. Then we can extract that data and give it back to the operator ashore. If you do that processing right, you don’t overwhelm the tactical data links,” he said.
Tim Chung, a program manager at DARPA working to create highly autonomous subterranean robotics through the so-called SubT challenge, described the difficulty of finding “actionable situational intelligence,” and making sure both the human and the robot know the definition of what that is, since it’s hard to predict what the robot might encounter in, say, a network of underground tunnels or a collapsed building.
“It’s not just good enough to know [that] there’s a left turn, a drop, a corridor. What you really want are refined coordinates to where that survivor is located,” Chung said “‘Actionable’ is something that must be defined both by the robot as well as also the human supervisor in the loop, and so these robots must balance how much perception they carry with how reliant they are on communications.” Chung spoke as part of a recorded Defense One session on the future of battlefield AI that will air on Thursday.)
But it’s not just bandwidth that’s constrained in these environments. Human attention is also a scarce commodity. That’s why SOCOM is working with operators to better understand when they have more thought to give to incoming machine communication, Sanders said.
“If I am training a partner nation, the amount of information I can hold without becoming overwhelmed might be different than deployed in a covert location for three days and I know that there are bad guys right around the corner that are going to shoot me. That tradeoff of cognitive human machine burden is very fungible. It changes depending on the situation and the person,” she said. “We are gathering real life information from our warfighters and developing great advocacy with them…It’s an ongoing experimentation.” (Source: Defense One)
05 May 21. Senetas and Thales launch the world’s first quantum resistant network encryption solution.
• Customers are able to protect sensitive data against future quantum attacks
• Solution meets pending global standard for quantum resistant encryption algorithms
• Organisations around the world can now deliver quantum security strategy with quantum resistant encryption
Thales and Senetas have collaborated to launch the world’s first quantum resistant network encryption solution, capable of protecting customer data (at speeds up to 100 Gbps) against future quantum attacks. Regarded as among the most significant threat to cybersecurity, quantum-computing looks set to render many of today’s security methods, such as encryption, obsolete.
With estimates that a working quantum computer outside a lab environment will be a reality within the next five to 10 years, minimum security requirement standards are being developed to protect data in a quantum world. The United States National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is currently selecting finalists amongst the quantum safe encryption algorithms being developed. In anticipation of this, the collaboration between Thales and Senetas supports the current finalists (including Thales’ Falcon algorithm), enabling an easy transition to the winning formula expected to be chosen by NIST in 2022. The solution also supports the latest European Telecommunication Standards Institute standards for how quantum keys are created, protected and distributed – an important and emerging security capability that has application usage in 5G networks.
Future protection
Enabling customers to combine both conventional and quantum resistant encryption in a single network security platform, the solution also provides long-term data protection in a quantum world. Hackers harvesting encrypted data today, will come unstuck when attempting to break data with supercomputing power in the future. The adoption of the new standards will protect any critical data and continue to render the data useless without the correct key.
“As quantum computing becomes a reality, organisations around the world should develop a quantum security strategy and start planning to implement quantum resistant encryption sooner rather than later. This is the first to market high-speed network encryption platform that provides quantum resistant encryption with today’s encryption technology. Our government, defense and business customers can make a secure transition to a future quantum-safe world knowing data is protected for the long-term,” said Andrew Wilson, Senetas CEO.
“It’s vital that businesses understand that all of today’s encryption standards are not fit for a quantum world. Hackers know quantum is coming and are actively working to steal data now so they can access it in the future, and large and multi-national organisations are most at risk due to compliance and privacy mandates. Businesses can’t afford to wait, the time is now to review their security quantum strategy,”
said Todd Moore, Vice President, Encryption Solutions at Thales.
03 May 21. LM Skunk Works’ Project Hydra Demos 5th Gen to 5th Gen Communications Across Domains. Critical F-35, F-22 and U-2 Data Enhanced Operating Picture During Flight Test. Lockheed Martin Skunk Works®, the Missile Defense Agency and the U.S. Air Force successfully linked a U-2, five F-35s and an F-22 in air and provided real-time 5th Generation data to operators on the ground, introducing greater mission flexibility across domains and an enhanced total operational picture for the joint warfighter.
Named Project Hydra, the latest flight test leveraged an Open Systems Gateway (OSG) payload aboard the U-2 to connect an F-22 to five F-35s via native Intra-Flight Data Link (IFDL) and Multifunction Advanced Data Link (MADL), successfully sharing data between all airborne aircraft and with nodes on the ground. The target tracks were also transmitted by and through the U-2 into the fighter avionics and pilot displays.
“Project Hydra marks the first time that bi-directional communications were established between 5th Generation aircraft in-flight while also sharing operational and sensor data down to ground operators for real-time capability,” said Jeff Babione, vice president and general manager, Lockheed Martin Skunk Works®. “This next-level connectivity reduces the data-to-decision timeline from minutes to seconds, which is critical in fighting today’s adversaries and advanced threats.”
The Project Hydra effort also marked the first time F-35 sensor data was delivered to an operational ground system over a Tactical Targeting Network Terminal (TTNT) link using an airborne gateway. This data was then sent to the US Army Integrated Battle Command System (IBCS) Airborne Sensor Adaptation Kit (A-Kit), also developed by Lockheed Martin. The A-Kit then transmitted data to the IBCS Tactical System Integration Laboratory (TSIL) at Fort Bliss, Texas. IBCS used the F-35 sensor data to conduct a simulated Army fires exercise.
The core of the Hydra payload leverages the Open Mission Systems (OMS) compliant Enterprise Mission Computer 2 (EMC2), facilitating F-22, F-35, TTNT and Link-16 connections. By leveraging both line-of-sight (LOS) and beyond line-of-sight (BLOS) datalink capabilities of the U-2, data can now be shared directly to tactical users and globally to command and control (C2) nodes like the Common Mission Control Center (CMCC). During this demonstration, both the CMCC and Shadow Operations Center at Nellis Air Force Base were able to view the sensor and platform data to enable situational awareness for operational command and control of highly capable air assets.
Bringing the power of 5th Generation data and exposing new C2 opportunities across multiple domains continues to demonstrate Lockheed Martin’s readiness to provide unmatched battlespace awareness and rapidly field capability today. This demonstration is another key step forward in Lockheed Martin’s support for the Air Force’s Advanced Battle Management System and the Army’s Project Convergence, supporting the goal of providing commanders critical tools for the joint all-domain battlespace environment. (Source: ASD Network)
04 May 21. DOD Expands Hacker Program to All Publicly Accessible Defense Information Systems. Ethical hackers now have many more targets within the Defense Department, DOD officials announced. The department is expanding its Vulnerability Disclosure Program to include all publicly accessible DOD information systems.
The program grew out of the success of the “Hack the Pentagon” initiative that began in 2016. That initiative enabled the Defense Digital Service to offer a “bug bounty” program and engage with hackers. There really was no way for hackers to interact with DOD even if they spotted a vulnerability before this program. “Because of this, many vulnerabilities went unreported,” Brett Goldstein, the director of the Defense Digital Service, said. “The DOD Vulnerability Policy launched in 2016 because we demonstrated the efficacy of working with the hacker community and even hiring hackers to find and fix vulnerabilities in systems.”
The original policy was limited to DOD public-facing websites and applications. The expansion announced today allows for research and reporting of vulnerabilities related to all DOD publicly-accessible networks, frequency-based communication, Internet of Things, industrial control systems, and more, Goldstein said. “This expansion is a testament to transforming the government’s approach to security and leapfrogging the current state of technology within DOD,” he said.
The DOD Cyber Crime Center oversees the program. The expansion was the next logical step, Kristopher Johnson, center director, said. “The department has always maintained the perspective that DOD websites were only the beginning as they account for a fraction of our overall attack surface,” he said.
Since the Vulnerability Disclosure Program’s launch, hackers have submitted more than 29,000 vulnerability reports, with more than 70 percent of them determined to be valid, officials said. With the scope expanding, Johnson anticipates the numbers will drastically increase due to the security researcher community discovering vulnerabilities that were previously unreportable. (Source: US DoD)
03 May 21. Quzara LLC, CORTAC Group, and Summit 7 Systems Announce Joint Partnership to form the CMMC Consortium. Quzara LLC, CORTAC Group and Summit 7 Systems announce a broader partnership to support Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) compliance efforts across the Defense Industrial Base (DIB). These founding members bring deep regulatory and cybersecurity expertise, proven solutions, and Government Cloud Compliance and Managed Services. The core highlights of this Consortium include CMMC stakeholder guidance and advisory, consolidated intake, solutions architecture, and solutions that are supporting Government programs and projects. The CMMC Consortium will expand soon for Independent Software Vendors (ISV) and Industry Integrations partners who support the Defense Industrial Base.
CMMC Consortium
How will the CMMC Consortium assist the industry?
The CMMC Consortium combines industry-leading organizations into an integrated solution by combining years of Government Security & Compliance experience, a deep understanding of Cloud Security and Zero Trust, right-sized and cost-optimized solutions for each supplier. These foundations enable the CMMC Consortium to provide support for the entire Compliance Lifecycle and Continuous Monitoring by combining CORTAC Group’s Compliance expertise, Summit 7’s Managed Services, and Quzara’s Cybertorch™ MSSP capabilities. “Like any compliance process, you first must know where you stand in implementing security in software, infrastructure, processes: where exactly are your CMMC Compliance gaps and what are the right solutions for your organization?” says Jerry Leishman, Executive Vice President & National Security & Compliance Director at CORTAC Group.
These integrated and managed services enable customers to inherit certified services from the Microsoft Government Cloud, including Azure Government and M365 GCC and GCC High Clouds.
“Creating a core CMMC Consortium focus combines resources with a breadth of skills to architect, administer, manage and securely monitor these environments,” says Saif Rahman, Co-Founder and Managing Director at Quzara LLC.
Working closely with Microsoft on various defense industrial initiatives, the goal of the CMMC Consortium is to ensure that companies not only meet the necessary security control requirements as requested by the Department of Defense (DoD), but that they stay compliant with ongoing regulatory processes, vulnerability management, and security monitoring requirements.
The expertise of the CMMC Consortium partners significantly reduce timelines and complexities in a company’s journey in understanding and implementing the proper controls.
Why Microsoft Cloud for CMMC?
Microsoft is actively engaged with customers, partners, the CMMC Accreditation Body, and multiple industry working groups to develop the CMMC Acceleration Program. Microsoft Cloud provides a wide variety of Deployment and Service models for customers. Sovereign clouds, such as Azure Government, have controls in place for restricting access to only screened US persons with data processing and storage limited to within the Continental United States (CONUS). Sovereign clouds are more restricted in terms of the specificity of control requirements than other cloud environments. Building solutions on these platforms allows customers working with the CMMC Consortium to inherit CMMC practices with great confidence and meet the maturity requirements for CMMC compliance.
“Summit 7 is pleased to join a highly qualified group of practitioners who are committed to utilizing the Microsoft Cloud to further align with the mission of the CMMC-AB to secure the DoD supply chain and protect our military’s greatest assets. The CMMC Consortium and partners will allow us to take adept strides from the onset to create a secure framework for customers, preparing them for certification,” says Scott Edwards, President of Summit 7. (Source: PR Newswire)
03 May 21. Advanced C2 software suite clears critical USAF milestone. An early variant of a new, advanced suite of combat management tools and software under development for the US Air Force (USAF) has cleared a critical milestone, paving the way for the system’s eventual deployment to combat zones around the world. Officials at Air Combat Command and the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center (AFLCM) declared the Kessel Run All-Domain Operations Suite (KRADOS) for the Air Operations Center Weapon System (AOC WS) as having cleared the “minimal viable product” technology threshold. This allows the nascent variant of the system to be deployed “in order to rapidly advance its basic capabilities to a more complete operational package”, according to a joint statement in April. Kessel Run is a technology incubator within AFLCM, tasked with rapid development of combat technologies and reforming software acquisition within the air service.
Unveiled in early 2020 the KRADOS suite and AOC WS were designed as eventual replacement for the service’s Theater Battle Management Core Systems (TBMCS), which is the technology backbone for planning and execution of air tasking orders (ATOs) for US and allied air combat and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) operations. The KRADOS-enabled AOC WS has already fielded nine software applications linked under the programme’s common data layer at an MVP-level of maturity, Kessel Run Commander and USAF Colonel Brian Beachkofski said in the statement.
“This continuous user-centred approach enables warfighters to quickly evaluate software improvements, provide direct feedback to Kessel Run developers, and rapidly iterate the software to provide maximum value and impact,” according to the statement. (Source: Jane’s)
03 May 21. JADC2 strategy, posture review in final stages. The policy underpinnings for the United States Department of Defense’s Joint All-Domain Command and Control (JADC2) initiative are in the final stages of review by senior department leaders, with the end product due to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin within the near term.
The overarching strategy will codify lines of effort among the services and within the department, in terms of co-ordination and contributions to the JADC2 initiative, said Joint Staff Chief Information Officer and US Marine Corps Lieutenant General Dennis Crall.
An unclassified version of the strategy has been completed and is awaiting Pentagon and Joint Staff approvals, Lt Gen Crall said. The classified version of the pending strategy will include details on JADC2 initiatives dealing with command and control systems for the US nuclear arsenal, he added. Classified and unclassified versions have been briefed to Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley, and are being prepared to be briefed to Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks, in preparation for final approval by Defense Secretary Austin.
The JADC2 concept, as envisioned, will enable US commanders to connect any sensor pod or platform to any weapon system, regardless of domain. While the effort is a joint concept, air force officials say the technologies developed for the JADC2 concept are designed to dovetail with the air service’s Advanced Battle Management System (ABMS). Although programme requirements for ABMS are yet to be defined, air force officials have awarded several short-term development contracts for the combat concept that will theoretically be integrated into an eventual ABMS system of systems.
“This documentation is necessary to have a durable, repeatable, and durable way to do this in an orderly fashion, and make sure you are satisfied with the results,” the three-star general said, regarding the new strategy. (Source: Jane’s)
03 May 21. US Army demonstrates MUOS capability for tactical radios. US Army tactical radio and networked communications specialists demonstrated, for the first time, the ability to integrate Mobile User Objective System (MUOS) capability to mounted and dismounted radio platforms.
The implementation of MUOS capability into the army’s tactical manpack radio system variants “provided additional beyond the line-of-sight communications … and leverage the ability to fully dominate both the data and voice spectrum”, during the exercise, said Colonel Rob Ryan, chief of operations for Army Future Command’s Network Cross-Functional Team. The MUOS demonstration took place during recent exercises at the Joint Readiness Training Center in Fort Polk with units from the 1st Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division.
The MUOS is an IT-based 3G communications protocol that replaces the legacy Ultra High-Frequency (UHF) Follow-On satellite constellation because demand for UHF services has exceeded capacity. The MUOS is expected to deliver more than a ten-fold improvement in capacity.
Each MUOS satellite carries a legacy payload, which is the equivalent of one UHF satellite’s capacity and capability, and the Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), the 3G cellular technology that will increase available narrowband satellite communications (satcom) channels. The MUOS also has access to the Non-secure Internet Protocol (IP) Router Network (NIPRNet), the Secure Internet Protocol Router Network (SIPRNet), and the Defense Switched Network (DSN), and enables communication between itself and 3G WCDMA, as well as legacy systems from an end-to-end perspective. (Source: Jane’s)
03 May 21. HENSOLDT delivers core components to Eurofighter/Typhoon self-protection system. 90m€ contract awarded via EuroDASS consortium. In the frame of the German ‘Quadriga’ fighter replacement programme sensor solution specialist HENSOLDT will deliver core components of the Eurofighter/Typhoon’s self-protection system ‘PRAETORIAN’. As part of the EuroDASS consortium comprising Leonardo UK, Elettronica and Indra, HENSOLDT has received a contract valued at circa 90 Million Euros for the delivery of essential parts of the aircraft’s defensive aids sub system (DASS). Deliveries are planned from 2023 until end of 2027.
“The German Quadriga order is not only an important sign to current export campaigns, but also to core nations considering long term service options”, said Celia Pelaz, Head of Spectrum Dominance/Airborne Solutions at HENSOLDT.
In the frame of the ‘Quadriga’ programme 38 of the latest – build standard will replace the Tranche1 Eurofighters. Further production improvements will accompany the Quadriga production also allowing for long lasting maintainability of previous Tranche2/Tranche3 build standards.
The existing Praetorian DASS equips the Eurofighter with protection from radar-guided and Infra-Red guided weapons. The integrated sensors and jamming equipment provide situational awareness as well as advanced electronic deception techniques.HENSOLDT has been a member of the EuroDASS consortium for decades contributing detailed knowledge of the aircraft and the programme management as well as a broad range of DASS skills such as dedicated electronics component production, specialized test benches and in-service support. The company also contributes to the Praetorian evolution concept (‘Praetorian eVo’) which will completely renew the Eurofighter’s DASS system to keep pace with future requirements.
30 Apr 21. Kleos signs multi-year deal with Carahsoft Technology. The ASX-listed space company has entered into a distribution arrangement with US-based IT solutions provider Carahsoft Technology.
Kleos Space’s US subsidiary has signed a multi-year distribution agreement with Carahsoft Technology, a provider of IT solutions to the US government.
According to Kleos — a space-powered radio frequency reconnaissance data-as-a-service company — the agreement would facilitate direct access to Carahsoft’s US federal, state and local government contracts.
These contracts include the General Services Administration schedule, NASA’s Solution for Enterprise-Wide Procurement (SEWP), Federal Information Technology Acquisition (FITARA), and ITES-SW2 — which supplies enterprise IT infrastructure for the US Army and Department of Defence.
“Globally, the US is the largest market for geospatial intelligence and reconnaissance data and we are actively targeting more than 30 government customers in the region,” Kleos Space CRO Eric von Eckartsberg said.
“Our partnership with Carahsoft, one of the most successful technology providers in the country, will enable our independent geolocation data to be incorporated into solutions for multiple US government sectors.”
Kleos announced the agreement following a market update for the first quarter of the 2021 calendar year (Q1 2021), in which it revealed it is targeting 50 subscribers at approximately $180,000 per annum by end of 2021
Kleos also reiterated its plan to launch its third satellite cluster; Polar Patrol Mission (KSF2), aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 by the end 2021 with the support of rideshare provider Spaceflight.
“Kleos has had a productive start to 2021, with in-orbit commissioning and testing of our Scouting Mission satellites as well as the development of the complex data processing and subscriber management systems required to fulfil our contracts ahead of data delivery and revenues in Q2 2021, and progressing the development and launch of our second and third satellite clusters,” Kleos Space CEO Andy Bowyer said.
“Our growing constellation increases the capability and value of our geospatial data products, improving coverage over multiple key areas of interest to generate new datasets and tiered licensing options for subscribers.” (Source: Space Connect)
30 Apr 21. Missile Defense Agency scrapped cybersecurity tests last year for a new approach, watchdog finds. The Missile Defense Agency canceled all 17 planned cybersecurity operational assessments last year opting instead for a new approach designed to improve cyber requirements, a new watchdog report says.
The agency responsible for developing and fielding defense systems for ballistic missiles — and recently hypersonic missiles — has failed to complete assessments since 2017 to identify cyber vulnerabilities and possible attack routes, the nonpartisan Government Accountability Office noted.
“The lack of testing during fiscal year 2020 coupled with persistent testing shortcomings over the last 3 years are representative of a broader MDA cybersecurity development issue,” the GAO report said.
Missile defense technologies are vulnerable to cyber and other electronic attacks that can target their software or radars, potentially rendering them ineffective.
MDA told assessors that it scrapped the operational cybersecurity assessments for seven programs because the results weren’t needed given that fiscal 2020 operational capability baseline decisions had been completed. Instead, MDA restructured its cybersecurity test planning to align with its 2019 four-phase cybersecurity test concept, GAO said.
Now, the MDA will plan tests and documented results using the same process as flight and ground tests with internal and external stakeholder input informing test requirements. This will drive cyber test design and execution for each capability increment.
“MDA officials stated that this new approach will improve cyber system requirements while streamlining cyber test planning, resource allocation, and results analysis,” the report said.
The GAO did not make any recommendations in the annual report, though it pointed out that continued cyber vulnerability testing will be critical for the MDA. It is too early to know how effective the new approach will be because it hasn’t been fully implemented, the watchdog said.
The MDA programs with canceled tests last year include Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense; Army Navy/Transportable Radar Surveillance and Control Model 2; Command, Control Battle Management and Communications; Ground-based Midcourse Defense, Long Range Discrimination Radar; Sea-Based X-Band Radar; and the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense.
The cybersecurity assessments that weren’t completed fell into two categories: element level cooperative assessments, which provide initial information about a system’s resilience in an operational context, and adversarial assessments, which characterize the operational effects caused by potential cyberattacks and test defensive measures. MDA had scheduled 13 cooperative and four adversary assessments for 2020. (Source: C4ISR & Networks)
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06 May 21. The US Army seeks AI-enabled analytics in constrained environments. In a world of rapid data proliferation, the US Army xTechGlobal Artificial Intelligence (AI) Challenge seeks to find an AI-based solution to data analytics. The ability to collect, process and interpret data quickly and efficiently is vital across the broad spectrum of defence and security. However, in a world where more and more data is generated from a growing number of sources, the capability to effectively assess data information is hindered by issues such as insufficient computing power and limited bandwidth at the point of need.
Fortunately, our colleagues in the US Army have an ongoing competition that aims to address data analytics challenges, which will be of particular interest to UK defence innovators in the AI-enabled analytic space.
The xTech Global Artificial Intelligence (AI) Challenge is a two-round competition, where up to ten finalists will receive an award of $10,000 each and pitch their dual-use technologies at the Innovation Hub (I-HUB) Imperial College London this July 2021, where DASA has its London office.
In conjunction with the pitch event, DASA will host UK Venture capitalists who are looking to invest in the AI technology area.
Check out their website for more details.
https://www.arl.army.mil/xtechsearch/competitions/xtechglobal.html
xTech Global Artificial Intelligence (AI) Challenge
The xTech Global Artificial Intelligence (AI) Challenge is the first international tri-service competition that aims to engage with international small to medium enterprises in the US Army combat Capabilities Development Command (DEVCOM) Atlantic Area of responsibility, which includes Europe.
It is also the first international prize competition held by the United States Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics (ASA(ALT)).
What is the aim of the competition?
The Department of Defence (DoD) is seeking AI-enabled capabilities to manage, process and reason disparate data/information sources for rapid decision making. The competition has a particular focus on AI/Machine learning (ML) algorithms and software tools that enable data analytics, especially in resource-constrained environments.
When is the deadline?
The xTechGlobal AI Challenge will comprise a two-round competition:
- a call for white papers
- a finalist pitch event
The deadline to submit a white paper proposal is 12 May 2021, where up to ten finalists of this round will win $10,000 each.
(Source: https://www.gov.uk/)
06 May 21. Sharp SABER. Transitioning the capabilities of the USAF’s Compass Call jamming aircraft to a new plane gather pace. The US Air Force overhaul of its tactical and operational Communications Jamming (COMJAM) capabilities has taken a step forward. BAE Systems confirmed in early April that flight tests of its Small Adaptive Bank of Electronic Resources (SABER) capability had been performed. The flights were completed using an air force Lockheed Martin EC-130H Compass Call COMJAM aircraft. Eleven flights were made from Davis Monthan airbase, Arizona.
Cross Deck
Although trialled onboard an EC-130H, SABER is destined to equip the air force’s forthcoming Gulfstream EC-37B Compass Call COMJAM planes. Reports say that ten EC-37Bs will be acquired. The first should enter service in 2023.
The air force has taken a novel approach to the EC-37B’s capabilities. It is not developing new Communications Intelligence (COMINT) and COMJAM apparatus for the EC-37B. Instead, existing COMINT and COMJAM systems from the EC-130H will ‘cross deck’ onto the EC-37B.
Equipment
Few details exist in the public domain regarding the EC-130H’s COMINT/COMJAM subsystems. Official US government documents say these include BAE Systems’ Special Purpose Emitter Array (SPEAR). SPEAR jams multiple emitters simultaneously via a phased array antenna. Armada records state that SPEAR covers Very/Ultra High Frequency (V/UHF) wavebands of 30 megahertz/MHz to three gigahertz/GHz.
The aircraft is also outfitted with the Tactical Radio Acquisition and Countermeasure Subsystem (TRACS-C). SPEAR is though to be used against civilian communications, with TRACS-S employed against military V/UHF networks. Finally, the aircraft’s NOVA equipment jams remote-controlled improvised explosive devices.
SABER
SABER adds a software defined architecture to the EC-130H that will also transition to the EC-37B. At the heart of SABER is an ensemble of software defined radios. These use open architecture. This may allow the easy introduction of new COMJAM waveforms and techniques as and when needed. These can then be transmitted through SPEAR, TRACS-C and NOVA. This will help the EC-130H and EC-37B stay abreast of emerging civilian and military communications protocols as they proliferate.
Pam Potter, BAE Systems’ director of electronic attack solutions, told Armada that the latest test flights demonstrated and verified the ability of the radios to host third party software. Although not divulged by the firm this could include the COMJAM waveforms and techniques discussed above. Ms. Potter continued that SABER is “being evaluated for fielding on the EC-130H … with upgraded versions of the capability planned for EC-37B.” SABER ground and flight will continue for the rest of this year.
The USAF and its sister services face distinct COMINT/COMJAM challenges. So-called fifth-generation wireless communications protocols in V/UHF wavebands and beyond are proliferating. These herald a step change in the number of subscribers and quantities of data handled by individual wireless networks. Meanwhile, the military world is showing interest in avantgarde communications techniques like Millimetric Wave (MMW) radio. MMW radio transmits in frequencies of 30GHz and above. This could provide wideband, discrete, point-to-point communications for land forces. The EC-130H and its EC-37B successor will be busy. (Source: Armada)
06 May 21. Viper-Active. L3Harris takes another stride forward with its electronic warfare offerings for F-16 Fighting Falcon series combat aircraft. The company produces the AN/ALQ-211(V) Integrated Self-Defence System (ISDS) series which equips various marques of F-16. The AN/ALQ-211’s Electronic Support Measure (ESM) can reportedly detect continuous wave and pulse Doppler radars on frequencies of two gigahertz/GHz to 18GHz, possibly jamming such threats. The system’s architecture also includes a radar warning receiver and electronic countermeasure. It can be linked to an aircraft’s countermeasures dispenser to launch chaff and flare artridges.
AN/ALQ-211(V) deliveries commenced in 1993 with service entry two years later. The ensemble is available in two flavours: The internally-mounted AN/ALQ-211(V)4 and the podded AN/ALQ-211(V)9. A one-off version, the AN/ALQ-211(V)8 is internally mounted which Armada records note is flown on a single Indian Air Force Embraer ERJ-135 turbofan transport used by dignitaries. Our records say that sales of the AN/ALQ-211 have been made to the air forces of Chile, Oman, Pakistan, Poland and Turkey equipping F-16A/B jets which use the AN/ALQ-211(V)9 and F-16C/Ds using the AN/ALQ-211(V)4.
AN/ALQ-254(V)
The AN/ALQ-254(V) ISDS takes things a step further. This is intended for the F-16V Block-70/72. The F-16V is the latest incarnation of the venerable Viper. Among its improvements vis-à-vis legacy marques is the addition of Northrop Grumman’s AN/APG-83 X-band (8.5GHz to 10.68GHz) Scalable Agile Beam Radar.
Ted Damaskinos, L3Harris’ vice president and general manager for electronic defence solutions told Armada that the Viper Shield will be installed internally on Block-70/72 jets. It will be available for new build aircraft but can be retrofitted to existing models. He said that the programme is currently in the design phase and heading towards production, expected in circa 2023.
Compared to legacy L3Harris F-16 ISDSs the Viper Shield “has a smaller form factor and reduced weight.” This is thanks to the use of fewer components than used in its predecessors. Significant use of commercial off-the-shelf components have been made in the AN/ALQ-254’s architecture. Mr. Damaskinos says that a modular design and a software-defined approach will ease the upgrade path of the system as it confronts new and emerging threats.
Lockheed Martin will integrate the Viper Shield with the AN/APG-83. This will deepen situational awareness by merging the threat picture of the radar with that generated by the AN/ALQ-254’s ESM. Aircrew can then decide which of these threats they wish to engage kinetically and electronically. At the heart of the Viper Shield effort is ensuring that the F-16V can survive in the heavily contested airspace of tomorrow’s conflicts. Mr. Damaskinos believes that there may even be the opportunity to fold elements of Viper Shield into legacy US Air Force F-16 jets in the future. (Source: Armada)
06 May 21. Active Ingredient. The USAF’s new B-21 Raider strategic bomber may use active RF decoys to enhance its protection against radar-guided missiles. The USAF’s new B-21 bomber may be outfitted with active jamming decoys to enhance self protection. Sources close to the United States Air Force (USAF) Electronic Warfare (EW) community have told Armada that Northrop Grumman may be developing an active Radio Frequency (RF) countermeasure. The decoy could be launched from standard combat aircraft countermeasure dispensers. It would protect against radar-guided Surface-to-Air and Air-to-Air Missiles (SAMs/AAMs). Such a decoy may emit jamming gals on frequencies of 8.5 gigahertz/GHz and above. This would be sufficient to attack active and semi-active radar homing seekers routinely used by SAMs and AAMs. These weapons use X-band (8.5GHz to 10.68GHz), Ku-band (13.4GHz to 14GHz/15.7GHz to 17.7GHz), K-band (24.05GHz to 24.25GHz) and Ka-band (33.4GHz to 36GHz) radar seekers. The relatively short wavelengths of these frequencies, 35mm to 8.3mm, gives a sharp image of the missile’s target enhance precision.
The decoy maybe capable of transmitting standard spot and barrage jamming waveforms. The addition of a digital RF memory would allow transmission of complex, discreet jamming techniques. These could help overcome missile electronic counter-counter measures. The decoy would provide last ditch protection against incoming SAMs and AAMs during the missile’s endgame.
Raider
Interest in active RF decoys is gaining momentum. The Royal Air Force performed trials with Leonardo’s BriteCloud family of countermeasures onboard its Eurofighter Typhoon F/GR4 combat aircraft in 2019. That same year, it was revealed that the US Air National Guard would evaluate the BriteCloud decoy.
Further information on Northrop Grumman’s active RF decoy is scant. Speculation is focusing on the decoy as an enhancement to the self-defence systems onboard the USAF’s forthcoming B-21 Raider strategic bomber. The company is the prime contractor for this aircraft expected to include other avantgarde self-protection kit like a kinetic anti-missile system.
Armada asked Northrop Grumman for more information on the active RF decoy. The company told us via a written statement that it was “advancing the state-of-the-art in low-size, weight and power technologies for active radio frequency countermeasures and decoys that can protect a wide range of platforms, including aircraft and surface vessels.” This seems to be an implicit admission that the technology is under development, although the firm declined to provide more details.
Extensive investments in ground-based air defence technology by the People’s Republic of China and Russia means that the B-21 will be arguably the best protected aircraft of its kind when it enters service in circa 2025. Equipping the jet to launch active RF decoys will be an important part of this effort. (Source: Armada)
05 May 21. Tough Conditions and Contested Communication Are Forcing the US Military To Reinvent AI. Those miracle apps on your phone are powered by cloud computing and high-bandwidth data transfer. What does AI look like when those features are missing?
The era of artificial intelligence presents new opportunities for elite troops like the Army Rangers or Navy SEALs, but those opportunities are conscribed by some hard limits: for example, the power and connectivity of computers behind enemy lines, or the span of human attention in dangerous, stressful environments.
U.S. Special Operations Command, or SOCOM, is working with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, or DARPA, on new projects and experiments to bring artificial intelligence to operators working in the sorts of environments where the computing power and data to run commercial AI applications aren’t present. Lisa Sanders, SOCOM’s director of science and technology for special operations forces, acquisition, technology, and logistics, told Defense One that in many cases that means re-inventing artificial intelligence from the ground up and developing completely new insights into how humans use it.
Much of the artificial intelligence that regular consumers use every day work by connecting the device to large cloud computing capabilities elsewhere. Perhaps the most prominent are digital assistants such as Siri and Alexa that derive their power from natural language processing, a fast-growing subset of AI that applies machine learning to spoken language. But there are hundreds of other AI tools that consumers use without even realizing it. When the map on your phone suggests re-routing to avoid a traffic jam, that’s AI at work. Most of the recommendation engines you come across on streaming video or music services can be considered artificial intelligence with narrow application. But most developers in this burgeoning field rely on being able to reach back through a network to huge databases and powerful cloud computing centers.
“The commercial world is used to being able to walk into a restaurant anywhere in the world, take a picture of the menu and hit ‘translate.’ But that presumes that you have access to a common set of readily available information about that language and ready access back to the cloud, because that’s not really processed in your handheld phone,” said Sanders.
That kind of connectivity is often lacking where U.S. forces operate, but AI could still make a big difference in achieving missions. So U.S. SOCOM is developing an entirely new understanding of not just how to expand artificial intelligence, but how to shrink it, determining which problems operators face could be overcome with a small amount of artificial intelligence.. That’s a fundamentally different challenge than the one that the commercial world faces as it develops AI for consumer uses.
Through a broad effort launched in 2019 to create what Sanders calls hyper-enabled operators, SOCOM has been looking to define what areas to focus on. “What are use cases where I can create some things that AI at the edge can process? Things like being able to tell a direction, a distance,” she said.
One of the challenges that arose early in SOCOM’s conversation with operators was translation, which hindered attempts to train Syrian opposition forces against ISIS. The U.S. is still a decade away from giving soldiers a handheld translator that works on obscure dialects and doesn’t need cloud connectivity to deliver fluency, Sanders said. So SOCOM is breaking the problem into smaller pieces, to create software tools that are useful now. That means anticipating what sort of communication is absolutely necessary.
“We’re doing a six-month effort where we are doing a representative language (not a high-density language)… to figure out how big that thesaurus needs to be. How much flexibility does it need to have to be operationally relevant? That’s an example where processing at the edge is going to limit us. Those analytics need power to run,” she says.
DARPA is working a similar set of challenges through several programs. The key, DARPA program manager John Waterston said, is to “give the computer the problems that are just beyond the scale of the human operator.”
One of his programs, called Phorcys, looks to integrate military tools like drones and sensors on commercial vessels. “There’s this multi-objective optimization that has to be done. To kind of say, what is the shipping traffic in the area? The surface picture? What is the mission you want to get done? The weather? The availability of communications and all these questions.” A big part of the program is figuring out what needs to be done by the computer and what needs to be done by a human, as well as what doesn’t actually need to happen at all. That’s not the sort of design choices programmers face in Silicon Valley, where off-platform cloud capabilities are always available.
Another program, called Ocean of Things, is intended to give operators a much better intelligence picture of what’s happening on the seas, through a wide distribution of floating sensors. But while the sensor network may be large, the amount of data the sensors send also has to be prioritized, saidWaterson, and small enough to fit into a tweet. “We’re using iridium small burst data, which is 240 bytes [similar to a tweet.] You have to have an edge device to extract the data and encapsulate it in 240 bytes.”
One way they’ve been able to do that is training an AI with pictures, so it can recognize and then ignore objects, rather than bug the operator with every new entity that shows up on the seascape. “We’ve trained a neural net ashore in the cloud with a bunch of relevant naval pictures. We take that neural net and only report the output if it’s a person, ship, building, not a bird. Then we can extract that data and give it back to the operator ashore. If you do that processing right, you don’t overwhelm the tactical data links,” he said.
Tim Chung, a program manager at DARPA working to create highly autonomous subterranean robotics through the so-called SubT challenge, described the difficulty of finding “actionable situational intelligence,” and making sure both the human and the robot know the definition of what that is, since it’s hard to predict what the robot might encounter in, say, a network of underground tunnels or a collapsed building.
“It’s not just good enough to know [that] there’s a left turn, a drop, a corridor. What you really want are refined coordinates to where that survivor is located,” Chung said “‘Actionable’ is something that must be defined both by the robot as well as also the human supervisor in the loop, and so these robots must balance how much perception they carry with how reliant they are on communications.” Chung spoke as part of a recorded Defense One session on the future of battlefield AI that will air on Thursday.)
But it’s not just bandwidth that’s constrained in these environments. Human attention is also a scarce commodity. That’s why SOCOM is working with operators to better understand when they have more thought to give to incoming machine communication, Sanders said.
“If I am training a partner nation, the amount of information I can hold without becoming overwhelmed might be different than deployed in a covert location for three days and I know that there are bad guys right around the corner that are going to shoot me. That tradeoff of cognitive human machine burden is very fungible. It changes depending on the situation and the person,” she said. “We are gathering real life information from our warfighters and developing great advocacy with them…It’s an ongoing experimentation.” (Source: Defense One)
05 May 21. Senetas and Thales launch the world’s first quantum resistant network encryption solution.
- Customers are able to protect sensitive data against future quantum attacks
- Solution meets pending global standard for quantum resistant encryption algorithms
- Organisations around the world can now deliver quantum security strategy with quantum resistant encryption
Thales and Senetas have collaborated to launch the world’s first quantum resistant network encryption solution, capable of protecting customer data (at speeds up to 100 Gbps) against future quantum attacks. Regarded as among the most significant threat to cybersecurity, quantum-computing looks set to render many of today’s security methods, such as encryption, obsolete.
With estimates that a working quantum computer outside a lab environment will be a reality within the next five to 10 years, minimum security requirement standards are being developed to protect data in a quantum world. The United States National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is currently selecting finalists amongst the quantum safe encryption algorithms being developed. In anticipation of this, the collaboration between Thales and Senetas supports the current finalists (including Thales’ Falcon algorithm), enabling an easy transition to the winning formula expected to be chosen by NIST in 2022. The solution also supports the latest European Telecommunication Standards Institute standards for how quantum keys are created, protected and distributed – an important and emerging security capability that has application usage in 5G networks.
Future protection
Enabling customers to combine both conventional and quantum resistant encryption in a single network security platform, the solution also provides long-term data protection in a quantum world. Hackers harvesting encrypted data today, will come unstuck when attempting to break data with supercomputing power in the future. The adoption of the new standards will protect any critical data and continue to render the data useless without the correct key.
“As quantum computing becomes a reality, organisations around the world should develop a quantum security strategy and start planning to implement quantum resistant encryption sooner rather than later. This is the first to market high-speed network encryption platform that provides quantum resistant encryption with today’s encryption technology. Our government, defense and business customers can make a secure transition to a future quantum-safe world knowing data is protected for the long-term,” said Andrew Wilson, Senetas CEO.
“It’s vital that businesses understand that all of today’s encryption standards are not fit for a quantum world. Hackers know quantum is coming and are actively working to steal data now so they can access it in the future, and large and multi-national organisations are most at risk due to compliance and privacy mandates. Businesses can’t afford to wait, the time is now to review their security quantum strategy,”
said Todd Moore, Vice President, Encryption Solutions at Thales.
03 May 21. LM Skunk Works’ Project Hydra Demos 5th Gen to 5th Gen Communications Across Domains. Critical F-35, F-22 and U-2 Data Enhanced Operating Picture During Flight Test.
Lockheed Martin Skunk Works®, the Missile Defense Agency and the U.S. Air Force successfully linked a U-2, five F-35s and an F-22 in air and provided real-time 5th Generation data to operators on the ground, introducing greater mission flexibility across domains and an enhanced total operational picture for the joint warfighter.
Named Project Hydra, the latest flight test leveraged an Open Systems Gateway (OSG) payload aboard the U-2 to connect an F-22 to five F-35s via native Intra-Flight Data Link (IFDL) and Multifunction Advanced Data Link (MADL), successfully sharing data between all airborne aircraft and with nodes on the ground. The target tracks were also transmitted by and through the U-2 into the fighter avionics and pilot displays.
“Project Hydra marks the first time that bi-directional communications were established between 5th Generation aircraft in-flight while also sharing operational and sensor data down to ground operators for real-time capability,” said Jeff Babione, vice president and general manager, Lockheed Martin Skunk Works®. “This next-level connectivity reduces the data-to-decision timeline from minutes to seconds, which is critical in fighting today’s adversaries and advanced threats.”
The Project Hydra effort also marked the first time F-35 sensor data was delivered to an operational ground system over a Tactical Targeting Network Terminal (TTNT) link using an airborne gateway. This data was then sent to the US Army Integrated Battle Command System (IBCS) Airborne Sensor Adaptation Kit (A-Kit), also developed by Lockheed Martin. The A-Kit then transmitted data to the IBCS Tactical System Integration Laboratory (TSIL) at Fort Bliss, Texas. IBCS used the F-35 sensor data to conduct a simulated Army fires exercise.
The core of the Hydra payload leverages the Open Mission Systems (OMS) compliant Enterprise Mission Computer 2 (EMC2), facilitating F-22, F-35, TTNT and Link-16 connections. By leveraging both line-of-sight (LOS) and beyond line-of-sight (BLOS) datalink capabilities of the U-2, data can now be shared directly to tactical users and globally to command and control (C2) nodes like the Common Mission Control Center (CMCC). During this demonstration, both the CMCC and Shadow Operations Center at Nellis Air Force Base were able to view the sensor and platform data to enable situational awareness for operational command and control of highly capable air assets.
Bringing the power of 5th Generation data and exposing new C2 opportunities across multiple domains continues to demonstrate Lockheed Martin’s readiness to provide unmatched battlespace awareness and rapidly field capability today. This demonstration is another key step forward in Lockheed Martin’s support for the Air Force’s Advanced Battle Management System and the Army’s Project Convergence, supporting the goal of providing commanders critical tools for the joint all-domain battlespace environment. (Source: ASD Network)
04 May 21. DOD Expands Hacker Program to All Publicly Accessible Defense Information Systems. Ethical hackers now have many more targets within the Defense Department, DOD officials announced. The department is expanding its Vulnerability Disclosure Program to include all publicly accessible DOD information systems.
The program grew out of the success of the “Hack the Pentagon” initiative that began in 2016. That initiative enabled the Defense Digital Service to offer a “bug bounty” program and engage with hackers. There really was no way for hackers to interact with DOD even if they spotted a vulnerability before this program. “Because of this, many vulnerabilities went unreported,” Brett Goldstein, the director of the Defense Digital Service, said. “The DOD Vulnerability Policy launched in 2016 because we demonstrated the efficacy of working with the hacker community and even hiring hackers to find and fix vulnerabilities in systems.”
The original policy was limited to DOD public-facing websites and applications. The expansion announced today allows for research and reporting of vulnerabilities related to all DOD publicly-accessible networks, frequency-based communication, Internet of Things, industrial control systems, and more, Goldstein said. “This expansion is a testament to transforming the government’s approach to security and leapfrogging the current state of technology within DOD,” he said.
The DOD Cyber Crime Center oversees the program. The expansion was the next logical step, Kristopher Johnson, center director, said. “The department has always maintained the perspective that DOD websites were only the beginning as they account for a fraction of our overall attack surface,” he said.
Since the Vulnerability Disclosure Program’s launch, hackers have submitted more than 29,000 vulnerability reports, with more than 70 percent of them determined to be valid, officials said. With the scope expanding, Johnson anticipates the numbers will drastically increase due to the security researcher community discovering vulnerabilities that were previously unreportable.
(Source: US DoD)
03 May 21. Quzara LLC, CORTAC Group, and Summit 7 Systems Announce Joint Partnership to form the CMMC Consortium. Quzara LLC, CORTAC Group and Summit 7 Systems announce a broader partnership to support Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) compliance efforts across the Defense Industrial Base (DIB). These founding members bring deep regulatory and cybersecurity expertise, proven solutions, and Government Cloud Compliance and Managed Services. The core highlights of this Consortium include CMMC stakeholder guidance and advisory, consolidated intake, solutions architecture, and solutions that are supporting Government programs and projects. The CMMC Consortium will expand soon for Independent Software Vendors (ISV) and Industry Integrations partners who support the Defense Industrial Base.
CMMC Consortium
How will the CMMC Consortium assist the industry?
The CMMC Consortium combines industry-leading organizations into an integrated solution by combining years of Government Security & Compliance experience, a deep understanding of Cloud Security and Zero Trust, right-sized and cost-optimized solutions for each supplier. These foundations enable the CMMC Consortium to provide support for the entire Compliance Lifecycle and Continuous Monitoring by combining CORTAC Group’s Compliance expertise, Summit 7’s Managed Services, and Quzara’s Cybertorch™ MSSP capabilities. “Like any compliance process, you first must know where you stand in implementing security in software, infrastructure, processes: where exactly are your CMMC Compliance gaps and what are the right solutions for your organization?” says Jerry Leishman, Executive Vice President & National Security & Compliance Director at CORTAC Group.
These integrated and managed services enable customers to inherit certified services from the Microsoft Government Cloud, including Azure Government and M365 GCC and GCC High Clouds.
“Creating a core CMMC Consortium focus combines resources with a breadth of skills to architect, administer, manage and securely monitor these environments,” says Saif Rahman, Co-Founder and Managing Director at Quzara LLC.
Working closely with Microsoft on various defense industrial initiatives, the goal of the CMMC Consortium is to ensure that companies not only meet the necessary security control requirements as requested by the Department of Defense (DoD), but that they stay compliant with ongoing regulatory processes, vulnerability management, and security monitoring requirements.
The expertise of the CMMC Consortium partners significantly reduce timelines and complexities in a company’s journey in understanding and implementing the proper controls.
Why Microsoft Cloud for CMMC?
Microsoft is actively engaged with customers, partners, the CMMC Accreditation Body, and multiple industry working groups to develop the CMMC Acceleration Program. Microsoft Cloud provides a wide variety of Deployment and Service models for customers. Sovereign clouds, such as Azure Government, have controls in place for restricting access to only screened US persons with data processing and storage limited to within the Continental United States (CONUS). Sovereign clouds are more restricted in terms of the specificity of control requirements than other cloud environments. Building solutions on these platforms allows customers working with the CMMC Consortium to inherit CMMC practices with great confidence and meet the maturity requirements for CMMC compliance.
“Summit 7 is pleased to join a highly qualified group of practitioners who are committed to utilizing the Microsoft Cloud to further align with the mission of the CMMC-AB to secure the DoD supply chain and protect our military’s greatest assets. The CMMC Consortium and partners will allow us to take adept strides from the onset to create a secure framework for customers, preparing them for certification,” says Scott Edwards, President of Summit 7. (Source: PR Newswire)
03 May 21. Advanced C2 software suite clears critical USAF milestone. An early variant of a new, advanced suite of combat management tools and software under development for the US Air Force (USAF) has cleared a critical milestone, paving the way for the system’s eventual deployment to combat zones around the world.
Officials at Air Combat Command and the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center (AFLCM) declared the Kessel Run All-Domain Operations Suite (KRADOS) for the Air Operations Center Weapon System (AOC WS) as having cleared the “minimal viable product” technology threshold. This allows the nascent variant of the system to be deployed “in order to rapidly advance its basic capabilities to a more complete operational package”, according to a joint statement in April. Kessel Run is a technology incubator within AFLCM, tasked with rapid development of combat technologies and reforming software acquisition within the air service.
Unveiled in early 2020 the KRADOS suite and AOC WS were designed as eventual replacement for the service’s Theater Battle Management Core Systems (TBMCS), which is the technology backbone for planning and execution of air tasking orders (ATOs) for US and allied air combat and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) operations. The KRADOS-enabled AOC WS has already fielded nine software applications linked under the programme’s common data layer at an MVP-level of maturity, Kessel Run Commander and USAF Colonel Brian Beachkofski said in the statement.
“This continuous user-centred approach enables warfighters to quickly evaluate software improvements, provide direct feedback to Kessel Run developers, and rapidly iterate the software to provide maximum value and impact,” according to the statement. (Source: Jane’s)
03 May 21. JADC2 strategy, posture review in final stages. The policy underpinnings for the United States Department of Defense’s Joint All-Domain Command and Control (JADC2) initiative are in the final stages of review by senior department leaders, with the end product due to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin within the near term.
The overarching strategy will codify lines of effort among the services and within the department, in terms of co-ordination and contributions to the JADC2 initiative, said Joint Staff Chief Information Officer and US Marine Corps Lieutenant General Dennis Crall.
An unclassified version of the strategy has been completed and is awaiting Pentagon and Joint Staff approvals, Lt Gen Crall said. The classified version of the pending strategy will include details on JADC2 initiatives dealing with command and control systems for the US nuclear arsenal, he added. Classified and unclassified versions have been briefed to Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff General Mark Milley, and are being prepared to be briefed to Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks, in preparation for final approval by Defense Secretary Austin.
The JADC2 concept, as envisioned, will enable US commanders to connect any sensor pod or platform to any weapon system, regardless of domain. While the effort is a joint concept, air force officials say the technologies developed for the JADC2 concept are designed to dovetail with the air service’s Advanced Battle Management System (ABMS). Although programme requirements for ABMS are yet to be defined, air force officials have awarded several short-term development contracts for the combat concept that will theoretically be integrated into an eventual ABMS system of systems.
“This documentation is necessary to have a durable, repeatable, and durable way to do this in an orderly fashion, and make sure you are satisfied with the results,” the three-star general said, regarding the new strategy. (Source: Jane’s)
03 May 21. US Army demonstrates MUOS capability for tactical radios. US Army tactical radio and networked communications specialists demonstrated, for the first time, the ability to integrate Mobile User Objective System (MUOS) capability to mounted and dismounted radio platforms.
The implementation of MUOS capability into the army’s tactical manpack radio system variants “provided additional beyond the line-of-sight communications … and leverage the ability to fully dominate both the data and voice spectrum”, during the exercise, said Colonel Rob Ryan, chief of operations for Army Future Command’s Network Cross-Functional Team. The MUOS demonstration took place during recent exercises at the Joint Readiness Training Center in Fort Polk with units from the 1st Brigade Combat Team, 82nd Airborne Division.
The MUOS is an IT-based 3G communications protocol that replaces the legacy Ultra High-Frequency (UHF) Follow-On satellite constellation because demand for UHF services has exceeded capacity. The MUOS is expected to deliver more than a ten-fold improvement in capacity.
Each MUOS satellite carries a legacy payload, which is the equivalent of one UHF satellite’s capacity and capability, and the Wideband Code Division Multiple Access (WCDMA), the 3G cellular technology that will increase available narrowband satellite communications (satcom) channels. The MUOS also has access to the Non-secure Internet Protocol (IP) Router Network (NIPRNet), the Secure Internet Protocol Router Network (SIPRNet), and the Defense Switched Network (DSN), and enables communication between itself and 3G WCDMA, as well as legacy systems from an end-to-end perspective. (Source: Jane’s)
03 May 21. HENSOLDT delivers core components to Eurofighter/Typhoon self-protection system. 90m€ contract awarded via EuroDASS consortium.
In the frame of the German ‘Quadriga’ fighter replacement programme sensor solution specialist HENSOLDT will deliver core components of the Eurofighter/Typhoon’s self-protection system ‘PRAETORIAN’.
As part of the EuroDASS consortium comprising Leonardo UK, Elettronica and Indra, HENSOLDT has received a contract valued at circa 90 Million Euros for the delivery of essential parts of the aircraft’s defensive aids sub system (DASS). Deliveries are planned from 2023 until end of 2027.
“The German Quadriga order is not only an important sign to current export campaigns, but also to core nations considering long term service options”, said Celia Pelaz, Head of Spectrum Dominance/Airborne Solutions at HENSOLDT.
In the frame of the ‘Quadriga’ programme 38 of the latest – build standard will replace the Tranche1 Eurofighters. Further production improvements will accompany the Quadriga production also allowing for long lasting maintainability of previous Tranche2/Tranche3 build standards.
The existing Praetorian DASS equips the Eurofighter with protection from radar-guided and Infra-Red guided weapons. The integrated sensors and jamming equipment provide situational awareness as well as advanced electronic deception techniques.HENSOLDT has been a member of the EuroDASS consortium for decades contributing detailed knowledge of the aircraft and the programme management as well as a broad range of DASS skills such as dedicated electronics component production, specialized test benches and in-service support. The company also contributes to the Praetorian evolution concept (‘Praetorian eVo’) which will completely renew the Eurofighter’s DASS system to keep pace with future requirements.
30 Apr 21. Kleos signs multi-year deal with Carahsoft Technology.
The ASX-listed space company has entered into a distribution arrangement with US-based IT solutions provider Carahsoft Technology.
Kleos Space’s US subsidiary has signed a multi-year distribution agreement with Carahsoft Technology, a provider of IT solutions to the US government.
According to Kleos — a space-powered radio frequency reconnaissance data-as-a-service company — the agreement would facilitate direct access to Carahsoft’s US federal, state and local government contracts.
These contracts include the General Services Administration schedule, NASA’s Solution for Enterprise-Wide Procurement (SEWP), Federal Information Technology Acquisition (FITARA), and ITES-SW2 — which supplies enterprise IT infrastructure for the US Army and Department of Defence.
“Globally, the US is the largest market for geospatial intelligence and reconnaissance data and we are actively targeting more than 30 government customers in the region,” Kleos Space CRO Eric von Eckartsberg said.
“Our partnership with Carahsoft, one of the most successful technology providers in the country, will enable our independent geolocation data to be incorporated into solutions for multiple US government sectors.”
Kleos announced the agreement following a market update for the first quarter of the 2021 calendar year (Q1 2021), in which it revealed it is targeting 50 subscribers at approximately $180,000 per annum by end of 2021
Kleos also reiterated its plan to launch its third satellite cluster; Polar Patrol Mission (KSF2), aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 by the end 2021 with the support of rideshare provider Spaceflight.
“Kleos has had a productive start to 2021, with in-orbit commissioning and testing of our Scouting Mission satellites as well as the development of the complex data processing and subscriber management systems required to fulfil our contracts ahead of data delivery and revenues in Q2 2021, and progressing the development and launch of our second and third satellite clusters,” Kleos Space CEO Andy Bowyer said.
“Our growing constellation increases the capability and value of our geospatial data products, improving coverage over multiple key areas of interest to generate new datasets and tiered licensing options for subscribers.” (Source: Space Connect)
30 Apr 21. Missile Defense Agency scrapped cybersecurity tests last year for a new approach, watchdog finds. The Missile Defense Agency canceled all 17 planned cybersecurity operational assessments last year opting instead for a new approach designed to improve cyber requirements, a new watchdog report says.
The agency responsible for developing and fielding defense systems for ballistic missiles — and recently hypersonic missiles — has failed to complete assessments since 2017 to identify cyber vulnerabilities and possible attack routes, the nonpartisan Government Accountability Office noted.
“The lack of testing during fiscal year 2020 coupled with persistent testing shortcomings over the last 3 years are representative of a broader MDA cybersecurity development issue,” the GAO report said.
Missile defense technologies are vulnerable to cyber and other electronic attacks that can target their software or radars, potentially rendering them ineffective.
MDA told assessors that it scrapped the operational cybersecurity assessments for seven programs because the results weren’t needed given that fiscal 2020 operational capability baseline decisions had been completed. Instead, MDA restructured its cybersecurity test planning to align with its 2019 four-phase cybersecurity test concept, GAO said.
Now, the MDA will plan tests and documented results using the same process as flight and ground tests with internal and external stakeholder input informing test requirements. This will drive cyber test design and execution for each capability increment.
“MDA officials stated that this new approach will improve cyber system requirements while streamlining cyber test planning, resource allocation, and results analysis,” the report said.
The GAO did not make any recommendations in the annual report, though it pointed out that continued cyber vulnerability testing will be critical for the MDA. It is too early to know how effective the new approach will be because it hasn’t been fully implemented, the watchdog said.
The MDA programs with canceled tests last year include Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense; Army Navy/Transportable Radar Surveillance and Control Model 2; Command, Control Battle Management and Communications; Ground-based Midcourse Defense, Long Range Discrimination Radar; Sea-Based X-Band Radar; and the Terminal High Altitude Area Defense.
The cybersecurity assessments that weren’t completed fell into two categories: element level cooperative assessments, which provide initial information about a system’s resilience in an operational context, and adversarial assessments, which characterize the operational effects caused by potential cyberattacks and test defensive measures. MDA had scheduled 13 cooperative and four adversary assessments for 2020. (Source: C4ISR & Networks)
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Spectra Group Plc
Spectra Group (UK) Ltd, internationally renowned award-winning information security and communications specialist with a proven record of accomplishment.
Spectra is a dynamic, agile and security-accredited organisation that offers secure Hosted and Managed Solutions and Cyber Advisory Services with a track record of delivering on time, to spec and on budget.
With over 15 years of experience in delivering solutions for governments around the globe, elite militaries and private enterprises of all sizes, Spectra’s platinum and gold-level partnerships with third-party vendors ensure the supply of best value leading-edge technology.
Spectra was awarded the prestigious Queen’s Award for Enterprise (Innovation) in 2019 for SlingShot.
In November 2017, Spectra Group (UK) Ltd announced its listing as a Top 100 Government SME Supplier by the UK Crown Commercial Services.
Spectra’s CEO, Simon Davies, was awarded 2017 Businessman of the Year by Battlespace magazine.
Founded in 2002, the Company is based in Hereford, UK and holds ISO 9001:2015, ISO 27001:2013 and Cyber Essentials Plus accreditation.
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