Sponsored by Spectra Group
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27 Aug 20. US Navy wants to create a ‘hardware factory.’ A new request for information from the U.S. Navy outlines the service’s interest in launching a “hardware factory and hardware pipeline” to keep its fleet computing platforms up-to-date.
According to an Aug. 25 request posted by the Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA), the sea service wants the factory as part of a broader effort to “architect, implement, and migrate” to a universally managed, infrastructure as a service environment for the sea service’s surface fleet. NAVSEA wants the pipeline and factory ready for use no later than fiscal 2023.
The Navy wants to use the hardware factory and hardware pipeline concept to use agile development to accelerate the development of its computing infrastructure. The new model is part of the Navy’s effort to transition away from technology insertions and move toward continuous hardware refreshes aboard its current and future surface fleet.
The request is for a program called Future Integrated Combat System Infrastructure-as-a-Service and Computing Infrastructure (FICS-CI), managed by NAVSEA’s Program Executive Office Integrated Warfare Systems.
“The Navy envisions a transition to a HW Factory and HW Pipeline Process continuously delivering IaaS to pace technology, eliminate obsolescence, and enable continuous design and development of [computing infrastructure] solutions that meet ship needs with minimal deviation from commercial standards and practices,” the RFI states.
The program is part of an effort by the NAVSEA’s PEO IWS to migrate systems to a “common, scalable intermittently connected edge cloud architecture” using IaaS to enable platform as a service. NAVSEA wants to deploy the computing architecture to large and small combatants, aircraft carriers, amphibious ships, and “other related programs including U.S. Coast Guard, AEGIS Foreign Military Sales, and proposed future ship classes.”
The RFI lists several interest areas for the Navy: systems engineering; IaaS design and integration; technical data packages; production; diminishing manufacturing sources and material shortages, hardware, and software version release tracking; and integrated logistics support, maintenance and operations training.
“The HW Factory and HW Pipeline will streamline component selection, qualification, integration, life cycle support and training for the Fleet, leading to accelerated infrastructure development and fielding,” the RFI states. “The Navy envisions a continuous CI refresh cycle rapidly delivering improved Lethality, Combat Capability and Capacity to the Surface Navy Fleet to confront an increasing array of Strategic, Operational, and Tactical Challenges.” (Source: Defense News)
27 Aug 20. Russia’s Sozvezdiye unveils R-176-1AE radio station at Army-2020 forum. Russian defence contractor and a unit of Ruselectronics Group Sozvezdiye has unveiled the R-176-1AE radio station at the Army-2020 forum.
According to a report by Russian news agency TASS, the new device is referred to as fifth-generation of the radio station, which serves as a key component of mobile long-range communications radio centre used by the Russian Armed Forces.
The station is equipped with advanced Software Defined Radio (SDR)-technologies to adjust radio frequency parameters. Additionally, the device’s software can be updated regularly to enable the addition of new functions.
Sozvezdiye acting CEO Mikhail Artyomov was quoted by the news agency as saying: “The station has an open architecture, which makes it possible to carry out planned upgrades of its software and operators’ automated workplaces.”
The long-range communications radio centre, equipped with R-176-1AE radio station, enables data transmission even during deliberate interferences at distances of up to 8,000km.
The ongoing Army-2020 forum will run through 29 August. More than 1,500 companies and enterprises are expected to participate in the forum to demonstrate around 28,000 exhibits.
Separately, Russia said that it will deliver the first regiment of S-400 anti-air system to India by the end of next year.
Economic Times reported this citing an official of Russian Federal Service for Military-Technical Cooperation.
Recently, Russian Defence Ministry held discussions with Iranian counterparts to discuss their military partnership. The Iranian delegation also participated in the Army-2020 event. (Source: army-technology.com)
27 Aug 20. Know Your Enemy. KPA Ground Forces (URI Tours) – A new US Army publication notes that the Korean People’s Army tightly integrates traditional electronic warfare with cyber, information and psychological operations in a bid to gain tactical, strategic and operational advantage in future conflicts. A new US Army publication sheds light on North Korea’s electronic warfare tools, doctrine and perceptions, and how these capabilities could be used in any future war.
North Korean Tactics makes for interesting reading. In its own words the document “serves as a foundation for understanding how North Korean ground forces think and act in tactical operations.” The report states that the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea’s armed forces, collectively known as the KPA (Korean People’s Army) parcel Electronic Warfare (EW) into the wider Electronic Intelligence Warfare (EIW) approach. This encompasses conventional EW alongside information and cyber operations, psychological warfare and conventional warfare applied to the electromagnetic spectrum.
KPA EIW doctrine includes EW, deception, physical destruction; protection and security measures; perception management, information attack, computer warfare, reconnaissance, cryptanalysis, intelligence collection and disinformation operations. While all these components will be integrated into a “single, cohesive EIW plan” prior to and during hostilities, the document says that not all these components will necessarily be used concurrently. Instead their use will be determined by the tactical and operational situation, and the size and capabilities of opposing forces.
The report examines each of the components of the KPA’s EIW doctrine separately. EW, deception, the physical destruction of targets in support of EW are self-explanatory. Protection and security measures encompass the KPA’s use of the spectrum to aid counter-reconnaissance and operational security such as the employment of false radio traffic and electromagnetic camouflage such as corner reflectors to replicate potential physical targets. Perception management is arguably a subset of KPA psychological warfare and Information Operations (IO). It includes “measures aimed at creating a perception of truth best suited to the KPA’s objectives.” Its intention is to “undermine an enemy’s ability to conduct combat operations through psychological warfare.”
Information Operations and Cyber
The publication argues that EW would work closely IO with the latter intended to have a strategic effect by weakening “the enemy’s international and domestic support, causing hesitation or actual failure of the operation.” The US Army expects strategic to commence in periods of tension before any shots are fired.
Cyber warfare will be directed against enemy military and civilian networks to gain operational and tactical advantage, and to have a strategic effect. Cyberattacks will be the most likely vector for the delivery of information operations. At the same time cyber and electronic warfare will have important roles to play in gathering and exploiting intelligence.
Tools
The US Army expects kinetic and electronic attacks to be harnessed by the KPA in support of the EIW plan. Examples of these could include artillery attacks and/or electronic attacks on key enemy communications nodes. The report states that the KPA has a penchant for using small distributive jammers alongside larger transportable jammers for operational/tactical electronic attack. These distributive jammers can be controlled remotely through the DPRK’s mobile phone network. This would presumably allow jammers to be deployed to certain locations before or during hostilities, and then left behind to operate autonomously.
Along with attacking very/ultra high frequency (30 megahertz/MHz to three gigahertz/GHz) conventional military communications and satellite communications the US Army expects the KPA to perform electronic attack against GNSS (Global Navigation Satellite Signal) constellations on wavebands of circa 1.1GHz to 1/6GHz. Other electronic attack capabilities expected to be used on the battlefield include artillery-delivered jamming shells. These could have an effect by delivered into the line of advance of an opposing force to isolate forward units from rear echelons. The army also expects RF (Radio Frequency) proximity fuse jammers to be used to protect potential targets like deployed headquarters from attack by RF fused weapons.
Organisation
EW across the KPA is the responsibility of the Electronic Warfare Bureau. The KPA’s Bureau-121 is tasked with cyber operations by cadres operating in the DPRK but also in Belarus, India, Malaysia, the People’s Republic of China and Russia. Bureau-121 includes four subordinate units: the Andarial, Bluenoroff and Lazarus groups, and the EW Jamming Regiment. The first three gather intelligence on vulnerabilities in enemy computer networks (Andarial), perform financial cyber crime (Bluenoroff) and attack hostile computer networks (Lazarus).
The EW Jamming Regiment, headquartered in Pyongyang, has three battalions which may provide EW support at the operational level to the KPA. Alongside the EW Jamming Regiment, the KPA Ground Forces, as the country’s army is known, are thought to possess a single EW battalion organic to the army’s I, II, IV and V Corps. Manoeuvre divisions within each corps may possess an EW company, which can be augmented with an EW battalion as and when the mission dictates. While not mentioning specific types, the document states that the KPA uses Russian electronic attack platforms with jamming ranges of between 48 kilometres/km (30 miles) to 97km (60 miles) and is looking to procure longer-range systems.
The report concludes that “the primary deficiency with the KPA EW systems, like most of its equipment, is its age and technology level. The KPA is still using equipment several generations behind its likely enemies.” The DPRK’s investment in cyber capabilities could serve in part to make good such shortcomings at the operational and strategic levels. (Source: Armada)
26 Aug 20. TrellisWare Awarded Office of Naval Research Contract to Develop More Reliable Troposcatter Communications Solution. TrellisWare Technologies, Inc. announced today that they have been awarded a contract from the Office of Naval Research (ONR) to build and test a new tropospheric scatter (troposcatter) radio prototype to address the Navy’s communications challenges. The ONR goal is to employ a robust Beyond Line of Sight (BLoS) troposcatter communications capability supporting mobile naval operations for both ship-to-ship and ship-to-shore links as an alternative to satellite communications (SATCOM).
TrellisWare’s prototype troposcatter radio will use a new waveform that has been optimized to maintain reliable and robust troposcatter communications, even in challenging and highly variable propagation conditions. This waveform was developed and successfully tested over-the-air between San Diego and Los Angeles County in late 2019 under a prior ONR contract to TrellisWare.
“TrellisWare has been working with ONR since 2017 to study the feasibility of mobile naval troposcatter communications,” said Marcus Urie, manager of technology development. “Over the last several years, the engineering team has done an excellent job evaluating the additional system complexities that will be required to maintain reliable troposcatter communications during mobile at-sea operations. Our team is excited to continue working with ONR to take the next step in the evolution of this naval capability.”
TrellisWare’s troposcatter radio will provide reliable over-the-horizon communication with significantly lower Size, Weight, and Power (SWaP) relative to traditional troposcatter capabilities. The combination of a more robust waveform with a lower SWaP terminal will enable better integration with antenna pointing (acquisition), tracking, and stabilization (PTS) techniques, leading the way for a mobile troposcatter capability.
As a leading provider of robust communications solutions for the Department of Defense (DoD), TrellisWare is well positioned to build and test a reliable solution for the Navy’s communications challenges. TrellisWare will validate the prototype troposcatter radio performance in over-the-air test and demonstration campaigns in late 2021.
About TrellisWare Technologies, Inc.
TrellisWare Technologies, Inc. is a global leader in highly advanced algorithms, waveforms, and communications systems that range from small form factor radio products to fully integrated solutions. Our TSM™ waveform is incorporated into a wide range of systems, including TrellisWare radios and trusted industry partner radios, as well as multiple government and commercial solutions. TrellisWare is delivering the next generation of communications for military and commercial markets When Nothing Else Works™. For more information on TrellisWare’s products and solutions, visit www.trellisware.com (Source: BUSINESS WIRE)
27 Aug 20. EU and Sectra sign framework agreement for secure communications. International medical imaging IT and cybersecurity company Sectra (STO: SECT B) has signed a new framework agreement for the approved mobile encryption system, Sectra Tiger, with the European External Action Service, the Council of the European Union and the European Commission. This framework agreement will help EU organizations to communicate securely and efficiently among themselves and with EU member states, without risking the confidentiality of their information.
“It is vital for us to be able to communicate securely. The Tiger system offered by Sectra is a proven and reliable solution in use by our organization for several years. It supports us in sharing information in a secure and efficient manner,” says a senior representative from the European External Action Service.
Under this framework agreement, EU institutions will be able to upgrade their infrastructure, maintain the system and procure additional Tiger devices for secure communication of classified information up to and including EU SECRET. Unique features in the system allow users to communicate securely across different security domains while ensuring the confidentiality and integrity of each domain.
The European Union has worked together with Sectra since 2010. This new framework agreement was signed in July and is valid for ten years.
About Sectra Tiger
More than half of the EU member nations use Sectra Tiger solutions to share classified information. This is possible with the Sectra Tiger Ecosystem, which allows users on different security levels up to and including the SECRET security level to communicate with each other. This ecosystem approach creates a secure communications environment without crypto islands, allowing the user organization to balance individual security requirements with the right level solution, supporting current and future encryption needs.
About Sectra
Sectra assists hospitals throughout the world to enhance the efficiency of care, and authorities and defense forces in Europe to protect society’s most sensitive information. Thereby, Sectra contributes to a healthier and safer society. The company was founded in 1978, has its head office in Linköping, Sweden, with direct sales in 19 countries, and operates through partners worldwide. Sales in the 2019/2020 fiscal year totaled SEK 1,661m. The Sectra share is quoted on the Nasdaq Stockholm exchange. For more information, visit sectra.com.
Within the business area of Secure Communications, Sectra develops products and services that protect some of society’s most sensitive information and communications. The offering includes secure voice and data communications, with solutions certified at the national level and by the EU and NATO, as well as security analysis and monitoring of critical IT systems, such as electricity and water supply. Sectra’s operations are conducted from its offices in Sweden, the Netherlands, Finland and the USA.
25 Aug 20. US Cyber Command’s top general makes case for partnering with tech firms. To stay at the cutting edge of technology and ahead of budding adversaries, U.S. Cyber Command is trying to increase its partnership with the commercial technology sector.
In an article published in Foreign Affairs on Aug. 25, Gen. Paul Nakasone, head of the National Security Agency and Cyber Command, and Michael Sulmeyer, senior adviser to the commander, argued that partnering with the government is not only necessary for success in cyberspace, but is mutually beneficial.
“Given that some of the most innovative thinking today is happening in the offices of American tech companies, we would be shortsighted if we were not pursuing partnerships with them. Such partnerships should of course be voluntary — companies can decide on their own if and when it makes sense to work with Cyber Command — but partnering with technology companies has been one of Cyber Command’s top priorities,” they wrote. “Many leading U.S. companies find themselves on the frontlines of competition in cyberspace. Working collaboratively where we can allows us to improve collective defense and stay a step ahead of our adversaries. This is all the more important as technology continues to advance.”
Cyber Command and the NSA have been on a yearslong tour to woo the private sector and Silicon Valley back into its good graces following disclosures from former contractor Edward Snowden that detailed global espionage.
Leaders have delivered speeches at major hacker conferences and taken frequent trips out to Silicon Valley to assuage concerns and recruit firms back to their side, with then-chief of Cyber Command and the NSA Adm. Michael Rogers saying in 2016: “If we can’t generate value for both [sides], that’s not a partnership … [it’s] a transaction.”
One of the ways Cyber Command and the NSA have delivered on this mutually beneficial relationship is by publicly disclosing enemy activity and malware discovered through operations. Cyber Command, through malware releases on VirusTotal, and the NSA, through advisories issued by its new cybersecurity directorate, seek to both burn these tools used by adversaries and provide a warning to companies to patch their systems for customers.
Nakasone and Sulmeyer wrote that an artificial intelligence-powered worm, for example, could disrupt all kinds of devices, from personal systems to those used for industrial machines. Cyber Command and the NSA see themselves as critical in using their authorities to gain insight into networks and foreign operations as well as act to prevent cyberattacks to defend the nation.
Nakasone has sought to broaden partnerships more generally in his tenure at Cyber Command. Private sector partnership is much more multifaceted, however, than just getting companies to share information and systems.
“There are some vendors and some entities who CYBERCOM is looking to build good relationships with that actually supply and sustain their operations. Others that they’re relying on to carry out their normal defensive functions. Then there’s also this third set that I wouldn’t say are targets but those whose infrastructure is likely to be a venue for CYBERCOM’s operations as they’re looking to defend forward past their own networks,” Trey Herr, director of the Cyber Statecraft Initiative at the Atlantic Council, told C4ISRNET.
Herr explained that some of the difficult work for Cyber Command is traversing through the complicated reality that in order to conduct its operations, it must operate on the networks of many companies abroad without telling them.
However, the government needs the help of these companies to perform some of its most important operations.
“The government cannot conduct offensive and defensive cyber operations, including countering foreign interference, without a close partnership between private and public sector. There is a lot of technology that is being harnessed for good to help protect cybernetic systems, but the impact of COVID on IT makes security more important and diffuse than ever,” Philip Reiner, CEO of the Institute for Security and Technology, told C4ISRNET, using an acronym for the novel coronavirus disease.
The company seeks to help solve national security problems by bridging the divide between businesses and government. Certainly, the military has recognized that it needs private industry to equip its warriors and build the systems on which it conducts operations.
“Militaries succeed when they embrace new technologies aimed at planning for the next war, not fighting the last one. Cyber Command is committed to working with the private sector to harness emerging technologies,” Nakasone and Sulmeyer wrote.
The best and brightest in this arena exist in the private sector, but as some observers have documented, the Department of Defense has missed the boat in years’ past.
The DoD “missed the commercial space revolution. It missed the move to cloud computing, it missed the advent of modern software development. It missed the centrality of data. And it missed the rise of artificial intelligence and machine learning,” Christian Brose, the former staff director of the Senate Armed Services Committee, wrote in “The Kill Chain: Defending America in the Future of High Tech-Tech Warfare.”
Herr added that regular communication between security teams at companies and Cyber Command should be the goal.
“Companies and agencies ‘borrow’ their security architectures, so they need a much better understanding of national security concerns and most won’t see malware published by [Cyber Command] on Twitter,” said Reiner, who also formerly served on the National Security Council and at the DoD.
Moreover, there must be a public discussion of what offensive cybersecurity will look like over the next decade, Herr said, and what the responsibilities of an entity like Cyber Command are relative to these private companies. (Source: C4ISR & Networks)
25 Aug 20. US Army’s ‘cloud in the sky’ should be on board by late 2024. The U.S. Army plans to field its “cloud in the sky” for the current aviation fleet by the end of fiscal 2024, according to the service’s Program Executive Office Aviation.
Other transaction authority contracts through the Army Contracting Command’s New Jersey center were awarded to three vendors in July, and they will hit the ground running to conduct analysis for an Aviation Mission Common Server, or AMCS, Army spokesman David Hylton said in a statement sent to Defense News on Aug. 24.
Those vendors are Elbit Systems of America, Mercury Systems, and Physical Optics Corp. The OTA contracts totaled roughly $3.3m. An OTA is a contracting mechanism used for rapidly prototyping.
Defense News first reported the Army’s plans to develop and field AMCS last year.
Maj. Gen. Thomas Todd, then-program executive officer for Army aviation, told Defense News that since the current fleet will most definitely fly alongside future aircraft as they are fielded, a common server on board every aircraft will be important to store, process and then quickly transport data.
The Army aims to field a future attack reconnaissance aircraft and a future long-range assault aircraft by 2030.
The server will be a stack of storage, data processing and transport capability that is “very much a flying cloud,” Todd said. The AMCS “will reside inside every aircraft. It has to reside in every aircraft because there has to be onboard processing and storage power,” he added, noting that it will be the engine that drives the associated user interface and apps as well as provide connectivity to the network.
The Army plans to take about 13 months to conduct analysis and move through the design phase. Once the service is through the design phase, it will conduct a demonstration and qualification of the capability delivered over roughly nine months, Hylton said.
The three vendors had contract kickoff meetings at the end of July, according to Hylton. The contracts cover only the analysis phase of the effort. The next stage will cover a preliminary design followed by a critical design stage. A demonstration will be held as the fourth stage of the plan. In the final stage, the Army will conduct qualification testing.
At the end of the final stage, the Army will receive production-representative AMCS prototype hardware line-replaceable units, components and software, Hylton said.
“The government reserves the right to perform a downselect at the end of each stage,” he said, but the Army was not clear if only one vendor would make it all the way to the end or if multiple vendors could end up supplying production-ready prototypes.
The user interface will be built upon technology developed by Northrop Grumman for the Victor-model Black Hawk, Todd said last year. The “V” model is an L-model UH-60 with a digital, modern cockpit like the “M” model, the latest Black Hawk variant, but not with a M model’s price tag.
Additionally, the interface in a V model can take on new capability through apps, like a smartphone. The Army is integrating the same user interface into the M-model Black Hawks, Todd said at the time.
The effort to build the server is part of a larger project to ensure the current fleet is ready to fight in multidomain operations. The Army wants to obtain multidomain dominance by 2035.
“We took a look at Army Futures Command’s guidance on exactly what those combat aviation brigades would have in them and what would be enduring. For example, the Apache would be there indefinitely,” Todd said. “We also found that the requirements for data, the transport of and use of was exponential. So ultimately it’s a problem that exists for the entire fleet, so we need to get after, at a minimum, making the enduring fleet compatible with future vertical lift, if not more capable.” (Source: Defense News)
22 Aug 20. US Army to alter cyber drill in support of new multidomain forces. The U.S. Army is altering one of its cyber events in an effort to shape and equip one of the service’s newer multidomain formations.
The event, previously known as Cyber Blitz, next year will shift to what the Army is calling Multi-Domain Operations Live. It will primarily support the Intelligence, Information, Cyber, Electronic Warfare and Space detachment of the Multi-Domain Task Force as part of the larger Defender Pacific exercise.
The I2CEWS is battalion-sized detachment encompassing capabilities within its namesake and is envisioned to help commanders on the battlefield by not only possessing some capabilities but also providing planning assistance within these non-kinetic realms. It is currently focused on the Pacific region as part of the Multi-Domain Task Force and will assist the Army from the competition phase to conflict. There are plans to create a detachment focused on Europe.
The Army unveiled details about one of its newest units designed to help the service compete with adversaries below the threshold of war.
The I2CEWS is part of a broader push for the Army to conduct multidomain operations with other forces, including tactical cyber teams in the 915th Cyber Warfare Battalion, officially created in 2019. These forces differ from those of U.S. Cyber Command, who conduct cyber operations on behalf of combatant commanders and in defense of the nation from a remote sanctuary.
Why the changes?
One of the key reasons for changing Cyber Blitz, which originally focused on risk reduction for emerging technologies in the cyber and electromagnetic space, was a need to mature multidomain operations and forces.
Going forward, the event will provide a non-kinetic environment in which the I2CEWS can perform the sensing, targeting and delivery of effects, said Randy Wheeler, associate director for field-based experimentation at the Combat Capabilities Development Command’s Command, Control, Communication, Computers, Cyber, Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance Center.
Last year’s Cyber Blitz was a paradigm shift, Wheeler told C4ISRNET during an Aug. 20 interview. For the first time, the experiment supported a major tier 1 exercise, serving as a precursor of sorts for its future instantiation, he added. It was also the first time the I2CEWS tested concepts and equipment. During previous events, the I2CEWS white carded their effects, which involves telling exercise participants that a certain action has occurred without actually performing the action with capabilities or tools.
Now the Army wants to actually test the types of tools it envisions the battalion will use in future conflict.
The I2CEWS isn’t equipped with a lot of systems, but it has a few program-of-record systems such as the Electronic Warfare Planning and Management Tool, which allows for planning and visualization of the electromagnetic spectrum. By and large, the detachment has a lot of one-off capabilities developed by the science and technology community.
The change to MDO Live is meant to allow the Army and the unit specifically to assess and provide feedback on technologies as a means of identifying operational needs.
The I2CEWS “is getting that training value that they can’t really get right now in the live environment” through MDO Live, Wheeler said. “We’re giving them capabilities that they don’t necessarily have in some cases because a lot of the things that they’ve been tasked to do are [with] technologies [that] are one-offs. … We’re actually providing [them] with some of this equipment that they expect to have in the future.”
MDO Live will remain connected to other Army events such as Cyber Quest, during which vendors bring their technologies in response to specific Army needs and test them in a lab-based environment. Technologies that show promise are then transitioned to Cyber Blitz (now MDO Live) in a more realistic environment involving soldiers to see how the tech performs.
Events such as Cyber Blitz and MDO Live also have the added benefit of assessing concepts, force structure and doctrine. Wheeler explained that at last year’s Cyber Blitz, which supported the I2CEWS remotely, the Army realized that the battalion was low on manpower.
A 2019 report from the Government Accountability Office determined that the Army “did not assess the staffing, equipping, and training risk before activating” the I2CEWS. Army leadership said they understood associated risks involved in their haste to create these units, but stressed they could not afford to wait until everything was perfect, given the need for these units to address adversarial behavior.
Events like MDO Live help the Army to constantly evolve its force structure, capabilities and concepts, officials believe. As such, MDO Live, currently slated to take place in the summer of 2021, will test the full design of the I2CEWS along with emerging capabilities.
The event will take place in the Asia-Pacific region — a departure from normal C5ISR Center activity.
“We’ll be forward in theater, so executing an expeditionary experiment, which will be a little new for us,” Wheeler said. “It allows us to really run our [science and technology] through the paces in a relevant operational environment. Rather than doing this at Fort Dix, [New Jersey], we’re doing it in the environment they expect to operate in or something similar to that. That’s great for S&T risk reduction because we get to see that environment sooner.”
Cyber Blitz 2020, which is currently underway, is more scaled back than years prior, as it is focused on identifying technologies for risk reduction that can be included in MDO Live next year after the full transition.
Wheeler wouldn’t provide specific details regarding capabilities and tools involved in Cyber Blitz 2020 testing, citing sensitivities in revealing such information. But he did say participants are looking at sensors for the Multi-Domain Task Force and U.S. Army Pacific, some of which have were observed in previous Cyber Blitz drills. Other systems include technologies and sensors with sister services that could have ground-based applications or be used by the Multi-Domain Task Force. The event is taking place across the entire East Coast of the United States, Wheeler said. (Source: C4ISR & Networks)
24 Aug 20. Elbit Systems of America has successfully integrated data supplied by Sintela’s fiber optics-based Linear Ground Detection Systems (LGDS) into the Elbit Systems’ TORCH™ Command & Control system used by the United States Border Patrol.
Sintela’s LGDS – called Onyx – provides surface and subterranean surveillance and threat detection in support of the Border Wall System (BWS), along America’s southern border. The LGDS provides an added layer of security to the steel-and-concrete constructed physical border wall. Elbit Systems of America is prepared to deliver and install the innovative LGDS system that automatically detects and identifies threats, using machine learning.
“Aided by the TORCH™ system’s autonomy and artificial intelligence, Border Patrol Agents will be able to more safely and efficiently perform their national security duties,” said Joel Friederich, Elbit Systems of America’s Vice President for C4I and Homeland Security Systems. “We are pleased to partner with Sintela, making Elbit Systems of America now the exclusive U.S. distributor of their market-leading and fully-compliant LGDS system.”
Sintela – headquartered in the United Kingdom, with associate offices around the world – is a global leader in advanced sensing technology, with experience working on complicated infrastructure projects such as the U.S. BWS.
Elbit Systems of America is the prime contractor for the Integrated Fixed Towers (IFT) program that provides more than 7,000 square miles of protection on the southern border with long-range surveillance technology. Through the company’s application of disciplined innovation, the IFT program has earned a reputation as an exceptional provider in cyber security, schedule, and overall system performance. The company’s experience with IFT will greatly benefit the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Border Patrol as they construct the technology infrastructure integral to the BWS.
21 Aug 20. 5G, LEO satellites dominate US Army plans for next ITN iteration. Incorporation of 5G mobile networking technologies and low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite capabilities into US Army operations are expected to dominate development work on the service’s next iteration of its Integrated Tactical Network (ITN), the head of the army’s Program Executive Officer for Command, Control, and Communications – Tactical (PEO C3T) said.
PEO C3T chief Army Brigadier General Robert Collins broadly outlined the service’s upcoming objectives and preliminary requirements for Capability Set 25 of the ITN. Brig Gen Collins assumed command of the PEO C3T directorate from Army Lieutenant General David Bassett in June after Lt Gen Bassett assumed command of the Defense Contract Management Agency.
As the former programme executive officer for Intelligence, Electronic Warfare, and Sensors (IEW&S), Brig Gen Collins oversaw programme development for ITN technologies included in Capability Set 21 and the upcoming Capability Set 23 (ITN updates are delivered every two years, which is why there is no Capability Set 22). Given the army’s work on the previous ITN capability sets, “[Capability Set] 25 is the natural follow-on”, to that work, Brig Gen. Collins said on 18 August, using the shorthand for Capability Set 25.
“We anticipate at that time, a lot of the [LEO] investments we have made there will be available and also the opportunity to incorporate 5G,” into advanced army communication and networking technologies, as part of ITN development and experimentation during Capability Set 25, Brig Gen Collins said during a microelectronics symposium sponsored by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). (Source: Jane’s)
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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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