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01 Sep 22. Defense & Security 2022: Thailand, Saab discuss C2 network expansion. Saab and the Royal Thai Army (RTA) are discussing a possible expansion of Thailand’s countrywide command-and-control (C2) system.
Speaking at the Defense & Security 2022 show in Bangkok, a Saab spokesperson said talks about the potential deal are focused on Thailand’s Air Command and Control System (ACCS). The ACCS is based on Saab’s 9AIR C4I product and has been in operation with the Royal Thai Air Force (RTAF) and Royal Thai Navy (RTN) for more than 10 years. According to Saab, the system provides users with situational awareness, and control of weapons, sensors, and communications. The Saab spokesperson said that the expansion of the ACCS would integrate the RTA through a series of “vehicle-mounted consoles or nodes” that are connected to the ACCS. (Source: Janes)
01 Sep 22. September Spectrum SitRep. Armada’s monthly round-up of all the latest electronic warfare news in the product, programme and operational domains.
Products
Pentek has release its Quartz Model 5553 SOSA aligned 8-channel A/D and D/A 3U VPX board. A press release announcing the news said the board is “based on the Xilinx Zynq UltraScale RFSoC Gen 3, provides full sub-6 GHz direct-RF I/O support and greater flexibility with more decimation and interpolation options”. It comes complete with a suite of data capture and processing IP (Internet Protocol) modules. In the words of the company, the board is ideal for signals intelligence and Electronic Warfare (EW), along with radar and fifth-generation wireless applications.
Programmes
China’s FH-95 UAV recently completed an important test, according to state media. This aircraft can support electronic warfare missions.
Reports from thedefensepost.com in early August revealed that the People’s Republic of China’s (PRC) FH-95 Uninhabited Aerial Vehicle (UAV) had completed a ‘milestone test’ according to PRC state media. The UAV is produced by the Aerospace Times Feihong Technology Company. It has an endurance of 24 hours and carries payloads weighing over 551 pounds (250 kilogram). The FH-95 can perform electronic warfare and reconnaissance missions, including the deployment of anti-radiation missiles.
The Angry Kitten pod undergoes testing in an anechoic chamber onboard a USAF F-16 series aggressor aircraft.
On 3rd August, the US Air National Guard (USANG) announced its Angry Kitten airborne electronic warfare training pod could evolve into an airborne electronic attack system. Angry Kitten was originally developed by the Georgia Tech Research Institute. It is designed to simulate enemy electronic attack signals to assist US Air Force test and training missions, according to a USANG press release. One benefit of using Angry Kitten to support electronic attack is the speed with which it can be updated. As a test and training aid, it was designed to rapidly accept new hardware and software. This could make it easy to configure with electronic attack capabilities according to the threats it may encounter.
While on the subject of pods, the US Navy has received its first Raytheon AN/ALQ-249 Next Generation Jammer Mid-Band pod navaltechnology.com reported in August. The first pod was delivered to the navy on 7th July. It now enters a development test programme. Once this is complete, the pod will be subject to an operational test programme. The AN/ALQ-249 will be deployed onboard the US Navy’s Boeing E/A-18G Growler electronic warfare aircraft.
The US Navy’s Naval Air Warfare Centre’s weapons division has awarded Textron a contract worth $48.4 m to assist the testing of US Navy electronic warfare systems. According to a press release, Textron will develop hardware to equip an EW integration test environment. The contract also covers incidental repair and maintenance work for navy EW simulators. The press release said the contract will run until the end of 2026.
The Armée de l’Air et de l’Espace (ADAE/French Air and Space Force) confirmed it retired its two TransportAllianz C-160G Gabriel Signals Intelligence (SIGINT) aircraft in May. Reports state that the aircraft was costing the ADAE $81.6 m annually for a 20 percent availability. As Armada reported in November 2021, the retirement of the C-160Gs was earmarked for 2022. The C-160Gs will be replaced by the Dassault Falcon-8X Archange SIGINT aircraft. Three aircraft were originally earmarked to enter service in 2023. Reports say that this has now been delayed until 2026. To make good this capability shortfall, the ADAE is examining the lease of Saab 340 SIGINT aircraft, although no details were supplied on where these may be sourced from.
Operations
Social media posts from the Ukraine theatre of operations have shown wreckage from a US-supplied AGM-88 anti-radiation missile fired against a Russian radar.
The United States has confirmed her supply of Texas Instruments/Raytheon AGM-88 series anti-radiation missiles to Ukrainian forces. Colin Kahl, undersecretary for policy at the US Department of Defence, said recent Ukraine military aid packages had “included a number of anti-radiation missiles that can be fired off Ukrainian aircraft”. Days afterward, the weapon’s use in Ukraine was confirmed by thedrive.com which highlighted social media pictures of AGM-88 wreckage in the Kherson region of southeast Ukraine. No details have emerged on what AGM-88 variant has been supplied to Ukraine. It is most probably the legacy AGM-88B/C version. The Pentagon is unlikely to have supplied the more advanced Northrop Grumman/Raytheon AGM-88E/F/G variants lest this technology inadvertently fall into Russian hands. It was later confirmed by thedrive.com that the missiles had been fired Ukrainian Air Force MiG-29 series combat aircraft. This may represent the first time the AGM-88B/C has been installed on a Soviet/Russian origin airborne platform.
The Russian government has said that an RAF RC-135W Airseeker SIGINT aircraft recently violated the country’s airspace, although this has not been independently verified.
Staying in Ukraine, the barentsobserver.com reported on 16th August Russian allegations that a Royal Air Force (RAF) Boeing RC-135W Airseeker Signals Intelligence (SIGINT) aircraft had violated Russian airspace. The country’s defence ministry claimed the aircraft had done so in the vicinity of Cape Svyatov Nos. This is area is in Russia’s arctic just east of the country’s border with Norway in the Murmansk Oblast. The Kola Peninsula, where Cape Svyatov Nos is situated, is between the Barents and White Seas. These areas regularly host Russian Navy exercises. A navy exercise was thought to be ongoing when the RC-135W made its flight. The Murmansk Oblast is also home to several important Russian naval bases. Whether the aircraft did violate Russian airspace has not been independently confirmed and the RAF has not commented on the allegations. (Source: Armada)
31 Aug 22. US Army to launch offensive cyber capabilities office. The U.S. Army will establish an office dedicated to offensive cyber and space capabilities next year amid rapidly shifting priorities, officials said.
The office, dubbed Program Manager Cyber and Space, will fall under the Program Executive Office for Intelligence, Electronic Warfare and Sensors, which tests and fields equipment such as aerial jamming pods, biometric information systems and battlefield navigation tools.
Its creation will shift offensive cyber responsibilities away from an existing PEO IEW&S enclave tasked with electronic warfare and cyber.
“That’s one of the things we’re driving toward,” Brig. Gen. Ed Barker, the deputy at PEO IEW&S, said Aug. 30 during a roundtable with reporters at the Open Innovation Lab. “So we’re definitely trying to realign to some of those emerging priorities and areas.”
The offensive cyber portfolio includes the Joint Common Access Platform, a program initiated by the Army a few years ago, according to Mark Kitz, the leader of PEO IEW&S. ManTech, a defense technology firm, in 2020 won a $265m contract to support the platform for nearly four years.
Offensive cyber is defined as “cyberspace operations intended to project power by the application of force in or through cyberspace,” according to the National Institute of Standards and Technology.
JCAP provides underlying infrastructure for Department of Defense cyber missions and target acquisition, C4ISRNET previously reported. It’s part of the Joint Cyber Warfighting Architecture, an overarching vision for U.S. Cyber Command.
PM Cyber and Space, reporters were told, will be led by a colonel, or O-6. The breakout is necessary, in part, because of increased workloads and demands spanning the military services.
“Because we’ve seen mission growth in that area,” Kitz said, “we’re going to spin off.” (Source: C4ISR & Networks)
01 Sep 22. Mass – Keeping an Eye on the Battle. Mass’ Battleye electronic warfare simulation software is intuitive and highly capable. Armada has put it through its paces over the last few months.
Armada has been privileged to have been given access to MASS’ Battleye mission support tool. We have used the software to simulate the performance of Russian Army Electronic Warfare (EW) assets deployed to Ukraine. Battleye can be fed with several factors influencing an EW system’s performance and the software can account for local terrain effects on radio propagation. For this article, your correspondent used it to demonstrate the hypothetical performance of a Communications Intelligence (COMINT) system.
Getting Started
Battleye is nicely intuitive. The first thing to do after opening the programme is choose where your EW system will be deployed. This is easily done by selecting one of several maps available in the software thanks to an internal database and embedded Geographic Information System (GIS) server. For this hypothetical scenario, the GIS server’s ‘World Imagery’ map was used.
An embedded GIS server lets the user choose several different map types according to their needs.
Worldwide Capabilities
Once you have decided where to deploy the EW system, you can place it on the map. This positioning can then be fine-tuned to a precise location as required. Our scenario had the COMINT system being deployed near Maidenhead, a town 43 kilometres (27 miles) west of London. The user then chooses the formation or asset deploying the system. This is easily done from a side menu with ‘friendly’, ‘hostile’, ‘neutral’ and ‘unidentified’ units. The COMINT system was deployed with a friendly electronic warfare squadron in our scenario.
A pop-up lets you determine the unit’s exact role with up to 14 different missions being nominated. These include electronic support, electronic attack and counter-improvised explosive device tasks. Our scenario saw the squadron given an electronic support role. The quality of the radio communications between the ESMs can now be calculated through the ‘Path Profile Analysis’ function and locations altered if necessary to provide a well-connected baseline of ESM assets.
Simulating Effectiveness
Once the mission is selected, a second pop-up menu appears on which parameters concerning the units’ equipment are entered. The user can add its call sign, in this case ‘COMINT Squadron 1’, along with its allegiance (friendly) and the environment where it has been deployed, in this case ‘rural’. If desired, the user can add details of the squadron’s ESM communications network. These include the types of radios it is using, their transmit power, antenna gain, minimum and maximum frequencies, and antenna height.
In terms of the squadron’s EW capabilities, it was equipped with a light Electronic Support Measure (ESM) with a sensitivity of -90dBm (decibels/milliwatts). An omnidirectional antenna for the ESM can be simulated, however we chose to give it a directional antenna. This had a southwest bearing of 225 degrees, fanning out 45 degrees either side. The ESM covered a Very/Ultra High Frequency (V/UHF) waveband of 30 megahertz/MHz to three gigahertz and had a three metre (nine feet) antenna. Once these capabilities were entered the unit was shown on the map, marked with appropriate symbology and identified by its call sign. It should be noted that all parameters can be altered by the user to get to real world values,
A range of capabilities can be simulated by the Battleye software including a COMINT ESM’s waveband, antenna height and field-of-view.
Now the fun began. The next step was to show the hypothetical coverage of our COMINT system. The user can select the ‘Mode’ menu and then ‘ESM Coverage Prediction’ from the ESM submenu. After a few moments, Battleye depicted the ESM’s potential coverage based on its parameters and local topography. The green area denotes a 90 to 100 percent Probability of Detection (POD) for V/UHF emitters. The yellow area denotes a 50 to 90 percent POD and the red area a POD of ten to 50 percent. As can be seen from the map below, coverage is by no means uniform. Local terrain is undulating meaning some places will be within the ESM’s line-of-sight and some will not. The ruler lets you measure the range of these areas of coverage or the range ring function can be utilised up to a distance of 60km (37.3 miles). As we can see, the ESM should be able to detect V/UHF emitters at ranges of up to 19.5km (12.1 miles).
Assessment
Battleye has some minor shortcomings. The software can take may take some time to load its maps, although this could be a result of using WiFi to access the GIS server. This can be overcome by storing maps locally if WiFi is not available. Moreover, a simple ‘undo’ function would be a nice addition. Sometimes your correspondent made mistakes when entering information on the map. Clearing drawings and unwanted data from a map using the ‘Edit’ function can be a tad laborious.
That notwithstanding, Battleye is an excellent tool. This article has barely scratched the surface of what it can do. The software is relatively easy to use and a couple of hours with one of MASS’ friendly, and very patient, instructors enable one to become proficient enough. Like anything, it is then a matter of playing with the software and getting comfortable with it, allowing you to explore its full potential. Usefully Battleye can also simulate the integrity of communications links between radios. (Source: Armada)
31 Aug 22. INVISIO enters into two-year framework agreement with a strategically important law enforcement customer in northern Europe.
The two-year framework agreement where the end-customer is the country’s National Police concerns communication equipment with hearing protection. The agreement is an important milestone in marketing to law enforcement customers. INVISIO estimates that the order value of the initial two years is up to SEK 15 m.
The agreement includes the latest generation of INVISIO’s headsets both in-ear and over the ear.
The contract is of strategic importance as the customer will serve as a reference in relation to the ongoing modernization of communication equipment that is taking place globally in the law enforcement and security sector. INVISIO’s system is well in line with these initiatives, through ensuring good hearing protection while enabling the user to communicate with retained situational awareness in extreme environments.
The contract value is up to SEK 15 m over the initial contract period of two years and holds the possibility of one plus one-year extension.
“We are very proud that another demanding customer within the law enforcement area chooses INVISIO. The agreement is an important reference win for us, as the European law enforcement community will study the solution,” says Lars Højgård Hansen, CEO of INVISIO.
The second major LE-agreement
This is the second major agreement that INVISIO enters with a national police force. In 2019 INVISIO signed two agreements with the Swedish Police referring to the Police Authority, police training (Police Academies), the Swedish Security Service and the Swedish Economic Crime Authority.
30 Aug 22. US Army examining network portfolio in bid for digital dominance. A sweeping study of the U.S. Army’s data and communications network modernization is underway, as the service seeks dominance in increasingly digital-first fights, according to Undersecretary Gabe Camarillo.
Though it is too early to draw any conclusions, Camarillo told reporters Aug. 23 that the plan is to better understand all that is going on to upgrade communications and info-sharing capabilities and identify where the next big steps may lie.
“The focus is on building foundational investments that are going to enable the Army to be part of the joint force and to do everything that we have to do as part of our national defense strategy,” the services’s No. 2 official said. The comments follow demonstrations and meetings in Aberdeen, Maryland, with leaders of the Network Cross-Functional Team and relevant program executive offices.
The evaluation covers topics deemed critical to military superiority, including unified network operations, cybersecurity, cloud migration and adoption, data analytics, tactical radios and satellite communications.
Network modernization is among the Army’s top priorities as it prepares for potential conflicts with technologically advanced opponents such as China and Russia. Other concerns include long-range precision fires and air-and-missile defense. The service has struggled with connectivity between its tactical and strategic hubs as well as when bouncing from theater to theater.
The upgrades are also a critical piece in the puzzle known as Joint All-Domain Command and Control — the Pentagon’s vision for seamless information-sharing and tailored threat response across land, air, sea, space and cyber.
“Looking at things like JADC2, he asked us about transport and bandwidth. Are those things that we want to make a big bet on in order to get that particular capability moving, from an Army perspective?” Maj. Gen. Jeth Rey, the director of the Network Cross-Functional Team, said Aug. 23. “He wants us to also look at our data fabric. How does that play into a capability that we can use across all services?”
The review was motivated by program evaluation groups, involved in the Army budget, and a need to wrangle the complexities of the portfolio and all its players. Rey said network modernization teams owe Army leadership recommendations on how to hasten or improve acquisition.
The overall process is expected to wrap this fall.
“I left the Army in 2015, when I was in ASAALT, and coming back to it a good six years later, it’s amazing how much ground we’ve covered, how much the programs have converged and diverged from where they were before,” said Camarillo, who previously served as the principal deputy assistant secretary of the Army. “So it’s a really good opportunity for me to kind of assess where we are. I think it’s important to do it right now.”
“Recognizing where we are today, it’s a tremendous amount of progress,” he added. “As we look ahead to the next five years, where do we want to be? I’ve challenged the team to look at that.” (Source: Defense News Early Bird/C4ISR & Networks)
31 Aug 22. Australia-China: Beijing’s cyber espionage activity against Western entities will persist to assess the risk to Chinese business interests in the South China Sea. On 30 August, industry reports claimed that Australian government agencies, media organisations, and heavy industry manufacturers were targeted in a three-month-long Chinese state-sponsored cyber espionage campaign. The threat actor reportedly sent its victims phishing emails posing as “Australian Morning News”, which deployed a malicious JavaScript payload from the ScanBox reconnaissance framework. While the aim of this campaign is unclear, the targeted manufacturers are involved in providing maintenance to wind turbines in the South China Sea (SCS). As such, there is a realistic possibility that this campaign was aimed at collecting information related to the Australian government and its private sector partners’ policies and projects in the contested SCS. The SCS is a highly lucrative shipping region, with over USD 3.96 trillion worth of trade passing through it per year. To this end, Beijing has engaged in increasingly inflammatory behaviour to maintain its claim over the area. With Western governments, such as Australia and the US, continuing to expand their influence in the region through regional frameworks, such as AUKUS, there is a heightened risk of further China-linked cyber espionage activity emerging over the coming months. Government-linked organisations, such as in the manufacturing and defence sectors, will be at the highest risk for these operations. (Source: Sibylline)
30 Aug 22. Northrop Grumman Australia (NYSE: NOC) successfully completed a demonstration of a sovereign, fifth-generation Joint Air Battle Management System (JABMS) proposed solution supporting the Australian Defence Force.
Performed to the AIR6500 Program Office in the Department of Defence, the demonstration showcased the JABMS product solution and the modular, open systems architecture leveraging a proven U.S. all-domain command and control (C2) architecture to demonstrate genuine risk reduction to the future AIR6500 capability.
“Over the last twelve months, Northrop Grumman Australia has made significant steps to reduce key risks to delivering our proposed JABMS solution,” said Christine Zeitz, general manager, Northrop Grumman Asia Pacific. “Together with our Australian industry partners, we look forward to working with the Commonwealth to build a highly collaborative ‘JABMS Enterprise’ in support of the Australian Defence Force.”
The demonstration executed a number of real-time operational scenarios where the audience was able to view the command and control functions and had a complete overview of the battlespace. Additionally, this demonstration validated our agile delivery approach and our ability to rapidly integrate Australian sovereign capabilities into the JABMS solution.
“We have brought the best of breed technology from our all-domain C2 program of record and engineered a truly sovereign, Australian JABMS capability,” said Mary Petryszyn, corporate vice president and president, Northrop Grumman Defense Systems. “This technology is relevant now and will continue to be relevant into the future, providing an effective and enduring defensive capability to Australia and its allies.”
Northrop Grumman Australia’s JABMS solution is designed to link sensors and effectors across domains with the ability to optimise responses and operate within a broader C2 functionality. The contemporary design of an open, modular systems architecture enables the joint force to utilise current and evolving platforms, accelerate decision making, and respond at the speed of the threat.
29 Aug 22. First Arctic unit now training with modernized US Army networking gear. The U.S. Army said it dispatched upgraded networking equipment to soldiers in Alaska, marking the first time an Arctic unit was provided Capability Set 21 kit, amid increased military investment in the northern region.
The 2nd Infantry Brigade Combat Team, 11th Airborne Division, this month began hands-on training with the gear, which is meant to boost mobility and make communications on the battlefield more intuitive.
The suite includes radios, variable height antennas and small satellite terminals, which provide “commanders and leaders from battalion echelons down with communications options and the ability to access secure but unclassified networks if permissive within their area of operations,” according to Paul Mehney, communications director for the Army’s Program Executive Office for Command, Control and Communications-Tactical, or PEO C3T.
Once training is complete, elements of the brigade are expected to use the Capability Set 21 systems during upcoming exercises across the Pacific.
Network modernization is a focus for the Army as it transitions to multi-domain operations and contends with communication environments jeopardized by advanced adversaries, such as China and Russia.
To enhance connectivity and security, PEO C3T, alongside its Network Cross-Functional Team and C5ISR Center partners, is rolling out compounding technological upgrades known as capability sets. The initiative kicked off in fiscal 2021 with a focus on infantry; additional goal posts were planted in 2023, 2025, 2027 and beyond. Officials have described the two-year increment as a modernization “sweet spot.”
The network upgrades arrive in Alaska as the U.S. attempts to reinvigorate and reposition its forces there.
The Army early last year released a new Arctic strategy, which emphasized the region’s strategic value — natural resources and shipping routes, included — while also recognizing its unique challenges.
“The Arctic and sub-arctic incorporates portions of three combatant command areas of responsibility and network integration is difficult in extreme cold environments, high latitudes and areas with little commercial infrastructure,” the strategy stated. Regardless of where “units deploy from,” it continued, “to achieve operational and strategic objectives, they must have the capability for extended operations. This includes sustained and robust logistics and lines of communication.”
The service plans to install one of its five multi-domain task forces in the region, which would employ a combination of intelligence, cyber, space and electronic warfare to deny access to enemy forces. (Source: C4ISR & Networks)
29 Aug 22. Saab pitches Arexis EW suite as ‘perfect fit’ for Eurofighter EK. Saab has described its Arexis electronic warfare (EW) suite as being “the perfect fit” for Germany’s Eurofighter Elektronischer Kampf (EK) requirement. Speaking to Janes and other defence media at the company’s Stockholm headquarters, EW and Arexis sales director Mikael Corp, said that as the incumbent provider for the EW system for the Luftwaffe’s Panavia Tornado Electronic Combat Role (ECR), it is well-placed to do the same for the Eurofighter EK that is set to replace it. (Source: Janes)
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In November 2017, Spectra Group (UK) Ltd announced its listing as a Top 100 Government SME Supplier by the UK Crown Commercial Services.
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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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