Sponsored by Spectra Group
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18 Jun 24. ELT Group participates at Eurosatory 2024, which takes place in Paris from 17 to 21 June, an international event for Defence and Security, with a particular focus on applications in the terrestrial domain. The event will be an opportunity to present ELT Group’s latest technological and capacitive developments for applications in the terrestrial domain. Visitors can find out more at the ELT Group’s stand Hall6 C160.
Thanks to its 70 years of experience in the dominance of electromagnetic spectrum in all operational domains (air, naval, land, cyber and space), ELT Group proposes the latest generation of capabilities in the land domain that can guarantee tactical superiority, strategic autonomy and interoperability to the operator, basing these capabilities on new digital processes, artificial intelligence and cybersecurity.
For example, the multi-domain, multi-layer Cyber Electro-Magnetic Activities (CEMA) capability protects networks and operational assets from cyber attacks through coordinated monitoring, early warning and immediate resolution, through high synergy between radio frequency and cyber capabilities.
In the area of countering mini-micro and small drones, the ADRIAN (Anti-Drone Interception Acquisition Neutralisation) system is a counter-UAV solution capable of intercepting and neutralising LSS (Low-Small-Slow) UAVs in different scenarios and environments, including urban ones. ADRIAN is based on multi-spectral sensors (radar, EO/IR, acoustic and radio link interceptors) that perform data fusion for threat detection and identification. The ‘Cyber RF’ functionality, a complement to the ‘jamming’, ‘radar’ and ‘visual’ modules, has been implemented, making the product capable of effectively detecting and reacting to new and more complex operational scenarios, both military and civil, threatened by new-generation malicious drones.
ADRIAN’s architecture is modular so that it can be adapted to multiple operational requirements and their continuous evolution. The family includes versions for fixed and transportable use, moving configurations and ship integration. A modern and intuitive command and control, powered by artificial intelligence-based algorithms for data fusion and image analysis, functionally integrates multi-spectral sensors/effectors.
TEWS (Tactical EW Solution) is a capability enabled by both Electronic Warfare and Signal Intelligence (SIGINT) capabilities composed of networked integrated mobile tactical platforms to simultaneously achieve total protection of the infrastructure and the acquisition of intelligence data to increase the Situational Awareness.
18 Jun 24. Global: New campaign reveals sustained security, espionage risks stemming from outdated software. On 17 June, the cyber security company Sygnia reported that the Chinese-linked group ‘Velvet Ant’ targeted a large unnamed organisation in a long-term espionage campaign. Although the initial attack vector is unknown, the threat group first accessed the victim’s network in 2021. The targeted organisation reportedly operated two F5 BIG-IP appliances that were running outdated software. These were likely exploited by Velvet Ant to deploy a known remote access trojan (RAT), ‘PlugX’. This enabled the group to evade traditional monitoring solutions and to achieve prolonged persistence, highlighting the sophistication of the group’s tactics, techniques and procedures (TTPs). Notably, the group has shifted its tactics to use an internal server as part of its command and control (C2) infrastructure after it is initially detected. We assess this demonstrates the threat actors’ extensive knowledge of their victims’ systems, as well as their ability to adapt quickly. Additionally, the incident underscores the security and espionage risks stemming from outdated software, further underscoring the importance o(Source: Sibylline)
17 Jun 24. Thales’s first resilient high-data-rate High Frequency (HF) radio sets for land theatre command posts are on display on the company’s stand at Eurosatory.
- They provide a resilient long-distance communications capability and, with data rates 10 times higher than earlier generations of HF radios
- The new HF radios use patented technology that has already been proven in naval operations aboard several types of warships including FDI-class defence and intervention frigates and France’s Charles de Gaulle aircraft carrier.
At Eurosatory 2024, Thales is unveiling the first two radios in its new HF XL range of resilient high-data-rate wideband HF radios for command posts deployed by land forces in the theatre of operations. They are ideally suited to high-intensity conflict scenarios.
High frequency (HF) transmissions, fully secure and with low operating costs, are still essential for armed forces, particularly in areas with poor satellite coverage (polar regions, for example, or in constrained environments) or where there is a high risk of jamming. However, HF is limited in terms of bandwidth, and can no longer meet the growing needs of armed forces for data exchange.
By developing high-frequency broadband communication capabilities (HF XL), Thales is offering a 10-fold increase in bandwidth and a significant improvement in quality of service, while still benefiting from HF’s advantages of long range and operation in constrained environments.
This technological feat is made possible by a cognitive engine that automatically selects frequencies throughout the communication. Jammed frequencies are automatically rejected and replaced by free frequencies, ensuring link stability and optimized data rates. This makes the radios easy-to-use.
The 1 kW and 400 W radios, fully interoperable with all wideband HF radios, enable deployed command posts to communicate with command headquarters or with other units in remote areas of the theatre of operations, over distances of up to 10,000 km.
To the two stations currently available, 1kW and 400W, new radios for vehicles and soldiers will be added in 2025 to complete the tactical range. In addition to land and naval environments, it is planned tp extend HF XL technology into the aero and infrastructure domains.
“These new radios are the culmination of several years of consistent innovation and design efforts to provide our customers with a mature solution that represents the state of the art in wideband HF technology”, said Christophe Groshenry, Vice-President Radiocommunication Products, Thales
17 Jun 24. Rohde & Schwarz introduces sensor fusion – the ultimate solution for powerful and reliable data analysis.
Rohde & Schwarz showcases the TARAN Suite, the tool of choice for coping with massive amounts of data that require powerful and reliable analysis, obtaining a comprehensive situational picture is crucial for mission success in multi-domain operations.
Rohde & Schwarz, a leading provider of innovative communications and information security solutions, is proud to showcase a cutting-edge analytical solution that revolutionizes the decision-making process in various domains.
In today’s complex and rapidly evolving world with multiple intelligence domains, obtaining a comprehensive situational picture is crucial for mission success in multi-domain operations. To address this need, this powerful sensor fusion and analysis tool combines fragmented and contradictory sensor data into a full situational picture. By leveraging cloud-based technology, sensor fusion from Rohde & Schwarz processes massive amounts of data and enriches it with open source information and intelligence, providing users with a detailed overview of their environment in real time.
The advanced capabilities of sensor fusion from Rohde & Schwarz go beyond data aggregation and enrichment. With intelligent filters and advanced screening models, it tracks and identifies significant information from various sources. This enables users to make informed decisions and improve supervision, examination, and investigation in any intelligence domain.
“Our sophisticated analytical solution, the TARAN Suite, has become the tool of choice for coping with massive amounts of data that require powerful and reliable analysis,” said Frank Schrudde, CEO of Schönhofer Sales & Engineering, a Rohde & Schwarz subsidiary. “Sensor fusion from Rohde & Schwarz offers an end-to-end intelligence solution, empowering our customers with comprehensive operational insights and unrivalled efficiency.”
One of the key strengths of sensor fusion from Rohde & Schwarz is its scalability and security. It provides a secure information exchange platform and offers special connectivity options for heterogeneous or decentralized analytics scenarios. With configurable data replication and synchronization over secure network links, extensive offline processing capabilities for mobile teams, and adaptable resilience for low-bandwidth or high-latency data links, sensor fusion from Rohde & Schwarz ensures seamless and reliable data analysis in any situation.
Rohde & Schwarz is showcasing its solutions and capabilities supporting multi-domain operations by ensuring spectrum dominance in all domains and along the complete signal chain at Eurosatory 2024 on booth 6-K279.
17 Jun 24. Thales and CEA Partner on Trusted Generative AI for Defence and Security.
- Thales and the French Alternative Energies and Atomic Energy Commission (CEA) have signed a new partnership agreement in the field of generative artificial intelligence (AI).
- The Thales AI research teams at cortAIx, the Group’s AI accelerator for mission-critical systems, will work with the CEA teams to deliver sovereign trusted AI solutions.
- Through this three-year renewable partnership, Thales will provide its AI expertise and deep knowledge of the defence and security sectors, while the CEA will contribute its know-how in multimodal generative AI (based on text, images, audio, electromagnetic signals, structured data and other inputs) to accelerate the integration of AI into solutions for Thales customers with critical mission requirements.
To create trusted generative AI solutions, Thales’s cortAIx Lab, the most powerful integrated laboratory for critical AI in Europe, and the CEA, which is one of the world’s most innovative research organisations and is listed alongside Thales in the Clarivate Analytics Top 100 Global Innovators,1 have joined forces to focus on a range of generative AI use cases, in particular for intelligence and command applications.
Bertrand Tavernier, Chief Technical Officer for Thales’s Secure Communications and Information Systems business: “This partnership with the CEA’s AI teams will combine the power of their research with our work at cortAIx, Thales’s AI accelerator, which brings together the Group’s technological expertise and deep knowledge of the defence and security sectors. Our customers — governments, armed forces, critical infrastructure operators — need trusted, sovereign generative AI solutions for their critical missions.”
Alexandre Bounouh, Director of the CEA’s List Institute, specialising in smart digital systems: “This partnership builds on the long-standing collaboration between the CEA and Thales and extends it to the sensitive issue of generative AI, combining the expertise and excellence of the CEA’s research teams in AI safety and security with cortAIx’s strengths in the strategic domain of defence and security. It will support the CEA’s mission in safety, security and artificial intelligence with our partners and all institutional and industry stakeholders in this field.”
Generative AI can be developed to accelerate OODA command loops (observe, orient, decide, act) and implemented across the entire critical decision chain: sensing and data gathering, data transmission and storage, data processing and decision support.
Generative AI will serve as a trusted smart assistant for users, enabling them to dialogue easily and efficiently with complex systems with the aim of facilitating and accelerating human decision-making and the tempo of operations. For intelligence gathering, for example, multimodal generative AI will make it possible to simultaneously extract, process, correlate and interpret different types of information from multiple sources — such as the web, social media and sensors in a theatre of operations — to generate summaries and accelerate the production of reliable reports.
Thales’s cortAIx Lab and the CEA will also focus on interoperability within coalitions. To simplify communication between member states in the context of a joint operation, trusted generative AI will facilitate interaction between operators and complex systems by translating their intentions into a sequence of actions and translating technical terms into the languages of the various nations involved. (Source: ASD Network)
17 Jun 24. Eviden, the Atos Group business leading in digital, cloud, big data and security, today announces that the French Defense Procurement Agency (DGA), via the Defense Digital Agency (AND), has entrusted it with the development and deployment of SICS[1] ALAT[2]. This system onboard the ALAT (French Army Light Aviation) aircraft is part of the French army’s ramp-up of its collaborative combat capabilities. This new information system will replace the existing systems by 2026.
SICS ALAT enables ALAT aircraft to be networked with land-based tactical information systems in an interoperable, coherent, and unified way, thus creating the SCORPION air-land tactical bubble.
SICS ALAT is a complete and unique digitalization solution for army helicopters, ensuring the continuity of the digitized command chain of air-land combat, capable of providing patrol leaders and helicopter crews with knowledge of the tactical situation in their area of interest and the rapid exchange of information in data transmission. A major technical achievement, this advanced version of SICS is designed to be fully interoperable with the original system, while adapting to the constraints specific to aeronautics: three dimensions, movement, speed, ergonomics adapted to cockpits, and security. Eviden is drawing on its experience of the SICS program and its close collaboration with the DGA, the French Army and operational crews, to meet the challenges of intuitiveness and ease of use to optimize operational acceptance of the system.
As a defense manufacturer, Eviden, through its Mission-Critical Systems (MCS) business line, designs and develops both the information system and the on-board computers that will be integrated into the aircraft to meet the challenges of the ALAT. Drawing on its experience in the design and manufacture of onboard electronics for the military aerospace industry, and its range of MLS Gateway solutions, Eviden is able to offer a computer adapted to the sizing and connectivity constraints of currently operational aircraft (2005-2010 generation), while providing tenfold increase in computing power. This design meets the challenges of availability and operational scalability for armed forces since it does not require current aircraft to be re-qualified.
SICS ALAT demonstrates Eviden MCS’s ability to meet the needs of collaborative combat and digital defense with an end-to-end on-board operational solution for sharing and maintaining the tactical situation, able to communicate with its ecosystem thanks to on-board computing power.
Fabrice Laclef, Director of Mission-Critical Systems (MCS) for France, Eviden, Atos Group said: ” This unique project, which embodies the know-how of Eviden’s Mission-Critical Systems business line, once again proves our expertise in defense, and demonstrates the trust placed in us by the French Army. This project is the fruit of the expertise and collaboration of various teams, to deliver a complete and innovative solution to the Army.”
17 Jun 24. Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE: NOC) delivered the first production Integrated Battle Command System (IBCS) Engagement Operations Center (EOC) and Integrated Fire Control Network (IFCN) Relay to the U.S. Army. The delivery of this equipment, coupled with the Integrated Collaborative Environment (ICE) delivered in December 2023, completes the first full set of IBCS delivered under the low-rate initial production (LRIP) award.
- A complete IBCS set allows the Army to conduct the necessary training to deploy IBCS’ ready now, cutting-edge command and control system powering unprecedented multi-domain integration.
- The EOC hosts the battle management software, communications and computing power enabling IBCS operators to plan and fight the battle.
- The IFCN Relay forms the IBCS communications network and serves as the interface for sensors and weapons integrated into IBCS.
- The U.S. Army awarded Northrop Grumman a Full Rate Production (FRP) contract for IBCS in May. The fiscal year 2024 FRP award of $145 m will support production and deployment of IBCS’ revolutionary command and control capabilities to support U.S. warfighters.
Expert:
Rebecca Torzone, vice president and general manager, combat systems and mission readiness, Northrop Grumman: “IBCS is ready now to provide our warfighters more decision time in the battlespace to outpace tomorrow’s threats. Northrop Grumman is committed to putting IBCS in the hands of our warfighters at an accelerated delivery rate so they can lead the way in modernized air and missile defense.”
Details on IBCS:
The EOC and IFCN Relay deliveries follow the initial December 2023 delivery of the ICE to the Army, of which the Army has accepted 13. This first full set of equipment will support initial activities leading to IBCS Full Operational Test and Evaluation in 2025.
The recently issued Full Rate Production contract award for IBCS is a critical milestone, reflective of successful IBCS performance at numerous air and missile defense test events, integrating Patriot, Lower Tier Air and Missile Defense , Indirect Fire Protection Capability and other sensors and effectors. It also reflects Northrop Grumman’s successful delivery of LRIP systems to the U.S. Army.
IBCS is a revolutionary command and control system unifying current and future assets in the battlespace, regardless of source, service or domain. Through its modular, open and scalable architecture, IBCS gives warfighters capabilities not previously available by fusing sensor data for a single actionable picture of the full battlespace, enabling rapid, informed decisions to optimize shooters. This capability gives warfighters more time to make decisions on how best to defeat threats. IBCS is the centerpiece of the U.S. Army’s modernization strategy for air and missile defense, and it is currently fielded in Poland. IBCS is a foundational element for the multi-domain, multi-national future.
Northrop Grumman is a leading global aerospace and defense technology company. Our pioneering solutions equip our customers with the capabilities they need to connect and protect the world, and push the boundaries of human exploration across the universe. Driven by a shared purpose to solve our customers’ toughest problems, our employees define possible every day.
14 Jun 24. India: Long-term espionage operation points to heightened risks facing government, tech sectors. On 13 June, the cyber security company Cisco Talos reported that a malware operation (‘Operation Celestial Force’) has been targeting Indian entities since 2018. The campaign uses phishing and other social engineering techniques to coerce victims into downloading malicious links and documents. The operation focuses on espionage and surveillance activities, and primarily targets entities and users in the defence, government and technology sectors. The operation uses two types of malware to target Android and Windows devices, underscoring the threat actors’ sophisticated ability to prolong their campaign. Researchers attribute the operation to a Pakistan-aligned group, ‘Cosmic Leopard’, which employs similar tactics, techniques and procedures (TTPs) to the Pakistani state-sponsored group ‘Transparent Tribe’. However, there is not enough technical evidence to link the two groups directly. As such, we assess that the groups possibly operate separately. We also assess that the aim of both groups is to help bolster Pakistan’s geopolitical ambitions amid strained regional tensions. This will sustain the security risks facing the aforementioned sectors in India. (Source: Sibylline)
14 Jun 24. Rohde & Schwarz showcased its solutions and capabilities supporting multi-domain operations by ensuring spectrum dominance in all domains and along the complete signal chain at Eurosatory 2024. Rohde & Schwarz, a leading provider of cutting-edge communications and security solutions, is proud to announce its participation at Eurosatory 2024, the global land and air defense and security benchmark event June 17 to 21, 2024. The company is a trusted partner for armed forces, law enforcement, regulatory authorities, and governmental organizations.
At Eurosatory 2024 on booth 6K279, Rohde & Schwarz presents solutions and capabilities that support multi-domain operations by ensuring spectrum dominance in all domains and along the complete signal chain:
- Measure and monitor the complete spectrum – explore the electromagnetic spectrum with military spectrum monitoring solutions;
- Information superiority – high-performance SIGINT/EW sensor systems detect, locate and counter all RF signals including RF-controlled drones in military operations;
- Connect battlefields – secure, reliable and interoperable communications with SOVERON; the software defined radio family that delivers advanced voice and data connectivity for all branches of the armed forces;
- Get the full situational picture – sensor fusion and signal analysis through AI enriched data.
Visitors to the Rohde & Schwarz booth will have the opportunity to explore a wide range of innovative products and systems. Among the highlights are the company’s latest technologies, equipment and systems for armed forces.
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Spectra Group (UK) Ltd
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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