Sponsored By Curtiss Wright
https://www.curtisswright.com/
————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————-
09 Jan 26. L3Harris ROVER and TNR Products Receive NSA Approval for International Sales Empty heading. For the first time ever, new ‘C’ variants allow international users to interoperate with U.S. personnel via NSA-certified cryptography. The U.S. National Security Agency has officially approved L3Harris’ ROVER® 6Sc Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance terminal and Tactical Network ROVER 2c handheld ISR terminal for use with the NICM100 security module. For the first time ever, coalition partners with approval from the U.S. Department of State can purchase an upgrade for their transceivers through L3Harris to be interoperable with U.S. troops when they operate with NSA encryptions. The NSA crypto cores are available to eligible allies through Foreign Military Sales contracts.
“This effort was only possible through close collaboration between L3Harris and the NSA on an expedited approval process, and these two products are the first test cases validated with this concept. We are now pursuing approvals through this process for the rest of our video datalink products including CMDL 2c as soon as their respective U.S. domestic variants complete certification.” – Byron Anderson, Director, Product Line Management, L3Harris
Designed for air, surface and maritime use, The L3Harris ROVER line of products provides real-time, full-motion video (FMV) and other network data for situational awareness, targeting, battle damage assessment, surveillance, relay, convoy overwatch operations and other situations where eyes-on-target are required. Embedded frequency diversity provides link redundancy, robust reception and resiliency to platform shadowing, multi-path interference, line-of-sight blockages and RF interference. With an unmatched waveform set, ROVER 6S is interoperable with virtually all large airframes, UAVs and targeting pods in theater today. Until now, international customers were able to purchase exportable “i” variants of the ROVER line, which are not capable of interoperability with systems operating on NSA high-assurance channels. The approval of the “c” variants opens an array of protected coalition interoperability between U.S. troops and troops from more than 50 applicable nations. (Source: ASD Network)
08 Jan 26. Defenceless. Just what was that thing flying around the building? It was quite late and a pair of red lights were darting above the street. A buzzing sound led to the inevitable conclusion that the strange flying object was a radio-controlled Uncrewed Aerial Vehicle (UAV). Giggling youngsters were standing on one of the apartment building’s balconies. One was using their smartphone to control the aircraft while the others watched the UAV’s camera footage on the small screen. Your editor was not quite so amused. The unauthorised flight of a UAV in their hometown is a criminal offence. These aircraft can risk injury to those on the ground, damage to property and may present a hazard to air traffic: The local airport is a few kilometres away, and a general aviation aerodrome even closer. Furthermore, flying a UAV with a camera near housing raises serious privacy concerns. At one point the aircraft hovered close to your editor’s balcony and stayed stationary for several seconds. The resulting hand gesture persuaded the pilot that his aircraft was not welcome. The local police duly appeared and heard from residents witnessing the flight, some of whom had helpfully filmed the errant UAV. Officers were seen minutes later on the balcony of the UAV pilot’s apartment. The aircraft had returned and was being confiscated, statements were being taken and the pilot was led downstairs to a waiting police car. Conversations with the local constabulary revealed a striking gap in their law enforcement capabilities. Officers confided they had no means to detect an unauthorised UAV nor to safely engage that aircraft and force it to land. Nor could they determine where the aircraft was being flown from. Using their own firearms to shoot the UAV out of the sky was strictly prohibited. The officers said that such a small, mobile target would represent an almost impossible marksmanship challenge, particularly on a dark night. Perhaps it is time for urban areas to be outfitted with basic UAV detection systems that could notice the tell-tale radio link between the aircraft and its pilot? Two or more of these systems positioned on cellphone towers or tall buildings would notify the police that a UAV is flying, possibly illicitly. It could also give a potential indication of the pilot’s location through triangulation. It might be possible to team these detection systems with rudimentary jammers. The latter would attack the radio link causing the UAV to either land in situ or return to its point of origin. This useful radio data could be recorded and perhaps used in court as evidence. Recent weeks and months have seen a surge in illegal UAV flights across Europe in NATO nations. These have occurred near airports with the aim of disrupting air traffic. The UAV flights are blamed on Russian operatives or sympathisers seeking to cause disruption and threaten critical national infrastructure. Outfitting law enforcement with counter-UAV systems would help protect urban areas against dangerous UAV flights. Making such an investment may be far less expensive than the potential physical damage and disruption unauthorised UAV use may cause. (Source: Armada)
08 Jan 26. Movin’ On Up. Russian uninhabited aerial vehicle pilots are increasingly using the Starlink satellite communications constellation for aircraft control. In December 2025, Armada published an article explaining how Russian land forces occupying parts of Ukraine use the Starlink Satellite Communications (SATCOM) constellation. This constellation is chiefly used to provide backhaul links from deployed units at, or near, the tactical edge to higher echelons of command. Although SpaceX, Starlink’s owner, does not provide the constellation’s coverage over Russia, Russian forces can exploit Starlink coverage provided above Ukraine. Starlink provides wideband links across Ku-band (14 gigahertz/GHz uplink/10.9GHz to 12.75GHz downlink) and Ka-band (26.5GHz to 40GHz uplink/18GHz to 20GHz downlink) channels. Armada understands from Ukrainian sources that some Russian Uninhabited Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) are outfitted with Starlink SATCOM terminals. Starlink can be used by UAV pilots to control their aircraft. Traditionally, UAVs employ air-to-surface/surface-to-air radio links to connect the aircraft and pilot. Prior to the second Russian invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, these communications were typically confined to wavebands of 2.4GHz and 5.8GHz. These frequencies are been earmarked by the International Telecommunications Union (ITU) for civilian UAV control. The ITU is the United Nations organisation responsible for the global regulation of the radio spectrum.
The frequency battle
UAV control frequencies were a key target for Russian and Ukrainian Electronic Warfare (EW) cadres. Jamming this radio link would cause the aircraft to either land in situ or return to its point of origin. In both cases, these features were standard failsafe controls for civilian drones pressed into military service. The assumption of the failsafe mechanism is that the loss of the link would stop the pilot controlling the aircraft. As Armada has chronicled in the past, Russian land forces’ EW systems such as the RP-377U/UV can hold these frequencies at risk. The response from the UAV engineers of both sides has been to expand the frequencies that can be used to link an aircraft to its pilot. Armada understands that a waveband of 200MHz to twelve gigahertz is now used in the Ukraine theatre of operations for UAV control. Moreover, there is a continued need to ensure UAV control channels are agile. No sooner is one channel or frequency employed for UAV control been used than it gets jammed. Radio links must continually hunt for unoccupied and unjammed frequencies that they can momentarily exploit before these also get jammed.
Into space
As the 200MHz to twelve gigahertz waveband became increasingly contested and congested, it was inevitable that both sides would look elsewhere in the radio spectrum for UAV control frequencies they could employ. Russia has been able to obtain Starlink terminals illicitly via suppliers in third party nations like the United Arab Emirates, Armada understands. As well as being used for land forces trunk communications, some of these terminals now furnish Russian UAVs. The relatively high Ku-band and Ka-band links employed by Starlink are relatively difficult to jam. These beams are noticeably narrow. A jamming signal must be pointed directly at the antenna if it is going to be received. This is particularly difficult if the Starlink antenna is mounted atop of a UAV and pointing towards the sky. A hostile aircraft, inhabited or otherwise, would need to be above the targeted UAV pointing its jamming signal downwards to have a chance of success. As well as being difficult to jam Starlink has a further attraction for Russian UAV pilots as it carries significant quantities of data. According to Starlink, users typically enjoy download speeds of between 25 megabits-per-second/mbps and 220mbps. Upload speeds of between five megabits-per-second and 20mbps are also achievable. These data rates mean the aircraft can send back detailed video pictures during their flight. This clarity helps the pilot ensure the correct target is being reconnoitred or, in the case of a suicide UAV, attacked. A further benefit of using Starlink is that the channels provide low latencies of between 25 milliseconds/ms and 100ms. A pilot who maybe hundreds of nautical miles away from their aircraft, controlling it across a beyond-line-of-sight SATCOM link, can send commands which the aircraft will respond to in near real time. This will help the aircraft avoid heavily defended areas as and when these are discovered during its flight. It is noteworthy that Starlink terminals on UAVs may be teamed with Global Navigation Satellite System (GNSS) Position, Navigation and Timing (PNT) receivers using several receiving elements on a circular array. Using several elements helps a GNSS receiver to detect and block out areas where jamming or fake PNT signals are being transmitted.
Outlook
North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) and allied nations should take note of Russia’s approach to UAV control and GNSS PNT resilience. There is an imperative to develop capabilities which can jam Starlink terminals used by aircraft like UAVs. Likewise, EW engineers must continue efforts to nullify Russian GNSS PNT resilience techniques. The UAV battle in Ukraine is helping to drive tactical ingenuity regarding aircraft control and navigation. Overcoming such techniques will help NATO and its allies potentially annul Russian advances in UAV electronic protection. (Source: Armada)
06 Jan 26. Keeping it Real. The Air Defender computer game faithfully replicates the recognised air picture that fighter controllers use to detect potential targets, and to vector fighters and their supporting tanker and AWACS assets. An exciting new computer game replicates the tensions inherent in the control and reporting centre bunker of a contemporary integrated air defence system. Flight simulator games mimicking an aircraft’s cockpit have long been a staple of the video gaming world, but games replicating Integrated Air Defence Systems (IADSs) less so. However, a new game entitled Air Defender has bucked this trend. Launched for early access on the Microsoft Steam gaming platform, Air Defender has been available since late November 2025. Air Defender aims to replicate the feel and tasks of an IADS Control and Reporting Centre (CRC). As a player you are tasked with protecting a segment of the United Kingdom’s airspace. Using your radar screen, you must detect suspicious air activity. Fighters must be scrambled and vectored towards air threats and ordered to engage if necessary. The player also has authority over the tanker and airborne early warning and control system aircraft supporting the fighters.
Past experience
Air Defender is the brainchild of Allan Akers who is a former Royal Air Force (RAF) fighter controller and now director of the ROTOR3 game studio which developed it. Mr. Akers told Armada that Air Defender “began simply because I wanted to play a game based on my old job in the RAF”. He was particularly keen to focus on the air defence command and control element and noted a gap in the gaming world to this end: “I started building it purely for myself. I genuinely didn’t think anyone outside the radar community would take an interest”. A few videos were shared online of early versions and “the response was incredible … That enthusiasm is what convinced me to keep going and turn it into something much bigger”. Challenging aspects of the game’s development included replicating the CRC room experience in a way “that is both authentic and enjoyable for players”. Mr. Akers recalls that air defence work can involve long, quiet stretches followed by sudden, intense activity: “Translating that into a compelling game without losing the essence of how the job feels has been very difficult”. Enabling early access on Steam has been vital in helping the game’s development.
Players learn all about the air defence mission. For example, identification friend or foe procedures are explained and replicated. The learning curve is comparatively gentle. Neophytes can use the Easy mode which substitutes standard RAF brevity codes for plain English. The game will have relevance for those considering a career in air defence, or keen to understand more about that world: “As tutorials, missions and support material are added, the potential for it to be used as an informal learning tool will only increase”
Multiplayer
Although only recently released, there is already great growth potential for the game: “I plan to add more maps, including places I have personally worked such as the Falkland Islands and the Arabian Gulf”. Over the longer term Mr. Akers hopes to create “a series of titles that cover the full history of air defence, starting in the Second World War and moving into the modern era and beyond”. A multiplayer function is in the offing which would see players collocated in a virtual CRC bunker. In this mode, each player would assume specific operational roles. This is something Mr. Akers believes will completely transform the Air Defender experience. Full release is set for 27th November 2026, and everyone who buys the early access version will receive all updates at no extra cost. Ultimately, Air Defender “gives players a very genuine sense of what the day-to-day experience is like”. Those who want to learn more should head over to Steam and buy early access: “For anyone curious about the world behind the radar screen, this is about as close as you can get without putting on a uniform”. (Source: Armada)
05 Jan 26. January Spectrum SitRep.
Armada’s monthly round-up of all the latest electronic warfare news in the product, programme and operational domains.
GRIMM Tales
Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) has moved into the Electronic Warfare (EW) market via its mission technologies division. The company unveiled its new GRIMM spectrum dominance system which was showcased during the 2025 Association of Old Crows International Symposium and Convention. This event was held between 9th and 11th December at National Harbour in Maryland. According to a company press release, GRIMM is will detect and locate hostile communications and radar signal and “other electronic threats”. Company information says the system can detect, direction-find and geolocate threats across wavebands of ten megahertz up to 18 gigahertz. GRIMM is optimised for size, weight and power constrained platforms like uncrewed aerial vehicles as it weighs under two pounds (one kilogram). Other applications mooted by HII include high-altitude balloons and aerostats, backpack and static node deployments. The company told Armada that it is integrating “the GRIMM payload into group two and group three UAVs for deep sensing operations” together with long range uncrewed surface vessels for maritime EW applications. The continual improvement of GRIMM is expected by the company “as technology and techniques advance”. These improvements will take the form of “implementing (and) releasing features such as software (and) firmware updates that increase accuracy or decrease latency. This is necessary to keep pace with (and) outpace evolving adversary threat technologies and warfighter requirements for solutions”. HII has provided GRIMM payloads to the United States Army and deliveries of the system are ongoing.
AI-Enabled Vessel ID
In early December 2025 HawkEye 360 announced it had introduced a new vessel tracking identification system which uses Artificial Intelligence (AI) to “assign unique tracking identifiers” according to a company press release. This lets “organisations … maintain custody of high interest vessels across time and space”. The new capability uses AI to provide “unique identifiers (to) maintain tracking continuity of vessels”. Other features of this new capability include “(r)eliability ratings (to) provide transparency into the strengths of vessel custody certainty”. Meanwhile “speed and course attributes add context to custody threads and support behaviour analysis”. Finally, “space-based collection extends visibility into denied, contested, or politically sensitive regions”. The company said that “(b)y reducing manual workload and scaling analytic outputs, this AI-enabled maritime custody capability enhances the ability of defence and intelligence organisations to build patterns of life, expose deceptive behaviours and direct resources more effectively across global areas of interest”. HawkEye 360 told Armada, via a written statement, that these new capabilities are available now “for a defined set of maritime signal types that (the company) currently geolocates (and) it is already deployed to customers to support active missions”. Moreover, “(HawkEye 360) expects rapid expansion across additional frequencies and areas of interest as we scale the underlying models and integrate the feature into new collections”. (Source: Armada)
06 Jan 26. India: Pakistan-linked groups will elevate long-term security risks to government, academic sectors. On 2 January, international news outlets reported that a Pakistan-linked cyber group (‘Transparent Tribe’) has been targeting Indian organisations in a cyber espionage campaign since at least December 2025. The campaign has targeted Indian academic, government and other entities via spear phishing emails containing weaponised .LNK files disguised as PDF files. Opening the .LNK file executes a script that loads a remote access trojan (RAT) directly into the memory of compromised devices, while also opening a decoy PDF. Notably, the RAT will adapt its persistence method depending on the device’s antivirus solutions, pointing to the sophistication of the malware. The RAT is capable of establishing complete remote control over an infected machine, facilitating data exfiltration, file management and other process controls while evading detection. We assess that, amid bilateral tensions, the campaign underscores the long-term security risks facing Indian organisations as Pakistan-linked groups continue to target the government and academic sectors. (Source: Sibylline)
05 Jan 26. Australia Defence completes mySPECTRA testing ahead of EMS upgrade. The system is expected to be rolled out and become operational by March this year. Australian Defence has concluded operational test and evaluation of mySPECTRA, a new software tool intended to modernise electromagnetic spectrum (EMS) management across the Australian Defence Force (ADF). The system, designed to streamline frequency assignment and protection for ADF units, is expected to become operational by March 2026. Personnel conducted two weeks of assessments in early November 2025, examining the software’s performance and workflow integration. According to Defence Spectrum Office, director Paul Burford, these trials played a key role in identifying areas for improvement prior to deployment.
“The testing allows us to see how the services and ourselves will use the systems and identify any areas that need to be addressed,” Burford said.
mySPECTRA is designed to enable more effective planning and manoeuvre within the EMS during training activities and operations, which Defence considers an important element in managing the cyber domain. Burford said the system could be used during a large joint training exercise where several ADF units require access to radio frequencies at the same time.
“It will enable the services to make more assignments themselves and speed up the provision of radio frequencies for what they require,” he added.
Previously, frequency clearance requests involved several manual approval processes, which delayed coordination efforts.
The introduction of mySPECTRA allows frequency managers to assign and de-conflict channels in real time, which Defence expects will reduce interference and support more reliable communications throughout ADF domains. The system also introduces advanced analytical tools to facilitate more precise area-based planning.
Corporal Joshua Telfer, Land Electromagnetic Spectrum Operations Cell Detachment Commander at Army Headquarters, participated in the evaluation process. “It’s going to improve the efficiency of what we do, because we spend a lot of time messing around with data transfers because the old software is outdated,” corporal Telfer said. (Source: naval-technology.com)
05 Jan 26. Global: Abuse of legitimate software services will sustain elevated security, phishing risks to firms. On 2 January, international news outlets reported that unnamed threat actors abused legitimate Google services to target organisations in a phishing campaign in December 2025, impacting global users across a variety of sectors including manufacturing, technology and financial services. The campaign abused Google Cloud’s Application Integration Send Email feature to send emails from Google-owned domains without compromising Google itself. This facilitated the emails’ believability and bypassed spam detection tools. The emails used lures, such as voicemail alerts and shared file access requests, to trick users into clicking malicious links. Then, the threat actors directed users to a Google domain with fake CAPTCHA checks to evade scanners and subsequently to a fraudulent Microsoft login page to harvest credentials. We assess that this campaign increases the likelihood of follow-on attacks on organisations in the short-to-medium term. As threat actors continue to abuse legitimate cloud services, long-term security and targeting risks will persist for global entities. (Source: Sibylline)
05 Jan 26. CSIR successfully demonstrates broadband underwater communication system for Armscor. The Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR) has successfully demonstrated a broadband underwater data communication system to Armscor, which aims to develop fast and reliable acoustic underwater data transfer for naval operations. The CSIR achieved near-perfect transmission and data rates exceeding 240 kbps during a demonstration of the latest version of the system at the CSIR’s underwater acoustic testing facility, the organisation said in its latest 2024/25 annual report.
“This technology aims to transmit data, such as sonar images, over distances of up to 500 metres, enhancing the capabilities of the South African Navy during naval operations. Researchers implemented multiple-input multiple-output technology, utilising multiple transmitter and receiver transducers to improve the broadband underwater data communication system. This technology provides greater transmission bandwidth, allowing for enhanced signal reliability and increased data rates. In addition to software development, new mechanical and electronic hardware was developed for two buoy-mounted, stand-alone transmitter and receiver systems,” the CSIR stated.
Rapid wireless underwater data transfer is becoming ever more crucial, it noted, particularly for autonomous underwater vehicles – modern devices capable of mapping the ocean floor, inspecting underwater structures and ensuring the safety of waterways. Researchers also explored live video streaming techniques for the system during the demonstration. Also on the naval front, the CSIR recently installed its sonar demonstrator into a new towfish as part of efforts to ensure that the South African Navy benefits from technological advancements that enhance safe underwater operations. The towfish supports rapid deployment and testing in real-world aquatic environments, the Council said. “The synthetic aperture sonar demonstrator captures high-resolution acoustic images of the seafloor. The South African Navy uses different sonar systems, such as multibeam and side-scan sonars, to navigate and detect underwater threats. These systems support obstacle avoidance, underwater reconnaissance and mine detection. They rely on advanced hardware and software and require extensive expertise for operation, maintenance and platform upgrades. The CSIR has improved the sonar system by developing proprietary acquisition and processing software that leverages high-performance single-board computers equipped with cutting-edge graphics processing unit technology. This enables the rapid processing of sonar data to produce final images in near-real-time. As a result, the CSIR is advancing toward real-time image formation with sonar systems.” The Council noted that optimal sonar systems are essential for submarines and surface vessels to operate safely and effectively at sea. (Source: https://www.defenceweb.co.za/)
—————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————-
Curtiss-Wright Corporation (NYSE: CW) has a long history with its roots dating back to Orville and Wilbur Wright’s first flight in 1903, and Mr. Glenn Curtiss, the father of naval aviation. In 1929, the companies founded by these three great aviation pioneers, the Curtiss Aeroplane and Motor Company and Wright Aeronautical Corporation, merged to form the largest aircraft company at the time, Curtiss-Wright Corporation.
We have continued on the path of innovation and advanced engineering, and have applied that expertise to a number of critical applications in high-performance markets. Our success has resulted in a world-renowned reputation for performance, long-standing customer relationships and significant growth and profitability in the markets in which we compete.
Today, we are a global, integrated provider of highly engineered, technologically advanced products and services. Our revenues are generated by providing our critical solutions through three segments: Aerospace & Industrial, Defense Electronics and Naval & Power, which support several of the largest, most vital industries in the world.
———————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————————-