Sponsored by Spectra Group
https://tacs.at/Spectra
————————————————————————
23 Apr 19. Spectra Group (UK) wins Queen’s Award for Enterprise. Communications specialists, Spectra Group (UK), have received the highly prestigious Queen’s Award for Enterprise in the Innovation category for their innovative system, SlingShot®.
SlingShot is a small, low powered and lightweight system that delivers game-changing capabilities to existing military and first responder radio networks. When connected to military or commercial UHF/VHF radios, Slingshot extends their range from Line of Sight to Beyond Line of Sight covering thousands of mile radius by utilising the Inmarsat I-4 commercial satellite network L-TAC Service. The system works by simply converting UHF or VHF radio frequency signals to the L-Band frequency used by the L-TAC Service and is the only product of its size that enables portable tactical beyond line-of-sight voice and data communications whilst on the move.
SlingShot’s unique capability offers military, emergency and disaster-relief agencies the ability to reliably communicate in remote and harsh environments without the need to rely on existing communications infrastructure or deploy additional communications infrastructure. It also enables global interoperability between coalition forces and agencies using different radio systems, without the requirement, or need, to swap equipment and receive additional training.
Spectra’s innovation stemmed from a realisation in 2012 that there was a previously unutilised capability of the Inmarsat satellite that would have huge potential in both military and first responder sectors. Working closely with Inmarsat a working concept was developed and approved for use by the British military within weeks and production started in less than 9 months.
SlingShot is versatile enough to be used in aircraft, vehicles, maritime platforms and dismounted personnel. Spectra has since gone on to successfully market SlingShot globally providing a capability that has proved to be of critical importance and has undoubtedly contributed to the saving of lives.
With strong global sales and increasing recognition of SlingShot’s capabilities within the user community, Spectra Group opened a U.S. office in October 2018 and continue to expand their export footprint.
CEO Simon Davies commented “Working on the design, and building a business, supplying a product that has the ability to revolutionise communications in theatres of operation, not only for soldiers but emergency services and disaster areas is very satisfying. As a former soldier in the Royal Corp of Signals, knowing that the equipment we provide enables soldiers and first responders around the world to conduct operations with reliable and robust communications so that when they need to call for assistance, that they communicate, first time every time is very motivating for me and my team.”
09 Apr 19. EDA launches work on research prototype for cyber defence situation awareness. Last week, a kick-off meeting was held at EDA to launch the contractual work on the Cyber Defence Situation Awareness Package Rapid Research Prototype (CySAP-RRP) project, in the presence of representatives of the three contributing Member States: Spain (lead country), Germany and Italy. The industry consortium in charge of the project (INDRA Sistemas SA, Leonardo S.p.a and Fraunhofer) provided Member States with an overview of the project management plan describing tasks, milestones and project deliverables.
The project was conceived as the first step of a spiral development in order to set up a full Cyber Situation Awareness operational capability. The CySAP-RRP will be built upon previous work done by EDA to develop a Target Architecture and System Requirements for an enhanced Cyber Defence Situation Awareness Capability. The core objectives of the project include essential research challenges to assist military decision-makers in cyberspace and to set the basis for a fully-fledged Command and Control (C2) system for cyber operations.
CySAP is at the forefront of technology development with the aim of obtaining a common and standardized cyber defence planning and management functional area service. The research challenges are to provide a comprehensive understanding of the cyber defence elements in the planning and conduct phase of military operations in which cyberspace is now recognised and treated as any other domain such as land, air or maritime.
Under the framework of EDA, the three Member States participating in CySAP agreed a common set of requirements and a Target Architecture for the capability. CySAP follows a modular approach allowing to have a flexible set of functionalities by exercising a system engineering process. Current market available solutions for cyber situational awareness do not meet the entire spectrum of military requirements such as risk analysis, cyber related Courses of Action (CoA) development and assessment as well as support to decision-making. CySAP will provide situational analysis that can be integrated into the overall common operational picture of a mission, as a cyber information layer able to provide timely and accurate situational awareness. CySAP is set to obtain innovative solutions by joining efforts of leading defence industries and researchers in Europe.
The architectural design comprises several spirals to be completed in the next years subject to future investments. The possibility to introduce CySAP follow-on activities into PESCO or the EDIDP are currently explored and assessed. The next progress review meeting is scheduled for September 2019 in Spain.
Background
The updated EU Capability Development Plan (CDP) endorsed by the EDA Steering Board in June 2018 reconfirmed cyber defence as a priority for capability development in the EU. The CDP recognises the need for defensive cyber operations in any operational context, based on sophisticated current and predictive cyberspace situational awareness. This includes the ability to combine large amounts of data and intelligence from numerous sources in support of rapid decision making and increased automation of the data gathering, analysis and decision-support process.
In November 2018, the European Council adopted an updated version of the EU cyber defence policy framework (CDPF). Supporting the development of Member States’ cyber defence capabilities is a priority area where the now established CySAP project serves as a core to guide future research and operational capabilities. (Source: EDA)
10 Apr 19. JEDI cloud deal comes down to AWS and Microsoft. An internal Defense Department investigation has concluded that its $10bn Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure procurement was not tainted by conflict of interest, but DOD did find some possible ethical violations on the part of former staffers with ties to Amazon Web Services.
“The department’s investigation has determined that there is no adverse impact on the integrity of the acquisition process. However, the investigation also uncovered potential ethical violations, which have been further referred to DOD IG,” Department of Defense spokeswoman Elissa Smith told FCW.
The probe was launched in response to a lawsuitbrought by Oracle alleging conflict of interest on the part of two former AWS employees whose work for DOD touched the controversial JEDI procurement. That lawsuit was stayed in order for the DOD probe to take place. Now that it is over, DOD will seek to lift the stay. There’s no word yet on whether DOD will seek to have Oracle’s lawsuit dismissed.
Smith would not comment further on the substance of the suspected ethical violations, referring FCW to the DOD inspector general for comment.
Delays in the procurement process have weighed on the expected award date, which has moved from April to mid-July at the earliest, Smith said.
Microsoft and AWS are now the only two companies vying for the contract as they meet all of the requirements listed in the proposal, Smith said. Oracle and IBM (which protested the JEDI solicitation but did not joint in Oracle’s lawsuit) are now officially out of the running. Bloomberg was first to report on the results of the internal investigation. (Source: Defense Systems)
————————————————————————-
Spectra Group Plc
Spectra has a proven record of accomplishment – with over 15 years of experience in delivering secure communications and cybersecurity solutions for governments around the globe; elite militaries; and private enterprises of all sizes.
As a dynamic, agile, security accredited organisation, Spectra can leverage this experience to deliver Cyber Advisory and secure Hosted and Managed Solutions on time, to spec and on budget, ensuring compliance with industry standards and best practices.
Spectra’s SlingShot® is a unique low SWaP system that enables in-service U/VHF tactical radios to utilise Inmarsat’s commercial satellite network for BLOS COTM. Including omnidirectional antenna for the man, vehicle, maritime and aviation platforms, the tactical net can broadcast over 1000s miles between forward units and a rear HQ, no matter how or where the deployment. Unlike many BLOS options, SlingShot maintains full COTM (Communications On The Move) capability and low size and weight
On 23 November 2017, Spectra Group (UK) Ltd announced that it had recently been listed as a Top 100 Government SME Supplier for 2015-2016 by the UK Crown Commercial Services
Spectra’s CEO, Simon Davies, was awarded 2017 BATTLESPACE Businessman of the Year by BATTLESPACE magazine and is a finalist in the inaugural British Ex-Forces In Business Awards in the Innovator Of The Year category.
Founded in 2002, the Company is based in Hereford, UK and holds ISO 9001:2015, ISO 27001 and Cyber Essentials Plus accreditation.
————————————————————————-