Sponsored by Spectra Group
https://tacs.at/Spectra
————————————————————————
24 Apr 19. JAIC has tight timeline for first solutions. The Defense Department’s Joint Artificial Intelligence Center is hoping to deliver on its first cyber capability in fiscal 2020. The new DOD center plans to launch its cyber sensing national mission initiative and other projects in 2020, DOD CIO Dana Deasy said during his keynote for the General Dynamics IT Emerge 2019 event April 23.
Deasy said JAIC has two deliveries ongoing and plans for more. So far, JAIC has already released the first version of an algorithm to help with H60 Blackhawk maintenance to the Special Operations Command that will then head to the Army, Air Force and Navy. The center is also working on solutions to help firefighters predict the movements of a fire line and its intensity and aid humanitarian assistance and disaster relief efforts, like California’s wildfires. According to fiscal 2020 performance plan, JAIC will bring cyber sensing over the halfway mark in 2020 and reach full capacity in 2021. Predictive maintenance and humanitarian relief tech are expected to be two-thirds of the way there in 2020 and fully up in 2021. JAIC, which stood up in late 2018, is also looking to expand this year. Deasy said finding people was still the biggest challenge. Right now, JAIC has civilians, contractors and detailed personnel working its mission to streamline the DOD’s AI efforts. Deasy aims to have 70 on JAIC’s staff by the end of the year. (Source: Defense Systems)
24 Apr 19. USAF Launches Electronic Warfare Roadmap: EMS ECCT 2.0. The Air Force is looking across the enterprise to build a comprehensive map of all electronic warfare capabilities for the second stage of its landmark service-wide probe of how to bolster the Air Force’s EW and cyber warfare capabilities.
Gen. Paul Selva, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, has already been briefed on the high-level study. Brig. Gen. David Gaedecke, director of cyberspace operations and warfighter communications for the deputy Chief of Staff for intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance and cyber effects operations, told me in his first interview about the EW Enterprise Capability Collaboration Team’s results.
What is an ECCT? Well, something called the Strategic Development Planning Experimentation unit at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base looks for gaps in the service’s capabilities. Once a gap is found, the service creates an Enterprise Capability Collaboration Team (ECCT) to examine the best ways to fill it. The EW ECCT was stood up in 2017. While most of what it did is classified, we know that cyber, which had been deemed outside its purview at the beginning, was a solid part of its work.
In fact, the ECCT morphed from a look at electronic warfare to a conceptually broader analysis of the Electromagnetic Spectrum, Gaedecke noted.
While it’s hard to tell how much this assessment drove the ECCT, it’s certainly worth remembering that the Pentagon’s former research and engineering head, Alan Shaffer, said five years ago that: “We have lost the electromagnetic spectrum. That’s a huge deal when you think about fielding advanced systems that can be [countered] by a very, very cheap digital jammer.”
Of course, we’ve also heard stories from Ukraine and Syria about Russia’s extensive electronic warfare capabilities. And the National Defense Strategy focused on high-end, peer-to-peer warfare, Gaedecke said, moving US forces away from operating forces in “permissive environments” like Iraq and Afghanistan where US forces generally don’t have to worry about being jammed or scrambled. The Air Force has been playing EW catch-up with the Navy for decades, ever since it retired its F-111s in 1995 and left most of America’s airborne electronic warfare to the Navy’s EA-6Bs and E/F-18Gs. Air Force expertise didn’t completely disappear, since the 390th Electronic Combat Squadron deployed electronic warfare officers (EWOs) to Whidbey Island, where for years they trained and flew in Navy Prowlers. Now they fly Navy F-18Gs. The first Air Force pilot to fly a Growler was qualified two years ago.
The Air Force, Navy and Marines now have, by all accounts, an excellent EW and cyber capability in the F-35 but we don’t know much about it, beyond the fact that people seem to like to use the term “eye-watering” to describe them. The general said very little about the F-35. BAE Systems builds the F-35’s dedicated EW systembut the aircraft’s AESA radar is also a powerful cyber and EW tool, I understand, though it’s almost never discussed.
Gaedecke made clear that platforms and EW pods were not the focus of his work. “People expected me to find a materiel solution. You should buy this. You should invest in that.” but he and his team combed through “decades” of earlier EW studies looking for lessons from the era when the Air Force was undisputed master of EMS.
One of the reasons for the absence of such expertise? The retirement of the EF-111 in 1998. “When we lost that platform we lost a lot of that culture and that knowledge,” he conceded. I pressed the general repteadly about whether he believed the service would need new specialists to wage modern electronic warfare, especially given how cyber and EW overlap. He said no, in several different ways.
As part of the ECCT, Gaedecke met with a number of defense companies but I got no love when I asked for details” “We have absolutely phenomenal technology across our industry.”
One note on the EW roadmap that’s coming next. It won’t, initially, include cyber effects, the general said. Overall, he said he doesn’t “believe one has primacy over the other.” And, of course, cloud computing will play a huge role in all things EMS, from a threat database to other, more esoteric, uses. But that’s all classified, as was almost all of the ECCT’s work. (Source: glstrade.com/Breaking Defense.com)
24 Apr 19. Finnish Defence Force to upgrade C2 network. The Finnish Defence Force (FDF) announced on 24 April that it will upgrade its command-and-control (C2) network with Systematic’s latest SitaWare software. The full SitaWare suite includes SitaWare Headquarters, SitaWare Frontline and SitaWare Edge, and it is already in use with the FDF.
Now, a plan has been put forward to upgrade all of the software to the latest versions, to take advantage of a number of capability enhancements.
It is understood that SitaWare has already proven itself across a number of missions sets, such in Afghanistan and with the United Nations Interim Force mission in Lebanon.
‘SitaWare has been in service with the FDF for more than five years,’ said Col Eero Valkola, inspector of signals with the FDF. ‘As part of the C2 capability it has supported units operating around the world on UN and EU missions, among others.’
Merja Annala, president of Systematic Oy Finland said, ‘The FDF employs SitaWare for a variety of roles and often in innovative ways, learning from their experience has certainly been beneficial in the development of the product,’ adding, ‘The FDF’s decision to upgrade its C2 systems with the latest SitaWare versions is testament to the utility that the software has provided to the service around the world.’
Merja continued, ‘As operators of all elements of the SitaWare suite the FDF are able to benefit from the advanced command-and-control and situational awareness capabilities that the software brings.
‘Dismounted personnel, mounted units, and command post elements can share the same operational picture, whether that be on an Android device for the SitaWare Edge solution, a vehicle-borne laptop, or on more established infrastructure in a [command post].’
Established in 1985, Systematic is now one of the largest privately-owned software companies in Denmark. Focused on developing software and system solutions to both the public and private sectors, the company has over a thousand employees with offices around the world. (Source: Shephard)
24 Apr 19. Symantec joins US DoD’s cyber threat information-sharing group. Cybersecurity company Symantec has joined the Defense Industrial Base Cybersecurity (DIB CS) programme of the US Department of Defense (DoD). The DoD has established the DIB CS programme, a voluntary cyber threat information-sharing initiative, to strengthen and supplement the capabilities of DIB participants to mitigate cyber-attacks. The programme is aimed at promoting the sharing of valuable threat information between the DoD and industry. It provides a collaborative information-sharing environment for members to voluntarily report cyber threats and information on how to prevent / mitigate threats.
Symantec vice-president of federal Chris Townsend said: “This is a prime example of an effective government-industry collaborative partnership. Symantec is proud to work in conjunction with the DOD and its partners to deliver a stronger cyber environment.
“The DIB CS programme provides an important platform to share threat information and best practices, helping to improve the overall cyber awareness and security posture of all members. Symantec is proud to become a member of this important community.”
The cybersecurity company is supporting the DoD in its campaign against cyber adversaries by collaboratively working to improve the country’s security.
Symantec’s cybersecurity capabilities are expected to benefit DIB CS industry partners in complying with the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) SP 800-171.
NIST SP 800-171 outlines security requirements for safeguarding controlled unclassified information stored in non-federal systems and organisations.
The company’s global intelligence network comprises threat data from 175 million protected endpoints and 123 million attack sensors globally, collecting billions of cyber threat telemetry vectors daily.
Symantec helps companies, governments and people across the world protect their data. It provides strategic, integrated solutions to defend against sophisticated attacks across endpoints, Cloud and infrastructure.
Furthermore, the company operates one of the largest civilian cyber intelligence networks, allowing it to see and protect against the most advanced threats. (Source: army-technology.com)
24 Apr 19. Theresa May approves Huawei for UK 5G in snub to US. Chinese telecoms group barred from most sensitive parts of project on security concerns. Theresa May and her senior ministers have said the Chinese telecoms company Huawei can build some non-core parts of Britain’s 5G data network, despite a warning from the US that this would put co-operation over security at risk. The controversial decision, taken on Tuesday at the National Security Council, comes as Philip Hammond, chancellor, prepares to travel to China to promote Britain’s participation in Beijing’s Belt and Road Initiative. The decision to give Huawei limited access to the development of Britain’s 5G network, first reported in the Daily Telegraph, was taken despite the concerns of some ministers, including Gavin Williamson, defence secretary, over the impact on the UK’s relationship with Washington. In February, Mike Pompeo, the US secretary of state, warned: “If a country adopts this [Huawei] and puts it in some of their critical information systems, we won’t be able to share information with them, we won’t be able to work alongside them. In some cases there’s risk — we won’t even be able to co-locate American resources, an American embassy, an American military outpost.”
US officials have lobbied their British counterparts against approving Huawei as a supplier. The UK is part of the Five Eyes security alliance alongside the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand. But while Australia and New Zealand have agreed to block or restrict Huawei, the UK has been more equivocal. Those close to the NSC meeting say the decision was signed off collectively and that security concerns were reflected in the restrictions limiting Huawei’s involvement to non-core parts of the 5G project. The core infrastructure is where sensitive information such as billing and customer details are stored. The non-core elements are the aerials and base stations on masts and rooftops and transmission equipment, which telecoms companies argue are passive in that data merely passes through and cannot be compromised. Recommended Huawei Technologies Co Ltd Is Huawei compelled by Chinese law to help with espionage?
According to one person briefed on the discussions, Mrs May approved “in principle” the recent assessment by the National Cyber Security Centre, part of GCHQ, that the risk from Huawei to future 5G telecoms networks could be mitigated. In a blog published in February, the NCSC’s technical director Ian Levy set out some of the possible restrictions Huawei and any 5G supplier would face to reduce the risk. Mr Levy wrote that security could be improved by ensuring multiple vendors, keeping risky suppliers out of the most sensitive core parts of the 5G network and “enhanced monitoring”. Earlier this month Germany also said it would not exclude Huawei from the auction to build its 5G network. Jochen Homann, president of the German federal network agency, told the Financial Times his agency had yet to see evidence to back up US concerns. Addressing the Cyber UK conference, attended by intelligence chiefs from the UK and its Five Eyes intelligence partners, Jeremy Fleming, the head of the UK’s digital and signals intelligence service GCHQ, said Huawei’s Chinese origins should not automatically rule them out of being involved.
“A flag of origin for 5G equipment is important but it is a secondary factor,” said Mr Fleming. “It’s a hugely complex strategic challenge and it’s going to span the next few decades. How we deal with it will be crucial for our prosperity and for our security. “When we analyse a company for their suitability to supply equipment to the UK’s telecoms networks we are looking at the risks that arise from their security and engineering processes as well as the way these technologies are deployed in our critical telecoms networks.” Tom Tugendhat, chairman of the Commons foreign affairs committee, tweeted that allowing Huawei to build some of the UK’s 5G infrastructure would “cause allies to doubt our ability to keep data secure and erode the trust essential to #FiveEyes co-operation”. He added: “There’s a reason others have said no”. Huawei has always denied being controlled by the Chinese government or any suggestion that its equipment could be used for espionage purposes. A spokesperson said the green light “means that UK businesses and consumers will have access to the fastest and most reliable networks” and said the company was pleased the UK is “continuing to take an evidence-based approach”. (Source: FT.com)
23 Apr 19. Pentagon’s ‘Rebel Alliance’ gets new leadership. The Department of Defense’s resident digital team is getting new leadership. The agency announced April 23 that Brett Goldstein would be taking over as the director of the Defense Digital Service. Goldstein takes over from Chris Lynch, who founded the DDS in 2015 and whose term working for the agency expires next month.
“Under the leadership of Chris Lynch, DDS has hacked the bureaucracy to strengthen our national security and improve the lives of service members and their families,” said Acting Defense Secretary Shanahan, who recruited Goldstein, in a news release. Although we will miss Chris, the unique startup culture he built and the talented team he recruited will continue to disrupt and transform technology at the DoD,” Shanahan continued. “We are excited for Brett to be taking on the role of director to build and expand the team and its work. His public and private sector knowledge, technical expertise and commitment to improving government through technology will be invaluable to a range of critical missions across the department.”
DDS is a component of the U.S. Digital Service, which was created in 2014 under the Obama administration to provide Silicon Valley tech experts with the opportunity to join the government for short periods of time and help move federal IT projects forward.
DDS, specifically, has led major efforts at the DoD such as Hack the Pentagon, the first-ever bug bounty program in the federal government; reforming DoD health services; redesigning training for cyber soldiers; leading procurement of the Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure cloud; and overhauling the logistics system for moving military families.
The JEDI procurement recently came under scrutiny for the fact that a DDS employee working on the contract had previous ties to Amazon Web Services, one of the major competitors on the contract.
“Technology has never been more important to the mission of national defense. From analyzing data, to strengthening security, to recruiting top talent, we have an opportunity to make a huge impact,” said Goldstein in a statement.
“We will be growing efforts to solve critical tech issues within the DOD to improve services for civilians and service members and the country as a whole. I’m excited to lead a talented team of amazing men and women who want to make a difference and help protect our nation.”
Goldstein has experience in both public and private sector technology development, having worked for the City of Chicago, the Chicago Police Department, and OpenTable and founded his own technology company CivicScape. (Source: glstrade.com/C4ISR & Networks)
22 Apr 19. Cyberwarriors get first look at critical new tools. The U.S. Air Force delivered to U.S. Cyber Command the first iteration of a critical new cyber platform that will give teams important tools and help with coordination, Department of Defense officials said.
The Air Force is developing the Unified Platform, a system that will allow cyber forces to share information, conduct mission planning and provide the command and control tools they need to conduct cyber missions, on behalf of the joint force. An Air Force spokesman confirmed to Fifth Domain that increment 1, formerly known as the minimum viable product, was delivered and operationally accepted by Cyber Command April 9. The military’s cyber teams can now use that increment, which includes capabilities supporting defensive cyber operations and interoperability.
Air Force budget documents released in March 2019 said the service plans to spend about $100m on the program in fiscal year 2020, including money for research and development funds.
The first delivery is significant because Cyber Command has been working to develop its own cyber operations infrastructure separate from that of the National Security Agency. Cyber Command has been co-located with NSA since its founding as a means of sharing personnel and infrastructure to get it started.
This so-called dual hat arrangement still exists. But some in the military believe Cyber Command needs to develop its own infrastructure because its warfighting mission is fundamentally different from NSA’s foreign intelligence mission. The latter requires undetected persistence on foreign networks for intelligence gathering and the former requires gaining access for both intelligence and disruption. Unified Platform will serve as a tactical cyber operations system for individual cyber teams to conduct and coordinate operations. Cyber Command’s long-term vision for cyber operations is for missions to start with Unified Platform and flow into what the military calls Joint Cyber Command and Control (JCC2), which will provide joint commanders enhanced situational awareness and battle management for cyber forces and missions.
“JCC2 establishes congressionally directed focal point to provide integrated JCC2 solutions to all echelons for execution of cyberspace operations to enable and accelerate planning/collaboration between Cyber Mission Forces and Combatant Commands,” Air Force budget documents for fiscal 2020 read. “It will integrate Cyber C2 with Joint, Coalition and inter-agency C2 to enhance multi-domain operations, reduce planning time, improve decision quality and speed resulting in a shorter kill chain. Capabilities will be developed to address the Cyber Mission Forces used to conduct cyber operations.”
The Air Force is planning to spend $11.6m in research and development funds for JCC2 in FY20. For years, the Department of Defense had referred to the military cyber infrastructure’s under a broad banner known as the Military Cyber Operations Platform, or MCOP. One industry source said MCOP is not a program and that top personnel within Cyber Command’s capabilities directorate are discussing the idea more conceptually than in years past. While fiscal year 2019 Air Force budget documents made reference to the further development of MCOP, there is no mention of the idea in fiscal 2020 documents.
What’s next on Unified Platform?
Northrop Grumman was awarded a $54m contract in October 2018 as the system coordinator for Unified Platform. Most recently, on Feb. 22, the Air Force awarded five companies under a contract called the Cyber Enterprise Services contract within Unified Platform, which will enhance multiple cyber platforms with a provision of services in the areas of command and control, planning, generation, execution, assessment, reporting and visualization. The five companies include Northrop Grumman, Accenture, ManTech, Lockheed Martin and General Dynamics One Source.
Industry officials had previously said CES was valued around $150m with six awards valued at $25m a piece.
23 Apr 19. US, Japan agree to boost space, cyber-security co-operation. The defence and foreign ministers of the US and Japan have agreed to boost co-operation in the fields of cyber security and outer space.
The ministers agreed for the first time that a concerted cyber attack against Japan could be considered an armed attack, as stipulated in the US-Japan Security Treaty. “On cyber space issues, the ministers recognised that malicious cyber activity presents an increasing threat to the security and prosperity of both the United States and Japan,” they said in a joint statement released after their ‘two-plus-two’ meeting in Washington on 19 April. “The ministers affirmed that international law applies in cyber space and that a cyber attack could, in certain circumstances, constitute an armed attack for the purposes of Article V of the US-Japan Security Treaty,” according to the statement. (Source: IHS Jane’s)
22 Apr 19. US Army eyes milestone FY 2020 decision for network modernisation. New pieces of communications equipment have accompanied the US Army’s 2nd Security Force Assistance Brigade (SFAB) on its deployment to Afghanistan, and soldiers’ operational feedback is expected to help guide network modernisation plans and the road ahead for the Integrated Tactical Network (ITN).
Army leaders have since detailed tentative plans to revamp the service’s network as part of an ongoing effort to veer away from the Warfighter Information Network – Tactical (WIN-T) and towards one deemed better suited to support soldiers during peer-on-peer conflict.
Enter the ITN, an effort designed, in part, to enable soldiers to operate in secret and ‘secure but unclassified’ (SBU) environments by using legacy radios with advanced networking waveforms, commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) radios, small aperture satellite terminal, servers, and more. The service is experimenting with a variety of ITN components and technologies, including rolling out some of the capabilities to deployed SFABs, for an ITN design decision and associated buy in fiscal year 2020 (FY 2020). In FY 2021, the service wants to begin fielding four brigade combat teams’ worth of equipment.
“The ITN is what we provide to manoeuvre brigades,” the programme executive officer for Command, Control, and Communications-Tactical (PEO C3T), Major General David Bassett, told Jane’s on 10 April. “The ITN is not part of WIN-T, but the WIN-T capability is in the field so it will have to be integrated into that, along with all the new stuff.”
The service announced in 2017 that it would “halt, fix, and pivot” the network. The army found WIN-T struggled to operate on the move, was susceptible to an adversary’s frequency jamming, too complex for soldiers to operate, and took far too long to stand up a network in theatre. In short, it was determined that the WIN-T network was unlikely to survive in a contested or congested environment. (Source: IHS Jane’s)
19 Apr 19. IAI launches Opal system. Israel Aerospace Industries has launched its new Opal system for establishing real time connectivity and data sharing between different platforms – including manned and unmanned – in the battlefield. The system is based on the formation of a decentralised communication cloud for all members on the ground, in the air and at sea, to allow users to exchange relevant information for a shared situational picture. The system relies on a secure communication network that connects different networks and platforms without fixed base stations. The system generates and shares a common operating picture in real time between platforms such as fighter aircraft, UAS, attack helicopters, tanks, ships, C2 centres and ground troops; from 5th generation combat aircraft to legacy platforms. Opal contributes to improved survivability by sharing threat data with air and ground forces, to avoid entry into danger zones. It also enhances flight safety with collision avoidance warning indications which alert pilots of near-collision conditions and provides visual avoidance maneouvers.
The system enables users to develop new operational capabilities and deploy them rapidly without having to change hardware or aircraft avionics software blocks. (Source: Shephard)
18 Apr 19. uAvionix Tests CNPC Command Link Radios for UAS and UAM. uAvionix, designer and manufacturer of communications, navigation, and surveillance (CNS) equipment for unmanned and manned aircraft, announced it is testing its prototype of a Command and Non-Payload Control (CNPC) radio for Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) and Urban Air Mobility vehicles. “skyLink” is an L-Band frequency modulated CNPC radio ultimately intended for point-to-point or networked Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) UAS operations. True to form, uAvionix has focused on minimizing size, weight, and power consumption (SWaP) while maximizing range and spectrum efficiency. The current 50g 10-Watt prototype is testing successfully at ranges exceeding 40 miles at low altitude. uAvionix is testing under an experimental transmit license and approval from the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) respectively.
Prior to founding uAvionix, CEO Paul Beard invented and brought to market the “Spektrum®” digital spread spectrum radio control (RC) technology which revolutionized the RC industry by moving the control link from 27 and 72MHz bands to a high bandwidth 2.4GHz ISM band.
“Building high performance datalinks for airborne applications is insanely challenging,” said Beard. “Combining our ability to produce TSO certified equipment with the experience of developing and deploying millions of commercial products globally with Spektrum, we expect to bring affordable, scalable, and safe solutions to enable the UAS and UAM markets.” (Source: UAS VISION)
19 Apr 19. US Army budget request adds $1.5bn for network modernization. The Army plans to spend more than $8.4 bn over the next five years to modernize its battlefield network, according to the Pentagon’s latest budget request and Army documents. The plan includes about $1.5bn more for fiscal years 2020 -2023 than Army leaders projected to spend on the network in last year’s budget request. Network modernization is one of the top six modernization priorities for the Army’s chief of staff. These priorities seek to better posture the Army to fight and win against near peer adversaries readying the service to be “multidomain” capable by 2028. The Army believes it will need hardened and resilient communications in the face of sophisticated jamming techniques. It also will need the ability to more rapidly share data for improved situational awareness allowing forces to be more mobile and dispersed.
“What does that network need to be by 2028? We’ve got to be able to dominate in contested environment against a peer adversary,” Maj. Gen. Peter Gallagher, director of the Army’s network cross functional team, said in February. “We’ve got to be able to conduct distributed mission command in the observe, orient, decide and act at a pace faster than our adversary. Our command posts … have to be mobile and secure and they’ve got to be able to move rapidly in a very violent, very lethal fight … We’re going to have to move, we’re going to have to move fast and we’re going to have to be connected when we move. That’s the network we’re trying to deliver.”
The Army has developed a list of four priorities in revamping the network which they describe as “lines of effort.” The first of these priorities – to provide ensured network transport in a contested environment against a peer adversary and dominate cyber electromagnetic activities – includes five areas and covers the majority of the spending in this area.
Much of the money to support that initiative will go toward purchasing and developing new handheld manpack and small form fit radios. The Army asked for a total of $503.7 m for radios in fiscal 2020 and about $3.2 bn over the next five years. That latter figure is at least $200 m more than Army leaders projected they would spend in last year’s plan through 2023. Of the $503.7 m requested in FY20, $35.7 m come from research and development funds.
General Dynamics Mission Systems, Harris Corp., Rockwell Collins and Thales Communications are among the contractors working on the program.
The budget request also includes $427m for the Tactical Network Technology Modernization in Service program. That program helps to enhance cybersecurity, improve resilience, and shrink the use of size, weight and power of network equipment. Army leaders expect it will cost about $2.2bn over five years. The budget request added about $594m to that program through 2023 since last year’s request.
Also under the first line of effort, the Army has said it wants $76m for commercial off the shelf capabilities. This specific portion corresponds to what the Army calls the integrated tactical network, which is a mixture of programs of record and commercial off the shelf to provide greater connectivity and resiliency.
Those numbers begin to jump in the out years as listed by the Army’s future defense spending request to over $100m each year. Overall, the Army plans to spend $511.8 m over five years.
Most of the new money for the network modernization – $1.2bn of the $1.5 bn – is projected to go toward the first line of effort.
For the second effort, creating a common operating environment, the Army budget calls for $425.1 m for fiscal 2020. That money is spread across three separate programs.
For the Joint Battle Command-Platform, which is a blue force tracking system to follow friendly forces, the Army is asking for of $303.9 m in FY20 with $12.6 m of that amount coming from research and development funds.
The Army is asking for $12.7m in solely research and development funds for the Mounted Computing Environment, which will provide data services on tactical radio allowing information to flow in data-constrained environments, in fiscal 2020. Last in line of effort two, the service is asking for $108.5m for Command Post Computing Environment, a common interface from the command post to the dismounted solider. $31m of that request is research and development funds. The Army did not list funds associated with line of effort three, interoperability. The fourth line of effort focuses on command post mobility and survivability. It is made up of the Command Post Integrated Infrastructure, which seeks to provide modern and survivable command posts. The Army is asking for $35.5m for research and development funds for fiscal 2020 for that program. (Source: Defense News)
————————————————————————-
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.
————————————————————————-