June 8, 2020 | International, C4ISR
The Air Force awarded a contract potentially worth $35 million to Wickr, a secure communications platform provider, the Defense Department announced June 1.
Under the two-year contract, the Air Force will use Wickr's secure recall, alert and messaging services. The cloud-based application suite will provide end-to-end encrypted file, video, chat, text and voice services for end users.
The Air Force is obligating $7.7 million in fiscal 2020 funds at the time of the award, according to the contract announcement. The award was made by the Air Force Installation Contracting Center at Hurlburt Field in Florida.
Joel Wallenstrom, CEO of Wickr, told C4ISRNET in a June 4 interview that the award was the largest contract his company has won.
The San Francisco-based company has already established a relationship with the Air Force through the service's Strategic Financing program, which includes several internal innovation and small business outreach hubs. In April, Wickr announced the program had awarded his company a contract as part of $550 million in awards it gave out to 21 companies.
According to Wallenstrom, Wickr's platform includes a federated network capability that allows a network administrator to create temporary environments for users to communicate with allies or family members without increasing risk.
The platform "not only secures things on a day-to-day basis, but in very special circumstances you can create temporary secure operating environments with people of choice, but that doesn't mean you bring them into ... your environment permanently,” Wallenstrom said.
May 25, 2021 | International, Aerospace
To support the growing demand for new F-16 aircraft from partner nations, the U.S. Air Force has teamed with Lockheed Martin Co. to open a new production line t
November 14, 2018 | International, Aerospace
By Mike Blanchfield OTTAWA — The head of the U.S. space agency says he wants to see Canadian astronauts walking on the moon as part of a first step toward the farther reaches of space. Jim Bridenstine, the administrator of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, says he wants Canada's decades-long space partnership with the U.S. to continue as NASA embarks on the creation of its new Lunar Gateway. The U.S. is seeking broad international support for the next-generation space station it is planning to send into orbit around the moon starting in 2021. Bridenstine says he wants Canada to contribute its expertise in artificial intelligence and robotics, and that could include a next-generation Canadarm on the Lunar Gateway and more Canadian technology inside. He says NASA wants to create a “sustainable lunar architecture” that would allow people and equipment to go back and forth to the moon regularly. “If Canadians want to be involved in missions to the surface of the moon with astronauts, we welcome that. We want to see that day materialize,” he said told a small group of journalists in Ottawa today. “We think it would be fantastic for the world to see people on the surface of the moon that are not just wearing the American flag, but wearing the flags of other nations.” He says the return to the moon is a stepping stone to a much more ambitious goal: exploration that could include reaching Mars in the next two decades. “The moon is, in essence, a proving ground for deeper space exploration,” he said. Bridenstine is in Ottawa for a large gathering of the Aerospace Industries Association of Canada, where speculation is running high about Canada's possible participation in the U.S. space program. Innovation Minister Navdeep Bains, a vocal booster of Canada's AI hubs in Ontario and Quebec, is also scheduled to speak, along with one of Canada's former astronauts, Marc Garneau, the current federal transport minister. On Dec. 3, Canadian astronaut David Saint-Jacques will travel to the International Space Station on his first mission. The Canadian Press https://ipolitics.ca/2018/11/14/nasa-wants-canadian-boots-on-the-moon/
March 26, 2019 | International, Aerospace
By: Mike Yeo MELBOURNE, Australia — Synthetic training aids are an integral part of educating the crews that operate Australia's Sikorsky MH-60R Seahawk anti-submarine helicopters, as its Navy balances training needs against operational requirements for its helicopter fleet. The Royal Australian Navy, or RAN, operates a fleet of 24 MH-60Rs, known locally as the Romeo, from Nowra, south of Australia's largest city Sydney when the helicopters are not deployed at sea. The helicopters were ordered from the United States under the Foreign Military Sales program in 2011 and delivered to Australia between 2013 and 2016. Australia's MH-60Rs are split among two squadrons at the RAN base at Nowra, HMAS Albatross, with the 725 Squadron primarily assigned to training duties, while its sister unit 816 Squadron handles operational duties. According to Cmdr. Stan Buckham, the commanding officer of 725 Squadron, splitting up the fleet into two squadrons allows each to concentrate on their respective primary tasks, while operating next door to each other means they can interact and support one another. Both units operate out of new, purpose-built facilities at the base designed just for the MH-60R. These facilities include a suite of synthetic training devices that have helped the RAN train personnel while reducing demand on the aircraft. This suite of training devices, operated and maintained on site by the Canadian-based CAE, include two tactical operational flight trainers, or TOFT, a composite maintenance trainer, an avionics maintenance weapons loading trainer, and four other devices to train RAN MH-60R pilots, flight crew and maintenance crew. The two TOFTs, which can be linked so crews can operate together, are certified by an independent simulator evaluation authority to level D, the highest qualification for flight simulators. These have six degrees of freedom and can replicate a variety of day, night and weather conditions. CAE is also due to deliver an aircraft flight control system trainer to the RAN, completing its suite of nine training devices to support the country's MH-60R training program. Buckham describes the MH-60R as a “great capability” and has called the work between the RAN and CAE at HMAS Albatross “a step change in integration with industry.” The company has an extensive footprint across Australia and New Zealand, delivering training and simulator services across 13 sites in both countries. Together, these training devices have enabled the RAN to stand up eight flights of MH-60R crew that are either deployed or ready for deployment. Each flight consists of two sets of flight crews and a maintenance team that totals about 18 personnel. The first RAN MH-60R flight deployed onboard an RAN ship in 2016, and have since made numerous deployments onboard various ships to the Middle East and the Indo-Pacific region. https://www.defensenews.com/digital-show-dailies/avalon/2019/02/25/simulation-manufacturer-expands-its-footprint-in-support-of-australian-seahawk-operations