May 8, 2024 | International, Security
The Fundamentals of Cloud Security Stress Testing
The cloud promises agility, but opens a Pandora's box of cyber risks if not secured properly. Understand your responsibility under the shared responsi
November 13, 2019 | International, Aerospace, C4ISR
Air Force to link F-35, F-22 in ‘connect-a-thon’ experiment
By: Aaron Mehta
WASHINGTON — The U.S. Air Force is preparing an experiment it hopes will link the F-22 and F-35 fighter jets, the first in a series of experiments that service acquisition head Will Roper has dubbed “connect-a-thons.”
The experiments are to happen every four months, starting in December. The goal is to identify a fleet of aircraft with a communications issue, invite voices from inside and outside the Pentagon to offer solutions, and then test those offerings in a live experiment.
“We're making it up as we go, right? There's never been anything like this,” Roper said at a breakfast hosted by the Defense Writers Group. “We need a way for people to propose connections and get into the pipeline. So I wouldn't be surprised at all if it ends up being like a pitch day ... having a proposal process where we review the maturity of the tech versus the benefit to the war fighter. We would do the former, our operators would do the latter."
“And what I love about this is it's kind of a competition within the joint force," he added. "We're going to be looking for the fast movers to volunteer, then we'll be looking at the fast followers.”
The first event, hosted by North American Aerospace Defense Command and U.S. Northern Command, will feature an attempt to allow the F-22 and F-35 to share battlespace — a long-sought capability.
The F-22 was built with an older data link that can't match up with the Multifunction Advanced Data Link, or MADL, system used on the newer F-35; while the F-35 can receive data through Link 16, it can't share the data back — a key capability given the envisioned role of the F-35 as a major sensor for the future Air Force.
For the test, the service will use what Roper called a “Babel Fish-like translator” under the working name of GatewayOne to serve as a “universal translator” for the two jets. The first test, in December, will feature the equipment on a pole on a test range, with the jets pinging their information back and forth from that fixed location.
Should that system work well, in four months Roper plans to put GatewayOne onto a Valkyrie drone, a system designed by Kratos to be cheap enough to be disposable in a battlefield situation. It's not the first time a drone has been used as a link between the two fighters: In 2017, Northrop Grumman pitched its Global Hawk unmanned system, equipped with a new radio, to act as a translator between the aircraft.
Future connect-a-thons currently planned include linking SpaceX's Starlink satellites with KC-135 aerial refueling aircraft in an effort to show commercial communications can work with military aircraft; Roper said the KC-135 community volunteered because the tanker aircraft is perpetually seeking more bandwidth.
Roper also expects the F-16 community — which he called “very innovative, agile operators” who understand they need to keep an aging plane relevant — to “sign up wholesale” for tests in the future.
The acquisitions chief said he is committed to keeping the four-month schedule going, in part because it means if the technology isn't satisfactory, the service will know quickly and be able to move onto something else.
“The good news about that is [Congress and the Pentagon] don't really have to believe us for very long. Just let us get through a few connect-a-thon cycles,” Roper said. “And if we're failing miserably, then that should tell you something about the future of the program.”
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February 9, 2018 | International, Aerospace
Lockheed Martin Invites Innovators and Entrepreneurs to Join the Next Space Age with 'Open Space' Satellite Innovation Project
Company Releases Satellite Specs; Offers New Opportunities to Aspiring Space Technologists SUNNYVALE, Calif., Feb. 8, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- For the first time, Lockheed Martin (NYSE:LMT) has publicly released specifications for its satellite platforms with the goal of offering new opportunities for collaboration to companies aspiring to send innovative technologies to space. As part of a new satellite innovation initiative called Lockheed Martin Open Space, and building on expertise from the more than 800 satellites Lockheed Martin has produced, the company is publishing technical details about the payload accommodation information for its flagship LM 2100 satellite platform, its LM 400 small satellite, and two variants of its new LM 50 nanosat series. In an event yesterday in Silicon Valley, Lockheed Martin invited start-ups, researchers and established companies alike to propose technologies that could help solve some of today's most pressing challenges in space. With numerous launches and hosted payload slots on the docket, the company is looking to collaborate with a new generation of companies to find opportunities to put innovations in orbit and beyond. "Our goal with Lockheed Martin Open Space is twofold: first, to help more companies and innovators do amazing things in space, and second, to create new avenues for collaboration so we can move faster to tackle our customers' most pressing challenges," said Rick Ambrose, executive vice president of Lockheed Martin Space. "We're not just offering launch slots, we're ready to help new companies integrate their groundbreaking technologies with powerful satellite platforms. We believe there's significant untapped potential out there waiting to be unleashed." The company is looking for non-proprietary technologies that will help protect, connect and inspire the world. Potential applications include helping first responders address crises faster, studying the environment, creating ultra-high-capacity communications links and adapting low-cost commercial technology to the punishing environments of space. Interested companies or individuals can download the payload accommodation specifications at www.lockheedmartin.com/openspace and submit their concepts online. The submission page will be open from now through May 11. A team of Lockheed Martin experts will review each submission and follow up to discuss opportunities and provide feedback to submitters. "We're ready to explore and collaborate on new opportunities, and we're challenging the best and brightest to join us," said Ambrose. "Space isn't just a place to go. It's a place to do. So let's get new innovators plugged in to tomorrow's space opportunities. Let's collaborate on the country's toughest challenges. Let's do great things in space together." The venerable LM 2100 is the foundation for more than 40 satellites in orbit today, including weather, missile warning and commercial communications satellites. The LM 400 is a reconfigurable bus that can go to LEO and GEO orbits and can be delivered as quickly as 24 months from order. The LM 50 is a small but powerful satellite series that can host a wide array of remote sensing, communications and scientific payloads. For more information about Lockheed Martin's family of satellites visit www.lockheedmartin.com/satellites. https://news.lockheedmartin.com/2018-02-08-Lockheed-Martin-Invites-Innovators-and-Entrepreneurs-to-Join-the-Next-Space-Age-with-Open-Space-Satellite-Innovation-Project
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February 12, 2021 | International, Aerospace
Northrop Grumman to Develop Advanced Air-to-Air Missile Engagement Concept
Posted on February 11, 2021 by Seapower Staff REDONDO BEACH, Calif. — Northrop Grumman Corp. has been awarded a contract by the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Project Agency (DARPA) Tactical Technology Office to develop an advanced technology weapon concept designed to significantly increase engagement range and weapon effectiveness of U.S. forces against adversary air threats, the company said in a Feb. 10 release. “Our collaboration with DARPA is the critical first step in the development of innovative operational concepts and solutions that will enhance our warfighter's combat capability against a rapidly growing threat,” said Jaime Engdahl, program director, kinetic weapons and emerging capabilities, Northrop Grumman. “The LongShot program enables us to combine our digital engineering skillset with our extensive knowledge in advanced technology weapons, autonomous systems and strike platforms to increase weapon range and effectiveness.” Spurred by rapid technological advancements and an ever more dangerous and disruptive battlefield, DARPA's LongShot program will explore new lethal engagement concepts by leveraging multi-modal propulsion, weapon systems that can be operationally deployed from existing fighters or bombers. DARPA's advanced aerospace systems activities are focused on utilizing high pay-off opportunities to provide revolutionary new system capabilities, as opposed to incremental or evolutionary advancements, in order to achieve undeterrable air presence at dramatically reduced costs. The LongShot program enables Northrop Grumman to combine its expertise in weapon system design, survivability, autonomy, advanced mission systems and rapid prototyping to deliver advanced solutions that help to maintain a competitive military advantage in highly contested environments. https://seapowermagazine.org/northrop-grumman-to-develop-advanced-air-to-air-missile-engagement-concept/