Cisco Warns of Exploitation of Decade-Old ASA WebVPN Vulnerability

On the same subject

• 

  June 12, 2023 | International, Aerospace, C4ISR, Other Defence

  Marines want $200M for powerful drone-killing machines

  By fall 2024, Marine Corps low altitude air defense battalions will begin receiving a powerful new weapon.

• 

  May 13, 2020 | International, Aerospace

  A bankrupt OneWeb and other troubled space startups could get some help from the Defense Department

  By: Valerie Insinna WASHINGTON — As the U.S. Space Force looks to expand the military's communications capabilities in the far north, it is facing a problem. The global pandemic has hit space startups exponentially hard, and OneWeb, one of the companies aiming to provide internet to Arctic locations, filed for bankruptcy in March. The Defense Department is considering taking action to help fortify OneWeb and other vulnerable space startups, said Lt. Gen. David Thompson, vice commander of Headquarters Space Force. “I will say with respect to OneWeb specifically and others, we continue to work,” he said during a May 12 event held by the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies. “We work with the White House and we'll be working with Congress, not just focused on OneWeb but all of the commercial space companies that face bankruptcy and face those concerns.” Thompson did not lay out options under consideration by the Pentagon to aid OneWeb, but he did say the department's Space Acquisition Council devised a list of proposed investments for space companies that need rapid, aggressive action. That capital is needed to ensure emerging space technologies remain available to the U.S. military but also so “that potential adversaries don't have the opportunity to acquire those capabilities,” he said. OneWeb is pursuing a sale of the business as part of bankruptcy proceedings, saying that “while the company was close to obtaining financing” through its own negotiations with investors, “the process did not progress because of the financial impact and market turbulence related to the spread of COVID-19.” So far, the company has launched 74 satellites, secured global spectrum and has half of its 44 ground terminals in development or complete — making it attractive to potential bidders such as Amazon or European satellite company Eutelsat. However, two unnamed Chinese firms have also submitted proposals, according to The Telegraph. That could raise major concerns among Defense Department officials, who have warned that adversary nations — particularly China — could use the financial instability caused by the coronavirus pandemic as an opportunity to increase investments in technology companies with national security applications. “The [defense-industrial base] is vulnerable to adversarial capital, so we need to ensure that companies can stay in business without losing their technology,” Ellen Lord, the Pentagon's top acquisition official, said in March. If OneWeb is sold to a Chinese owner, the Defense Department could lose access to one of the few suppliers of commercial broadband internet servicing the Arctic. While the Space Force operates two Enhanced Polar System satellites to provide secure, jam-resistant military communications, few commercial satellite providers extend their coverage to the far north. As a result, troops have limited communication options in the Arctic, and the Pentagon has long been concerned about a lack of resiliency. Companies like OneWeb and SpaceX, which intend to create a network of hundreds of small satellites in low-Earth orbit, could change that paradigm by providing low-cost commercial internet services that span the globe. In September, OneWeb announced it would begin to provide low-latency broadband service to the Arctic by the end of 2020, with full, 24-hour coverage expected in 2021. For its part, SpaceX stated that its Starlink constellation would begin providing broadband service this year. The military has expressed interest in working with both companies. U.S. Northern Command sought $130 million to explore OneWeb's and SpaceX's capabilities in order to provide reliable and potentially cost-effective internet in the Arctic, listing the effort on top of the unfunded priority list sent to Congress this spring. Nathan Strout in Washington contributed to this story. https://www.defensenews.com/smr/2020/05/12/a-bankrupt-oneweb-could-get-some-help-from-the-defense-department/

• 

  April 21, 2020 | International, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security

  Contract Awards by US Department of Defense - April 20, 2020

  ARMY Shimmick Construction Co., Oakland, California, was awarded a $116,429,893 modification (P00012) to contract W912EK-19-C-0002 for rehabilitation of the LaGrange Lock and Dam. Work will be performed in Versailles, Illinois, with an estimated completion date of July 21, 2021. Fiscal 2020 civil construction funds in the amount of $116,429,893 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Rock Island Arsenal, Illinois, is the contracting activity. Luhr Bros. Inc., Columbia, Illinois, was awarded a $45,000,000 firm-fixed-price contract for lease of dredge attendant plant and on-shore disposal of equipment for channel maintenance on the Ohio River. Bids were solicited via the internet with one received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of Dec. 31, 2024. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Louisville, Kentucky, is the contracting activity (W912QR-20-D-0011). Khotol Services Corp.,* Galena, Alaska, was awarded a $12,000,000 modification (P00004) to contract W911SA-17-D-2000 for sustainment, modernization and improvement projects for the 88th Army Reserve Centers. Bids were solicited via the internet with four received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of April 30, 2020. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Fort McCoy, Wisconsin, is the contracting activity. AIR FORCE Honeywell Inc., Clearwater, Florida, has been awarded a cost-plus-fixed-fee and firm-fixed-price contract for engineering, manufacturing and development of the Embedded Global Positioning System/Inertial Navigation System Modernization (EGI-M). Work will be performed in Clearwater, Florida, and is expected to be completed by April 19, 2024. This award is the result of a sole-source acquisition and only one offer was received. The estimated total value of this contract is $99,146,127. Fiscal 2020 research, development, test and evaluation funds in the amount of $20,000,000 are being obligated at the time of award. The Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Position, Navigation & Timing Contracting Branch, Robins Air Force Base, Georgia, is the contracting activity (FA8576-20-C-0001). NAVY Timken Gears and Services Inc., King of Prussia, Pennsylvania, is awarded a $76,187,806 firm-fixed-price modification to previously awarded contract N00024-16-C-4202 to exercise options for main reduction gear shipsets for DDG-51 (Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyers). Work will be performed in Santa Fe Springs, California (76%); Riverside, Missouri (9%); Latrobe, Pennsylvania (2%); Fitchburg, Massachusetts (2%); Erie, Pennsylvania (2%); New Castle, Delaware (1%); Milwaukee, Wisconsin (1%); St. Augustine, Florida (1%); and other locations below one percent (6%). The main reduction gears transmit the power from two main propulsion gas turbines to the propulsion shaft. Each DDG 51-class destroyer has two gear assemblies, one for each propulsion shaft. The DDG 51-class guided-missile destroyer is a multi-mission surface combatant with 67 delivered ships, and 21 more are currently under contract. Work is expected to be complete by November 2023. Fiscal 2020 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy) funding in the amount of $76,187,806 will be obligated at time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, District of Columbia, is the contracting activity. BAE Systems Information and Electronic Systems, Nashua, New Hampshire, is awarded a $17,381,169 modification (P00001) to previously awarded firm-fixed-price contract N00019-20-C-0042. This modification procures the necessary hardware, technical engineering, management and logistics support to fabricate, assemble, test and deliver three T-1622/ALE-55(V) fiber optic towed decoys for a Foreign Military Sales (FMS) customer and 102 electronic frequency converters for the Navy. Work will be performed in Nashua, New Hampshire (48%); Chelmsford, United Kingdom (12%); Mountain View, California (6%); Rochester, New York (4%); San Diego, California (4%); Landenberg, Pennsylvania (3%); Hamilton, New Jersey (2%); Commerce, California (2%); Los Osos, California (2%); Toledo, Ohio (1%); and various locations within the continental U.S. (16%). Work is expected to be complete by March 2022. Fiscal 2020 procurement of ammunition (Navy and Marine Corps) funds in the amount of $13,088,010; fiscal 2020 aircraft procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $4,027,080; and FMS funds in the amount of $266,079 will be obligated at time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity. Hi-Q Engineering Inc.,* Poway, California, is awarded a $17,315,857 ceiling increase modification to previously awarded indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity, cost-plus-fixed-fee contract N65236-17-D-8006 for engineering, test and evaluation, logistics and technical services for fixed very low frequency/low frequency broadcast transmitter stations. Work will be performed in Dallas, Texas (35%); Poway, California (30%); Oklahoma City, Oklahoma (15%); Charleston, South Carolina (10%); and Norfolk, Virginia (10%), and is expected to be complete by May 2022. This modification brings the total cumulative value of the contract to $55,972,607. No funds are obligated at the award of this modification. Fiscal 2020 operations and maintenance (Navy); fiscal 2020 research, development, test and evaluation (Navy); fiscal 2021 other procurement (Navy); fiscal 2021 operations and maintenance (Navy); fiscal 2022 other procurement (Navy); and fiscal 2022 operations and maintenance (Navy) funds in the amount of $17,315,857 will be obligated on individual task orders as they are issued. Naval Information Warfare Center Atlantic, Charleston, South Carolina, is the contracting activity. Huntington Ingalls Industries, Pascagoula, Mississippi, is awarded a $7,142,318 fixed-price incentive (firm target) modification to previously awarded contract N00024-13-C-2307 to exercise an option for the accomplishment of post-delivery availability (PDA) work items for DDG-121. Work will be performed in Pascagoula, Mississippi. Immediately following the preliminary acceptance of the vessel, Huntington Ingalls Industries will complete the efforts required for PDA work items in the contractor's yard. The modification for PDA work items will be accomplished before the vessel departs and sails away from the contractor's shipyard. Work is expected to be complete by February 2021. Fiscal 2015 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy); and fiscal 2020 other procurement (Navy) funding in the amount of $7,142,318 will be obligated at time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, District of Columbia, is the contracting activity. DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY American Water Operations and Maintenance LLC, Camden, New Jersey, has been awarded a $12,581,850 modification (P00037) to a 50-year utilities privatization contract (SP0600-15-C-8302) with no option periods to incorporating an increase to the operations, maintenance, renewal and replacement charges for water and wastewater utility service systems. This is a fixed-price with economic-price-adjustment contract. Location of performance is California, with a May 31, 2066, performance completion date. Using military service is Air Force. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2020 operations and maintenance funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Energy, Fort Belvoir, Virginia. *Small business https://www.defense.gov/Newsroom/Contracts/Contract/Article/2157205/source/GovDelivery/