June 19, 2019 | International, Naval, Other Defence
The U.S. Coast Guard is seeking input on an IT infrastructure consolidation plan that will help migrate part of its system to the cloud to ensure operators around the world have access to critical networks.
The request for sources is the first step in what appears to be a plan for the Coast Gaurd to contract with the private sector on IT infrastructure transformation. The idea is to shift IT services to an “Infrastructure Managed Services” model, one that would contract out infrastructure services to private companies to assist in cybersecurity and network optimization. The move spawned from the Coast Guard's fiscal 2018-22 Strategic Plan, which calls for greater cyber strength and efficient IT infrastructure.
“The security environment is also affected by the rising importance of the cyber domain – where adversarial nation states, non-state actors, and individuals are attacking our digital infrastructure and eroding the protections historically provided by our geographic borders,” the strategic plan states.
The challenge to secure and re-structure the Coast Guard's networks and IT infrastructure span global operations, different security classifications and many data centers, according to the request. The networks support more than 54,000 users worldwide at 823 global sites. The current networks are based on a slew of Microsoft operating systems, some more than a decade old.
The Coast Guard has been watching the development of Department of Defense's JEDI cloud contract, Adm. Karl Schultz said in August. Now, the Coast Guard hopes to migrate some of its data to the cloud while keeping some of it on the government servers it operates.
“USCG recognizes it must partner with Industry” the request states.
https://www.fedscoop.com/coast-guard-cloud-it-consolidation-procurement/
January 27, 2024 | International, Land
CIV is an electro-optical/infrared sight system utilizing second-generation forward-looking infrared (FLIR) cameras and sensors.
August 22, 2018 | International, Naval
By Stephen Carlson Aug. 21 (UPI) -- The U.K. Royal Navy has accepted Thales' newest 2093 mine countermeasures sonar after extensive sea trials. The 2093 variable depth sonar has been in Royal Navy and worldwide service since the 1980s. The current version being adopted by the U.K. is a wideband variant expected to be installed on the Sandown-class minesweeping vessels, Thales said in a news release. The system has undergone 3 months of trials over the summer onboard the HMS Grimsby minesweeper. It is expected to be installed as the standard countermine system aboard Royal Navy ships, according to Thales. 2093 Wideband is a multi-frequency variable depth sonar system designed to detect mines in all depths of water. The sonar receiver and transmitter are part of a towed array which is lowered below the ship by cable cable, which allows it to penetrate oceanic temperature layers. Thermal layers can block or interfere with sonar signals, making depth of the system important for some applications. The system is based off the 2193 hull-mounted system that is in use on the Hunt-class minesweeper and other ships. The system is expected to be widely exported to nations in Asia, the Middle East and Europe that already use similar legacy systems. https://www.upi.com/Defense-News/2018/08/21/Thales-to-provide-new-minehunting-system-to-UK-Royal-Navy/7951534870862
July 10, 2020 | International, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security
By: Joe Gould WASHINGTON ― The Pentagon would have $758 million to help mid-tier defense firms weather the financial effects of the coronavirus pandemic as part of the annual defense spending bill approved by the House Appropriations Committee on Wednesday. But the aid, which was part of the panel's proposed $694.6 billion bill, falls short of the “lower double-digit billions” Pentagon officials say defense firms will claim under the stimulus bill Congress passed in March. As Congress debates the next stimulus, the defense industry has been urging lawmakers to appropriate enough to reimburse the Pentagon's suppliers for pandemic-related disruptions. Under Section 3610 of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act, contractors can seek to recover such costs, but Congress has yet to appropriate money for it. “While helpful and our industry appreciates the recognition of the need in the HAC mark and all the support we have received from the Pentagon and Congress to date, this level is insufficient to provide the support indicated previously by [the Office of the Secretary of Defense] and also by company leaders who have been communicating with the Pentagon, the Congress and the White House, including [the Office of Management and Budget],” said National Defense Industrial Association Vice Chairman Arnold Punaro. “We are urging that the next stimulus bill provide the needed funds particularly to support section 3610, the reasonable adjustments due to disruptions, and the added costs of protecting the workforces and doing business in a COVID-19 environment,” he added. Not all of the details of the defense bill were available Wednesday, but a committee summary says it provides “$758 million to mitigate the impacts of COVID on second, third, and fourth tier suppliers in the Defense Industrial Base.” Such support would supplement $688 million for the defense-industrial base that the Department of Defense previously set aside as part of the $10.5 billion it got from the coronavirus relief fund created under the CARES Act. Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment Ellen Lord warned Congress last month that the DoD's pandemic-related costs, which include 3,610 claims, may nonetheless force it to dip into modernization and readiness accounts if Congress doesn't backfill the money. “The department does not have the funding to cover these costs,” she said. The House Appropriations Committee's bill is not the last word, and Republicans, who control the Senate and the White House, will negotiate over the final numbers. “FY21 appropriations bills must be changed before they have any chance of becoming law,” the panel's top Republican, Rep. Kay Granger of Texas, said Tuesday. This week, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., began to outline a forthcoming GOP-drafted coronavirus relief package, but it was not immediately revealed what the Pentagon's share might be. House Democrats are reportedly seeking $250 billion in emergency spending for an array of issues, to include rural broadband and transportation infrastructure to health care and global coronavirus relief. As lawmakers reconcile these many priorities, at least one one influential lawmaker on defense ― House Armed Services Committee Chairman Adam Smith, D-Wash. ― has said repeatedly that the Defense Department should draw from its existing budget. The Project on Government Oversight's Mandy Smithberger said the Pentagon has yet to make the case that payments to the defense industry will be the best means to stimulate the economy. “Even though they often don't act like it, resources are still limited to a degree and Congress has to consider fairness as part of that distribution, including who needs the government's help most, and which sectors are going to do the most to help the country,” Smithberger said. “These companies have much better access to capital than a number of other industries and individuals. Even from a reviving-the-economy perspective, this sector has always been one of the poorer performers per dollar for job creation.” The health care and education sectors create more than twice as many jobs per $1 million than the military, and the energy and infrastructure sectors create 40 percent more, according a 2019 analysis by the Costs of War project at Brown University. https://www.defensenews.com/congress/2020/07/08/house-panel-isnt-giving-defense-industry-all-the-covid-aid-it-wants/