October 21, 2020 | International, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security, Other Defence
WASHINGTON — On the heels of its capstone March report, the Cyberspace Solarium Commission has released a detailed follow-up with recommendations for how to secure the information and communications technologies supply chain.
The commission is a bipartisan organization created by Congress in 2019 to develop a multipronged U.S. cyber strategy. It delivered a report in March, advocating for multiple cyber deterrence efforts.
The whitepaper, released Monday, is one of several add-ons to the original report that go into greater depth on a particular topic or recommendation from the March report.
This specific whitepaper solely focuses on the recommendation that Congress should direct the U.S. government to develop and implement a strategy for the information and communications technology industrial base to ensure more trusted supply chains and the availability of critical information and communications technologies.
The whitepaper frames in stark terms that the United States lacks a strategy vis-a-vis China.
“Over the past two decades, China has mobilized state-owned and state-influenced companies to grab a dominant position in markets for several emerging technologies, including the market for telecommunications equipment,” the report noted. “This is no accident but rather the result of a concerted, strategic effort by the Chinese government to capture these markets through a mix of government-led industrial policy; unfair and deceptive trade practices, including state-led intellectual property theft; the manipulation of international standards and trade bodies; a growing network of influence built on the back of diplomatic and trade negotiations; and significant investments in research and development in ICT.”
As a result, the whitepaper is the commission's effort to help lay out a strategy for the government to better compete in this space, become less reliant upon manufacturing and resources in Asia, and thus spur greater security.
“We're doing a lot but we lack a north star or a strategic approach that weaves or stiches it all together,” Robert Morgus, senior director for the commission, told C4ISRNET ahead of the whitepaper's release. “Without that north star, U.S. federal government efforts are uncoordinated.”
The paper lists a five-pronged strategy to build trusted supply chains:
Moreover, the paper lists a series of recommendations to achieve the strategy, which include a variety of ways to streamline information sharing and efforts that could be taken within the federal government.
The report couches supply chain security in both economic and national security terms, which Morgus noted cannot be decoupled.
“The simple fact that we aren't competing with China on that front creates that security issue. ... The economic issue here is leading to a national security and a cybersecurity issue, and the two issues really can't be disentangled,” he said. “The fact that we don't have trusted suppliers or a robust network of trusted suppliers that can compete has created a security issue where we are reliant on Chinese manufacturing or companies with manufacturing presence in China, which is a potential security issue from the trustworthiness and the availability of those goods and services.”
Among one of the key pillars of the strategy to build a stronger supply chain, the report suggests greater intelligence sharing between allies and partners to disseminate intelligence on risks, which is also beneficial to the private sector.
The paper recommends Congress direct the president to create or designate a national supply chain intelligence center that would integrate supply chain intelligence efforts from across the government with other members of the public and private sectors. It would also serve as the shared knowledge center for threats to the supply chain.
December 11, 2023 | International, Land
Boeing on Monday named company veteran Stephanie Pope to the newly created position of chief operating officer, likely making her one of the top contenders to take over from CEO David Calhoun when he decides to step down from the role.
March 12, 2019 | International, Aerospace
By: Kyle Rempfer The XQ-58A Valkyrie demonstrator, a long-range, high-subsonic unmanned combat air vehicle, completed its inaugural flight Tuesday at Yuma Proving Grounds, in Arizona. The Air Force's fleet of current drones, such as the MQ-9 Reaper, are basically giant gas bags that fly — able to loiter for long periods above friendly forces in order to provide armed overwatch and intelligence. But the airspace over future battlefields will likely not be permissive, and so new drones will need to be developed. XQ-58A Valkyries were developed under the low-cost attritable aircraft technology program — meaning they're cheap and can be lost in combat without too much concern. The drone and its derivatives are anticipated to perform a range of missions, including suppression of enemy air defenses, offensive and defensive counter-air maneuvers, nap-of-the-earth or terrain masking flight and high-altitude flying. The Valkyrie appears to come with a stealthy, low radar signature design, meaning it may be able to be paired with the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter in a manned-unmanned configuration. When entering enemy airspace filled with counter-air systems, the Valkyrie could conceivably soak up enemy fire or even attack enemy positions and aircraft. The F-35 has been touted by the Air Force chief of staff as the “quarterback of the joint team," and not simply another stealth aircraft. The fifth-generation fighter is expected to come with a suite of information fusion capabilities, enabling its pilot to process information and coordinate on the battlefield like never before. Full article: https://www.airforcetimes.com/news/your-air-force/2019/03/08/air-force-offers-glimpse-of-new-stealthy-combat-drone-during-first-flight
July 6, 2020 | International, Aerospace
July 1, 2020 | By John A. Tirpak General Electric received a $101.4 million contract for the first batch of engines to power the F-15EX fighter being acquired by the Air Force, according to a June 30 notice from the Pentagon. The sole-source contract buys and installs F110-GE-129s plus spares, but USAF didn't specify how many engines are being acquired in the action. The engines are to be delivered by Nov. 30, 2022. This first batch of F-15EX engines is being procured sole-source because of “an unusual and compelling urgency acquisition,” according to the announcement. The GE engine is the only one certified for the F-15Q, which the F-15EX is based, and competition was waived on this batch in order to expedite testing of the F-15EX. Subsequent buys of F-15EX engines, however, will be open to competition, the Air Force said in May. In February, Pratt & Whitney—now part of Raytheon Technologies—protested an early decision to just buy the F110 powerplant for the whole F-15EX fleet, and the Air Force in March dropped its plan to use the GE engine exclusively. The service will need up to 461 new engines to power as many as 144 F-15EX fighters. Pratt is planning to offer its F100-229 engine, but would have to certify the engine for the “Advanced F-15” at its own cost. The Air Force said testing can take place “concurrently” with production. No obstacles are seen to integration of the Pratt engine. The company noted it is the “exclusive propulsion system for USAF's entire fleet of operational F-15s.” The service wants up to six competed engines to be delivered per month, with the first deliveries in 2023. https://www.airforcemag.com/ge-gets-contract-for-first-batch-of-f-15ex-engines