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  August 12, 2019 | International, Land

  Texas university to build $130M complex to test Army’s combat tech

  By: Kelsey Reichmann WASHINGTON — A Texas university will be home to a $130 million combat development complex used by Army Futures Command. Texas A&M University System's RELLIS campus in Bryan will be the new home to accelerator space, laboratories and offices for the four-star command. The announcement was made in a news release Thursday after the board of regents authorized the contract. The building will cost Texas A&M System $50 million, according to the release. It will also invest $30 million in infrastructure improvements for the new facility. The remaining $50 million was appropriated by the Texas legislature and will go toward an outdoor testing area at RELLIS. The complex will include a kilometer-long tunnel that will make Texas A&M Engineering “the hypersonics research capital of the country,” said M. Katherine Banks, vice chancellor and dean of engineering. The campus held a robotic combat vehicle prototyping competition in May involving six industry teams with a total of eight vehicles. The event came in anticipation of Army whitepapers and request for prototype proposals for ground vehicle robots. Gen. John “Mike” Murray, the head of Army Futures Command, said in the release that the command would develop, test and evaluate technology from industry and universities around the country at the facility. “We are humbled and grateful to the people of Texas, Texas elected leaders, and the Texas A&M University System for the opportunity to further develop our strategic partnership through the establishment of the combat development complex on the RELLIS Campus,” he said. “This effort will certainly prove vital as we work together to discover, develop, and test ideas and concepts that will help our Soldiers, and our future Soldiers, to protect America's tomorrows — beginning today.” https://www.defensenews.com/global/the-americas/2019/08/09/texas-university-to-build-130m-complex-to-test-armys-combat-tech/

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  June 20, 2019 | International, Naval

  Navy Mulling How to Make Surface Fleet Flexible, Lethal

  By: Otto Kreisher WASHINGTON, D.C. — A panel of senior Navy civilian officials said the planning efforts for the future combat fleet was focused on making the fleet more flexible, interoperable and lethal. There also is an emphasis on open architecture to make it easier, quicker and cheaper to upgrade combat systems, they said. Those priorities would reduce the cost of sustaining the fleet going forward, the officials said at the American Society of Naval Engineers' annual Technology, Systems & Ship symposium on June 19. Michael Stewart, deputy director for integrated warfare systems, said his job was to look at the available capabilities across all the different surface platforms to make the fleet more capable and lethal. He also would ensure that all requirements going forward were clearly tied to the National Defense Strategy, since “we can't afford to fund everything.” John Hootman, the deputy director for surface warfare, said he was looking at the architecture for the future surface combatants in the 2030-2040 timeframe, when the Ticonderoga-class cruisers and some of the early Arleigh Burke destroyers would be retiring. But, he said, “we can't know what we'll need until we know how we'll fight.” In response to a question, Hootman praised the creation of the Surface Development Squadron, which will help in that effort to determine how the future fleet would fight. Hootman also emphasized the need to look at capabilities across the fleet, not at specific platforms, to promote commonality across the fleet, including a common combat system that could equip the whole range of surface combatants and even the amphibious ships. But that focus on common systems also could apply to the hull, mechanical and electrical elements of future ships. “The push for commonality is key.” Another official extended that quest to communications systems, arguing that every different circuit in the fleet reduces capacity, flexibility and the ability to integrate operations in the strike group. Steven Dries, filling in for Rear Adm. Steven Pardoe, director of integrated warfare, noted that the capabilities that ships would need in the future will change, which makes it all the more important to field systems that can be modernized with software changes, rather than having to tear out hardware. Hootman stressed the same thing as a way to more efficiently modernize ships and gain commonality. He also cited the savings in training sailors to operate and maintain systems that are common across platforms. https://news.usni.org/2019/06/19/navy-mulling-how-to-make-surface-fleet-flexible-lethal

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  August 24, 2020 | International, C4ISR

  DISA awards $199 million contract for cloud security

  Andrew Eversden WASHINGTON — The U.S. Defense Information Systems Agency awarded its first production other transaction authority contract on Aug. 20, the agency announced. The production OTA contract, with a ceiling of about $199 million, was awarded to By Light Professional IT Services to support the Defense Department's Cloud Based Internet Isolation program. The contract has a one-year base with four one-year options. The Cloud Based Internet Isolation program falls under the purview of DISA. It's meant to reduce the risks involved with non-mission-essential internet browsing by isolating the browser in the cloud instead of on the user end point. Isolation in the cloud is meant to prevent malicious code or content from accessing Pentagon networks. “By partnering with industry, DISA's CBII team determined a means to transform how [the Department of Defense] defends against internet web browser-based threats,” the DISA news release read. “This partnership will provide direct support to our nation's warfighters by providing cybersecurity within the cloud while protecting the warfighter's electronic devices from exposure to direct threats.” https://www.c4isrnet.com/disa/2020/08/21/disa-awards-199-million-contract-for-cloud-security