Expect heavier hand, ‘bite’ from DOD zero-trust office, boss says

On the same subject

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  November 19, 2020 | International, C4ISR

  Army tactical network acquisition office releases $850M solicitation for encryption device

  Andrew Eversden WASHINGTON — The U.S. Army's tactical network acquisition office released a solicitation Nov. 16 for an $850 million contract for its new encryption device to protect the joint network. The Army expects the 10-year contract for the Next Generation Load Device-Medium (NGLD-M) will be awarded to multiple vendors and will delivery the strongest NSA-certified cryptographic keys on the tactical, strategic, and enterprise network systems from the Secret level and higher. The RFP was release by the Army's Program Executive Office Command, Control, Communications-Tactical. According to the PEO C3T news release, modern cryptographic algorithms will be transferred using the NGLD-M device to counter cyber and electronic warfare threats. The release was delayed in June after the service adjusted the acquisition strategy competition. “Based on market research conducted earlier this year, the program adjusted some aspects of the strategy to help increase multi-vendor competition, enable rapid software integration options, leverage mature Non-Developmental Item (NDI) potential solutions, and accelerate NSA certification,” said Paul Mehney, director of communications for PEO C3T, in a news release. "The NGLD-M replaces the fleet of legacy fill devices including the aging Simple Key Loader (SKL), which the Army began procuring fifteen years ago,” said Mike Badger product manager for the NGLD-M effort. “The NGLD-M will be an NSA Type 1 certified, ruggedized, battery-powered, hand-held device used to manage and transfer cryptographic key material and mission planning data.” The NGLD-M device allows network managers “to reconfigure cryptographic products, perform Over-The-Network-Keying, conduct remote software downloads, and improve operational environment awareness,” according to a PEO C3T news release. The device will be used by all command echelons, other government agencies and foreign military partners, the release said. https://www.c4isrnet.com/battlefield-tech/it-networks/2020/11/18/army-tactical-network-acquisition-office-releases-850m-solicitation-for-encryption-device/

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  November 13, 2019 | International, Aerospace

  Airbus expects updated industry call for Germany’s Tornado replacement contest

  By: Sebastian Sprenger BERLIN — Airbus expects an updated industry solicitation for Germany's multibillion-dollar Tornado replacement program, for which the company will offer an electronic attack-capable Eurofighter. Wolfgang Gammel, the head of combat aircraft business development, said he learned about the impending update during conversations with Defence Ministry officials. A ministerial spokeswoman declined to comment beyond the official line that an announcement about the acquisition program is expected in the first quarter of 2020 and that Berlin is looking to quickly replace its aging Tornado fleet. The requirement for an electronic attack capability was absent from the original request for information when competitors placed their bids in the spring of 2018, Gammel told reporters Tuesday at the International Fighter Conference, a gathering of senior air force and industry leaders in Berlin. After Lockheed Martin and its F-35 were eliminated early this year, that left only the Eurofighter and Boeing's F-18 Growler in the race. An updated RFI presumably would reopen the competition between the remaining bidders as the acquisition process plays out anew on the question of electronic attack capabilities. Such a move would all but certainly result in a sizable delay, as German officials have been trying to be especially thorough in seeing the program through. Airbus said introducing so-called escort jammer pods to the Eurofighter fleet, to be carried under the belly or the wings of the aircraft, would require little effort because the proposed integration strategy is meant to piggyback on upgrade efforts already on the books. Complicating a pick between the Eurofighter and the F-18 is the requirement that Germany must keep a contingent of aircraft capable of carrying U.S. nuclear bombs under NATO's nuclear doctrine. That seemed to give Boeing's offering an advantage, German paper Süddeutsche Zeitung claimed in a report last month. For its part, the F-18 is known for its ability to counter enemy air defenses, an area where Airbus now seeks to lay down its own marker. https://www.defensenews.com/industry/2019/11/12/airbus-expects-updated-industry-call-for-germanys-tornado-replacement-contest/

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  October 17, 2023 | International, Naval

  Lockheed Martin's Next Generation Interceptor Program Advances Through Major Design Milestone

  Huntsville, Ala., October 16, 2023 /PRNewswire/ -- Lockheed Martin's (NYSE: LMT) Next Generation Interceptor (NGI) program executed its digital All Up Round (AUR) Preliminary Design Review (PDR), in partnership with...