April 24, 2018 | International, Aerospace, C4ISR
By: Daniel Cebul
WASHINGTON ― Despite advances in satellite technology, many of the U.S. military's most expensive and necessary assets remain vulnerable to jamming from inexpensive tools, according to a new report from the CSIS Aerospace Security Project.
“The technology needed to jam many types of satellite signals is commercially available and relatively inexpensive,” the report reads. Other electronic threats such as spoofing, which attempts to trick receivers into believing manipulated data from an attacker is real, also offer low cost options to adversaries who hope to interfere with satellite connectivity. These kinds of attacks can disrupt communications or position, navigation and timing techniques.
The report, released April 12 and titled “Space Threat Assessment 2018,” notes that while United States near-peer adversaries have made strides in more advanced kinetic weapons, such as direct ascent anti-satellite weapons, jamming technology also is seen as critical. For example, “China has made the development and deployment of satellite jamming systems a high priority,” according to the authors, Todd Harrison, Kaitlyn Johnson and Thomas Roberts.
Another near-peer, Russia, has displayed jamming and spoofing capabilities in the ongoing conflicts in Ukraine and Syria in the last several years. The report said the use of Russian technology in these conflicts “demonstrate[s] that Russia retains advanced electronic attack capabilities, despite some analysts' claims that Russia's ability to jam and spoof satellites has declined since 1991.”
But the threat from jamming and spoofing attacks goes beyond near-peers. Iran and North Korea, so-called rogue states, also have demonstrated the capability and willingness to interfere with satellite communications and GPS signals, according to the report.
And the ability to jam and spoof signals is likely to spread. The report notes once a jammer or spoofer is developed, “it is relatively inexpensive to produce and deploy in large numbers and can be proliferated to other state and non-state actors.”
But the United States is not sitting by idly. The Air Force's Advanced Energy High Frequency satellites, reserved for secure communication, “incorporate a high degree of protection against jamming, spoofing, and other forms of electronic attack,” according to the report.
The U.S. is also preparing troops to operate in GPS-denied environments. In January, the Defense Department jammed GPS-signals in western states so pilots could train in environments that will likely come to characterize combat in the age of electronic warfare.
May 14, 2021 | International, Aerospace
The Air Force can't wait to retire the F-22 Raptor. The future fighter fleet will shrink from seven types to four. See which jets aren't making the cut.
December 4, 2019 | International, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security
ARMY Oakland Consulting Group Inc., Lanham, Maryland, was awarded a $16,617,465 modification (BA02 31) to contract W91QUZ-11-D-0018 to develop and deliver critical auditability and compliance requirements for the Logistics Modernization Program. Work will be performed at Picatinny Arsenal, New Jersey, with an estimated completion date of Dec. 31, 2020. Fiscal 2020 other procurement, Army funds in the amount of $7,898,333 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Rock Island Arsenal, Illinois, is the contracting activity. The Dutra Group, San Rafael, California, was awarded a $10,000,000 firm-fixed-price contract for maintenance dredging in Alabama, Mississippi and Florida. Bids were solicited via the internet with two received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of Feb. 2, 2021. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Mobile, Alabama, is the contracting activity (W91278-20-D-0001). NAVY Huntington Ingalls Inc., Newport News, Virginia, is awarded an $11,544,415 cost-plus-fixed-fee level of effort delivery order to previously awarded contract N00024-19-D-4306 to accomplish 12 months of execution planning for the repair and alteration requirements for USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78 – aircraft carrier/nuclear propulsion) planned incremental availability. The contracted requirements include the advance planning, design, documentation, engineering, procurement, ship checks, fabrication and preliminary shipyard or support facility work. Work will be performed in Newport News, Virginia, and is expected to be completed by September 2020. Fiscal 2020 operation and maintenance (Navy) funding for $1,000,000 will be obligated at time of award and will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Supervisor of Shipbuilding, Conversion and Repair, U.S. Navy, Newport News, Virginia, is the contracting activity. DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY Kampi Components, Fairless Hills, Pennsylvania (SPE7MX-20-D-0011, $10,911,917); and Optex Systems, Richardson, Texas (SPE7MX-20-D-0012, $11,024,488), have each been awarded a firm-fixed-price, indefinite-quantity contract under solicitation SPE7MX-19-R-0102 for armored V periscopes. This was a competitive acquisition with two responses received. They are three-year base contracts with two one-year option periods. Locations of performance are Pennsylvania and Texas, with a Dec. 3, 2022, performance completion date. Using military services are Army and Marine Corps. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2020 through 2023 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Land and Maritime, Columbus, Ohio. Labatt Food Service, San Antonio, Texas, has been awarded a maximum $9,028,137 fixed-price with economic-price-adjustment, indefinite-quantity contract for full line, food distribution for customers in Texas and New Mexico. This contract was a sole-source acquisition in accordance with 10 U.S. Code 2304 (c)(1), as stated in Federal Acquisition Regulation 6.302-1. This is a 172-day contract with no option periods. Locations of performance are Texas and New Mexico, with a May 16, 2020, performance completion date. Using customers are Army, Air Force, Marine Corps and federal civilian agencies. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2020 defense working capital funds. The contracting agency is Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (SPE300-20-D-3253). (Awarded Nov. 27, 2019) Heart and Core LLC, Minnetonka, Minnesota, has been awarded a maximum $7,920,000 modification (P00014) exercising the third one-year option period of a one-year base contract (SPE1C1-17-D-1018) with four one-year option periods for moisture wicking t-shirts. This is an indefinite-delivery contract. Locations of performance are California and Minnesota, with a Dec. 15, 2020, performance completion date. Using military service is Army. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2020 through 2021 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. DEFENSE ADVANCED RESEARCH PROJECTS AGENCY Chenega Infinity LLC,* Chantilly, Virginia, has been awarded an $8,620,544 modification (P00005) to previously awarded contract HR0011-18-C-0151 for physical security support services. The modification brings the total cumulative face value of the contract to $16,869,621 from $8,249,076. Work will be performed in Arlington, Virginia, with an expected completion date of December 2020. Fiscal 2019 research and development funds in the amount of $6,735,856 are being obligated at time of award. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, Arlington, Virginia, is the contracting activity. *Small Business https://www.defense.gov/Newsroom/Contracts/Contract/Article/2030883/source/GovDelivery/
June 25, 2019 | International, Aerospace
By: Sebastian Sprenger PARIS — U.S. drone-maker General Atomics looks to get a foothold in the European market by touting the promise of smooth civilian-airspace integration of its aircraft by militaries there. The company considers the United Kingdom, with its Protector program of 20 or so planned aircraft, as the launch customer for the MQ-9B SkyGuardian, a successor to the Reaper. The medium-altitude, long-endurance (MALE) drones come with safety features that executives at this year's Paris Air Show said will enable a so-called military-type certification by the British authorities in the summer of 2023 — the final step toward allowing the drone to fly routinely alongside civilian air traffic. Belgium also has gained U.S. approval to buy four of the aircraft, complete with a detect-and-avoid suite that can alert the system whenever its flight path risks hitting another aircraft, according to a March 26 announcement by the Pentagon's Defense Security Cooperation Agency. That technology, along with a host of technologies for safe operations that have long been standard in manned aviation, is still considered something of a holy grail in the drone business. With unmanned aircraft expected to reach deeper into military and civilian life in the coming years, manufacturers on both sides of the Atlantic have been working feverishly to construct their products with requisite safety certifications in mind. General Atomics' sales pitch is perhaps indicative of an industry where the potential for airspace integration is now taking an equal seat to reconnaissance capabilities and combat punch. The American company can be expected to tread on manufacturers' toes in Europe, where vendors are shaping the evolving regulatory landscape of the European Union and member states to ensure compliance with all expected safety requirements. “We believe we should be there first,” General Atomics President David Alexander told reporters at a briefing during the air show. Being first with a certified drone, he noted, would also open vast potential of the commercial market. But questions remain. Most importantly, issue experts said, it is unclear if the European authorities will honor whatever progress in safety certifications the MQ-9B has made in the eyes of the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration. Company officials told Defense News they try to keep their fingers at the pulse of the relevant policymaking processes on the continent, putting them at the same tables as suppliers in the European industry, like Airbus, Hensoldt or Leonardo. The American firm recently worked with the Royal Netherlands Aerospace Center, or NLR, to simulate a SkyGuardian flying in European airspace. “During the first simulations performed in May, we subjected air traffic controllers to many contingency procedures ranging from engine failure to loss-of-link between the pilot and the remotely piloted aircraft,” Emmanuel Sunil, an NLR project manager, said in a June 18 statement by the research center. “The results indicate that the new procedures that we are developing will make it possible for MALE RPA to fly safely and efficiently in civil European airspace along with other manned air traffic.” https://www.defensenews.com/digital-show-dailies/paris-air-show/2019/06/21/us-drone-maker-senses-a-leg-up-in-europe/