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August 20, 2024 | International, C4ISR, Security

Iranian Cyber Group TA453 Targets Jewish Leader with New AnvilEcho Malware

Iranian state-sponsored TA453 hackers target a prominent Jewish figure with new AnvilEcho malware via sophisticated phishing.

https://thehackernews.com/2024/08/iranian-cyber-group-ta453-targets.html

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  • Submarine Industrial Base Ready to Grow – But Only If Pentagon, Congress Send the Right Signals

    November 9, 2020 | International, Naval

    Submarine Industrial Base Ready to Grow – But Only If Pentagon, Congress Send the Right Signals

    By: Megan Eckstein November 6, 2020 3:56 PM Huntington Ingalls Industries is confident its businesses are well-positioned for whatever the future of the Navy is – whether it's the implementation of the Pentagon's Battle Force 2045 plan or something else implemented by new leadership, according to the chief executive. HII president and CEO Mike Petters told investors on Thursday that “we are pleased to see our portfolio of ships in the (Battle Force 2045) plan and recognize that there is still much work to be done to bring any plan to fruition.” “We remain confident that we can create additional capacity that may be necessary to support even the most robust shipbuilding plan,” he added. Asked by investors what a potential change in administration means for the company's outlook, Petters said that “national security tends to be pretty bipartisan, and the Pentagon tends to operate in a world where they're looking external to the country, trying to figure out how to do security. This Pentagon has said we need a bigger Navy to be more secure, and they're working through that process right now. If you have a change in the leadership, in the administration, the new folks are going to be looking at the same outside world that the folks that are there now are. And there might be changes on the edges – is it this many ships or that many ships, or anything like. What I take away from what has been said so far is that the future Navy needs to be bigger, it needs to be faster, cheaper, and probably a bit smaller in terms of sizes of ships. So a faster, cheaper, smaller set of platforms, with a lot more of them. We believe that's going to persist.” Specifically, he said, the undersea domain – both manned submarines and unmanned undersea vehicles – will be at the center of future fleet growth. On the submarine side, HII's Newport News Shipbuilding ran into some struggles on the Block IV Virginia-class SSN deliveries. Some of the delays predate the pandemic, as the supply base and the two shipyards struggled to get up to a two-a-year construction rate. COVID-19 has only increased the challenge, with Petters saying during the last quarterly earnings call in August that the Navy asked Newport News to prioritize repair work – on submarines and aircraft carriers – with the workers who were able to come in on any given day, meaning that the submarine construction side of the business fell further behind. At this point, Petters said this week, workforce attendance is up compared to the spring, and while the company hasn't figured out how to catch back up on Virginia-class construction, they're not falling further behind anymore. “We took a pretty big divot in attendance in April and May. Where we've been since then is, we've been pretty steady in terms of what we can predict in terms of the number of people who are going to be there and who's going to be there and how to allocate those resources. So that's working very well for us, and it's really consistent with the schedules that we reset at the end of Q2,” he said. Petters said the company had about 200 active COVID cases in its workforce now, but due to increases in testing the company can keep fewer people in quarantine and can better predict how the virus is affecting the workforce and therefore how many welders, how many electricians, how many pipefitters they might have on any given day and how to allocate them across all the shipbuilding and ship repair activities. After revamping the SSN construction schedule after falling so far behind in the second quarter of the year, “we're tracking the new schedules. The opportunity to really recover the divot that we took out, we haven't quite figured out how to go and accelerate back to where we were in terms of schedule. But we're working on that. But we're definitely supporting the new schedules we have laid out.” In the longer term, Battle Force 2045 calls for a larger attack submarine force, and Defense Secretary Mark Esper called for the Navy to quickly begin buying three SSNs a year – which would put significant pressure on Newport News Shipbuilding and General Dynamics' Electric Boat, as well as thousands of suppliers across the country, to ramp up production even as they're readying to start construction on the Columbia-class ballistic missile submarine, the contract for which was awarded Thursday. Petters said he was confident industry could act to grow their capacity faster than the government could actually get appropriations and contract modifications into place – though he said industry would only make moves to expand if the government was truly committed to buying more submarines over a long timeframe. “I think the shipyards will have to build, maybe invest in more capacity and more workforce. I think that we're going to have to create some parallel capacity, maybe think a little bit more about buying pieces that we were doing organically before, maybe structural units or fittings or foundations or something like that. ... And then I think you really have to be focused: if you ‘re going to get it there, you really have to get the supply chain up to speed. Our supply chain in support of all of shipbuilding, but in particular our nuclear enterprise, it's very capable, but it's also kind of thin. So you really need to have a persistent, consistent, sustainable set of messaging to the industry that you're going to sustain this rate for a significant time to create or attract the investment in technology, capital and people that the supply chain's going to need to go do,” Petters said. “I think there is the capacity to go do that, but it ain't a light switch and you don't turn it on overnight. My rule of thumb though is that if you're persistent on these signals from the government, the capacity in the industry can be built faster than the government can appropriate the funding to go do it. It takes so long to get to the appropriations process, there's a whole set of signals and long lead times and [requests for proposals] and things like that that would let the industry know you're really serious about doing it,” he added. Navy acquisition chief James Geurts and Electric Boat President Kevin Graney spoke at a separate event Thursday and reiterated to reporters that the whole industry was in a position to ramp up if the Navy became serious about buying more than two Virginias a year. Geurts said the Navy had an undersea advantage today that needed to be expanded in both capability and capacity. “It will take investment to enable us to move to a larger program than we have right now,” he said, which is doable, but only if it doesn't hurt the Columbia program. “The teams are looking at how do we do that and what are the strategic investments that we need to make now that enable us to expand the industrial capacity, should that be where the department goes?” he said. “If that's what we choose to do, we set up the right program to do that, we can deliver whatever industrial capacity output we need for the nation. That won't happen overnight, it will take careful program planning and some investments, just as we've expanded from one Virginia to two Virginias, and two Virginias to two Virginias and a [Virginia Payload Module] to two Virginias and VPM and Columbia. So we know how to do this, I have full confidence in America's ability to produce these should we do that.” Graney said during the media call that expanding would take three things: “we've got to make sure that the supply base keeps pace as we increase the tempo; we've got to make sure that our facilities can accommodate the increased footprint that more modules, for example, for the Virginia program might require; and then the last part – and I think they are kind of in that order – supply base, facilities, and then the last part is really the workforce, training up the workforce and making sure they're on the floor when the modules are ready to be built.” He added that talks with the Navy are ongoing to ensure everyone is clear on what it would take to increase submarine construction rates. For Newport News Shipbuilding's submarine business, the expansion in work might not be limited to construction. The Navy is increasingly realizing that, regardless of what efficiencies they're able to accomplish at the four public shipyards to get subs and carriers in and out of maintenance faster, there's still far too much work for just those yards to accomplish. Naval Sea Systems Command chief Vice Adm. Bill Galinis recently told USNI News that more sub repair work would have to go to private yards – Newport News and Electric Boat – in the future and that the Navy was in talks with the yards to look at what would be needed to increase workload both on the construction and repair side. Petters said Newport News has three submarine repairs taking place now, plus tiger teams deployed to submarine homeports to help with pierside maintenance work. He acknowledged that getting back into submarine repairs after about a decade of not doing that work has been a challenge, but he said it would be an important part of the portfolio going forward. “We're working very closely with the Navy, not just on the work that we have but trying to lay out a sustainable, predictable plan for how the, not just Newport News, but how does the private sector in general support the Navy's need to have more submarines at sea?” he said. “That's a big part of what we're talking about with the submarine repair business. ... That's also a big part of what's happening with the future force and the future of the Virginia class and that construction. At the end of the day, I think, no matter how many submarines the nation puts to sea, we're always going to wish we had more out there. So that's a good spot for us, and we're working very hard in that space.” https://news.usni.org/2020/11/06/submarine-industrial-base-ready-to-grow-but-only-if-pentagon-congress-send-the-right-signals

  • Australia’s Hunter-Class Frigate Program Steel Contract Signed

    June 8, 2020 | International, Naval

    Australia’s Hunter-Class Frigate Program Steel Contract Signed

    Australian company BlueScope Steel AIS has signed a contract with ASC Pty Ltd Shipbuilding, a subsidiary of BAE Systems Australia , for the Hunter-class Frigate program. Xavier Vavasseur 05 Jun 2020 Under the $2.6 million contrac, BlueScope is set to deliver more than 1500 tonnes of steel plate which will be used to construct five ship blocks in the prototyping phase of the program. The blocks will then test processes, systems, tools, and facilities prior to construction commencing on the first of nine frigates by end 2022. This is the first of a number of contracts ASC Shipbuilding will award to Australian businesses in the lead up to the Hunter program's prototyping phase and realises the company's commitment to use Australian steel for the $35 billion Hunter Class Frigate Program. During prototyping, five representative ship ‘blocks' will be built at the world-class Osborne Naval Shipyard in South Australia. During this phase, the processes, systems, tools, facilities and workforce competencies will be extensively tested and refined before construction commences on the first frigate in 2022. ASC Shipbuilding will design and build nine Hunter-class ships, which will be among the world's most advanced anti-submarine warfare frigates, for the Royal Australian Navy. The Hunter-class will begin entering service in the late 2020s replacing the eight Anzac Class frigates, which have been in service since 1996. About Hunter-class Frigate The Hunter Class FFGs will be built in Australia by ASC Shipbuilding at the Osborne Naval Shipyard in South Australia, based on BAE System's Global Combat Ship design (also selected for the Type 26 City-class of the Royal Navy and Canadian Surface Combatant or CSC for the Royal Canadian Navy). According to the Royal Australian Navy, the Hunter Class will provide the Australian Defence Force with the highest levels of lethality and deterrence our major surface combatants need in periods of global uncertainty. They will have the capability to conduct a variety of missions independently, or as part of a task group, with sufficient range and endurance to operate effectively throughout the region. The frigates will also have the flexibility to support non-warfare roles such as humanitarian assistance and disaster relief. Incorporating the leading edge Australian-developed CEA Phased-Array Radar and the US Navy's Aegis combat management system, with an Australian interface developed by Saab Australia, the Hunter Class will be one of the most capable warships in the world. https://www.navalnews.com/naval-news/2020/06/australias-hunter-class-frigate-program-steel-contract-signed/

  • Did the US Marine Corps give up on a big ship-based surveillance drone too soon?

    September 23, 2020 | International, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR

    Did the US Marine Corps give up on a big ship-based surveillance drone too soon?

    David B. Larter WASHINGTON — The U.S. Navy and Marine Corps both say they need expanded surveillance capabilities for a potential fight with China, but the Marines have cut bait on a big, ship-based system that some analysts say would make a big difference for both services. The Chief of Naval Operations' air warfare lead said earlier this month that every carrier strike group commander needs more surveillance, and he wants to find a way to get more pure intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance drones flying off the flight decks of Navy ships as soon as possible. That aligns with the Marine Corps' goals of having more ISR and network connectivity resident in the amphibious ready group/Marine expeditionary unit construct, as it is in the carrier strike group with the E-2D Advanced Hawkeye. But with the Marine Corps moving away from a large unmanned platform known as the “Marine Air-Ground Task Force (MAGTF) Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) Expeditionary,” it's unclear if the Navy and Marine Corps will be able to find common ground on the way forward. When asked if the Navy was moving toward more organic ISR on Navy flight decks, Air Warfare Director Rear Adm. Gregory Harris told the virtual audience at the annual Tailhook symposium that he was trying to find alignment with the Marine Corps' need for a medium-altitude, long endurance drone system. “Every strike group wants to know more and more and more about his battlespace,” Harris said. "As we look at future vertical lift and the Marine Corps looks at their MUX or Medium Altitude Long Endurance system, [we're talking] about how we can find synergy between the Marine Corps and the Navy's pieces of the MUX/MALE program and our future vertical life (unmanned portion) — we want to bring that as far left as we possibly can in terms of synergy between the Navy and Marine Corps. “But I promise you there is not a strike group commander or fleet commander that can get enough ISR out there. And that aspect, from a distributed maritime operations standpoint, what we can bring from the strike group whether it comes off a carrier, a DDG or the future frigate or comes off Triton, that is fantastic.” The Marines were examining a tilt-rotor drone that could take off from from a DDG or a big-deck amphibious ship, but Deputy Commandant of the Marine Corps for Aviation Lt. Gen. Steven Rudder told USNI News in March that the Marines couldn't get the kind of range and endurance they wanted from a tilt-rotor done while packing all the power and cooling it needed for high-end communications and early warning systems. “What we discovered with the MUX program is that it's going to require a family of systems. The initial requirement had a long list of very critical requirements, but when we did the analysis and tried to fit it inside one air vehicle,” they realized they had competing needs, Rudder told USNI. Analysts are divided on whether that's the right idea. Bryan McGrath, a retired destroyer skipper and consultant with The FerryBridge Group, said the Marines gave up too early on the concept, and that it works against the Marine's stated goal of becoming an arm of naval power. “The Marine Corps wishes to go forward fast, and that is a land-based, medium-altitude, long-endurance UAV solution,” McGrath said. “I think it's suboptimal. I think it is a blow to this whole concept of integrated American naval power.” Packing all that capability into a land-based system tethers the capability to basing rights agreements. But another consideration is that capability will be at the mercy of the theater commander, which means the Marines may get less use out of them than they anticipate. “I believe the Marines will find that those assets will be a lot more difficult to keep control of than they think they will be with respect to tasking once they are in theater.” McGrath said. "There will be customers for those ISR assets that will greatly exceed the tactical level of the requirement. “I think the Marines are making a mistake not working closely with the Navy to come up with an organic, ship-based MALE solution. All this does is push the horizon for such a necessary component of the ISR-T grid for the Western Pacific even further into the future. And all for a suboptimal, short-term approach to trying to solve its problems, and I think they are going to find that it will not solve their problems.” But the Marines are nothing if not aggressive, and Marine Corps Commandant Gen. David Berger has clearly prioritized speed in his quest to reshape the service. Dakota Wood, a retired Marine officer and analyst with The Heritage Foundation thinks that's the right approach. “I think they have to go separate paths,” Wood said when asked about the Marines' embrace of land-based air. "I think the more you combine multi-service efforts into a single program, it gets bogged down by all the competing requirements. “The expense goes up, the ability to deliver capability ends up being less than was originally hoped for. And then these competing, or even conflicting requirements clash and it mucks up the whole thing.” Breaking the MUX program into multiple systems has the advantage of spreading out capabilities, and relying on platforms already in production will speed everything along, Wood said. “I'm a huge advocate of prototyping and trying multiple paths, and that costs a bit of money to do that, but you end up with a variety of platforms, all with unique contributions to the overall capability set,” he said. “The Navy has a habit of loading on additional requirements. They look for very robust, long-lifespan capabilities. And of course, the expense and complexity go up. Manufacturing time goes up. There is a delay in getting a capability in the fleet. I like the Marine Corps' aggressive posture: There is a sense of urgency.” https://www.defensenews.com/naval/2020/09/21/did-the-us-marine-corps-give-up-on-a-big-ship-based-surveillance-drone-too-so

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