Leonardo, Elbit units to prototype targeting device for US Army

On the same subject

• 

  June 15, 2023 | International, Aerospace, C4ISR

  Epirus, DroneShield combine on UAS-roasting air defense

  Epirus earlier this year won a $66 million contract with the U.S. Army.

• 

  July 2, 2019 | International, Aerospace

  Karem, Northrop, Raytheon team for Army’s future attack recon helo competition

  By: Jen Judson WASHINGTON — Karem Aircraft has forged a team with Northrop Grumman and Raytheon to compete in the Army's Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft (FARA) competition, according to a July 1 company statement. Karem was one of five companies awarded a prototyping development contract in April. While details are scant as to how each company will contribute to the overall design, due in January or February of 2020, the teaming announcement says the three companies together “will apply decades of combined knowledge, skills and abilities to bring the best of vehicle and systems technologies and processes to the first aircraft within the Future Vertical Lift family of systems.” Karem is bringing its “unique active variable speed rotor technologies,” which have been developed over the last 10 years through collaboration with the Army, to the teaming effort. The company's experience “will be augmented with Northrop Grumman's manned and autonomous military aircraft development, system integration, production and support expertise and Raytheon's systems architecture, mission equipment and weapons capabilities,” the company statement adds. While Karem competed to be one of two teams selected to build a flying aircraft for the Army's Joint Multi-Role Technology Demonstrator (JMR TD), it was not selected. Instead, the Army awarded it a smaller technology development contract to continue to refine its unique technology. The JMR TD program will inform a Future Long-Range Assault Aircraft (FLRAA) program of record to replace UH-60 Black Hawks and AH-64 Apache helicopters. The JMR TD program is not a head-to-head competition between the Sikorsky-Boeing SB-1 Defiant coaxial helicopter and the Bell V-280 Valor tiltrotor aircraft, but will inform the FLRAA program. Bell and a Sikorsky-Boeing team have each built a JMR TD aircraft which is flying in that program. AVX Aircraft Co. also received a smaller technology development contract similar to Karem's award. The Karem-Northrop-Raytheon team will compete with an AVX-L-3 Communications Integrated Systems team, Bell, Boeing and Lockheed Martin-owned Sikorsky to provide design plans to the Army for FARA. The Army will choose just two teams to advance to build a flyable prototype, much like it did for the JMR TD program — except this time, one of those aircraft will be chosen for production. The Army has set an ambitious schedule for FARA, with plans to fly prototypes in 2023. A production decision could happen in 2028, but the service is looking at any way possible to speed up that timeline. Truncating the timelines for both FLRAA and FARA has been on the table for many years and the service continues to assess any way possible to bring the aircraft online faster. With the advent of the new Army Futures Command — focused on six major modernization priorities, of which FVL is third — the service is moving faster on prototyping capability to ultimately procure major weapon systems at a somewhat unprecedented speed. Through the AFC and the use of contracting mechanisms like OTAs, the Army has found a way to compress parts of the acquisition process that previously took three-to-five years into periods of time often amounting to less than a year. FARA is intended to fill a critical capability gap currently being addressed by the AH-64E Apache attack helicopter teamed with Shadow unmanned aircraft, following the retirement of the OH-58D Kiowa Warrior helicopters. The service has tried and failed three times to fill the gap with an aircraft. https://www.defensenews.com/land/2019/07/01/karem-northrop-raytheon-forge-team-for-armys-future-attack-recon-helo-competition/

• 

  December 19, 2018 | International, C4ISR

  DoD IG: Military networks are exposed to ‘unnecessary’ cyber risks

  By: Mark Pomerleau The military services are exposing networks to “unnecessary cybersecurity risks” thanks in part to a lack of visibility over software application inventories, according to a Department of Defense Inspector General report. The IG investigated whether DoD components rationalized their software applications by identifying and eliminating any duplicative or obsolete applications. Rationalizing software applications seeks to improve enterprise IT by identifying all software applications on the network; determining if existing applications are needed, duplicative or obsolete; and determining if applications already existing within the network prior to purchasing new ones. The audit — which focused on Marine Corps, Navy and Air Force commands and divisions — found that the groups examined did not consistently perform this rationalization process. By not having visibility into software application inventories, these organizations were unable to identify the extent of existing vulnerabilities within their applications, the report found. Moreover, such a process could lead to cost savings associated with eliminating duplicative and obsolete applications. Fleet Forces Command was the only command the IG reviewed that had a process in place for eliminating duplicative or obsolete applications. The Air Force did not have a process in place to prevent duplication when purchasing new applications. The report placed blame on the DoD chief information officer for not implementing a solution for software rationalization in response to Federal Information Technology Acquisition Reform Act requirements. The IG made three recommendations for the CIO, who did not provide a response to draft recommendations: Develop an enterprisewide process for conduction software application rationalization throughout DoD; Establish guidance requiring DoD components to conduct rationalization and require DoD component CIOs to develop implementation guidance outlining responsibilities for rationalization. Such a policy should also require components on at least an annual basis to validate the accuracy of their owned and in use software applications inventory; and Conduct periodic review to ensure components are regularly validating the accuracy of their inventory and they are eliminating duplicative and obsolete applications. https://www.fifthdomain.com/dod/2018/12/18/dod-ig-military-networks-are-exposed-to-unnecessary-cyber-risks