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April 29, 2024 | International, Naval

Marine unit found metal shavings in F-35 fuel, plastic tool in wing

In a memo obtained by Defense News, a Marine Corps squadron commander raises the alarm about the quality of Lockheed Martin's new F-35C jets.

https://www.defensenews.com/air/2024/04/29/marine-unit-found-metal-shavings-in-f-35-fuel-plastic-tool-in-wing/

On the same subject

  • Leonardo DRS delivers 70,000th mounted family of computer system to the U.S Army

    July 8, 2020 | International, C4ISR, Security

    Leonardo DRS delivers 70,000th mounted family of computer system to the U.S Army

    Arlington, VA, July 7, 2020 - Leonardo DRS, Inc. announced today that the company has delivered its 70,000th mission command computing system known as the Mounted Family of Computer Systems (MFoCS), to the U.S. Army. The delivery marks two decades of providing the U.S. military advanced tactical computing units for ground combat vehicles and command post operations. MFoCS systems provide ruggedized modular computing capabilities for the U.S Army and other services, giving warfighters the next-generation of computing and display technology with faster processing performance. This enables support for simultaneous applications as well as the integration of additional sensors and communications networks. “We are honored to continue supporting the delivery of the next generation of mission critical computing in support of our soldiers and Marines at the point of the spear,” said Bill Guyan, senior vice president and general manager of the Leonardo DRS Land Electronics business unit. “We take great pride in having designed a mission-critical family of network systems using the latest commercial off-the-shelf technologies that can be confidently relied upon when in harm's way,” Guyan said. Over a twenty year period working with our partners at the U.S. Army Project Manager - Mission Command, the Leonardo DRS Land Electronics business has designed and built multiple generations of MFoCS, building on each with innovative advancements in technology and supporting the Army's Network Modernization Plan. The platform has also continuously met the Army's current Mounted Computing Operating Environment requirements and is ready to satisfy the Army's advanced Mounted Mission Command requirements in the future. For more information about Leonardo DRS Mounted Family of Computer Systems, visit www.LeonardoDRS.com/MFOCS About Leonardo DRS Leonardo DRS is a prime contractor, leading technology innovator and supplier of integrated products, services and support to military forces, intelligence agencies and defense contractors worldwide. Its Land Electronics business unit Provides C4I Network computing and integrated situational awareness, as well as state-of-the-art embedded diagnostics, vehicle power management and combat vehicle integration products and services. Headquartered in Arlington, Virginia, Leonardo DRS is a wholly owned subsidiary of Leonardo S.p.A. See the full range of capabilities at www.LeonardoDRS.com and on Twitter @LeonardoDRSnews CONTACT US Michael Mount Vice President, Public Affairs mmount@drs.com +1 571 447 4624 View source version on Leonardo DRS: https://www.leonardodrs.com/news/press-releases/leonardo-drs-delivers-70-000th-mounted-family-of-computer-system-to-the-us-army/

  • U.S. Cyber Command looks to grow its acquisition capacity

    September 14, 2018 | International, C4ISR

    U.S. Cyber Command looks to grow its acquisition capacity

    By Lauren C. Williams The Defense Department's newest combatant command is nearly a decade old but still doesn't steer its own acquisitions. That could change in fiscal 2019, however, as U.S. Cyber Command staffs up its contracting office and seeks a bigger acquisition budget. "Acquisition authority is limited at the moment. It's capped at $75 million and has a sunset date, currently, of 2021," said Stephen Schanberger, command acquisition executive for U.S. Cyber Command during a panel at the Billington Cybersecurity Summit Sept. 6. "So the command is actively pursuing getting that increased on the ceiling amount as well as the sunset date." Cyber Command has only had acquisition authority for two fiscal years, but Congress extended that authority through 2025 in the fiscal year 2019 National Defense Authorization Act. That advances the authority four years from the original sunset date of 2021. Cyber Command awarded only one contract in fiscal 2017, Schanberger said, partly because it lacked a contract writing system and technical personnel to get things done. Things improved this year with $40 million in contract awards and Schanberger expects to reach the $75 million cap sometime in 2019. "We are really hamstrung at the moment in relying on the current [contracting] vehicles out there from others," he said. "And in some cases we've had to adjust our scope to match up to the contract versus waiting for them to put another whole contract vehicle or task order onto a contract." Schanberger seeks to more than triple Cyber Command's acquisition to $250 million to allow for multi-year contracts. Congressional scrutiny has been the main impediment to securing additional acquisition funds because the command needs to prove its contracting abilities, but Schanberger said increasing staff and getting things right will help. "Congress would like us to show that we actually can use our authority the way it's supposed to be and start to stand on the backbone of what it takes to be a contracting organization," particularly regarding contract types, use other transaction authorities, competitive bids versus sole source, and partnering with small businesses, he said. Schanberger told FCW he wasn't concerned about additional congressional scrutiny surrounding the Defense Department's use of other transaction authorities because "our efforts are nowhere near the big efforts that they're looking for." But overall, Cyber Command's contracting office is growing. Schanberger now leads a team of about five people, including himself, consisting of a contracting officer, specialist, and supporting contractors. He hopes to double the team's capacity by year's end. "We are in our infancy from an acquisition perspective, we are putting down the foundation of the personnel and the skills," he said, with the goal "to be able to activate, put together solicitation packages, plan our contracting strategy for [multiple] years, and be able to effectively implement and put out RFPs on the street without making a mess out it." Schanberger said they are looking at capabilities that can benefit all of the service components, such as analytic development. Cyber Command released a request for proposals for an analytic support program dubbed Rainfire on Sept. 4. "Once we get the skills in place, I think we'll be able to demonstrate to everyone around us that we can execute the authorities we have and grow them responsibly," he said. https://fcw.com/articles/2018/09/13/cybercom-aquisition-williams.aspx

  • Zero-Day Alert: Three Critical Ivanti CSA Vulnerabilities Actively Exploited

    October 8, 2024 | International, C4ISR, Security

    Zero-Day Alert: Three Critical Ivanti CSA Vulnerabilities Actively Exploited

    Ivanti warns of active exploitation of three new CSA vulnerabilities, enabling hackers to bypass security measures.

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