December 29, 2024 | International, Aerospace
September 25, 2018 | International, C4ISR
Naval Academy’s cybersecurity program receives accreditation
By: Brian Witte, The Associated Press
ANNAPOLIS, Md. — The U.S. Naval Academy's cyber operations program has been formally accredited.
The academy said Friday the program was accredited recently by ABET, a leading nonprofit accrediting agency. Three other universities also were accredited under the new cybersecurity criteria: the U.S. Air Force Academy, Towson University and Southeast Missouri State University.
A cyber operations major was established in 2013 at the academy. The academy also requires all midshipmen to take a cyber course in both their freshmen and junior years — the first undergraduate school to have mandatory cyber classes. There were 27 midshipmen who majored in cyber operations in the class of 2016. That has grown to 110 in the class of 2021.
The academy is building a $106 million cybersecurity building.
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June 20, 2019 | International, Aerospace
Pentagon, Lockheed Martin Failed to Ensure Proper Parts for F-35
CHARLES S. CLARK A major contractor and the Pentagon's top management office came in for criticism from an inspector general for cutting corners in assuring that the massive joint-service F-35 stealth fighter is equipped with ready-for-issue parts. In a report dated June 13, the Defense Department watchdog found that parts for the department's largest acquisition—with an estimated $406 billion price tag and sales planned to foreign allies—were not being received according to the contracts and performance incentives. The parts contracted for delivery by Lockheed Martin Corp. include wheel, seat, and window assemblies, said the audit addressed to the Defense secretary for acquisition, the Air Force secretary, the Air Force inspector general and the Defense Contract Management Agency. The federal contracting offices and the corporate teams working on the plane are supposed to ensure the sustaining parts are delivered “ready for aircraft maintenance personnel to install on the aircraft,” as well as have an Electronic Equipment Logbook assigned that spells out each part's history and remaining life. Too often, however, the parts arrived not ready in accordance with contracts and incentive fees on the sustainment contracts because of “inflated and unverified F‑35A aircraft availability hours. This occurred because the [Joint Program Office] did not conduct adequate oversight of contractor performance related to receiving F‑35 spare parts and aircraft availability hours,” the report said, calling the inflation of hours unintentional. As a result, the department received non-ready spare parts and spent up to $303 million in labor costs since 2015, “and it will continue to pay up to $55 million annually” for such parts until a fix is made. In addition, the Defense Department has “potentially overpaid” $10.6 million in performance incentive fees by not independently collecting and verifying aircraft availability hours. “The lack of available [ready-for-issue] spare parts could result in the F‑35 fleet being unable to perform required operational and training missions,” the report warned. The Joint Program Office was aware of the problem, auditors found during their review from June 2018 to April 2019, but did not resolve the issue or require the services to better track the non-compliant parts. Interviews with the Joint Program Office staff in Arlington, Va.; the DCMA administrative office in Lockheed Martin's facility in Fort Worth, Texas; and Lockheed staff at three sites found, for example, that of 74 spare parts delivered to Hill Air Force Base in Utah from Sept. 17-30, 2018, 59 spare parts (80 percent) were non-ready for issue. Of the 263 spare parts delivered to Luke Air Force Base in Arizona in June 2018, 213 spare parts (81 percent) were non‑ready. And of 132 spare parts delivered to the Marine Corps Air Station in Beaufort, S.C., in September 2017, 58 spare parts (44 percent) were non‑ready. The IG recommended that the F-35 program executive officer improve oversight by coordinating with DCMA to pursue compensation from the contractor for the costs of mishandling the supply of spare parts since 2015. It also recommended that he direct the contracting officer to add clarifying language to future sustainment contracts, and task the lead contracting office with updating its Quality Assurance Surveillance Plan. Navy Vice Adm. Mathias Winter, the program executive, agreed, stating that there is value added in tracking and using contractor performance data. https://www.govexec.com/defense/2019/06/pentagon-lockheed-martin-failed-ensure-proper-parts-f-35/157822/
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June 29, 2020 | International, Land
Leonardo DRS wins Army network installation contract
Andrew Eversden The Army program executive office responsible for network modernization awarded Leonardo DRS a $206 million contract to provide vehicle installation kits for network systems, the company announced June 25. The indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity contract, awarded by Army PEO Command, Control, Communications-Tactical and Project Manager Mission Command, has a performance period of three years with seven option years. Leonardo DRS will provide “cables, brackets and other associated hardware” to support the installation of the next-generation Mounted Family of Computer Systems II, which includes tablets, processors and ruggedized displays. “These are mission-critical components of the Army's Mission Command capability. We are proud to have been selected for high-volume production and delivery of quality, reliable systems for use in almost every type of tactical platform,” said Bill Guyan, senior vice president and general manager of the Leonardo DRS Land Electronics business unit. In June 2018, Leonardo DRS won an $841 million contract to provide the Army with MFoCS II technology. MFoCS II is the service's combat computing platform. https://www.c4isrnet.com/battlefield-tech/it-networks/2020/06/26/leonardo-drs-wins-army-network-installation-contract/