July 16, 2019 | International, Aerospace, Other Defence
By: Todd South
A prototype device used recently at the Army's premiere combat training center has soldiers using precision cyber techniques to target small drones that might have been missed with other equipment and methods.
Soldiers with the 3rd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division used the cyber precision drone detection system during a January rotation at the National Training Center.
The equipment allowed soldiers to get alerts of drone presence and ways to target it that helped protect the brigade, according to an Army release.
Capt. Christopher Packard said the prototype integrated with existing signal, intelligence and electronic warfare capabilities.
Five soldiers embedded with the opposing force to attack the brigade with enemy drones for more realistic training, according to the release.
A group of software developers at the Army's Cyber Command along with others at the Defense Digital Service built custom software and modified commercial equipment to make the early versions of the prototype last year.
“The (Rapid Capabilities and Critical Technologies Office) and Tobyhanna (Army Depot) helped out with taking it from an advanced prototype and turning it into an engineering design model,” said 1st Lt. Aneesh Patel, with ARCYBER's Cyber Solutions Development Detachment with the 782nd Military Intelligence Battalion, 780th Military Intelligence Brigade.
“We designed our own hardware and schematics, but what we didn't have was the proper ability to scale, and I think that's important in a bridging strategy and for any prototype.”
The system is an “interim solution,” according to the release.
“Being a newer system and a new tool for a maneuver unit, there are going to be a lot of things we don't know as [cyber] engineers, and a lot of their specific needs for the capability that may not have gotten through to us. So being out there was very important to this and any other project like it,” Patel said.
The system will be followed by an upgraded version slated for Special Operations Command for an operational assessment this summer.
Phase two will maximize the capability's operational life span by adding software updates that improve performance, according to the release.
That type of equipment hits drones, but the Army also has its own cyber protection teams, such as the one featured in another release out of Grafenwoehr, Germany in June, where the 301st and 172nd CPTs used defensive measures for the Sabre Guardian 19 exercise.
The annual exercise is taking place this year in Bulgaria, Hungary and Romania, co-led by the Romanian Joint Force Command.
The teams “create chaos by accessing the network and either disabling it or stealing classified information and using it against the units involved in the exercise.”
Though cyber threats have been a talking point among commanders for years, it wasn't until this most recent rotation that cyber threats were simulated for the exercise, said Capt. Joe McNerney, 301st CPT battle captain.
The captain explained that the CPTs simulate an insider threat.
The 172nd is a combination of soldiers and airmen from units based in Indiana, Michigan and Ohio. The 301st is an Air Force unit out of the Battle Creek Air National Guard Base, Michigan.
“They're people we work with on a daily basis so we want to beat them," said Sgt. Brian Stevens, an information technology specialist from Detroit. “We have to make them feel pain at some level.”
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August 22, 2018 | International, Aerospace, C4ISR
By: Daniel Cebul Lockheed's Martin second GPS III satellite has passed all of the U.S. Air Force's technical and safety tests and is ready to be launched, likely in 2019, according to a company statement Aug. 21. The statement marks the formal designation that the satellite is “available for launch.” The first GPS III satellite was available for launch in September 2017 aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and is set to liftoff from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station in Florida before the end of 2018. The next satellite will launch aboard a rocket from United Launch Alliance. The new satellite constellation is expected to be a significant improvement over the current generation of satellites. According to Harris Corp., the company that provides Lockheed Martin with the satellites navigation payload, the next-gen satellites are equipped with “a Mission Data Unit (MDU) with a unique 70 percent digital design that links atomic clocks, radiation-hardened computers and powerful transmitters." This allows for signals three times more accurate than those on current GPS satellites, the company said. In addition to being more accurate, the satellite is also eight times more resistant to jamming. This model also adds and maintains signals to ensure compatibility with Global Navigation Satellite Systems and provide stronger signal integrity. Harris also unveiled an upgraded payload in November 2017 to be used for the Air Force's GPS III Follow On (GPS IIIF) program, which will begin with the 11th GPS III satellite. This next-gen payload will grant the clock signal for a new GPS III Search and Rescue (SAR) payload, and extend the satellite's service life. Lockheed Martin is expected to be the prime contractor. In June, the third GPS III satellite completed thermal vacuum and environmental testing to simulate how the satellite will hold up in the space's unforgiving environment. https://www.c4isrnet.com/c2-comms/satellites/2018/08/21/air-forces-next-gps-satellite-ready-to-boost-accuracy-anti-jamming-capabilities
March 2, 2023 | International, Aerospace
The helicopters will supplement a fleet of three AW139s currently supporting a range of activities including pilot and aircrew officer training, utility support to ADF exercises and emergency response and...