Northrop Grumman Developing the Next Generation Radar for the F-35 Lightning II

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  January 14, 2020 | International, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security

  Contract Awards by US Department of Defense - January 13, 2020

  NAVY AgustaWestland Philadelphia Corp., Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is awarded a $176,472,608 firm-fixed-price contract for the production and delivery of 32 TH-73A aircraft, initial spares, peculiar support equipment, flyaway kits, hoists, sling loads, data in excess of commercial form fit function/operations maintenance instructional training data as well as ancillary instructor pilot and maintenance personnel training. Work will be performed at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (87%); Mineral Wells, Texas (5%); and various locations outside the continental U.S. (8%), and is expected to be completed in October 2021. Fiscal 2020 aircraft procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $176,472,608 will be obligated at time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured via an electronic request for proposal; five offers were received. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity (N61340-20-C-0007). Airbus Helicopters Inc., Grand Prairie, Texas, is awarded a $37,729,000 firm-fixed-price indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract. This contract provides performance-based logistics support to include ground and repair maintenance of five UH-72 aircraft, sustaining engineering required to maintain UH-72 Federal Aviation Administration certification, the incorporation of U.S. Navy Test Pilot School specific modifications, and the support to provide ground and flight training for the UH-72/EC-145 aircraft. Work will be performed in Patuxent River, Maryland, and is expected to be completed in January 2025. No funds will be obligated at the time of award. Funds will be obligated on individual orders as they are issued. This contract was not competitively procured pursuant to Federal Acquisition Regulation 6.302-1. The Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity (N00421-20-D-0010). C.E.R. Inc.,* Baltimore, Maryland, is awarded a $12,886,000 firm-fixed-price task order (N4008020F4121) under a multiple award construction contract for Gambo Creek Bridge replacement at Naval Support Facility Dahlgren. The work to be performed provides for a design build project to remove and replace Gambo Creek Bridge on Tisdale Road with a reinforced concrete bridge structure that complies with the Federal Highway Administration lane widths for two way traffic. Work will be performed in Dahlgren, Virginia, and is expected to be completed by November 2022. Fiscal 2020 operations and maintenance (Navy) contract funds in the amount of $12,886,000 are obligated on this award and will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Five proposals were received for this task order. Naval Facilities Engineering Command Washington, Public Works Department, South Potomac, Dahlgren, Virginia, is the contracting activity (N40080-19-D-0011). DRS Systems Inc., Melbourne, Florida, is awarded a $7,660,583 modification (P00001) to a cost-plus-fixed-fee, cost reimbursable delivery order (N0001919F2730) against a previously issued basic ordering agreement (N00019-19-G-0030). This modification provides program management, engineering and logistics support to mitigate identified risks to the Distributed Aperture Infrared Countermeasure program. Work will be performed in Dallas, Texas (70%); San Diego, California (27%); and Fort Walton Beach, Florida (3%), and is expected to be completed in December 2020. Fiscal 2019 research, development, test and evaluation (Navy) funds in the amount of $2,670,597; and fiscal 2020 research, development, test and evaluation (Navy) funds in the amount of $3,798,000 will be obligated at time of award, $2,670,597 of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity. AIR FORCE Raytheon Missile Systems Co., Tucson, Arizona, has been awarded a $10,593,360 modification P00001 to previously awarded contract FA8675-20-C-0033 for Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missile Production Lot 33 spares. This contract modification provides for the production Air Force and Navy spares. Work will be performed at Tucson, Arizona, with an expected completion date of March 31, 2022. Fiscal 2018 Air Force procurement funds in the amount of $1,730,203; and fiscal 2020 Navy procurement funds in the amount of $8,863,157 are being obligated at the time of award. Total cumulative face value of the contract is $778,877,267. The Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, is the contracting activity. (Awarded Jan. 10, 2020) *Small Business https://www.defense.gov/Newsroom/Contracts/Contract/Article/2056101/source/GovDelivery/

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  December 17, 2018 | International, C4ISR

  Audit finds cyber vulnerabilities in US missile defense system

  By: Geoff Ziezulewicz The Army, Navy and Missile Defense Agency are failing to take basic cybersecurity steps to ensure that information on America's ballistic missile defense system won't fall into nefarious hands, according to a Defense Department Inspector General audit released Friday. Investigators visited five sites that manage ballistic missile defense elements and technical information, but the names of the commands were redacted in the publicly released report. “The Army, Navy and MDA did not protect networks and systems that process, store, and transmit (missile defense) technical information from unauthorized access and use,” the declassified report states. Such inadequacies “may allow U.S. adversaries to circumvent (missile defense) capabilities, leaving the United States vulnerable to missile attacks,” the report states. They found officials failed to employ safeguards familiar to most people online in 2018, the latest development to raise questions about the U.S. military's cybersecurity vulnerabilities. Among the shortcomings: Administrators for classified networks had no intrusion detection and prevention systems in place to watch for cyberattacks, much less stop them, according to the report. At one site, officials said they had requested to purchase those cyber safeguards in December 2017 but nine months later it still hadn't been approved. “Without intrusion detection and prevention capabilities, (the site) cannot detect malicious attempts to access its networks and prevent cyberattacks designed to obtain unauthorized access and exfiltrate sensitive (missile defense) technical information,” the report states. Officials also failed to patch system flaws after receiving vulnerability alerts, one of which had first been identified in 1990 and had still not been fixed by April. Another vulnerability that could be exploited by an attacker was first identified in 2013 but also was never pathced, according to the report. “Countless cyber incident reports show that the overwhelming majority of incidents are preventable by implementing basic cyber hygiene and data safeguards, which include regularly patching known vulnerabilities,” the IG report states. “(Missile defense) technical information that is critical to national security could be compromised through cyberattacks that are designed to exploit these weaknesses.” Some facilities failed to force employees to use common access cards, or CAC, when accessing the classified system, a basic cybersecurity practice known as multi-factor identification. Instead, officials were able to access the sensitive information using just a username and password, the report states. Hackers use phishing and other tactics to exploit passwords and gain access to such systems. New hires are supposed to be allowed network access without a card for only their first two weeks on the job. But IG investigators found users on the systems without CAC cards for up to seven years. At one site, a domain administrator never configured the network to allow only CAC holder access. “Allowing users to access networks using single factor authentication increases the potential that cyber attackers could exploit passwords and gain access to sensitive (missile defense) technical information,” the report states. Investigators also found unlocked server racks at some locations, another key vulnerability to insider snoopers. “The insider threat risk necessitates that organizations implement controls...to reduce the risk of malicious personnel manipulating a server's ability to function as intended and compromising sensitive and classified data,” the report states. External storage devices held unencrypted data and some sites failed to track who was accessing data, and why. Other administrators told investigators that they lacked the ability to record or monitor data downloaded from the network onto these devices. Unless these officials enforce the encryption of such removed data and monitor its downloading and transferring, “they will be at increased risk of not protecting sensitive and classified (missile defense) technical information from malicious users,” the report states. Investigators also found that some supposedly secure sites were failing to even lock their doors. One location had a security door that hadn't worked for years. “Although security officials were aware of the problem, they did not take appropriate actions to prevent unauthorized personnel from gaining unauthorized access to the facility,” the report states. Other sites featured no security cameras to monitor personnel movement and security officers failed to conduct badge checks. While the report makes recommendations to fix the documented problems, officials for the inspected agencies offered no comments on the non-classified draft report of the audit. Friday's scathing IG audit marked the latest in a string of reports detailing shoddy cybersecurity throughout the armed forces and defense contractors. During the same week, the Wall St. Journal reported that Chinese hackers are targeting military systems and those of defense contractors working on Navy projects. Beijing-linked cyber raids have attempted to steal everything from missile plans to ship-maintenance data in a series of hacks over the past 18 months, the Journal reports. As a result, Navy Secretary Richard Spencer has ordered a “comprehensive cybersecurity review” to assess if the Navy's cyber efforts “are optimally focused, organized, and resourced to prevent serious breaches,” spokesman Capt. Greg Hicks said. The review will also look at authorities, accountability and if the efforts reflect and incorporate government and industry best practices, he said. “Secretary Spencer's decision to direct a review reflects the serious to which the DoN prioritizes cybersecurity in this era of renewed great power competition,” Hicks said. https://www.navytimes.com/news/your-navy/2018/12/14/audit-finds-cyber-vulnerabilities-in-us-missile-defense-system

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  July 23, 2019 | International, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security, Other Defence

  Fixing relationships: How US Army Futures Command is working with small biz, academia

  By: Jen Judson WASHINGTON — U.S. Army Futures Command is laying the groundwork to strengthen collaboration with academia and small businesses to solve some of the service's most major problems. The Army has struggled with relationships outside of the established defense industry, particularly with small businesses and Silicon Valley. Small businesses have expressed concerns about working with the government, mostly in regard to the time it takes to secure a contract award as well as the complex and cumbersome government-contracting process. The Government Accountability Office issued a report last week that found Army Futures Command could improve how it works with small businesses. The report was released on the eve of AFC's declaration of full operational capability, which is officially set for July 31. “The funny thing is if I talk to defense primes, they are convinced all we are working with is small business, and I talk to small business all they are convinced ... we are working with the defense primes,” Gen. Mike Murray, AFC commander, said during a July 18 press briefing at the Pentagon. “It's going to take a combination of both for us to accomplish our mission, and in many ways a combination of both working together” to achieve the command's goals in modernizing the Army, he said. But Murray agreed there is more to be done. To its credit, the command was built from scratch and was a “blank canvas” just a year ago, Murray said. The command went from 24 pioneers on the ground at its headquarters in Austin, Texas, to 24,000 soldiers and civilians in 25 states and in 15 countries, over the course of the past year. Since landing in Austin, the AFC has established “focused relationships” with industry and academia, he added. Engaging small businesses One critical step toward engagement with small businesses was the creation of the Army Applications Laboratory in Austin's Capital Factory — an innovation hub for entrepreneurs in the heart of the city's downtown. The venue, with more than 100 Army personnel, is to identify novel solutions to benefit the Army's modernization priorities. For example, the lab is kicking off a major effort this week to discover out-of-the-box solutions for an autoloader for its Extended Range Cannon Artillery system in development under its top priority — Long Range Precision Fires. Additionally, a capability the Army was eyeing a year ago — discovered at the Capital Factory — will be tested at the flight school at Fort Rucker, Alabama, as the service refines its new lot of virtual reality trainers being tested in a pilot program. The Senseye technology is software that can track a pilot's irises during flight simulation training to determine when a person has neurologically learned a task. The Air Force has already incorporated this technology into its simulators. The commander of the Aviation Center of Excellence at Fort Rucker said in April at the Army Aviation Association of America symposium that the technology is promising. If all goes well, the commander added, the tech could be used as part of the Army's Synthetic Training Environment. The Army has a cross-functional team, or CFT, within Futures Command focused on such an environment. The GAO recommended the AFC use its cross-functional teams to enhance small business engagement. The Army Applications Lab was also recently at Fort Hood, Texas, working with soldiers on the ground to identify problems that could be solved by small businesses. The lab also completed a trip overseas, Murray noted, but he would not discuss specifics on the location. “I'm not going to say particularly where. There was some specific re-coding of some mission command systems, which significantly helped,” he said. The GAO also recommended the command focus on better engaging small businesses for research and development programs. The command has established four related initiatives, according to the report: It set up the Army Research Laboratory Open Campus 2.0, which transitions scientific research from universities to Army technology development efforts. The command set up the Army Capability Accelerator to help small businesses mature concepts into prototypes and validate early-stage technology. This is managed within the Army Applications Lab. The Army Strategic Capital restructures a prior effort that takes venture capital to offset Army development costs by investing in existing Army Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer programs. Lastly, Halo is an effort to accelerate the “adaptation and transition of commercial and startup-derived products to Army applications and programs,” according to the GAO report. The Army Applications Lab will also manage the effort. Murray is in the process of hiring a lead for a small-business office within AFC. While the Army already has a servicewide small-business office, the GAO recommended AFC interface and use that office to improve relations with small businesses. The office will “make sure that we are at least knowledgeable focusing on capitalizing on anything that small businesses have to offer,” Murray said. AFC is also in the preliminary stage of arranging an event in Austin to establish relationships between small businesses and defense primes, Murray said. “One thing I worry about with small business is the ability to scale,” he said, “so there are a lot of ways they can scale, and one of the ways is working with a defense prime.” While defense primes have relationships with small business, Murray noted, the effort would foster new ones that might not exist. Academic pursuits AFC has also established the University Technology Development Division, which serves as the primary link between the command and its academic partners, Murray said. “That is taking root in several key places,” he explained, including Vanderbilt University, which is partnering with the 101st Airborne Division; Carnegie Mellon University, the home of the Army's Artificial Intelligence Task Force; and the University of Texas as well as Texas A&M, where the command is beginning work on several key programs. In addition to providing the building for AFC's headquarters and offering up roughly 10,000 square feet of office space and labs at its Cockrell School of Engineering, the University of Texas is building a robotics institute for the Army by converting an old building into a lab “at fairly significant cost,” Murray said. Murray has tasked engineers at the University of Texas to study the utility of robotics taking over the dirty and dangerous work while keeping soldiers out of harm's way, even bringing a leading engineering professor from the school on a recent trip to Yakima Air Force Base in Washington state to witness a robotic breach experiment that was part of the service's Joint Warfighting Assessment. The lab will also work on battery technologies, Murray added. The inventor of the lithium battery works at the University of Texas. Texas A&M is focused on hypersonics and directed-energy research, according to Murray. The university will eventually build a soldier-development facility at its RELLIS campus“where we will be able to marry up soldiers with graduate students and faculty to go into some agile development capability in solving problems for soldiers,” he said. https://www.defensenews.com/land/2019/07/22/can-futures-command-change-the-armys-relationship-with-academia-and-small-business/