On Cobra Warrior, a test of multinational integration for CF-18s - Skies Mag

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  June 19, 2019 | International, Naval, Other Defence

  Coast Guard needs help with IT infrastructure, cloud consolidation

  by Jackson Barnett The U.S. Coast Guard is seeking input on an IT infrastructure consolidation plan that will help migrate part of its system to the cloud to ensure operators around the world have access to critical networks. The request for sources is the first step in what appears to be a plan for the Coast Gaurd to contract with the private sector on IT infrastructure transformation. The idea is to shift IT services to an “Infrastructure Managed Services” model, one that would contract out infrastructure services to private companies to assist in cybersecurity and network optimization. The move spawned from the Coast Guard's fiscal 2018-22 Strategic Plan, which calls for greater cyber strength and efficient IT infrastructure. “The security environment is also affected by the rising importance of the cyber domain – where adversarial nation states, non-state actors, and individuals are attacking our digital infrastructure and eroding the protections historically provided by our geographic borders,” the strategic plan states. The challenge to secure and re-structure the Coast Guard's networks and IT infrastructure span global operations, different security classifications and many data centers, according to the request. The networks support more than 54,000 users worldwide at 823 global sites. The current networks are based on a slew of Microsoft operating systems, some more than a decade old. The Coast Guard has been watching the development of Department of Defense's JEDI cloud contract, Adm. Karl Schultz said in August. Now, the Coast Guard hopes to migrate some of its data to the cloud while keeping some of it on the government servers it operates. “USCG recognizes it must partner with Industry” the request states. https://www.fedscoop.com/coast-guard-cloud-it-consolidation-procurement/

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  December 18, 2018 | International, Aerospace

  Boeing, Embraer agree to KC-390 joint venture

  By: Valerie Insinna WASHINGTON — Brazilian aerospace firm Embraer and Boeing have officially formed a joint venture on Embraer's KC-390 multimission aircraft as part of a larger partnership on the companies' commercial sides. Under the new agreement, Boeing and Embraer will work together to “promote and develop new markets” for the KC-390, according to a statement released early Monday. Embraer will own a 51 percent stake in the KC-390 joint venture, with Boeing owning the rest. The announcement on the KC-390 comes as the companies approved the terms of a strategic partnership that gives Boeing an 80 percent stake in Embraer's commercial and services business for $4.2 billion. Before the parties move forward with the transaction, the government of Brazil — which holds a “golden share” in Embraer — must consent to the agreement, and the deal is also subject to the approval of shareholders and regulatory agencies. “Boeing and Embraer know each other well through more than two decades of collaboration, and the respect we have for each other and the value we see in this partnership has only increased since we announced our joint efforts earlier this year,” said Dennis Muilenburg, Boeing chairman, president and CEO. “We are confident that this partnership will deliver great value to Brazil and the Brazilian aerospace industry as a whole. This alliance will strengthen both companies in the global market and is aligned with our long-term sustainable growth strategy,” said Paulo Cesar de Souza e Silva, Embraer president and CEO. Boeing and Embraer have partnered on the KC-390 before. The companies agreed to pacts in 2012 and 2014 that gave the U.S. firm a role on global marketing and logistics support of the KC-390. However, in the wake of the commercial Boeing-Embraer deal, officials said a new KC-390 joint venture could be broader in scope than those partnerships. How this new joint venture differs from past agreements is unclear, and the news release contained only sparse details. According to a July 5 memorandum of understanding between the two companies, a KC-390 joint venture would “grow KC-390 sales and aftermarket opportunities through joint efforts in sales, marketing, engineering and industrial collaboration,” hinting that the partnership could involve an enhancement of the KC-390's capabilities or Boeing's help on technology and industrial development. In October, a Brazilian newspaper reported that Boeing and Embraer were discussing the prospect of building a KC-390 plant in the United States. https://www.defensenews.com/air/2018/12/17/boeing-embraer-agree-to-kc-390-joint-venture/

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  May 31, 2019 | International, C4ISR

  The Army wants C5ISR systems on demand

  By: Mark Pomerleau Across the Department of Defense, organizations and agencies want to transport parts and ready-to-go systems to field units on demand. For the Army's sustainment community, this means keeping up with the dynamic pace of deployments to by placing qualified workers closer to the battlefield or assembling reserve systems ahead of time. Mobile, expeditionary equipment, which includes communications and networking gear, wasn't required for the counterinsurgency fight in Iraq and Afghanistan. There, the Army was able to take advantage of predicable rotations in a relatively permissive theater from a technology standpoint, Communications and Electronics Command Commander Maj. Gen. Randy Taylor told C4ISRNET in a May 20 interview in his office at Aberdeen Proving Ground. Now, Communications and Electronics Command, responsible for sustaining and refurbishing Army command, control, communications, computers, cyber, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (C5ISR) systems, is looking to adjust to this new unpredictable world. Taylor said the Army is focusing on global hot spots where it thinks it might have to respond with soldiers by sending the proper technicians ahead first. Army staffers are also making sure they configure systems as much as possible in advance of competition, however, but forward technicians can assist if systems break or need to be tweaked. The Army's premier depot maintenance center, Tobyhanna Army Depot in Pennsylvania, has established depot maintenance facilities in Korea and Europe. This allows much of the depot work to be done in the field, reducing the repair times so units can get their equipment back faster. This setup means only items that have to go back to Tobyhanna are then shipped back. One of the big shifts in a renewed focus on so-called great power competition versus the prior years of counterterrorism, Taylor said, is supporting mobility and immediacy, or what senior Army leaders refer to as “fight tonight.” “What we're looking at now with this possible near peer conflict is fight tonight expeditionary,” he said. “That's part of the imperative for modernizing the network so it's lighter, faster, more capable, but sustainment has to keep pace with those expeditionary units.” One area in particular the Army has reevaluated in this vein is its pre-positioned stocks. These are equipment that sit forward so units that deploy don't have to take everything they need with them. While declining to offer a region by name, Taylor said in certain areas, rather than just putting C5ISR systems in proximity of platforms stored in the same compound, they are installing the systems on the platform in these pre-positioned areas so that they can be ready to “fight tonight.” https://www.c4isrnet.com/it-networks/2019/05/30/the-army-wants-c5isr-systems-on-demand/