Oshkosh files protest over Army’s light tactical vehicle award

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  February 9, 2021 | International, C4ISR, Security

  Air Force Awards $95M For Cyber Intelligence

  The investment is a sign of the Air Force's commitment to fighting war effectively across all domains, including cyber and its electronic warfare cousin. By KELSEY ATHERTONon February 08, 2021 at 5:08 PM ALBUQUERQUE: The 16th Air Force, designed to constantly contest the electromagnetic spectrum, has awarded a $95 million contract to support both command and control and service cryptologic element roles. The contract — Full Spectrum Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Operational Non-Appropriated Funds Support, or FUSIONS — was awarded to Scientific Research Corp of Atlanta. It will run through February 2026. In a sign that Scientific may have developed a promising approach, this is not the first award to the company for this sort of work. The Navy awarded the company a contract similar in scale and scope in 2018. The 16th Air Force first started soliciting this contract in November 2019, one month after the command was created. The original solicitation emphasized the importance of “delivering timely and relevant intelligence data/products to the war fighter.” The 16th was created by merging an Air Force cyber mission with an Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance component. Combining intelligence collection in the same component as one that can launch attacks on computers is a way for the Air Force to show how closely connected cyber attacks are to online espionage. Cyber, like surveillance and activity in the electromagnetic spectrum, can happen below the threshold of a shooting war but can also be used for targeting and to inflict physical damage. The scale of the investment is a sign of the Air Force's commitment to fighting war effectively across all its domains, including cyber. At a Dec. 11 symposium, Air Combat Command chief Gen. Mark D. Kelly said he'd told 16AF commander Lt. Gen. Timothy D. Haugh to “Take all of us, whether we go willingly, or kicking and screaming, into the non-kinetic competition.” Much of the work of delivering data products to the Air Force will involve harnessing information it already has in its databases, and making them useful on a command level. Some of that work, as outlined in the solicitation, involves targeting products. “The contractor shall provide targeting SME support regarding the Joint and Air Force Targeting Enterprise (JTE/AFTE), and kinetic, Electronic Warfare (EW), Information Operations (IO), Space and Cyber targeting,” reads the solicitation. The contract is designed to support the 16th in its role as a “service cryptologic element,” or the formal mechanism by which signals intelligence components of the service work directly with the NSA. Another component of the FUSIONS contract is identifying and recommending “new or unexploited information systems,” as well as “unique friendly, enemy, or neutral information sources,” with the goal of turning that information into relevant and useful intelligence. This means, broadly, looking at new Internet-connected devices, tools, and networks, and making that information something troops at the tactical level can use. Vital to that intelligence collection and sharing is ensuring the data itself can be transmitted over existing DoD networks. https://breakingdefense.com/2021/02/air-force-awards-95-million-for-cyber-intelligence/

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  December 17, 2018 | International, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security

  Finland’s defense minister: Continuity and change in Finnish defense policy

  By: Jussi Niinistö Today we are all adapting to a new security environment, both in Europe and globally. From the Finnish point of view, we can see some continuity and some new elements. After the Cold War ended, Finland did not initiate a massive defense transformation. Even though we started to build interoperability with our NATO partners and participated in crisis management operations, the main focus of the Finnish Defence Forces was always the defense of our own territory. Our consistent policy was to keep our defense strong. The upcoming investments — including four new corvettes for the Navy and replacement of the Finnish Air Force's F-18 fleet — and new defense-related legislation will further strengthen our readiness and national defense. What has changed in our current environment, however, is that other European Union and NATO countries have also started to focus on the defense of their own territory, and NATO's presence is the Baltic Sea region has increased. This has enhanced stability and security in the Baltic Sea region. At the same time, increased presence in our neighborhood has created more training opportunities. Increased cooperation and coordination is also needed because of our geography and a shared security environment, which creates some interdependency. This type of defense cooperation is based on a shared, common interest. Today, the Finnish Defence Forces are more capable and more interoperable than they have ever been. That makes us effective in looking after our own security and a solid partner for other EU member states and NATO countries. For Finland, the European Union has always been a security provider. It is increasingly also a facilitator and enabler of defense cooperation. The union has tools that other organizations lack. The European Defence Fund or promoting military mobility in Europe are just a few examples, and only a beginning, as we are moving from out-of-area crisis management to a more strategic approach to protecting Europe and its citizens. Although all the EU member states have agreed on the direction we are heading, some want to move faster than others. The vision for the future must bring countries together instead of sowing divisions. The more the EU can do for defense, the better for NATO and the trans-Atlantic link. A more capable and integrated Europe is also a stronger trans-Atlantic partner. In this respect, more EU does not mean less NATO. EU and NATO must continue to coordinate their actions on both hard and soft security. I hope this illustrates why we, in Finland, do not see European strategic autonomy as an alternative to NATO or as an alternative to a strong trans-Atlantic link. It is also essential to mention the Nordic Defence Cooperation, which has also adapted to changes in our shared security environment. In November, the Nordic defense ministers adopted a new Vision 2025 for taking our cooperation forward. The vision states that we will improve our defense capability and cooperation in peace, crisis and conflict, and that we will ensure a close Nordic political and military dialogue on security and defense. This regional cooperation supports what we are doing in the EU and together with NATO. During my time as the minister of defense of Finland, we have taken other steps to strengthen the trans-Atlantic link. A prime example is our bilateral defense relationship with the United States. In October 2016, we signed our bilateral statement of intent on defense cooperation. This was later followed by a trilateral statement of intent between Finland, Sweden and the United States in May 2018. The statements of intent speak to both the depth and width of our cooperation, including joint exercises, policy dialogue and materiel cooperation. In the coming years, these links will be further strengthened. We must also keep our minds on the bigger picture. There is a dual challenge: to sustain the vital trans-Atlantic relationship and further strengthen European security. These goals can best be achieved by increasing European capabilities. Europe needs to finds its voice and speak, alongside the United States. Jussi Niinistö is Finland's defense minister. https://www.defensenews.com/outlook/2018/12/10/finlands-defense-minister-continuity-and-change-in-finnish-defense-policy/

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  January 20, 2021 | International, Aerospace, Naval

  American warship, F-35 jets to deploy with British fleet

  By: Andrew Chuter LONDON — U.S. combat jets and a destroyer are to join the British Royal Navy's new aircraft carrier on its maiden operational deployment to the Asia-Pacific region later in 2021, after officials formally approved the deployment Tuesday. British Defence Secretary Ben Wallace and U.S. acting Defense Secretary Christopher Miller co-signed a joint declaration approving the deployment of U.S. Marine and U.S. Navy assets as part of a carrier strike group led by the HMS Queen Elizabeth, the British Ministry of Defence announced. U.S. assets attached to the carrier strike group will include a detachment of Marine F-35Bs and the destroyer The Sullivans, the announcement said. The U.S. military has been regularly flying its short-takeoff-and-vertical-landing F-35Bs from the deck of the 65,000-ton Queen Elizabeth as the new carrier tests its capabilities. The warship was commissioned in December 2017, and the carrier strike group achieved initial operating capability in December 2020. The inclusion of Marine combat jets on the warship has long been planned by the two governments, not least because Britain has a modest numbers of F-35Bs available. The British carrier also will deploy Leonardo-built Merlin helicopters for anti-submarine missions and other duties. Wallace said in a statement that the U.K. “now possesses a 21st century carrier strike capability, which has been greatly assisted by the unswerving support and cooperation of the US at all levels over the past decade.” “This deployment embodies the strength of our bilateral ties and reflects the depth and breadth of this vital defence and security partnership,” he added. The British government has not officially announced where the deployment is expected to take the carrier force, but Prime Minister Boris Johnson previously said the group would be going to the Mediterranean, Indian Ocean and the Pacific region. That's expected to include Singapore, South Korea, Japan and Oman; Britain has a naval support base in the latter. British officials previously signaled the carrier and its support ships could transit through the South China Sea, where the U.S. regularly conducts freedom of navigation operations in disputed waters claimed by China. A second carrier, the HMS Prince of Wales, was commissioned in late 2019 and is scheduled to become operational in 2023. It was hit by a serious flooding incident last year, which caused the cancellation of a trip to the U.S. Eastern Seaboard for trials with the F-35B. https://www.defensenews.com/global/europe/2021/01/19/american-warship-f-35-jets-to-deploy-with-british-fleet