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  October 26, 2017 | International, Aerospace, Security

  ICAO traveller identification event highlights key aviation role in combatting terrorism and cross-border crime

  ​ICAO Secretary General Dr. Fang Liu delivered the opening address to the ICAO's 13th Traveller Identification Programme (TRIP) Strategy Symposium, taking place at the UN agency's Montréal headquarters. The world's foremost travel document and identity management event, this latest edition of the TRIP Symposium is seen as an important step in maintaining the global momentum on anti-terrorism priorities recently achieved through the United Nations Security Council (UNSC). Montréal, 26 October 2017 – The fight against international terrorist and criminal movements took another step forward this week, as experts and senior officials gathered for ICAO's 13th Traveller Identification Programme (TRIP) Strategy Symposium. “The ICAO TRIP strategy reinforces the global line of defence against international terrorist movements, cross border crime, and the many other threats to the safety and security of civil society and international aviation,” stressed ICAO Secretary General Dr. Fang Liu in her opening address to the event. “The main part of our work in this area is conducted under Annex 9 to the Chicago Convention, on Facilitation. Facilitation activities are strongly supportive of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), and the ICAO TRIP Strategy also significantly contributes to UN Security Council Resolutions 2178 and 2309.” The world's foremost travel document and identity management event, this latest edition of the TRIP Symposium is seen as an important step in maintaining the global momentum on anti-terrorism priorities recently achieved through the United Nations Security Council (UNSC). Dr. Liu presented an aviation security brief to the UN Security Council this September, having also been invited to its Counter-Terrorism Committee (CTC) meeting in July of 2017. Along with enhanced screening and security checks, the CTC has highlighted the important role of airlines in tracking the global movement of higher risk passengers. “Specifically, the CTC recognized the importance of national authorities sharing advanced passenger information (API),” Dr. Liu noted. “And while many States have not yet introduced related API programmes, I would like to remind them all that API sharing became mandatory under ICAO Annex 9 as of 23 October this year.” 2017 TRIP Symposium sessions provided participants with new insights into latest screening and risk-based security measures, while stressing the importance of partnerships and capacity-building as States work to shore up their respective lines of defence. “States' implementation of the TRIP strategy requires coordinated action between many government and industry entities,” Dr. Liu commented, “but we are also aware that TRIP implementation capacities vary from government to government. ICAO and States are addressing this gap by fostering cooperation among both States and industry, intensifying coordination at regional and local levels, and by mobilizing donor contributions.” The extended TRIP planning and implementation guidance needed by States was further addressed at the event through the launch of ICAO's TRIP Compendium. The new and comprehensive reference document showcases related initiatives by partners such as the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), INTERPOL, the European Union, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), and the International Organization for Migration (IOM), while further collating a range of additional ICAO guidance material. The 2017 TRIP Symposium coincided with two important ICAO workshops on its Public Key Directory (PKD) and new approaches to API, side-events conducted in partnership with the United Nations' Counter-Terrorism Committee Executive Directorate (UNCTED) and other international organizations. Panama has recently become the 59th State to take advantage of the PKD's encrypted validation, which maximizes the benefits of ePassport security, but Dr. Liu stressed that ICAO expects to see greater buy-in the months ahead. “Although more than 80 per cent of the ePassports in global circulation are issued by States already participating in the PKD, many are still not taking advantage of it to authenticate the chip-based data,” she reiterated. The 2017 TRIP Symposium was centred around the theme of “Making Air Travel more Secure and Efficient”, reflecting the fact that well-designed security technologies also support the improvement of the passenger experience and the efficiency of facilitation processes more generally. “It is only by ensuring both of these priorities in a balanced way that our proposed solutions will be truly sustainable,” Dr. Liu concluded. While benefitting from the event and its workshops, 2017 TRIP Symposium participants also enjoyed a wide-ranging exhibition showcasing the latest industry technology and process innovations. The event gathered close to 600 officials from 82 States and 14 international organizations and will conclude at ICAO today. https://www.icao.int/Newsroom/Pages/ICAO-traveller-identification-event-highlights-key-aviation-role-in-combatting-terrorism-and-cross-border-crime.aspx

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  September 19, 2019 | International, Aerospace

  Poland - F-35 Joint Strike Fighter Aircraft

  The State Department has made a determination approving a possible Foreign Military Sale to Poland of thirty-two (32) F-35 Joint Strike Fighter aircraft with support for an estimated cost of $6.5 billion. The Defense Security Cooperation Agency delivered the required certification notifying Congress of this possible sale on September 10, 2019. Poland has requested to buy thirty-two (32) F-35 Joint Strike Fighter Conventional Take Off and Landing (CTOL) Aircraft and thirty-three (33) Pratt & Whitney F-135 Engines. Also included are Electronic Warfare Systems; Command, Control, Communications, Computer, and Intelligence/Communications, Navigational, and Identification (C4I/CNI); Autonomic Logistics Global Support System (ALGS); Autonomic Logistics Information System (ALIS); Full Mission Trainer; Weapons Employment Capability, and other Subsystems, Features, and Capabilities; F-35 unique infrared flares; reprogramming center; F-35 Performance Based Logistics; software development/integration; aircraft ferry and tanker support; support equipment; tools and test equipment; communications equipment; spares and repair parts; personnel training and training equipment; publications and technical documents; U.S. Government and contractor engineering, logistics, and personnel services; and other related elements of logistics and program support. The estimated cost is $6.5 billion. This proposed sale will support the foreign policy and national security of the United States by improving the security of a NATO ally, which is an important force for political stability and economic progress in Europe. This sale is consistent with U.S. initiatives to provide key allies in the region with modern systems that will enhance interoperability with U.S. forces and increase security. http://www.asdnews.com/news/defense/2019/09/16/poland-f35-joint-strike-fighter-aircraft

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  June 15, 2020 | International, Aerospace

  U.S. Military Turns To Remote Pilot Training

  Lee Hudson June 11, 2020 Once the global coronavirus pandemic hit the U.S., the military moved to ramp up remote pilot training options. But it is unclear if the trend will continue after the contagion passes. Before COVID-19, the Air Force was developing immersive training devices that would help instruct students remotely as part of Air Education and Training Command's Pilot Training Next program, says Lt. Col. Ryan Riley, commander of Detachment 24. Instead of the pupil coming into the office, receiving an in-person brief, locating a training device and executing a mission, Riley's team was looking at how to conduct those events with both the student and instructor at separate locations. Army pauses to assess training options Air Force and Navy immediately pivot to remote instruction “What we wanted to see, prior to COVID-19, was how far [we could] push the bounds of remote instruction,” Riley says. The pandemic turned that desire into a need to provide students the same level of instruction remotely as they would in person. The Air Force and training companies were already working to develop virtual training systems when COVID-19 struck, and the pandemic seems to have accelerated adoption. “There are only so many places to train,” says Todd Probert, defense and security group president at CAE. Though the military was once reluctant to fully tap into distance training, the question has become: “Is there a way to centralize that instruction?” he says. Pilots more than 100 mi. from a training base would be required to quarantine for two weeks once they arrived. The technology, however, was “very glitchy,” Riley says. The main problem was latency. So the team got to work, disassembling hardware and issuing the newest equipment to students and some of the instructor corps. Another issue was the fact that the detachment's home-use devices were running off a laptop. The team discovered that various software programs such as remote screen-sharing were taxing the central processing unit (CPU) heavily, overwhelming laptops, says Lt. Col. Robert Knapp, Detachment 24 operations officer. “No matter how good a laptop you buy, they're just never going to run at the same speed as a desktop computer,” Knapp says. “We took some of our older desktop computers that were in the building and sent those home with students to replace the laptops, which opened up a lot more CPU bandwidth.” The students also were asked to plug their devices into their routers instead of using wireless home internet, which reduced latency and resulted in a more streamlined, less glitchy process. Meanwhile, the Army was tackling similar challenges at Fort Rucker in Dale County, Alabama, where the service produces pilots to fly the Boeing AH-64 Apache and CH-47 Chinook and Sikorsky UH-60 Black Hawk. In addition to training its own pilots at Fort Rucker, the service also assists with the training of foreign military aviators from as many as 47 countries annually at the base. The Army established a virtual instructor's course so that the instructor pilots could learn how to teach using a digital platform, says Maj. Gen. David Francis, U.S. Army Aviation Center of Excellence and Fort Rucker commanding general. “COVID-19 has enabled us to really take a look at ourselves and how we're delivering training,” he says. Francis envisions a blend of in-person and virtual training once the crisis passes. As the pandemic took hold, the Navy, too, set up remote instruction with unprecedented speed. With 45 students per class, the service would not have been able to comply with social distancing guidance from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, according to Lt. Tim Benoit, aviation preflight indoctrination instructor at Naval Aviation Schools Command located in Pensacola, Florida. So in just five days, the Navy created a digital classroom and launched classes for its student Coast Guard, Marine Corps and Navy pilots. Benoit had selected flight instructors to test the new digital system, and the next day he prepared a presentation to train the rest of the instructors. “We were able to adapt to this without missing any productivity targets,” Benoit says. The Navy does not plan to employ remote instruction after the COVID-19 crisis but views the technology as an alternative when a natural disaster such as a hurricane hits. The service is recognizing the advantages of remote learning, however, which include saving time and money. Students have access to each session's recording and associated course materials, and the technology would allow students not in Pensacola to take the courses. “It can also be used in conjunction with in-person training to prep students . . . and it's been used to enable guest speakers” in another city, Benoit says. “Those are some things that I think may persist beyond the pandemic.” https://aviationweek.com/defense-space/budget-policy-operations/us-military-turns-remote-pilot-training