Small-satellites and Downstream Digital Transformation Accelerate Space Industry Evolution

On the same subject

• 

  May 12, 2020 | International, C4ISR, Security

  Semiconductor companies consider new plants in the US

  By: The Associated Press NEW YORK — Intel and a Taiwanese company are talking to the Trump administration about building new semiconductor plants in the United States amid concern about relying on suppliers in Asia for chips used in a wide variety of electronics. A spokesman for Intel, the biggest American chip maker, said Sunday that the company is in discussions with the U.S. Defense Department about improving domestic technology sources. Spokesman William Moss said Santa Clara, California-based Intel is well-positioned to work with the government “to operate a U.S.-owned commercial foundry.” Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. is open to building a plant outside of Taiwan and has talked with the Commerce Department, a spokeswoman said. “We are actively evaluating all the suitable locations, including in the U.S., but there is no concrete plan yet,” said the TSMC spokeswoman, Nina Kao. The discussions were first reported by The Wall Street Journal, which said TSMC is also talking with Apple Inc., one of its biggest customers, about building a plant in the U.S. The newspaper said the coronavirus pandemic has heightened worries about global supply chains, and that U.S. officials are particularly concerned about the growing reliance on Taiwan, the self-ruled island that is claimed by China. Intel CEO Bob Swan said in a letter last month to two Pentagon officials that strengthening U.S. production “is more important than ever, given the uncertainty created by the current geopolitical environment.” He said it would be in the best interests of the United States and Intel to explore how the company could build a plant. Concern about relying so heavily on chips from Taiwan, South Korea and China started even before the coronavirus outbreak. The Pentagon and the Government Accountability Office issued reports on the matter last year. The GAO said that when U.S. companies shift operations overseas it can mean lower prices for components and technology used in weapons systems. However, having global sources “can also make it harder for [the Pentagon] to get what it needs if, for example, other countries cut off U.S. access to critical supplies,” the GAO said in a report last September. https://www.defensenews.com/industry/2020/05/11/semiconductor-companies-consider-new-plants-in-the-us/

• 

  October 10, 2019 | International, Land

  BAE Systems wins $148.3M Army contract to upgrade M88A1 vehicles

  ByEd Adamczyk Oct. 9 (UPI) -- BAE Systems announced a $148.3 million contract with the U.S. Army on Wednesday to upgrade M88A1 heavy-lift vehicles. A total of 43 vehicles will be rebuilt with increased power, maneuverability and survivability features to increase their configuration to M88A2 Heavy Equipment Recovery Combat Utility Lift System, or HERCULES, status. The Army intends to acquire 933 such vehicles -- with the upgraded M88A1s, it will have 914. "The HERCULES is an invaluable vehicle for the Army's recovery missions," said Dennis Hancock of BAE Systems. "We are proud to support the Army's recovery needs and we will continue to work alongside the Army to provide upgraded solutions as their missions and requirements change." Twenty-eight feet long and carrying a crew of three, the M88A2's specialty is the recovery of tanks mired to different depths, its capability in removing and installing tank turrets and power packs, and its ability to upright overturned heavy combat vehicles. The main winch on the M88A2 can move 70 tons, compared to the M88A1's 56 tons, allowing it to recover a 70-ton M1A2 Abrams tank. The upgraded vehicle can also be anchored for earth-moving purposes to prepare a recovery area and can refuel Abrams tanks from its own fuel tanks. Work on the program will be conducted at four BAE facilities in the United States, with deliveries scheduled to start in February 2021. https://www.upi.com/Defense-News/2019/10/09/BAE-Systems-wins-1483M-Army-contract-to-upgrade-M88A1-vehicles/5411570639391

• 

  January 29, 2020 | International, C4ISR, Security

  New cybersecurity standards for contractors could be finalized this week

  The first version of the new cybersecurity requirements the Pentagon wants military contractors to follow could be finalized as soon as Jan. 31. Katie Arrington, chief information security officer for the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and the point person for the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC), told an audience Jan. 28 that she will have the requirements by the end of the month. The CMMC is a tiered cybersecurity framework that grades companies on a scale of one to five. A score of one designates basic hygiene and a five represents advanced hygiene. Arrington said Jan. 28 that the lowest level will become the default for Department of Defense contracts and will include basic tasks such as changing passwords. Speaking at an event hosted by the law firm Holland and Knight, Arrington said the new standards won't be in effect overnight. The auditors and assessors who will grade companies need training and new contracts will be slowly phased in. “The likelihood that any awards will be made until 2021 [of the certification] is, I would say, highly unlikely,” she said. She noted that companies are not required to have CMMC certification until the time of award. “You have a full year to get yourselves set, to get yourself in position.” According to one slide in her presentation, all new contracts will have the requirements in fiscal year 2026. Arrington expects 1,500 companies to be certified by the end of 2021. The requirements are expected to be free of jargon and overly technical language that can often make military documents befuddling. “I asked if it could be created on an eighth grade reading level. Why? Because I'm not smart and I owned a small business and I fell prey to this,” she said. “I needed it to be in something that anybody could adapt to. We hear companies all the time say my nephew is doing my cybersecurity. I need your nephew to read what I need him to do.” Arrington promised that the requirement would not become a simple checklist, because if it does “I've failed. We failed.” Moreover, she suggested the framework be reevaluated at least once each year because cyber threats will continue to evolve. https://www.fifthdomain.com/dod/2020/01/28/new-cybersecurity-standards-for-contractors-could-be-finalized-this-week/