U.S. Charges Two Sudanese Brothers for Record 35,000 DDoS Attacks

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  March 5, 2020 | International, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security

  DoD Stands Up New Biotech Manufacturing Center: Griffin

  WASHINGTON: DoD is opening a new manufacturing innovation center dedicated to biotechnology to figure out how to replicate “nature's manufacturing plant” on an industrial scale, Pentagon research and engineering head Mike Griffin says. This is “a key new initiative,” Griffin stressed. The idea, he said at the annual McAleese conference, is “to learn how to do in an industrial way what nature has done for us in so many areas of things that we harvest and mine and use ... now that we are beginning to learn how to manipulate genomes.” Such technology could lead to DoD creating its own fuel using synthetic biology methods, for example. This would be a leap beyond ongoing efforts by DARPA that Sydney has widely reported, designed to protect soldiers against an enemy's biotech weapons. “This is a nascent technical area in the world, and especially in the United States,” Griffin told the audience here. “We want the national security community to be out in front on this.” The new center will be the ninth so-called ManTech center, designed to help overcome the so-called ‘valley of death' between research and commercialization by reducing risks. It will be the second ManTech center with a biotech focus: The first, BioFabUSA in New Hampshire, opened in 2016 to develop next-generation manufacturing techniques for repairing and replacing cells and tissues, which for example could lead to the ability to make new skin for wounded soldiers. Griffin elaborated on several other key areas for his two-year old office. DARPA is investing $459 million in the 2021 budget for AI Next, a “campaign” aimed at automating critical DoD business processes; improving the reliability of Artificial Intelligence systems; and enhancing the security of AI and machine learning tech. Griffin said his office is also “working with the Joint Artificial Intelligence Center (JAIC) under the CIO to bring about what we're calling AI Now: what can we do with AI that can get into the field and bring value to the national security community today, and the next day.” On 5G newtorks, he said that his deputy Lisa Porter is in charge of efforts to “figure out how we can use 5G to press our military advantage” and to protect US military networks. DoD launched that effort in 2019, with a $53 million reprogramming, he said. Congress added $200 million in the 2020 appropriations act, he added, and DoD is asking for $484 million in the 2021 budget. A key to future 5G networks and communications will be spectrum sharing, Griffin stressed. “There is no green field spectrum left,” he said, so DoD will have to figure out how to share spectrum to keep up with both its own demand and deal with pressure from commercial industry for it to give up spectrum. https://breakingdefense.com/2020/03/dod-stands-up-new-biotech-manufacturing-center-griffin

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  February 11, 2021 | International, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security

  Contract Awards by US Department of Defense - February 10, 2021

  NAVY BAE Systems Land & Armaments L.P., Sterling Heights, Michigan, is awarded an $183,840,645 fixed-price incentive (firm target) modification to previously awarded contract M67854-16-0006 for Amphibious Combat Vehicles (ACVs). The total cumulative face value of the contract is $3,304,536,113. This modification provides for the exercise of options for the procurement of 36 full rate production ACVs and associated production and fielding and support costs. Work will be performed in York, Pennsylvania (60%); Aiken, South Carolina (15%); San Jose, California (15%); Sterling Heights, Michigan (5%); and Stafford, Virginia (5%). Work is expected to be completed in April 2023. Fiscal 2021 procurement (Marine Corps) funds in the amount of $183,840,645 will be obligated at the time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Marine Corps Systems Command, Quantico, Virginia, is the contracting activity (M67854-16-C-0006). Utility Works JV, Virginia Beach, Virginia, is awarded a not-to-exceed $70,000,000 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for architect-engineer services for utilities engineering and management support for Naval Facilities Engineering Systems Command (NAVFAC) worldwide. The work to be performed includes, but is not limited to, utility engineering, infrastructure management, operation and maintenance and utility management services, which will support electrical generation, transmission and distribution systems; water supply, transmission, treatment and distribution systems; wastewater collection and treatment systems; steam generation, transmission and distribution systems; compressed air generation and distribution systems; and natural gas transmission and distribution systems. No task orders are being awarded at this time. All work will be performed at various Navy and Marine Corps facilities and other government facilities within the NAVFAC Atlantic and Pacific areas of operations, and worldwide including, but not limited to California (20 %); Virginia (20%); Florida (15%); North Carolina (5%); South Carolina (5%); Maryland (5%); Washington state (5%); Georgia (5%); Hawaii (5%); Texas (5%); Europe, Africa, Central (5%); and Far East (5%). The term of the contract is not to exceed 60 months with an expected completion date of February 2026. Fiscal 2021 operation and maintenance (Navy) (O&M,N) contract funds in the amount of $10,000 are obligated on this award and will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Future task orders will be primarily funded by (O&M,N) funds. This contract was competitively procured via the beta.SAM.gov website with two proposals received. NAVFAC Atlantic, Norfolk, Virginia, is the contracting activity (N62470-21-D-0005). Detyens Shipyards Inc., North Charleston, South Carolina, is awarded an $11,510,913 firm-fixed-price contract for a 50-calendar day shipyard availability. The work to be performed provides for services for the mid-term availability of the fleet oiler USNS John Lenthall (T-AO 189). The contract also contains seven unexercised options, which if exercised, would increase cumulative contract value to $12,329,310. Work will be performed in North Charleston, South Carolina, and is expected to be completed by June 2, 2021. Fiscal 2021 working capital contract funds (Navy) in the amount of $11,510,913 are obligated on this award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured via the beta.SAM.gov website with four proposals received. The Military Sealift Command, Norfolk, Virginia, is the contracting activity (N32205-21-C-4009). ARMY Raytheon Co., Tucson, Arizona, was awarded a $53,861,439 modification (P00009) to contract W15QKN-19-C-0017 for Excalibur Ib projectiles. Work will be performed in Healdsburg, California; Karlskoga, Sweden; East Camden, Arizona; Cedar Rapids, Iowa; Southway, United Kingdom; Cincinnati, Ohio; Glenrothes, Scotland; Salt Lake City, Utah; Joplin, Missouri; Gilbert, Arizona; Lansdale, Pennsylvania; Santa Clara, California; Woodridge, Illinois; Trenton, Texas; Valencia, California; Cookstown, New Jersey; Tucson, Arizona; Phoenix, Arizona; Anniston, Alabama; Chino, California; Inglewood, California; McAlester, Oklahoma; and Farmington, New Mexico, with an estimated completion date of April 29, 2024. Fiscal 2019 and 2021 other procurement (Army) funds in the amount of $53,861,439 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Newark, New Jersey, is the contracting activity. Mnemonics Inc.,* Melbourne, Florida, was awarded a $48,954,000 firm-fixed-price contract for the production and delivery of the Receiver Radio Firing Device, Nonelectric Blasting Cap Actuating M17A1 and the Trainer, Receiver, Radio Firing Device, Nonexplosive M85A1. Bids were solicited via the internet with one received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of Feb. 9, 2026. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Newark, New Jersey, is the contracting activity (W15QKN-21-D-0012). Kilgore Flares Co. LLC, Toone, Tennessee, was awarded a $29,089,992 firm-fixed-price contract for Flare Aircraft Countermeasure M206 and Flare Aircraft Countermeasure MJU-7A/B. Bids were solicited via the internet with three received. Work will be performed in Toone, Tennessee, with an estimated completion date of Dec. 31, 2026. Fiscal 2019 and 2020 aircraft procurement appropriations funds in the amount of $29,089,992 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Rock Island Arsenal, Illinois, is the contracting activity (W52P1J-21-F-0103). Resource Management Associates Inc., Davis, California, was awarded an $11,000,000 firm-fixed-price contract for hydrologic and hydraulic computer programming. Bids were solicited via the internet with one received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of Aug. 9, 2022. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Sacramento, California, is the contracting activity (W91238-21-D-0001). DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY Leading Technology Composites Inc., doing business as LTC Inc., Wichita, Kansas, has been awarded a maximum $28,542,400 modification (P00019) exercising the third one-year option period of a one-year base contract (SPE1C1-18-D-1073) with three one-year option periods for enhanced side ballistic inserts. This is a firm-fixed-price, indefinite-quantity contract. Location of performance is Kansas, with a Feb. 9, 2022, ordering period end date. Using customers are Army, Navy, Air Force, Marine Corps and Coast Guard. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2021 through 2022 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency, Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. AIR FORCE Armorworks Enterprises Inc., Chandler, Arizona, has been awarded a $14,488,133 firm-fixed-price contract modification for the Minuteman III Payload Transporter Replacement (PTR) program for the exercise of Option Two, which provides the purchase of two production PTR vehicles. Work will be performed in Chandler, Arizona, and is expected to be completed Oct. 10, 2022. Fiscal 2021 missile procurement funds in the full amount are being obligated at the time of award. Air Force Nuclear Weapons Center, Hill Air Force Base, Utah, is the contracting activity (FA8204-19-C-0005). Rohde & Schwarz USA Inc., Columbia, Maryland, has been awarded a $9,218,160 firm-fixed-price, requirements contract for the purchase of Versatile Diagnostic Automatic Test Station (VDATS) kits. The purpose of this acquisition is to procure the kits required to assemble the VDATS stations. The VDATS is an organically designed test station with open architecture and virtual modular equipment extensions for instrumentation technology. Work will be performed in Columbia, Maryland, and is expected to be completed Feb. 9, 2026, and no funds are being obligated at the time of award. Air Force Sustainment Center, Robins Air Force Base, Georgia, is the contracting activity (FA8571-21-D-0006). DEFENSE ADVANCED RESEARCH PROJECTS AGENCY Raytheon Co., Tewksbury, Massachusetts, has been awarded a $7,580,414 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for the Airspace TacticaL Automation System (ATLAS) effort supporting the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency Air Space Total Awareness for Rapid Tactical Execution (ASTARTE) program, Phase One. This contract provides for the research, development and demonstration of virtual and live testbed for airspace management systems, a series of algorithms for airspace planning and operations and a sensor network for delivering real-time spatial and temporal tracking of airborne platforms. Work will be performed in Tewksbury, Massachusetts (32%); Cedar Rapids, Iowa (3%); Fulton, Maryland (7%); Cambridge, Massachusetts (48%); Dulles, Virginia (5%); and Durham, North Carolina (5%), with an estimated completion date of February 2021. Fiscal 2020 research and development funds in the amount of $670,000; and Fiscal 2021 research and development funds in the amount of $1,724,000 are being obligated at the time of award. This contract is a competitive acquisition in accordance with the original broad agency announcement HR0011-20-S-0039. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, Arlington, Virginia, is the contracting activity. *Small business https://www.defense.gov/Newsroom/Contracts/Contract/Article/2500379/source/GovDelivery/

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  May 18, 2018 | International, Aerospace

  Company plays “a long game” at NATO

  Persistence and a long-term strategy have paid off for a Canadian space and defence company, which has won a $15 million contract to build a new system for NATO's maritime command and control operations. MDA signed a deal with NATO in December 2017 to support the military alliance's Project TRITON. The contract comes with the prospect of significant follow-on opportunities at NATO and many of its member countries, proving the value of perseverance in pursuing work with the organization. “It's a long game,” says Mike Greenley, group president of MDA president of MDA, part of Maxar Technologies, a public company listed in Canada and the United States, formerly known as MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates. MDA first became interested in the TRITON contract almost a decade ago, when it heard that NATO had plans to replace and update the command and control, or C2, system in its maritime operations centres, he says. “It's a big effort. We had a team working on this project for several years.” MDA, which was founded in 1969 and today has 1,900 employees in several centres across Canada, is best known for innovations in space robotics, such as the development of the Canadarm. It is also involved in satellite antennas, surveillance and intelligence, defense and maritime systems and geospatial radar imagery. NATO—which stands for North Atlantic Treaty Organization—is a military defence alliance signed in Washington D.C. in 1949, by several North American and European nations in the North Atlantic area. Canada is a founding member of NATO, which is headquartered in Brussels. Greenley says the three-year Project TRITON contract—which is under the NATO Communications and Information Agency (NCIA) in Brussels—uses MDA's core expertise in maritime domain awareness and digital mapping to present a “maritime picture” that locates, tracks and analyzes the movements of ships at sea. This helps NATO and its member counties improve their situational awareness and decision-making processes. It was critical for NATO to recognize MDA's capabilities in the field, he notes, but the company also had to “stick with it” over a long time to be successful in its bid. “This is a demonstration that a Canadian firm can compete in full and open competition and win a NATO program,” Greenley comments, noting that European firms especially find it more convenient to compete at NATO than those overseas. “There's not a lot of history of Canadian companies being successful there.” NCIA general manager Kevin Scheid said in a statement that “NCIA is delighted to have an opportunity to work with a Canadian company that brings the depth and breadth of Canadian maritime command and control experience to NATO for the TRITON project.” Kerry Buck, the Permanent Representative of Canada to NATO, noted, “NATO is at the core of Canada's national security policy. We are proud that NATO will leverage Canadian technology and expertise to contribute to enhanced communications and support interoperability in NATO.” Lieutenant-Colonel Jim Bates, the former national expert, or NATEX, for Canada at NCIA, says that “MDA did everything right to win the TRITON contract.” Bates, who returned to Ottawa in 2017 to take up an assignment at National Defence Headquarters, calls it “an excellent case study” for Canadian firms interested in getting work at NATO. Bates first became aware of MDA's interest in the TRITON contract when he first started at NATO in 2012. “MDA had been tracking that project from the earliest days,” he recalls. “MDA made regular visits to NATO to meet with key stakeholders. It pursued and won other smaller NATO contract opportunities prior to the TRITON award, so it had a foot in the door and was able to introduce NATO personnel to MDA's services and expertise. That made a positive impression.” The company kept in regular contact with Bates to get business intelligence, and it attended each annual NCIA Industry Conference, where MDA officials could engage agency staff and completely understand NATO's procurement process. “There were no surprises when it came time to bid,” says Bates, adding that is not always the case. “Companies big and small agonize over whether to bid,” because it's a substantial commitment with no guarantee. “It was the norm during my time at NATO that Canadian companies would track NATO opportunities but rarely bid. But you can't win if you don't bid...MDA was confident in its position on TRITON and it won.” Greenley says that in dealing with NATO and its member countries, it's important to present the right price as well as the right technical solution. “In NATO you have to get the entire team comfortable with your approach.” Future contracts related to the TRITON deal could “highly likely” include adding functions and features to NATO's C2 systems, he says, while NATO member countries could adopt MDA's TRITON solution for their own maritime operation centres. “There's every reason to expect there will be solid follow-on business,” Greenley says. “This could easily become a persistent work story in our company for a decade or more.” He credits the Canadian representatives in Brussels at all different levels of Canada's mission to NATO, as well as in key NATO member countries, with MDA's success in winning the contract. “All the right people in the right places at the right time worked with us to win this opportunity.” MDA exports regularly and has started to become operationally present in other countries, Greenley says. Its business development activities are supported by the Canadian Trade Commissioner Service (TCS), along with Export Development Canada and the Canadian Commercial Corporation. “We use the full suite of export tools available to Canadians,” Greenley comments. “International business is based on having a good solution, it's based on having your country as a buyer and then you need whole-of-government support.” MDA will be using the Canadian Trade Commissioner Service (TCS) to promote its TRITON technology among NATO members looking to replace and update their own C2 systems, Greenley says. “We will certainly be out there working in NATO countries with the TCS encouraging those countries to adopt this solution.” Gregory Rust, the senior trade commissioner who is head of the trade program at Canada's embassy in Brussels, says “one thing that I've observed following the NATO contracting process over the years is that it's important to be persistent, patient and thorough.” Rust says MDA displayed all of those critical characteristics, and the TCS “was available to support the company's ongoing interests by offering key core services.” Jane Li, First Secretary in the Joint Delegation of Canada to NATO, who is Canada's representative on the Investment Committee that oversees the NATO Security Investment Program, says it's important to be proactive in researching and understanding NATO's needs. “Patience is also a virtue,” she says, adding that as with many large organizations, it takes time to get to know NATO and how it functions, and for the organization to understand what industry has to offer. “Taking a long-term view is necessary.” MDA took such an approach “and spent a lot of time working towards this,” she says, adding that it's important to “respond to opportunities early and often. Tracking and signalling interest to receive invitations for bids will help you understand what NATO needs and improves familiarity with its processes, which in turn can help increase your chances of success.” Greenley says now that MDA has the TRITON contract, “we want to have sustained business relationships with NATO,” but it's still not going to be easy to get contracts there. “It takes a long time for any NATO program to be organized and executed, so to stick with it is challenging,” he says, while the distance to Brussels and the extra investment needed to have a presence there is an added hurdle for Canadian firms. Canada is joining other countries in having governments and companies form partnerships to lobby for NATO work, which makes sense given the revenues that NATO contracts can bring, he says. “We're starting to step up and ensure that we get our fair share.” Greenley advises companies interested in NATO work to beware of how long the process can take. “I would not put a NATO project in my core business plan,” he says. “You shouldn't assume it's going to happen. It's a strategic, incremental business growth opportunity.” He says it's important to stay “fully engaged” with the TCS and work with Canada's delegation to NATO as well as member countries. “NATO by its definition is based on the participation and collaboration of many participants,” he explains. “You need to use Canada's relationships with multiple NATO countries to build a base of support for your solution.” Greeley hopes MDA's success “leads to other companies in Canada seeing it can be done, and adding to the list of Canadian-based NATO programs.” As the company now executes the TRITON contact, “we're going to work hard to make the most of this opportunity,” he adds. From Brussels, Belgium, this story is one example of how trade commissioners located in more than 160 cities around the world help Canadian companies succeed. http://tradecommissioner.gc.ca/canadexport/0002899.aspx?lang=eng