US seizes initiative on space security for the first time in decades

On the same subject

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  April 23, 2020 | International, C4ISR

  Air Force works to ‘mitigate’ Ligado deal’s impact on GPS

  Aaron Mehta and Valerie Insinna The U.S. Air Force is in the early stages of developing strategies to “mitigate” the damage expected to occur to Global Positioning System capabilities following the Federal Communication Commission's approval of a spectrum request by Ligado Networks, according to the service's top uniformed officer. On Wednesday, Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David Goldfein said he was “very concerned about the Ligado decision,” adding those concerns are shared with Gen. Jay Raymond, the first head of the U.S. Space Force. “We as a nation, and I would offer as a [world], rely on GPS to do so much that affects far more than military operations,” Goldfein said. “This is our quality of life. This is how we run businesses. This is how we fly airplanes. This is the ATM that requires that timing signal to get money. This is the blue dot on your phone that allows you to get from point A to point B, so we have come to just rely completely on GPS.” On Monday, the FCC voted 5-0 in favor of Ligado's plan, which would allow the company to use L-band — a range of frequencies between 1 to 2 GHz, on which GPS relies in order to penetrate weather and dense vegetation. The company wants to use L-band as part of its plan to expand America's 5G capabilities, or next-generation connectivity. The Defense Department and other government agencies have opposed the proposal for almost a decade over concerns it would impact GPS. C4ISRNET first broke the news April 10 that the FCC would move forward with Ligado's request. “The best way I've heard it described — I'm a philosophy major and this works for me — if you're trying to have a quiet conversation and in the next room is a 500-watt speaker blaring music at you: That's a visual of what potentially could be the interference with this GPS signal that absolutely has got to be pristine, and the world relies on," Goldfein said. "So I am very concerned about it, and [Chief of Space Operations for the U.S. Space Force Gen. John “Jay”] Raymond and I are looking at different mitigation steps.” Goldfein didn't go into details about what those steps might entail. Later in the day, Mark Lewis, the Defense Department's director of research and engineering for modernization, said he hadn't talked with Goldfein yet on next steps, but expressed similar sentiments about the Ligado plan. “It's obviously a concern. Our ability to operate not only in space but in spectrum is critical. So I guess what I would tell you is right now we're considering what the implications will be and considering what the impacts will be,” Lewis said at an event hosted by the Mitchell Institute. It's something “we're working pretty actively,” Lewis added. Outside of the technical mitigation efforts, there may be policy efforts underway to try and block L-band use by Ligado. In an exclusive op-ed for C4ISRNET, leaders of the House and Senate Armed Services committees warned that Ligado's plan could ultimately “cost taxpayers and consumers billions of dollars and require the replacement of current GPS equipment just as we are trying to get our economy back on its feet quickly.” “We encourage the FCC to withdraw its approval of Ligado's application and take this opportunity to work with the NTIA [National Telecommunications and Information Administration] and other federal agencies, including the departments of Defense and Transportation, to find a solution that will both support commercial broadband expansion and protect national security assets. Moreover, we expect the FCC to resolve Department of Defense concerns before moving forward, as required by law,” the lawmakers wrote. “If they do not, and unless President [Donald] Trump intervenes to stop this from moving forward, it will be up to Congress to clean up this mess.” https://www.c4isrnet.com/battlefield-tech/2020/04/22/air-force-works-to-mitigate-ligado-deals-impact-on-gps/

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  August 6, 2020 | International, Aerospace, Naval

  Boeing preps for next test of US Navy’s future aerial tanker drone

  By: David B. Larter WASHINGTON — The U.S. Navy's aircraft carrier-borne tanker drone, the MQ-25 Stingray, is preparing to head into the fall resuming test flights, this time with the crucial fuel store pod attached. The store pod — the same one integrated into the Navy's stalwart F/A-18 Super Hornet for aerial refueling — was recently integrated into the MQ-25 test article under the wing. “When we resume flight testing later this year, we'll have the opportunity to gather test points about the aerodynamics of that pod and the software commands that control it — all happening well before we deliver the Navy's first MQ-25 jet with the same pod,” MQ-25 program director Dave Bujold said in a statement from the aircraft's manufacturer, Boeing. “That early testing and early software development is a big part of supporting the Navy's goal to get MQ-25 to the fleet as quickly as possible,” he added. The engineers will primarily observe the aerodynamics of the pod mounted on the Stingray test article, then seeing how the hose and drogue behave while being dragged behind the airframe. Possible delays In June, Defense News reported that the MQ-25 could face a three-year testing delay if it doesn't get its designated test ships through the required modernizations on time, a possibility the Navy said was remote. Two carriers — Carl Vinson and George H.W. Bush — have limited windows to complete the installation of unmanned aircraft control stations, and if operational commitments intervene, the program could experience significant problems, according to Navy officials and a government watchdog report. “Program officials stated that, among other things, the Navy's potential inability to maintain its schedule commitments could require modifications to the contract that would impact the fixed-price terms,” the Government Accountability Office reported. “Specifically, the Navy faces limited flexibility to install MQ-25 control centers on aircraft carriers. “If the Navy misses any of its planned installation windows, the program would have to extend MQ-25 development testing by up to 3 years. According to officials, such a delay could necessitate a delay to initial capability and result in a cost increase.” The Navy's MQ-25 Stingray aerial refueling drone took its first flight Sept. 19, a historic step toward integrating an unmanned aircraft into the service's powerful strike arm. Navy officials say a three-year delay is “extremely unlikely”; however, the Navy has struggled in recent years to balance its modernization schedules with operational commitments, a problem that its “Optimized Fleet Response Plan” deployment rotation scheme was supposed to address. Ultimately, a delay would further push back the Navy's ability to extend its carrier air wing's range through unmanned tanking, critical to keeping the service's powerful strike arm relevant against long-range guided munitions. https://www.defensenews.com/naval/2020/07/24/boeing-preparing-for-the-next-big-step-testing-the-us-navys-new-aerial-tanker-drone

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  October 22, 2019 | International, Land

  Navigation systems that counter jamming and spoofing for Army vehicles, plus some goodies for the dismounted soldier

  By: Todd South Over the past few years, the Army's 2nd Cavalry Regiment in Germany has seen its Stryker combat vehicles up-gunned and upgraded with better firepower and stronger protection. A recent fielding amid follow-on efforts will give that regiment's soldiers and their supporting rotational brigade protection from invisible threats. That's because the Mounted Assured Position Navigation and Timing System, or MAPS, has been fielded to 62 Strykers in the regiment, with another 339 systems expected next year. Willie Nelson — the director of the Assured Positioning, Navigation and Timing Cross-Functional Team — and Col. Nickolas Kioutas — project manager for PNT — recently spoke with reporters about both the testing, development and fielding of MAPS and its dismounted version, known as DAPS. The two systems are key for soldiers to not only navigate but also use weapon systems and communications gear in heavily jammed and spoofing environments. Some of the most contested spaces with those challenges are in Europe. The first generation of the MAPS system has replaced then seven GPS antennas with just one, anti-jamming-capable GPS antenna that can distribute information across all systems in a vehicle, Kioutas said. That iteration has anti-jamming capabilities, a robust GPS receiver and a chip-scale atomic clock. The system has a seven-element array antenna. If it detects radio frequency energy from one direction that's attempting to jam a signal, then the array shuts off detection from that general direction but continues to scan the sky for the correct radio frequency signals to communicate. The clock keeps everything in time if the system is jammed for lengthy periods, Nelson said. The other threat, spoofing, involves an adversary introducing a decoy-type signal. Researchers are working on a capability for the next generation of MAPS that provides both anti-jam and anti-spoof capabilities. Testing that capability is scheduled for next year, with fielding expected by 2021. Even as the first generation is used by troops, the Army can continue to upgrade the system with new capabilities as it comes off the production line. Army leaders will decide next year if the fully fielded MAPS gear will serve as its first generation with upgrades, or a revamped, second variant, Nelson said. And it's not just for Strykers. The next wave of fielding will go to Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicles, Paladin howitzers and Abrams tanks, which provide the firepower enabled by cavalry formations. And the focus will be to first provide 2nd CR and then the rotational brigade that heads to Europe each year, Kioutas said. Ultimately, a focused fielding plan will see 20,000 Army vehicles with the new MAPS onboard by 2028, officials said. For the individual soldiers, the same groups are working on the dismounted version. DAPS does not have an anti-jam capability yet, but it does use the new GPS M-Code signal that has more complicated encryption. DAPS will replace the existing antenna for the Nett Warrior system, and it is lighter and more effective, Kioutas said. Nett Warrior is an Android smartphone-based navigation, friendly forces and battlefield chat tool that will connect into the Integrated Visual Augmentation System, a mixed reality goggle expected to tie in communications, navigation, targeting and night vision into an individual soldier's heads-up display. https://www.armytimes.com/news/your-army/2019/10/18/navigation-systems-that-counter-jamming-and-spoofing-for-army-vehicles-plus-some-goodies-for-the-dismounted-soldier/