Why the US Navy needs dedicated command ships

On the same subject

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  May 8, 2020 | International, C4ISR, Security

  State Department awards IT contract to help combat narcotics

  Andrew Eversden The State Department awarded General Dynamics Information Technology an estimated $350 million contract for IT services, the company announced May 7. The indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity contract will provide IT services to the Western Hemisphere Program of the State Department's Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs. The contract has a base period of one year, with four one-year options. Under the contract, GDIT will provide services to “enhance” the bureau's counternarcotics and anti-crime capabilities, increase the department's ability to deploy new technologies, improve information sharing across different regions and partners, and expand law enforcement capabilities across foreign governments. “GDIT's work with the INL will deliver new technical capabilities to counter-narcotics trafficking, money laundering and other transnational criminal activities,” said Paul Nedzbala, senior vice president for GDIT's Federal Civilian Division. “Our solution will directly support INL's critical mission to minimize the impact of international crime and illegal drugs, protecting both U.S. citizens at home and our partners abroad.” According to USAspending.gov, the State Department has spent about $550 million on services from General Dynamics in the last 12 months. In June last year, GDIT won a $2 billion contract to continue to manage the department's global technical security supply chain. That contract was awarded by the Bureau of Diplomatic Security. https://www.federaltimes.com/govcon/contracting/2020/05/07/state-department-awards-it-contract-to-help-combat-narcotics/

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  November 6, 2023 | International, Land

  GE settles US claims it sold improperly inspected parts to Army, Navy | Reuters

  General Electric's aerospace unit agreed on Monday to pay $9.4 million to settle federal government claims that a Massachusetts plant sold parts to the U.S. Army and Navy that were not properly inspected or did not meet specifications.

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  August 23, 2018 | International, C4ISR

  NSA approves tablet and communicator for Five Eyes special forces

  By: Kelsey Atherton At the moment it's most needed, every aspect of close air support comes down to communication. Close air support is essentially air strikes against targets when friendly forces are nearby. But to get there requires a long tail of set-up: the training for the pilot and the special operator calling in the strike, the decades of aircraft development that created the summoned plane or helicopter, the entire political and military rationale that went into the forward-basing of aircraft close enough to a potential crisis point that enables this all to happen. None of that matters, though, if the moment is lost, if the signal doesn't get through, if the support is too far away to make a difference. Viasat's new BATS-D AN/PRC-161 device is designed to close that gap, to make communication happen when it needs to happen, and today, the company is announcing that the device has been approved by the National Security Agency for use with all Five Eyes nations. Let's break this down into pieces. BATS-D stands for “Battlefield Awareness and Targeting System – Dismounted,” an acronym that invokes the Batman of comic and cinematic fame, and clarifies that this is a portable machine, one that can be used by people on foot and without vehicles (though maybe access to horses). The BATS-D is designed for use by U.S. Special Operations Forces and JTACs, or Joint Terminal Attack Controller (the people who call in close air support. Think the old-school radio operator in a pack of plastic army men, but modern). Now, calling in an airstrike involves more touching a location on a miniature tablet and then transferring that image to the pilot who will make the strike. Gone, in theory, are the days of shouting coordinates into an oversized radio and hoping the pilot can match the same spot on a paper map. Five Eyes, also abbreviated FVEY, is the intelligence sharing alliance of five major English-speaking nations: The United States, United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, and Canada. By having an approved communication device with these five specific nations, it means that forces from these nations fighting alongside one another can, in theory, communicate with the closest available aircraft, even if it's not flying the same flag. Full article: https://www.c4isrnet.com/c2-comms/2018/08/22/nsa-approves-tablet-and-communicator-for-five-eyes-special-forces