BAE Systems unveils $1.9 billion economic impact of ground vehicle and weapon systems network

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  19 juillet 2023 | International, C4ISR

  Elbit Systems opens R&D, manufacturing facility in Britain

  Elbit Systems UK has opened an advanced manufacturing and development facility in Bristol, England, following three years of planning.

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  16 juillet 2020 | International, Aérospatial, Naval, Terrestre, C4ISR, Sécurité

  Pentagon Officials to Industry: Bring Us Tech That is Easy to Integrate

  By Mila Jasper Information systems that are easy to integrate and build in cybersecurity practices at the foundation top officials' wishlist. The defense industry needs to focus on developing technology that is easy to integrate and meets cybersecurity norms from the get-go, according to military officials speaking at the 2020 Army Signal Conference. At the conference, hosted by the Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association, officials urged industry partners to create products that build in standard security principles at the outset of development and allow for a wide range of use cases. “Don't give me a bespoke, unique solution for one small problem, so that I can add it to the 42 other devices that I'm hooking up,” Brig. Gen. Paul Stanton, deputy director of operations for U.S. Cyber Command, said. “That's not helpful.” Stanton spoke Tuesday—the first day of the conference—on a panel regarding the importance of getting meaningful data to the front lines in real time. Figuring out how to create an information advantage faster than opponents is “warfighting 101,” Stanton argued, but it's an area that needs improvement. “How do I integrate these components? How do I design them such that they are intended to be integrated?” Stanton said. “These are some of the challenges that we need our industry partners to help us with.” Speaking on the same panel, Maj. Adam Brinkman, deputy to the chief technology officer for the Army Special Operations Command, agreed with Stanton's assessment. Brinkman emphasized the need for industry to make systems that integrate in order for their products to stay viable. “The problem that we've actually, honestly had is making sure the technology we receive can be successfully integrated,” Brinkman said. The Android Tactical Assault Kit, according to Brinkman, is a good example for industry developers to follow when it comes to creating solutions that fit the Army's integration vision. Also known as the Android Team Awareness Kit, ATAK is an off-the-shelf software tool with 40,000 users across the Defense Department. Brinkman highlighted ATAK's availability to a community of developers and its open-source code as contributors to its success. “What you have is essentially a meeting place where people can develop and create tools for you to quickly integrate into your environment,” Brinkman said. Vice Adm. Nancy Norton, head of the Defense Information Systems Agency, said in Wednesday session that innovation in the information technology frontier is not just about creating new technology but about making sure the full potential of that technology is realized. “We have all kinds of technology that we don't use, that we use 5%, 10% of the capability that's in it,” said Norton, responding to a moderator question. “We have to figure out how to actually use the capability that's embedded in the technology.” A key to making information systems that are easy to integrate is building security protocols into tools from the very start of development, Norton said. As customers, DISA and the Defense Information Technology Contracting Organization are looking for IT providers that are able to meet standards such as the Cybersecurity Capability Maturity Model Certification, or CMMC, rather than pre-existing tools that add on security measures as an afterthought. “The cost of adding on cybersecurity is tremendous,” Norton said. “And it just won't work very well if you bolt it on at the end.” https://www.nextgov.com/it-modernization/2020/07/pentagon-officials-industry-bring-us-tech-easy-integrate/166918/

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  4 décembre 2019 | International, Aérospatial

  Dispute Not Stalling F-35 Testing System, Lockheed Martin Says

  By Bill Carey ORLANDO, Florida—A legal dispute between Lockheed Martin and the U.S. government that held up development of a key F-35 testing system is not further delaying the effort, says the manufacturer, which is awaiting a verdict by the Armed Services Board of Contract Appeals (ASBCA). Lockheed Martin has delivered its products to the Naval Air Systems Command (Navair) to build the Joint Simulation Environment (JSE), including an “F-35 In a Box” software module that replicates the fighter's mission systems for testing purposes. The software module contains nine algorithms that the manufacturer claims as intellectual property (IP), which the government disputes. The Pentagon is relying on activation of the JSE, a high-fidelity modeling and simulation environment, to complete mission testing required for the F-35's initial operational test and evaluation phase and a full-rate production decision. But the dispute over intellectual property rights has delayed the JSE by 2 1/2 years, according to acquisition executives. The JSE was supposed to begin operating in late 2017 but now is scheduled to achieve the first-use milestone in July 2020, Robert Behler, Pentagon director of Operational Test and Evaluation, told lawmakers during a House Armed Services subcommittee hearing last month. During a briefing Dec. 3 at the Interservice/Industry Training, Simulation and Education Conference, Chauncey McIntosh, Lockheed Martin vice president for F-35 training and logistics, said the IP dispute is not holding back Navair's development of the JSE. “Lockheed Martin has delivered all of its products to the Navair team,” including the F-35 In a Box module, McIntosh said. “The JSE team is currently integrating that product along with the other products that they're fielding. There is no dispute that is preventing development of the Joint Simulation Environment for Navair.” When a Defense Contracts Audit Agency review found no proof of Lockheed Martin's IP claim, the manufacturer appealed to the ASBCA. It continues to await a decision. “We are supporting that appeal and [will] progress from there based on what happens with the appeal,” McIntosh said. Also testifying before the House Armed Services subcommittee on Nov. 13, Air Force Lt. Gen. Eric Fick, F-35 program executive officer, said the program moved forward with the JSE despite the legal dispute. “That slowed our progress in getting started and slowed our early progress once we had begun,” Fick told lawmakers. “In order to get on contract, in order to start moving forward, we had to sign up to accept less than government purpose rights, but reserved the right to challenge that intellectual property assertion.” While Navair is developing the JSE at its headquarters at Patuxent River Naval Air Station, Maryland, the U.S. Air Force announced in January that it was building complementary JSE facilities at Edwards AFB, California, and Nellis AFB, Nevada. Plans call for breaking ground on both facilities next May. https://aviationweek.com/defense/dispute-not-stalling-f-35-testing-system-lockheed-martin-says