16 décembre 2024 | International, Aérospatial, C4ISR, Sécurité

Brazil's Embraer sells 12 A-29N Super Tucano aircrafts to Portugal

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  • Opinion: Aviation’s Cybersecurity Imperative

    22 mai 2020 | International, C4ISR, Sécurité

    Opinion: Aviation’s Cybersecurity Imperative

    Remzi Seker May 22, 2020 With the expansion across the aviation industry of connectivity and computing services, cybersecurity has become ever more important. Connecting people, processes and assets creates new vulnerabilities and multiple attack points—from flight-critical avionics to passenger inflight entertainment networks and airline backend operations. Information about systems, protocols and technologies such as software-defined radio are now readily available well beyond the industry. Demand for greater efficiency meanwhile continues to increase connectivity and accelerate computerization within aviation infrastructure, including aircraft. Fortunately, ongoing efforts to protect aircraft, airlines and passengers from cybersecurity threats have been largely unaffected by the global pandemic, suggesting an opportunity for the industry to ramp up cybersafety programs and training amid the current slowdown. The comprehensive, coordinated nature of aviation cybersecurity initiatives means committees have long carried out their work primarily through virtual meetings, so those efforts are able to continue in full swing. With slowdowns taking place in other areas, the industry can address cybersafety at a more rapid pace. The aviation industry and its stakeholders have been working hard to tackle cybersecurity challenges comprehensively—from the supply chain and the maintenance of aircraft to operations. Such efforts remain essential so that cyberthreats affecting safety can be mitigated before they materialize, whether that happens during flight through physical access to a bus, by interfering with equipment through Wi-Fi or remotely disrupting operations. The need to weigh cyberthreats according to their safety impact, a practice referred to as “cybersafety,” requires a different perspective than that of IT cybersecurity. Cybersafety differs from traditional IT cybersecurity because of the need for safety certification, which relies on guaranteeing a system's behavior, or “determinism.” This unique characteristic of aviation cybersafety means that solutions widely used across traditional computing systems may pose serious certification challenges. Imagine rolling out security patches for every avionics component on a commercial aircraft. Tackling cybersafety challenges requires a coordinated, comprehensive, global effort. Multiple agencies are cooperating to establish much-needed standards. For example, the U.S. FAA and the European Union Aviation Safety Agency have been working with the RTCA and the European Organization for Civil Aviation Equipment to set harmonized cybersecurity standards. Efforts to secure the aviation ecosystem also include dedicated committees such as the FAA's Aviation Rulemaking Advisory Committee Aircraft System Information Security/Protection working group. Similarly, the Aerospace Industries Association has established the Civil Aviation Cybersecurity Subcommittee. In the U.S., the Aviation Cyber Initiative (ACI) is led by the Defense Department, Department of Homeland Security and FAA. The ACI includes experts representing government, defense, industry and academia who collaborate to tackle aviation cybersecurity threats. The Aviation Information Sharing and Analysis Center shares global threat intelligence among aviation companies. Globally, the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) leads this work. Its Trust Framework Study Group (TFSG) includes experts from the FAA, EASA, commercial industry and academia and has established three important working groups. Academic institutions play a critical role in advancing cybersecurity research and training, too. Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, for example, develops engineering solutions and provides degree, certification and training programs in aviation cybsersecurity. Faculty researchers contribute expertise to cyberdefense and preparedness efforts by serving on national and international committees and working groups and by organizing the annual Aero-Cybersecurity Symposium. Aviation's impeccable safety culture positions it well to combat and defeat cybersafety risks. In the years ahead, the industry will need to invest in expanded education and training as well as research to secure high-assurance systems that can be updated with minimal impact on certification. Computerization and Cyberphysical Systems As computing becomes ever more affordable, functions that were traditionally implemented through hardware are now being realized through software, and inclusion of software has supported increased customization. Cyberphysical systems are designed to perform a set of functions with limited impact on the physical environment, such as temperature control, welding and parts assembly. One feature of cyberphysical systems is a failsafe property that involves shutting down—an approach that is clearly not desirable midflight. Connectivity Inexpensive and ubiquitously available computing, combined with advancements in networking, have accelerated the networking of devices. The Internet of Things concept does not require any form of certification or service-quality assurance, let alone any safety requirement or oversight. Rather than leveraging the Internet of Things, the aviation industry might consider using “networked wings” to underscore its safety commitment. Remzi Seker is the associate provost for research at Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University. The views expressed are not necessarily those of Aviation Week. https://aviationweek.com/air-transport/safety-ops-regulation/opinion-aviations-cybersecurity-imperative

  • Secrets of Tempest’s ground-breaking radar revealed

    18 janvier 2021 | International, Aérospatial, C4ISR

    Secrets of Tempest’s ground-breaking radar revealed

    Tom Kington ROME — Radar engineers on the Tempest fighter program have said they expect to break data-processing records. The secret, they explain, is all about miniaturization and going digital. The sixth-generation jet — planned by the U.K., Sweden and Italy and set to enter service after 2030 — will bristle with new technology, from its weaponry and propulsion to a virtual cockpit projected inside the pilot's helmet. But the group set the bar high in October by announcing the fighter's radar would process a quantity of data equivalent to nine hours of high-definition video — or the internet traffic of a medium-sized city — every second. Few details were given to back up the claim, but now U.K.-based engineers with Italian firm Leonardo, who are working on the radar, have shared clues with Defense News. Boosting performance will mean rethinking today's electronically scanned radars, which have grids of small Transmit Receive Modules, or TRM, on the antenna, each generating an individual radar beam which can follow different targets or combine with others to create a larger beam. The TRMs in the array are formed into groups, and the signals received by each group are fed to a receiver which digitalizes the data before passing it to the radar's processor. Due to their size, the receivers must be positioned back from the aircraft's nose and accept the incoming analogue radar signal down coaxial cables, which incurs some data loss before the signal is digitalized. To remedy that, Leonardo is working on miniaturizing the receivers so they can be moved up into the nose and integrated within the antenna, cutting out the need for a coaxial cable. The data emerging from the receiver must still travel to the processor, but by now it is digital and can flow down fiber-optic cables, reducing data loss. “Miniaturized receivers can digitalize the signal within the antenna much earlier in the receive chain,” said chief engineer Tim Bungey. That's one step up from the new state-of-the-art European Common Radar System Mark 2 radar that BAE Systems and Leonardo have signed to deliver for RAF Eurofighters, which will use coaxial cables. “Digitalizing the data closer to the array means more data can be received and transmitted, the data can be more flexibly manipulated, and there is more potential for using the radar as a multi-function sensor such as for data linking and for electronic warfare,” said Bungey. There is also a second advantage to miniaturized receivers: Many more can be installed, meaning each one handles fewer TRMs. “To improve performance and flexibility within the system, a key challenge is to divide the TRMs into more groups containing fewer TRMs, handled by more receivers,” said Bungey. “By achieving that, together with supporting wider bandwidths, you can generate significantly more data, giving greater flexibility for beam steering and multi-function operation,” he added. “We are aiming to increase the number of groups of TRMs, and therefore the number of receivers, beyond what will be offered by the MK2 radar for Eurofighter,” he added. While the radar may push the envelope, Duncan McCrory, Leonardo's Tempest chief engineer, said it would be a mistake to consider it as a stand-alone component. “The MRFS will be integrated within the wider Tempest Mission System, which incorporates a full suite of electronic-warfare and defensive-aids capabilities, EO/IR targeting and situational awareness systems, and a comprehensive communications system.” he said. “The data captured by these systems will be fused to create a rich situational awareness picture for the aircrew,” he added. “This information will also be fused with data received from other aircraft and unmanned systems, with machine learning used to combine and process the overall situational awareness picture for the aircrew. This avoids information overload in the cockpit, enabling the aircrew to quickly absorb data and make decisions based on suitably processed and validated information, and rapidly respond to threats in highly contested environments,” he said. McCrory added that Leonardo demonstrated aspects of human-machine teaming recently in a trial organized with the British Army and the MoD's Defence Science and Technology Laboratory, in which a Wildcat helicopter crew tasked a semi-autonomous UAV provided by Callen-Lenz to gather imagery and feed it back to the cockpit display via datalink. “It is these human-machine teaming principles that we will be building upon for Tempest,” he said. “The MRFS will be integrated within the wider Tempest Mission System, which incorporates a full suite of electronic-warfare and defensive-aids capabilities, EO/IR targeting and situational awareness systems, and a comprehensive communications system.” he said. “The data captured by these systems will be fused to create a rich situational awareness picture for the aircrew,” he added. “This information will also be fused with data received from other aircraft and unmanned systems, with machine learning used to combine and process the overall situational awareness picture for the aircrew. This avoids information overload in the cockpit, enabling the aircrew to quickly absorb data and make decisions based on suitably processed and validated information, and rapidly respond to threats in highly contested environments,” he said. McCrory added that Leonardo demonstrated aspects of human-machine teaming recently in a trial organized with the British Army and the MoD's Defence Science and Technology Laboratory, in which a Wildcat helicopter crew tasked a semi-autonomous UAV provided by Callen-Lenz to gather imagery and feed it back to the cockpit display via datalink. “It is these human-machine teaming principles that we will be building upon for Tempest,” he said. As Tempest development proceeds, McCrory said design of the integrated mission system was proceeding in parallel with the design of the aircraft itself. “We are effectively designing the aircraft from the inside out; by this I mean we are working closely with the MoD to understand future sensing, communications and effects capability requirements, and then working with the Team Tempest partners to ensure the aircraft can accommodate and support the required avionic systems.” Leonardo is working with BAE Systems to ensure the airframe will accommodate sensors, with Rolls Royce to ensure there is sufficient powering and cooling for the systems, and with MBDA, said McCrory, “to give weapons the best available data prior to launch, and to keep them informed after they are released and receive data back from them as they progress towards the target.” https://www.c4isrnet.com/home/2021/01/15/secrets-of-tempests-ground-breaking-radar-revealed/

  • US authorizes another $350 million in military aid to Ukraine

    20 mars 2023 | International, Autre défense

    US authorizes another $350 million in military aid to Ukraine

    The United States is authorizing another $350 million in military aid for Ukraine, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said on Monday, as Kyiv builds up its arsenal for an anticipated counter-offensive against Russian forces.

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