Congress passes fourth stopgap funding bill as 1% sequester looms

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  27 janvier 2021 | International, Aérospatial, C4ISR

  Northrop Grumman Awarded $3.6 Billion ID/IQ Battlefield Airborne Communications Node Contract

  San Diego – January 26, 2021 – The U.S. Air Force recently awarded Northrop Grumman Corporation (NYSE: NOC) a $3.6 billion indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity (ID/IQ) contract for continued Battlefield Airborne Communications Node (BACN) operations, sustainment and support. “We are honored to work with the Air Force to continue to bring the critical gateway communications capabilities of the BACN program to U.S. warfighters operating around the world,” said Ben Davies, vice president and general manager, networked information solutions division, Northrop Grumman. “This ID/IQ award demonstrates the commitment to the continued success of the BACN program.” This contract provides for research, development, test, and evaluation, integration and operations and sustainment for existing and future payloads contained in or connected to the BACN system. It also includes associated ground stations or controls, ancillary equipment, support equipment and system integration laboratories. Work will be performed in San Diego, California, and overseas locations through Jan. 24, 2026, and $23.7 million was obligated with the initial task order at the time of award. Northrop Grumman's BACN system is a high-altitude, airborne communications gateway that translates and distributes imagery, voice and tactical data from disparate elements—enhancing situational awareness communications and coordination for joint warfighters operating across space, air, land and sea. Northrop Grumman solves the toughest problems in space, aeronautics, defense and cyberspace to meet the ever evolving needs of our customers worldwide. Our 90,000 employees define possible every day using science, technology and engineering to create and deliver advanced systems, products and services. Media Contact Jamie Clegg 619-200-1431 jamie.clegg@ngc.com View source version on Northrop Grumman: https://news.northropgrumman.com/news/releases/northrop-grumman-awarded-3-6-billion-idiq-battlefield-airborne-communications-node-contract?utm_source=Twitter&utm_medium=Image&utm_content=node&utm_campaign=node&Code=SNS-13493

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  13 novembre 2019 | International, Aérospatial, C4ISR

  Air Force to link F-35, F-22 in ‘connect-a-thon’ experiment

  By: Aaron Mehta WASHINGTON — The U.S. Air Force is preparing an experiment it hopes will link the F-22 and F-35 fighter jets, the first in a series of experiments that service acquisition head Will Roper has dubbed “connect-a-thons.” The experiments are to happen every four months, starting in December. The goal is to identify a fleet of aircraft with a communications issue, invite voices from inside and outside the Pentagon to offer solutions, and then test those offerings in a live experiment. “We're making it up as we go, right? There's never been anything like this,” Roper said at a breakfast hosted by the Defense Writers Group. “We need a way for people to propose connections and get into the pipeline. So I wouldn't be surprised at all if it ends up being like a pitch day ... having a proposal process where we review the maturity of the tech versus the benefit to the war fighter. We would do the former, our operators would do the latter." “And what I love about this is it's kind of a competition within the joint force," he added. "We're going to be looking for the fast movers to volunteer, then we'll be looking at the fast followers.” The first event, hosted by North American Aerospace Defense Command and U.S. Northern Command, will feature an attempt to allow the F-22 and F-35 to share battlespace — a long-sought capability. The F-22 was built with an older data link that can't match up with the Multifunction Advanced Data Link, or MADL, system used on the newer F-35; while the F-35 can receive data through Link 16, it can't share the data back — a key capability given the envisioned role of the F-35 as a major sensor for the future Air Force. For the test, the service will use what Roper called a “Babel Fish-like translator” under the working name of GatewayOne to serve as a “universal translator” for the two jets. The first test, in December, will feature the equipment on a pole on a test range, with the jets pinging their information back and forth from that fixed location. Should that system work well, in four months Roper plans to put GatewayOne onto a Valkyrie drone, a system designed by Kratos to be cheap enough to be disposable in a battlefield situation. It's not the first time a drone has been used as a link between the two fighters: In 2017, Northrop Grumman pitched its Global Hawk unmanned system, equipped with a new radio, to act as a translator between the aircraft. Future connect-a-thons currently planned include linking SpaceX's Starlink satellites with KC-135 aerial refueling aircraft in an effort to show commercial communications can work with military aircraft; Roper said the KC-135 community volunteered because the tanker aircraft is perpetually seeking more bandwidth. Roper also expects the F-16 community — which he called “very innovative, agile operators” who understand they need to keep an aging plane relevant — to “sign up wholesale” for tests in the future. The acquisitions chief said he is committed to keeping the four-month schedule going, in part because it means if the technology isn't satisfactory, the service will know quickly and be able to move onto something else. “The good news about that is [Congress and the Pentagon] don't really have to believe us for very long. Just let us get through a few connect-a-thon cycles,” Roper said. “And if we're failing miserably, then that should tell you something about the future of the program.” https://www.c4isrnet.com/air/2019/11/12/us-air-force-to-link-f-35-with-f-22-in-connect-a-thon-experiment/

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  8 novembre 2022 | International, Aérospatial, Naval, Terrestre, C4ISR, Sécurité, Autre défense

  Roadmap to CMMC Readiness

  Webinar presentation: https://455299.fs1.hubspotusercontent-na1.net/hubfs/455299/CMMC%20Roadmap%20and%20how%20Exostar%20can%20help%2010_26_2022.pdf Webinar: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GEyzrvKv0os