Cyber defence agency gets significant boost in Liberals’ Budget 2022

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  19 août 2020 | International, Terrestre

  USAF Errantly Reveals Research On ICBM-Range Hypersonic Glide Vehicle

  Steve Trimble The U.S. Air Force agency that manages the service's nuclear arsenal has started researching enabling technology for an intercontinental-range, hypersonic glide vehicle (HGV), according to a document that was published briefly in error on a public website. Although the document shows a U.S. nuclear weapons agency is researching HGV technology, senior Pentagon officials say there has been no change to a policy that “strictly” limits the emerging class of hypersonic gliders and cruise missiles to non-nuclear warheads. A request for information (RFI) published on Aug. 12 by the Air Force Nuclear Weapons Center asks companies to submit ideas across seven categories of potential upgrades for intercontinental ballistic missiles (ICBMs) designed with a “modular open architecture.” The Air Force often describes the future Ground Based Strategic Deterrent ICBM as featuring a “modular systems architecture,” in contrast with the aging Minuteman III, which does not. Among the seven items on the upgrade list, the Air Force called for a new “thermal protection system that can support [a] hypersonic glide to ICBM ranges,” according to the RFI, which is no longer publicly available on the government's procurement website. The RFI appears to have disclosed information that was not meant by the Air Force's nuclear weapons buyers to be made public. Each of the seven items listed in the RFI's “scope of effort” for ICBM upgrades included a prefix designation of “U/FOUO,” a military marking for information that is unclassified, but for official-use only. Although not technically a classified secret, information marked as “FOUO” usually is withheld from the public. The RFI was removed from beta.sam.gov on Aug. 17 after Aviation Week inquired about the document with the Air Force and the Office of the Secretary of Defense (OSD). The Defense Department (DOD) has three different operational prototypes for HGVs in development now: the Air Force's AGM-183A Air-Launched Rapid Response Weapon, the Army's Long Range Hypersonic Weapon and the Navy's Intermediate Range Conventional Prompt Strike. Once fired from an aircraft, ground-launcher or submarine, all three are designed to strike targets with conventional warheads at intermediate range, which is defined as 1,500-3,000 nm by the official DOD Dictionary of Military and Associated Terms. But the Pentagon has no acknowledged plan to develop an HGV with a range beyond 3,000 nm and maintains a policy that “strictly” prohibits arming any such weapon—regardless of range—with nuclear warheads. The two-most senior staffers leading the hypersonic weapons portfolio reiterated that policy during a press conference on March 2. “Our entire hypersonic portfolio is based on delivering conventional warheads,” said Mike White, assistant director of defense research and engineering for hypersonic weapons. “Right,” agreed Mark Lewis, the director of defense research and engineering for modernization programs. “Strictly conventional.” The Pentagon has not changed the policy since March 2, said Lt. Col. Robert Carver, a spokesman for Lewis' office. “DOD is not developing nuclear-capable hypersonic weapons,” Carver said in an email. “There are common technology needs between the nuclear enterprise and hypersonic systems. Particularly in the area of high-temperature materials, we typically collaborate on the development of advanced dual-use materials technology. I will reiterate that our entire hypersonic program portfolio continues to be based on delivering conventional effects only.” Although the DOD upholds the conventional-only policy for hypersonic gliders and scramjet-powered cruise missiles, the source of the RFI raises questions, said James Acton, co-director of the Nuclear Policy Program at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. “The fact that [this RFI] is coming from the nuclear weapons center, it makes it sound an awful lot like this would at least be nuclear-armed or conceivably dual-capable,” Acton said. Although the RFI confirms research is underway, the DOD still has no acknowledged plan to proceed from basic research into the acquisition phase of an ICBM-range hypersonic glider, whether carrying a conventional or nuclear warhead. If the thermal-protection system technology is limited to research only, the RFI by the Air Force's nuclear weapons organization may not violate the DOD policy, which may apply only to fielded weapons. “DOD does a lot of research on a lot of different things and the vast majority of these programs never turn into an acquisition,” Acton said. “It could turn into something, but sophisticated observers recognize that it may not.” The DOD's conventional-only policy for maneuvering hypersonic weapons stands apart from other countries in the field. Russia, for example, has deployed the nuclear-armed Avangard HGV on the SS-19 ICBM. In February, the head of U.S. Northern Command, Gen. Terrence O'Shaughnessy, said in written testimony submitted to Congress that “China is testing a [nuclear-armed] intercontinental-range hypersonic glide vehicle, which is designed to fly at high speeds and low altitudes, complicating our ability to provide precise warning.” The DOD never has had an announced weapons development program for a conventional- or nuclear-armed, intercontinental-range HGV, but has experimented with air-launched gliders. The Hypersonic Test Vehicle-2 program by the DARPA attempted to demonstrate a range of 4,170 nm, but each experimental glider in two tests staged in 2010 and 2011 failed about 9 min. into a planned 30-min. hypersonic glide. The leading edges of an intercontinental-range HGV could be exposed to temperatures as high as 7,000K (6,726C) on reentry, then endure a prolonged glide phase compared to an intermediate-range system, said Christopher Combs, who researches hypersonic aerodynamics as an assistant professor at the University of Texas-San Antonio. “The bottom line is it's just crazy temperatures,” Combs said. “They're still not dealing with space shuttle or Apollo [capsule] temperatures, but it's still really hot.” The rescinded RFI, meanwhile, also may provide a rare glimpse into the Air Force's plans for the new ICBM developed under the Ground Based Strategic Deterrent (GBSD) program. Apart from the thermal-protection system for a hypersonic glider, the scope of effort in the RFI sought industry input on a variety of topics, including: • Fusing data from lower-fidelity, onboard sensors to improve guidance, navigation and control. • New navigation aids to correct inertial measurement unit drift on long-time-of-flight missions. • A lighter, smaller and more efficient “future fuze,” which also could “accept inputs from external subsystems.” • Radiation-hardening techniques for advanced microelectronics, such as a system on a chip or system in a package. • Improved computer hardware and software, including artificial intelligence algorithms. • A more secure architecture and better security sensors for ICBM ground facilities. The Air Force plans to award the contract to Northrop Grumman by the end of the month to launch the engineering and manufacturing development contract for the GBSD program. Northrop remained the sole bidder for the program to deliver more than 600 new ICBMs to the Air Force after a Boeing-led team withdrew from the competition last year. https://aviationweek.com/defense-space/missile-defense-weapons/usaf-errantly-reveals-research-icbm-range-hypersonic-glide

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  27 juillet 2018 | International, C4ISR

  The Pentagon just got one step closer to awarding its $10 billion cloud contract

  Amanda Macias The Pentagon released its final request for proposal for the Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure, or JEDI, contract. The lucrative winner-take-all deal may be valued at as much as $10 billion. Amazon is considered the front-runner for the contract since the tech giant already services the cloud system used by U.S. intelligence agencies. The Defense Department took a large step forward Thursday in its march toward procuring a secure cloud software, an acquisition potentially worth up to $10 billion. After a nearly two-month delay, the Pentagon released its final request for proposal for the Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure, or JEDI, contract. The long-awaited final request for proposal simply outlines what companies will have to deliver in order to get the lucrative deal. The Pentagon's cloud project will transition massive amounts of data to a commercially operated secure cloud system. The deal is a "single-source" award, meaning that only one company will win the entirety of the contract. Amazon is considered the front-runner for the contract since the tech giant already services the cloud system used by U.S. intelligence agencies. Amazon's cloud boasts the highest possible security level, while many of its competitors' clouds do not. However, other cloud providers — such as IBM, Microsoft and Oracle — have worked with government agencies for many decades. That could help their chances of winning the decade-long JEDI contract. The DoD "has an incredibly unique and complex technology estate and finite set of talent and resources," Pentagon Chief Information Officer Dana Deasy said in a statement. "We need help learning how to put in place an enterprise cloud and the JEDI Cloud is a pathfinder effort that will help Department of Defense do that." Experts think the deal could be a seismic development in the defense-tech world. "This award could be market-shaping," Andrew Hunter, director of the Defense-Industrial Initiatives Group at the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said in an interview. "I think industry's concern is that this will be the premier cloud contract, the flagship one, and that other parts of DoD will gravitate to it," he added. "So, I think whoever wins the contract is likely to have a real advantage in the marketplace going forward but not necessarily a decisive one." The desire to award a multibillion-dollar, two-year cloud contract was largely set into motion after Secretary of Defense James Mattis visited Silicon Valley last year. Federal defense agencies widely use Microsoft's server software, which integrates easily with the company's Azure public cloud, and among employees, Windows is the most popular operating system, Leigh Madden, Microsoft's general manager of defense, told CNBC in a prior interview. "I think it certainly should make a difference," he said. Similarly, IBM has worked alongside the military for decades. "We look forward to submitting a thoughtful, comprehensive proposal for a JEDI cloud that will serve the long-term needs of America's men and women in uniform," Sam Gordy, IBM's Federal general manager, said in a statement. In the midst of all this, President Donald Trump has attacked Amazon on Twitter, particularly as he rails against The Washington Post, which is owned by Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos, for the newspaper's coverage of his administration. A Vanity Fair report said the Trump administration might try to "cancel Amazon's pending contract" with the Pentagon, but the department maintains that there has been no political pressure from the White House on who should win the multibillion-dollar deal. U.S. Navy Commander Patrick Evans, a Department of Defense spokesperson, reiterated that the Pentagon's process is "transparent" and will remain "a full and open competition." "No companies were pre-selected. We have no favorites, and we want the best solution for the department," Evans said. Similarly, chief Pentagon spokesperson Dana White also addressed speculation Thursday that Amazon was in the lead to take the lucrative defense contract. "The secretary has been very clear that we need to be good stewards of the American people's money," White said. "So, nothing is taken for granted and nothing is presumed. We will get a full, open and transparent competition, and this is the first of many competitions with respect to the cloud." The Pentagon is scheduled to award the contract in September. — CNBC's Jordan Novet contributed to this report. https://www.cnbc.com/2018/07/26/pentagon-takes-step-closer-to-awarding-10-billion-cloud-contract.html

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  5 février 2019 | International, Naval

  Sous-marins : la France et l'Australie vont verrouiller le contrat du siècle

  Par Michel Cabirol L'Australie et le groupe naval vont signer l'accord cadre de leur partenariat stratégique (Strategic Partnering Agreement). Naval Group devrait signer avant le printemps un contrat portant sur le design des sous-marins et estimé entre 1 et 2 milliards d'euros. En Australie, Naval Group va bientôt voir la lumière après un très, très long tunnel de négociations. Lundi prochain, l'Australie et le groupe naval tricolore vont signer l'accord cadre de leur partenariat stratégique (Strategic Partnering Agreement ou SPA) en présence de Florence Parly et de son homologue australien Christopher Pyne, selon l'entourage de la ministre des Armées. Des négociations qui avaient commencé début février 2017. Un accord intergouvernemental entre l'Australie et la France avait été signé en décembre 2016. Ce contrat "chapeau" intègre toutes les clauses de transferts de technologies, de garanties, de risques et de couvertures notamment sur la durée du contrat (50 ans). Il doit également protéger les propriétés intellectuelles de Naval Group. C'est donc l'aboutissement de négociations tripartites très complexes, qui vont en grande partie verrouiller le contrat du siècle pour Naval Group, sélectionné en 2016 par Canberra pour fabriquer douze sous-marins à propulsion classique pour un montant évalué à 50 milliards de dollars australiens (36,2 milliards d'euros). Rassurer l'Australie Cet accord vise principalement à assurer à (et rassurer) l'Australie que Naval Group sera capable tout au long de la durée de la vie du contrat des sous-marins (50 ans) de maintenir son outil industriel. La France a dû donner son assurance à l'Australie que Naval Group existera encore dans 50 ans pour assurer l'entretien des douze b'timents qui sont stratégiques pour Canberra. De même, selon l'entourage de la ministre, le résultat des prochaines élections législatives australiennes, qui doivent avoir lieu au premier semestre 2019 afin de renouveler l'intégralité des 151 sièges de la Chambre des représentants et 40 des 76 sièges du Sénat, ne devrait pas changer l'accord entre l'Australie et Naval Group. Des assurances par l'opposition ont été données à la ministre lors de son passage en septembre dernier. Un deuxième contrat en voie d'être signé L'Australie devrait signer avant le printemps un deuxième contrat avec Naval Group, qui porte sur le design des sous-marins. Il était attendu depuis octobre 2017. Le montant est évalué entre 1 et 2 milliards d'euros. Ce contrat lancera officiellement les activités du bureau d'études du groupe naval en matière de design et d'analyse fonctionnelle des futurs b'timents. Il permettra de définir non seulement les spécificités opérationnelles des sous-marins mais également de déterminer le coût et les délais de fabrication. Enfin, il restera ensuite à Naval Group de signer le contrat de fabrication des douze sous-marins... Soit le contrat du sicèle. Naval Group avait signé en septembre 2016 un premier contrat opérationnel d'environ 300 millions d'euros, dénommé "Design and Mobilisation Contract". Il avait permis de lancer les activités de structuration du programme et de coordination avec le groupe américain Lockheed Martin, l'intégrateur du système de combat et les partenaires australiens. https://www.latribune.fr/entreprises-finance/industrie/aeronautique-defense/sous-marins-la-france-et-l-australie-vont-verrouiller-le-contrat-du-siecle-806260.html