L3, Northrop Selected for Next Generation Jammer Work; Program Stalled After Raytheon Protest

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

  Top Defense Execs Ask For Help in Next COVID Stimulus Package

  The biggest defense manufacturers in the world warned the Pentagon and OMB of "significant job losses in pivotal states" if Congress doesn't come up with stimulus money to cover unforeseen expenses. By PAUL MCLEARYon July 08, 2020 at 4:16 PM WASHINGTON: A group of CEOs leading the world's top defense firms sent letters to Pentagon acquisition chief Ellen Lord and and Office of Management and Budget director Russell Vought on Wednesday, citing “significant job losses in pivotal states” if the federal government doesn't step in to assist with COVID-related costs. Electoral maps have traditionally acted as a tried and tested tool defense contractors use when making pitches to both the Pentagon and Congress, as a way of showing where the jobs sit in different congressional districts. The letter to Lord was signed by the leaders of Lockheed Martin, General Dynamics, Boeing, Raytheon, and BAE Systems, which represent five of the top seven defense companies in the world. Huntington Ingalls, Textron Inc., and L3Harris Technologies also signed onto the letter, which was obtained by Breaking Defense, requesting the Pentagon's help in pressing for stimulus money in the Senate's next rescue package. The Senate is slated to debate in the coming days. Lord has previously estimated the Pentagon would have to pay more than “lower double digit billions” to offset costs borne by defense manufacturers in lost work hours, buying PPE equipment and propping up smaller suppliers. Speaking to reporters at the Pentagon last month, Lord said she's seeing a “three-month slowdown to all programs due to COVID-19,” after the virus shut down defense manufacturing facilities and production lines across the globe. The vast majority of defense firms have operated at reduced capacity over the past several months, and Lord said the Pentagon continues to see the biggest impacts in the aviation and shipbuilding supply chains. The CEOs write that US-based supply chains “are simply not able to absorb these significant costs. Without additional funding in the next stimulus package, the resolution of [reimbursement] claims will need to be funded from existing DoD budget topline resources for FY20-22.” That would cause “significant reductions” in research and procurement budgets, they said, before pivoting to warning about Defense Secretary Mark Esper's top priority: modernizing weapons systems to keep abreast of China and Russia. Placing the burden on the companies to use their own case to meet unplanned emergency costs risks “thwarting the Department's ability to meet the challenges and threats associated with great power competition” they add. In order to keep the smaller suppliers afloat, companies have pushed contracts forward to give the smaller supplier more work, and in turn, DoD has sped up planned payments to the defense industry, hitting the $2 billion mark in recent weeks. Speaking at a Brookings Institution event this morning, Lord didn't mention the letter, but talked about moving more production of defense equipment to the United States from overseas. Part of that effort stems from President Trump's “American First” push to build up the domestic manufacturing sector, but Chinese influence in electronic supply chains is also a big concern. During a visit to the Fincantieri Marinette Marine shipyard in Wisconsin late last month, Trump said “we'll always live by two simple rules: Buy American and hire American.” Lord phrased the idea differently, saying she prefers to have two sources for equipment, and “we would like one of those, if possible, to be domestic.” That issue has been highlighted in the global pandemic shutdown which wreaked havoc on global supply chains. “We just found that particularly with microelectronics, we have gotten ourselves into a potentially compromised position,” Lord said. “Where we have US intellectual property going offshore for fabrication and packaging leaves us with some vulnerability there. That is unacceptable moving forward.” During his Wisconsin visit, Trump suggested that one of the considerations for awarding a $795 million contract to the US home of the Italian shipbuilder was its location in a competitive state in the 2020 presidential election. “You notice that's not a supply chain going through China and going through other countries,” he said, adding, “I hear the maneuverability is one of the big factors that you were chosen for the contract. The other is your location in Wisconsin, if you want to know the truth.” https://breakingdefense.com/2020/07/top-defense-execs-ask-for-help-in-next-covid-stimulus-package

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  23 janvier 2019 | International, C4ISR

  The Army wants to use AI to prevent cyberattacks

  By: Justin Lynch If the U.S. Army has its way, soldiers deployed on the battlefield will be shielded from cyberattacks without human involvement. The Army's Aberdeen Proving Ground is conducting research into how artificial intelligence can protect soldiers' tactical networks and communications from cyberattacks, according to a Jan 14. announcement. Among the areas of research are ways for machine learning to automatically detect known cyber vulnerabilities, spot previously unknown malware and respond to a cyberattack. After the market research is submitted, the Army will use the submissions for informational and planning purposes only. The Army's hunt for AI research comes as the Pentagon has grown more interested in defending against cyberattacks that itself use machine learning. It is a future where machines will fight machines in cyberspace. That concern was evident in the service's announcement. “The cyber technology will secure automated network decisions and defend against adaptive autonomous cyberattacks at machine speed,” the Army wrote. Evidence of the Army's focus on AI was evident during the 2018 CyCon conference in November. The Army is interested in three primary categories of artificial intelligence attacks, Maj. Nathan Bastian, a researcher at the Army Cyber Institute said during the conference. First, data poisoning is a method in which an attacker inserts malicious information into a data set. Because artificial intelligence relies on these data sets to make decisions, their manipulation blunts machine learning's effectiveness, Bastian said. Second, an attack on artificial intelligence can take place by changing the classification methods. For example, if a cat is incorrectly labeled as a dog, than artificial intelligence's use is mitigated, Bastian said. Third, an inference attack, or figuring out where machine learning's boundaries lie, can be a weapon to defeat artificial intelligence. By discovering the limitations of the machine's algorithm, Bastian said hackers can manipulate its effectiveness. The Department of Defense has expanded its research into AI in recent months. In October 2018, the service created its AI task force, which is located at Carnegie Mellon University. Projects are initiated by the Army Futures Command. The Pentagon also created its Joint AI Center in the summer of 2018. At the CyCon conference, Brig. Gen. Matthew Easley, head of the Army's new AI task force, said that the Pentagon needs to integrate commercial AI products. “The commercial sector is driving current breakthroughs in applications of AI,” Easley said. Easley laid out four principles for what the Army sees as a successful AI project. They include clean data, an articulate use case, talent and technology. However, Easley cautioned about the boundaries of machine learning during the event. Limitations of AI can include a sample size that is too small and limited ability to use the machine learning in the field. He also said that AI struggles to detect zero-day attacks, which are programming bugs. “AI is not all that easy,” Easley said. “Realizing the potential of AI will require major transformation,” for the Pentagon. https://www.fifthdomain.com/dod/2019/01/22/the-army-wants-to-use-ai-to-prevent-cyberattacks

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  19 mars 2024 | International, Terrestre

  Pacific force’s wish list seeks $11 billion more than defense proposal

  Indo-Pacific Command says it faces an $11 billion funding gap for regional military construction, space programs, munitions and Guam missile defenses.