Ministry of the Armed Forces brings development of future Joint Light Helicopter forward

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  2 janvier 2019 | International, C4ISR

  Four big questions for cybersecurity in 2019

  By: Justin Lynch How will cybersecurity experts remember 2018? In the past year, the Trump administration announced it would take more offensive hacking operations against foreign countries, the Department of Justice announcedsweeping indictments against Chinese hackers and the U.S. intelligence community reported that foreign countries continued to interfere in American elections. So what comes next? Here are four overarching questions for the cybersecurity community in 2019: What will the new Pentagon chief do with expanded cyber powers? In August, the president gave the secretary of Defense the ability to conduct cyberattacks against foreign countries so long as they do not interfere with the national interest of the United States, according to four current and former White House and intelligence officials. But the resignation of Jim Mattis, the Defense secretary, means the next Pentagon chief will have a broad arsenal of cyber authorities. For the cyber community, Patrick Shanahan, the current acting secretary, is a relative unknown. He has not given significant insight into how he views the role of offensive cyberattacks for the Pentagon, and his scheduled Jan. 1 elevation comes as some in the Trump administration and U.S. Cyber Command have pushed for even more authorities. However, he has spoken at length about the need for the defense industry to bolster its own cyber practices. Although the appointment of Shanahan as acting Pentagon chief is temporary, he is on the short list of officials who may take on the job full time. The new Pentagon chief may also have to decide when the National Security Agency and U.S. Cyber Command should split. Both bodies are led by Gen. Paul Nakasone, but that may change. Cyber Command is in the process of gaining its own infrastructure to conduct offensive cyberattacks, and a Pentagon official told Fifth Domain in November that it appeared the split was all but certain to happen in the coming years, although no formal decision as been made. What comes next in the U.S.-China cyber relationship? The Department of Justice released a flurry of indictments against Chinese hackers in 2018, accusing Beijing's cyber sleuths of infiltrating American government agencies and defense contractors. The most recent round of allegations came Dec. 18, and the legal action could continue in 2019. While announcing the most recent indictments, Deputy Attorney General Rod Rosenstein accused China of breaking an agreement not to use hacked materials for commercial use, although he did not offer evidence. The hacking allegations come amid a broader trade war between the United States and China. Experts have told Fifth Domain a trade war could increase digital tension between the two nations. If the trade war continues, experts say they see little incentive for China to limit its cyberattacks. Will America suffer blowback for more offensive cyber operations? When the Trump administration announced the United States would take more offensive actions in cyberspace, some in the federal cybersecurity community criticized the plan as faulty. “The side effects of the strategy of ‘persistent engagement' and ‘defend forward' are still ill-understood,” Max Smeets and Herb Lin, experts at Stanford University wrote for Lawfare. “A United States that is more powerful in cyberspace does not necessarily mean one that is more stable or secure.” Experts also warn of making any rush judgments about the effectiveness of these offensive cyberattacks. Current and former intelligence officials worry that uncovering and attributing a hack can take more than a year, and, even then, that process is not perfect. One former official pointed to the leaked documents about Russian targeting of American election infrastructure in 2016 that was sent to the news organization the Intercept. It took months for the intelligence community to understand the full extent of the hack, the official said, an example of how long it takes to detect a cyberattack. However, all of that means it is reasonable to expect that the merits of the new offensive cyber operations may not be known publicly for years. Will Congress take action to streamline cybersecurity contracting and research? Yes, changing the way government does business is ambitious. But experts argue that if the United States wants to keep up with digital innovations from China and other countries it is necessary to change the American government's relationship with the private sector and academia. The effort to streamline cybersecurity funding and research will fall to the new Congress, in which Democrats will take over the House of Representatives. But when it comes to the U.S. government's relationship with the cyber industry, structural barriers to innovation remain. On average, it takes roughly seven years for an idea to get a contract inside the U.S. government. In that length of time, a product is already two generations old. Former Pentagon officials have used the digital fight against the Islamic State as an example of how long the process takes. It took roughly two years for Cyber Command to receive the proper equipment and training after the order to digitally defeat the Islamic State, officials told Fifth Domain. In addition, the cybersecurity industry is watching a series of bills in Congress. Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., has pushed for a streamlined security clearance process, and industry officials told Fifth Domain they expect him to continue the effort in the new year. The bill could make it easier and cheaper to get a security clearance. And many in the federal cybersecurity community have called for a change in academia's relationship with cybersecurity. The universities and research institutions in the United States focusing on quantum computing are “subpar,” George Barnes, deputy director at the NSA said in June. Experts say that quantum computers will make traditional cybersecurity methods obsolete because of the expansive computing power. However, new investments in artificial intelligence and a new Solarium Commission, which was created to help contextualize cyber in the broader national and economic security discussion, may provide solutions to these problems. https://www.fifthdomain.com/industry/2018/12/31/four-big-questions-for-cybersecurity-in-2019

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  14 mars 2019 | International, Terrestre

  At advent of ambitious mod plan, US Army seeks $190B in FY20

  By: Jen Judson WASHINGTON — The U.S. Army is asking for about $190 billion in fiscal 2020, an increase of roughly $8 billion above last year's budget top line, which will cover the cost of the advent of an ambitious modernization plan, a defense official told Defense News ahead of the White House's FY20 budget request release. Breaking that top line down, the service is requesting roughly $120 billion in its base budget and then another $31 billion in Overseas Contingency Operations-for-base funding. The Army is asking for another $30 billion in traditional OCO funding — which is the account used to pay for wartime operations in theater — and another $10 billion to cover emergency funds, according to the source. The budget is expected to be officially released March 12. OCO-for-base funding is money that could be in the base budget, but is classified as OCO for the purpose of getting around statutory budget caps imposed by the Budget Control Act. Both Congress and the Pentagon have relied on OCO as a workaround for the budget caps in the past. Full article: https://www.defensenews.com/land/2019/03/09/at-advent-of-ambitious-mod-plan-army-seeks-190b-in-fy20

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  29 juillet 2020 | International, Aérospatial

  A Modern Solution To Improved Performance, Cost, Use For The Venerable Chinook

  It's the dream of military acquisition in 2020: A new system that drops into place in a current piece of hardware, provides improved performance, easier maintenance, and builds on a legacy of more than 12 million battle-proven hours of operation. It's the T55 714C, Honeywell Aerospace's new variant of the venerable T55 turboshaft engine used on American helicopters and fixed wing aircraft since 1955. The engine's starring role, however, is aboard Boeing's CH-47A and MH-47 rotorcraft, known as the Chinook. The heavy-lift Chinook that has served the Army consistently, as well as international customers, for more than 60 years features two counter-rotating rotors that eliminate the need for an antitorque vertical rotor. The unique design requiring two T55 engines per aircraft allows all the T55's power to be used for lift and thrust and enable perhaps the toughest helicopter pilot maneuver known—the pinnacle landing. In the years since the T55 and Chinook entered service in 1962, Honeywell has delivered more than 6,000 engines, with 2,500 engines in service today supporting 950 aircraft operating in 20 countries. Dave Marinick, Honeywell's President of Engines and Power Systems, says throughout all these years the company has invested in the engine, from its original 1,600 shp capability to today as the T55 produces 4,800 shp to power the Chinook to a maximum speed 196 mph. But now, with Future Vertical Lift and its high-speed rotorcraft on the horizon, Honeywell looked again at what the Army needed to power the Chinook to fill the heavy lift role as the Future Armed Reconnaissance Aircraft and Future Long-Range Assault Aircraft go into service. "Looking back at the multi-decade history, characterized by a close relationship with the Army and an understanding of how the aircraft is used—how the army flies the Chinook, how they maintain the Chinook—we have been able to focus on what is important to our customer," Marinick adds. The Charlie variant of the T55 fits the bill, according to Marinick. It maintains the current engine architecture, while offering 20% more power, nearly 10% improved performance at high and hot altitudes and using 9% less fuel. It includes a modern full authority digital engine control with health monitoring. "We designed in a cost-effective way to increase power to 6,000 shp, and we have a roadmap to increase that up to 7,500 shp," Marinick says. "And while saving gas is one thing, we also are extending the range with the new engine, allowing the pilot to fly or loiter longer, an important option for the operators using this aircraft—whether for military missions, fire suppression or disaster relief." In addition to its performance improvements, the T55 714C features a new compressor and improved reliability and lifecycle. The accessory section has also been redesigned based on feedback from Army customers. In the past, maintainers had to pull the engine entirely to access the accessory section on the number 2 engine. The redesign shifts the accessory section to the top of the engine, providing easier and saving hundreds of man hours to make a switch. There are no changes to the engine mounts, making the T55 714C a drop-in replacement. It can be installed as a full-up new engine or as a kit that is introduced during overhaul. "In this concept, we are turning a maintenance event into much more—a Chinook leaving with new engines, without requiring a block upgrade. We're delivering major performance improvements, without tearing up the aircraft," Marinick says. The engine's tooling, logistics and training remain the same, further reducing the time required to introduce a much-improved engine. The new engine comes with another major change. The U.S. Army has completed a product verification audit to provide approval for Honeywell to open a state-of-the-art T55 Repair and Overhaul Center of Excellence near the company's Phoenix, Arizona headquarters. Marinick says the new facility will increase throughput by two to three times the previous capacity for CH-47 Chinook helicopter fleets. The move also establishes a larger pool of highly trained technicians who will work alongside the engineering team to streamline feedback and help to inform future upgrades. The company has also launched an initiative to ensure on-time delivery of materials from suppliers to support the expanded capacity. "Future Vertical Lift is upon us," Marinick says, "We think of the Charlie as an affordable, responsible upgrade and service designed to keep the Chinook at optimum performance and readiness in a realistic way, through 2060." Honeywell's upgraded T55 Charlie engine is expected to be ready for flight test at the end of 2022. For more Information about the T55, click here.