Northrop Grumman awarded $13.3 million for Blackjack payloads

Sur le même sujet

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  28 juin 2023 | International, Aérospatial

  Autonomous drones may help Air Force slash aircraft inspection times

  "A preflight inspection right now can take up to four hours," a Near Earth Autonomy official told reporters. "We can do it in 30 minutes."

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  23 novembre 2020 | International, Aérospatial

  IAI names Boaz Levy as new chief exec

  By: Seth J. Frantzman JERUSALEM — Israel Aerospace Industries has named Boaz Levy, its former vice president for the Systems Missiles and Space Group, as its new CEO. Levy's group oversaw major contracts for IAI over the years, including billion-dollar deals in India in 2018. He was also central to the Arrow 3 program, which was developed with U.S. support to intercept high-altitude targets in space, such as ballistic missiles. In his new position, Levy said he plans to lead the company through the challenges of the future. “IAI has transformed in recent years, but we still have a considerable way to achieve the company's potential and strengthen our position in existing and new markets,” he said. Levy's appointment was approved by the Board of Directors, according to a statement from the company. The search committee chose Levy to replace Nimrod Sheffer after announcing in July he would step down. Sheffer had replaced Joseph Weiss as CEO in 2018, who had been at the helm of the company for six years. Sheffer came from the strategic planning area of the company and had drafted a new growth strategy for IAI. In March the company said its annual revenue surpassed $4 billion for the first time. That was an increase from $3.6 billion in 2018 and $3.5 billion in 2017. IAI's chairman of the board, Harel Locker, praised the unanimous decision to nominate Levy. “Levy has successfully managed the Systems Missiles and Space Group — IAI's most profitable group that in recent years has made technological and financial groundbreaking achievements. Boaz knows the domestic and international defense market and understands our customer's needs,” Locker said. Sheffer officially stepped down on Oct. 31, and Levy's nomination has been submitted to Israeli Defense Minister Benny Gantz and Minister for Cyber and National Digital Matters Dudi Amsalem, who supervise the government's authority over IAI. IAI is one of Israel's three large defense companies along with Elbit Systems and Rafael Advanced Defense Systems. Many of the companies' capabilities are integrated into key Israeli weapon systems, such as the Iron Dome air defense system, which uses radar made by IAI subsidiary Elta Systems. Similarly, the new Sa'ar-class corvette will combine capabilities from IAI, including a new sea-to-sea missile the company recently tested. Levy was previously head of IAI's air defense division between 2010 and 2013. A graduate of Israel's Technion, he came to IAI in 1990 as an engineer and worked on the Arrow program in the 1990s and 2000s. According to IAI, he “headed the induction of the Arrow-2 into operational service.” He also headed the Barak-8 program, which IAI claims is one of the world's most advanced air defense systems. The Barak-8 is also a major revenue source for the company. In 2017, Levy indicated Israel aimed to build future interceptors beyond Arrow 2 and Arrow 3. The Arrow 3 is currently Israel's top tier in a multilayered air defense system that includes the Iron Dome and David's Sling, all programs supported by the U.S. More than 20 American states are involved in the production of Arrow 3. Israel faces increasing threats from Iran and also challenges at sea, which is partly why it has shifted its naval doctrine amid adoption of the new Sa'ar 6 corvettes, and also why it rolled out a new multiyear defense strategy called Momentum. The country has aso begun modernizing training, creating new military units and upgrading communications systems for its armed forces. https://www.defensenews.com/industry/2020/11/20/iai-names-boaz-levy-as-new-chief-exec

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  3 février 2020 | International, Aérospatial, Naval, Terrestre, C4ISR, Sécurité

  Pentagon finalizes first set of cyber standards for contractors

  Mark Pomerleau The Pentagon has finalized the long anticipated cybersecurity standards contractors will have to follow before winning contracts from the Department of Defense, a new process called the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) 1.0. The model is a tiered cybersecurity framework that grades companies on a scale of one to five based on the level of classification and security that necessary for the work they are performing. “The government and the contractor community must keep working together to address real and growing cybersecurity threats, and we need a robust response to protect our infrastructure, information, and supply chains,” said David Berteau, president and chief executive of the Professional Services Council, a trade association for federal contractors. “With today's announcement, DoD has achieved a significant milestone. Here's what industry officials need to know about the version finalized Jan. 31. Why it was needed Previously, the Pentagon did not have unified standard for cybersecurity that businesses needed to follow when bidding for contracts. Companies could claim to meet certain industry standards for cybersecurity, but those assertions were not tested by auditors, nor did the standards take into account the type of work a company was bidding to complete. Since then, defense officials have said that cybersecurity is not a one size fits all approach. In the meantime, adversaries have discovered it is easier to target unsuspecting down tier suppliers, rather than prime contractors. “Adversaries know that in today's great power competition environment, information and technology are both key cornerstones and attacking a sub-tier supplier is far more appealing than a prime,” Ellen Lord, the under secretary of defense for acquisition and sustainment, told reporters in a briefing at the Pentagon Jan. 31. Officials have said cyber theft by adversaries costs the United States about $600 billion a year. What will change? Contracts will mandate bidders reach a certain level of certification to win specific jobs. For example, if businesses aren't bidding on a contract that has extremely sensitive information, they must only achieve the first level of certification, which involves basic cybersecurity such as changing passwords and running antivirus software. More sensitive programs will require more stringent controls. Smaller companies down the supply chain will not, however, have to have the same level of certification as primes, said Katie Arrington, chief information security officer for the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and the point person for the certification. Another significant change with the new process is the creation of an accreditation board and assessors. The board is an outside entity, separate from DoD, that will be charged with approving assessors to certify companies in the process. The accreditation body was formed earlier this month and officials are working on identifying and training the assessors, which will be called Certified Third-Party Assessment Organizations (C3PAO). What's next? Officials explained Jan. 31 that CMMC will follow a crawl, walk, run approach to ensure companies aren't unprepared for the change. The accreditation board is in the process of training the auditors that will oversee the certificaion. Once the requirements are met, a company's certification is good for 3 years. In the meantime, DoD plans to release 10 requests for information and 10 requests for proposals that will include the new cyber standards this year. The first solicitation could come as early as June. Arrington said earlier this week that she expects 1,500 companies to be certified by the end of 2021. She added that all new contracts starting in fiscal year 2026 will contain the cybersecurity requirements, however, Lord noted that they will not be not retroactive to previous contracts. https://www.fifthdomain.com/dod/2020/01/31/pentagon-finalizes-first-set-of-cyber-standards-for-contractors/