21 février 2023 | International, Autre défense
DoD small business chief presses to revive innovation fund
The number of small business participating in the American defense-industrial base declined by more than 40% in the past decade.
11 mai 2020 | International, Aérospatial
Okinawan Exercise Offers Glimpse Into Future USAF Air War Strategy
The technological details of the U.S. Air Force's new approach to fighting an air war in the next decade are still being fine-tuned in laboratory experiments and simulation centers, but a few of the dramatic changes are already visible here at Kadena AB on the rocky shores of Okinawa, Japan.
A local exercise held in January called WestPac Rumrunner appeared to be built around a routine counter-air scenario: Twenty-four Boeing F-15Cs scrambled from Kadena AB to a point about 100 mi. east of the island to intercept “invading” U.S. Navy Boeing F/A-18E/Fs launched from MCAS Iwakuni on Japan's mainland. Meanwhile, Special Operations Forces (SOF) aircraft attempted to infiltrate a team of commandos on the island.
Underlying that routine setup, however, was a glimpse of the future. Four Kadena-based F-15Cs refueled and rearmed during the exercise at MCAS Futenma on Okinawa. Another mainland Japan-based Navy E-2D, which supported Kadena's F-15Cs against the invading F/A-18E/Fs and SOF teams, refueled at Kadena. Although those seem like trivial logistical details, both offered a chance to test the Air Force's new Agile Combat Employment (ACE) strategy. Moreover, the Navy's Northrop Grumman E-2Ds and local MIM-104 Army Patriot batteries added layers to the defenders' battle-management tasks.
WestPac Rumrunner was not the full realization of ACE or Joint All-Domain Command and Control (JADC2), but the event was a tiny step on a pivotal base within the first island chain east of China.
“We're trying to use all of our exercises to learn something about Agile Combat Employment and base defense,” Gen. Charles Brown, Jr., commander of Pacific Air Forces (PACAF), told Aviation Week in February. Brown has directed PACAF-controlled wings to start experimenting with two concepts that require a change in mindset as much as technology.
“I don't think we've got all the answers yet, but [such events provide] feedback or validate some things we've tried to do,” Brown says. “And then we ask, ‘How do you put that into our doctrine and change our approach?'”
Adapting base defenses and logistics lines across the sprawling PACAF region is a major focus for the Air Force. In February, Air Force leaders rolled out a budget proposal that includes a new logistics-under-attack initiative. The goal is to make bases more resilient to coordinated attacks aimed at weakening or destroying the hubs currently used to rearm and refuel combat aircraft.
“The key aspect of ACE is to be light, lean and agile,” Brown says. “So your logistics do not become something that's a challenge.”
Most of the details of the new initiative are classified, but Air Force leaders have acknowledged the plan involves dispersing forces to remote airstrips and building up base defenses.
Brown also favors distributing nascent technologies such as directed-energy weapons, to serve as point defenses, lest the Air Force face the cost of deploying sophisticated kinetic systems, such as Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense (THAAD) or Patriot batteries to the dispersal sites around the region. Brown, who has been selected to become the next chief of staff, also has said he is interested in examining novel power sources such as a future class of small, modular nuclear fission reactors to serve as the generators for such high-power systems.
Part of the logistics initiative has already been set in motion. PACAF eventually wants to preposition weapon systems in cargo containers around the region, but that first requires host nation approval. In the meantime, the command is laying the groundwork with proposals to preposition humanitarian relief supplies.
“It really started out with [humanitarian assistance and disaster relief] capabilities that you can put in different locations,” Brown says. “If you look at this region, it's full of typhoons, volcanoes, earthquakes. And we respond to a lot of those. That, to me, is a way to start the process.”
The focus on lightness and agility also marks a change. One way to reduce threats to the logistics systems is to reduce the tonnage required to support an operation, thus decreasing the overall demand for airlift. That emphasis could lead to design requirements for lighter and more efficient weapon systems, but the focus now is on paring down logistics needs to essentials and using software applications to drive new decisions about what that means.
“This is where I think we start talking about data and being able to understand that better so we can forecast better,” Brown says. “And we're not bringing everything just in case—you actually bring what you need.”
Finally, protecting the mobility fleet that delivers the equipment to dispersed and remote bases is another priority. Air Mobility Command, for example, has funded defensive upgrades for the Boeing KC-135 and Lockheed C-130H fleets, providing those previously undefended aircraft with warning systems and countermeasures against infrared- and radio-frequency-guided missiles. Another way to defend the mobility fleet is to make it harder for an adversary to guess where such aircraft will take off and land.
“I can put [defensive aids] on a single airplane, and that's important, but I also want to look at the places we're operating from,” he says. “This is why we were looking at Agile Combat Employment. So instead of dispersing on an airfield, we disperse [combat aircraft] across airfields. And then I've got to defend that.”
In addition to being costly weapon systems, THAAD and Patriot batteries also require significant airlift support to relocate and sustain, Brown says. “I'm looking for things that are lighter, leaner, where you have a more unlimited magazine, and the cost curve is different, so you can reserve your very expensive interceptor against a ballistic or cruise missile or hypersonic missile. At some point, though, you can't afford it. So having a high-power microwave and directed energy gives us a lot more flexibility to go to different locations. That's the thought process. I think there's good dialog about it. We still have a ways to go.”
The first steps are taking place in local exercises, such as WestPac Rumrunner. The Kadena-based 18th Wing scored the counter-air element of the event as a success. No Carrier Air Wing Five F/A-18E/F “invaders” infiltrated the 100-mi. boundary zone circling the island. An SOF team successfully landed an insertion team, but the 44th Fighter Sqdn.'s F-15Cs immediately “killed” the infiltration aircraft, says Lt. Col. Ryan Corrigan, commander of the 44th Fighter Sqdn.
The event's focus on practicing the ACE concept added another layer of complexity. Dispersed operations are not new to the Okinawan F-15Cs. A decade ago, Kadena's squadrons helped pioneer a concept called Agile Eagle, which paired enough airlifters and tankers to move a group of F-15Cs anywhere in the region at a moment's notice. The idea further evolved into the Rapid Raptor concept, which applied a similar operational model to F-22s based at Hickam AFB in Hawaii, and then into the wider ACE strategy, but it still presents a challenge to the hub-based mindset of PACAF units. Widely dispersed high-energy lasers defending bases from saturation missile attacks still seem years into the future, although field experiments with counter-unmanned aircraft systems designed by Raytheon and the Air Force Research Laboratory have begun. In the meantime, the focus on the unit level is about making practical changes.
“What we can take care of now is training to not be an easy target,” Corrigan says. “It is finding the right level of acceptable risk to right-size the support package that goes with that deployment team. So [for example], now I don't need to bring both a weapons loader and a refuel team because I have trained my weapons loader to know how to put gas in several different types of aircraft.”
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14 juin 2018 | International, Aérospatial
Despite some opposition, US on course to deliver F-35s to Turkey on June 21
WASHINGTON — The U.S. government is proceeding with plans to deliver the first F-35 to Turkey, with the country set to accept its first jet on June 21 despite opposition from some in Congress. A Lockheed Martin spokesman confirmed to Defense News that it's still gearing up for a rollout ceremony at its production facilities in Fort Worth next week. “The F-35 program traditionally hosts a ceremony to recognize every U.S. and international customer's first aircraft. The rollout ceremony for Turkey's first F-35 aircraft is scheduled for June 21,” the spokesman said in a written statement to Defense News. “The aircraft will then ferry to Luke Air Force Base, Arizona, where Turkish pilots will join the F-35A training pool.” The Senate is set to vote this week on the annual defense policy bill, which includes language that would prohibit the U.S. government from “transfer of title” to Turkey until the time that the Defense Department submits a report to Congress on removal of Turkey from the F-35 program. But even if that language succeeds in the Senate, the defense policy bill will proceed to conference, where a group of armed services committee members will hammer out differences between the House and Senate versions to emerge with a single, final piece of legislation. That process could take months. Congress's opposition to allowing Turkey to purchase the F-35 hovers around two points: the country's detainment of American pastor Andrew Brunson and a deal to purchase the Russian S-400 air defense system. But for now, it appears that the Defense Department has no plans to keep Turkey from getting its first F-35 or to put restrictions on its use at Luke AFB. Thomas Goffus, the Defense Department's deputy assistant secretary of defense for Europe and NATO, acknowledged during an Atlantic Council event Wednesday that Turkey's acquistion of the S-400 could present the U.S. military and NATO alliance with added technical risks. But he would not go as far to spell out what actions the Defense Department is considering or could consider later down the road — perhaps a sign that the Pentagon is waiting to see how this legislation shakes out. “We have a process to evaluate the risks to Western technology that that [procurement] would present. Our preference is that they do not acquire the S-400,” Goffus said. “Given that, they are a sovereign nation, and they are trying to take care of their defense needs,” he added. “What restrictions are placed on them and what Congress will eventually pass, I can't even speculate on it on this point.” By the time Congress passes legislation that could curb Anakara's F-35 ownership, the country will likely have already started building up its first squadron at Luke AFB. There, Turkish pilots and maintainers will train alongside U.S. ones, moving from academic courseware to live flights. NATO and U.S. Defense Department officials have warned Turkey that if it continues down the path of purchasing the S-400, it will not be able to plug it in with NATO technologies like the F-35. SASC, in its policy bill, echoed those concerns, saying that Turkey's purchase of Russian hardware would “degrade the general security of the NATO alliance [...] and degrade interoperability of the alliance.” After a meeting in Washington with U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo earlier this month, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu expressed confidence that the United States would not only deliver the first F-35 to Turkey as planned, but that it would ultimately decide to continue F-35 sales to Turkey. “Turkey rejects threatening language from the U.S. on the issue, it is not constructive,” Çavuşoğlu said on June 4, according to a report from the Turkish newsgroup Anadolu Agency. Turkey plans to buy 100 F-35As. As a partner of the program, its domestic defense industry helps build the Joint Strike Fighter. Most notably, Turkish Aerospace Industries' serves as a manufacturer of the aircraft's center fuselage. It has also been chosen as a sustainment hub for the international F-35 community. https://www.defensenews.com/smr/nato-priorities/2018/06/13/despite-some-opposition-us-on-course-to-deliver-f-35s-to-turkey-on-june-21/
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22 avril 2020 | International, Naval, C4ISR
For the Navy’s hospital ships, networking is yet another challenge
Andrew Eversden When the Navy hospital ship Comfort deployed to Haiti in 2010 following devastating earthquakes, media organizations broadcasting in the area ate up so much satellite bandwidth that the ship had to revert to paper processes and adjust its satellite communications for some ship-to-shore messaging. While the outages weren't a widespread issue, said Sean Kelley, who served as the ship's top IT officer at the time, the problem highlighted a challenge these ships face: broadband. Now, the hospital ships Mercy and Comfort are deployed to Los Angeles and New York, respectively, and are in the national spotlight as symbols of the coronavirus pandemic relief effort. But security and IT experts say the ships' mission presents the Navy with distinct networking problems, from cybersecurity to network connection for patients. Onboard devices When disaster strikes, the Navy's hospital ships deploy in a matter of days, mobilizing with a crew of about 100-1,200 personnel. But the influx of staff also leads to an incursion of devices, all of which must be secure and require bandwidth. “You have a lot of different people going to a lot of different places that now have to be acclimated to this environment,” said Kelley, now executive vice president at Unissant, an IT and cybersecurity company. “So that's really one of the biggest challenges, is getting all those things turned on, all those things activated, making sure that they are all compliant with the latest patches and fixes, and making sure they're good.” This process can be a “nightmare,” said retired Rear Adm. Danelle Barrett, former deputy chief information officer of the Navy and cybersecurity division director. “The challenging part is always in the first couple days whenever this happens,” said Barrett, who oversaw communications and cyberspace for Operation Unified Response, the U.S. military's mission in Haiti following the 2010 earthquake. “The team is coalescing about how they want to operate, and they're getting their feet wet, getting new accounts on networks ... [getting] their logins.” Cybersecurity aboard the ships is also complex. Both ships have 1,000 beds, 12 operating rooms, blood banks, labs, medical devices and a multitude of other “internet of things” devices connected to hospital beds. According to a 2018 survey by health care IoT security company Zingbox, each bed can have as many as 10-15 IoT devices. “They have to be cyber-ready, or the mission of the Mercy is considered [degraded],” said Dean Hullings, global defense solutions strategist at Forescout, which handles Comply to Connect — a Defense Department framework created to ensure the cybersecurity of new devices — for the USNS Mercy. Ensuring connectivity For the devices to function, they need connectivity. When the ships arrived in ports in late March, technology firm CenturyLink “donated” connectivity to the Mercy, while Verizon provided connectivity to the Comfort. Former and current Navy officials told C4ISRNET that adequate broadband is the most challenging IT consideration faced by these ships. “Obviously you're going to be transferring imagery of X-rays or things like that that are more dense and require a ... higher data rate, so that bandwidth in port is important,” Barrett said. And with the introduction of patients, bandwidth needs become more complex. “The greatest communications challenge we are going to face during this deployment is the increased need for patients to communicate off the ship during their stay,” Tom Van Leunen, a spokesman for Military Sealift Command, told C4ISRNET. “Our hospital ships are designed to support official communication for the ship's crew and embarked medical community to complete their job. Adding a capability for patients to reach loved ones increases the risk of saturating the bandwidth off the ship.” Aboard both ships, the Navy doubled the bandwidth, he said, adding that Navy personnel also set up separate networks for patients' communications. While this solves one networking problem, it can also create an increased cybersecurity risk. Securing the ships Cybersecurity on the hospital ships follows the same standard practices as the rest of the Navy fleet. Since those aboard are largely Navy medical staff and personnel, they know what activities are acceptable on the network, Barrett said. “You can't just go and plug anything into that network because of potential vulnerabilities that that system may bring that could affect not just the ship, but remember, the ship is then connected to the rest of the [Department of Defense Information Network],” Barrett said. “So risk by one is shared by all.” ForeScout's Hullings said a hospital environment “epitomizes” why the Comply to Connect program is necessary. The ship has desktops, servers, routers, printers and other networks equipment, as well as mobile devices, such as tablets, that health care providers use to track patient care. “The truly unique stuff is the mission systems of the hospital, like X-ray machines, MRI machines, the beds themselves in the post-operative recovery rooms, that are all sensors. And they are all passing data. They have to be protected,” Hullings said. A spokesperson for the Navy told C4ISRNET that the ships are prepared for the cybersecurity challenges associated with their missions, but declined to address what additional cybersecurity challenges are introduced with the addition of private citizens. “These ships have routinely deployed in humanitarian assistance missions such as Pacific Partnership (USNS Mercy) and Continuing Promise (USNS Comfort) that required them to operate in partner nation ports, with foreign national patients being brought to and from the ship,” said Cmdr. Dave Benham, a spokesman for the Navy's 10th Fleet. “In all operating locations, we take appropriate precautions to keep our networks secure, and we do not discuss specific measures in order to protect operational security.” Cybersecurity on the hospital ships follow the same protocols as any other Military Sealift Command ship, said Benham. “Protecting our networks is a continuous challenge, and the overarching concern is to ensure that the right information gets to the right place at the right time with the right level of protection,” he explained. Cybersecurity aboard the hospital ships follow similar efforts to those recommendations made by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention: Wash your hands. “It's ‘wash your hands' with your computer, too,” Barrett said. “Do good hygiene with your computer.” https://www.c4isrnet.com/it-networks/2020/04/21/for-the-navys-hospital-ships-networking-is-yet-another-challenge/