26 septembre 2018 | International, Naval, C4ISR

On the new battlefield, the Navy has to get software updates to the fleet within days, acquisition boss says

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The Navy has to get software updates and patches to the fleet within days if it's going to win in the future, the Department of the Navy's acquisition boss said Sept. 25 at Modern Day Marine.

James Geurts, assistant secretary of the Navy for research, acquisition and development, said the fleet has been working on the rapid development of software to get needed upgrades to the ships ahead of pier-side availabilities, a pace he said was too slow for the modern battlefield.

“We recently did one of our proof-of-principles to say: ‘How do you take ... software, get it system certified, get it cyber certified then get it out over the airwaves, uploaded on to a ship and into the combat system in 24 hours,” Geurts said.

“My view is unless we get to the point where I can identify a software requirement, whether it's an [artificial intelligence] algorithm or something, find the solution, get it checked out on the network, give it whatever cyber-proofing it needs and get it into the fight in less than a week, we are not going to be successful in the long run.”

The Navy has increasingly found that its current systems are capable of adjusting to new threats through software upgrades rather than buying new systems and installing them, a time-consuming and cripplingly expensive process that has been the norm in years past.

Geurts said the Navy had to have a software architecture that was amenable to rapid upgrades so that developers would not need to re-test the underlying architecture each time a patch or fix is uploaded.

Furthermore, the service also has to develop cyber security standards that don't just weigh whether or not something can be compromised but begin to think of it more in terms of risks associated.

“The answer isn't yes or no, it's ‘Commander here is your risk.' And then weigh the risk of doing that [upgrade] versus a potential cyber impact so that commanders can make reasonable command decisions. Because there is always a risk to not doing something. We often talk about the risk of doing something, we don't often talk about the risk of not doing it.”

Geurts told a gaggle with reporters after the talk that he was not talking about uploading whole new programs that sailors might be unfamiliar with but more iterative upgrades.

"Don't take that to an extreme to where we will load on something that nobody has ever seen before, but it could be that there is a particular issue or new need, and you can envision us testing and training that shore-side, making sure it's right – we don't want to wait for the ship to come home we could potentially blast that out [to the fleet.]"

The Navy is also working more with having digital doppelgangers of its combat system on board its ships so that new technologies can be tested by the crew and commanders before its uploaded into the main combat system, a hedge against reaping unintended consequences by uploading a feature or patch without knowing exactly how it will fit into the ship's systems.

"The other thing we are doing a lot with is digital twins, where [the ship] might have the combat system that it's fighting with as well as a digital twin,” Geurts explained. “So you might be able to upload that new feature in the digital twin so you could have both, then it's up to the commander whether it's something you adopt or not.”

https://www.c4isrnet.com/digital-show-dailies/modern-day-marine/2018/09/25/on-the-new-battlefield-the-navy-has-to-get-software-updates-to-the-fleet-within-days-acquisition-boss-says

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  • Northrop Grumman to continue supporting legacy missile warning satellites

    30 juin 2020 | International, Aérospatial

    Northrop Grumman to continue supporting legacy missile warning satellites

    Nathan Strout The Space and Missile Systems Center has issued a $222.5 million contract to continue supporting the Defense Program Support constellation, a legacy system that helps detect ballistic missile launches, nuclear detonations and space launches. Since the first payload was launched in 1970, DSP satellites have contributed to America's missile warning architecture by using infrared sensors in geosynchronous orbit to detect ballistic missile launches all around the world. The final DSP payload was launched in 2007. Northrop Grumman was the prime contractor for all DSP satellites. While the constellation has been superseded by the Space Based Infrared System (SBIRS), DSP satellites continue to operate on orbit. According to Northrop Grumman's website, the satellites have exceeded their design lives by 125 percent. And this new $222.5 million contract will help extend the constellation's lifetime even further. Under the decade-long contract, Northrop Grumman will provide “on-orbit satellite and anomaly resolution support, root cause analysis, mission threat analysis, mission test bed and space awareness and global exploitation,” which will help extend the lifetime of the constellation. Work is expected to be completed March 31, 2030. https://www.c4isrnet.com/battlefield-tech/space/2020/06/29/northrop-grumman-to-continue-supporting-legacy-missile-warning-satellites/

  • Contract Awards by US Department of Defense - September 12, 2019

    13 septembre 2019 | International, Aérospatial, Naval, Terrestre, C4ISR, Sécurité

    Contract Awards by US Department of Defense - September 12, 2019

    NAVY Black Construction-Tutor Perini JV, Harmon, Guam (N62742-19-D-1328); Caddell-Nan JV, Montgomery, Alabama (N62742-19-D-1329); Core Tech-HDCC-Kajima LLC, Tamuning, Guam (N62742-19-D-1330); Gilbane SMCC ECC LLC, Concord, California (N62742-19-D-1331); and Hensel Phelps Construction Co., Honolulu, Hawaii (N62742-19-D-1332), are awarded a combined $990,000,000 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity, multiple award, design build construction contract for projects located primarily for sites in Guam and other areas within the Naval Facilities Engineering Command (NAVFAC), Pacific area of responsibility (AOR). Gilbane SMCC ECC LLC is being awarded the initial $22,997,004 task order for the design and construction of a low rise combined dining and high-intensity tactical training facility for the aviation combat element at Andersen Air Force Base, Joint Region Marianas, Guam. 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  • 50 Vendors Vie For Air Force Flying Car

    22 avril 2020 | International, Aérospatial

    50 Vendors Vie For Air Force Flying Car

    The "Agility Prime" event next week will kick off with speeches by Air Force Secretary Barbara Barrett, Chief of Staff Gen. David Goldfein, Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao, and Air Force acquisition head Will Roper. By THERESA HITCHENSon April 21, 2020 at 5:47 PM WASHINGTON: The Air Force is pulling out all the stops next week to demonstrate the potential utility of ‘flying cars' to military users across the services, as well as civil agencies within the US government including the Department of Transportation. The Agility Prime program's virtual event, being held April 27-May 1 will open with speeches by Air Force Secretary Barbara Barrett, Chief of Staff Gen. David Goldfein, Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao, and Air Force acquisition head Will Roper, who has been championing the idea since last summer. Some 50 vendors of electric vertical take off and landing (eVTOL) aircraft will be given a chance to strut their stuff to potential buyers across the military services and the US government, Col. Nate Diller, Agility Prime team lead, told reporters today. The high-powered line-up is a testimony to the Air Force's dedication to becoming an earlier adopter of flying car technology for moving people and cargo, as commercial actors such as Uber move out on developing designs for the commercial market. Diller said the Air Force also has been working closely with NASA — which itself has been working with Uber on an eVTOL craft — and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to create operational standards and licensing issues for future vehicles. The FAA regulates US airspace and NASA obviously has expertise in providing safety certification for aircraft and spacecraft carrying people. Bob Pearce, NASA's associate administrator for aeronautics research, and Michael Romanowski, the FAA's policy chief for aircraft certification, will speak at the event as well, Diller said. Agility Prime is first focused on mid-sized eVTOL craft that can carry three to eight people. Diller explained that the service sees potential utility in two other classes of vehicles: very small craft that can carry only one or two people (which he said some vendors are already test flying using FAA licenses applying to ultra-light aircraft); and larger aircraft that could ferry cargo and a large number of people. The first round of Agility Prime prototype contracting, Diller said, in some cases bounce off the Air Force Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase I and Phase II contracts already held by some vendors. However, he stressed, the door is wide open to new entries — with next week's event offering “virtual booths” for newcomers to show off their wares. He would not, however, provide an estimate of planned Air Force spending on the program. The Air Force also is wooing private sector investors to the event in hopes they will kick in funds to the companies showing the most promise, both technologically and in plans for getting their wares on the street. As Breaking D readers know, Roper has launched a concerted effort to revamp the service's approach to SBIR funds, led by the new AFVentures unit, designed to match Air Force funds to investments from venture capital funds and ‘angel' investors (read, interested rich people.) Roper has said that he intends for AFVentures to invest about $1 billion a year in some 30 to 40 “game-changing” startups in hopes of helping them vault over the infamous ‘valley of death' between demonstrating a capability and becoming a DoD program of record. One of the hallmarks of Roper's approach to Air Force acquisition chief has been a focus on leveraging commercial research and development to help DoD ensure that it can stay ahead of China in the pursuit of new technology — arguing that ‘innovation is the new battlefield.' https://breakingdefense.com/2020/04/50-vendors-vie-for-air-force-flying-car/

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