13 décembre 2021 | International, Aérospatial
F-35 Will Be Finland’s Next Fighter
National evaluations put the F-35's military capability well ahead of its competitors, Helsinki says.
17 août 2020 | International, C4ISR
Pentagon wins brief waiver from government’s Huawei ban
WASHINGTON ― The Trump administration is granting the Pentagon a temporary waiver of government-wide ban on contractors using Huawei and other Chinese-made telecommunications equipment, according to a memo obtained by Defense News.
The move offers a weeks-long reprieve, until Sept. 30, for firms doing business with the Department of Defense. The firms are among those still reeling from the economic effects of the coronavirus pandemic and who lobbied for more time to comply with new far-reaching regulations.
The original provision was to take effect Aug. 13. The administration had been finalizing regulations that would prohibit government contracting with companies whose supply chains contain products from five Chinese companies including Huawei, as mandated under of Section 889 of the 2019 National Defense Authorization Act.
The administration, confronting China on trade and a host of issues, has deemed Huawei an espionage threat.
Citing U.S. national security interests, Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe granted the Pentagon a temporary waiver to further assess a broader waiver request from DoD. The action came in a memo to Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment Ellen Lord.<
The temporary waiver Lord sought was so DoD could continue to execute procurement actions that would, in part, equip and feed troops.
“You stated that DoD's statutory requirement to provide for the military forces needed to deter war and protect the security of out country is critically important to national security,” Ratcliffe said. “Therefore, the procurement of goods and services in support of DoD's statutory mission is also in the national security interests of the United States.”
While considering the broader waiver, Ratcliffe asked Lord share more information about potential increased risks, mitigation measures and a plan to contract with alternatives to the banned Chinese companies.
Contractors had been confused over an interim acquisition rule, agencies cannot award new contracts, task orders or modify existing contracts to any vendor who doesn't self-certify that they are not using products from Chinese companies like ZTE and Huawei, the Federal News Network reported this week.
Ratcliffe's memo is a win, albeit a temporary one, for defense contractors and trade associations representing them. They had hoped for a legislative fix in a new pandemic relief package ― but larger bipartisan talks had broken down.
The leaders of the National Defense Industrial Association and the Professional Services Council had called for the deadline for 889 implementation to move. They argued the focus should be on recovering from the fallout caused by the COVID-19 crisis. And citing the far-reaching implications of the government's rules, NDIA said companies should get a yearlong extension.
In May, Lord told lawmakers that contractors needed more time to comply with the government-wide ban or risk throwing the defense industrial base into disarray.
“The thought that somebody in six or seven levels down in the supply chain could have one camera in a parking lot and that would invalidate one of our major primes being able to do business with us gives us a bit of pause,” Lord testified at a House Armed Services Committee hearing.
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29 décembre 2024 | International, C4ISR, Sécurité
North Korean Hackers Deploy OtterCookie Malware in Contagious Interview Campaign
OtterCookie, a new JavaScript malware by North Korean hackers, steals data via Socket.IO and funds nuclear programs.
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12 février 2020 | International, Aérospatial
Space Software Startup To Pursue SDA Contracts
NewSpace Networks will bid against Lockheed Martin for bankrupt Vector Launch's GalacticSky software-defined satellite assets, says co-founder Shaun Coleman. By THERESA HITCHENS WASHINGTON: Three of the founders of bankrupt Vector Launch have created a new startup, NewSpace Networks, to develop space software products for applications such as data analysis, cybersecurity, and the Internet of Things (IoT). As one of their first forays into the market, the company intends to respond to the Space Development Agency's January call for “leap-ahead technologies” for its evolving DoD space architecture. The new San Jose-based company is eyeing SDA's top two priorities: the so-called ‘transport layer' for Internet and communications connectivity and the ‘tracking layer' that will also cover hypersonic missiles. NewSpace Networks leadership believe they could provide capabilities to the ‘battle management layer,' and the ‘support layer' to enable ground and launch segments to support a responsive space architecture. “We could occupy several of those layers,” Robert Cleave, formerly Vector's chief revenue office, told me in a phone conversation today, which included NewSpace Network co-founders Shaun Coleman and John Metzger. Coleman was the first investor in Vector Launch; Metzger was vice president of software engineering. As we reported, the SDA's Jan. 21 Broad Area Announcement gives interested vendors one year to pitch their ideas. Coleman said that NewSpace Networks is the only company focused on creating a software-based infrastructure in space. Rather than building satellites, Cleave explained, “we see ourselves as a provider of software that makes the satellite smarter.” The idea is to move the aerospace industry from its current hardware focus to a focus on software, as has happened at big tech firms across Silicon Valley and is recognized by many of the Air Force's leadership. NewSpace Networks intends to target military and defense-related customers, along with commercial firms and civilian government agencies. This includes pitching to be a part of DoD's efforts to develop and use 5G high-speed communications capabilities and to provide connectivity to Army vehicles. But it also is looking at potential sales outside of the traditional aerospace community, such as vendors of autonomous vehicles, city governments interested in infrastructure monitoring, and even direct consumer sales of healthcare devices and entertainment services. The wide variety of potential customers is based on the fact that NewSpace Networks' planned products are focused on computing, data storage and processing capabilities at the edge, ones that have a wide variety of potential uses. According to today's announcement, NewSpace Networks's initial products will focus on “the unique challenges of edge computing via space connectivity.” But the company's tech also could be used with aircraft, drones or aerostats serving as the connectivity node, the co-founders explained. The company also intends to work on: Data analytics and analysis; Cloud integration; Network optimization; Virtualization & Hyperconvergence (the latter is industry jargon for combining computing, storage and networking in a single system); Space and air integration; Security and encryption; Application lifecycle management; and IoT enablement. Tuscon-based Vector was one of three commercial space firms chosen in April by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency for its DARPA Launch Challenge, a $12 million competition to rapidly launch small satellites to Low Earth Orbit (LEO), until its surprise withdrawal in September due to financial difficulties. The other two companies were Virgin Orbit, which withdrew in October to concentrate on more lucrative customers, and the secretive California-based startup Astra, that first went public in early February via a website. According to a Feb. 3 profile in Bloomberg Businessweek, the firm intends its first launch on Feb. 21. Vector declared Chapter 11 bankruptcy in December, and as colleague Jeff Foust reported on Jan. 24 announced it would auction off its assets. Vector already has a $4.5 million bid from Lockheed Martin for its GalacticSky software-defined satellite technology — essentially a computer on orbit that can be configured for various satellite missions that will be accepted if no other firms issues a bid by Feb. 21. If others throw their hats in the ring, there will be an auction for GalacticSky on Feb. 25. And guess what? NewSpace Networks intends to do just that. “We will be bidding for GalacticSky as well,” Coleman said, noting that I was the first reporter they have told. The founders believe that GalacticSky's technology, that allows a satellite to act more like a cloud node than a mainframe computer, would be complementary to their own developments. Even if they don't win the auction, they hope to work with whoever wins. https://breakingdefense.com/2020/02/space-software-startup-to-pursue-sda-contracts