5 octobre 2021 | International, Aérospatial
Space Force awards contracts, EW spends and a peek at next year's budget
Defense News Weekly's Daniel Woolfolk updates you on latest contracting news.
10 mars 2020 | International, C4ISR, Sécurité
The Pentagon’s first class of cybersecurity auditors is almost here
Mark Pomerleau
The Pentagon hopes to have the first class of auditors to evaluate contractors' cybersecurity ready by April, a top Department of Defense official said March 5.
The auditors will be responsible for certifying companies under the new Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC), which is a tiered cybersecurity framework that grades companies on a scale of one to five. A score of one designates basic hygiene and a five represents advanced hygiene.
Currently, there are no auditors — known as Certified Third-Party Assessment Organizations (C3PAO) — as the accreditation board came about officially in January.
“Our goal is to have, in late April, our pilot pathfinder on the training for the C3PAOs,” Katie Arrington, chief information security officer for the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, said at an event hosted by DreamPort in Columbia, Maryland.
The accreditation board is working on training the auditors and the accompanying training materials
Arrington said just because there aren't any auditors already working doesn't mean companies shouldn't be getting ready.
“You've got to get prepared for the audit,” she said. “You should be able to say ‘I think I've done my self assessment, I think I'm at this CMMC level.' Waiting for the audit to come in and then decide to get good or to get on track is not the way I would position my business.”
If all goes according to plan, all new contracts in 2025 will feature the security requirements.
Arrington also suggested that the framework has received interest outside the DoD.
“Do I think that other federal agencies are getting on board? Yes they are. They're waiting for me to get through my pathfinder,” she said.
She also referred to comments made by Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment Ellen Lord, who explained nearly a dozen nations and international organizations are interested in adopting CMMC.
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6 mars 2020 | International, Aérospatial
Northrop offers Triton drones to Australia, as US budget request pauses orders
By: Nigel Pittaway MELBOURNE, Australia — Faced with a possible two-year production pause in the wake of the Trump administratoin's fiscal 2021 budget request, Northrop Grumman is offering to accelerate MQ-4C Triton drone production for Australia at what it says is the lowest price it has ever offered for an unmanned platform. Under the budget request, funding for U.S. Navy MQ-4C acquisition will be suspended until at least FY23, and aircraft that was to be built in low-rate initial production Lots 6 and 7 will now be deferred. However, the proposal leaves the door open for Triton production to recommence in 2023 while securing funds to complete development of the IFC 4 variant of the drone. This latter model is required by the U.S. Navy to replace its aging fleet of Lockheed Martin-made EP-3E Aries II aircraft used for signals reconnaissance. Speaking in Canberra on March 4, Northrop's chief executive in Australia, Chris Deeble, said the company's proposal is to move forward production of five aircraft for the Royal Australian Air Force into the current, and funded, low-rate initial production 5 batch during the two years the U.S. Navy might not buy the aircraft. “PB21 has created an incredible opportunity for Australia. We've been working with the U.S. Navy to provide an option to buy the rest of their aircraft as part of the LRIP 5 contract,” Deeble said. “That provides a significant unit-cost saving to Australia, so now's the time to buy more than ever.” Australia has a requirement for six Tritons, built to the IFC 4 standard, under Project Air 7000 Phase 1B. However, it currently has only one aircraft on order, which would be built as part of LRIP 5 and requires a more finalized contract by May 15 if the plan is to go ahead. Deeble said Australia will need to make a decision on the additional five aircraft by the end of June. Northrop Grumman's proposal is to add the five Australian aircraft to the existing three aircraft in LRIP 5 (two U.S. Navy and one RAAF aircraft), bringing the total to eight. Deeble said the offer preserves Australia's planned funding profile for Triton acquisition and that the delivery schedule will remain the same. Should Australia finalize an agreement to meet its six-Triton requirement, it expects to receive them between 2023 and 2025, with declaration of final operational capability in the 2025-2026 time frame. "The two key points are, this will probably the best price you will be able to achieve for the Triton capability, and we're remaining within the [Australian] defense profile,” Deeble added. “We also look to provide Australian industry opportunities as a consequence. And committing to an additional five aircraft in LRIP 5 will provide about AU$56 million [(U.S. $37 million)] of opportunity in that regard.” https://www.defensenews.com/unmanned/2020/03/04/northrop-offers-triton-drones-to-australia-as-us-budget-request-pauses-orders/
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2 mai 2024 | International, Terrestre
Missile defence successes in Gulf, Ukraine fuel global urgency to acquire systems
The success of ballistic missile defences facing their first complex, high-stakes combat scenarios in Israel, the Red Sea and Ukraine will encourage militaries globally to invest in the pricey systems, experts say - and intensify missile arms races.