11 juillet 2023 | International, Aérospatial
U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren, a Democrat and frequent merger critic, joined three other lawmakers on Tuesday to urge the Defense Department to thoroughly review defense contractor L3Harris Technologies' $4.7 billion deal for Aerojet Rocketdyne Holdings .
6 avril 2022 | International, Naval
The Navy wants to put more missile tubes out to sea by installing them on USVs. Congress isn't comfortable enough yet with the state of unmanned technology. There could be an alternate plan to make both sides happy.
12 septembre 2018 | International, C4ISR
Ben Goldstein A senior official from Tampa International Airport (TPA) told US lawmakers the risk of cyberattack “without question represents the preeminent and persistent threat” to global aviation. The comments came during a Sept. 6 joint hearing of the House Homeland Security Committee's Cybersecurity and Transportation Security subcommittees, held to examine cyber threats to aviation. “In today's modern and technologically advanced airports, there are virtually no areas or functions that do not rely at some level on a digital network,” TPA EVP-IT and general counsel Michael Stephens said. “The operational importance of these systems ... makes airports immensely appealing targets and potentially vulnerable to malicious cyber threats, such as criminal organizations and state sponsored actors.” In his testimony, Stephens said US airports have reached a point “where voluntary compliance is no longer adequate,” and asked lawmakers to consider mandating the adoption of “uniform minimum cyber security standards and frameworks.” He also said the “human factor remains the most highly exploited vector” for breaching cyber defenses, and threat awareness and information security training programs for airport, airlines and aviation industry employees are “perhaps one of the most effective and cost-efficient ways of increasing airports' and airlines' cybersecurity readiness.” Lawmakers also heard from Christopher Porter, chief intelligence strategist at cybersecurity group FireEye, Inc., who testified that state-backed hackers are “routinely” targeting the US aviation industry through cyberespionage to steal industrial secrets from manufacturers, researchers and operators of military and civilian aircraft. Porter called cyberespionage the “most common cyber threat facing the aviation industry,” and said that hackers sponsored by China, Russia and more recently Iran have all “targeted the US or its close allies for theft of aviation secrets.” All three countries also routinely target ticketing and traveler data, shipping schedules and even partner industries like railways or hotels as part of their counterintelligence efforts, Porter added. However, Porter reminded lawmakers that, because cyber-espionage is routine, “it should not be viewed as destabilizing.” “When cyberespionage operators get a foothold on a system, they can often use that access for stealing information or to launch a disabling or destructive attack using the same technology,” Porter said. “But they rarely choose to do so, and in the US, there are significant redundancies in place to ensure safety. A crashed IT system does not mean a crashed plane, and it's important for the public to keep that in mind.” http://atwonline.com/security/cyberattack-risk-poses-biggest-threat-airports-aviation
11 février 2020 | International, Aérospatial, Naval, Terrestre, C4ISR, Sécurité
By: Aaron Mehta WASHINGTON — The Pentagon is requesting $4.5 billion in funds for the European Deterrence Initiative, the second straight year that the department has cut its request for the program. The EDI is a special part of the department's Overseas Contingency Operations funding, focused on reassuring allies in Europe and deterring Russian aggression on the continent. The Pentagon requested $4.8 billion for EDI in FY18, a request which grew to $6.5 billion in FY19. The FY20 request, however, dropped it down to $5.9 billion. Congress plussed up the funding to $6.5 billion, meaning the department's request for this year would be a $1.5 billion cut. Funding will go towards rotational force deployment and the implementation of previously funded multiyear agreements. It will also support additional exercises in Europe and the prepositioning of U.S. equipment on the continent. Two European officials contacted by Defense News downplayed concerns, with one saying that a drop in funding is normal given the number of infrastructure projects that are being completed. Included in the EDI funding is $250 million for the Ukraine Security Assistance Initiative, which can be used to replace any “weapons or defensive articles” provided to Ukraine by the U.S. government. Such funding became a flashpoint in 2019, eventually leading to the impeachment of President Donald Trump, who was acquitted in the Senate last week. In the last National Defense Authorization Act, Congress requested that the Pentagon submit a five-year plan for EDI in FY21. Overall, the OCO funding request is $69 billion, slightly down from the $71.3 billion enacted by Congress for FY20. Other major OCO funds include $16.2 billion for operations in Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria; $7.6 billion for the replenishment of major munitions that have been expended around the globe; and $4 billion to train and support Afghanistan security forces. OCO also funds $600 million in security cooperation funding, which has now been rebranded as the National Defense Strategy-Implementation fund, or NDS-I. https://www.defensenews.com/smr/federal-budget/2020/02/10/european-defense-initiative-funding-drops-in-defense-budget-request