USAF Scoping Out Upgrades to Counter-UAS Weapons

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  22 août 2018 | International, Aérospatial

  L3, Northrop Selected for Next Generation Jammer Work; Program Stalled After Raytheon Protest

  By: Sam LaGrone The next phase of the Navy's effort to replace its decades-old ALQ-99 jamming systems on its fleet of electronic warfare aircraft is in a holding pattern amid a protest from a company cut from the competition, USNI News has learned. As part of rapid acquisition push for the new jamming technology, the Navy is splitting up the Next Generation Jammer (NGJ) ALQ-99 replacement work into three increments based on the frequencies the system must block – high-band, mid-band and low-band – to help shield U.S. aircraft from anti-air radar systems. In 2013, Raytheon won a $276 million award for the first portion of the NGJ project – the ALQ-249 mid-band jamming part of the new system – and was awarded an additional $1.2 billion for the work in 2016. In late 2017, Naval Air Systems Command announced a “demonstration of existing technology” contract to shape how it would pursue the low-band increment. The work would create “[a] demonstration that will lead to an assessment of the maturity level of the technologies that might be applied to a low band jammer pod,” a NAVAIR spokesperson told USNI News in a statement on Tuesday. “This will help inform the appropriate acquisition strategy of the program.” Last month, L3 and a team of Northrop Grumman and Harris were selected to move forward from a field of four competitors that also included Raytheon and a Lockheed Martin and Cobham team, USNI News has learned. Soon afterwards, Raytheon filed a protest with the Government Accountability Office, arguing it should have been selected to move forward with the low-band jammer effort. Both L3 and the Northrop Grumman/Harris team confirmed that their low-band tech was selected for potential further study by NAVIAR but referred additional questions to the Navy due to the ongoing protest from Raytheon. “We have a mature and exceedingly capable offering for Next-Generation Jammer Low Band,” a Northrop spokesman told USNI News in a statement. “Northrop Grumman stands ready to demonstrate that technology.” USNI News understands a Lockheed Martin/Cobham team was not selected for further study. A Lockheed spokesperson referred questions to the Navy citing the protest. In a short statement, Raytheon implied the Navy did not fully take into account the benefits of the company's existing investment into the ALQ-249 mid-band jamming technology. “We believe there were errors in the government's evaluation,” Dana Carroll, a Raytheon spokeswoman, told USNI News in a statement. “Our low-risk, open architecture pod effectively and affordably counters modern threats while maximizing reuse of proven technology and taxpayer investment.” The GAO has until October to reach a decision on Raytheon protest. The Next Generation Jammer program has been a weak point the Navy's push to revitalize its aerial electronic warfare portfolio after the service shrugged off developing an improved capability for years in favor of other priorities. The program was placed on the backburner for years while the U.S. was mostly engaged in conflicts with largely uncontested airspace. Full article: https://news.usni.org/2018/08/21/l3-northrop-selected-next-generation-jammer-work-program-stalled-raytheon-protest

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  20 novembre 2019 | International, Aérospatial

  British government signals support for Cobham takeover by private equity firm Advent

  By: Andrew Chuter LONDON — The British government has signaled it will give the green light to a £4 billion (U.S. $5 billion) takeover that would see local defense contractor Cobham acquired by a U.S.-based private equity company. Business Secretary Andrea Leadsom announced Nov. 19 that she was “minded to accept” the proposed takeover but would put out for public consultation assurances given by Advent International regarding British security concerns before making a final call. Advent moved to buy Cobham in July securing the approval of 93 percent of shareholders in the Wimborne, southwest England-based contractor best known for its world leading role of air-to-air refueling technology. Cobham's annual turnover of £1.86 billion took it to 57th place in the Defense News Top 100 companies listing earlier this year. Over 50 percent of its revenues were generated in the United States where the company has substantial manufacturing facilities. The British government intervened in the takeover in September following criticism led by Nadine Cobham, whose father-in-law formed the company in 1935. Members of Parliament also raised security concerns over the sale. The government has spent the last few weeks reviewing the proposed acquisition ahead of Leadsom outlining the government's current position. "Following my update to Parliament on 5. November, I have now reviewed further national security advice from the Ministry of Defence and met with both Cobham and Advent, who have offered legally binding undertakings designed to mitigate national security concerns, which I am minded to accept.” "They will now be considered by a public consultation, and I will provide a further update once that process has concluded,” said Leadsom. The consultation closes Dec. 17 – five days after the general election. The assurances include Advent giving the MoD prior notice of plans to sell off parts or all of Cobham, agreeing to honor the terms of existing contracts. In addition, the new owners would have to ensure existing security arrangements are strengthened and maintain the ability to supply key services for five years. Nadine Cobham has previously said assurances were not worth the paper they were written on. Alex Ashbourne-Walmsley, a defense consultant at ASC here in London, said she thought Leadsom had taken the right decision on the Cobham sale. “It's advisable for the government to respect the clear instructions of the Cobham shareholders. It is sensible, however, for government to build in conditions regarding any future sale of parts of the business. Private equity houses, unlike traditional industrial corporations, tend to take the shorter-term, more profit-driven view of disposal of their acquisitions, rather than considering matters such as national security of supply and the wider strategic interest,” she said. Criticism over the proposed acquisition of an important part of the British defense industry follows the controversial takeover last year of GKN by Melrose, another private equity company. Despite the furore over the Cobham sale the Financial Times said today the assurances sought by the government from Advent were weaker than those demanded to wave the GKN deal through. https://www.defensenews.com/global/europe/2019/11/19/british-government-signals-support-for-cobham-takeover-by-private-equity-firm-advent

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  16 juillet 2020 | International, C4ISR, Sécurité

  The key to securing the defense industrial base is collaboration

  Teresa Shea With cyber threats constantly evolving and increasing in sophistication, a strong national cybersecurity posture has never been more important. COVID-19 is causing an uncertainty across industry sectors, and criminals as well as adversaries are increasing their cyber-attacks and taking advantage of our increased digital work from home dependence. It is especially important to protect the organizations that comprise the U.S. Defense Industrial Base. Defined as the “worldwide industrial complex that enables research and development, as well as design, production, delivery, and maintenance of military weapons systems, subsystems, and components or parts, to meet U.S. military requirements,” Defense industrial base networks host mission-critical information and operational assets vital to national security. If infiltrated, the ramifications could plague the U.S. national security strategy, hamper our warfighting edge, create chaos within the critical infrastructure and ultimately undermine adversary deterrence. To effectively protect the Defense Industrial Base, the government and private sector must both work to secure the U.S. critical infrastructure. Organizations should prioritize collaboration to bolster the nation's cyber resiliency and collectively defend against malicious cyber actors' intent on doing us harm. Proactively defend networks It's widely known that, in an ideal world, organizations should stop threats before they reach their targets. However, to deter effectively, organizations need to have real-time situational awareness of their network infrastructure and supply chain, which can be a difficult undertaking. Threat intelligence information sharing between the government and the private sector companies that comprise the Defense Industrial Base is essential to achieving a strategic view of an advanced threat actor. Today, targets can only know what is happening to their own assets without insight into the attacker's intent. The Defense Industrial Base Cybersecurity Program allows both the DoD and private companies to share cyber threat information, mitigation and remediation strategies, which helps key players in both sectors increase cyber situational awareness and be more proactive in their security efforts. However, this program is currently voluntary, meaning that the crucial information uncovered within the program is only available to those who proactively join the program. Moving forward, both the public and private sectors must work to enact policies that require collaboration. It is no longer acceptable to rely on incident response protocols, performance assessments of existing systems and one-off reactions to threats without coordination. Increased information sharing is key to staying one step ahead of our adversaries. Follow government-suggested guidelines The U.S. government has dedicated time and resources to help secure the Defense Industrial Base, and organizations must act upon the recommendations provided. Earlier this year, the Cyberspace Solarium Commission released a report on the U.S. government's cyber readiness, which found that “the U.S. is currently not designed to act with the speed and agility necessary to defend the country in cyberspace.” The commission's findings place an emphasis on protecting the Defense Industrial Base's intellectual property, and called on Congress to require that these firms share threat data with the DoD and conduct threat hunting on their networks. Both sharing threat data and conducting threat hunting are proven to result in increased defense of our networks. A secure future As noted in a recent LawFare blog, “Cyber-enabled intellectual property theft from the DIB and adversary penetration of DIB networks and systems pose an existential threat to U.S. national security.” Given the abundance of cyber-attacks focused on Defense Industrial Base networks, penetrating them is high on our adversaries' target list. They're currently zeroing in on the U.S. critical infrastructure, attempting to poach the intellectual property that secures our very nation. Until we are willing to come together across sectors to share threat data, and commit to hiring strong talent, we will remain at a disadvantage. Fundamentally, it is about trust and our ability to put the greater defense above individual interests. If accomplished, the U.S. cybersecurity posture and resiliency will remain strong, deterring malicious cyberattacks against our Defense Industrial Base. https://www.c4isrnet.com/opinion/2020/07/15/the-key-to-securing-the-defense-industrial-base-is-collaboration/