28 mars 2023 | International, Aérospatial
Autonomous tech can help keep US homeland safe, NORAD’s VanHerck says
“I think the future of homeland defense is vastly different than what we see today,” Air Force Gen. Glen VanHerck told Congress.
23 juillet 2018 | International, C4ISR
With cyber forces underequipped, DoD turns to rapid prototyping contracting
By: Mark Pomerleau
U.S. Cyber Command's main warrior cadre has been deemed ready for war and now the organization is shifting its focus to readiness and operations.
Sources have told Fifth Domain that DoD's cyber warriors lack certain skills, capabilities and even equipment. One source went so far as to say that the list of what these forces can do is short.
As a result, the military wants to quickly get these new cyber warriors the tools they need. To do this, they are turning to contracting vehicles such as other transaction authorities and the so-called IT Box construct as a way to skirt the traditional acquisition system, which is often derided as lethargic, bureaucratic and not optimized for the high tempo of the software-centric world.
These approaches allow for the government to partner with non-traditional companies for less mature technologies and prototypes meaning solutions, albeit some that are not always 100 percent mature, get to warfighters faster. This approach allows DoD to be more agile and flexible in procuring and equipping, multiple industry sources told Fifth Domain. However, one potential downside to this approach is a lack of competition for this work.
What do cyber warriors need?
As the command is growing, maturing and standing on its own, it needs training modules, infrastructure to conduct operations on and tools.
Leaders say one of the most critical needs of cyber warriors is a training platform. And industry officials add that often the first time cyber warriors face certain techniques is during a mission. This is because of a lack of a holistic and robust training environment, similar to the Army's combat training centers or the Air Force's Red Flag.
To change that the Army, on behalf of Cyber Command, is in charge of an effort called the Persistent Cyber Training Environment. The Army, using an OTA approach, is running a series of innovation challenges as a way to prototype capability. This approach would provide an interim solution to cyber warriors while at the same time reduce risk and help the larger program of record.
Another capability cyber warriors will need is an operational platform from which to house tools, launch operations and perform command and control.
Currently, the Air Force is working this program on behalf of Cyber Command. The Unified Platform, as it's called, is considered one of CYBERCOM's largest and most critical acquisition programs to date. Industry officials have said it is necessary to conduct cyber operations and is critical to national security.
The Air Force's acquisition strategy is not totally clear, with some industry sources noting that they are not taking an OTA approach to this critical capability. The service is currently using the General Services Administration's premier enterprise Alliant Government wide Acquisition Contract vehicle in which multiple contractors will be awarded and will compete against each other for individual task orders on the final program. Federal agencies traditionally use Alliant to implement new and innovative technologies.
(Potential) Drawbacks
Despite being an attractive option to rapidly equip forces, these vehicles come with some risk.
Industry officials acknowledge that OTAs were meant for prototyping, research and development and risk reduction for larger programs of record, not as a replacement for procuring large programs and platforms. While Congress has extended the use of OTAs for actual development of production, William LaPlante, senior vice president and general manager for MITRE National Security Sector, calls this “a dodgy area.”
LaPlante, who served as assistant secretary of the Air Force for acquisition,, told Fifth Domain that the OTAs can limit competition. Since these rapid prototyping vehicles enable DoD to work with non-traditional companies that don't have to bring forth fully developed solutions, they tend to favor smaller tech companies as opposed to larger defense contractors.
LaPlante said if one subscribes to the philosophy that the best product comes from a full competition, the competition part of these contracting mechanisms is not very clear.
Second, he said, going faster means the upfront homework in the way of budgeting, market research and strategy may be neglected. While this work might take a bit of time, if it's not done, he said, the risk of making mistakes increases.
Going forward, LaPlante noted that it will be important how blowback and failure is handled because “there's no question mistakes will be made."
There is also the issue of integration. With a series of disparate systems, it is unclear who will be the integrator: government or industry?
“It's a perpetual discussion of the last 20-30 years: is the government itself strong enough to assume the role of integrator? Probably not. You need some industry partner,” he said.
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4 octobre 2019 | International, Aérospatial
Meggitt Awarded $48 million contract for supply of Aerial Weapons Scoring Systems to the US Army
October 4, 2019 - Meggitt PLC, a leading international company specializing in high performance components and sub-systems for the aerospace, defence and energy markets, has secured an IDIQ contract valued at $48million for the supply of Aerial Weapons Scoring Systems (AWSS) to the US Army. This full-service contract will be supplied by Meggitt's specialist defence division in Irvine, California, and includes product development, training, installation, field and cyber support, maintenance and repairs. AWSS provides essential gunnery training for defence customers worldwide, ensuring safe, efficient operation of targeting systems. “Our AWSS technology enables gunnery crews to simulate real-life defence scenarios, providing essential training and ensuring safe, optimal performance of all equipment. We are proud that our technology has been selected by the US Army and we look forward to working closely with local teams as we roll out our AWSS solution.” said Gerry Janicki, Vice President Strategy for Meggitt Defense Systems Inc. Enquiries: Kathryn Moss Group Director of Communications Meggitt PLC Tel: +44 (0) 7464 677987 Email: press.office@meggitt.com About Meggitt PLC Headquartered in the United Kingdom, this international group operates in North America, Europe and Asia. Known for its specialised extreme environment engineering, Meggitt is a world leader in aerospace, defence and energy. Meggitt employs more than 12,000 people at over 40 manufacturing facilities and regional offices worldwide. https://www.meggitt.com/news/meggitt-awarded-48-million-contract-for-supply-of-aerial-weapons-scoring-systems-to-the-us-army/
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21 avril 2020 | International, Aérospatial, Naval, Terrestre, C4ISR, Sécurité
Pentagon Predicts Three-Month Major Program Delay
Lee Hudson The Pentagon predicts there will be a three-month slowdown for major defense acquisition programs because of the novel coronavirus pandemic. Aerospace, shipbuilding and small launch are the most vulnerable sectors in the wake of COVID-19, Pentagon acquisition executive Ellen Lord told reporters April 20. Out of the 10,509 major prime contractors, 106 have shuttered their doors, and 68 have closed and reopened. Of 11,413 vendor-based companies, 427 are shut down, with 147 having closed and reopened, she said. Lord's team has not identified specific programs but anticipates there will be schedule delays, she said. One of the measures the military is taking to support the defense industrial base is boosting progress payment rates to contractors, raising them for large businesses from 80% to 90% and for small businesses from 90% to 95%. “Based on submitted invoices, we expect payments at the higher progress payments to start this week, helping provide $3 billion in increased cash flow to industry,” Lord said. “I commend Lockheed Martin and Boeing for both publicly committing to ensure this cash flow goes quickly down the supply chain to small businesses who need it most.” The DOD is hoping other large defense contractors will make similar public announcements. The Pentagon's small business program office hosted a webinar with more than 1,000 companies to address their unique concerns, she said. Over the last few weeks, Lord's team has focused on supply chain “illumination” tools and found “international dependencies.” Specifically, the defense industrial base is being hit hard by supplier closures in Mexico and India. Lord spoke with the U.S. ambassador to Mexico on April 17 and on April 20 was sending a letter to the Mexican foreign minister asking for help in reopening international suppliers. The Pentagon also is hoping for additional aid from the American people via the second Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act. Lord would not pinpoint a particular amount, but the money sought is incremental funding for inefficiencies related to contracting, Defense Production Act (DPA) Title III, the defense industrial base and medical resources. In the inaugural CARES Act, DOD received $1 billion for DPA Title III, $750 million for medical resources and $250 million for the defense industrial base. The DPA Title III medical resources priorities are N95 masks, ventilators, active pharmaceutical ingredients, testing kits, suppliers and reagents, vaccines and delivery systems. The defense sector focus areas for DPA Title III include machine tools and industrial controls, aircraft supply chain illumination, chem bio, directed energy, radar, munitions, missiles, space, shipbuilding, soldier systems and ground systems. To date, the Defense Logistics Agency has provided more than 1.8 million N95 respirator masks, 3.2 million nonmedical and surgical masks, 54.8 million exam gloves, 8,000 ventilators and 275,000 isolation and surgical gowns to the military services, combatant commands, and several federal agencies, Lord said. “We have ordered face coverings for the workforce, 3 million active duty, guard, reserve and government civilians with deliveries starting this week,” she said. “We expect 135,000 by the end of April and 580,000 by the end of May.” For the first time ever, U.S. Transportation Command (Transcom) was able to use the Defense Threat Reduction Agency-developed transport isolation system to move three COVID-19 positive patients from Afghanistan to Germany. The system was developed in 2014 during the Ebola crisis. “The joint staff, Transcom, and the Air Force continue to work to ensure that we can safely transport COVID-19 patients from overseas locations to the United States,” Lord said. “We just issued a memo that directs contracting officers to support a U.S. Forces Afghanistan memo to redeploy at-risk contractor employees due to insufficient medical capability in-country.” The Pentagon anticipates this will affect fewer than 1,000 personnel. https://aviationweek.com/defense-space/budget-policy-operations/pentagon-predicts-three-month-major-program-delay