Nouvelles

By Patrick Tucker, The service is looking to accelerate the way it buys, builds and drills drones and robotic ships. The U.S. Navy and researchers from Florida Atlantic University are developing robotic boats that can launch aerial and sub drones to protect U.S. coastal waters. “Our focus will be on developing a multi-vehicle system that can safely and reliably navigate coastal waters with a high level of autonomy while performing assigned tasks,” Manhar Dhanak, director of SeaTech, the Institute for Ocean and Systems Engineering in FAU's Department of Ocean and Mechanical Engineering, said in a press release. The AU researchers will develop new software tools for better sensing and collision avoidance as well as to allow the ship “to serve as a docking station” and power sub and air drones that latch onto it, according to a statement from the University. One aspect of the effort, developing software to help the surface vessel obtain a clear picture not just of obstacles to avoid but also friendly and hostile elements in the area, to help it better plan routes and paths for different missions. It's an example of the types of prototypes that will become more common, according to a Navy roadmap for the development and acquisition of autonomous systems. This Strategic Roadmap for Unmanned Systems, which began circulating around the Pentagon last year, has not yet been released. But a predecisional copy obtained by Defense One shows that the Navy is pushing to develop and buy its drones faster, integrate them more aggressively in exercises and other activity, and work more closely with universities and other non-traditional research partners particularly in the design of new prototypes. The Navy's research into unmanned weapons goes back to World War I research into flying munitions and torpedos. The term “drone” was coined in the 1930s by Cmdr. Delmar Fahrney, who was in charge of Navy research into radio-controlled aircraft. More recently, the Navy has sought to incorporate ever-higher levels of autonomy into drills and activity. In 2014, the service ran a dramatic experiment that showed that a swarm of 13 autonomous roboticized boats might help defend a warship. The Navy has also developed (and plans to soon deploy) the Sea Hunter, an unmanned ship that can guide itself on the open water while obeying international maritime laws. Former Defense Undersecretary Bob Work speculated that the Sea Hunter could be armed with ballistic missiles. “We might be able to put a six-pack or a four-pack of missiles on them. Now, imagine 50 of these distributed and operating together under the hands of a flotilla commander,” Work said at an event sponsored by CNAS. “This is going to be a Navy unlike any navy in history, a human-machine collaborative battle fleet that will confound our enemies. The Navy is experimenting with a widening menagerie of novel aerial drones, such as a tube-launched rotary-wing drone called the Nomad, which was launched off of the destroyer Pinckney in2016. Another is the hybrid flying-swimming Glider, a drone that can deploy from a plane, fly along the surface of the water, and then submerge to a depth of 200 meters. Flight-testing for a new version of Glider is scheduled for later this year, and the Naval Research Laboratory expects to a full demonstration in 2019. The new Navy roadmap argues that the service's adoption of unmanned and robotic capabilities must move far more quickly than it buys human-operated planes, boats, and ships. It outlines steps to accelerate their building, buying and deploying. One key is moving away from a “platform-centric model” — think big, expensive ships that only serve one role. Instead, envision small, cheap robots that can be robustly networked and easily configured to new tasks. “The Navy must evolve from today's platform-centric, uncontested-environment [unmanned systems] operating concept to the concept of a platform-agnostic force,” it says. “A cross-domain, distributed, netted, self-healing, highly survivable, and collaborative communications network made of manned and unmanned nodes will enable multi-domain communications. These nodes will fuse big data to interpret the environment, share relevant information, and introduce increased risk, uncertainty, and mistrust in the adversary's systems.” Marcus Weisgerber contributed to this post. https://www.nextgov.com/emerging-tech/2018/06/us-navy-developing-mothership-drones-coastal-defense/148696/

By: Mark Pomerleau U.S. Cyber Command's cyber teams are now built and transitioning to readiness, and now the force needs a dedicated platform to conduct training. Given the importance of properly preparing cyberwarriors, the Army (acting as Cyber Command's executive agent for all the service's cyber teams) has been using a rapid acquisition approach called other transaction authorities to field a training platform. The Persistent Cyber Training Environment, or PCTE, is not a single entity, but rather a complex system of systems that will require many moving parts for individual and collective training, as well as mission rehearsal. According to Jim Keffer, director of cyber at Lockheed Martin, it will be more than just a cyber range. It'll require event management; scheduling for training exercises; scenario design features; control of the exercises; assessments; red forces; library of capabilities that can be linked to designing adversary network mock-ups (which will require good intelligence); and classrooms to put all this together. The reason such a high-end training environment is being fast-tracked is because cyberwarriors don't currently have anything akin to what traditional war fighters use to prepare for combat. Capstone cyber exercises that only occur once or twice a year are not enough for the force, and in many cases the first-time cyberwarriors will engage with an adversary in the real world and not in simulations. “It's like a fighter pilot going up and the first time he's flown actual combat is against a real adversary,” Keffer told Fifth Domain. “That's not a good way to fight wars. That's not a good way to train your troops. That's not a good way to decrease the risk to your forces.” Incremental approach The overall PCTE is made up of a number of cyber investment challenges, or CICs, that the Army is releasing incrementally and will eventually string together. This will “bring together some of the best technology that's out there” to address immediate needs in various categories as the longer-term vision of what PCTE might look like coalesces, Deon Viergutz, vice president of Cyber Solutions at Lockheed Martin, told Fifth Domain in an interview. The Army will release five CIC's to get multiple industry approaches as it heads up the full PCTE indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity contract, Viergutz said, adding, “I believe that is still under work, the long term for PCTE and the acquisition.” While CIC one has been awarded, CIC two should be awarded in the next few weeks. According to contracting documents, CIC two is focused on enabling user access to the PCTE and training aids through a portal. CIC three, which is forthcoming in mid- to late-June, is focused on red team planning, as well as master exercise control. CIC four, estimated for release in July, will focus on training assessment. There is no information released yet regarding CIC five. One important question remains unclear, however: In the end, who will be the integrator of systems — the government or a contractor? “The seams between all these capabilities tend to be the weak points. Having an integrator to kind of tie all that together — the ranges and all these different capabilities — would be important to make sure that the cyberwarriors get the best capability that they deserve ... as quickly as possible,” Keffer said. “If the government wants to be the integrator, we'll do all we can to help them out. If they want industry to be the integrator, industry has a lot of experience doing that, especially Lockheed Martin; we're big in the training business.” https://www.fifthdomain.com/dod/2018/06/04/cyberwarriors-need-a-training-platform-and-fast/

Graham Warwick | Aviation Week & Space Technology Its appetite Fueled by the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq, the U.S. Army is a big user of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), from thousands of hand-launched RQ-11 Ravens to hundreds of tactical RQ-7 Shadows and medium-altitude MQ-1C Gray Eagles. And the service has made progress in how it uses UAS, including manned-unmanned teaming between Shadows and AH-64 Apache helicopters in the reconnaissance role. But as it looks to the future, the Army is less than happy with some aspects of its UAS ... http://aviationweek.com/defense/army-wants-manned-aircraft-airworthiness-levels-future-uas

Dans le cadre des efforts continus visant à établir les stratégies du programme maritime national, le Groupe de travail sur la modernisation des approvisionnements maritimes (MAM) a tenu quatre ateliers régionaux d'un bout à l'autre du Canada, de novembre 2017 à avril 2018. Collectivement, les ateliers régionaux comprenaient la participation de près de 100 représentants de l'industrie (constructeurs de navires régionaux, fournisseurs, entreprises de génie maritime et chantiers de réparation), sans compter les homologues provinciaux et les représentants d'organismes de développement régional. Les contributions de l'industrie aux séances ont permis au groupe de travail sur la MAM de mieux comprendre les enjeux et les préoccupations de l'industrie maritime canadienne à l'égard des quatre thèmes (présentés ci-dessous). Les séances ont permis de relever un certain nombre de points récurrents, tout en ciblant de nouvelles idées et approches qui amélioreraient les pratiques fédérales en matière d'approvisionnement maritime. https://achatsetventes.gc.ca/donnees-sur-l-approvisionnement/appels-d-offres/PW-18-00830335

NASA is talking to several international companies about forming a consortium that would take over operation of the International Space Station and run it as a commercial space lab, NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine said in an interview. “We're in a position now where there are people out there that can do commercial management of the International Space Station,” Bridenstine said in his first extensive interview since being sworn in as NASA administrator in April. “I've talked to many large corporations that are interested in getting involved in that through a consortium, if you will.” The White House touched off a heated discussion about the future of the orbiting laboratory earlier this year when it said it planned to end direct government funding of the station by 2025, while working on a transition plan to turn the station over to the private sector. Some members of Congress said they would vigorously oppose any plan that ends the station's life prematurely. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Tex.) said the decision to end funding for it was the result of “numskulls” at the Office of Management and Budget. And it was unclear, who, if anyone, would want to take over operations of the station, which costs NASA about $3 billion to $4 billion a year and is run by an international partnership that includes the United States, Russia, Japan, Canada and the European Space Agency. An orbiting laboratory that flies some 250 miles above the Earth's surface, it has been continuously inhabited by astronauts since 2000. In unveiling its plan to commercialize the station earlier this year, the White House offered few details of how exactly it would work. As it prepares a transition plan, the White House said it “will request market analysis and business plans from the commercial sector and solicit plans from commercial industry.” The international nature of the station could make it tricky, though perhaps there could be an international commercial partnership with some sort of a government role, said Frank Slazer, the vice president of space systems for the Aerospace Industries Association. “It will be very hard to turn ISS into a truly commercial outpost because of the international agreements that the United States is involved in,” he said. “It's inherently always going to be an international construct that requires U.S. government involvement and multinational cooperation.” Bridenstine declined to name the companies that have expressed interest in managing the station, and said he was aware that companies may find it “hard to close the business case.” But he said there was still seven years to plan for the future of the station, and with the White House's budget request “we have forced the conversation.” A former congressman from Oklahoma, Bridenstine, was confirmed by the Senate by a narrow 50-to-49 votethis spring, after the post had remained vacant for 15 months. Democrats had rallied against his nomination, saying he lacked the managerial and scientific background for the job. Many had labeled him a climate-change denier over controversial comments Bridenstine, a conservative Republican, had made in the past. But during a Senate hearing last month, he said his views had evolved, and that he believes human activity is the leading cause of climate change. That earned him plaudits from Democrats, such as Sen. Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) who had opposed his nomination. “I have come to the conclusion that this is a true evolution,” Schatz said. “That you respect people with whom you work, you respect the science, you want their respect.” In the interview, Bridenstine said there was no single event that cause him to change his thinking. As chairman of the Environment subcommittee, he said he “listened to a lot of testimony. I heard a lot of experts, and I read a lot. I came to the conclusion myself that carbon dioxide is a greenhouse gas that we've put a lot of it into the atmosphere and therefore we have contributed to the global warming that we've seen. And we've done it in really significant ways.” In the wide-ranging interview, Bridenstine also listed a return to the moon and the restoration of human spaceflight from United States soil as two of his top priorities. NASA has proposed building an outpost in the vicinity of the moon that could be inhabited by humans from time to time, with landers that could ferry supplies to the lunar surface. Known as the Lunar Orbiting Platform Gateway, the system would be built by NASA in partnership with industry and its international partners, he said. “I've met with a lot of leaders of space agencies from around the world,” he said. “There is a lot of interest in the Gateway in the lunar outpost because a lot of countries want to have access to the surface of the moon. And this can help them as well and they can help us. It helps expand the partnership that we've seen in low Earth orbit with the International Space Station.” But the first element of the system wouldn't be launched until 2021 or 2022, he said. Perhaps as early as this year, Boeing and SpaceX, the companies hired by NASA to fly its astronauts to the space station, could see their first test flights with people on board, though it's possible they could be delayed to next year. Since the space shuttle was retired in 2011, Russia has flown NASA's astronauts to the station, charging hundreds of millions of dollars over that time. Bridenstine said that it is “a big objective is to once again launch American astronauts on American rockets from American soil.” Both Boeing and SpaceX have had delays and setbacks in their programs. Government watchdogs have said they were concerned about an issue with Boeing's abort system that may cause its spacecraft to “tumble,” posing a threat to the crew's safety. Boeing has said it has fixed that problem, as well as a concern with the heat shield that the Government Accountability Office said last year could disconnect “and damage the parachute system.” John Mulholland, Boeing's commercial crew program manager, told Congress earlier this year that the company's "analyses show that we exceed our requirements for crew safety." As administrator, Bridenstine and his staff will also have to sign off on SpaceX's decision to fuel its Falcon 9 rocket after the crews are on board -- which some have said could put astronauts at risk. But during a recent NASA safety advisory panel, some members said they thought the procedure could be a “viable option” if adequate safety controls are in place. SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk told reporters last month that he did not think the fueling process "presents a safety issue for astronauts. But we can adjust our operational procedures to load propellant before the astronauts board. But I really think this is an overblown issue.” In the interview, Bridenstine said no decision had been made yet about the fueling procedures. “I haven't signed off on anything at this point,” he said. “We're going to make sure we test it every which way you can possibly imagine. And that's underway right now. We're not going to put anybody in any undue risk.” https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/the-switch/wp/2018/06/05/nasas-new-administrator-says-hes-talking-to-companies-to-take-over-the-international-space-station/

Innovation, Sciences et Développement économique Canada (ISDE) s'est associé à l'Association des industries canadiennes de défense et de sécurité (AICDS) pour diffuser publiquement un nouveau rapport sur l'industrie canadienne de la défense à l'intention des décideurs. Le rapport aborde notamment le renforcement de la capacité d'analyse par la recherche collaborative, les retombées économiques, l'innovation, les exportations et l'analyse des chaînes d'approvisionnement. https://www.ic.gc.ca/eic/site/ad-ad.nsf/fra/h_ad03978.html

La persévérance et une stratégie à long terme ont porté leurs fruits pour une entreprise canadienne du secteur de la défense et de la technologie spatiale, qui a remporté un contrat de 15 millions de dollars pour créer un nouveau système de commandement et de contrôle des opérations maritimes à l'OTAN. MDA a signé un accord avec l'OTAN en décembre 2017 pour soutenir le projet TRITON de l'alliance militaire. Le contrat offre des possibilités de débouchés importants à l'OTAN et dans plusieurs de ses pays membres, ce qui démontre la valeur de la persévérance dans la poursuite du travail avec l'organisation. « C'est un engagement de longue haleine », déclare M. Mike Greenley, président du groupe MDA, une filiale de Maxar Technologies, qui est une société ouverte cotée au Canada et aux États-Unis anciennement connue sous le nom de MacDonald, Dettwiler and Associates. MDA a commencé à s'intéresser au contrat TRITON il y a près de 10 ans, quand elle a appris que l'OTAN voulait remplacer et mettre à jour le système de commandement et de contrôle, ou C2, dans ses centres d'opérations maritimes. « C'est un gros effort. Nous avions une équipe qui travaillait sur ce projet depuis plusieurs années. » Fondée en 1969 et comptant aujourd'hui 1 900 employés dans plusieurs centres à travers le Canada, MDA est surtout connue pour ses innovations en robotique spatiale, comme le développement du Canadarm (bras canadien). L'entreprise a également des activités dans les domaines des antennes satellites, de la surveillance et du renseignement, des systèmes maritimes et de défense et de l'imagerie radar géospatiale. L'OTAN, ou l'Organisation du Traité de l'Atlantique Nord, est une alliance de défense militaire conclue à Washington en 1949 qui regroupe plusieurs nations nord-américaines et européennes dans la région de l'Atlantique Nord. Le Canada est un membre fondateur de l'OTAN, dont le siège est à Bruxelles. Selon M. Greenley, le contrat de trois ans pour le projet TRITON, qui relève de l'Agence OTAN d'information et de communication (NCIA) à Bruxelles, fait appel à la connaissance du secteur maritime que MDA possède et à son expertise fondamentale en cartographie numérique pour présenter une « image maritime » permettant de déceler les mouvements des navires en mer, de les suivre et de les analyser. Ce projet aidera l'OTAN et ses pays membres à améliorer leur connaissance de la situation et leurs processus décisionnels. Il était essentiel que l'OTAN reconnaisse les capacités de MDA sur le terrain, note-t-il, mais l'entreprise a également dû « tenir bon » pendant longtemps afin d'être retenue à la suite de son offre. « C'est la preuve qu'une entreprise canadienne peut s'imposer dans un processus concurrentiel intégral et ouvert et remporter un contrat pour un programme de l'OTAN », indique M. Greenley. Il ajoute que les entreprises européennes ont moins de difficulté à participer aux concours de l'OTAN que n'en ont les entreprises d'outre-mer. « Il n'y a pas beaucoup de récits d'entreprises canadiennes dont la soumission a été retenue là-bas. » M. Kevin Scheid, directeur général de la NCIA, a déclaré dans un communiqué que « l'Agence est heureuse de pouvoir travailler avec une entreprise canadienne qui apporte à l'OTAN la profondeur et l'étendue de l'expérience canadienne en matière de commandement et de contrôle maritime pour le projet TRITON. » Mme Kerry Buck, représentante permanente du Canada auprès de l'OTAN, a déclaré ce qui suit : « L'OTAN est au cœur de la politique de sécurité nationale du Canada. Nous sommes fiers que l'OTAN mette à profit la technologie et l'expertise canadiennes pour contribuer à l'amélioration des communications et soutenir l'interopérabilité au sein de l'OTAN. » Le lieutenant-colonel Jim Bates, ancien expert national, ou NATEX, pour le Canada à la NCIA, affirme que « MDA a fait tout ce qu'il fallait pour obtenir le contrat TRITON ». M. Bates est retourné à Ottawa en 2017 pour occuper un poste au Quartier général de la Défense nationale. Il considère que l'exemple de MDA est une « excellente étude de cas » pour les entreprises canadiennes qui souhaitent collaborer avec l'OTAN. M. Bates a pris conscience de l'intérêt de MDA pour le contrat TRITON quand il est arrivé à l'OTAN, en 2012. « MDA suivait ce projet depuis les premiers jours, se souvient-il. L'entreprise envoyait régulièrement des représentants à l'OTAN pour qu'ils rencontrent les principales parties prenantes. Elle a recherché et saisi d'autres occasions de plus petits contrats à l'OTAN avant de mettre la main sur le contrat TRITON. Elle avait donc un pied dans la porte et a pu vendre ses services et son expertise au personnel de l'OTAN. Elle a fait bonne impression. » L'entreprise est restée en contact permanent avec M. Bates pour obtenir des renseignements commerciaux. Des représentants de MDA ont assisté à toutes les conférences annuelles de l'industrie de la NCIA, lors desquelles ils ont pu discuter avec le personnel de l'Agence et acquérir une excellente compréhension du processus d'approvisionnement de l'OTAN. « Lorsque nous avons soumissionné, nous n'avons eu aucune surprise », déclare M. Bates, ajoutant que ce n'est pas toujours le cas. « Les entreprises, grandes et petites, ont beaucoup de difficulté à décider si elles devraient soumissionner », car elles savent qu'elles devront déployer des efforts considérables sans aucune garantie. « Lors de mon passage à l'OTAN, j'ai remarqué que les entreprises canadiennes avaient tendance à suivre les offres de l'OTAN, mais soumissionnaient rarement. Or, on ne peut pas gagner si on ne soumissionne pas... MDA était confiante quant au contrat TRITON et elle l'a obtenu. » Selon M. Greenley, il est important de présenter la bonne solution technique au bon prix quand on fait des affaires avec l'OTAN et ses pays membres. « À l'OTAN, toute l'équipe doit être à l'aise avec votre approche. » Il ajoute que, selon lui, il est « très probable » que de futurs contrats liés au projet TRITON prévoient l'ajout de fonctions et de caractéristiques aux systèmes C2 de l'OTAN, et que les pays membres de l'OTAN adoptent la solution TRITON de MDA pour leurs propres centres d'opérations maritimes. « Nous avons toutes les raisons de croire que ce contrat amènera de solides retombées contractuelles, affirme M. Greenley. Pour notre entreprise, ce contrat pourrait facilement devenir une relation de travail continue qui durera une décennie ou plus. » Il attribue le succès de MDA dans l'obtention du contrat aux représentants canadiens à Bruxelles en poste aux différents niveaux de la mission du Canada à l'OTAN, ainsi que dans les principaux pays membres. « Pour obtenir ce contrat, nous avons eu l'aide des bonnes personnes, qui étaient au bon endroit, au bon moment. » MDA exporte régulièrement ses produits et services, et elle a commencé à exercer ses activités à l'étranger, explique M. Greenley. Les activités de développement commercial de l'entreprise sont soutenues par le Service des délégués commerciaux du Canada (SDC), ainsi que par Exportation et développement Canada et la Corporation commerciale canadienne. « Nous utilisons la gamme complète des outils d'exportation à la disposition des Canadiens, dit-il. Pour réussir dans le commerce international, votre entreprise doit avoir une bonne solution; elle doit aussi pouvoir compter sur l'appui de l'ensemble du gouvernement et être établie dans un pays acheteur. » MDA fera appel au SDC pour promouvoir sa technologie TRITON auprès des pays membres de l'OTAN qui cherchent à remplacer et à mettre à jour leurs propres systèmes C2, indique M. Greenley. « Nous allons certainement travailler fort dans les pays de l'OTAN, et le SDC nous aidera en encourageant ces pays à adopter notre solution. » M. Gregory Rust, délégué commercial principal à la tête du programme commercial de l'ambassade du Canada à Bruxelles, a déclaré : « L'une des choses que j'ai observées en suivant le processus de passation de contrats de l'OTAN au fil des années est qu'il est important de persévérer et de faire preuve de patience et de minutie. » M. Rust affirme que MDA avait toutes ces qualités essentielles, et que le SDC « était là pour appuyer les intérêts actuels de l'entreprise en lui offrant les principaux services ». Selon Mme Jane Li, première secrétaire de la Délégation conjointe du Canada auprès de l'OTAN et représentante du Canada au Comité des investissements de l'OTAN, qui supervise le Programme OTAN d'investissement au service de la sécurité, il est important d'être proactif dans ses efforts en vue de déterminer et de comprendre les besoins de l'OTAN. « La patience est aussi un atout », dit-elle, ajoutant que, comme c'est le cas pour de nombreuses grandes organisations, il faut du temps pour apprendre à connaître l'OTAN et son fonctionnement, et l'OTAN a besoin de temps pour comprendre ce que l'industrie a à offrir. « Il est nécessaire d'adopter une vision à long terme. » MDA a choisi une telle approche et « a passé beaucoup de temps à travailler dans ce sens », précise-t-elle. Il est important de « saisir rapidement et souvent les débouchés qui se présentent. Suivre les occasions de soumissionner et demander à recevoir des invitations à cet égard vous permettront de mieux comprendre les besoins de l'OTAN et de vous familiariser avec ses processus, ce qui, par la suite, pourrait vous aider à augmenter vos chances de réussite. » Maintenant que MDA a remporté le contrat TRITON, « nous voulons poursuivre nos relations d'affaires avec l'OTAN », affirme M. Greenley, mais ce ne sera pas plus facile pour autant d'obtenir des contrats avec l'OTAN. « Il faut beaucoup de temps pour qu'un programme à l'OTAN soit organisé et mis en œuvre, il est donc difficile de persévérer », dit-il. La distance qui nous sépare de Bruxelles et l'investissement supplémentaire nécessaire pour assurer une présence là-bas constituent des difficultés supplémentaires pour les entreprises canadiennes. Le Canada se joint à d'autres pays où les gouvernements et les entreprises forment des partenariats pour décrocher des contrats de l'OTAN, ce qui est logique compte tenu des revenus que ces contrats de l'OTAN peuvent rapporter, dit-il. « Nous commençons à prendre des initiatives pour nous assurer d'obtenir notre juste part ». M. Greenley conseille aux entreprises qui veulent obtenir des contrats de l'OTAN de ne pas sous-estimer le temps que peut prendre le processus. « Je ne mettrais pas un projet de l'OTAN dans mon plan d'activités de base, dit-il. Ne tenez pas pour acquis que le projet va se réaliser. Il faut plutôt le voir comme une occasion de croissance commerciale stratégique et marginale. » Il précise qu'il est important de faire preuve d'un « engagement soutenu » auprès du SDC et de travailler avec la délégation canadienne à l'OTAN ainsi que les pays membres. « Par définition, l'OTAN est fondée sur la participation et la collaboration de nombreux participants, explique-t-il. Il faut utiliser les relations du Canada avec plusieurs pays de l'OTAN pour établir une base de soutien pour votre solution. » M. Greeley espère que le succès de MDA « permettra à d'autres entreprises au Canada de voir qu'il est possible de décrocher un contrat et d'être ajoutées à la liste des programmes de l'OTAN au Canada ». Pendant l'exécution du contrat TRITON, « nous allons travailler fort pour profiter pleinement de cette occasion », ajoute-t-il. Ce récit qui nous vient de Bruxelles, en Belgique, est un exemple de la façon dont les délégués commerciaux situés dans plus de 160 villes du monde aident les entreprises canadiennes à réussir. http://deleguescommerciaux.gc.ca/canadexport/0002899.aspx?lang=fra

OTTAWA — The federal government has approved plans to start some work on the navy's new support ships in the coming months in a bid to keep delivery of the much-needed vessels from slipping farther behind schedule. Seaspan Shipyards is expected to begin cutting steel on some parts of the two vessels in Vancouver this summer during a lull in the construction of two science vessels for the Canadian Coast Guard, several sources told The Canadian Press. The science vessels will still be delivered first, but officials are hoping that the head start will result in the first Protecteur-class joint support ship, as the naval vessels are officially known, being delivered 2022. That would be a year earlier than the Department of National Defence's current estimate for the ship's completion, which was recently revealed in an annual report tabled in Parliament. Construction on the first vessel was supposed to start in 2016, with delivery slated for 2019, but the project has been plagued by delays and the government says its $2.3-billion budget is under review. The navy has been without a permanent support ship since 2015, when it was forced to retire its existing vessels due to an unexpected fire and corrosion issues, though it is leasing a temporary replacement, the MV Asterix. The Asterix is at the heart of the criminal case against Vice-Admiral Mark Norman, who has been charged with breach of trust for alleging leaking government secrets about the project to a Quebec shipyard in 2015. Norman has denied any wrongdoing and vowed to fight the charges in court. An official announcement about the plan to start work on the support ships, which are considered essential for supporting a modern navy on international operations, was expected this week but has been delayed. Seaspan, which is responsible for building the two support vessels as well as four science ships and a polar icebreaker for the coast guard, initially pitched the plan in a bid to prevent layoffs between construction of the science ships. National Defence publicly backed the proposal last month as a way to save time and it was touted in the department's annual report to Parliament, which was written before the federal government signed off on the plan. “Current discussions underway between Canada and the shipyard could also result in schedule compression opportunities being exploited,” the report reads, “including the potential to commence the early construction of some JSS components.” Yet the report also confirmed what many have feared: The project continues to experience delays. The department predicted last year that the first ship would be delivered in 2021; the new report says it will be delivered in 2023, though officials hope that the advance work will cut that time to 2022. The cause of the delays has been sharply contested by the government, National Defence, Seaspan and other industry players, with fingers pointed in all directions. Defence analyst David Perry of the Canadian Global Affairs Institute said while starting work soon on the support ships has merit, the ongoing delays point to much wider issues with regards to how the entire national shipbuilding plan is unfolding. “These mitigations keep talking about making something less late than it otherwise would be, not delivering them earlier than planned,” he said. “It's not really clear, but at a minimum, the Crown hasn't really demonstrated that they've reached any kind of stability in terms of the schedule.” http://thestarphoenix.com/pmn/news-pmn/canada-news-pmn/feds-ok-early-start-to-construction-of-navys-new-supply-ships-sources/wcm/cdc8e162-7d54-4493-90c2-6d883a7b03dd

By: Martin Banks NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg says “it is time we all woke up to the potential dangers of cyber threats.” Speaking at a conference on cyber crime in Paris May 15, Stoltenberg said, “In the Second World War there was a popular saying, ‘Loose lips sink ships.' Today, it is weak passwords, failing to add software updates, or opening unfamiliar emails. Simple things. But if we get them right, we go a long way to protecting ourselves.” Stoltenberg was speaking at the Ecole Militaire in the French capital on a major conference on NATO's so-called “Cyber Defence Pledge” which, he said, had helped nations to look at their cyber-defences in a more holistic way. NATO countries have faced a series of attacks in recent years. In France, TV-Cinq Monde was taken off air by hackers while Fancy Bear, a group associated with the Kremlin, hacked the main political parties in the United States in what Stoltenberg called “a brazen attempt to influence the 2016 election.” Last year's WannaCry attack forced Renault to halt production at several of its factories and a cyberattack brought hospitals in the UK to a standstill. “The very nature of these attacks is a challenge,” Stoltenberg said. “It is often difficult to know who has attacked you or even if you have been attacked at all. There are many different actors. “Governments, but also criminal gangs, terrorist groups and lone individuals. Nowhere is the ‘Fog of War' thicker than it is in cyberspace,” he said. “If these were hard attacks, using bombs or missiles instead of computer code, they could be considered an act of war. But instead, some are using software to wage a soft-war - a soft-war with very real, and potentially deadly consequences.” In 2014, NATO leaders agreed that a cyberattack could trigger Article 5, meaning that an attack on one ally is treated as an attack on all allies. He added, “I am often asked, ‘under what circumstances would NATO trigger Article 5 in the case of a cyber-attack?' My answer is: we will see. The level of cyberattack that would provoke a response must remain purposefully vague as will the nature of our response. “But it could include diplomatic and economic sanctions, cyber-responses, or even conventional forces, depending on the nature and consequences of the attack.But whatever the response, NATO will continue to follow the principle of restraint. And act in accordance with international law.” In less than two years, almost every ally had upgraded their cyber defences with France leading the way, investing €1.6 billion and employing thousands more cyber experts. He also pointed to Nato's new Command Structure and Cyber Rapid Reaction teams. https://www.fifthdomain.com/international/2018/05/16/how-would-nato-respond-to-a-cyber-attack-well-see/