Nouvelles

By: Vivek Raghuvanshi NEW DELHI – India's defense budget for 2019 included a marginal 6.87 percent bump to $49.68 billion, which is unlikely to meet modernization demands or ‘Make in India' manufacturing increases. Out of the total allocation, $16.91 billion has been set aside to buy new weapons and other military hardware, compared to $14.68 billion in the previous financial year. But not accounted for are the liabilities, say some defense analysts, which could chip away at available funds. “As of now, one doesn't know about the extent of committed liabilities to be able to say how much money will be available for new purchases,” said Amit Cowshish, former financial advisor for the Ministry of Defence acquisition. "But it can be said with reasonable certainty that the allocation must be much less than the requirement projected by the ministry. That being the case, the ministry will have to make do with whatever money they have got, just the way they have been managing in the past.” India's defence budget is more than five times that of Pakistan, pegged at $9.6 billion — barely enough to maintain its basic operational capability. Presenting the interim budget for 2019-20 in parliament, Union Minister for Finance and Corporate Affairs Piyush Goyal said additional funds, if necessary, would be provided to secure India's borders and maintain its defense preparedness. Under capital outlay, the Army was granted $4.60 billion and the Navy granted $3.61 billion — both nearly flat compared to the year before. The Indian Air Force was allocated $6.14 billion, combared to $5.58 billion in the previous year. One MoD official said the majority of funds will go towards past committed liabilities for Rafale fighters, S-400 missile systems, warships and helicopters. Still, the fact that the budget saw an increase is noteworthy to some. “The allocation for defense, which for the first time has crossed the $49 billion threshold is encouraging," said Baba Kalyani, chairman of leading private sector defense enterprise Bharat Forge Ltd. In terms of manufacturing, "we hope that ‘Make in India' will result in a greater role for the private industry in this critical sector of the country's economy.” Cowshish is less encouraged, seeing very few noteworthy programs on the horizon. “It doesn't seem likely that many big contracts for fighters, helicopters, submarines, etc. will get concluded in the coming year," he said. "This is not because of paucity of funds but on account of the fact that none of these procurement proposals are likely to reach anywhere near the contract conclusion stage any time soon. “ https://www.defensenews.com/global/asia-pacific/2019/02/05/indias-new-defense-budget-falls-way-short-for-modernization-plans/

By: William Schneider, Jr The public discussion of 5th generation (5G) mobile telephone service has been seen by many – perhaps most – in the United States as just another step in the evolution of mobile communications, a remarkable scientific and commercial development that has wrought a wide range of benefits world-wide over the preceding quarter-century. More recently, the focus has shifted to 5G as a proxy for the U.S.-China trade and technology rivalry. The Trump administration's effort to change the terms-of-trade with China has brought the subject of commercial and international trade consequences of the proliferation of advanced technologies into sharp relief. The U.S. efforts to extradite the chief financial officer of the Chinese telecommunication equipment developer and producer, Huawei from her detention in Canada for export control violations have added a geopolitical spin to what has become an increasingly tangled issue. These aspects of the story, while true, do not begin to describe why 5G is such a big deal. The technologies of 5G communication will create a backbone technology for high speed low latency telecommunication. It will serve as the basis for the global internet-based “Internet of Things” (IoT) with fundamental changes in how goods and services of every imaginable types (and many, perhaps most not yet imagined) can be developed, employed, supported, and replaced. The importance of new technologies is not their ability to do what existing technology can do now, only faster, better, and cheaper even though that is a likely consequence. In the case of 5G, its ultra-low latency (potentially hundreds of times faster than current 4G LTE) produced by its vast bandwidth that allows users to do things that previously could not be done by any practical application of existing technologies. The enormous scale of capital expenditure involved in rapidly bringing 5G technology to market – $325 billion by 2025 – to develop and produce the hardware and software needed to deliver early 5G capabilities is unlike any other infrastructure project. Reflecting its national commitment to 5G, nearly half of the world-wide investment in 5G development and employment will be made by China. The extraordinarily low latency of 5G will allow services such as augmented and virtual reality and an immersive and tactile internet that cannot be delivered by 4G or earlier technology. 5G technology also inverts the classic paradigm of computational scarcity at the network's edge (e.g. the mobile device) and computational abundance at the center. With computational abundance now at the network edge, the employment of computationally intense emerging technologies (e.g. AI, quantum computing and cryptography, facial recognition) can be performed by mobile devices throughout the network. 5G as part of China's belt-and-road initiative While Western governments have tended to see 5G as an important but incremental extension of existing telecommunications services, China has recognized the value of 5G technology with its belt-and-road initiative (BRI). That effort is China's $1 trillion global infrastructure project to expand its economic presence and support for its interests on a global scale. China sees it as a key step in becoming the world's leading economic power by 2049, the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Communist state. The project has several components, one of which has become known as the “digital road.” It anticipates projecting the deployment of China's 5G telecommunication infrastructure over the dozens of countries now affiliated with the initiative. The 5G telecommunications network would be integrated with another Chinese project, its Beidou (“Big Dipper”) precision navigation and timing system (now in the latter stage of fielding) to displace the U.S. Global Positioning System enabling China's telecommunications and PNT system to dominate the future IoT and other in areas affected by China's belt-and-road project. 5G as an instrument of China's international security policy China's global security ambitions overlap its economic aspirations. The 19th Congress of the Communist Party of China, the belt-and-road initiative and its associated activities were incorporated in the Chinese Constitution at the 19th CPC. In that context belt and road is a project of the Party, and not the State which significantly elevates its security role and importance to its national leadership. The BRI creates a global economic presence that has become a combination of commercial enablers for its “Maritime Silk Road” and forward air and naval installations for China's armed forces. These include air and naval facilities in Djibouti in the Horn of Africa, Jiwani, Pakistan (~80-km west of its large commercial port at Gwadar, and a naval base in Sri Lanka (Hambantota, which China acquired in a debt-for-sovereignty swap when Sri Lanka could not service its BRI debt to China). China's switch from a regional to an aspiring global power reflect its aspirations that have shaped the CPC's rule since Mao: the deconstruction the old-world order in favor of one which gives China its rightful place at the zenith of a new international order. The incorporation of the technology 5G telecommunication and Chinese controlled PNT parallels a trend in US military practice. DoD military communications, like China's is moving to a wireless, mobile, and cloud-based IT systems built around 5G technology. China's convergence of its 5G, BRI presence (military and civil), PNT and dominant role in the BRI member states are aimed at becoming the world's leading economic and military power by the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Communist State in 2049. 5G is both an enabler and product of China's remarkable economic growth since 1979 and is likely to become a central element of China's economic and military power for the 1st half of the 21st century. William Schneider, Jr. is a senior fellow at the Hudson Institute and former under secretary of State and chairman of the Defense Science Board. https://www.c4isrnet.com/opinion/2019/02/05/why-5g-is-a-big-deal-for-militaries-throughout-the-world

By: Sebastian Sprenger COLOGNE, Germany — Germany may be unable to deliver on its pledge to increase the defense budget due to smaller-than-expected economic growth, according to a new Finance Ministry analysis. The projections peg the military budget to be several billion euros short of the trajectory to meet the government's goal of reaching 1.5 percent of gross domestic product by 2024. Analysts even see the current spending curve unable to sustain 1.35 percent in the years ahead. NATO members in 2014 agreed to boost their defense spending to 2 percent of GDP within 10 years. Germany's defense budget is roughly €43 billion (U.S. $49 billion) for 2019, or about 1.2 percent of GDP. That is a boost of €4 billion over the previous year. Defence Minister Ursula von der Leyen on Monday said Germany remains committed to hitting the self-declared 1.5 percent target in 2024. She portrayed the Finance Ministry's analysis as a mere first step toward a budget proposal negotiated by Cabinet secretaries. The government is expected to unveil such a plan in late March. The Trump administration has often criticized Germany for underspending on defense, arguing Berlin rides on American coattails when it comes to security. News that the country's spending target is at risk is sure to embolden the narrative in Washington that Europe is somehow taking advantage of the United States. It could weaken the negotiating position of German government delegates at two high-profile events in mid-February: a meeting of NATO defense ministers in Brussels, and the Munich Security Conference. The Finance Ministry's economic outlook estimates that agencies will have to reconcile new spending priorities within their previously established budget targets. That means no fresh money would become available for the government's push on artificial intelligence, for example, according to the document. https://www.defensenews.com/global/europe/2019/02/05/germanys-plan-to-boost-defense-spending-hits-a-snag/

DEFENSE COMMISSARY AGENCY Coast Produce Co., Los Angeles, California, is being awarded an indefinite-delivery, requirements type contract to provide fresh fruits and vegetable products for commissaries located in the west areas of the continental U.S. The award amount is estimated at $153,648,855 for the base year. Actual obligations using resale stock activity group, defense capital funds, will occur upon issuance of delivery orders during the period of performance. Contract funds will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The contract is for a 24-month base period beginning Feb. 25, 2019, through Feb. 21, 2021. The contract includes three one-year option periods. If all three option periods are exercised, the contract will be completed Feb. 21, 2024. The Defense Commissary Agency, Fort Lee, Virginia, is the contracting activity (HDEC02-19-D-0002). NAVY General Dynamics Bath Iron Works (BIW), Bath, Maine, was awarded a $126,171,106 cost-plus-award-fee contract for DDG 51 class integrated planning yard services. BIW will provide expert design, planning and material support services for both maintenance and modernization. This contract includes options which, if exercised, would bring the cumulative value of this contract to $719,178,832. Work will be performed in Bath, Maine, and is expected to be completed by January 2024. Fiscal 2019 operations and maintenance (Navy); and fiscal 2019 other procurement (Navy) funding in the amount of $21,022,460 was obligated at time of award, and $4,549,434 will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was not competitively procured, in accordance with 10 U.S. Code 2304(c)(1) - only one responsible source and no other supplies or services will satisfy agency requirements. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, District of Columbia, is the contracting activity (N00024-19-C-4452). (Awarded Jan. 30, 2019) Swiftships LLC,* Morgan City, Louisiana, is awarded a $26,683,722 modification to previously awarded fixed-price incentive contract N00024-18-C-2401 to exercise an option for construction of Landing Craft, Utility (LCU) 1701 and 1702. LCU 1700 will replace the existing LCU 1610 class of amphibious landing craft on a one for one basis. LCU 1700 will be a similarly rugged steel craft which will recapitalize the LCU 1610 capabilities and have a design life of 30 years. LCU 1700 craft will be a highly reliable and fuel efficient heavy lift platform whose capability will be complementary to the faster air cushion landing craft which have a significantly shorter range, smaller payload capacity, no habitability, and operating hour limitations. Work will be performed in Morgan City, Louisiana, and is expected to be completed by May 2021. Fiscal 2019 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy) funding in the amount of $26,683,722 will be obligated at time of award, and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Sea Systems Command Washington, District of Columbia, is the contracting activity. Kingfisher Systems Inc., Falls Church, Virginia, is awarded a $14,236,278 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for advanced cyber support services in support of the Marine Corps Cyberspace Operations Group. This one-year contract includes four one-year option periods which, if exercised, would bring the potential value of this contract to an estimated $73,344,685. Work will be performed in Quantico, Virginia. The period of performance of the base period is from Feb. 4, 2019, through Feb. 3, 2020. If all options are exercised, the period of performance would extend through Feb. 3, 2024. Fiscal 2019 operations and maintenance (Marine Corps) funds in the amount of $5,500,000 will be obligated on this award and will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured via request for proposal N66001-18-R-0011 which was published on the Federal Business Opportunities website and the Space and Naval Warfare e-Commerce Central website, with five offers received and one selected for award. The Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center Pacific, San Diego, California, is the contracting activity (N66001-19-C-3406). Northrop Grumman Systems Corp., Military Aircraft Systems, Melbourne, Florida, is awarded $11,654,051 for modification P00068 to a previously awarded cost-plus-incentive-fee contract (N00019-13-C-9999). This modification provides for non-recurring engineering to incorporate the Multifunctional Information Distribution System/Joint Tactical Radio System into the E-2D Advanced Hawkeye aircraft in support of the government of Japan. Work will be performed in Melbourne, Florida (75.15 percent); Norfolk, Virginia (8.98 percent); Ronkonkoma, New York (8.42 percent); St. Augustine, Florida (6.34 percent); Misawa, Japan (.32); and various locations within the continental U.S. (.79 percent), and is expected to be completed in June 2020. Foreign Military Sales funds in the amount of $11,654,051 will be obligated at time of award, none of which will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Air Systems Command, Patuxent River, Maryland, is the contracting activity. Canadian Commercial Corp., Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, is awarded an $11,382,478 firm-fixed-price, cost-reimbursable indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract. This contract provides services in support of Navy ship and weapons systems test events such as target presentations, planning and conducting of test, and analysis and evaluation of the assigned surface weapons systems during test events as well as systems engineering and program management support. Work will be performed at Point Mugu, California (85 percent); Ridgecrest, California (6 percent); Las Cruces, New Mexico (3 percent); Kauai, Hawaii (2 percent); Salt Lake City, Utah (2 percent); Lompoc, California (1 percent); and various locations outside the continental U.S. (1 percent), and is expected to be completed in February 2024. No funds will be obligated at the time of award. Funds will be obligated on individual orders as they are issued. This contract was not competitively procured pursuant to 10 U.S. Code 2304(c)(1). The Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division, China Lake, California, is the contracting activity (N68936-19-D-0008). UPDATE: The contract deductive modification awarded to Gilbane Federal, Concord, California (N39430-15-D-1634) on Jan. 16, 2019, to decrease the value of the contract for the cleaning, inspection and repair of Fuel Storage Tanks 305, 307, and 308 at Defense Fuel Support Point, Tsurumi, Japan, was not signed on that actual date. The modification for $10,966,383 will now be executed Feb. 4, 2019. Work on Tanks 305, 307, and 308 is being removed from the contract by mutual agreement of the parties. DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY Beacon Point & Associates LLC,** Cape Coral, Florida, has been awarded a maximum $49,000,000 fixed-price with economic-price-adjustment, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for hospital equipment and accessories. This is a five-year contract with no option periods. This was a competitive acquisition with 71 responses received. Location of performance is Florida, with a Feb. 3, 2024, performance completion date. Using military services are Army, Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2019 through 2024 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (SPE2DH-19-D-0010). AIR FORCE Akima Logistics Services LLC, Herndon, Virginia, has been awarded a $13,536,602 firm-fixed-price contract for fuels and supply services. This contract provides for services to support all management, personnel and equipment to perform fuels and supply services. Work will be performed at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, and is expected to be completed by Feb. 29, 2020. This award is the result of a competitive acquisition and five offers were received. Fiscal 2019 operations and maintenance funds in the amount of $6,768,301 are being obligated at the time of award. The 11th Contracting Squadron, Joint Base Andrews, Maryland, is the contracting activity (FA2860-19-C-0004). DEFENSE ADVANCED RESEARCH PROJECTS AGENCY General Dynamics Mission Systems Inc., San Antonio, Texas, has been awarded an $11,816,042 modification (P00037) to previously awarded contract HR0011-16-C-0001 for classified information technology services. The modification brings the total cumulative face value of the contract to $116,832,430 from $105,016,388. Work will be performed in Arlington, Virginia, with an expected completion date of February 2020. Fiscal 2019 research and development funds in the amount of $5,430,798 are being obligated at time of award. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, Arlington, Virginia, is the contracting activity. *Small Business **Service-Disabled Veteran Owned Small Business https://dod.defense.gov/News/Contracts/Contract-View/Article/1747970/

By: Jessie Bur A recent Department of Defense memorandum indicates that the agency wants to pursue multiple commercial cloud vendors as it attempts to modernize its IT and data infrastructure, though a single provider will still have singular influence over the agency's “general purpose cloud.” “DoD is driving toward an enterprise cloud environment that is composed of a general purpose cloud and multiple fit-for-purpose clouds,” the memorandum to Congress, released Feb. 4, said. “In addition, it should be recognized that the Department will still need non-cloud data center capability for applications that are not suited for the cloud. Over time, with the adoption of an enduring enterprise cloud strategy, the non-cloud environment should become smaller.” That general purpose slot will be filled by the awardee of the $10 billion Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure contract, which has been criticized for its single-award intent as giving the winner an outsized control of the defense cloud market. Many companies vying to support the Pentagon's cloud requirements claimed that the odds were stacked in Amazon's favor. The approach spurred protests and a lawsuit in fact. According to the memorandum, the fit-for-purpose environment will be made up of the Defense Information Systems Agency's milCloud suite, as well as other unnamed vendors. Throughout the cloud migration process, DoD will stick to four guiding principles: War-fighter First — any cloud solution must at all times address the needs of improving lethality while not jeopardizing the safety and mission of American war fighters. Cloud-Smart, Data-Smart — cloud solutions must streamline transformation and embrace modern capabilities while enhancing data transparency and visibility. Leverage Commercial Industry Best Practices — the cloud strategy should promote competition and innovation while preventing lock-in of one particular solution or technology. Create a Culture Better Suited for Modern Technology Evolution — the strategy will need to create a culture of learning and innovation while discouraging custom, federated approaches. This approach to commercial cloud is not entirely unexpected, as DoD Chief Information Officer Dana Deasey said during an October 2018 press event for the Defense Enterprise Office Solution cloud contractthat the agency would be delineating between general purpose and fit for purpose contracts. "This marks a milestone in our efforts to adopt the cloud and also in our larger efforts to modernize information technology across the DOD enterprise," Deasy said in a statement on the memo to Congress. “A modern digital infrastructure is critical to support the war fighter, defend against cyberattacks and enable the department to leverage emerging technologies like machine learning and artificial intelligence.” The new strategy also means that DoD will move away from a cybersecurity posture that focuses on perimeter defense and instead prioritize the protection of data and systems. “DoD will produce a unified cybersecurity architecture that addresses cloud and the needs of classified and unclassified missions and data. The capabilities will be tested and assessed independently and frequently to ensure that cybersecurity attributes remain effective against developing threats,” the memo said, adding that the CIO will determine the command and control requirements between the agency and the cloud service providers. Cloud contracts will also likely include requirements for training and workforce development to ensure that DoD can develop the expertise necessary to use and protect their new cloud environments. And any potential migrations to cloud will have to come with thorough evaluations of legacy DoD applications. “It is imperative that DoD has a cloud strategy to ensure that legacy applications are not moved to cloud without properly re-architecting them to make use of the data, security, resiliency and application advantages that cloud provides,” the memo said. “Additionally, DoD should independently test and assess cloud network security to verify security compliance and incident response and review all contractor and third-party testing results to ensure that performance and security monitoring are sufficient.” https://www.federaltimes.com/it-networks/cloud/2019/02/04/dod-to-officially-pursue-a-multi-vendor-cloud-strategy

COURTNEY LINDER To prepare the armed forces for the “future battlefield” of 2028 or 2035, the U.S. Army is setting up shop at Carnegie Mellon University. On Friday, the Army officially activated its new Artificial Intelligence Task Force at the National Robotics Engineering Center in Lawrenceville before a crowd of politicians and researchers from nearly a dozen universities. The task force will become a national network of experts in academia and private industry, building out solutions that the Army can use not only on the battlefield but also in rescue missions and in protecting civilians. CMU is the home base, but the task force will eventually include other partners. “At the end of the day, I'd rather not fight a war,” said Mark Esper, secretary of the Army. “And so, if we can master AI ... then I think it will just really position us better to make sure we protect the American people.” He said during the Iraq war, many soldiers died on simple runs from Kuwait City to Baghdad on a daily basis. “If I could have had fewer soldiers in vehicles and had a convoy led using artificial intelligence ... think of all the lives that could have been saved,” he said. General John Murray, Commander of the Army Futures Command, which is geared toward modernizing the military, said that in the near-term, he can imagine facial recognition technology could aid in combat. Other areas of interest include technological advances in AI, robotics, and even hypersonic missiles that travel much faster than the speed of sound. When adversaries have uniforms on, he said, it's easy to tell who's the enemy. When those enemies are dressed in plain street clothes, it's much harder. With facial recognition, the military can become more precise in selecting targets. Still, there are ethical considerations to keep in mind when designing technology that could ultimately disarm or kill. When asked if the university had set up an ethics committee before partnering with the Army, CMU President Farnam Jahanian did not directly answer but offered that academia has a duty to use its knowledge for national defense. “One of the important benefits of having this task force be based here is that it's going to give us the ability to have discussions about AI and other emerging technologies and ethical applications of these technologies, both in a military context as well as a civilian context,” he said. Mr. Jahanian was careful to note that faculty members are free to work on only the research that they feel drawn to; they are not told which applications to focus on. If they feel an ethical tug-of-war in their minds, they can opt not to participate. CMU has a long history of contracting with the Department of Defense and many breakthrough technologies — including autonomous vehicles — have benefited from defense dollars. Some of these advancements, Mr. Jahanian said, are not geared toward killing at all. The university has created flexible robots that can maneuver through rubble and send a live feed to recovery specialists to aid in search and rescue missions. They've built statistical and data mining techniques to more accurately predict when military vehicles require maintenance, saving time and money. Machine learning and computer vision can even help diagnose and treat depression and post-traumatic stress disorder. Financials between the Army and CMU were not disclosed, but Mr. Jahanian said funding from the Army will not only go to CMU but also to other partners that eventually sign on. “Winning on the future battlefield requires us to act faster than our enemies while placing our troops and resources at a lower risk,” Mr. Esper said. “Whoever gets there first will maintain a decisive edge on the battlefield for years to come.” Courtney Linder: clinder@post-gazette.com or 412-263-1707. Twitter: @LinderPG. https://www.post-gazette.com/business/tech-news/2019/02/01/army-ai-task-force-cmu-carnegie-mellon-university-robotics-pittsburgh-farnam-jahanian/stories/201902010012

The CDA Institute, in collaboration with the 13thDefence and Security Economists Workshop, hosted two panel discussions on the themes of Building Security and Defence in the Canadian Economy and a discussion of the book Small Wars, Big Data, published by Princeton University Press in 2018. This morning of roundtables brought both scholars and practitioners together for a stimulating session of dialogue on the challenges of generating the economic capacity needed to protect Canadians wherever they might be and the role that empirical data can play in shaping military strategy and defence policies in asymmetric conflicts. The CDA Institute provided student rapporteurs for the event whose summaries of the proceedings follow. https://cdainstitute.ca/building-security-and-defence-in-the-canadian-economy-and-small-wars-big-data/

Over the past decade, the cyber security of elections and democratic institutions has become a critical issue both at home and globally. Canadian elections have proved to be relatively robust so far. Be that as it may, in 2017 Canada's Communications Security Establishment reported a series of major threats to the country's electoral system, including media manipulation and data privacy. Moreover, the urgency of addressing cyber security is clear from incidences of interference in countries as diverse as the United States, Kenya, Estonia and Latvia. This day-long workshop sponsored by the Royal Military College of Canada, SERENE-RISC, the CDA Institute and the Telfer School brought scholars and experts in the field together at the University of Ottawa to explore the range of security challenges posed by new and emerging technology, what solutions are out there and what role Canada's defence community can play in combating these new threats. The CDA Institute provided rapporteurs to record the day's proceedings and their summaries can be found here. https://cdainstitute.ca/17931/

Leonardo will deliver a range of new equipment to NATO JEWCS, the Alliance agency which supports armed forces training to face hostile electro-magnetic conditions Equipment will cover air, land and maritime domains and also includes a capability for training crews to defend against anti-ship missiles Leonardo's range of contracts in support of NATO signal a leadership position in a number of areas. This leadership position is driving sustainable growth, as laid out in the Company's 2018-2022 Industrial Plan Leonardo has signed a contract worth approximately €180M to provide new electronic warfare training equipment for the NATO Joint Electronic Warfare Core Staff (JEWCS). Leonardo was selected in an international competition and will incorporate technology from partners Cobham and Elettronica. The contract was placed by the UK Ministry of Defence as the host nation for NATO JEWCS, which is based at the Royal Naval Air Station (RNAS) in Yeovilton. Equipment will be delivered in tranches over the next 4 years from Leonardo's Electronic Warfare (EW) centre of excellence in Luton, UK. NATO JEWCS is the Alliance agency responsible for the high-tech world of electronic warfare. When NATO forces go on operations, they can expect the enemy to try and disrupt their radars, GPS and communications. Therefore, to train realistically, it is important that NATO Forces experience these effects and practice how to counter them. Part of NATO JEWCS's remit is to improve armed forces training by simulating the effects of an enemy's latest electronic warfare equipment during exercises, creating a ‘hostile environment' in which to train. To deliver the service, NATO JEWCS deploys high-tech EW equipment at training sites around Europe, allowing armed forces to practice their skills in areas such as electronic surveillance and electronic countermeasures while facing true-to-life attempts to disrupt their activity. In delivering this support, it is important that the EW effects being simulated are state of the art, keeping pace with opposing forces' latest tech developments. Leonardo is Europe's leading provider of electronic warfare technology and training and will be providing representative equipment across three domains: air, land and maritime. In the air, highly capable and flexible pod-based EW systems will be supplied for deployment on aircraft, alongside a NATO Anti-Ship Missile Defence Evaluation Facility (NASMDEF). NASMDEF comprises a set of pods that can be installed on aircraft to simulate anti-ship missiles. They allow forces to train in the use of ‘soft-kill countermeasures' which are used to protect ships from incoming threats. Cobham will be Leonardo's principle sub-contractor for these elements. For land and maritime applications, fully ruggedised shelters and vehicles will be provided, equipped with modular and flexible EW simulators, stimulators and jamming equipment. Elettronica will act as Leonardo's principal sub-contractor for these elements. Leonardo's electronic warfare expertise includes designing and manufacturing protective and ISR (Intelligence Surveillance and Recconaisance) equipment for UK and allied aircraft such as the Eurofighter Typhoon and AW159 helicopters, delivering specialist EW training at its Academy in Lincoln and investing in the development of the latest generation of countermeasures such as the anti-IED ‘Guardian' system for troops on the ground and the ‘BriteCloud' decoy for fighter jet pilots. This contract to upgrade electronic warfare equipment is just the latest example of Leonardo's on-going provision of security technology and expertise to NATO. Leonardo is the Alliance's cyber security mission partner, working with the NATO Communications and Information Agency to protect more than 70,000 Alliance users around the world from cyber-attacks. The Company has also provided a significant amount of equipment and support for the NATO Air Command and Control System (ACCS). In October 2018, Leonardo received the NATO Science and Technology Organization's (STO) Scientific Achievement Award for its contributions to the development of a promising new approach to modelling, simulation and training. Leonardo has also provided over 50 air defence radars to multiple Alliance member countries under the NATO Security Investment Programme (NSIP) and has delivered its ‘Guardian' counter-IED (improvised explosive device) systems to protect NATO vehicles operating in Afghanistan. https://www.leonardocompany.com/en/-/nato-protezione-elettronic-warfare-training-academy