Nouvelles

NAVY Bell Helicopter Textron Inc., Fort Worth, Texas, is awarded $439,563,841 for modification P00008 to a previously awarded fixed-price-incentive contract (N00019-17-C-0030). This modification exercises an option for the production and delivery of 25 Lot 16 AH-1Z aircraft and 25 stores control units. Work will be performed in Fort Worth, Texas (60 percent); and Amarillo, Texas (40 percent), and is expected to be completed in January 2022. Fiscal 2018 aircraft procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $439,563,841 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. Global PCCI, Irvine, California, a joint venture, is awarded a maximum value $250,000,000 cost-plus-award-fee, fixed-fee, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for the Emergency Ship Salvage Material (ESSM) system. The primary purpose of this contract is to manage the facilities with emergency response equipment stockpiles pre-positioned to support and augment the Navy fleet capability in the areas of salvage, diving, pollution response, and underwater ship husbandry maintained by the Supervisor of Salvage, SEA 00C. This contract includes five ordering periods, which if executed, would make the maximum value of this contract $250,000,000. Work will be performed worldwide, and is expected to be completed by January 2024 when all five ordering periods have been executed. Fiscal 2019 operations and maintenance (Navy) funding in the amount of $5,000 will be obligated at the time of award and will expire at the end of the fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured via the Federal Business Opportunities website, with one offer received. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, District of Columbia, is the contracting activity (N00024-19-D-4323). Raytheon Integrated Defense Systems, Tewksbury, Massachusetts, is awarded a $38,140,569 cost-plus-fixed fee, cost only contract for Dual Band Radar (DBR) Design Agent Technical Engineering support efforts. The work to be performed is for engineering services for DBR system upgrades or redesigns, engineering change proposals, product support, test equipment procurement, installation integration support, combat system integration testing, program management support, studies and analysis. This contract includes options which, if exercised, would bring the cumulative value of this contract to $98,839,761. Work will be performed in Tewksbury, Massachusetts (70 percent); Andover, Massachusetts (20 percent); Moorestown, New Jersey (5 percent); and Arvonia, Virginia (5 percent). Fiscal 2019 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy) in the amount of $1,737,000; and fiscal 2019 research, development, test, and evaluation funding in the amount of $800,000 will be obligated at time of award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was procured using other than full and open competition under the statutory authority of 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-5509). DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY Bell Boeing Joint Project Office, California, Maryland, has been awarded an estimated $143,863,184 firm-fixed-price requirements contract for performance based logistics and engineering support for the V-22 platform. This was a sole-source acquisition using justification 10 U.S. Code 2304 (c)(1), as stated in Federal Acquisition Regulation 6.302-1. This is an 11-month base contract with four one-year option periods. Locations of performance are Texas and Pennsylvania, with a Nov. 30, 2019, performance completion date. Using military services are Navy, Air Force and Marine Corps. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2019 through 2020 various Air Force, SOCOM and Navy appropriated funding. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Aviation, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (SPE4AX-19-D-9410). ARMY AECOM Energy & Construction, Greenwood Village, Colorado, was awarded a $63,007,995 modification (P00003) to contract W912EK-19-C-0002 for Illinois River Basin, LaGrange Lock and Dam, major rehabilitation, demolition; temporary facilities, surveying, dewatering, protecting lock chamber, blasting, removing and replacing horizontal concrete. Work will be performed in Versailles, Illinois, with an estimated completion date of July 27, 2021. Fiscal 2019 operations and maintenance Army funds in the amount of $24,700,000 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Rock Island, Illinois, is the contracting activity. Odyssey International Inc.,* Mesa, Arizona, was awarded a $14,000,000 firm-fixed-price contract for construction of a company operations facility. Bids were solicited via the internet with eight received. Work will be performed in Fort Gordon, Georgia, with an estimated completion date of May 22, 2020. Fiscal 2015 and 2017 military construction funds in the amount of $14,000,000 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Savannah, Georgia, is the contracting activity (W912HN-19-C-3000). Oshkosh Defense LLC, Oshkosh, Wisconsin, was awarded an $8,048,749 modification (P00150) to contract W56HZV-15-C-0095 for test and field service support for the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle. Work will be performed in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, with an estimated completion date of Sept. 30, 2019. Fiscal 2019 other procurement, Army funds in the amount of $8,048,749 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Warren, Michigan, is the contracting activity. *Small Business https://dod.defense.gov/News/Contracts/Contract-View/Article/1736461/source/GovDelivery/

Par Michel Cabirol Depuis plusieurs années, la France ne s'interdit pas de lancer des attaques cyber. Elle rend coup pour coup à ses adversaire dans le cyberespace. Et au-delà... Le ministère des Armées vient de terminer ses travaux doctrinaux en matière de lutte informatique offensive. Le monde est en guerre. Personne n'a vraiment conscience de l'ampleur de cette guerre très discrète à l'exception d'un cercle d'initiés. Vendredi lors d'un discours dans la droite ligne de celui en septembre 2015 de son prédécesseur Jean-Yves Le Drian, la ministre des Armées Florence Parly a dévoilé une attaque cyber de très grande ampleur contre son ministère, qui a commencé en 2017. Une attaque très sophistiquée à base du Malware Turla, un ver qui s'introduit dans les sites des administrations étatiques et des entreprise. Un ver qui s'est déjà introduit dans les sites de la Défense américaine et avait été décrit comme la plus grande brèche dans l'histoire des ordinateurs de l'armée US. "Nous sommes fin 2017, a raconté Florence Parly. Des connexions anormales sur le serveur de la messagerie internet du ministère des Armées sont constatées. Ces connexions ont révélé après analyse qu'un attaquant cherchait à accéder directement au contenu de boites mails de 19 cadres du ministère parmi elles, celles de quelques personnalités sensibles. Sans notre vigilance, c'est toute notre chaîne d'alimentation en carburant de la Marine nationale qui aurait été exposée. Surtout, cette tentative d'attaque a duré jusqu'en avril 2018. Nous avons pu patiemment et, en étroite collaboration avec nos partenaires, remonter la chaîne des serveurs et des adresses IP Derrière se cachait un mode d'attaque bien connu de nos services et que certains attribuent à Turla". Deux attaques par jour En 2017, le ministère des Armées a recensé 700 événements de sécurité, dont 100 attaques qui ont ciblé ses réseaux. En 2018, ce même nombre a été atteint dès septembre. "En moyenne, a précisé Florence Parly, ce sont donc plus de deux événements de sécurité par jour qui ont touché tout autant notre ministère, nos opérations, nos expertises techniques et même un hôpital d'instruction des Armées". Certaines de ces attaques, directes, ciblaient précisément le ministère. D'autres visaient les industriels de la défense. Par conséquent, confirme le chef d'état-major des armées (CEMA), le général François Lecointre, le cyberespace recèle "des potentialités de désorganisation massive qui ne doivent pas être ignorées mais au contraire intégrées dans une pensée stratégique renouvelée". Certaines attaques sont "le fruit de groupes malveillants,a précisé la ministre. D'autres de hackers isolés. Mais certaines, nous le savons, viennent d'Etats pour le moins indiscrets, pour le moins... décomplexés". Aujourd'hui, un certain nombre de nations incluent des effets cyber dans leurs stratégies militaires et leurs modes d'action. Elles s'y préparent à l'occasion d'exercices mêlant capacités conventionnelles et cyber. La France fait partie de ce club de nations. "Nos adversaires potentiels doivent savoir à quoi s'attendre" s'ils décident de passer à l'attaque dans le cyberespace, a précisé la ministre des Armées. "L'arme cyber est une arme d'emploi", a rappelé le général Lecointre. Les attaques cyber ont le plus souvent un caractère d'irrégularité. Le cyberespace favorise les actions de type guérilla ou de harcèlement en raison de la faible traçabilité des attaques cyber qui sont très difficilement attribuables. En outre, l'invulnérabilité du cyberespace est très difficile à conserver dans la durée compte tenu de l'étendue du milieu et de sa complexité. Enfin, l'accessibilité aisée pour les acteurs non-étatiques et les petits Etats offrent un outil offensif qui peut être volé, copié ou imité par des adversaires ou des acteurs tiers. Une doctrine de lutte informatique offensive Si une éventuelle riposte à l'attaque Turla n'a pas été révélée, Florence Parly a toutefois confirmé que la France s'octroierait le droit de riposter face à des cyber-attaques . "En cas d'attaque cyber contre nos forces, nous nous réservons le droit de riposter, dans le respect du droit, par les moyens et au moment de notre choix, a-t-elle expliqué. Nous nous réservons aussi, quel que soit l'assaillant, le droit de neutraliser les effets et les moyens numériques employés. Mais nous serons aussi prêts à employer en opérations extérieures l'arme cyber à des fins offensives, isolément ou en appui de nos moyens conventionnels, pour en démultiplier les effets". "La capacité à conduire des opérations militaires dans le cyberespace permet d'obtenir certains avantages sur les thé'tres d'opération des armées", a d'ailleurs reconnu le général Lecointre. "Nous considérons l'arme cyber comme une arme opérationnelle à part entière. C'est un choix nécessaire, en responsabilité. Nous en ferons un usage proportionné, mais que ceux qui sont tentés de s'attaquer à nos forces armées le sachent : nous n'aurons pas peur de l'utiliser", a averti la ministre. Une stratégie cyberdéfense offensive qui n'est pas nouvelle. Mais la France a affiné tout au long de ces derniers mois une doctrine de lutte informatique offensive à des fins militaires, qui est considérée comme une arme de supériorité opérationnelle. "La stratégie vise pour l'essentiel à acquérir et à conserver la supériorité (ou, tout au moins, une situation favorable) afin d'assurer la défense de nos intérêts et la préservation de notre souveraineté", a précisé le CEMA. L'arme cyber, un effet démultiplicateur C'est le commandant de la cyberdéfense, le général Olivier Bonnet des Paillerets, qui a été chargé de rédiger une doctrine de lutte informatique offensive. La France mis en place en mai 2017 le commandement de la cyberdéfense (COMCYBER). "Immédiateté de l'action, dualité des cibles, hyper-connectivité sont autant de facteurs de risques qui ont été pris en compte dans l'élaboration de la doctrine, tout comme la notion d'irrégularité", a précisé le CEMA. Une doctrine dont les éléments les plus sensibles resteront toutefois logiquement secrets. Ces attaques cyber seront conduites de façon autonome ou en combinaison des moyens militaires conventionnels. Selon le ministère, l'arme cyber vise à produire des effets à l'encontre d'un système adverse pour en altérer la disponibilité ou la confidentialité des données. Car la lutte informatique offensive permet de tirer parti des vulnérabilités des systèmes numériques adverses. "La lutte informatique offensive peut être un formidable démultiplicateur d'effets", a d'ailleurs estimé le chef d'état-major des armées. Pour le CEMA, la lutte informatique offensive élargit considérablement "le champ des possibles et la palette des options modulables que je suis susceptible de proposer au Président de la République". Elle peut se combiner et, si nécessaire, se substituer aux autres capacités militaires de recueil et d'action sur tout le spectre des missions militaires (renseigner, défendre, agir), a-t-il expliqué. "En réalité, les armes cyber apparaissent désormais comme des instruments incontournables de l'action militaire gr'ce à leur capacité à agir au profit des armes employées dans les autres milieux", a-t-il souligné. Les discours de Florence Parly, qui n'a rien annoncé de nouveau dans le domaine de la cyberdéfense, et du général François Lecointre préparent-ils à un nouveau changement de doctrine, cette fois-ci, dans la politique spatiale de défense, qui pourrait être dotée elle aussi d'une doctrine offensive,. Il semble qu'une France plus pragmatique mais pas forcément plus guerrière tourne la page d'une France romantique, voire naïve, dans les domaines cyber et de l'espace... https://www.latribune.fr/entreprises-finance/industrie/aeronautique-defense/cyberdefense-une-france-offensive-prete-a-rendre-coup-pour-coup-a-ses-adversaires-804456.html

ARMY Talbert Manufacturing Inc.,* Rensselaer, Indiana, was awarded a $360,249,853 firm-fixed-price contract for the procurement of M872A4 semitrailers and associated items. Bids were solicited via the internet with one received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of Jan. 16, 2024. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Warren, Michigan, is the contracting activity (W56HZV-19-D-0036). Stantec Consulting Services Inc., Raleigh, North Carolina, was awarded a $20,000,000 firm-fixed-price contract for architect-engineer general design services. Bids were solicited via the internet with 36 received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of Jan. 16, 2024. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Savannah, Georgia, is the contracting activity (W912HN-19-D-2000). NAVY Fortis Nova A JV LLC,* Phoenix, Arizona (N62473-19-D-2426); Galindo Electric Inc.,* Vista, California (N62473-19-D-2427); Power Pro Plus Inc.,* Rancho Cucamonga, California (N62473-19-D-2428); Souza Construction Inc.,* Farmersville, California (N62473-19-D-2429); Synergy Electric Co. Inc.,* Santee, California (N62473-19-D-2430); and Tri-Technic Inc.,* Sonora, California (N62473-19-D-2431), are each awarded an indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity multiple award construction contract for new construction, renovation, and repair of dry utilities construction projects at various government installations located in California, Arizona, Nevada, Utah, Colorado, and New Mexico. The maximum dollar value including the base period and one option period for all six contracts combined is $249,000,000. Types of projects may include, but are not limited to: electrical distribution systems, exterior lighting systems, controls, airfield lighting systems, communications and security systems, grounding systems, and alternative energy structures. These six contractors may compete for task orders under the terms and conditions of the awarded contracts. No task orders are being issued at this time. All work on these contracts will be performed at various government installations within the Naval Facilities Engineering Command (NAVFAC) Southwest area of responsibility including, but not limited to, California (90 percent); Arizona (6 percent); Nevada (1 percent); Utah (1 percent); Colorado (1 percent), and New Mexico (1 percent). The terms of the contracts are not to exceed 60 months, with an expected completion date of January 2024. Fiscal 2019 operations and maintenance (Navy) contract funds in the amount of $35,000 are obligated on this award and will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Future task orders will be primarily funded by military construction (Navy); operations and maintenance (Navy and Marine Corps); and Navy working capital funds. This contract was competitively procured as a small business set-aside procurement via the Navy Electronic Commerce Online website, with 14 proposals received. Naval Facilities Engineering CommandSouthwest, San Diego, California, is the contracting activity. Lockheed Martin Rotary and Mission Systems, Manassas, Virginia, was awarded a $77,758,481 cost-plus-incentive-fee, fixed-price-incentive, cost-only modification to previously awarded contract N00024-13-C-5225 for production of the Navy's AN/SQQ-89A(V)15 Surface Ship Undersea Warfare System (UWS). The AN/SQQ-89A(V)15 is the Surface Ship Undersea Warfare combat system with the capabilities to search, detect, classify, localize and track undersea contacts, and to engage and evade submarines, mine-like small objects and torpedo threats. The contract is for development, integration and production of future advanced capability build and technical insertion baselines of the AN/SQQ-89A(V)15 USW systems. Work will be performed in Lemont Furnace, Pennsylvania (54 percent); Clearwater, Florida (22 percent); Syracuse, New York (7 percent); Manassas, Virginia (6 percent); Hauppauge, New York (5 percent); Owego, New York (5 percent); Tewksbury, Massachusetts (1 percent), and is expected to be completed by May 2021. Fiscal 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018 and 2019 shipbuilding and conversion (Navy); fiscal 2019 other procurement (Navy); fiscal 2019 research, development, test and evaluation; and Foreign Military Sales funding in the amount $77,187,872 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. (Awarded Jan. 16, 2019) DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY Oshkosh Defense LLC, Oshkosh, Wisconsin, has been awarded a maximum $37,659,687 modification (P00026) to a three-year base contract (SPE7LX-17-D-0077) with two one-year option periods adding eleven spare parts within the scope of the original contract. This modification brings the total cumulative face value of the contract to $63,767,640. This is a firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract. Location of performance is Wisconsin, with an Aug. 15, 2022, performance completion date. Using military services are Army, Navy and Marine Corps. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2019 through 2022 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Land and Maritime, Columbus, Ohio. Colt's Manufacturing Company LLC, West Hartford, Connecticut, has been awarded a maximum $7,953,750 firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for bolt breech's. This was a competitive acquisition with two responses received. This is a five-year contract with no option periods. Location of performance is Connecticut, with a Jan. 17, 2024, performance completion date. Using military service is Army. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2019 through 2024 Army working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Land and Maritime, Warren, Michigan (SPRDL1-19-D-0001). AIR FORCE General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc., Poway, California, has been awarded a $37,100,316 firm-fixed-price modification (P00001) to contract FA8620-18-F-2303 for fiscal 2017 aircraft production. The contract modification provides for the cut-in of force and vortex capabilities onto the existing FY17 aircraft production configuration. Work will be performed in Poway, California, and is expected to be completed by July 31, 2021. This award is the result of a sole-source acquisition. Fiscal year 2017 aircraft procurement funds in the amount of $37,100,316 are being obligated at the time of award. Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, is the contracting activity. (Awarded Jan. 16, 2019) Siemens Government Technologies, Arlington, Virginia, has been awarded a $24,586,803 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for the reactivation and maintenance of Teamcenter software. This contract provides for the reactivation and maintenance of the Teamcenter software, as well as original equipment manufacturer support for the Air Force. Work will be performed at Hill Air Force Base, Utah, and is expected to be completed by Jan. 17, 2024. This award is the result of a sole-source acquisition. Funding will be obligated on the initial order of the IDIQ contract. Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio, is the contracting activity (FA8770-19-D-0517). *Small Business https://dod.defense.gov/News/Contracts/Contract-View/Article/1734769/source/GovDelivery/

Le 16 janvier 2019 – Ottawa (Ontario) – Défense nationale/Forces armées canadiennes Le gouvernement du Canada reconnaît l'importance d'investir dans l'innovation pour la défense et l'avenir de nos Forces armées canadiennes. À l'appui de la politique de défense du Canada, Protection, Sécurité, Engagement, le ministre de la Défense Harjt S. Sajjan a souligné aujourd'hui les contrats octroyés à la suite du premier appel de propositions de projets compétitifs dans le cadre du programme Innovation pour la défense, l'excellence et la sécurité (IDEeS). Le programme IDEeS offre aux innovateurs la chance de soutenir la défense et la sécurité. À peine neuf mois après sa mise en œuvre, IDEeS a illustré un accès amélioré à l'innovation en matière de défense et de sécurité par l'investissement de 26,8 millions de dollars dans 160 contrats qui s'inscrivent dans le premier appel de propositions, lequel a été lancé en avril 2018. Plus de 600 propositions visant à résoudre des défis parmi les plus complexes auxquels le Canada est confronté dans le domaine de la défense et de la sécurité ont été présentées par des innovateurs d'un bout à l'autre du pays, y compris des universitaires, des petites et moyennes entreprises, des grandes industries, des organismes non gouvernementaux et des individus. Parmi les domaines d'intérêt, mentionnons la surveillance, la cybernétique, l'espace, l'intelligence artificielle, les systèmes téléguidés, l'analytique des données et le rendement humain. Gr'ce à ces efforts, nos Forces armées canadiennes auront les outils et les connaissances nécessaires pour contrer les nouvelles menaces, maintenir une avance sur les adversaires possibles et satisfaire aux besoins changeants en matière de défense et de sécurité. Citations « Gr'ce à notre politique de défense Protection, Sécurité, Engagement, nous fournissons aux femmes et aux hommes de nos Forces armées canadiennes les outils et l'équipement dont ils ont besoin pour s'acquitter de leurs fonctions. Le succès du premier appel de propositions dans le cadre du programme IDEeS illustre l'importance d'investir dans l'innovation canadienne afin de façonner l'avenir de nos Forces armées canadiennes. Ces nouvelles collaborations faciliteront l'acheminement d'idées et de concepts novateurs en vue de la fourniture des capacités nécessaires à la constitution de forces militaires fortes et agiles. Félicitations à tous les titulaires de contrats. » – Ministre de la Défense Harjit S. Sajjan « Notre gouvernement est déterminé à fournir aux hommes et aux femmes des Forces armées canadiennes la technologie nécessaire pour effectuer leur travail important au nom de la population canadienne. En plus d'appuyer nos braves militaires, ces contrats mobilisent les esprits les plus brillants et les plus novateurs du pays afin de relever les principaux défis en matière de défense et de sécurité auxquels nous sommes confrontés. » – Ministre des Services publics et de l'Approvisionnement Canada, Carla Qualtrough Faits en bref Le programme IDEeS permet au ministère de la Défense nationale et aux Forces armées canadiennes de tirer parti de l'innovation et de l'ingéniosité des Canadiens et des Canadiennes dans le but d'enrichir les capacités de défense et d'influer sur les décisions futures en matière de défense et de sécurité. L'appel de propositions de projets compétitifs du programme IDEeS a été administré par Services publics et Approvisionnement Canada, au nom du ministère de la Défense nationale. Le premier appel de propositions, qui visait seize défis, a été lancé le 9 avril 2018 et a pris fin le 7 juin 2018. Le ministère de la Défense nationale a annoncé les premiers contrats en août 2018. Le deuxième appel de propositions, qui visait neuf défis, a été lancé le 18 octobre 2018 et a pris fin le 27 novembre 2018. Les premiers contrats issus de cet appel de propositions seront octroyés en février 2019. Gr'ce au programme IDEeS, le ministère de la Défense nationale : crée des réseaux d'innovateurs (universitaires, représentants de l'industrie, individus et autres partenaires) dans le but de réaliser des activités de recherche et développement de pointe dans des domaines essentiels qui lui permettront de satisfaire aux besoins futurs en matière de défense et de sécurité; tient des concours et invite les innovateurs à présenter des solutions viables à des défis précis en matière de défense et de sécurité; adopte de nouveaux mécanismes d'approvisionnement gr'ce auxquels il peut concevoir et mettre à l'essai des concepts, ainsi que donner suite aux idées les plus prometteuses. Liens connexes Communiqué – Premiers contrats d'innovation octroyés dans le cadre du programme Innovation pour la défense, l'excellence et la sécurité (IDEeS) Document d'information –Innovation pour la défense, l'excellence et la sécurité (IDEeS) Document d'information – Le gouvernement du Canada lance un appel aux innovateurs pour résoudre des défis en matière de défense et de sécurité Récipiendaires de contrats – site Web du programme IDEeS Protection, Sécurité, Engagement https://www.canada.ca/fr/ministere-defense-nationale/nouvelles/2019/01/investissements-de-la-defense-dans-la-communaute-de-linnovation-du-canada-et-ses-solutions-en-matiere-de-defense-et-de-securite.html

Program seeks to create new software and hardware architectures that provide physically provable assurances around data security and privacy Whether a piece of information is private, proprietary, or sensitive to national security, systems owners and users have little guarantees about where their information resides or of its movements between systems. When a user enters information on a phone, for example, it is difficult to provably track that the data remains on the phone or whether it is uploaded to a server beyond the device. The national defense and security communities are similarly left with few options when it comes to ensuring that sensitive information is appropriately isolated, particularly when it's loaded to an internet-connected system. “As cloud systems proliferate, most people still have some information that they want to physically track – not just entrust to the ether,” said Walter Weiss, DARPA program manager. “Users should be able to trust their devices to keep their information private and isolated.” Keeping a system completely disconnected from all means of information transfer is an unrealistic security tactic. Modern computing systems must be able to communicate with other systems, including those with different security requirements. Today, commercial and defense organizations often leverage a series of air-gaps, or breaks between systems, to keep the most sensitive computing devices and information secure. However, interfaces to such air-gapped systems are typically added in after the fact and are exceedingly complex, placing undue burden on systems operators as they implement or manage them. To create scalable solutions that provide safe, verifiable methods of tracking information and communications between systems, DARPA launched the Guaranteed Architecture for Physical Security (GAPS) program. The goal of GAPS is to develop hardware and software architectures that can provide physically provable guarantees around high-risk transactions, or where data moves between systems of different security levels. DARPA wants to ensure that these transactions are isolated and that the systems they move across are enabled with the necessary data security assertions. The intended outputs of this program are hardware and software co-design tools that allow data separation requirements to be defined during design, and protections that can be physically enforced at system runtime. GAPS is divided into three research areas that will address: 1) the creation of hardware components and interfaces; 2) the development of software co-design tools; and, 3) the integration of these components and tools, as well as their validation against exemplar Department of Defense (DoD) systems. The new hardware components and interfaces are designed to provide system designers with a library of hardware tools to securely isolate data during transactions. The software co-design tools could someday allow developers to easily employ GAPS hardware components without requiring changes to their existing development processes and frameworks. Finally, the integration and validation of the hardware and software architectures on DoD systems could be used to demonstrate the capability and maturity of the GAPS approach for the kinds of problems DoD system integrators currently face, and expect to see in the future. Commercializing the resulting technologies is also an objective of the program. The verifiable security properties created under GAPS may also help create safer commercial systems that could be used for preserving proprietary information and protecting consumer privacy. GAPS is part of the second phase of DARPA's Electronics Resurgence Initiative (ERI) - a five-year, upwards of $1.5 billion investment in the future of domestic, U.S. government and defense electronics systems. Under ERI Phase II, DARPA is exploring the development of trusted electronics components, including the advancement of electronics that can enforce security and privacy protections. GAPS will help address the DoD's unique requirements for assured electronics while helping to move forward ERI's broader mission of creating a more robust, secure and heavily automated electronics industry. DARPA will hold a Proposers Day on January 23, 2019 from 9:00am to 2:30pm (EST) at the DARPA Conference Center, located at 675 North Randolph Street, Arlington, Virginia 22203, to provide more information about GAPS and answer questions from potential proposers. For details on the event, including registration requirements, please visit: http://www.cvent.com/events/gaps-proposers-day/event-summary-34cbadc0ab2248bb860db3df8223a2f6.aspx. A Broad Agency Announcement that fully describes the GAPS program structure and objectives can be found here: https://www.fbo.gov/index?s=opportunity&mode=form&id=cfecfe762954149924ec59c95ec6a7b8&tab=core&_cview=1. https://www.darpa.mil/news-events/2019-01-16

By: Robert Burns, The Associated Press WASHINGTON — The Trump administration is considering ways to expand U.S. homeland and overseas defenses against a potential missile attack, possibly adding a layer of satellites in space to detect and track hostile targets. Details on how far the administration intends to press this in a largely supportive Congress are expected to be revealed when the Pentagon releases results of a missile defense review as early as Thursday. The release was postponed last year for unexplained reasons, though it came as President Donald Trump was trying to persuade North Korea to give up its nuclear weapons. A review might have complicated the talks. The Trump approach is expected to include emphasis on stopping missiles either before they are launched or in the first few minutes of flight when their booster engines are still burning. Congress already has directed the Pentagon to push harder on this "boost-phase" approach, which might include the use of drones armed with lasers. Any expansion of the scope and cost of missile defenses would compete with other defense priorities, including the billions of extra dollars the Trump administration has committed to spending on a new generation of nuclear weapons. An expansion also would have important implications for American diplomacy, given longstanding Russian hostility to even the most rudimentary U.S. missile defenses and China's worry that longer-range U.S. missile defenses in Asia could undermine Chinese national security. Senior administration officials have signaled their interest in developing and deploying more effective means of detecting and tracking missiles with a constellation of satellites in space that can, for example, use advanced sensors to follow the full path of a hostile missile so that an anti-missile weapon can be directed into its flight path. Space-based sensor networks would allow the U.S. to deal with more sophisticated threats such as hypersonic missiles. "I think that makes a lot of sense," said Frank Rose, a former Pentagon and State Department official and now a senior fellow for security and strategy at the Brookings Institution. "This could make a real improvement in our missile defense capabilities." Current U.S. missile defense weapons are based on land and aboard ships. Republican presidents starting with Ronald Reagan, who proposed a "Star Wars" system of anti-missile weapons in space, have been more enthusiastic about missile defense than Democrats. In recent years, however, both parties have argued that better defenses are needed, if only against emerging nuclear powers such as North Korea. Trump's detailed views on this are not well-known. The national security strategy he unveiled in December 2017 called "enhanced" missile defense a priority, but it also said it was not intended to disrupt strategic relationships with Russia or China, whose missile arsenals the U.S. sees as the greatest potential threat. John Rood, the undersecretary of defense for policy, said last year that a space-based layer of missile-tracking sensors would not mark a big shift in American policy or as a security threat to others like Russia or China. "It watches, it detects what others are doing. I don't regard it as a provocative act to observe the missile flights of missiles that are potentially threatening to the United States," Rood said in September. "I don't think having a sensor capability is a sea change for the United States," he added, without stating directly that the Trump administration will pursue this. Such a system is different than the more provocative idea of putting missile interceptors aboard satellites in space, which is not expected to be part of the Trump strategy. Congress has ordered the Pentagon to study it and some senior Pentagon officials have said recently that space-based interceptors are feasible and affordable. However, Rood in September strongly suggested that that Pentagon is not ready to move ahead with that. "Those are bridges yet to be crossed, some time away," he said. Daryl Kimball, executive director of the Arms Control Association, said he expects the missile defense review to endorse an expanded role for missile defenses to counter certain Russian and Chinese missiles, especially those that could threaten U.S. allies in Asia and Europe. “This is likely to stimulate them to accelerate offensive missile programs, like hypersonic vehicles, that can evade our missile defense,” Kimball said. https://www.militarytimes.com/news/pentagon-congress/2019/01/16/us-considers-new-ways-to-detect-and-track-enemy-missiles

ARMY Caddell Construction Co. (DE) LLC., Montgomery, Alabama, was awarded a $143,514,000 firm-fixed-price contract for the construction of an airmen training complex dormitory, a dining and classroom facility, supporting facilities, a free standing equipment building, a weapons cleaning pavilion, running track, exercise pads and parking lots. Bids were solicited via the internet with two received. Work will be performed in San Antonio, Texas, with an estimated completion date of June 8, 2021. Fiscal 2019 military construction funds in the amount of $143,514,000 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Fort Worth, Texas, is the contracting activity (W9126G-19-C-0001). IICON Construction Group LLC,* Colorado Springs, Colorado, was awarded a $15,179,720 firm-fixed-price contract for construction of a National Guard readiness center. Bids were solicited via the internet with five received. Work will be performed in Fort Carson, Colorado, with an estimated completion date of Aug. 31, 2020. Fiscal 2017 military construction funds in the amount of $15,179,720 were obligated at the time of the award. National Guard Bureau, Arlington, Virginia, is the contracting activity (W912LC-19-C-0001). CORRECTION: The contract announced on Jan. 15, 2019, for $474,084,062 to BAE Systems Land & Armaments LP, York, Pennsylvania, has not been awarded. No award date has been determined at this time. DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY Puerto Rico Apparel Manufacturing (PRAMA) Corp.,** Mayaguez, Puerto Rico, has been awarded a maximum $11,648,229 firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for various types of coats and trousers. This was a competitive acquisition with seven responses received. This is a one-year base contract with four one-year option periods. Location of performance is Puerto Rico, with a Jan. 10, 2024, estimated performance completion date. Using military services are Army and Air Force. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2019 through 2024 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (SPE1C1-19-D-1127). Alamo Strategic Manufacturing,*** San Antonio, Texas, has been awarded a maximum $8,550,000 firm-fixed-price, indefinite-quantity contract for knee and elbow pads. This was a competitive acquisition with two responses received. This is a one-year base contract with two one-year option periods. Locations of performance are Texas and Puerto Rico, with a Jan. 30, 2020, performance completion date. Using military services are Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2019 through 2020 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (SPE1C1-19-D-1122). NAVY Gilbane Federal, Concord, California, is awarded a $10,966,383 firm-fixed-price modification to previously awarded contract (N39430-15-D-1634) 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 (DFSP) Tsurumi, Japan. Work on Tanks 305, 307, and 308 is being removed from the contract due to contractor performance problems. After award of this modification, the total cumulative contract value will be $6,426,985. Work will be performed in Tsurumi, Japan, and is expected to be completed by March 2019. Fiscal 2016 defense working capital (Defense Logistics Agency) contract funds in the amount of $10,966,383 are de-obligated on this award and will not expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Facilities Engineering and Expeditionary Warfare Center, Port Hueneme, California, is the contracting activity. Sikorsky, a Lockheed Martin Co., Stratford, Connecticut, is awarded $7,026,164 for cost-plus-fixed-fee modification P00017 to a previously awarded fixed-price-incentive-firm/cost-plus-fixed-fee contract (N00019-16-C-0048). This modification provides for Automated Logistics Environment software maintenance operating systems and obsolescence avoidance in support of the low rate initial production CH-53K aircraft. The work will be performed in Stratford, Connecticut, and is expected to be completed in October 2021. Fiscal 2018 aircraft procurement (Navy) funds in the amount of $7,026,164 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. *Small Business **Economically disadvantaged women-owned small business in historically underutilized business zones ***Small disadvantaged business https://dod.defense.gov/News/Contracts/Contract-View/Article/1733689/source/GovDelivery/

OTTAWA, Jan. 15, 2019 /CNW/ - The Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, today announced the following changes in the senior ranks of the Public Service: Marie Lemay, currently Deputy Minister of Public Services and Procurement, becomes Senior Advisor to the Privy Council Office, effective January 28, 2019, prior to an upcoming appointment. Bill Matthews, currently Senior Associate Deputy Minister of National Defence, becomes Deputy Minister of Public Services and Procurement, effective January 28, 2019. Claude Rochette, currently Assistant Deputy Minister of Finance and Chief Financial Officer of National Defence, becomes Associate Deputy Minister of National Defence, effective January 28, 2019. Biographical notes Marie Lemay Bill Matthews Claude Rochette This document is also available at https://pm.gc.ca SOURCE Prime Minister's Office Renseignements: PMO Media Relations: media@pmo-cpm.gc.ca https://www.newswire.ca/news-releases/the-prime-minister-announces-changes-in-the-senior-ranks-of-the-public-service-807255403.html

Jan. 15 (UPI) -- Raytheon will equip the U.S. Marine Corps' classic Hornet fleet with an upgraded APG-79(v)4 AESA radar system. Raython plans to begin delivering the system in 2021 and finish deliveries by 2022 for the Hornet fleet. No specified contract amount was listed in a news release Tuesday announcing the selection by the Marines. Full article: https://www.upi.com/Defense-News/2019/01/15/Raytheon-to-equip-classic-Hornet-with-upgraded-radar/7711547564777/