Contract Award: Northrop Grumman to implement Cyber Protection for U.S. DoD

News Report

Just a few days after being awarded the NATO NCIRC contract in partnership with Finmeccanica, Northrop Grumman announced the acquisition of a cybersecurity task order by the U.S. Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) to strengthen cybersecurity protections across all Department of Defense (DoD) and Intelligence Community networks by implementing the Host Based Security System (HBSS) as part of the U.S. DoD Information Assurance and Computer Network Defense contract.

The task order was competitively awarded under the Encore 2 contract vehicle and is valued at $189 million over a three-year base period with two one-year options. As prime integrator, Northrop Grumman will provide software license maintenance support, training, help desk and architectural infrastructure support personnel.

Under the terms of the contract, Northrop Grumman will provide support in architecting, engineering, maintaining, deploying and implementing the HBSS solution. This includes but is not limited to the Combatant Commanders, Services, Field Activities and Agencies and the intelligence community's networks and associated host platforms.

The Technology

HBSS is the U.S. DoD's commercial-off-the-shelf suite of automated and standardized software used to provide enhanced host based security – security on desktops and laptops versus at the boundary such as routers and switches – against both inside and external threats.

HBSS monitors, detects, and counters against known cyber-threats to U.S. DoD Enterprise. Under the sponsorship of the Enterprise-wide Information Assurance and computer Network Defense Solutions Steering Group (ESSG), the HBSS solution will be attached to each host (server, desktop, and laptop) in DoD. The system will be managed by local administrators and configured to address known exploit traffic using an Intrusion Prevention System (IPS) and host firewall. DISA PEO-MA is providing the program management and supporting the deployment of this solution.

Comments

 "Cybersecurity is one of Northrop Grumman's four core businesses due to its vital role in our nation's defense," said Karen Williams, vice president of Northrop Grumman's Defense Technologies Division. "The HBSS award reinforces Northrop Grumman's position as a top provider of defense-in-depth cybersecurity solutions across the DoD and intelligence domains."

"Our Northrop Grumman team brings a wealth of cybersecurity integration experience and capabilities to help ensure that all five million end-points are protected across the DoD and intelligence community," said Sam Abbate, vice president of defense enterprise solutions for Northrop Grumman. "We look forward to working with DISA to continue our support to these communities in this critical cybersecurity function."

The Context

The U.S. Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA), at the request of the United States Strategic Command (USSTRATCOM) and in support of National Security goals established by the President; started the acquisition from industry of a capability that will develop and deploy an automated Host-Based Security System (HBSS) solution, that will provide network administrators and security personnel with mechanisms to prevent, detect, track, report, and remediate malicious computer-related activities and incidents across all U.S. DoD networks and information systems.

In October 2007, U.S. DoD mandated HBSS for eventual installation on all unclassified and classified networks. Full implementation of HBSS is critical to defending government networks from an increasing number of sophisticated cyber attacks. HBSS provides system administrators significant improvements in situational awareness and drastically reduces or eliminates the effectiveness of cyber attacks, ensuring vital network capabilities are available to warfighters.

Back in 2010, Mark Orndorff, director of PEO MA/NetOps, wrote that DISA was attempting to transform HBSS into a tool for continuous monitoring of DOD networks. “We’re building out an enterprise architecture to take what was originally designed to improve the security of end-points but then pull information from a system and correlate it to a DOD enterprise level so that commanders operating and defending the network will know the status of their security posture, giving us a readiness report card that’s machine-generated. It will give us the ability to collect and correlate alarms as attacks propagate around the network — essentially letting us know what’s on the network. It will also give us the ability to look for what we call rogue systems.”

Northrop Grumman has been working on the deployment of HBSS since 2008. The company recently completed deployment of HBSS 3.0 across 263 active duty U.S. Air Force bases and Air National Guard sites around the world.

Currently, DISA is looking beyond HBSS for ways to more closely monitor DOD networks. One solution involves network appliances that perform deep packet inspection on data that crosses DISA’s networks. That capability allows DISA to move toward its goal of full situational awareness for traffic traveling along the Global Information Grid.

References: Northrop Grumman (1), DISA (2), DefenseSystems (3)

Contract Award: Finmeccanica and Northrop Grumman to enhance NATO Computer Incident Response Capability (NCIRC)

News Report

As announced in a recent press relase, Finmeccanica, through its controlled operating companies SELEX Elsag and SELEX Sistemi Integrati's VEGA, together with its partner Northrop Grumman, has been awarded a contract by the NATO Consultation, Command and Control (NATO C3) Agency to develop, implement and support the NATO Computer Incident Response Capability (NCIRC) - Full Operating Capability (FOC).

The contract, worth around EUR 50 million, is for an extensive managed service which will provide information assurance to around 50 NATO sites and headquarters throughout 28 countries worldwide. The NCIRC will provide the capability to detect and respond to cyber security threats and vulnerabilities rapidly and effectively. The project is intended to meet the level of ambition of NATO Head of States as set out during the Lisbon Summit in November 2010.

This award is result of a competitive selection process for which NATO collected bids from more than 300 companies across its 28 member nations. The list of the bidders included some of the world's top defense companies, such as Lockheed Martin, IBM and SAIC.

The Context

Today, the NCIRC - Initial Operating Capability (IOC) already provides NATO’s Cyber Defence capability to respond to computer security threats and vulnerabilities rapidly and effectively. It provides the means for handling and reporting incidents as well as disseminating important incident-related information to system and security management. It concentrates incident handling into one centralised and co-ordinated effort, thereby eliminating duplication of effort. However, it does not yet protect all the networks within NATO.

The upcoming NCIRC - Full Operating Capability (FOC) aims not only at a technology refresh of the existing NCIRC IOC capability but will also introduce new technologies to improve cyber defence situational awareness and enhance NATO’s ability to respond to evolving cyber-threats.This upgraded capability, which will be implemented by the end of 2012, will lay out a strong foundation for cyber defence information sharing in a federated environment.

Later increments of the NCIRC FOC project will provide NATO with the means to further develop cyber defence situational awareness by dynamically assessing and managing the level of risk in its CIS thus providing the Alliance greater flexibility in its conduct of network centric warfare.

Comments

“This outcome clearly demonstrates the ability of Finmeccanica to draw on leading capabilities across its group to provide leading-edge Cyber Solutions to such an important international organisation. We are delighted that this strong partnership, combining the capabilities, resources and expertise of both organisations spanning the UK, US and Italy has been selected to offer what we believe is the superior solution best meeting the requirements of this key NATO Programme which Finmeccanica is fully committed to delivering successfully” said Giuseppe Orsi, Chairman and CEO of Finmeccanica.

“We are pleased to be part of the team selected for this strategically important NATO programme,” said Mike Papay, Vice President Cyber Initiatives of Northrop Grumman Information Systems. “Northrop Grumman looks forward to bringing its talent, resources and decades-long expertise in building and operating national-level cyber security management centres, both in the U.S and U.K., to this programme to help protect NATO’s networks from advanced cyber threats.”

References: Finmeccanica (1), C4I Technology News (2)

Lockheed Martin files a protest for Northrop Grumman's CANES award

News Report

Here in this blog we have recently reported that Northrop Grumman was awarded a $37 Million delivery order for the Consolidated Afloat Networks and Enterprise Services (CANES) common computing environment.

The CANES program aims at consolidating and replacing numerous legacy systems and deliver an open, common network to every ship, submarine and shore-based command and control center in the U.S. Navy. The contract awarded by Northrop Grumman includes options, which, if exercised at the maximum quantities, would bring the cumulative value of the contract to an estimated $638 Million. The issuance of this delivery order to Northrop Grumman is the result of the CANES competitive down-select to a single contractor, which has witnessed a head-to-head competition with Lockheed Martin.

As reported by Bloomberg, Lockheed Martin has filed a protest with the U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) claiming potential flaws in the evaluation process which could have precluded consideration of the best solution for the U.S. Navy. The protest will be reviewed by GAO, who has now one hundred days to come to a decision. Normally the protested contract is placed on hold while the GAO conducts its review. If Lockheed disagrees with the result then they may appeal to the Federal courts.

Comments

“Northrop Grumman is confident that its CANES proposal provides the Navy a best-value CANES solution and we stand ready to quickly help the Navy get this critical system to the warfighters,” said Randy Belote, a spokesman for Northrop Grumman. “We are disappointed that a protest was filed and have no further comment at this time.”

References: Bloomberg (1), C4I Technology News (2), Defense Procurement News (3)

Contract Award: Northrop Grumman receives the first delivery order for U.S. Navy CANES

News Report

As announced by U.S. DoD, Northrop Grumman, through its Space and Mission Systems Corp., Reston, Va., has been awarded a $36,646,047 delivery order under a previously awarded indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity, cost-plus-incentive-fee, cost-plus-fixed-fee and firm-fixed-price contract (N00039-10-D-0028) for the procurement of the Consolidated Afloat Networks and Enterprise Services (CANES) common computing environment to include guided missile destroyer (DDG) variant first article; DDG variant production units; and multipurpose amphibious assault ship variant first article.

This contract includes options, which, if exercised at the maximum quantities, would bring the cumulative value of the contract to an estimated $637,773,236. Work will be performed in San Diego, Calif., and is expected to be completed by September 2012.  If all contract options are exercised, work could continue until September 2013.

The issuance of this delivery order to Northrop Grumman is the result of the CANES competitive down-select to a single contractor for continued performance under the contract options for development, production and logistics support for CANES.

The Program

For years, the U.S. Navy has been living with a costly maintenance, logistics and support problem. The trouble is that each of the C4I systems aboard its ships requires a separate network infrastructure with a unique set of wires and experts to keep the system running. Now, the U.S. Navy plans to replace those "afloat networks" with a single, common network system. The goal of Consolidated Afloat Networks and Enterprise Services (CANES) is thus to consolidate and replace numerous legacy systems and deliver an open, common network to every ship, submarine and shore-based command and control center in the U.S. Navy.

From a programmatic point of view, CANES is the consolidation and enhancement of the requirements for five existing legacy network programs, as well as a single support framework for all C4I applications that currently require dedicated infrastructure to operate delivered and managed legacy systems. These include the Integrated Shipboard Network System (ISNS), Sensitive Compartmented Information (SCI) Networks, and Combined Enterprise Regional Information Exchange System Maritime (CENTRIXS-M).

CANES will have at its roots primarily the ISNS, but will also incorporate the capabilities of other networks to create a single Consolidated Computing Environment using standard network infrastructure and a common rack architecture. Enterprise services will support hosting of both warfighting and administrative application programs. This evolution requires detailed technical exchanges between the programs’ engineers and a significant amount of resource reprogramming.

The program will take advantage of Service Oriented Architecture (SOA), and rapid COTS insertion, in order to bring fiscal savings to the U.S. Navy, as well as operational agility to the warfighter. U.S. Navy leaders believein fact that they have been leaving money on the table by maintaining their old systems without gaining new capabilities. By consolidating the computing infrastructure around a common network, U.S. Navy officials hope to extract best-of-breed technology and capabilities from the commercial sector. The CANES solution should also solve a significant configuration management and supportability problem. Currently, each ship has a different configuration of hardware and applications. Training sailors aboard ship to operate and maintain all of the systems increases the complexity and total ownership costs to the U.S. Navy. By moving to a common configuration for hardware and enterprise services, trained sailors can operate and maintain CANES regardless of ship class.

By separating the hardware from the software, U.S. Navy should be also capable to accept emerging requirements and quickly turn them into software solutions that ride on the common CANES infrastructure. Additionally, the high cost and schedule requirements of installing a system on a ship is simplified by delivering a set of CD/DVDs or providing a software download from a secure website. This methodology also makes it technically viable to reuse software, increase open competition by using a non-proprietary CANES backbone, and support other business strategies that will make C4I systems more affordable, supportable and available to the warfighter.

The Context

Since 2010, CANES has witnessed a head-to-head competition between Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman. Lockheed Martin's team included General Dynamics, ViaSat, Harris and American Systems. Northrop Grumman’s CANES team included IBM, Atlas Technologies, Beatty and Company Computing, Juno Technologies, and Syzygy Technologies. On March 2010, both the two teams were awarded a contract for design and development of the CANES common computing environment. On July 2011, U.S. SPAWAR completed the Critical Design Reviews for both competing systems.

References: U.S. DoD (1), DefenceAerospace.com (2), SPAWAR (3), DefenseNews (4), Journal of Software Technology (5), Defence Industry Daily (6)

Contract Award: Northrop Grumman to provide its Battlefield Airborne Communications Node for two U.S. Air Force Global Hawks

News Report

As announced in a recent press release, the U.S. Air Force has awarded Northrop Grumman a $47.2 million contract for the purchase and integration of two more Battlefield Airborne Communications Node (BACN) payloads on two existing Block 20 Global Hawk aircraft.

After the BACN payloads have been integrated on the Block 20 Global Hawks, the aircraft will be designated as USAF EQ-4B unmanned systems, providing long endurance and high persistence gateway capabilities.

The Technology

In theater operations, mountainous terrain inhibited line-of-sight communications; diverse weapon systems were unable to communicate with each other; each operating unit could see only a limited set of the complete picture. BACN bridges the gaps between those systems, enabling essential situational awareness from small ground units in contact up to the highest command levels.

BACN is a high-altitude, airborne communications and information gateway system that maintains operational communications support 24 hours a day, seven days a week. The persistent connectivity that BACN provides improves situational awareness and enables better coordination between forward-edge warfighters and commanders. BACN bridges and extends voice communications and battlespace awareness information from numerous sources using a suite of computers and radio systems.

BACN’s Airborne Executive Processor (AEP) enables a persistent Gateway in the sky that receives, bridges, and distributes communication among all participants in a battle. BACN’s AEP provides translator and gateway interfaces among all supported communications systems, and forwards knowledge-based intelligence information to the Global Information Grid. By controlling the AEP via a ground station, BACN becomes radio agnostic, platform agnostic, and un-tethered.

Comments

 "The addition of two more BACN systems on Global Hawks will decisively enhance the required 24/7 gateway capability," said Claude Hashem, vice president of the network communications systems business at Northrop Grumman's Information Systems sector. "The EQ-4B unmanned systems will continue to provide long endurance and unsurpassed communications persistence to our warfighters."

"This latest award continues the BACN program tradition of delivering new capability on compressed timelines that meets the operational needs," said Steve Zell, Northrop Grumman BACN program director.

The Context

BACN is not a new idea for the air force. Nine years ago, realizing that every aerial battlefield in the past few decades has featured several KC-135 tankers circling, waiting to refuel a thirsty warplane, the U.S. Air Force gave the tankers an additional job. By adding a few hundred kilograms of electronics mounted on a cargo pallet, which KC-135s are equipped to handle, the tanker was turned into a node in an aerial communications network. This solved the problem of how to connect warplanes to the battlefield when those planes do not have satellite communications capability. The system, called ROBE (Roll-On Beyond-line-of-sight Enhancement) was particularly useful in a mountainous area like Afghanistan.

Based on the lessons learned achieved with ROBE, in 2005 the U.S. Air Force introduced the BACN as a technology demonstrator to provide interlink between aircraft in a single battle area. Northrop Grumman was the prime contractor for the development, fielding and maintenance of the BACN system. The company was awarded the first BACN contract in April 2005 by the U.S. Air Force Electronic Systems Center, Hanscom Air Force Base, Mass.

The BACN program has received a number of accolades over the past year. U.S. DoD and the National Defense Industrial Association selected the BACN Joint Urgent Operational Need program to receive one of the Top 5 DoD Program Awards, which are given annually for excellence in systems engineering. BACN also was honored with the Weapon Systems Award from the Order of Daedalians, a national fraternity of military pilots, and the 2010 Network Centric Warfare Award for Outstanding Achievement from a Defense Industry Partner, by the Institute for Defense and Government Advancement.

During the last three years, U.S. Air Force has been using business jets (the 44 ton BD 700) and specially equipped RQ-4B Global Hawk UAVs to act as communications relay stations over Afghanistan by using the BACN equipment. This allowed ground troops to not only talk to others farther away, but also enables ground troops to quickly connect with warplanes overhead.

References: Northrop Grumman (1,2), Strategypage (3), SpaceWar (4)

Contract Award: Lockheed Martin to consolidate U.S. Ballistic Missile Defense capabilities

News Report

As announced in a recent press release, Lockheed Martin, as prime contractor leading a consortium of five major defense contractors (with Northrop Grumman serving as the principal subcontractor), has been awarded a follow-on contract with an estimated value of $980M to continue work on the Command, Control, Battle Management and Communications program (C2BMC) for the U.S. Missile Defense Agency. The contractors, known as the Missile Defense National Team, will continue development, operations, and sustainment work.

The C2BMC program is the "integrating element" for the Ballistic Missile Defense System and links the various sensors and weapon systems. The system is the force multiplier providing capabilities to integrate and globally synchronize missile defense systems and operations, providing an optimized, layered defense against all ranges of threats and in all phases of flight.

The Technology

The Command, Control, Battle Management, and Communications (C2BMC) program is the hub of the Ballistic Missile Defense System (BMDS). It is a vital operational system that enables the U.S. president, secretary of defense and combatant commanders at strategic, regional and operational levels to systematically plan ballistic missile defense operations, to collectively see the battle develop, and to dynamically manage designated networked sensors and weapons systems to achieve global and regional mission objectives. C2BMC globally links, integrates and synchronizes individual missile defense elements, systems and operations, and therefore, it is an integral part of all system ground and flight tests which verify and exercise all current and future BMDS capabilities. The C2BMC system receives, processes, and displays tracking and status data from interconnected elements so that commanders at various locations have the same integrated operating picture and can make coordinated decisions about deploying weapons. This allows the central command structure to use the most effective weapons to engage threat ballistic missiles in all flight phases.

Through its operational software and networks, the C2BMC program provides redundant connectivity and enables on-site operations and sustainment for global combatant commanders. It provides key BMDS operational services through five product lines:

• Ballistic Missile Defense Planner: it provides warfighters the capability to explore the effectiveness of various defensive plans, and supports three types of planning crossing all phases of military operations: Adaptive/Deliberate, Crisis Action, and Dynamic Planning.
• Command and Control: C2BMC provides situational awareness by turning detailed data into decision quality information combatant commanders can employ in the event of a missile threat, and it also emphasizes a common, single, integrated ballistic missile picture and provides the status of the overall BMDS, from the president down to the operational levels of command.
• Global Engagement Manager: C2BMC provides the first true BMDS battle management capability and acts as a force multiplier to achieve integrated, layered ballistic missile defense through improved sensor resource management and engagement coordination.
• Ballistic Missile Defense Network: C2BMC aligns and integrates the individual sensors and weapon elements of the BMDS, and it provides robust, high-availability connectivity to quickly and unambiguously share information across the global BMDS.
• Concurrent Test, Training, and Operations: C2BMC meets the warfighter’s requirements for a capability to sustain BMDS operations while supporting concurrent Research, Development, Test & Evaluation and maintenance. In addition, C2BMC enables the warfighter to conduct distributed, high–fidelity, end-to-end training for missile defense operations.

In terms of C4I capabilities, C2BMC Command and Control will provide a flexible, integrated architecture to plan, direct, control and monitor BMDS activities. C2 would provide decision-aid applications that integrate information and recommendations for defensive options in near real-time to develop the operational war fighting aids required for formulating and implementing informed decisions and reduce decision cycles. This would permit quick redirection and reallocation of assets based on rapidly changing situations and threats. C2 also would integrate the Unified Commands, North Atlantic Treaty Organization and other allies, friends, and other external systems to which C2 would connect.

The system will control the launching or firing of missiles and integrate the kill chain functions (surveillance, detect/track/classify, engage and assess) across the layered defenses (boost, midcourse and terminal). As the whole BMDS evolves, the system will provide the user with increased automation, capability, and ability to integrate information from increasingly diverse resources. System advancements will further increase situation awareness with continued improvements in tracking and discrimination information, sensor netting, operability with coalition partners, near real time intelligence, battlefield learning and dynamic planning.

Comments

“The team is providing in-depth technical knowledge to achieve the newest, most evolved capabilities for the Ballistic Missile Defense System,” said John Osborn, director of Missile Defense Systems for Lockheed Martin IS&GS-Defense. “The historical knowledge of the mission, along with our proven implementation of creative solutions, as developed on C2BMC since 2002, will result in continuity of operations for the fielded C2BMC capabilities located worldwide and evolving challenges to come.”

The Context

The U.S. DoD has treated ballistic missile defense  as a priority since the mid-1980s and has invested tens of billions of  dollars to research and develop such capabilities.

In 2002 two key events transformed DoD’s approach in this area: the Secretary of  Defense consolidated existing missile defense elements into a single acquisition program and placed them under the management of the Missile Defense Agency (MDA), and the President directed MDA to begin fielding an initial configuration, or block, of missile defense capabilities in 2004.

U.S. MDA was assigned the mission to develop and field a Ballistic Missile Defense System capable of defeating ballistic missiles of all ranges in all phases of flight. In particular, the system was intended to defend the U.S. homeland against intercontinental ballistic missile attacks and to protect deployed U.S. armed forces, which were operating in or near hostile territories, against short-and medium-range ballistic missiles. Additionally, the BMDS was designed to evolve into a system that would be capable of defending friends and allies of the United States.

The "Block 2004 BMDS" requested by the U.S. Government was based upon the capabilities developed in legacy programs, i.e. the GMD (Ground-Based Midcourse Defense), Aegis BMD (Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense), and Patriot elements, and it was viewed as a collection of semi-autonomous missile defense systems interconnected and coordinated through the Command, Control, Battle Management, and Communications (C2BMC) element.

MDA formally initiated the C2BMC program in 2002 as the integrating and controlling element of the BMDS.

References: Lockheed Martin (1), U.S. MDA (2), DefenseIndustryDaily (3), GlobalSecurity.org (4), GAO.gov (5)

Contract Award: Raytheon to complete system integration for DDG 1000 Zumwalt class destroyer

News Report

As announced in a recent press release, Raytheon has been awarded a $254 million contract modification for the completion of software development for the DDG 1000-class destroyer program.

Under the contract, Raytheon will perform development engineering activities for Total Ship Computing Environment Infrastructure integration, ship control systems, as well as associated Mission Systems Equipment software development and integration. The contract modification includes development, test and delivery of DDG 1000 Total Ship Computing Environment (TSCE) software for Self Defense Test Ship, post-delivery availability, post-shakedown availability, SPY-3 volume search software and firmware development, as well as software maintenance in support of the Zumwalt-class destroyer program.

The Technology

Raytheon's TSCE encompasses all shipboard computing applications, including the combat management system; command, control, communications, computers and intelligence elements; ship machinery control systems; damage control; embedded training; and support systems. The system leverages a modern open system architecture that provides a scalable platform for cost-efficient delivery of new mission capability.

The TSCE is the first large-scale implementation of the U.S. Navy’s Open Architecture strategy. Designed to bind all Zumwalt systems together, the TSCE creates a shipboard enterprise network allowing seamless integration of all on-board systems. It also gives the Navy increased ability to use standardized software and commercial-off-the-shelf (COTS) hardware on a fleet-wide basis.

Zumwalt's TSCE provides a scalable platform for cost-efficient delivery of new mission capability while capitalizing on the reuse of millions of lines of code from existing U.S. Navy programs. The system delivers an unprecedented level of Mission Systems Integration and automation.

The Context

SC-21 (Surface Combatant for the 21st century) was a program started in 1994 to design land attack ships for the United States Navy. A wide variety of designs were examined, including an arsenal ship with 500 cruise missiles, but eventually a "tumblehome" design of around 16,000 tons with two long-range guns and 128 missile tubes was selected as the DD-21, the Destroyer for the 21st century.

In November 2001, the U.S. Department of Defense announced that the DD 21 programme had been revised and would now be known as DD(X). The programme focus would now be on a family of advanced technology surface combatants, rather than a single ship class. A revised request for proposals was issued and in April 2002, Northrop Grumman was selected as the lead design agent for DD(X). Northrop Grumman led the 'gold team', which included Raytheon as the systems integrator.

In November 2005, DD(X) was approved for system development and demonstration. In April 2006, the U.S. Navy announced that the first ship of the class was designated DDG 1000 Zumwalt.

References: Raytheon (1,3), Naval Technology (2), DefenceProcurementNews (3)

Contemporary airborne battle management systems

A remarkable review of contemporary airborne battle management systems has been issued by Jane's, which illustrates how modern technologies have evolved to aid the fight by increasing situational awareness, facilitating mission execution and suppyling tactical information quickly to commanders.

Although the technologies involved have advanced massively since their inception, current activity in the field has its roots in American, French and Soviet air-mobile doctrine and the Vietnam War where there was a need for effective, near-realtime management of close air-support assets. The air-mobility requirement has generated a number of helicopter applications that are capable of acting as airborne and ground-based command posts, with fixed-wing assets such as America's EC-130E Airborne Battlefield Command and Control Center (ABCCC) handling the air-support management role.

Among the key systems and platforms that underwent to Jane's review we mention the following ones:

• The Airborne Battlefield Command and Control Center Capsules (ABCCC) that are embarked on U.S. EC-130s. As an Air Combat Command asset, ABCCC is an integral part of the Tactical Air Control System. While functioning as a direct extension of ground-based command and control authorities, the primary mission is providing flexibility in the overall control of tactical air resources. In addition, to maintain positive control of air operations, ABCCC can provide communications to higher headquarters, including national command authorities, in both peace and wartime environments.
• The Racal (subsequently Thales) Airborne Mission Support System (AMSS), deriving from derived from its carry-on Light Mission Support System (LMSS), equipped aboard three UK E-3D aircrafts, which provides a two-star commander with tactical information such as air-tasking orders, combat search-and-rescue plans, area weather reports and intelligence updates in near-realtime.
• The Direct Air Support Center - Air (DASC-A) C2 architecture exploited by U.S. Marine Corps' KC-130 transport/tanker aircrafts, which is capapble to process immediate air support requests; to coordinate aircraft employment with other supporting arms; to manages terminal control assets supporting Ground Combat Elements and combat service support element forces; to control assigned aircrafts, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), and itinerant aircraft transiting through DASC controlled airspace.
• The rail-mounted French Army's HM-PC Valorisé helicopter-based airborne command post system, designed for installation aboard legacy Cougar and Puma helicopters, which is expected to become operational in 2013 at the conclusion of technical and operational field evaluations. The system provides the staff users with voice links and data connections from platform level all the way up to divisional headquarters, interlinking the battle-management system terminals installed in individual reconnaissance and support helicopters.
• Northrop Grumman's Battlefield Airborne Communications Node (BACN), already installed in three E-11A Global Express aircrafts and two Global Hawk UAVs, which enables essential situational awareness from small ground units in contact up to the highest command levels.

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Other References: GlobalSecurity.org (1), Northrop Grumman (2)

NATO activites and planned acquisition in the Cyberspace (second part)

News Report

Yesterday we focused our attention on the important developments that are occurring in the area of cyber defence within the NATO. By reporting the speech of NC3A's General Manager Mr Georges D’hollander (at the last AFCEA Cyber Security Defence Conference), we introduced the key activities that are under development within the Alliance for supporting member and partner Nations in the possible event of a significant cyber attack.

In this context, The NATO Computer Incident Response Capability (NCIRC) appears as the basic program that will increase NATO’s Cyber Defence capability to respond to computer security threats and vulnerabilities. NCIRC is expected to provide the means for handling and reporting incidents as well as disseminating important incident-related information to system and security management. It concentrates incident handling into one centralised and co-ordinated effort, thereby eliminating duplication of effort.

As reported by The Wall Street Journal and other news sources, NATO is starting to collect bids from more than 300 companies across its 28 member nations for the NCIRC. The list of the bidders includes some of the world's top defense companies, such as Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, Finmeccanica, IBM and SAIC.

Finmeccaninca and Northrop Grumman, in particular, announced the signing of a cooperation agreement for bidding on the NCIRC. The agreement - which does not indicate timing or potential value - should meet the requirements for NCIRC Full Operational Capability (FOC). Finmeccanica will participate in the program through its Cyber ​​Solutions unit, a new brand which is responsible in for all the activites of the Group dealing with the Cybersphere. "This is an intense collaboration that combines the power, resources and expertise of both companies in the United Kingdom, the United States and Italy, which led to an offer capable of satisfying the requirements of this major program of NATO," said Alberto de Benedictis, CEO of Finmeccanica UK.

The €32 million ($42 million) contract for NCIRC, although valued at less than the price of one fighter jet, holds great significance because it cements the alliance's role in protecting cutting-edge infrastructure, say NATO officials.

In the meantime, NATO conducted from 13 to 15 December a cyber defence exercise in order to test technical and operational Alliance cyber defence capabilities. The exercise, called Cyber Coalition 2011, was an opportunity to test Alliance working procedures for responding to large scale cyber attacks targeting information infra-structures of NATO and individual countries. The exercise was based  on a fictitious crisis in which all participant nations had to deal with simulated cyber attacks. The scenario of the exercise required action, coordination and collaboration from cyber defence specialists and management bodies. A total of 23 NATO and six partner nations nations were involved in the exercise. Around 100 specialists took part in the exercise from locations in the Alliance’s SHAPE Headquarters in Mons and the NATO Headquarters in Brussels. A similar number of national experts participated from national cyber defence facilities in their respective countries. 

References: C4I Technology News (1), The Wall Street Journal (2), GovconWire (3), DedaloNews (4), NATO (5)

Contract Award: Northrop Grumman to add Tactical Data Link technology on U.S. Army's "Hunter"

Background

Here in this blog we have already reported on the recent activities and programs focused on improving the level of integration of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles within military C4I systems (1,2,3).

In a first post published on November 2nd (Manned to Unmanned) we have discussed the results of the first ever Manned-Unmanned Systems Integration Capability exercise, which established seamless integration of Apache Block II and Kiowa Warrior helicopters, along with the U.S. Army's complete fleet of Unmanned Aircraft Systems (Raven, Puma, Hunter, Shadow and Gray Eagle). One of the objective of the exercise was to highlight the U.S. Program Executive Office Aviation's open architectural approach, that allows multiple control nodes and information access points to interoperate via the Tactical Common Data Link (TCDL).

In a second post published on November 3rd (Controlling the drones during the battle), we reported on the planned electronic enhancements to the AH-64D Block III, which includes advanced control of UAVs from inside the helicopter. By accessing the improved control suite (the so-called "tactical control data-link radio"), the pilot in the chopper can do everything but launch and land his drone: he can steer the UAV and its sensors and see everything it sees (for the delicate tasks of launching and landing, the pilot hands over control to an operator on the ground).

Finally, in the blog entry appeared on November 15th (U.S. Navy demonstrates UAV to Weapons interoperability through a Service Oriented Architecture) we reported that the U.S. Navy recently completed a demonstration for its unmanned aircraft Common Control System (CCS) at Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division in China Lake, Calif. During the demonstration, operators used the CCS to control a simulated unmanned aircraft system (UAS) and associated sensors tasked by Special Operations Forces. The UAS identified and tracked a hostile moving target and sent images of the target to an air controller. The UAS data created a precise coordinate so that a Net-Enabled Weapon (NEW) could strike. The UAS and NEW controller were then used together to perform a battle damage assessment.

News Report

In the above context, a recent press release announced that the U.S. Army has awarded Northrop Grumman two logistics support contract modifications, totaling $91.2 million, for the MQ-5B Hunter program, aimed at providing the platform with interoperable tactical common data link technology (TDCL).

Under the terms of the contract, Northrop Grumman will reset the current C-Band Hunter MQ-5B systems with TCDL technology to include resetting Hunter air vehicles, ground stations and data terminals with TCDL technology. Additionally, the TCDL also serves as a foundation of establishing interoperability among different U.S. Department of Defense air vehicles and ground stations. Such innovation also allows for manned aircraft to use unmanned aircraft, their sensors and weapons as an extension of their own capabilities keeping aviators out of harm's way.

The Technology

The Common Data Link denotes a family of full-duplex, asymmetric, jam-resistant, point-to-point microwave communication links developed by the U.S. back in the 1970s and used in imagery and signals intelligence (SIGINT) collection systems. TCDL is a narrow-band version of CDL but is evolving into a relatively low-cost, full-bandwidth version.

In the U.S., the TCDL program was introduced to provide a family of interoperable, secure, digital data links for use with both manned and unmanned airborne reconnaissance platforms. Rapid growth in the development of secure, digital TCDLs for use with both manned and unmanned airborne reconnaissance platforms, has tended to focus on ensuring interoperability and thus common standards for TCDL-equipped platforms in U.S. military service.

TDCL transceivers transmit and receive ISR data at rates from 1.544Mbps to at least 10.7 Mbps over ranges of 200 kilometers. TCDL will soon support the required higher CDL rates of 45, 137 and 274 Mbps.

The Context

MQ-5B Hunter is a multi-mission, medium altitude endurance tactical unmanned aerial system (UAS) optimized to provide U.S. Army division and corps commanders with a dedicated reconnaissance, surveillance, and target acquisition (RSTA) capability.

MQ-5B Hunter

The MQ-5B conducts battlefield surveillance using its multi-mission optronic payload. Flying over the battlefield, it gathers RSTA and battle damage information in real time, then relays it via video link to commanders and soldiers on the ground. The payload also broadcasts its sensor data to ground control and mission monitoring stations, providing commanders with enhanced situation awareness and the ability to proactively plan and execute decisive combat operations. The MQ-5B Hunter is distinguished by its heavy fuel engine, its “wet” (fuel-carrying) extended center wing with weapons-capable hard points, and the most modern avionics suite in the DoD inventory.

The Hunter originated as a Joint Army/Navy/Marine Corps UAS program. It was terminated in 1996, but through the procurement of a limited number of Low Rate Initial Production (LRIP) systems, Hunter exists today. The modernization from the RQ-5A to the MQ-5B was initiated in FY04. Hunter deployed to Macedonia to support NATO Balkan operations in 1999 and to Iraq in 2002, where it continues to support combat operations today. The MQ-5B Hunter, which is currently deployed supporting contingency operations in Southwest Asia, is providing the U.S. Army with state-of-the-art intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, and communications relay. Hunter has accumulated more than 100,000 flight hours, approximately 80 percent of which are combat related.

Comments

"With additional Hunters fielded with TCDL, our nation's warfighters are further equipped with greater bandwidth and encryption, safeguarding vital information," said Kevin Goates, director, Northrop Grumman Technical Services' Unmanned Systems Sustainment Center.

"The Hunter was critical to development of numerous advanced manned and unmanned teaming concepts while attached to combat aviation brigades in support of operations in Iraq," said Goates. "Most importantly, it saved, and will continue to save, the lives of countless soldiers and civilians as it plays a vital role in overcoming the threat of improvised explosive devices."

References: C4I Technology News (1,2,3), Northrop Grumman (4,5), UAV Forum (6), ADM (7)

Contract Award: Northrop Grumman to support U.S. Air Force in enhancing satellite multi-sensor integration capabilities

News Report

As reported by defpro.news and other news sources, Northrop Grumman has been awarded a $5.75 million contract from the U.S. Air Force to provide research and development for the Modular Architecture for Signal-processing, Tracking and Exploitation Research program (MASTER). The contract was awarded by the Space and Missile System Center's Development Planning Directorate, located at Los Angeles Air Force Base, Calif.

MASTER supports the government ground processing effort for the U.S. Air Force's Commercially Hosted IR Payload (CHIRP) program's on-orbit period. An experimental CHIRP sensor is hosted on a commercial SES satellite operating in geosynchronous orbit over the United States. The SES satellite was successfully launched on Sept. 21 from French Guiana.

The Program

The term hosted payloads refers to the utilization of available capacity on commercial satellites to accommodate additional transponders, instruments, or other spacebound items. By offering "piggyback rides" or "hitchhiking" opportunities on commercial spacecraft already scheduled for launch, satellite firms allow entities such as government agencies to send sensors and other equipment into space on a timely and cost-effective basis. The hosted payloads concept is similar to the ridesharing or multiple manifesting concept, but instead of sharing a space launch vehicle, the partners share a satellite bus. In some cases, hosted payloads may also be referred to as secondary payloads.

Hosted payloads can allow the government to plan and implement space missions on shorter cycles compared to the time it takes to procure an entire satellite -- typically 24 months versus 7 to 15 years. This is especially important for agencies facing impending gaps in operational capability. The commercial partnership gives the government an opportunity to leverage an already planned or existing satellite bus, launch vehicle, and satellite operations.

SES-2 satellite, built by Orbital Sciences Corp. of Dulles, Va., carries the first commercially hosted payload for the U.S. Air Force. The satellite was placed into geostationary transfer orbit on September 2011. In addition to its broadcast payload for North American customers, SES-2 carries the U.S. Air Force Commercially Hosted Infrared Payload (CHIRP), a staring, wide-field-of-view telescope designed to test infrared sensor technologies.

The CHIRP sensor was developed by scientists on the Third Generation Infrared System (3GIRS) Risk Reduction team for U.S. Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center (SMC) and Air Force Research Laboratory. The sensor uses a telescope to persistently view a quarter of the Earth from geosynchronous orbit, which matches the Earth's rotation so it appears in the same place in the sky. Its large format focal plane array accommodates a wide-field-of-view infrared staring system to sense bright spots on the surface of the Earth that aid in the early warning of missile launches and to support other military missions.  The sensor is remotely commanded and monitored by staff located at the SAIC-developed CHIRP Mission Analysis Center (CMAC) in Seal Beach, Calif. The CHIRP sensor data is securely transmitted to a U.S. government facility, as well as CMAC, for mission data processing and evaluation of the sensor.

The CHIRP sensor features a fixed telescope that can view one quarter of the Earth from geosynchronous orbit. The infrared sensor, based on a 2,000 by 2,000 pixel staring array, will test the potential of its wide field-of-view capabilities for future overhead persistent infrared missions for the U.S. Air Force.

U.S. Air Force's MASTER program has assisted the ground processing effort of the government for the CHIRP campaign. MASTER has been successful in integrating and using algorithms provided by outside third parties as well as processing data from multiple sensors and new experimental simulated data. The MASTER architecture has also enabled innovative parallel data processing with multiple plug-and-play algorithms, along with significant advances in star and static-source line-of-site correction methods.

The Context

In recent times, the hosted payloads concept has gained significant traction within both government and industry. Government agencies, facing new budgetary realities, have issued solicitations and held industry days to investigate the cost and feasibility of commercial solutions, including hosted payloads, as a means of fulfilling their mission requirements.

The U.S. Air Force's Commercially Hosted Infrared Payload (CHIRP) Flight Demonstration Program launched a wide field-of-view, passive infrared sensor on a commercial GEO (SES-2) on September 9, 2011. The experiment supports next-generation infrared sensor system development and is essential to reducing technology risk for the Third Generation Infrared Surveillance (3GIRS) system.

The U.S. Air Force expects to achieve major cost savings by flying this mission as a hosted payload. It has been estimated that if CHIRP were to fly as a dedicated free flyer the cost would be around $500 million. The hosted payload ended up costing $65 million and should satisfy 80% of the technical questions. CHIRP is SES' first hosted payload, SES-2 is also an important demonstration of how hosting government special purpose payloads on commercial satellites can provide cost effective means for experimenting with new technologies.

An innovative three-way industry partnership was responsible for  developing, integrating and testing the CHIRP sensor for the U.S. Air Force. SES acted as the prime contractor for the hosted payload project; SAIC developed and built the CHIRP sensor; and Orbital was responsible for the overall system design, integration and testing processes, as well as the designer and integrator  of the hosted payload interface that will be employed for future hosted payloads aboard Orbital’s commercial satellites.

The MASTER contract awarded to Northrop Grumman is a follow-on effort to the Alternative Infrared Satellite System program, begun in 2006 and then renamed Third Generation Infrared Surveillance. MASTER has been focused on developing an open, plug-and-play, sensor-agnostic processing architecture for the government to use in evaluating whole earth-staring array sensors.

Comments

"MASTER provides an important sensor-agnostic ground processing capability for our customer," said Ron Alford, Northrop Grumman's director, sensor exploitation systems and Colorado campuses. "The architecture utilizes an enterprise approach with an open architecture and plug-and-play components. In future data processing systems, measurable cost savings can be enjoyed by using the MASTER architecture to provide common processing capabilities across sensor types and system constellations without the need for customized processing chains."

"This approach not only reduces costs, but facilitates new missions, new sensor/data providers and the participation of third parties in specialized processing algorithms for new and changing missions," Alford said.

States Romain Bausch, President and CEO of SES, said: “SES-2 will provide seamless replacement capacity at the important orbital position of 87 degrees West, ensuring a number of our North American customers a smooth continuation of their operations for years to come. Fitted with CHIRP, SES’ first hosted payload, SES-2 is also an important demonstration of how hosting government special purpose payloads on commercial satellites can provide cost effective means for experimenting with new technologies”

References: defpro.news (1), Space Commerce (2), HostedPayload.com (3), SAIC (4), SpaceNews (5), Aerospace and Defence News (6)

Harris introduces the new Falcon III handeld radio upgrade for network-enabled dismounted soldiers

News Report

As announced in a recent press release, Harris has introduced the Falcon III® AN/PRC-152A, the first and only U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) Type-1 certified handheld radio to put the power of wideband tactical networking-including the capability to send and receive voice, video, images and data-in the hands of the dismounted warfighter. The introduction of the AN/PRC-152A will transform tactical communications through the expanded use of network-enabled missions in areas such as mission planning, intelligence gathering, force protection and checkpoint security.

Harris began deliveries of the AN/PRC-152A after receiving Type-1 certification from the NSA. The radio is the next generation of the widely deployed AN/PRC-152(C) handheld and addresses wideband communication requirements of teams operating at the tactical edge of the battlefield. The Falcon III wideband handheld serves as an interoperable companion to the Harris AN/PRC-117G multiband wideband manpack radio.

The Product

The AN/PRC-152A is the wideband handheld radio that delivers IP-based mobile ad-hoc networking while maintaining interoperability with legacy narrowband waveforms. Using the AN/PRC-152A, dismounted operators have the ability to send and receive secure voice and data communications to users within the network. The AN/PRC-152A provides high-speed networked data using the Harris Adaptive Networking Wideband Waveform (ANW2) and will be software upgradeable to support the Soldier Radio Waveform (SRW).

ANW2 uses innovative intelligent protocols that do not require the presence of a designated network control station-each radio automatically discovers and joins an authorized network. Ad-hoc networking allows automatic and transparent relay through an available station. It also heals the network if a station leaves, ensuring network reliability. ANW2 provides situational awareness and data on demand, seamlessly linking dismounted soldiers with upper-echelon networks. The radio quickly and efficiently transmits mission-critical voice, data and video in the most challenging communications environments.
The AN/PRC-152A allows the U.S. Department of Defense to extend tactical networking across the entire battlefield and offers warfighters the broadest set of capabilities in a handheld radio. In addition to wideband networking provided by the Harris ANW2, the AN/PRC-152A operates SINCGARS, VHF/UHF Line-of-Sight (VULOS), HaveQuick, IW for tactical satellite communications and other combat net radio waveforms.

Covering the 30 to 512 MHz frequency range, the multiband radio also comes with an optional high band enhancement that increases the radios frequency coverage to 30-512 MHz and 762-870 MHz for select waveforms. Additionally, the radio supports wideband (e.g. 1.2 MHz Bandwidth) networking waveforms from 225 to 450 MHz.

The AN/PRC-152A features the Software Communications Architecture (SCA) operating environment, providing the optimal transition to software defined radio technology. SCA architecture enables the upgrade to future waveforms supporting the evolution of communications from legacy narrowband to network centric wideband operations. Secured with the Harris SierraTM II encryption module, the AN/PRC-152A provides voice and data security up to the TOP SECRET level.

The Context

Consistent with its investments under the JTRS Enterprise Business Model, Harris is in the process of adding the JTRS Soldier Radio Waveform (SRW) to the AN/PRC-152A.

There are currently four different types of SRW-capable JTRS radios: HMS Production Rifleman Radio (PRR) developed under government contract by the JTRS program, as well as three commercial vendors’ radios, Harris’ Falcon III, ITT’s Soldier Radio, and Northrup Grumman’s Software Defined Multi-Function Device.

Comments

"The introduction of the AN/PRC-152A revolutionizes the effectiveness of the dismounted combat soldier," said Dana Mehnert, group president, Harris RF Communications. "This new radio extends the tactical network to the edge, allowing for reliable connectivity across all levels and delivering vital command and control, situational awareness and critical ISR information. With the introduction of the AN/PRC-152A, the Harris Falcon III family of vehicular, manpack and handheld radios now addresses networking requirements from brigade and battalion levels down to the squad."

References: Harris (1), NPS (2), Armed with Science (3)

Contract Award: US AOC Air and Space Operations Center Weapon System goes SOA

News Report

As reported by the US Department of Defense, Northrop Grumman is being awarded an $119,715,682 contract for the design, development, test, and deployment of Increment 10.2, modernization of the Air and Space Operations Center Weapon System.

Increment 10.2 is intended to bring net-centric capabilities to the Geographic Air and Space Operations Center Weapons Systems, thereby allowing data to flow seamlessly across various platforms and process workflows rather than being locked in separate information technology system “silos” to be accessed and retransmitted by humans, as is the process today.

Increment 10.2 capabilities will be fielded to the Geographic Air and Space Operations Centers; a help desk at Langley Air Force Base, Va.; and the Formal Training Unit at Hurlburt Field, Fla.

In addition, the modernization contractor will be responsible for maintaining interoperability and sustainment of the Air and Space Operations Center Weapon System baseline, to include site-specific tailoring. The primary location of performance is Northrop Grumman Systems Corporation, Herndon, Va.

The Context

The US Air and Space Operations Center Weapon System (AOC WS) is the US Joint Force Air Component Commander's (JFACC) primary node for commanding air and space power.

The AOC is the weapon system (personnel, capabilities and equipment) through which the JFACC exercises command and control of aerospace forces. It is the senior element of the Theater Air Control System (TACS).

The JFACC employs the AOC Weapon System (AOC WS) to maneuver and mass overwhelming air and space power through centralized control and decentralized execution to produce desired operational and strategic effects in support of the Joint Force Commander's (JFC) campaign. The AOC is the air and space operations planning, execution, and assessment system for the JFACC. The AOC develops the air and space operations strategy and planning documents to meet JFACC objectives and guidance. The AOC tasks and executes day-to-day air and space operations and provides rapid reaction, positive control, coordination, and de-confliction of weapons systems.

The AOC Weapon System program is aimed at minimizing information technology footprint and integrate more than 40 independent programs into a common computing infrastructure. The program will optimize a net-centric implementation for centralized command and control (C2) and decentralized execution.

The AOC WS Increment 10.2 is focused on implementing a Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) that features flexibility, interoperability, and efficiency. "We're looking to have a single computing environment for the AOC Weapon System," said Lt. Col. John Barrette, AOC WS 10.2 program manager, on last March. "Right now, there are lots of servers and workstations and not enough machine-to-machine integration. We want to implement an SOA, a services-oriented architecture, to improve the capabilities of the AOC." Integrating mission services and data into a single computing environment will improve those abilities and also bring other benefits, according to Colonel Barrette.

Today, each geographic AOC supports one theater joint forces air component commander in planning and executing the kill chain -- find, fix, track, target, engage and assess -- for the air war. Additionally,  the AOC WS is composed principally of a collection of stand-alone systems. When a new capability needs to be added, or a legacy system upgraded, it can take from 12 to 18 months to field. It also is becoming more expensive to keep legacy systems operational.

"What's in the field today has been very successful for planning and executing major theater wars," Colonel Barrette said. "From a warfighter perspective, this AOC modernization will improve the operators' ability to effectively support dynamic planning for irregular warfare or counterinsurgency operations. With this RFP, we're trying to be responsive to the evolving missions of the AOC."

"My vision is to make the AOC Weapon System work for the warfighter, not vice versa," he said.

Under the awarded contract, Northrop Grumman will become the sustainment contractor for the AOC WS 10.1 baseline. The current contract for this work expired in September. Second, Northrop Grumman will need to design and prototype the common computing environment, the SOA, and be able to demonstrate integration of capabilities into that environment for the AOC WS 10.2.

References: US DoD (1), US Air Force (2)

Advances in Ground Vehicle Protection and Situational Awareness

News Report

As reported by SpaceWar and other news sources, Northrop Grumman has successfully demonstrated advanced technologies for ground vehicle protection and situational awareness at the Camp Roberts range. In one of the test scenarios, Northrop Grumman simulated a typical convoy mission leaving a Forward Operating Base. By using the company's Smart Integrated Vehicle Area Network (SiVAN) and vehicle-mounted sensors, crews in multiple vehicles maintained situational awareness with each other and the Tactical Operations Center (TOC) under all weather conditions.

Connected to a wireless mesh network, the systems shared target information with other networked sensors and with the TOC. Operators were able to view imagery from several sensors, Northrop said.

The Technology

SiVAN is a highly survivable information network that ties current disparate technologies together into one integrated infrastructure. An infrastructure that ultimately serves as the foundation for adding all future capabilities. SiVAN operates as an open systems architecture that integrates zero configuration standards to create true plug-and-play capability.

SiVAN provides a self-forming information link between devices, local area dismounts, UAVs, and any other platform allowing them all to seamlessly interoperate.

SiVAN consists of a Smart display, an Ethernet cable, and device interfaces. Scalable and modular, SiVAN is compliant with the VICTORY architecture (Vehicular Integration for C4ISR/Electronic Warfare Interoperability), i.e. the US Army effort to develop, validate, demonstrate and maintain a set of open standards for the integration of C4ISR and related items of equipments on Army platforms.

The goals of VICTORY are to facilitate a decrease in Size, Weight, and Power requirements (SWaP) , improve technology transition and provide evolutionary growth in capabilities. VICTORY standards are developed in cooperation with industry and are open to support multi-vendor implementation. It is the intent for these standards to be used in a large number of future acquisition programs.

The Context

Other systems integrated and tested during the Camp Roberts' exercise included fire control systems, targeting systems, radar, unattended ground sensors, acoustic sensors and survivability equipment. Northrop Grumman's Rotorcraft Avionics Innovation Laboratory performed the rapid integrations.

Comments

"Military convoys are vital for resupply and force mobility in theater, but they face a number of significant threats. Improving their safety was one of the goals of our testing at Camp Roberts," said Kay Burch, vice president of communications, intelligence and networking solutions for Northrop Grumman's Land and Self Protection Systems Division. "The digital interoperability we demonstrated here will improve warfighters' situational awareness by giving them greater access to the information they need, when they need it."

Related Posts:

• Northrop Grumman showcases its Smart Integrated Vehicle Area Network (SiVAN)

References: SpaceWar (1)

JTRS GMR: program terminated

News Report

As announced by InsideDefense.com and then reported by several other news sources, the US Defense Department communicated that the US Army's Joint Tactical Radio System Ground Mobile Radio program (JTRS GMR) has been terminated.

"I can confirm the program has been terminated," said Air Force Lieutenant Colonel Melinda Morgan, a Pentagon spokeswoman. A notice from Frank Kendall, the acting under secretary for acquisition, was sent to the House of Representatives' and Senate Armed Services Committees on last Thursday night, she said.

The System

The Joint Tactical Radio System, Ground Mobile Radios (JTRS GMR) is a software-programmable radio system providing secure, reliable, multi-channel voice, data, imagery and video communications for mobile military users. The system was expected to deliver networked communications on-the-move at the tactical edge supporting information sharing and combat readiness between service branches.

The JTRS is built on the Software Communications Architecture (SCA), an open-architecture framework that tells designers how hardware and software are to operate in harmony. It governs the structure and operation of the JTRS, enabling programmable radios to load waveforms, run applications, and be networked into an integrated system. A Core Framework, providing a standard operating environment, must be implemented on every hardware set. Interoperability among radio sets is increased because the same waveform software can be easily ported to all radios.

The Object Management Group (OMG), a not-for-profit consortium that produces and maintains computer industry specifications for interoperable enterprise applications, is working toward building an international commercial standard based on the SCA.

The US Army hasn’t released its most current assessment of the radio, which was scrutinized this year in a six-week Network Integration Evaluation field exercise at Fort Bliss, Texas, and White Sands Missile Range, New Mexico, with other JTRS radios. In a systems integration test last year, the radio “continued to demonstrate deficiencies” it had in 2009, including difficulty establishing a network and low message completion rates, the Pentagon’s director of operational testing reported.

The Context

Boeing is the prime contractor for the JTRS GMR program. Other team members include Northrop Grumman (ground vehicle systems integration and network management), Rockwell Collins (waveform and hardware development), BAE Systems (waveform and hardware development), Harris (hardware).

The JTRS program has been beset by delays and cost overruns. Problems included a decentralized management structure, changing requirements, and unexpected technical difficulties that increased size and weight goals that made it harder to add the required waveforms. Large cost overruns and numerous schedule delays forced the US Army's hand in canceling the JTRS Ground Mobile Radio system. To that end, US DoD has told Lockheed Martin, the prime contractor of the air and sea version of JTRS, to restructure that program with an eye toward affordability.

The program has been canceled in line with the Nunn-McCurdy statute, which calls for a program's termination once unit-procurement costs exceed the original estimate by 25 percent unless it is deemed essential to national security. Concerning the JTRS GMR program, the statute was triggered after the planned purchase was slashed over the summer from 86,209 radios to 10,293. That reduction caused the radio’s unit price to rise by more than 50 percent, triggering the cost reporting law.

The US Army now plans to conduct a full and open competition early next year for a lower-cost alternative, said Major Christopher Kasker, a US Army spokesman. US Army spokesmans also reiterated that the backbone of the Army's networking strategy will be the waveforms and not the specific hardware transmitting them.

References: InsideDefense.com (1), Chicago Tribune (2), GAO (3), Boeing (4), AOL Defense (5), Bloomberg (6)