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Curtiss-Wright Defense Solutions Supports Wind River’s Cybersecurity Efforts
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Curtiss-Wright Defense Solutions Supports Wind River’s Cybersecurity Efforts

Wind River has collaborated with Curtiss-Wright Defense Solutions to offer integrated cybersecurity and anti-tamper protections for aerospace and defense systems, Curtiss-Wright Defense Solutions reported on Tuesday. The advanced solutions will further security and performance requirements for mission-critical applications.

“By working with leaders like Wind River, we can help our customers accelerate their innovation and development cycles while also preparing their defense systems to guard against ever-increasing cyberthreats,” said Chris Wiltsey, senior vice president and general manager, Curtiss-Wright Defense Solutions.

Wind River Titanium Security Suite will deliver proven capabilities to provide secure, trusted and controlled execution. The suite will also protect against cyberattacks, tampering and reverse engineering. The suite has included solutions for hardening Linux environments, securely leveraging virtualization and protecting the boot process and chain.

By collaborating with Curtiss-Wright, the companies will deliver a secure hardware and software solution for applications. Titanium Security Suite has been integrated, tested and validated on Curtiss-Wright OpenVPX modules and will be supported on the CHAMP-XD1S processor module.

The modules will feature built-in Intel Trusted Execution Technology (Intel TXT), Curtiss-Wright TrustedCOTS protections and flexible APIs to support secure software solutions. Wind River and Curtiss-Wright will enable customers to strengthen system security, and reduce risk, cost, complexity and development time.

“By collaborating with Curtiss-Wright, we are helping our shared customers integrate security during the design phase, incorporating advanced cybersecurity and technology protections that meet DoD requirements,” said Michel Genard, vice president, Industry Solutions, Wind River.

About Curtiss-Wright Corporation

Curtiss-Wright Corporation is a global innovative company that delivers highly engineered, critical-function products and services to the commercial, industrial, defense, and energy markets.

Building on the heritage of Glenn Curtiss and the Wright brothers, Curtiss-Wright has a long tradition of providing reliable solutions through trusted customer relationships. The company is headquartered in Davidson, N.C., and employs approximately 8,300 people worldwide.

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BAE Systems Wins US Navy Contract to Demonstrate RFCM System
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BAE Systems Wins US Navy Contract to Demonstrate RFCM System

BAE Systems has secured a $4 million contract from the U.S. Navy to conduct a quick-turnaround demonstration of a new radio frequency countermeasure (RFCM) system for the P-8A Poseidon, the company reported on Tuesday. 

“The ability to meet this unprecedented response time underscores our agility, focus on meeting customer needs, and our ultimate goal of protecting our warfighters,” said Don Davidson, director of the Advanced Compact Electronic Warfare Solutions product line at BAE Systems.

BAE Systems’ pod-mounted RFCM system has integrated leading-edge, lightweight, high-power capabilities that will deliver a self-protection capability to the U.S. Navy’s P-8A Poseidon. “A process that used to take 18 to 24 months has been scaled to five or six months, which is remarkable, as is deploying this new self-protection capability,” Davidson added. 

The company has collaborated with small focus teams that developed an innovative approach to the design and fabrication of the system’s mechanical parts, which has enabled the system’s rapid response. The RFCM system consists of a small form factor jammer, a high-powered amplifier and the AN/ALE-55 Fiber-Optic Towed Decoy (FOTD).

FOTD is an advanced RF self-protection jammer that combats against RF missile threats to protect any fixed-wing aircraft. AN/ALE-55 FOTD jams signals with a high-powered response from off-board the aircraft at the end of the towline.  Missiles are guided safely away from the aircraft to the towed decoy.

Under the contract, BAE Systems will design, build, integrate and ship the RFCM system over approximately five months, followed by two months of flight testing on the P-8A Poseidon platform. Testing will begin early in 2021. Work on the contract will be performed at the company’s state-of-the-art facility in Nashua, New Hampshire.

About BAE Systems

BAE Systems, Inc. is the U.S. subsidiary of BAE Systems plc, an international defense, aerospace and security company which delivers a full range of products and services for air, land and naval forces, as well as advanced electronics, security, information technology solutions and customer support services.

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HHS Unveils Online Resources for Health IT Standards Compliance
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HHS Unveils Online Resources for Health IT Standards Compliance

The Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Office of the National Coordinator (ONC) for Health Information Technology has introduced online resources to help health IT professionals comply with new electronic health information system standards.

Robert Anthony, director of the ONC Office of Technology’s certification and testing division, said in a blog post published Monday that the online resources can be accessed through the Cures Act Rule website. 

Resources include information on key dates as well as application programming interface requirements in compliance with the Health IT Certification Program Final Rule and the 21st Century Cures Act.

The website also covers topics such as compliance date extensions, health IT certification and test procedures. Other items include updates to the 2015 Edition Certification Criteria, Certification Companion Guides, ONC clarifications and other educational materials.

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Matthew Graviss Named State Department’s First Chief Data Officer
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Matthew Graviss Named State Department’s First Chief Data Officer

Matthew Graviss, former chief data officer (CDO) of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, has been appointed as CDO with the State Department. Graviss will succeed acting CDO, Janice deGarmo. Graviss will report to deGarmo, who was recently promoted to director of the Office of Management Strategy and Solutions.

The department said Monday Graviss will lead the analytics center within its Office of Management Strategy and Solution in efforts to help personnel gain insights from data that can support diplomatic missions.

Graviss is a PhD Systems Engineer who has led high-profile operations and technology organizations. He brings deep experience across strategic communication, change management, data management and data analytics. 

He previously  served as director of security threat assessment operations at the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) before joining USCIS in July 2018. At TSA, he oversaw the adjudication of credential and benefit applications and risk analysis initiatives across the agency.

Graviss previously worked as director of a Customs and Border Protection (CBP) division responsible for evaluating border surveillance technology from the private sector.

He holds a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from Auburn University, a master’s degree from Texas A&M University and a Ph.D. from George Washington University.

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DHS Tests Ability of Biometric Acquisition Systems in Identifying People With Face Masks
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DHS Tests Ability of Biometric Acquisition Systems in Identifying People With Face Masks

Preliminary test results of the third Biometric Technology Rally held by the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) science and technology (S&T) directorate in the fall of 2020 showed that biometric acquisition tools and matching algorithms were up to 96 percent accurate in identifying individuals with protective face masks.

The S&T directorate tested 60 facial recognition systems with 582 test volunteers during the 10-day testing period to evaluate the technologies’ ability to capture images of people with or without wearing masks, volunteer satisfaction and processing time. 

Matching algorithms and biometric acquisition systems showed an identification rate of 77 percent as their median system performance for recognizing individuals who are wearing masks. 

“This isn’t a perfect 100% solution but it may reduce risks for many travelers, as well as the frontline staff working in airports, who no longer have to ask all travelers to remove masks,” said Arun Vemury, director of S&T directorate’s Biometric and Identity Technology Center.

The directorate said it expects to release the 2020 Biometric Technology Rally’s final test results in the next few weeks.

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Lt. Col. Ryan Rose on Space Force’s Small Satellite Launch Plans
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Lt. Col. Ryan Rose on Space Force’s Small Satellite Launch Plans

Lt. Col. Ryan Rose, chief of the small launch and targets division of the Space and Missile Systems Center’s (SMC) launch enterprise, said the U.S. Space Force plans to assess and work with as many small launch providers as possible and determine how to procure services from such companies to meet future demand, SpaceNews reported Monday.

“Our customers are building more small sats,” Rose told the publication in an interview. “We’re trying to make sure we have contract vehicles available to satisfy those requirements. It’s hard to say how many providers we’ll need.” 

The COVID-19 pandemic and technical challenges pushed back several small satellite launch missions to 2021 and those include launches by Space Vector, Rocket Lab and Virgin Orbit.

Rose said Rocket Lab’s Electron rocket for the Space Test Program STP-27RM mission is now projected to lift off by spring or summer of 2021 and the Air Force Research Laboratory’s (ARL) sounding rocket mission aboard a vehicle developed by Kratos and Space Vector is now expected to launch in the spring.

She added the first of two Virgin Orbit launches, STP-27VP, is now targeted for summer, while the STP-S28 mission is expected to take off later this year.

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Bipartisan Law Seeks to Improve FEMA’s Advance Contracting Process; Rep. Bennie Thompson Quoted
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Bipartisan Law Seeks to Improve FEMA’s Advance Contracting Process; Rep. Bennie Thompson Quoted

President Trump signed into law a bipartisan bill to improve the process of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) for awarding contracts before disasters strike to ensure readiness, Government Executive reported Monday.

The Federal Advance Contracts Enhancements Act was introduced in Congress to amend the Post-Katrina Emergency Management Reform Act of 2006 and incorporate the Government Accountability Office’s (GAO) recommendations in a 2018 report.

The measure will direct FEMA to provide state and local governments with updated information on available advance contracts, enhance its programs to track major acquisitions, inform specific congressional panels on how it is implementing recommendations from GAO and update acquisition guidance for agency personnel.

Rep. Bennie Thompson, D-Miss., chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, introduced the bill in the lower chamber.

"After years of systemic flaws, it was clear we needed to make necessary reforms to FEMA’s advance contracting process so the country will be able to tackle recovery from future disasters more effectively…I look forward to working with FEMA as they improve their advance contracting," Thompson said.

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Marine Corps Fields Rifle Suppressors Under Large-Scale Defense Logistics Program; Maj. Mike Brisker Quoted
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Marine Corps Fields Rifle Suppressors Under Large-Scale Defense Logistics Program; Maj. Mike Brisker Quoted

The U.S. Marine Corps Systems Command (MCSC) has begun the large-scale fielding of rifle suppressors as part of the service’s goal to deploy 30,000 of the small-arms components by fiscal year 2023. The Marine Corps Systems Command said Wednesday the silencers will be fielded to reconnaissance, special operations and infantry units for use on M4A1, M4 and M27 rifles.

MCSC’s Program Manager for Infantry Weapons partnered with the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) to acquire 6,700 suppressors under the Tailored Logistic Program and was able to purchase over 7,000 more units on the initial delivery order.

Billy Epperson, infantry weapon capabilities integration officer at the Marine Corps Combat Development and Integration unit, said the service conducted Limited User Evaluations to identify commercially available suppressors in 2019.

CWO4 David Tomlinson, infantry weapons officer at MCSC, said the suppressors are meant to improve Marines’ inter-platoon and inter-squad communications while enabling lateral coordination in combat.

“We’ve never fielded suppressors at this scale. This fielding is a big moment for the Marine Corps,” said Maj. Mike Brisker, weapons product manager at PM IW.

MCSC collaborated with the Marine Corps' Fleet Marine Force, CD&I and Plans, Policies and Operations components to organize and optimize suppressor distribution.

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Air Force Stakeholders Discuss Future Airman Mgmt, Training; Maj. Gen. William Spangenthal Quoted
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Air Force Stakeholders Discuss Future Airman Mgmt, Training; Maj. Gen. William Spangenthal Quoted

Air Education and Training Command (AETC) held a virtual event to discuss efforts on airman development in the age of great power competition.

AETC's Total Force Airmen event gathered stakeholders from active duty, civilian, national guard and reserve components of the U.S. Air Force to discuss how airmen can be improved via data-informed approaches, the service branch said Wednesday.

“These airmen must have agility of thought, understand mission-type orders and be able to execute the mission,” said Maj. Gen. William Spangenthal, deputy commander of AETC.

Col. Raymond Platt, A3/6 deputy director for force development at AETC headquarters, said USAF must use data to develop and understand the force, and match the right airman with the right job. Platt added he seeks to develop an enterprise that integrates and delivers training and education across all devices used by airmen.

“This talks to learning management systems that connect learners, instructors and content, as well as data analytics and advanced technology like artificial intelligence," he stated.

Major USAF commands and Air Force Institute of Technology presented during the two-day event.

Army to Deploy Support Units for Planned Stryker-Mounted Electronic Warfare System
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Army to Deploy Support Units for Planned Stryker-Mounted Electronic Warfare System

The U.S. Army plans to establish electronic warfare groups for brigade combat teams that will be responsible for a proposed integrated electronic-attack system designed for the service branch’s Stryker fighting vehicles, C4ISRnet reported Friday.

Lockheed Martin and Germantown, Maryland-based manufacturer Digital Receiver Technology are producing prototypes of the Terrestrial Layer System Brigade Combat Team platform which is designed for signals intelligence, cyber and electronic warfare functions.

Col. Daniel Holland, capabilities manager for electronic warfare at the Army, told the publication that the service plans to deploy a SIGINT network support teams and electronic warfare platoons that will handle TLS-BCT.

He noted that the Army intends for the platoons to be in place ahead of TLS-BCT’s delivery to warfighters. The 1st Stryker Brigade Combat Team, 4th Infantry Division slated to receive the first system in 2022. 

Most units will continue receiving the platform through fiscal 2027, said Holland. The Army also plans to create electronic warfare companies at the corps- and division-level to operate the TLS-Echelons Above Brigade platform, according to the report.

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