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Jacobs Technology Awarded Two Service Support Contracts

May 20, 2013

George I. Seffers

Jacobs Technology Inc., Lincoln, Mass., was awarded two cost-plus-fixed-fee and cost-reimbursable contract for interim support of services to provide engineering and technology acquisition support services. The contracts are valued at $9,682,777 and $7,543,139. The types of services to be acquired under this contract includes but are not limited to: engineering services, engineering support, technical support, provisioning and logistics, modeling and simulation, configuration and data management, architectural support, test and evaluation, security engineering and certification, capability- based planning, commercial-off-the-shelf integration, integrated master plans and scheduling and technical review assistance to approximately 400 system/program activities. Work will be performed at Hanscom Air Force Base, Mass., with primary geographically separated units at Wright Patterson AFB, Ohio, Maxwell AFB, Ala., Tinker AFB, Okla., Lackland AFB, Texas, Randolph AFB, Texas, Peterson AFB, Colo., and Offutt AFB, Neb., with an expected completion date of Nov. 19, 2013. This contract was a sole source acquisition and the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Hanscom AFB, Mass., is the contracting activity. Contract has an foreign military sales component as the contract requires company to travel overseas for host nation support.

Departments:

Defense

Industry

Nanosatellites STARE at Space Junk

May 17, 2013

By George I. Seffers

Departments:

Defense

Austerity Breeds Innovation

May 16, 2013

By Maryann Lawlor

East: Joint Warfighting 2013 Online Show Daily, Day 3
East: Joint Warfighting 2013 at the Virginia Beach Convention Center, Virginia, wrapped up today with discussions about the challenges in counterinsurgency wars, rapid acquisition and fiscal crisis.

Departments:

Event Coverage

Defense

Transformation, Coalitions and Interoperability

May 15, 2013

By Maryann Lawlor

Departments:

Defense

Event Coverage

Experts Focus on the Effects of Sequestration

May 14. 2013

By Maryann Lawlor

East: Joint Warfighting 2013 Online Show Daily, Day 1

Adm. William E. Gortney, USN, commander, U.S. Fleet Forces Command, set the tone for East: Joint Warfighting 2013 taking place at the Virginia Beach Convention Center, Virginia, May 14-16, when he opened the conference by talking about changes and choices in today’s morning keynote address. Although the obvious change is the reduction in financial resources, the other is one that has been mentioned at previous AFCEA International conferences: the shift in focus from Southwest Asia to the entire Pacific region.

Departments:

Event Coverage

Defense

Unmanned Systems Soon May Offer Universal Remote

May 9, 2013

By Robert K. Ackerman

Unmanned vehicles may become joint platforms as new software allows operators using a standard control system to use craft employed by different services. So, an Army squad deep in the battlefield may be able to use data accessed directly from a Navy unmanned aerial vehicle to bring an Air Force strike to bear against enemy forces.

Departments:

Afghanistan

Defense

NIST Releases Latest Catalog of Security and Privacy Controls for Federal Systems

May 3, 2013

by Max Cacas

A government-wide task force led by NIST is out with the latest catalog of security and privacy controls for federal information systems, including some new thinking when it comes to addressing insider threats that go beyond technology.

Departments:

Afghanistan

Cyber

Unmanned Cargo System Faces Uncertain Future Following Afghanistan Deployment

May 1, 2013

By George I. Seffers

U.S. Navy and Marine Corps officials describe the K-MAX unmanned cargo helicopter as having met or exceeded requirements in Afghanistan, but they also report that the Marines have not yet developed requirements for the system to become a program of record and say they are unsure what effect sequestration will have on the system.

The Marines deployed two K-MAX aircraft to Afghanistan in late 2011 as part of an urgent operational need to ferry supplies to and from forward operating bases, reducing the number of manned flights or vulnerable convoys in an attempt to reduce casualties. The deployment is designed to demonstrate the system’s capabilities, and the Marines recently announced the indefinite extension of the K-MAX mission in Afghanistan. To date, the unmanned helicopters have delivered more than 3.2 million pounds of cargo and continue to keep ground convoys off the roads, significantly reducing Marines’ exposure to improvised explosive devices and other lethal threats, Marine officials say. The system carries supplies such as ammunition, food and water, generators, medical supplies and even mail.

Maj. Daniel Lindblom, USMC, operations officer for Marine Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Squadron 3, said during a May 1 teleconference with reporters that the system’s performance “has been absolutely superb.” The unmanned helicopter offers some advantages to manned aircraft, especially for emergency resupply missions. “That’s where we really make our money,” says Maj. Lindblom. “The ability for us to plan on the fly and execute on the fly is quite a bit better, in my opinion, than manned aircraft.”

Departments:

Afghanistan

Defense

Changing the Course of Coalition Connectivity

May 1, 2013

By Rita Boland

NATO has created Sector International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) to oversee coalition, command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance efforts in Afghanistan.

A U.S. Army soldier tests radio communications during an air assault operation in Bak, Afghanistan. The establishment of Sector ISAF changes how C5ISR is managed and provides a blueprint for future operations.

NATO has established a new organization in Afghanistan to manage the communications and information systems there in an attempt to revolutionize its approach to those services. The group subsumes operations that used to fall under multiple regional commands, streamlining activities while conserving resources.

The NATO Sector International Security Assistance Force (ISAF) reached initial operational capability at the beginning of January and expects to reach full operational capability in June, putting the organization three-and-a-half months ahead of schedule. With the sector’s establishment, one group now oversees NATO’s entire footprint in Afghanistan to meet requirements in the most expeditious, effective and cost-efficient manner. This includes managing an estimated 70 to 75 points of presence. “It also gives us much more flexibility,” says Col. David E. Jenkins, USA, commander, Sector ISAF.

At full operation, the sector will have responsibility for all coalition, command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (C⁵ISR) that NATO manages. In the event of any failure, sector personnel will have to find a solution to bring equipment back online through various service-level agreements.

Departments:

Defense

International

Making Tactical Communications History

May 1, 2013

By George I. Seffers

U.S. Army soldiers from the 10th Mountain Division (Light Infantry) call in a CH-47 Chinook helicopter for a mission in Bagram, Afghanistan. The 3rd and 4th Brigade Combat Teams will be the first Army units to deploy with Capability Set 13 equipment.

A pair of U.S. Army units prepares to deploy with mobile network technology.

Two brigades from the Army’s 10th Mountain Division are preparing to deploy to Afghanistan with a host of technologies that will allow the units to provide their own network down to the tactical edge. The new equipment provides battalion and company commanders with a communications on the move capability and pushes critical data down to the individual squad level.

The division’s 3rd and 4th Brigade Combat Teams will assist in the Army’s drawdown in Afghanistan by conducting security forces advise and assist team (SFAAT) missions. They will advise and assist Afghan national security forces, including the army, national police, border patrol and civil order police. The mission will require U.S. forces to turn over fixed network infrastructure and become increasingly mobile while remaining connected to the network and situational awareness data.

In February, the Army completed fielding a range of new technologies known collectively as Capability Set 13 (CS 13) to the two brigades. “The fielding is historic if you look at it in terms of providing integrated mission command capability to SFAAT brigades because it has never been done before,” says Maj. Matthew McGraw, USA, who serves as a liaison between the 3rd Brigade Combat Team and the System of Systems Integration Directorate within the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics and Technology. He emphasizes the word integrated.

Departments:

Defense

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