Lockheed Martin Corporation, Liverpool, New York, is being awarded a $26,197,869 firm-fixed-price, cost-reimbursable no fee, time-and-material contract for funding action and exercise of options for modernization of 29 AN/FPS-117 long range radars via the essential parts replacement program. Ogden Air Logistics Center, Hill Air Force Base, Utah, is the contracting activity.

China and the United States are hindered in their efforts to build trust by cultural differences that exacerbate misunderstandings between the two nations. A panel of China experts at West 2012 in San Diego outlined several unintentionally contentious areas between the Pacific powers, but it did not have solutions for all of the challenges.

Vice Adm. John M. Bird, USN, director of Navy Staff and former commander of the Seventh Fleet, said that China and many in Asia view the world differently than the United States does, especially when it comes to values. “We fall victim at our peril when we try to apply our mindset to them,” he warned. “For example, our idea of deterrence is their idea of containment. We want to deter access denial; but they don’t see it that way.”

That access denial may be exacerbated by China’s lack of transparency, noted Lt. Gen. Wallace Gregson, USMC (Ret.), principal, WC Gregson & Associates, Inc., and former assistant secretary of defense for Asian and Pacific security affairs. “What is China’s strategic direction?” he asked. “Are they trying to achieve sea control from the land? We are not used to being challenged that way. Our credibility to operate in what China considers its near seas is critical to our perceived deterrence.”

Vice Adm. Ann E. Rondeau, USN, president, National Defense University, pointed out that China is going through its own vertigo on how to interact with other nations as a world leader. One People’s Liberation Army general referred to a “strategic trap” in which the China and the United States may soon find themselves. The admiral called for new scholarship about China, pointing out that the United States does not have the broad outline of China scholars the way it did with the Soviet Union during the Cold War.

Support for naval operations is not unusual among U.S. Navy officials, but Undersecretary of the Navy Robert O. Work made a cogent argument that the 21st century will be the maritime century. Speaking at the Thursday morning plenary address at West 2012 in San Diego, Work explained that the need for global reach mandates a strong and versatile maritime force, and the U.S. Navy is being structured to meet future challenges.

Work stated that the center of gravity of the new defense strategy is a true maritime strategy. New basing agreements extend the Navy’s reach and provide support for a plethora of potential missions. Work emphasized that the new basing activities in the Asia-Pacific region are not being done to contain China; they are being done because the United States is a Pacific power and it is in the country’s national interest to remain a Pacific power.

He pointed out that the Navy has ships that are being modernized to be able to accommodate the growing variety of new missions. instead of building expensive ships that cover all the bases, the Navy is incorporating modular technologies so that platforms can be adapted to mission needs. This saves money and increases mission flexibility.

While Work endorsed the budget cuts that are in the works, he warned that proposed sequestration cuts could be a problem. He also cautioned that some recent cuts may have gone too far. “We may have leaned our bases and surface stations too much,” he offered.

Enemies attacking in cyberspace and budget cutters slashing defense programs are the premier threats to the U.S. military, according to a former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Adm. Mike Mullen, USN (Ret.), warned a luncheon audience at West 2012 in San Diego that cyber is an existential threat to the nation. “We don’t have many existential threats any more; cyber is one,” he said, adding, “I understand that the enemy is as good as we are.”

The other significant threat to the U.S. military is possible budget sequestration cuts. Adm. Mullen described the current budget crunch as “a long time coming.” He and other planners saw the potential problem looming nine years ago. “The train that has been underway since then now has shown up,” he said.

The budget crisis is manageable, but leaders must focus on where to take risks. The military can manage the currently planned $480 billion in cuts over the next 10 years, but the sequestration plan to axe another $500 billion “has a good chance of breaking us,” he warned.

MilDef AB, Helsingborg, Sweden, will support the Danish Defence Acquisition and Logistics Organization (DALO) with rugged Rocky RK9 rugged computers and special electronics. The first deliveries to DALO will take place this month.

International Business Machines Corporation, Yorktown Heights, New York, is being awarded a $6,576,024 cost contract for the Broad Operational Language Technology Program. The program has a goal of creating technology capable of translating multiple foreign languages in all genres, retrieving information from the translated material, and enabling bilingual communication via speech or text. Specifically, this contractor will conduct work for activity A, “Genre-Independent Translation and Information Retrieval System,” and activity C, “Human-Human Dialogue System.” The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency is the contracting activity.

BAE Systems Information and Electronic Systems, Totowa, New Jersey, was awarded a firm-fixed-price contract for a maximum $24,062,919 for installation of advanced radar warning receiver ship sets on C-130 aircraft. The Defense Logistics Agency Aviation, Robins Air Force Base, Georgia, is the contracting activity.

Georgia Tech Applied Research Corporation, Atlanta, Georgia, is being awarded a $25,135,974 cost-plus-fixed-fee, indefinite-delivery, requirements contract for ground-based sensors for remotely controlled aircraft. ESG/PKS, Offutt Air Force Base, Nebraska, is the contracting activity.

Spectrum Laser and Technologies Incorporated, Colorado Springs, Colorado, is being awarded a $8,704,839 firm-fixed price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for the purchase of circuit card assemblies in support of the Naval Air Systems Command. The circuit card assemblies are integrated into the MH-60R and MH-60S armed helicopter weapon system projects. The circuit cards contribute to the helicopter’s ability to perform surface warfare, force protection, maritime interdiction operations, combat search and rescue, and vertical replenishment support missions. Naval Surface Warfare Center, Crane Division, Crane, Indiana, is the contracting activity.

Lt. Gen. Susan S. Lawrence, USA, chief information officer/G-6, opened LandWarNet 2011, by promising that every one of the 453 vendors at the conference will be visited by a member of her senior team. They will fill out surveys describing the technologies they saw, which she will review, and she encourage all attendees also to contribute their insights about solutions that can address the Army’s challenges by filling out the surveys.

Gen. Lawrence introduced Maj. Gen. Alan R. Lynn, USA, Chief of Signal, Fort Gordon, who described some of the changes that are on the way, including the use of avatars to track each soldier as he or she enters the Army. The avatars will have the same characteristics of the individuals from their PT score to their weapons qualifications. Change is coming, Gen. Lynn said, from equipment to training to education to the way the Army employs troops.

AFCEA International President and Chief Executive Officer Kent Schneider made one of the top announcements during the opening presentation about the future of the conference itself. In response to the need to tightened financial belts, LandWarNet 2012 will be the conglomeration of three regionally dispersed smaller events, reducing travel costs. Renamed TechNet Land Forces, the first event will take place in Tucson in March and focus on security and network operations. The second will be located in Tampa in July and concentrate on joint and coalition issues. The third will occur in Baltimore in August and focus on cyber.

Vincent Viola, West Point graduate and financial sector entrepreneur extraordinaire, emphasized that the difference technology has made in both industry and the military transcends any changes that have occurred in the past. Prior to 1997, trading pits required physical fitness to literally elbow competitors out of the way to get an edge. Ten years later, with the introduction of technology, six times the amount of trading goes on, yet it is so quiet that the sound of a pin drop means something’s not working right, he related.

The military has experienced a comparable sea change, though Viola candidly revealed that at first many commanders were not thrilled about computers replacing their push-to-talk radios. Although today command centers are quieter than in the past, he challenged the Army to hold “silent exercises,” where commanders would only be able to use a computer tablet to command and control the troops. “And if they talk, there’s a punishment,” he quipped.

The drawback to these great technological advances, Viola was quick to point out, is that the cyberthreat has increased in tandem with benefits. Both to the military and industry, the ability to disrupt communications has a lower barrier to entry as technology costs plummet; malware is proliferating at a rate that can no longer be handled; cyberspace has truly become the 5th domain of warfare; and now battles are no longer about topography but about topology, he stated.

These changes mean the military must rethink the people they seek to recruit. New soldiers not only must be physically fit but also have mental stamina as intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance will be ever ubiquitous, which will require warfighters who can quickly assess incoming information. “They must be able to get ‘inside the code,’” he said.

“The Army of the future will be one of force power and a heart. We need to gather around the geeks. Maybe we need to find geeks who love their country. The Gestalt will be around ‘geek-dom,’” Viola stated with a smile.
The military must think of cyberwarfare in active rather than reactive ways, he added. There must be an offensive doctrine that includes identifying proactive, preemptive opportunities. “If you are not encouraging penetration tests of your systems, you’ll fail,” Viola stated. “We are at cyber war right now. There’s no doubt in my mind.”