Green Tapped for Army Secretary. President Donald Trump says he intends to nominate Mark Green, a medical doctor and state senator in Tennessee, to be Secretary of the Army. Green is currently chaplain of Tennessee’s Senate GOP Caucus and is the CEO of Align MD, an emergency department staffing company. Green has served as an Army physician, rifle platoon leader, scout platoon leader, battalion personnel officer, supply officer, and airborne rifle company commander in the 82nd Airborne Division. Green is Trump’s second choice for the Army’s top civilian spot after his first nominee, Vincent Viola, withdrew, reportedly due to difficulty in ending his business ties.
Flexible Ships. The U.S. Navy, which is designing new ships to last for decades, must ensure that communication systems and other gear aboard those vessels are flexible enough to accommodate technological advances that might materialize far into the future, according to Vice Adm. Thomas Moore, head of Naval Sea Systems Command. “The ships themselves have to be open and be able to grow because we don’t know what the threat’s going to look like 20, 25 or 30 years from now,” Moore says at the Navy League’s recent Sea-Air-Space conference.
Radar Review. Air Force Gen. Lori Robinson, head of U.S. Northern Command and North American Aerospace Defense Command, says she is studying options to improve the detection and tracking of advanced, long-range, conventionally-armed cruise missiles that Russia could fire toward Alaska or Canada. While existing missile-tracking radars are land-based, the analysis of alternatives is not limited to land. “I don’t want to just say ‘upgrade my radar’ because then you don’t allow the people that think differently or [allow] different ways to look at that problem,” Robinson testified before the Senate Armed Services Committee April 6.
… Improving GMD. In her testimony, Robinson expressed confidence in the ability of the Ground-based Midcourse Defense (GMD) system to intercept a North Korean intercontinental ballistic missile launched at the United States. But Robinson insisted that the system must continue to improve to stay ahead of the evolving threat, which is why she continues to work with the Missile Defense Agency to upgrade GMD’s sensors and interceptor kill vehicles.
… Arctic Estimate. Robinson also testified that she is writing a “strategic estimate” that will examine military capabilities and security cooperation efforts in the increasingly busy Arctic. The document is expected to be done this fall.
Coast Guard Move? Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.), chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee’s Coast Guard panel and a member of the House Armed Services Committee, is urging President Trump to consider moving the Coast Guard from the Department of Homeland Security to the Department of Defense. In a March 16 letter, Hunter wrote that the Coast Guard is chronically underfunded by DHS and is more likely to receive the resources it needs from DoD. But Coast Guard Vice Commandant Adm. Charles Michel doubts the Coast Guard, which was previously part of the Transportation Department, will change departments again. The Coast Guard enjoys strong support from new Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly and benefits from its close work with other parts of DHS, Michel said at the Navy League’s recent Sea-Air-Space conference. DHS “is where we need to be right now,” Michel insisted.
Kill Vehicle Contract. Raytheon has received a $59.6 million contract for technology risk reduction work on the Missile Defense Agency’s future Multi-Object Kill Vehicle, which would allow multiple kill vehicles to be deployed from a single interceptor booster, the Pentagon announced April 3. Lockheed Martin received a similar contract last month.
Icebreaker Parts. The U.S. Coast Guard cutter Polar Star, which was commissioned in 1976 and is the nation’s only heavy icebreaker, is so antiquated that its crew often has to be creative to find replacements parts, according to Sen. Dan Sullivan (R-Alaska) and his staff. “One particular part, main diesel engine rectifier fuses, was only found on eBay,” a Sullivan spokesman says. “Working through Coast Guard procurement protocol, the crew was able to purchase the necessary fuses from a seller on eBay.”
Draft Icebreaker Specs. The Coast Guard has released draft specifications for its heavy polar icebreaker in a Request for Information seeking comments and feedback related technology risks, sustainability, producibility and affordability, related to the program. The draft specs are locked, so they are only available to certain government personnel and eligible contractors, which is a “well-established practice,” a Coast Guard spokesman tells Defense Daily via an email response to questions. The draft specs are for the hull structure, propulsion and electrical plants, command and surveillance systems, weaponry, outfitting and auxiliary systems. Responses from industry are due by mid-June. The Coast Guard plans to issue a Request for Proposal for detail design and construction of a heavy polar icebreaker in FY ’18 and begin production activities in 2020. The service hopes to construct three heavy polar icebreakers and eventually three medium polar icebreakers.
CBP Wants Small UAVs. Customs and Border Protection, using the Federal Aviation Administration’s contracting office, has issued Request for Quotations for three man-portable unmanned aerial vehicle systems from two manufacturers to meet urgent needs. The agency is seeking quotes from Aerovironment for hand-launched Puma and Raven UAVs. CBP has also asked Physical Sciences Inc.’s PSI Tactical Robotics division to provide a quote for the InstantEye Mk2 quadcopter small UAV.
…Coast Guard sUAS. Meanwhile, the Coast Guard says the National Security Cutter Stratton, returned to his Alameda, Calif., homeport on April 2, completing the first long-term deployment of an NSC with a small unmanned aircraft system onboard as an operational asset. Equipped with Boeing’s ScanEagle sUAS, the unmanned system flew more than 35 sorties and accumulated more than 260 flight hours that provide real time surveillance and detection imager during interdiction operations. Stratton’s chief officer Capt. Nathan Moore says the deployment was “tremendously successful” and that ScanEagle “added even more capability.” Operating the unmanned system gave the Coast Guard data additional data to refine its operating concepts and requirements for an imminent competition for sUAS to deploy on the Stratton and one more NSC.
Hair on Fire. Sen. Claire McCaskill (D-Mo.), ranking member on the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, tells Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly, that media reports of the Trump administration’s proposals for extreme vetting of some individuals attempting to enter the U.S. include asking about their ideology and for their social media passwords have her “hair on fire about this.” She says that these measures seem “very un-American to the rest of the world” and that by announcing this policy, it signals to terrorists what not to do. Kelly says these vetting procedures, which would be aimed at individuals flagged for secondary screening after arriving to the U.S., won’t be routine or aimed at specific groups. He also says it’s no different than the approach to conducting additional screening on some peoples’ luggage if there is a reason to do so.
…More Hair on Fire. Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), a member of the committee, says that “what sets my hair on fire” is intelligence that points to terrorists trying to come from Raqqa, Syria, into the U.S. to commit terrorist acts and published reports that there are efforts underway by terrorists to plant explosives inside of personal electronic devices. “Does that set your hire on fire?” he asks Kelly. “It does senator,” Kelly replies. McCain, with McCaskill’s earlier comments in mind, says “So maybe we ought to put a little perspective on this in our hysteria.”
McAfee Separated. McAfee completed the process of being spun off from Intel to become a new jointly-owned independent cyber security company. This change comes six years after Intel acquired McAfee. Under the new company, global alternative asset firm TPG owns 51 percent of McAfee and made an equity investment of $1.1 billion while Intel owns 49 percent. Under the previous spin off agreement, the CEO of McAfee is Chris Young, who previously served as senior vice president and general manager of the Intel Security Group.
New Cyber Assessment. The Defense Information Systems Agency announced a new cyber assessment program to provide combatant commands and agencies with a better understanding of operational risk in their cyber security posture, the Command Cyber Operational Readiness Inspection (CCORI). CCORI is a modification of the Command Cyber Readiness Inspection, which focuses on evaluating an organization’s compliance with DoD security orders and directives. The CCORI will provide a more specific threats-focused and mission-based assessment. It will also provide the mission owner and the Joint Force headquarters DODIN commander with an understanding of risk level. CCORI analyzes mission, threat, and vulnerabilities to review risk. The first full CCORIs were conducted in Oct. 2016 then in Jan. and Feb. 2017.
K2 Hires Advisor Board. K2 Intelligence creates a new advisory board and names three members to it: former Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Adm. Mike Mullen; former New York Police Commissioner and Vice Chairman of K2 Ray Kelly; and former chief operating officer of Morgan Stanley Jim Rosenthal. Co-founders Jules and Jeremy Kroll first introduced the board at the Security 2017 private event.
Cyber Air Transport. Airbus and SITA launched a new Security Operations Center Service for the needs of the air transport industry. The incident detection service aims to provide airlines, airports, and other air transport industry stakeholders with information about unusual cyber activity that can impact their business. Nearly every airline and airport internationally is a customer of SITA, which delivers an extensive communications network. Together with Airbus, it intends to use joint expertise to detect cyber activity relevant to the air industry. The center services will also provide containment and remedial action when requested.