The Latest Word On Trends And Developments In Aerospace And Defense
Cyber Sharing with DHS. Raytheon says it is voluntarily working with the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) as a commercial service provider (CSP) under an expanded cyber security information sharing program outlined by President Barack Obama in an Executive Order last month. Under a Memorandum of Agreement with DHS, Raytheon will receive cyber threat information supplied by the Department. As a CSP, Raytheon will be able to use the various threat indicators to protect its networks and other sectors of critical infrastructure and through its managed security service offerings for its customers better analyze threats and defend against them. The expanded information sharing program is called the Enhanced Cybersecurity Services.
…Cyber Hearing. As the Obama administration works to implement its recent Executive Order on cyber security, two Senate panels this week will examine the directive and discuss the continued need for comprehensive legislation on cyber. Thursday’s hearing will be co-hosted by the Commerce, and Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committees. The Senate last year failed to reach agreement on comprehensive cyber legislation while the House approved a bill allowing the intelligence community to share cyber threat data with the private sector.
…Insider Threat Vs. China. Cyber threats from China have been in the news lately and are a serious threat to companies’ trade secrets but the biggest vulnerability to company networks comes from insiders, according to a new analysis from Kroll. “Company insiders, not outside hackers, are involved in more than two-thirds of all cyber cases involving theft of intellectual property,” says Kroll. “Whether driven by opportunism, greed, a desire for revenge, or a combination of all three, these insiders exploit their positions of trust to obtain access to their organization’s most valued digital assets.”
Montford Christening. The Navy was to christen the first of its Mobile Landing Platform ships in a ceremony on Saturday in San Diego. The Montford Point (T-MLP-1) was built by General Dynamics National Steel and Shipbuilding Company (NASSCO) and is expected to be delivered to Military Sealift Command this year. It is due to be operational in 2015. The Mobile Landing Platforms are designed to provide logistical support for the Navy and reduce dependence on foreign ports.
Antares ‘Hot Fire’ Orbital Sciences successfully conducts an extended duration “hot fire” test of the first stage propulsion system of its new Antares medium-class rocket, according to a company statement. Orbital fired dual AJ26 rocket engines, developed by GenCorp’s Aerojet, for the full 29 seconds while the rocket was bolted down on the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport (MARS) Pad-0A at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility on Wallops Island, Va. A “hot fire” test demonstrates the readiness of the rocket’s first stage and launch pad fueling systems to support upcoming test flights, with the first one expected the first week of April. Antares will be used to launch cargo supply missions to the International Space Station (ISS) as part of a $1.9 billion contract with NASA.
DGI 4th Q Earnings. DigitalGlobe reports $17.1 million in quarterly profit for the fourth quarter of 2012, good for $0.36 earnings per share (EPS), according to a company statement. DigitalGlobe in comparison lost $27 million ($0.58 loss EPS) in the fourth quarter of 2011. DigitalGlobe says fourth quarter 2012 performance was driven by increased revenue related to the service level agreement portion of the EnhancedView contract with the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) and growth in value-added services of 64-percent to $12.3 million. The company says for 2013 it expects to report revenue in a range of $635 million to $660 million, which includes the revenue contribution from former rival GeoEye beginning on Feb. 1. The two companies finalized their merger Jan. 31.
Climate Action Urged. Thirty-seven former high-ranking officials urge the U.S. in a bipartisan letter to join the State and Defense departments and other security voices to address the risks of climate change in vulnerable countries. “The effects of climate change in the world’s most vulnerable regions present a serious threat to American national security interests,” the letter, released last week by the Partnership for a Secure America, says. “Without precautionary measures, climate change impacts abroad could spur mass migrations, influence civil conflict and ultimately lead to a more unpredictable world…We must offer adaptive solutions to communities currently facing climate change-driven displacement, support disaster risk reduction measures and help mitigate potential future impacts through sustainable food, water and energy systems.”
GD and TDRS. General Dynamics successfully completes critical ground system modifications and technology updates for NASA’s three next-generation Tracking and Data Relay Satellites (TDRS), according to a company statement. Modifications include integrating advanced command, control and communications equipment and systems. GD leads the modernization of the TDRS ground system as a subcontractor to Boeing, who is building the satellites. The first TDRS satellite, TDRS-K, launched Jan. 30 from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Fla.
ACORE BoD. The American Council on Renewable Energy (ACORE) appoints two new members, Mosaic Federal Affairs LLC Senior Federal Policy Director Michael Brower and IBM Global Power Generation Solutions Leader Rolf Gibbels, to the organization’s board of directors, according to a company statement. Brower, a retired career Navy officer and aviator, is Mosaic’s principal responsible for the firm’s operations and management as well as all legislative objectives and priorities. Gibbels is an executive member of IBM’s global energy and utilities industry organization and leads the global industry solutions and business development activities with focus on power generation across all IBM brands. “Our organization, and the industry. need visionary leaders like Michael Brower and Rolf Gibbels who will serve on the ACORE board, supporting ACORE’s mission to create a more secure and prosperous America with clean, renewable energy,” ACORE President and CEO, Dennis McGinn says in a statement. ACORE, a 501(c)(3) non-profit membership organization, is dedicated to building a secure and prosperous America with clean, renewable energy.
AIA Cyber Standard. The Aerospace Industries Association (AIA) creates the first National Aerospace Standard written specifically on cyber security, according to an association statement. The standard, NAS9924, known as “Cyber Security Baseline,” provides guidance that benefits the aerospace and defense suppliers of all capability levels by giving the supply chain a base line of standard practices they can follow to better protect their information system infrastructures from cyber threats. The standard was written and approved by AIA’s electronic enterprise integration committee, according to AIA Standardizations Director Christopher Carnahan. Carnahan says the committee is made up of AIA members and is responsible for issues involving the development, maintenance, promotion and use of electronic enterprise integration solutions.
Army Restructuring Continues. This summer four battalions of the 173rd Airborne Brigade Combat Team will relocate within Germany and to Italy. Two battalions will relocate from Germany to Italy; the other two battalions will relocate from Schweinfurt and Bamberg, Germany, to Grafenwoehr, Germany. DoD is restructuring forces worldwide as part of the national defense strategy and supporting combatant commanders, NATO and European Allies. More forces will move or inactivate over the next several years.
Cuts And Coffee. Army Chief of Staff Gen. Raymond Odierno says “we are not training for the rest of the year, except those in Afghanistan.” On CBS This Morning ahead of Friday White House meetings on automatic budget cuts, Odierno says the Pentagon needs a set budget to “protect our soldiers.”
New Command Sgt. Major. Chief of the Army Reserve Lt. Gen. Jeffrey Talley says Command Sgt. Maj. Luther Thomas Jr. will be the 12th Command Sgt. Maj. of the United States Army Reserve. Thomas is currently the Command Sgt. Maj. of the 84th Training Command, Fort Knox, Ky. He will succeed Command Sgt. Maj. James Lambert, who has been acting Command Sgt. Maj. since November 2012. Thomas will be sworn in at the Pentagon April 30.
Nominee for NATO ACT DCOS. President Barak Obama nominates Navy Rear Adm. Bruce Grooms for appointment to vice admiral and assignment as deputy chief of staff for capability development at NATO’s Supreme Allied Command-Transformation, Norfolk, Va. Grooms now is assistant deputy chief of Naval Operations for plans and strategy, N3/N5B, Office of the Chief of Naval Operations at the Pentagon.