Written by / Compiled by KMI Media Group staff
MIT 2010 Volume: 14 Issue: 7 (August)
Brigade Integration Exercise Demonstrates Communication Capabilities
A recent Army brigade combat team integration exercise staged at White Sands Missile Range, N.M., successfully demonstrated a number of systems providing critical networking and communications capabilities that connected command posts, on-the-move forces and dismounted soldiers, including several General Dynamics C4 Systems-led programs. During the exercise, widely dispersed Army units exchanged command-andcontrol messages, location information, voice, electronic chat and imagery while on the move. Using the Joint Tactical Radio System’s Soldier Radio Waveform and involving sensors, aerial platforms, vehicles and command posts, the seamless, ad-hoc networking extended connectivity to dismounted soldiers for the first time. The four-day exercise featured seven realistic mission scenarios that demonstrated how the Army’s Warfighter Information Network-Tactical (WIN-T) and Joint Tactical Radio Systems ( JTRS) can work with key battle command applications to increase force effectiveness across a variety of missions and terrain. The exercise was designed to show the increased effectiveness of brigades equipped with highthroughput wireless networking to the tactical edge. Range was extended through manpack radios and through the integration of an aerial tier using other JTRS HMS radios, demonstrating the usability and functionality of key equipment in rugged desert and mountain environments. The network reach was also complemented by the upper tier, over-the-horizon capability of WIN-T.
Packet Optical Networking Platform Enables GIG Migration
Fujitsu’s Flashwave 9500 Packet Optical Networking Platform (Packet ONP), having demonstrated exceptional interoperability and information assurance performance capabilities, has become the latest of the company’s optical networking solutions on the Unified Capabilities Approved Products List. The Flashwave 9500 joins the Flashwave 4100 ES micro Packet ONP and Flashwave 4500 Multiservice Provisioning Platform, among other Fujitsu platforms, on this list of approved products for deployment by the U.S. government. The Flashwave 9500 Packet ONP is leading a new class of optical networking solutions that simultaneously support connection- oriented ethernet (COE), ROADM and SONET/SDH transport technologies. By combining circuit and packet-based switching, the Flashwave 9500 platform enables a migration away from disparate legacy technologies toward a ubiquitous, secure and highly reliable converged Global Information Grid. The Flashwave 9500 Packet ONP supports the creation of a universal optical infrastructure where both Ethernet and SONET/SDH traffic can be aggregated and transported in its native format. Integrated COE transport technology combines packet aggregation and connectivity services with the proven operational robustness of optical networking, including high quality software and database management, management interface functionality, and precision fault sectionalization. The platform’s pluggable ROADM option allows efficient network scalability up to 88 wavelengths.
Next Generation Blue Force Tracking Contract Awarded
The Army has awarded ViaSat a $477 million IDIQ contract to supply the next generation of high speed, high capacity, low latency blue force tracking (BFT) equipment as part of the Force XXI Battle Command Brigade and Below program. In addition to being selected as the provider for this faster and more accurate command and control satellite communication system, ViaSat also received the first delivery order for $37.7 million to fund deliveries of first article and initial production terminals and other ground networking equipment. Armed forces use BFT to view regularly updated troop positions on screens in vehicles and aircraft to differentiate between friendly and enemy forces. These awards signal the transition of the BFT program from a proprietary network to BFT-2, an open IP-standard communication network. Previously, ViaSat had delivered prototype second generation BFT-2 terminals under contract to Northrop Grumman and then a low rate initial production award from the Army for system testing. The units met network capacity requirements and demonstrated data throughput that far exceeded specifications. The efficiency gain and latency reduction improve situational awareness and accuracy, and enable satellite channels to accommodate more simultaneous users and messages.
Contract Supports IT Services for U.S. Forces-Afghanistan
Trace Systems has won new contracts in support of U.S. Forces-Afghanistan (USFOR-A), DISA Europe and CENTCOM. After a full and open competition, Trace Systems was awarded a four year communications and IT services contract in support of USFOR-A and the Combined Joint Task Force-101 based in Bagram, Afghanistan. Trace Systems has provided communications, IT, IA, video teleconference (VTC), and associated services support to the CJTF-CJ6 at the Bagram Joint Operations Center and throughout the Combined Joint Operations Area-Afghanistan since early 2004, including support across multiple contracts. Under this new contract, Trace Systems will provide expanded coverage in the areas of VTC, IT and communications services at multiple Border Coordination Centers. The recent contract awards in support of DISA Europe and CENTCOM required the rapid mobilization of Trace Systems IA, networking, IT, cross-domain and tactical collaboration subject matter experts in Germany and Southwest Asia in support of these new customers and contracts.
System Combines Smartphone Technology With Network Infrastructure
Warfighters on the battlefield will have a persistent wireless broadband network available for tactical use with a new Monax communications system from Lockheed Martin that combines the convenience of smartphone technology with the power and flexibility of a secure, highly portable network infrastructure. The Monax communications system connects a COTS smartphone to a ground or airborne 3G base station with a Monax Lynx portable sleeve, enabling the warfighter’s use of a single, convenient, touch screen device for mission success at “the first tactical mile.” The system is frequency flexible, connects hundreds of users to a single base station, and delivers superior range and link performance in voice, video and data transmission. The network uses a secure RF link, protected through exportable encryption for joint and coalition operations. The company also offers a rich set of applications and governance, leveraging smartphone application development and application store model. Applications are available for mission reporting, situational awareness, command and control, facial recognition for checkpoint use, cybersecurity situational awareness and protection, and enterprise ISR data access.
Air Force Selects E-Mail Security Classification Tool
The Air Force has chosen Titus Labs Message Classification as their e-mail security classification tool for 150,000 employees. Deploying Titus Labs Message Classification will give Air Force staff the ability to classify or label all e-mail in compliance with their marking standards. The easy-to-use classification and policy enforcement tool that ensures every e-mail is classified and protectively marked before it is sent. The solution enables users to apply uniform, consistent and comprehensive markings to e-mails, with little or no knowledge of regulatory marking standards. By ensuring properly marked e-mails, the solution helps to promote cross-domain sharing while reducing spillage of classified and sensitive information.
Personal Encryption Device Validated for Data Protection
The Hydra Privacy Card (Hydra PC) Personal Encryption Device from SPYRUS has acquired additional approval by the National Security Agency for protecting data at rest when used with a PC running Microsoft Windows 7. According to the company, the patented Hydra PC Personal Encryption Device was the first and is still the only COTS USB encryption device approved to protect tactical data in accordance with CNSS Instruction 4009 at the secret level and below, when used with the approved operational security doctrine. The Hydra PC Personal Encryption Device is validated to FIPS 140-2 Level 3 and exceeds security requirements issued by the Department of Defense for encrypted flash drives approved for use on DoD networks. Because the security is built into the base unit, the Hydra PC Personal Encryption Device offers infinite memory expandability. Without the base unit to decrypt it, the encrypted information is fully protected even if the card is moved to a generic card reader or to a different personal encryption device. The Hydra PC Personal Encryption Device, like the Hydra PC Digital Attaché, protects data no matter where it is stored—on the drive, on a PC or in the cloud, because every file is encrypted with a unique AES-256-bit CBC key. Both Hydra PC devices offer secure data containment by limiting the use of a specific device to administrator-authorized computers within a defined security domain, preventing both removal of sensitive data and unauthorized access to the Hydra PC or its data, and blocking the use of non-approved “rogue” USB storage devices. Even with the correct password, the encrypted data cannot be decrypted outside of the security domain. ♦
