Defense Systems

A $10B contract with plenty of questions

GSA-DISA satellite contract is lucrative, but Inmarsat chief has her doubts.

Defense Systems

Word on the street about data encryption

Our story about vendors' efforts to develop storage devices that meet new guidelines issued this year by the Joint Task Force-Global Network Operations (NTF-GNO) generated some insightful comments--and useful suggestions--from readers.

Defense Systems

Public participation in technology assessment

Blogger Brian Robinson is intrigued by the idea of the U.S. trying the Participatory Technology Assessment, which has been a success in Europe.

Defense Systems

NSPS transitions running ahead of schedule

DOD has transitioned 7,000 employees out of the National Security Personnel System and into the General Schedule, and it will have three-quarters of its 226,000 NSPS employees out of the system by the end of the third quarter, according to the head of the NSPS Transition Office.

Defense Systems

BP asks for military tech to contain oil spill

Oil giant BP plc has requested assistance from the Defense Department for advanced underwater imaging technology and remote operating vehicles that are not available commercially to contain the growing oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico, reports the Houston Chronicle.

Defense Systems

Battle command network drives Army modernization

In its 2010 Modernization Strategy, the Army outlines its near-term future as it moves to become a taut, versatile and efficient force centered on the battle command network.

Defense Systems

Future UAVs must multitask, Air Force says

The next-generation of unmanned aerial vehicles will need to take on additional duties and be able to synchronize with other platforms, Defense Department officials said at an April summit.

Defense Systems

In defense of PowerPoint

After Pentagon leaders criticize the use of PowerPoint presentations, readers come to the software's defense, laying the blame for bad presentations at the users' feet.

Defense Systems

Can DOD really defeat PowerPoint?

Defense Department leaders have declared war on PowerPoint presentations, saying they dumb down complex scenarios and give the false illusion of control. But is there any escape from bad slideshows?

Defense Systems

University of Maryland honors faculty members elected to National Academies

The University of Maryland held a reception for faculty members who recently were elected to the National Academies of Science and Engineering.

Defense Systems

DARPA wants someone to (plug and) play in space

DARPA wants a spacecraft builder to join its System F6 fractionated satellite demonstration to show that a third-party payload can plug into an on-orbit network and share functions across several spacecraft, reports Graham Warwick at Aviation Week’s Ares Blog.

Defense Systems

Navy places order for digital testing instruments

LeCroy Corp. will provide the Naval Supply Systems Command with as many as 1,000 digital oscilloscopes over a five-year period.

Defense Systems

Navy picks contractor for aircraft digital mapping

Harris Corp. will provide digital mapping systems for Navy aircraft under a contract worth $6.2 million.

Defense Systems

VADER radar to thwart roadside bombers

U.S. forces will soon have another tool to add to their growing arsenal of counter-improvised explosive device technologies with the introduction of recently developed man-hunting radar, reports William Matthews at Defense News.

Defense Systems

Army lines up lifecycle support for missile defense system

Lockheed Martin Corp. will supply the Army with assistance fielding and maintaining a weapon system designed to defend against short-and-midrange ballistic missiles under a new contract.

Defense Systems

Air Force adjusts big-ticket acquisition programs

The Air Force is looking to improve its acquisition activities, starting immediately with the impending contract awards for the KC-X tanker, F-35 joint strike fighter and the NETCENTS-2 programs, according Air Force Assistant Secrtary for Acquisition David Van Buren.

Defense Systems

The perfect CIO storm

The challenges for military CIOs are overwhelming. At the same time, the convergence of those challenges has caused a transformative moment in military history.

Defense Systems

Air Force recruits assistance for network defense

L-3 Communications Corp. will assist the Air Forces Central Command in protecting the security of its network operations under a five-year contract.