Defense Systems

Military still gives thumbs down to thumb drives

Despite relaxing the all out ban on using portable storage devices on Defense Department computer systems, it appears thumb drives will not return to the military services anytime soon.

Defense Systems

Army upgrades infrastructure on many fronts

Gary Winkler, the Army program executive officer for enterprise information systems, discusses the Haiti relief effort, upcoming solicitation for the Area Processing Centers and lessons learned in recent implementations of enterprise resource planning systems.

Defense Systems

The human element complicates cybersecurity

Despite the congressional focus on cybersecurity, all the money, software and hardware in the world can’t entirely ward off cybersecurity threats. One nontechnology factor greatly impedes cybersecurity: the human factor.

Defense Systems

DOD certifies telecom products that could help cut costs

DOD picks products for network services with an eye toward cost, power requirements and space.

Defense Systems

Air Force picks contractor to enhance GPS ground control

Raytheon Co. has won an initial contract from the Air Force worth $886 million to develop a new element of the Global Positioning System that will improve the accuracy of information from GPS satellites.

Defense Systems

DARPA wants razor sharp optics for satellite surveillance

DARPA is looking to fund a new program that would develop a diffractive optics membrane and related equipment and structures for use in a geosynchronous orbit telescope.

Defense Systems

A heavier government hand may shape Internet policy

Ever since the advent of the Internet the government's philosophy has been to let innovation drive the growth of the information superhighway, but the complexities of the online universe are forcing it to contemplate a more activist role.

Defense Systems

The new P2P initiative

A common shared cyber intelligence repository that allows both sides to contribute must be constructed to facilitate a tightly coupled pairing of the private and public sectors.

Defense Systems

NETCENTS-2 stalls with new delays

A series of delays has kept the Air Force’s Network Centric Solutions-2 program in a holding pattern. Two of the four request for proposals expected at the end of January have still not emerged, and the remaining RFPs might be months away.

Defense Systems

Sorenson to announce Apps for Army challenge

Army looks to accelerate Web and mobile application development by rewarding Army personnel for creative ideas.

Defense Systems

DOD issues long-awaited social media policy

DOD issues a memo to address longstanding uncertainties about the use of social media and networks within defense agencies and military branches.

Defense Systems

Marines bring solar energy to the battlefield

The Marine Corps is embracing renewable energy as a way to generate continuous electricity for communications and targeting systems on the battlefield.

Defense Systems

Data standard gains traction for intelligence sharing

The Universal Core, an XML-based data structure that offers a standard way to share intelligence data, has been widely adopted since its release last year.

Defense Systems

Competition heats up over cargo UAVs

The U.S. military is keenly interested in employing unmanned aerial vehicles to support cargo delivery and contractors are scrambling to position themselves to win contracts to produce such systems, reports William Matthews at Defense News.

Defense Systems

Army rolls forward with networked combat systems

The Army has awarded a contract to Boeing Co. to outfit its a brigade combat team with networked gear designed to improve intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities on the battlefield.

Defense Systems

It's put-up time for the emergency communications network

It seems the government will try again to build a nationwide public safety communications network, at least if Congress agrees with the FCC’s forthcoming recommendations.

Defense Systems

DOD's reliance on commercial satellites hits new zenith

The military's ad hoc reliance on commercial satellites is prolonging efforts to meet warfighters' urgent demands for bandwidth.

Defense Systems

VA CIO Roger Baker gets around

See what he says about IT, marriage, and alligators.

Defense Systems

SPAWAR technologist evaluates pros and cons of cloud

More sophisticated search capabilities and closer ties with industry are needed to secure private and public clouds, technologist says.

Defense Systems

Warfighters should be nerve center for logistics

Combining traditional logistics with intelligence gleaned from warfighters would create a more reliable mechanism for supporting warfighters and their missions.