A research team at the State University of New York at Buffalo has developed a wireless communication system that aims to increase the speed of data transmission from submarines and underwater drones, C4ISR & Networks reported Friday.

Dimitris Pados and his co-researchers started the project in late 2011 in collaboration with the National Science Foundation and Teledyne Technologies, according to the report by John Edwards and Eve Keiser.

The report noted the system is based from a signal processing technique and comprises two Ettus Research-built software-defined networking modules that are designed with  Teledyne’s TC4013 transducers.

Researchers found the wireless technology was able to transmit data at 200 kilobits per second over 200 meters underwater during a recent demonstration at a manmade lake on the SUNY-Buffalo campus.

Pados told C4ISR & Networks he believes the system also has potential to aid in port surveillance operations as well as diver-to-diver or diver-to-underwater vehicle communications.

The U.S. Army‘s Communications-Electronics Research, Development and Engineering Center will use a system-of-systems approach to develop new positioning, navigation and timing strategies for mounted platforms, dismounted soldiers, anti-jam antennas and pseudolites.

CERDEC said April 28 CERDEC’s command, power and integration directorate looks to apply the Assured PNT approach to address warfighter requirements through an integrated, configurable system.

“Some sensors and technologies are better suited for certain missions and environments, but if we integrate these sensors and technologies, we achieve the best combination that will address various environments and provide the best solution at all times,” said Charlie Miller, CERDEC CP&ID PNT division chief.

The integration also works to support PNT requirements even in environments where global positioning system signals are degraded, the center said.

CERDEC noted that it has also collaborated with the Army Research Laboratory, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency and the Aviation and Missile Research, Development and Engineering Center to produce micro electro-mechanical systems that monitor body movements.

The team also looks to establish Global Navigation Satellite Systems and explore new network technologies that enable dismounted or mounted soldiers to share information using a network and map their location, the report said.

The U.S. Navy plans to launch a contest to draw ideas on system modernization and cybersecurity from the service’s uniformed personnel, Federal News Radio reported Thursday.

Nicole Ogrysko writes the Navy will coordinate with the Defense Innovation Unit Experimental, the innovation hub of the Defense Department, and Silicon Valley companies to kick off the contest and judge the entries in an effort to apply potential technologies in a  real-world setting.

Janice Haith, deputy chief information officer for the Department of the Navy, told an ISC2’s CyberSecureGov conference in Washington that the goal of the competition is to solicit ideas from Navy personnel on how to address legacy information technology challenges and cybersecurity risks.

The focus will be on outdated systems and embedded platforms installed in 300 vessels of the Navy with the goal of mitigating cyber threats when the ships depart the port, according to the report.

The U.K.’s government digital service agency will launch its new identity verification platform for digital government services in the coming days.

Janet Hughes, GDS identity assurance program director, wrote in a blog post published Thursday that the GOV.UK Verify platform has passed the “Digital by Default Service Standard” assessment to address security, safety and usability requirements.

She added the transition to a live service is a gradual process and the assessment works to facilitate large-scale deployment across multiple departments.

The organization will continue to develop new updates for the service and post more about the developments over the next year, Hughes wrote.

Dell landed a two-year, $1.2 million contract from the U.K.’s department for work and pensions earlier this month to decommission the Government Gateway system in efforts to transition to GOV.UK Verify.