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New FAA Directives Aimed at Protecting Aircraft Sensors From 5G Interference
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New FAA Directives Aimed at Protecting Aircraft Sensors From 5G Interference

The Federal Aviation Administration has released two airworthiness directives aimed at protecting aviation safety equipment from the potential effects of 5G technologies.

The two directives call for the ban on any transport and commuter airplane and helicopter activities that require the use of radio altimeter data in locations where 5G C-band interference is present, FAA said Tuesday.

According to the agency, wireless broadband operations in between 3.7 GHz and 3.98 GHz frequency bands have been determined to affect the reliability of radio altimeters.

The 5G-related prohibition will be reflected through revisions on existing rotorcraft and airplane/aircraft flight manuals. 

The FAA shared that it is working with the Federal Communications Commission and wireless companies in the expansion of 5G networks without impacting the aviation sector.

In late November, AT&T and Verizon Communications told FCC they are willing to lower the power levels of their 5G cell towers for six months to assess the effect of the wireless technology on aircraft sensors.

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Space Force Launches Tech Demo Mission With 2 Satellites
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Space Force Launches Tech Demo Mission With 2 Satellites

The U.S. Space Force has launched a United Launch Alliance-made Atlas V rocket that carried two satellites under the Space Test Program, which provides spaceflight opportunities for the Department of Defense’s science and technology pursuits.

Space Systems Command said Tuesday its STP-3 mission carried STP Satellite-6 and the Long Duration Propulsive Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle Secondary Payload Adapter – 1 to space on the same day.

STPSat-6 is designed to support the detection of nuclear detonations and demonstrate new NASA-made technologies: NASA’s Laser Communications Relay Demonstration and the Ultraviolet Spectro-Coronagraph Pathfinder developed by the space agency and the Naval Research Laboratory.

NASA will use LCRD to demonstrate two-way laser relay communications via infrared, which has the potential to deliver data rates up to 100 times greater than radio frequency technology. The UVSC Pathfinder is a space weather payload that will explore the Sun’s energetic particles, which are the most dangerous kind of solar radiation.

On the other hand, LDPE-1’s experimental payloads are designed to help DOD manage risks and inform prospective efforts.

“It’s a complex mission that included thousands of inspections over four years and daily coordination with Space Force Guardians, who provide mission assurance and work with us to ensure everything goes as planned,” Ron Fortson, ULA director and general manager of launch operations, said about the STP-3 mission.

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NIST Seeks Feedback on Draft Combination Frequency Differencing White Paper
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NIST Seeks Feedback on Draft Combination Frequency Differencing White Paper

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is seeking public comments on a draft white paper detailing the use of combination frequency differencing in artificial intelligence and machine learning applications.

The paper introduces a new method related to combinatorial testing and measurement that is particularly appropriate for AI and ML applications, the agency said Monday.

NIST said that more recently, methods applying coverage measures have been used in AI and ML applications to explain and analyze the aspects of transfer learning.

“These methods have been developed using measures that depend on the inclusion or absence of t-tuples of values in inputs and test cases,” NIST explained.

In the paper, NIST scientists Richard Kuhn, Raghu Kacker and M S Raunak extend the combinatorial coverage measures to include the frequency of occurrence of combinations.

“We illustrate the use of this method by applying it to analyzing physically unclonable functions (PUFs) for bit combinations that disproportionately influences PUF response values, and in turn provides an indication of the PUF potentially being more vulnerable to model-building attacks. Additionally, it is shown that combination frequency differences provide a simple but effective algorithm for classification problems,” the authors said.

Interested parties may submit feedback on the draft paper until Feb. 7, 2022. 

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MDA Declares Initial Fielding of New Alaska-Based Radar; Jon Hill Quoted
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MDA Declares Initial Fielding of New Alaska-Based Radar; Jon Hill Quoted

The Missile Defense Agency has declared the initial fielding of a new Alaska-based multi-mission radar system built with gallium nitride technology.

The Long Range Discrimination Radar (LRDR) received its initial fielding declaration on Dec. 6th and will go on to track ballistic missiles and small objects for national security, MDA said the same day.

The radar, which operates in S-band frequencies, features a discrimination capability designed to differentiate lethal objects and warheads from non-lethal decoys. MDA believes this capability can help missile defense operators conserve ground-based interceptors.

LRDR can also identity, track and monitor orbiting satellites to boost space domain awareness.

“The Long Range Discrimination Radar has finished construction, and we can now begin the testing phase that will lead to the full operational use of this vital system,” said Vice Adm. Jon Hill, MDA director.

The Department of Defense’s Command, Control, Battle Management and Communications element integrates with LRDR to deliver situational awareness for missile defense.

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Inmarsat Government Launches G-MODMAN Products to Support GX Integration; Matt Wissler Quoted
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Inmarsat Government Launches G-MODMAN Products to Support GX Integration; Matt Wissler Quoted

Inmarsat’s federal business arm has launched its modem manager and Open Platform smart ecosystem solutions designed to support the integration of Global Xpress terminals on government aviation platforms.

The G-MODMAN II modem manager and G-MODMAN Open Platform products will support a wide scope of modems and services for crewed and uncrewed aviation missions, Inmarsat Government said Wednesday.

Matt Wissler, chief technology officer for Inmarsat Government, said the new products will help military and government customers meet their diverse satellite communications needs and requirements.

“The G-MODMAN II and G-MODMAN OP solutions are testament to the company’s dedication to solving customers’ problems, maximizing and extending the capabilities that our customers have come to expect and trust from Inmarsat Government.”

G-MODMAN II, which features high-fidelity monitoring and logging capabilities, integrates with existing antenna systems and provides the technology to enable the implementation of existing and future GX services and terminals across an array of aviation platforms.

G-MODMAN OP is an option to G-MODMAN II which allows users interoperability between GX, Inmarsat’s steerable beams and the Wideband Global SATCOM system. G-MODMAN OP uses loadable coverage map files and a graphical user interface to integrate multiple modems and services with a single antenna.

Both products support the implementation of Inmarsat’s GX Ka-band network that provides wideband access and military satellite communications services to government customers.

Earlier this year, Inmarsat successfully tested its Orbit GX30 multi-purpose terminal which operates on the company’s GX network.

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White House’s Anti-Corruption Strategy Seeks to Address Criminal Misuse of Cryptocurrency
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White House’s Anti-Corruption Strategy Seeks to Address Criminal Misuse of Cryptocurrency

The White House has introduced a strategy outlining five pillars of work to fight corruption and one of the pillars is focused on holding corrupt individuals accountable, Decrypt reported Tuesday.

One of the strategic objectives under this pillar seeks to improve enforcement efforts by enabling the Department of Justice to use the newly established National Cryptocurrency Enforcement Team (NCET) to “focus specifically on complex investigations and prosecutions of criminal misuses of cryptocurrency.”

NCET will focus on crimes carried out by virtual currency exchanges, money laundering infrastructure actors and mixing and tumbling services.

The United States Strategy on Countering Corruption also aims to curb illicit finance by addressing deficiencies in the anti-money laundering regime. To advance this strategic objective, the U.S. will continue to assess the risk posed by digital assets and update regulations and policies as needed.

According to the strategy, digital assets have been employed in support of ransomware attacks, corruption, fraud, sanctions evasion and other illicit activities.

“As appropriate, the United States will engage countries to help with the analysis and development of central bank digital currencies in a manner consistent with stability, consumer and investor protection, and countering illicit finance,” the document reads.

POC - Digital Currency and National Security Forum

Potomac Officers Club’s Digital Currency and National Security Forum will bring together distinguished federal government and industry leaders to discuss the implications, risks, challenges and opportunities digital currencies pose for the future of the U.S. economy and national security.

John C. Inglis, the first national cyber director and former deputy director of the National Security Agency, will serve as the forum’s opening keynote speaker to detail the nation’s plan for regulation as digital currencies continue to gain worldwide importance.

Visit PotomacOfficersClub.com to learn more and the upcoming event on Jan. 27th and register to save your spot for this can’t miss forum!

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A2LA to Continue Offering Remote Baltimore Cyber Range Assessments for C3PAOs
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A2LA to Continue Offering Remote Baltimore Cyber Range Assessments for C3PAOs

The American Association for Laboratory Accreditation (A2LA) has issued an updated version of the R346 requirements document to reflect its decision to continue offering the remote participation option to third party assessment organizations with regard to taking the Baltimore Cyber Range (BCR) Technical Proficiency activity.

A2LA made the decision in conjunction with the Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program (FedRAMP) and in response to feedback received, FedRAMP said Tuesday.

In early 2021, BCR came up with a capability to remotely evaluate 3PAO assessor teams to help get through travel challenges associated with the COVID-19 pandemic.

The other two options in the R346 document for participation in the BCR technical proficiency activity are onsite activities at the BCR facility in Baltimore and activities proctored remotely with a BCR proctor on-site and all team members present in the same location. 

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House OKs $768B National Defense Authorization Act for FY 2022
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House OKs $768B National Defense Authorization Act for FY 2022

The House on Tuesday voted 363-70 to pass a $768.2 billion defense policy bill for fiscal year 2022. The vote came hours after the House and Senate Armed Services Committees reached a compromise on the fiscal year 2022 National Defense Authorization Act.

The FY 2022 NDAA, which is now headed to the Senate, includes $740 billion for the Department of Defense and $27.8 billion for national security initiatives within the Department of Energy, according to a summary of the bicameral agreement on the defense policy bill.

The defense policy measure includes a 2.7 percent pay raise for military personnel, requires the formation of an independent commission to help assess the country’s two-decade conflict in Afghanistan and directs DOD to submit a report with respect to the creation of a separate punitive article in the Uniform Code of Military Justice on violent extremism.

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DOD to Redact Delicate Info in Public Document on System Testing
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DOD to Redact Delicate Info in Public Document on System Testing

The Department of Defense plans to limit the information to be included in a public document that details the testing records and technical issues of defense systems, Breaking Defense reported Monday.

DOD’s Director of Operational Test and Evaluation office will issue a publicly available report with some sensitive content removed and a more complete version that contains controlled unclassified information available only to Congress and DOD officers.

Raymond O’Toole, who leads the DOT&E office on an acting basis, said the move aims to ensure that adversaries can not access test evaluation details.

The DOT&E office releases this report every January. The current report’s uncut version has been completed and will undergo editing for the public version.

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USCYBERCOM & International Partners Demo Collaborative Cyber Defense
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USCYBERCOM & International Partners Demo Collaborative Cyber Defense

U.S. Cyber Command demonstrated collective cyber defense with international partners during the CYBER FLAG 21-1 exercise, which ran from Nov. 15 to 20 at Joint Base Suffolk in Virginia.

The exercise employed USCYBERCOM’s real-time virtual training environment with the participation of 12 countries including the U.K., Sweden, Canada, Germany, Norway and France, the command said Friday. Germany physically participated in the event while the other foreign countries took part virtually.

Participants detected simulated threats then came up with network hardening approaches during the exercise.

“Threats in the cyber domain have no geographic boundaries, so the cyber threats that can confront any given country can easily spill into another country,” said Elizabeth Phu, principal director of cyber policy at the Office of the Secretary of Defense.

CYBER FLAG 21-1 is part of a wider DOD effort to bolster all-domain defense.

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