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Rheinmetall and ICEYE Cooperate to Provide Ukraine with Satellite Imagery on Behalf of the German Government

Tuesday, November 12th, 2024

The strengthened cooperation between Rheinmetall and SAR satellite company ICEYE, announced in September 2024, is already bearing fruit. To meet Ukraine‘s urgent demands for SAR satellite reconnaissance capabilities, Rheinmetall and Ukraine, supported by the German government, signed a contract. The agreement further increases the SAR data and other support Ukraine has been receiving from ICEYE during the war.

Since early October 2024, Ukraine receives new satellite images taken by ICEYE’s SAR (Synthetic Aperture Radar) satellites, under the collaboration between Rheinmetall and ICEYE. This provision will supplement further reconnaissance data obtained by other sensors and provide the basis for decision-making and operational planning by the Ukrainian armed forces. The collaboration includes dedicated satellite capacity and constellation access, which allows the capacity of the entire ICEYE satellite fleet to be utilized. Since 2018, ICEYE has launched 38 satellites for ICEYE’s and its customers’ use.

SAR satellites offer the advantage over conventional satellites that they can generate high-resolution images regardless of weather conditions or time of day. These are very detailed and make even the smallest objects on the earth’s surface identifiable. This can bring decisive advantages for the armed forces in terms of surveillance, target acquisition, reconnaissance or their own positioning on the battlefield.

In June 2024, the Düsseldorf-based technology group announced its participation in the world’s largest fleet of radar reconnaissance satellites. In September 2024, Rheinmetall and ICEYE had further intensified their cooperation. In the course of this, Rheinmetall had secured exclusive rights to market the SAR (Synthetic Aperture Radar) satellites to military and government end users in both the German and Hungarian markets.

ICEYE has been working closely with the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine to support and help Ukraine in building space defence capabilities. In August 2022 ICEYE announced a contract with the Serhiy Prytula Charity Foundation to provide the Government of Ukraine with ICEYE’s SAR satellite imaging capabilities with one of ICEYE’s SAR satellites designated for the Government of Ukraine’s use over the region. ICEYE also provides access to its constellation of SAR satellites, allowing the Ukrainian Armed Forces to receive radar satellite imagery on critical locations. In July 2024, ICEYE and the Ministry of Defence of Ukraine signed a Memorandum of Cooperation outlining partnering to strengthen Ukraine’s space defence capabilities.

Posted in International, ISR, Press Release, Space | Comments Off on Rheinmetall and ICEYE Cooperate to Provide Ukraine with Satellite Imagery on Behalf of the German Government

Army Experiments with Capabilities, Multi-Domain Integration at Vanguard 24

Saturday, November 9th, 2024

FORT HUACHUCA, Ariz. — The 3rd Multi-Domain Effects Battalion, 3rd Multi-Domain Task Force, partnered with the U.S. Army Intelligence Center of Excellence, Joint and Allied forces, and industry partners to execute the Vanguard 24 experiment from September 8-24, 2024.

Mission-tailored teams of 3rd MDEB Soldiers operated from the 1st Lt. John R. Fox Multi-Domain Range, the Buffalo Soldier Electronic Test Range and other training areas in the Southwest. Vanguard provided a venue for 3rd MDEB Soldiers to experiment with and assess various cutting-edge sensors, high altitude platforms and data transport solutions that are not yet Army programs of record.

“Multi-Domain Task Forces are the signature formations for the Army’s continual transformation. The emerging capabilities our Soldiers are training on help inform the Army on which capabilities should be pursued and possibly developed further and integrated at scale across the Army and DOD,” said Col. Michael Rose, 3rd MDTF commander.

These teams executed training and experimentation focused on integrating cyber, electronic warfare, extended range sensing and data transfer. The distances between training areas and teams replicated the distances required to operate in the Indo-Pacific Command theater, where 3rd MDTF is assigned.

“The challenge with extended range multi-domain sensing comes down to several problem sets — platforms, payloads, data backhaul and analysis. Vanguard provided the venue for the MDEB to tackle each of these problem sets at operationally relevant distances,” said Rose.

“My team was able to effectively locate signals of interest, aggregate the sensor data, pass it back to the MDEB tactical command post at Fort Huachuca, then integrate the data into mission command systems to include the Army Intelligence Data Platform, and send the data to the TF level All Domain Operations Center back in Hawaii,” said MDEB Commander Lt. Col. Pablo Diaz. “We met our key training objectives and look forward to taking the lessons learned to keep pushing the envelope.”

Objectives for 3rd MDEB were to experiment with high altitude and persistent platforms such as high-altitude balloons and unmanned aerial systems, various electronic warfare and cyber payloads, long range data backhaul solutions and validate defensive cyber capabilities

Vanguard 24 is an annual capstone experiment that provides a venue to explore, integrate, and test emerging technologies, tools, and concepts that address specific capability gaps and future warfighting requirements.

Vanguard provided capabilities development, testing, and training elements, with an INDOPACOM operational scenario that expanded the scope and scale of the experiment, which spanned from Fort Huachuca’s Buffalo Soldier Electronic Test Range and 1st Lt. John R. Fox Multi-Domain Operations Range, as well as across the Southwestern U.S.

By MAJ Stephen Page

Posted in Army, Cyber, EW, Forces Focus, Guest Post, ISR, UAS | Comments Off on Army Experiments with Capabilities, Multi-Domain Integration at Vanguard 24

Army Awards Information Collection Management Application

Tuesday, September 24th, 2024

The Army Contracting Command – Aberdeen Proving Ground (ACC-APG) recently awarded ECS Federal a delivery order valued at $1.2M for initial acquisition, tailoring, integration and testing of the Information Collection Management Application (ICM). This is the first delivery order on the IDIQ which has a ceiling of up to $23M to support all development, integration, testing, training, license procurement and maintenance across the next five years.

The Information Collection Management App, a critical component of the Army’s modernization initiatives, is designed to digitize collection management workflows and provide a tactical, expeditionary toolset that addresses Commander’s information needs. With streamlined workflows, the app significantly reduces the burden of soldier operations, ensuring that our forces are equipped with the best possible intelligence capabilities to face the challenges of tomorrow’s complex battlefield environments.

“The awarding of the Information Collection Management App marks a significant milestone in our mission to develop and field modernized intelligence systems,” said Col. Chris Anderson, Project Manager for PM Intelligence Systems & Analytics. “This app is a testament to the exceptional work of our dedicated professionals who are committed to integrating best value solutions for the battlefield of tomorrow.”

PM IS&A is responsible for multiple Army Intelligence Foundation’s modernization initiatives and develops and fields modernized intelligence systems through an exceptional workforce of dedicated professionals, integrating best value solutions for the battlefield of tomorrow.

Posted in Army, CEMA, Contracts, ISR, Press Release | Comments Off on Army Awards Information Collection Management Application

Introducing No Such Podcast

Thursday, September 5th, 2024

They’ve bloody well gone and done it now. The National Security Agency, long given the nickname “No Such Ageency” due to its wall of secrecy is launching a podcast, named “No Such Podcast” where they promise to tell their stories.

Coming this Fall.

Posted in IO, ISR | Comments Off on Introducing No Such Podcast

US Army Selects Sierra Nevada Corporation as Lead System Integrator for its High Accuracy Detection and Exploitation System

Tuesday, August 27th, 2024

WASHINGTON — The U.S. Army selected the Sierra Nevada Corporation as the lead system integrator for its High Accuracy Detection and Exploitation System today. The initial award on the 12-year indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity contract is $93.5 million, with an overall ceiling of $991.3 million. HADES will provide transformational increases in speed, range, payload and endurance for Army aerial intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities.

“This is a great day for the continuing effort to modernize the Army’s aerial intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance collection strategy,” said Mr. Doug Bush, Assistant Secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics and Technology. “The thoughtful and disciplined execution of the HADES program strategy will deliver the transformational capabilities we need for the Army’s next-generation aerial ISR aircraft.”

“HADES is the centerpiece of the Army’s long-promised aerial ISR transformation strategy,” said Lt. Gen. Anthony Hale, Deputy Chief of Staff, G-2. “HADES allows the Army to fly higher, faster and farther, which directly impacts our ability to see and sense deeper, delivering an organic capability in line with the Secretary of the Army’s number-one operational imperative – deep sensing.”

With higher airspeeds and longer endurance, HADES will facilitate aerial ISR coverage for a much larger geographical area and will facilitate global deployment within days instead of the current transitional period of several weeks. This will adversely affect adversaries’ ability to plan and maneuver.

The Army began shaping the HADES program in 2020 to replace the legacy turboprop aircraft fleet currently comprised of the Guardrail, Enhanced Medium Altitude Reconnaissance and Surveillance System, and Airborne Reconnaissance Low aircraft, which have been in service for more than four decades. HADES prototypes will be the first Army-owned large-cabin business jets utilized for aerial ISR platforms.

“I am very proud of the entire HADES team, along with our intelligence, aviation and contracting enterprise partners, who have worked diligently to ensure that the Army delivers a new aerial ISR collection capability that meets the Army’s 2030 operational imperatives,” said Brig. Gen. David Phillips, Program Executive Officer, PEO Aviation. “HADES will allow our formations to see and sense farther and more persistently, providing an asymmetric advantage over our adversaries in large-scale operations and multidomain operations.”

As the Army transforms to meet an uncertain future, HADES is one of the many modernization capabilities that will help ensure that the Army of 2030 is ready and able to fight and win when the nation calls.

Posted in Army, Aviation, Contracts, ISR, Press Release | Comments Off on US Army Selects Sierra Nevada Corporation as Lead System Integrator for its High Accuracy Detection and Exploitation System

US Army’s First TITAN Ground Station Prototype Delivered at JBLM

Thursday, August 15th, 2024

JOINT BASE LEWIS MCCHORD, Wash. — The Army’s need for a next generation intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance system that rapidly processes sensor data from space, high altitude, aerial and terrestrial layers to provide real-time intelligence support for targeting and situational awareness is the impetus behind Project Manager Intelligence Systems and Analytics’ delivery of the Army’s first Tactical Intelligence Targeting Access Node, or TITAN, ground station prototype to Joint Base Lewis-McChord. This milestone marks a significant advancement in the Army’s capabilities to support multi-domain operations.

“Delivering the first TITAN prototype to JBLM is a pivotal step in enhancing our warfighters’ capabilities,” said Col. Chris Anderson, PM IS&A. “TITAN provides game-changing technologies that revolutionize how we collect, process, and disseminate intelligence across the battlefield, giving us a decisive edge.”

The system which leverages cutting-edge artificial intelligence and machine learning technologies is a ground station that will significantly reduce the sensor-to-shooter timeline, enabling faster and more accurate decision-making in complex operational environments. This delivery is part of a broader effort to equip the Army with advanced intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities that support the rapid and effective execution of multi-domain operations.

Product Director Intelligence Systems, Rich Licata said, “We are proud of the successful delivery of the first TITAN prototype. We look forward to continuing our collaboration with our partners in the development efforts to refine and expand these capabilities, ensuring our forces remain at the forefront of technological innovation.”

The prototype delivered to JBLM is one of ten being developed. These prototypes will undergo rigorous testing and evaluation to ensure they meet the operational needs and will be used to refine the system through Soldier feedback obtained from a disciplined user-centered design process including extensive unit use of the prototypes.

“We are thrilled to move into the next phase of delivering these revolutionary capabilities to the Army,” added Anderson. “The feedback from our Soldiers will be invaluable in refining and enhancing the TITAN system to meet the demands of modern warfare.”

By Larry Glidewell

Posted in Army, Guest Post, ISR | Comments Off on US Army’s First TITAN Ground Station Prototype Delivered at JBLM

Zapata AI to Deliver Real-Time Intelligence for Warfighters

Wednesday, August 14th, 2024

The collaboration aims to enhance real-time intelligence and decision support for USSOCOM’s Hyper-Enabled Operator and Force programs with state-of-the-art AI on the edge

BOSTON, Aug. 13, 2024 — Zapata Computing Holdings Inc. (“Zapata AI”) (Nasdaq: ZPTA), a leading provider of industrial-grade software for enterprise AI, has entered a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) with the U.S. Special Operations Command (“USSOCOM”).

Key Highlights of the CRADA include:

• Empowering USSOCOM with advanced AI tools to enhance situational awareness, real-time decision-making, and operational readiness in challenging environments and contested spaces.

• Accelerating USSOCOM’s ability plan, create, and deliver AI-driven advantage to align closely with specific mission objectives and parameters.

• Deepening Zapata AI’s existing relationship across the United States Department of Defense innovation ecosystem.

Under the terms of the CRADA, Zapata AI will leverage its Orquestra® platform to speed up the model development lifecycle (MDLC) and create AI and ML applications that enhance mission performance for USSOCOM’s Hyper-Enabled Force (HEF) initiatives. The decision-support capabilities developed by the partnership will run on the edge in low connectivity environments on ruggedized high-performance computing (HPC) hardware.

“We are proud to support the brave men and women of USSOCOM in defending our national security around the world,” said Christopher Savoie, CEO and co-founder of Zapata AI. “Our battle-tested Orquestra platform, our ability to ingest and process vast amounts of streaming data in real-time, and our experience in rapidly deploying AI solutions in challenging environments will enhance USSOCOM’s operational readiness with cutting-edge intelligence capabilities.”

The collaboration with USSOCOM builds on Zapata AI’s success in supporting Andretti Global’s complex race intelligence and advanced analytics needs. In both cases, Zapata AI deploys an ensemble of small, specialized AI models at the edge, providing real-time analytics and decision support in environments with limited or unpredictable connectivity. Zapata has proven in its production solutions that deploying an ensemble of targeted models, rather than a single large, generalized AI model, delivers superior performance for mission-critical applications where speed and accuracy are paramount.

The CRADA deepens Zapata AI’s existing relationships across the United States Department of Defense landscape. As the only company participating across all tracks of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) Quantum Benchmarking program, Zapata AI has led the groundbreaking work to estimate the economic utility and resource requirements for high-value quantum computing applications. In June 2024, Zapata AI and its collaboration partners published the findings from Phase II of the program.

For more information on Zapata AI, visit our website or follow us on LinkedIn or X.

Posted in AI / ML, Contracts, ISR, Press Release, SOF | Comments Off on Zapata AI to Deliver Real-Time Intelligence for Warfighters

MI History: Army Security Agency Establishes DARRS Detachments

Sunday, August 4th, 2024

I love military history and in particular SOF and SI history, having served in both communities. I especially appreciate the MI stuff since so little has been published. The US Army’s Military Intelligence Soldier Heritage Learning Center recently shared this post:

Photo: Personnel of the 1st ASTD, one of the ARVN units supported by the DARRS detachments

On 31 July 1970, the Army Security Agency (ASA) established Division Advisors Radio Research Support (DARRS) Detachments in South Vietnam. The DARRS detachments were an effort to further the overall “Vietnamization” of the war as well as provide direct support to the American advisors with Army of Republic of Vietnam (ARVN) divisions.

In early 1969, President Richard Nixon’s administration began a program to end American involvement in Vietnam, which involved expanding, equipping, and training South Vietnamese military forces so they could take an increased combat role while reducing the number of American forces. As part of this broader program, the ARVN began to organize their SIGINT effort. To support their divisions, they organized ARVN Special Technical Detachments (ASTDs) consisting of four officers and fifty-six enlisted personnel. Modeled on the ASA’s highly successful direct support units attached to American divisions and separate brigades, the ASTDs provided SIGINT support to combat divisions and passed information up the South Vietnamese cryptologic chain of command. On 1 July 1969, two ARVN divisions received the first ASTDs.

Under the terms of the Vietnamese Improvement and Modernization Program, ASA’s 509th Radio Research (RR) Group, under Col. William W. Higgins, would assist the ASTDs by providing mission equipment and logistical support and by instructing the South Vietnamese on how to perform their own maintenance. All the while, ASA leaders continued to take every opportunity to press the ARVN to focus upon voice intercept and even offered on-the-job training by temporarily assigning Vietnamese to the 509th RR Group’s own low-level voice intercept teams.

Over the next year, Higgins and his group informally supported the ARVN’s nascent SIGINT efforts. Under Project SCREWDRIVER, 509th RR soldiers regularly visited South Vietnamese elements to pass on maintenance tips and to ensure they were receiving necessary supplies. These visits also proved an excellent means to monitor overall operational progress.

At the same time, intelligence support for American advisors became more critical. Consequently, the 509th RR Group field-tested the concept of a team dedicated to specifically support the senior American advisor for the 1st ARVN Division. This test proved so successful that the U.S. Military Assistance Command, Vietnam (MACV) approved the concept for all of the ASTDs. On 31 July 1970, MACV and ASA established the DARRS detachments.

The DARRS detachments’ primary function was to pass SIGINT information to senior American personnel advising the South Vietnamese divisions and to provide a sanitized version for the ARVN commanders. In addition, DARRS personnel provided the ASTDs with constant support and advice. Their impact was immediately evident and began to assure that the ARVN detachments were operationally functional.

As one advisor noted, “For a long time we had a shortage of hard intelligence…The 9th DARRS has given us the ability to make estimates and allow the commander to make decisions.”

?Michael E. Bigelow

Posted in CEMA, Guest Post, History, Information Warfare, IO, ISR | Comments Off on MI History: Army Security Agency Establishes DARRS Detachments