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DEFENCE TECHNOLOGY NEWS: U.S. Department of Defense awards contract to LookingGlass Cyber Solutions

2021-06-10T10:09:00.014+02:00

U.S. Department of Defense awards contract to LookingGlass Cyber Solutions

Posted By: PRChannel Team - Gibraltar

www.defencetechnologynews.com

LookingGlass Cyber Solutions a leader in operationalizing threat intelligence, today announced that a Department of Defense organization selected the LookingGlass integrated cyber threat intelligence and analytics platform, scoutSuite, to provide tailored cyber threat intelligence data and enhance the mission effectiveness of U.S. military cyber threat analysts and operators.

The five-year contract was awarded with a Production-Other Transaction (P-OT) agreement facilitated by the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) after the completion of a successful prototype and pilot. The P-OT enables other federal agencies to easily leverage the same cyber threat intelligence and analytics suite and services in use at the Department of Defense.

LookingGlass scoutSuite synthesizes vast amounts of global internet data with threat actor capabilities and motivations to provide a robust threat modeling environment that can quickly process, prioritize, and operationalize threat intelligence and indicators of compromise. The quantity and quality of data in the platform enables it to support multiple cybersecurity use cases.

Participants in the prototype and pilot noted that LookingGlass significantly removed analytical obstacles to collaboration and information sharing, while enhancing the utilization of commercial cyber data. scoutSuite measurably impacted the cyber intelligence cycle by providing easy-to-operationalize cyber threat intelligence telemetry and reduced the skill-barrier for advanced cyber analysis.

“Delivering an adversarial-oriented perspective in support of threat hunting operations over the past year to our partners across the U.S. federal government was an inspirational and motivating challenge we were excited to tackle. We are proud to partner with DIU to accelerate the adoption of commercial technology across the Department of Defense and to strengthen the cybersecurity of the nation,” said Gilman Louie, CEO of LookingGlass.

The production OT, finalized on April 26, 2021, was issued based on LookingGlass’ successful completion of its threat modeling environment, threat intelligence, and analytics prototype with DIU. For questions on how to leverage the production OT, contact DIU at questions@diu.mil.

For federal organizations interested in learning more about the scoutSuite and how LookingGlass can help your organization meet its cyber mission, contact info@lookingglasscyber.com.

About LookingGlass Cyber Solutions, Inc.

LookingGlass is a global cybersecurity leader that provides public and private sector clients with tailored, actionable threat intelligence. For more than a decade, the most advanced organizations in the world have trusted LookingGlass to help them protect their financial, economic, and national security interests. Learn More/...

Image Credit: LookingGlass Cyber Inc

DEFENCE TECHNOLOGY NEWS: Military Mobility Symposium examines way ahead

2021-06-10T08:40:00.007+02:00

Military Mobility Symposium examines way ahead

Posted By: Defence PR Channel

www.defenceandsecurityreview.com

More than 350 participants from Member States, EU institutions, industry, academia and think tanks joined the high-level online symposium on ‘Military Mobility - Transforming Ambition into Reality’, co-organised by the Portuguese Presidency of the Council of the European Union and European Defence Agency (EDA) Only the second European conference specifically devoted to Military Mobility.

In his opening remarks, EDA Chief Executive Jiří Šedivý recalled the impressive progress made on this important topic over the past three years, especially as regard the implementation of the EU Action Plan on Military Mobility (launched in March 2018) whose main action points - stretching from transport infrastructure and regulatory issues to cross-border movement permissions and diplomatic clearances - are either already completed or at the verge of completion. EDA is also contributing to this common effort with two major programmes successfully underway: one aimed at harmonising military requirement related to customs and one that aims to optimise cross-border movement permission procedures in Europe.

“Still, there is more to be done in transforming this ambition into reality. The challenges that lay ahead of us are the full implementation of these achievements in our day-to-day practice and addressing the way forward to the next stage of an Enhanced Military Mobility”, Mr Šedivý said. Referring to the new impetus that last year’s first Coordinated Annual Review on Defence (CARD) has given to the topic, by making Enhanced Military Mobility one of the six ‘focus areas’ identified for future European cooperation, the EDA Chief Executive called for “sustaining this political momentum” and using the potential this focus area has “to form clusters of projects and activities in capability development and research and technologies”. Military Mobility has also been taken up under a Dutch-led PESCO (Permanent Structured Cooperation) project, as well as (more indirectly) under a German-led ‘Network of Logistic Hubs in Europe and Support to Operations’ (Loghubs) project. EDA has supporting roles in both PESCO projects and “will continue its efforts and contribute its part to this important joint endeavour”, Mr Šedivý said. He also praised Military Mobility is a “flagship project of EU-NATO cooperation” and a “prime example of effective interactions between the EU and NATO”.

In his speech, Mircea Geoana, NATO’s Deputy Secretary General, stressed the need for cooperation and symbiosis between NATO and the EU, and said the cooperation on Military Mobility, a crucial aspect of European and transatlantic defence, was testimony to that. NATO welcomes the EU’s decision, announced the same day at the EU Foreign Affairs/Defence Council, to allow the participation of the US, Canada and Norway in the Dutch-led PESCO Military Mobility project because “non-EU allies make an essential contribution to the defence and security of Europe”, he said. Military Mobility is essential to move troops across the Atlantic and across Europe, making it a crucial element of deterrence, he added. Therefore, NATO appreciates the fact that Military Mobility has become a flagship project of EU/NATO cooperation, based on Joint Declarations of 2016 and 2018. ”Our respective efforts must be mutually reinforcing and benefit all EU and NATO members alike”, Mr Geoana said.

High-level debate among Ministers

Conference participants then witnessed an interesting high-level panel debate featuring four acting Defence Ministers: Portugal’s João Gomes Cravinho, the Netherland’s Ank Bijleveld, Germany’s Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer, and Slovenia’s Matej Tonin.

João Gomes Cravinho (Portugal) emphasised the wider strategic importance of Military Mobility, not also for the EU but also for NATO and the wider transatlantic relationship. If we are successful in this project, it will make a major contribution to Europe’s transatlantic relations and to the EU/NATO relationship, he said. The strategic relevance of Military Mobility is not to be underestimated, its importance and implications go beyond just military considerations. “We see a lot of technical work going on (between EU and NATO), but the result of this technical work will be a political result because, at the end of the day, it is a political project. I hope that Military Mobility will open the door to deeper cooperation between the EU and NATO in a wider range of areas. I hope that in 2035, we can look back and say: the Military Mobility project was the pioneer project” for this enhanced EU/NATO cooperation, the Portuguese Minister said.

Ank Bijleveld (Netherlands) said it was a “big day” for Military Mobility given that the Council had given its green light to the participation of the US, Canada and Norway in the related (Dutch-led) PESCO project. Those three countries “will provide much added value to the project with their expertise and know-how” and it will also “give a boost to increase EU/NATO cooperation”, the Minister stated. “Cooperation between the EU and NATO in this matter is crucial. We look forward to working with all relevant actors: the European External Action Service, the European Commission, the EU Military Staff, the European Defence Agency, NATO and others to further bring forward Military Mobility” which, at the end of the day, will have to be “simple, secure and digital”, she stressed.

Annegret Kramp-Karrenbauer (Germany) also welcomed the participation of the US, Canada, and Norway in the PESCO project, saying it “adds great value to our efforts” in the Military Mobility domain which, she felt, had been “ignored” for too long. A lot of work remains to be done as Military Mobility is “one of the most complex issues we are dealing with”. The German Minister also praised Military Mobility as a “prime example of better EU-NATO alignment” and enhanced cooperation. “Later this year, NATO’s new Multinational Joint Support and Enabling Command (JSEC), based in Ulm/Germany, will be fully operational. This reflects the key role Germany plays as the centrally-located mobility hub for Alliance logistic”. The Minister also announced Germany’s intention to pursue a “new project” with the Netherlands: the two Ministries of Defence are currently preparing the establishment of a “Dutch-German office for coordination and alignment of Military Mobility”. “We hope other countries will join this innovation incubator once it is established”, Mrs Kramp-Karrenbauer said.

Slovenian Defence Minister Matej Tonin, whose country will take over the rotating EU Presidency in the second half of this year, said that one of his priorities would be to bring forward EU-NATO cooperation. “As Military mobility represents a project which is key for EU and NATO, it is important that the dialogue between the EU and NATO in field of military mobility, as in many other areas, continues”, he stated. Furthermore, during the upcoming EU Presidency, Slovenia intends to bring forward the collective work on the CARD’s ‘Enhanced Military Mobility’ focus area. “I believe that combining different projects and initiatives into single focus area will improve coordination and facilitate implementation of new capabilities and procedures in the field. Rest assured that Slovenia is supporting it and looking forward to participating in this focus area”, the Minister stressed. Mr Tonin also welcomed today’s Council decision on the participation of Canada, the US and Norway in the PESCO project: “We strongly believe that non-EU Member States and other partner countries should also have the opportunity to participate as their forces and capabilities can potentially be an integral part of our joint defence efforts when necessary”.

US welcomes PESCO decision

Gregory Kausner, acting Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment in the US Department of Defence, said the US welcomed the decision on third-country participation in the Military Mobility PESCO project. “This decision demonstrates the EU’s commitment to transatlantic security and enhances cooperation and interoperability. We see our participation in this PESCO project as the next step in closer cooperation between NATO, the EU and the United States”, he said.

EEAS: Military Mobility also part of work on EU Strategic Compass

Pawel Herczynski, Managing Director at the European External Action Service (EEAS), said Military Mobility would also be part of the wider (ongoing) work on the EU’s Strategic Compass. “We are currently in the brain-storming phase among EU Member States on what goals and objectives Member States want to set in the field of security and defence, including on Military Mobility”, he said. “We look forward to concrete and actionable ideas which can guide our work in the years to come” with a view to operationalising the Military Mobility measures taken so far. One thing is sure, Mr Herczynski stressed: “the relevance of Military Mobility will only grow”. Learn More/...

About European Defence Agency

The European Defence Agency was established under a Joint Action of the Council of Ministers on 12 July, 2004, "to support the Member States and the Council in their effort to improve European defence capabilities in the field of crisis management and to sustain the European Security and Defence Policy as it stands now and develops in the future”. Learn More/...

EQ REVIEW: FATS® 180MIL Virtual Training System

2021-06-08T07:30:00.011+02:00

EQ REVIEW: FATS® 180MIL Virtual Training System

Posted by: PRChannel Team - Gibraltar

www.defenceandsecurityreview.com

Google Indexed on 080621 at 07:34

Put users in the action, facing realistic pressures while maintaining situational awareness.

Today’s troops need to be ready for the unexpected threat, coming at any time from any direction. That’s why we designed the FATS 180MIL to deliver 180-degree, high-definition projection and 5.1 surround sound: to increase the realism of training, heightens awareness and ensure proper use-of-force responses. In addition, the three borderless screens fit conveniently into almost any space with at least a 10-foot-tall ceiling.

Military validation. The FATS 180MIL offers the same high-fidelity ballistic engine validated by the US Army, US Marine Corps and other defense customers, including military police. The system meets military requirements for accurate ballistic characteristics in flight and enforcement of proper fundamentals of marksmanship.

The right equipment for fully immersive training: 3D marksmanship and judgmental training. InVeris has given attention to every detail to create the optimal realistic user experience:

Marksmanship flexibility to hone precision according to your protocols.

Judgmental training to strengthen situational awareness and improve decision-making.

Familiar weapon simulators that trainees appreciate.

Judgmental and Marksmanship Courseware.

Hit detection system.

Ultra-short throw projectors for greater freedom of movement.

Low-light subsystem (optional).

Easily transportable rack.

Realistic 5.1 surround sound.

Image Credit: Inveris

China is a present danger to Europe. NATO’s defense plans must respond - Atlantic Council

2021-06-04T09:57:00.004+02:00

China is a present danger to Europe. NATO’s defense plans must respond - Atlantic Council

Posted By Defence PRChannel Team - Gibraltar

via www.GEOPoliticalMatters.com

New Atlanticist by John R. Deni

Good news: NATO’s Concept for the Deterrence and Defense of the Euro-Atlantic Area (DDA) may soon have the blessing of NATO-member leaders at this month’s summit in Brussels. But there’s bad news too: It is already time to update the DDA to address China.

In May 2019, the NATO Military Committee, made up of the allies’ defense chiefs, signed a new military strategy—the first such document written by NATO since the late 1960s. The Military Committee later introduced two subordinate documents that map how to implement the Alliance’s strategy, the first being the DDA.

The DDA outlines how the Alliance will use its military power to address the primary threats confronting allied interests in Europe. It calls for employing the Alliance’s military power to deter and defend against its two major threats—Russia and international terrorism—across Europe and beyond in all domains. The second document, the NATO Warfighting Capstone Concept (NWCC), outlines a twenty-year vision for the Alliance’s warfare capabilities and characteristics.

The DDA focuses on short-run threats, while the NWCC looks at the longer term. Together, these concepts should help NATO better align its existing tools, processes, and activities to ensure there’s greater coherence in how the Alliance secures and stabilizes the Euro-Atlantic region.

However, in not emphasizing threats from China along with Russia and international terrorism in the DDA, the Alliance comes up short. Some in Europe object to casting China more clearly as a threat. They argue China isn’t a military threat in Europe or that the threat isn’t manifest today, so NATO shouldn’t or doesn’t need to do much about it at the moment. Neither of these perspectives is grounded in reality. The evidence indicates China isn’t some challenge of tomorrow or threat that has yet to fully form; even today, it is a clear and present threat to allied security in Europe and beyond.

Some Chinese threats to European security are merely insidious. For example, China undermines Europe’s military capabilities by stealing defense-related intellectual property and sharing it with its own military and defense industry as China develops new weapons and capabilities. Similarly, Chinese investment in European infrastructure—especially shipping terminals, utilities, and telecommunications networks—provides an excellent platform for intelligence-gathering on NATO military operations. In a worst-case scenario, China could weaponize its ownership or operation of infrastructure in Europe to frustrate, limit, or prevent US or allied use.

In other cases, the Chinese threat to Europe manifests in the form of outright attacks. Chinese cyberattacks on European government, industry, military, academic, and civil institutions—including, reportedly, on hospitals during the pandemic—are relentless and massive. In 2014, NATO declared that cyberattacks could trigger the invocation of Article 5, the Alliance’s mutual-defense clause. Learn More/...

About Atlantic Council

Shaping the global future together - Driven by our mission of “shaping the global future together,” the Atlantic Council is a nonpartisan organization that galvanizes US leadership and engagement in the world, in partnership with allies and partners, to shape solutions to global challenges. Learn More/...

Image Credit: U.S. federal government

Quantum technologies in defence & security - NATO Review

2021-06-03T12:10:00.006+02:00

Quantum technologies in defence & security

By Michiel van Amerongen - NATO Review

via www.DefenceandSecurityReview.com/PRChannel

Given the potential implications of novel quantum technologies for defence and security, NATO has identified quantum as one of its key emerging and disruptive technologies. This article seeks to unpack some of the fascinating future applications of quantum technologies and their implications for defence and security.

"Those who are not shocked when they first come across quantum theory cannot possibly have understood it" - Niels Bohr

"If you think you understand quantum mechanics, you don’t understand quantum mechanics" -

Richard Feynman

"Not only is the Universe stranger than we think, it is stranger than we can think" - Werner Heisenberg

Three quotes from three famous quantum physicists. I guess it is safe to say that there is broad consensus that trying to understand quantum mechanics is not your average Sunday morning brain teaser. However, quantum mechanics is not just mind-boggling and food for vigorous thought. In fact, although we might not be able fully to comprehend it, technologies built upon our understanding of quantum mechanics are already all around us.

Transistors and semiconductors in our computers and communication infrastructures are examples of ‘first generation’ quantum technologies. But the best is still to come. Through a greater understanding of quantum phenomena such as ‘superposition’ and ‘entanglement’ (explained below), the ‘second quantum revolution’ is now taking place, enabling the development of novel and revolutionary quantum technologies.

As these technologies will bring profound new capabilities both for civilian and military purposes, quantum technologies have received significant interest from industry and governments in recent years. Big technology companies like IBM, Google and Microsoft are spending hundreds of millions of dollars on research and development in the area of quantum computing in their race for ‘quantum supremacy’. Similarly, governments have recognised the transformative potential and the geopolitical value of quantum technology applications and the United States, the European Union and China have each set up their own >1 billion dollar research programmes.

Principles underlying quantum technologies

Without going into a detailed explanation of quantum mechanics, a few key underlying principles are worth briefly discussing to help understand the potential applications of quantum technologies.

Quantum technologies exploit physical phenomena at the atomic and sub-atomic scale. Fundamental to quantum mechanics is that at this atomic scale, the world is ‘probabilistic’ as opposed to ‘deterministic’.

This notion of probability was the subject of a world-famous debate between Albert Einstein and Niels Bohr at the fifth Solvay Conference on Physics, held in October 1927 in Brussels. This conference gathered the 29 most notable physicists of the time (17 of them would later become Nobel Prize winners) to discuss the newly formulated quantum theory. Learn More/...

Image Credit: Gerd Altmann

Biosecurity: Closing the gate after the horse has bolted

2021-06-02T19:12:00.002+02:00

Biosecurity: Closing the gate after the horse has bolted

By Iain Fraser - Geopolitical Journalist, Gibraltar

www.defenceandsecurityreview.com

The BBCs lauded World Affairs Editor, John Simpson has written a fantastic article examining the lack of security protocols in the World´s virus laboratories.

Simpson says we have seen what an out-of-control virus can do to our overpopulated, highly interconnected planet. Some 166 million people have been infected in just 18 months with an official death toll from Covid-19 is 3.4 million, though the World Health Organization (WHO) are saying the true figure is probably 8 million or even higher.

The US has just announced it is revisiting the origins of the virus, including the possibility that it escaped from a laboratory in Wuhan, despite the WHO saying earlier this year this theory was "extremely unlikely" but as Simpson says, we have always known there's a risk a deadly pathogen could do that.

Now a leading expert on biological warfare has called on leaders of the G7 group of leading industrialised nations to consider tighter restrictions, warning loosely-regulated laboratories are a gateway for terrorists.

Colonel Hamish de Bretton-Gordon is a soldier turned academic who formerly commanded Britain's Joint Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Regiment. He has examined the effects of chemical and biological warfare at first hand, especially in Iraq and Syria.

Learn More - Log Into GEO´ Opinion

CYBER SECURITY: Hydra DarkNet earned over $1.3 Billion in 2020

2021-06-01T07:42:00.002+02:00

CYBER SECURITY: Hydra DarkNet earned over $1.3 Billion in 2020

Posted By: PRChannel Team - Gibraltar

www.defenceandsecurityreview.com

Hydra the Russian language "dark web" marketplace, bolstered its position of the go to market for cyber criminals and OCGs earning over 1.11€ Billion ($1.37 USD) worth of cryptocurrencies in 2020 up from up from 7.68€ Million ($9.4 million) in 2016, marking a staggering 624% year-on-year jump over a three-year period from 2018 to 2020.

Active since 2015, Hydra opened as a competitor to the now-defunct Russian Anonymous Marketplace (aka RAMP), primarily facilitating narcotics trade, before becoming a bazaar for all things criminal, including offering BTC cash-out services and peddling stolen credit cards, SIM cards, documents, IDs, and counterfeit money, with the operators profiting as the intermediary for every transaction conducted on the platform.

Hydra accounts for over 75% of darknet market revenue worldwide in 2020, positioning it as a major player in the crypto crime landscape in Eastern Europe, according to a report by Chainalysis published in February 2021. This skyrocketing cryptocurrency activity conducted through the marketplace can be partly attributed to the demise of RAMP in September 2017, which resulted in a mass migration of cybercrime gangs to Hydra. Learn More/

Russia spy chief deflects blame for SolarWinds cyber-attack

2021-05-19T06:30:00.016+02:00

Russia spy chief deflects blame for SolarWinds cyber-attack

By Iain Fraser - Managing Editor, Gibraltar

Defence & Security Review

www.DefenceandSecurityReview.com

The head of Russia´s Foriegn Intelligence Service (SVR), Sergei Naryshkin has deflected the blame for the Solarwinds cyber-attack in an exclusive interview with the BBC´s Moscow Correspondent, Steve Rosenberg.

The Russian Spook chief has flatly denied that his agency was the orchestrators of the attack that hit the US last ear (2020) in response to direct accusations by both the UK & US, suggesting somewhat bizrrely that it was in fact a Western Intelligence agency that was responsible for what he told Rosenberg was a "sophisiticated" hack.

In the interview Mr Naryshkin also confirmed that he had managed to re-establish contact with the incumbent head of MI6 (SIS) Richard Moore suggesting that he hoped for a face-to-face meeting with Mr Moore in the very ear future.

Image Credit: Пресс-служба Президента России Under CC

UK MOD to spend £1.4 Billion to modernise Chinook fleet

2021-05-18T09:54:00.021+02:00

UK MOD to spend £1.4 Billion to modernise Chinook fleet

By DSR PRChannel Team - Gibraltar

Defence & Security Review

www.DefenceandSecurityReview.com

The UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) has agreed a £1.4 Billion contract over 10 years to totally modernise its fleet of Chinook helicopters and will see British forces benefiting from the latest version of the iconic heavy-lift helo.

The MOD is purchasing the 14 new extended-range Chinooks via a US Foreign Military Sales agreement, with deliveries scheduled to begin in 2026.

The order for the new aircraft signals the commitment made in the recent Defence Command Paper to invest over £85-billion on military equipment over the next four years to reform and renew our Armed Forces.

Proven in battle and operated in every major conflict since the Falklands War, the Chinook is a highly-versatile aircraft. The helicopter can operate in a diverse range of environments, from the desert to the arctic, and transport up to 55 personnel or ten tonnes of cargo.

With a top speed of 300 kilometres per hour, the new H-47(ER) aircraft will have a range of new capabilities, including:

an advanced digital cockpit
a modernised air-frame to increase stability and improve survivability
a digital automatic flight control system to allow pilots to hover in areas of limited visibility

Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said:

"From assisting emergency repairs to UK flood defences, providing vital logistics support during Covid-19 to its warfighting role on Afghan battlefields, the Chinook has been the workhorse of the Armed Forces for over 40 years.

The cutting edge H-47 (ER) will be at the forefront of our specialist requirements in dealing with threats and logistic support. Our £1.4-billion investment will mean we will be one of very few air forces with this capability.

The 14 aircraft will be purchased from the US via a Foreign Military Sales agreement and includes development and manufacture over the next decade. Deliveries are scheduled to start in 2026. The new helicopters will be based at RAF Odiham, the home of the Chinook fleet.

Commander Joint Helicopter Command, Air-Vice Marshal Nigel Colman said:

"Proven on both UK and overseas operations time and again over the last 40 years, the Chinook continues to be a critical capability for UK Defence; this announcement assures Chinook operations for the decades ahead and is representative of our commitment to modernise capabilities whilst maintaining interoperability with key allies."

In addition to traditional warfighting roles, the Chinook supports a wide variety of specialist tasks, including the Military Aid to the Civil Authorities. Most recently, it was part of the Joint Helicopter Aviation Task Force which transported NHS paramedics, equipment and patients during peak of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Introduced into service in 1981, the 40th anniversary of the first Chinook was recently celebrated with a new commemorative colour scheme. The oldest of fleet will be retired, enabling investment in the new aircraft to modernise the UK heavy lift capability.

Image Credit: SAC Andy Seaward under Open Government License version 1.0

Who are Boko Haram and what are their goals?

2021-05-18T07:35:00.011+02:00

Who are Boko Haram and what are their goals?

By Iain Fraser - Managing Editor

Defence & Security Review

www.DefenceandSecurityReview.com

Boko Haram, officially known as Jamā'at Ahl as-Sunnah lid-Da'wah wa'l-Jihād "Group of the People of Sunnah for Preaching and Jihad" and Wilāyat Garb Ifrīqīyā meaning "West African Province", is a jihadist terrorist organization based in northeastern Nigeria and active in Chad, Niger and northern Cameroon.

Founded by Mohammed Yusuf in 2002, the group has been led by Abubakar Shekau since 2009, although it splintered into other groups after Yusuf's death and also in 2015. When the group was first formed, their main goal was to "purify" Islam in northern Nigeria, believing jihad should be delayed until the group was strong enough to overthrow the Nigerian government. Since March 2015, the group has been aligned with the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant. The group has been known for its brutality and since the insurgency started in 2009, Boko Haram has killed tens of thousands of people, displaced 2.3 million from their homes and was at one time the world's deadliest terror group according to the Global Terrorism Index. Click here to have the full report sent direct to your inbox

Image Credit: AK Rockefeller Under CC

EQ REVIEW: EOD: NP Aerospace launches new 4030 Elite EOD Suit

2021-05-17T07:46:00.030+02:00

NP Aerospace launches new 4030 Elite EOD Suit

Posted By: PRChannel Team - Gibraltar

www.DefenceandSecurityReview.com

Global armour manufacturer, NP Aerospace, has extended its Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) portfolio with the launch of a next generation Bomb Disposal Suit targeting North America and other strategic global markets.

The new 4030 ELITE Bomb Disposal Suit and Helmet System is the result of extensive collaboration with EOD operators and uses cutting edge technology to meet the requirements of NIJ 0117.01*, the US National Institute of Justice Public Safety Bomb Suit standard. It introduces a new approach to EOD protection, delivering superior survivability and enhanced ergonomics at a reduced weight. The 4030 ELITE Suit provides a scalable platform where communication and cooling systems can be integrated within the base suit without full scale upgrades – a cost efficiency benefit for defence and security organisations.

NP Aerospace entered the EOD market in 2004 with a bomb disposal suit designed for British Forces in Northern Ireland and has expanded its presence with multiple global customers.

Key enhancements to the 4030 ELITE include:

• New suit and frontal armour plate design, delivering 360° protection, with coverage of critical areas

• Enhanced fit and mobility enabling extended wear and access in confined spaces

• Advanced EOD helmet design for enhanced optical performance and impact protection

• Increased size range to fit 5th percentile female to 99th percentile male operators

• Additional safety features for fast, emergency suit removal (less than 30 seconds)

• User configurable with full system integration (communications, cooling, CBRN) Learn More/...

About NP Aerospace

NP Aerospace is a global armour technology manufacturer and vehicle integrator with an extensive portfolio developed using ultra-lightweight, high performance materials. Our products protect the lives of servicemen and women, enhancing security and resilience in high threat environments.

The portfolio includes Ballistic Helmets and Shields, Explosive Ordnance Disposal (EOD) Suits, Body Armour Plates and Composite Armour for vehicles, vessels or aircraft. NP Aerospace has integrated and supported over 2,000 military vehicles and supplied one million combat helmets to UK, Canada, Italy and NATO allies and 200,000 body armour plates to British and Canadian Armed Forces.

The company is a strategic partner to the UK MOD having won a £63m Protected Mobility Engineering & Technical Support contract known as PMETS in January 2019 which covers the MOD’s fleet of 2,200 Protected Mobility Vehicles until 2024. Programme partners include Atkins (Systems Safety), ITS (Integrated Logistics Support) and HORIBA-MIRA (Vehicle Engineering & Test Services).

The PMETS contract is designed to deliver the highest level of frontline protection for the Armed Forces by driving continued improvements in safety, efficiency and innovation across land platforms.

Learn More/...

LATEST EUROPEAN DEFENCE NEWS: NATO SUMMIT - Brussels, Belgium – 14 June 2021

2021-05-13T10:11:00.002+02:00

LATEST EUROPEAN DEFENCE NEWS: NATO SUMMIT - Brussels, Belgium – 14 June 2021

Posted By: Defence PR Channel Team

www.DefenceandSecurityReview.com

A meeting of NATO Heads of State and Government will be held on Monday 14 June 2021 in Brussels, Belgium chaired by the NATO Secretary General.

The meeting will take place at NATO Headquarters (HQ) on Boulevard Leopold III, 1110 Brussels. An International Media Centre will open on site on 13 and 14 June 2021. Access to the media centre will be granted exclusively to accredited media and via the Accreditation Office. More details will be provided closer to the event. Learn More/...

EUROPEAN DEFENCE NEWS - UK: DSTL unveils its requirements for its BGOAA Project

2021-05-11T07:05:00.002+02:00

DSTL unveils its requirements for its BGOAA Project

Posted by PR Channel Team - Gibraltar

www.DefenceandSecurityReview.com

DSTL, the UK’s Defence Science and Technology Laboratory has has disclosed details regarding the proposed roll-out of the British Army’s next-generation anti-tank capability, called the Battle Group Organic Anti-Armour (BGOAA) programme.

Challenges being considered by Dstl and the army as part of the BGOAA solution include the proliferation of vehicles’ integrated active protection systems and multispectral imaging sensors, which can leave anti-armour platforms with “nowhere to hide”.

What is BGOAA

BGOAA comprises several sub-programme elements: Close in Self Defence (CISD), Close Combat Anti-Armour Weapon-Dismounted (CCAAW-DM), Close Combat Anti-Armour Weapon-Mounted (CCAAW-M), and Mounted Close Combat Overwatch (MCCO). MCCO is the first sub-programme to be actively pursued because of emerging requirements from the army.

The MCCO is the first sub-programme to be actively pursued because of emerging requirements from the army. The Dstl is prioritising the MCCO capability with Lockheed Martin, MBDA and Thales, all providing insight into potential concepts. A key part of the architecture is to enable platforms to accommodate any missile or rapid adaption to different missile systems.The project aims to deliver commonality between effectors and launchers to drive down costs while allowing a smaller, more dispersed British force to achieve overmatch against peer threats into the 2050s.

Source: Various

Ransomware scourge prompts US to issue emergency legislation

2021-05-10T10:26:00.005+02:00

Ransomware scourge prompts US to issue emergency legislation

By Iain Fraser - Managing Editor

www.Defenceandsecurityreview.com

The US has been forced to issue emergency legislation yesterday (9, May 2021) after a ransomware attack on the largest fuel pipeline in the US was hit by a ransomware cyber-attack.

The Colonial Pipeline carries 2.5 million barrels a day a total of 45% of the East Coast's supply of diesel, gasoline and jet fuel which has been completely knocked offline by an "organised crime group" in a cyber attack last Friday (7, May 2021) but my thinking is the attack was more likely orchestrated by a state actor and of course whenever that is the case there are usually on two key culprits - Russia & China, experience tells me Russia.

Putin has long favoured using "shadowy" groups that can be passed off as CCG (Cyber Crime Group) hackers rather than state actors and my money is on Russia.

The Ransomware Scourge

The cyber scourge knows no boundaries with schools and hospitals often the target prompting the formation of a global alliance of key technology firms and relevant government departments and law enforcement - the Ransomware Task Force (RTF)

The coalition which includes Microsoft, Amazon, the FBI and the UK's National Crime Agency have joined the Ransomware Task Force (RTF) has calling for "aggressive and urgent" action against ransomware.

Travelex

Hackers are believed to be holding foreign exchange company Travelex to ransom after a cyber-attack forced the firm to turn off all computer systems and resort to using pen and paper.

As a result, the company took down its websites across 30 countries to contain "the virus and protect data" although Travelex websites across Europe, Asia and the US have been offline since 31 December, with a message to visitors that they are down for "planned maintenance".

Cyber crime group (CCG) Sodinokibi has told the BBC it is behind the hack and wants Travelex to pay $6m (£4.6m) the gang, also known as REvil, claims to have gained access to the company's computer network six months ago and to have downloaded 5GB of sensitive customer data.

Dates of birth, credit card information and national insurance numbers are all in their possession, they said.

However, the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) said it had not received a data breach report from Travelex. Organisations are obliged to notify the ICO within 72 hours of becoming aware of a personal data breach unless it does not pose a risk to people's rights and freedoms.

If an organisation decides that a breach doesn't need to be reported, they should keep their own record of it in order to explain to the Commissioner why its wasn't deemed necessary and be able to explain why it wasn't reported if necessary. Under General Data Protection Regulation, a company that fails to comply can face a maximum fine of 4% of its global turnover.

What is Ransomware

Effectively, hackers use malicious software to scramble and steal an organisation's computer data, the plan being when you pay the ransom, usually in Bitcoin or other untraceable virtual currency and then, in theory, the hackers reset the data but of course that isn't always the case.

About Iain Fraser

An accredited Geopolitical Journalist, Iain Fraser is a member of the NUJ, IFJ & ONA and has worked in Media since 1990. He is currently the Managing Editor of Geopoliticalmatters.com and Defenceandsecurityreview.com and interim CIO of the Argus News Group.

Map Image Credit: U.S. Energy Information Administration

EOD: INVENTOR Tests Device To Protect Against LAND MINES

2021-05-09T16:00:00.003+02:00

EOD: INVENTOR Tests Device To Protect Against LAND MINES

An inventor from Derbyshire is adapting vehicles to save the lives of all passengers if they were to come into contact with a land mine via Forces News

Intelligence Briefing A Thousand Hezbollahs: Iraq’s Emerging Militia State - Newlines Institute on DSR

2021-05-06T08:03:00.001+02:00

A Thousand Hezbollahs: Iraq’s Emerging Militia State - Newlines Institute

Posted By: PRChannel Team - Gibraltar

www.defenceandsecurityreview.com

Intelligence Briefing

This intelligence briefing provides extensive, never before reported details on how Iran-linked Iraqi militias are creating a new order to dominate a strategic region of the country that connects Iraq and Syria. Iranian-linked militia groups are taking advantage of the vacuum caused by the collapse of ISIS’s caliphate to begin building security, social, political, and economic structures to dominate this strategic area of Iraq.

■ The militias’ infiltration into police and security forces has allowed militias to control Iraqi citizens’ movements, trade, occupation, and other aspects of private life. Some factions threaten journalists, block roads to important commercial areas to hamper business, and even take scores of residents from villages to unknown locations.

■ Militias have used threats and acts of violence to get their preferred academics put in charge of some of the more important colleges in provinces where the militias are flourishing. They have also established schools that do not follow local or federal norms and rules.

■ Following the liberation of Mosul and the rest of Ninewa province from ISIS, the militias began manipulating land ownership to engage in demographic engineering. Agricultural lands in the Ninewa Plain area were distributed among the militias. These villages on the outskirts of Mosul were predominantly Christian. ISIS seized them in 2014. After security forces retook the villages, militias seized the lands in Bartella, Hamdaniya, and other areas, preventing many Christians from returning. Militia fighters from central and southern Iraq have registered as residents of Ninewa Plain and Mosul in order to legitimize the seizure of property there.

■ The Shiite religious endowments incorporated 17 religious sites and shrines in the old city in Mosul. When such moves were contested, Shiite militias sent a show of force to local authorities to establish ownership of Sunni sites and endowments.

■ The militias took control of more than 72 oil fields in the Qayyarah area south of Mosul that ISIS had previously controlled, and the factions pilfer around 100 tanker trucks of crude oil daily.

■ The militias make hundreds of thousands of dollars every day through extortion at illegal checkpoints they have set up across the country.

■ The militias demand protection money of $1,000 to $3,000 monthly on larger restaurants. Owners who fail to pay could have their restaurants blown up, and other parties, including the Iraqi army, would falsely attribute the explosion to ISIS.

■ Local and provincial politicians cooperate with some of the militias out of their own interests, courting the PMF for political and financial support.

■ Frictions have escalated among the militias: between the militias loyal to Iran and those loyal to the Iraqi shrines, and between the Shiite militias and the Sunni and tribal militias, who receive fewer positions of authority and less effective weaponry and equipment than their Shiite counterparts.

The conclusion of the counter-ISIS campaign, far from stabilizing Iraq, is creating the context for future conflict and disorder that will have regional consequences and create complications for the United States. A key unintended consequence of the U.S. move to effect regime change in Iraq is that the country fell into Iran’s geopolitical orbit. Tehran was able to place its political proxies – largely among elements of Iraq’s Shiite majority community – in the new political system built by the United States. However, the nascent state was going to be weak and thus insufficient for the Islamic Republic’s efforts to dominate its western neighbor. For this reason, Iran moved to cultivate Shiite militias as a key instrument through which it could transform a state that represented a threat into a one that is weak and subordinate to its wishes.

It was not until well after the 2011 U.S. military departure from the country, and really after ISIS was able to establish its caliphate in 2014, that the Iranian-aligned Iraqi Shiite militias became visible as a major force. Through the critical role it played in the dismantling of the ISIS caliphate in Iraq, the Shiite militia coalition known as the Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) established itself as a major force. By 2017, and as a consequence of its heavy involvement in the liberation of areas that had been taken over by ISIS, the Shiite militia alliance emerged as a power center rivaling Baghdad and a threat to human security in the country. Not only did these militias in an unprecedented manner seize control over largely Sunni areas of the country, but they also posed a major challenge to the writ of the Iraqi state.

In this briefing, we offer granular details of the extent to which Shiite militias have embedded themselves into the political economy of areas that they took from ISIS. While attempts to bring these militias within the fold of the Iraqi state have been unsuccessful, this report shows how these nonstate actors have become a parallel state by creating their own political economy, which is riddled with corruption. Additionally, these Shiite militias have coerced their way into Iraq’s national security apparatus and have been recipients of official state funds since the prime minister at the time, Haydar al-Abadi, moved in 2018 to try to incorporate them into the state security system. The writ of the federal government in Baghdad is being weakened in the process. The January 2020 U.S. decision to assassinate a top leader of the PMF, Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, along with the top Iranian commander, Maj. Gen. Qassem Soleimani – the architect of the Iran’s Iraqi Shiite proxy network – did strike a major blow to these militias but also emboldened them, and as a result they remain deeply rooted in the country.

These militias represent a major challenge for U.S. efforts to work with the Iraqi government and counter Iran’s influence in the country. More recently, these militias have also begun to threaten Turkish forces trying to project influence into northern Iraq. This report highlights how these Shiite Islamist armed nonstate actors are controlling key sectors beyond security, such as real estate, construction, infrastructure, and education. In this way, they are consolidating their grip in northwestern Iraq and are enabling Iran’s broader regional strategy extending through the Levant to the Mediterranean.

https://newlinesinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/Shia-Militia-Briefing-Newlines-Institute-1.pdf

About The Newlines Institute

The Newlines Institute for Strategy and Policy (formerly the Center for Global Policy) is a nonpartisan think tank in Washington D.C., working to enhance U.S. foreign policy based on a deep understanding of the geopolitics of the different regions of the world and their value systems. As political, territorial, and philosophical “lines” shift, so must our approach to grappling with them and developing new lines of thinking. The Institute was founded in 2019 by Dr. Ahmed Alwani, who serves as its president.

The Newlines Institute is a division of FXUA.

Image Credit: Voice of America

Russia-Ukraine War Alert: What’s Behind It and What Lies Ahead? Carnegie Moscow

2021-04-26T07:30:00.002+02:00

Russia-Ukraine War Alert: What’s Behind It and What Lies Ahead? Carnegie Moscow

By Dmitri Trenin via PRChannel Team - Defence & Security Review

www.DEFENCEandSecurityReview.com

Perhaps the most important thing for the Russian leadership in this episode was to prevent the

need to actually go to war against Ukraine in the future. Going overkill in terms of military

maneuvers on the Ukrainian border now may avoid the need to do terrible things at a later point.

The troops are not yet back at their bases, but the war alert along the Russo-Ukrainian border has passed. In fact, a war was never in the cards. Yet the alert, while it lasted, was profoundly disturbing. For the West, it highlighted the dangers of a large-scale direct clash between Russia and Ukraine. For Russia, which heretofore has dismissed the Donbas conflict as a civil war in Ukraine, it opened up the prospect of having to wage a real war against a large neighboring country. And for Ukraine, such a war might have been existential... Read More

About Carnegie Moscow Center

In an increasingly crowded, chaotic, and contested world and marketplace of ideas, the Carnegie Endowment offers decisionmakers global, independent, and strategic insight and innovative ideas that advance international peace. Learn More/...

Image Credit: Ministry of Defense of Ukraine Under CC

Defence 2.0 Britain to reduce troop sizes to focus on technology

2021-03-23T10:09:00.003+01:00

Defence 2.0 Britain to reduce troop sizes to focus on technology

By Iain Fraser - Managing Editor

Defence&SecurityReview.com

Defence Minister Ben Wallace has announced plans for the military brought about as part of Boris Johnson´s new foreign & defence policies. The report Global Britain in a competitive age - The Integrated Review of Security, Defence, Development and Foreign Policy

Britain is to reduce the size of the army from 76,500 to 72,500 by 2025 as part of a plan to concentrate on technology to go forward and fight the "threat of the future"

When the policy report details the UKs post-Brexit Foreign Policy and highlighted its Defence Policy Priorities all designed to ensure that the UK is “better-equipped for a more competitive world”.

The Defence Minister told Parliament that the armed forces must think and act differently, they will no longer be deployed as a force par se but become a more "present active force around the world"

Wallace said “The army’s increased deployability and technological advantage will mean that greater effect can be delivered by fewer people. I therefore have taken the decision to reduce the size of the army from today’s current strength of 76,500 trained personnel to 72,500 by 2025.” Learn More/...

Image Credit: US Air Force

Enlarging NATO’s toolbox to counter hybrid threats -NATO on GEO´

2021-03-19T07:57:00.012+01:00

Enlarging NATO’s toolbox to counter hybrid threats -NATO on GEO´
Posted By DSR PRChannel Team - Gibraltar (Remote)
www.Defence&SecurityReview.com

What is published in NATO Review does not constitute the official position or policy of NATO or member governments. NATO Review seeks to inform and promote debate on security issues. The views expressed by authors are their own.

Threats to stability and security are increasingly taking place in the “grey zone”, where state and non-state actors employ hybrid tactics, such as disinformation or cyber attack. How is NATO responding to these challenges?

Today’s security environment is increasingly complex. The times when peace, crisis and conflict were three distinct phases, when conflicts were fought largely with military means, and when adversaries were well known, are over. Cyber attacks are hitting nations below the threshold of a military attack. Social media campaigns create alternative realities that seek to destabilise political communities without a single soldier crossing a single border. And the “hybrid” combination of military and non-military instruments creates ambiguities that make NATO’s situational awareness and, consequently, consensual and speedy decision-making far more difficult.

For these reasons, countering hybrid threats is a top priority for NATO. Since adopting an Alliance strategy on countering hybrid warfare in 2015, Allies have consistently broadened NATO’s toolbox to respond to these threats. Learn More/...

By: Michael Rühle, Clare Roberts

BREXIT REALITY: UK deploys warships in Channel to deter EU fishermen

2021-01-04T08:26:00.021+01:00

BREXIT REALITY: UK deploys warships in Channel to deter EU fishermen

By Iain Fraser - Geopolitical Journalist Gibraltar (Remote)

www.DefenceandSecurityReview.com

The UK has embarked on a massive show of post-Brexit strength by assigning four warships to fisheries protection duties in what is seen as a "warning" to European fishing vessels over their "rights" to fish.

Before the final Brexit witching hour signalling the end of the Brexit transition process a flotilla of Royal Navy warships left Portsmouth sailing to the English Channel with a mission brief to protect the UKs Sovereign fishing grounds.

The convoy, led by the newly launched £100m HMS Trent together with HMS Tamar, HMS Tyne and HMS Mersey ... Read Full Story Log In | Register Free

GEOPOLITICS: Military Drones: Geopolitical Toys Or The Replacement For Boots On The Ground?

2020-06-22T10:46:00.002+02:00

GEOPOLITICS: Military Drones: Geopolitical Toys Or The Replacement For Boots On The Ground?By Jason Woodroofe - OWP via DefenceandSecurityReview.com/PR Channel
City of London Newsroom
Google Indexed at 08:44 on 220620

When one thinks of drones, images of an American MQ-9 Reaper drone flying over somewhere in the Middle East are often the first to appear in one’s mind. The reality is that the global market for defence drones is far wider-reaching. Last week I wrote about the Trump administration’s push to redesign its policy stance on the Missile Technology Control Regime (MTCR) in order to push U.S. drones to new customers.

The U.S. government is making this change to keep its defence industry competitive in a drone market increasingly flooded with foreign drones. Not just Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs) either, but unmanned tanks, submarines and robotics weapons are all becoming increasingly popular alternatives to sending soldiers into combat. In fact, according to a recent analysis by CSIS, land robots are being increasingly used by militaries for tasks such as firefighting, transportation, search and rescue, engineering and even combat. Is a new era of warfare on the horizon?

Money TalksOne of the clearest indications that drone defence technology is on the way to becoming an everyday reality in war is the amount of money pouring into the industry. The financial analysis website MarketsandMarkets estimates that the market for military robots is projected to grow from $16.79 billion U.S. in 2017, to $30.83 billion by 2022. Defence and aerospace analysis firm Teal Group estimates that worldwide research-and-development spending on UAV drones alone to rise from a projected $11.1 billion in 2020 to $14.3 billion by 2029 — nearly a 30 per cent increase. Financial giant Goldman Sachs goes further and estimates that wider drone-related technologies have already reached a total market size of approximately $60 billion between 2016 and 2020. Not all of this growth is from the U.S. companies such as Lockheed Martin, General Atomics and Northrop Grumman either. While these companies and other U.S. competitors initially dominated the drone market over the last two decades, newcomers from countries such as China, Israel, and India are starting to push into the market. Europe and the Asia-Pacific are the two drone markets expected to grow the most over the next decade according to MarketsandMarkets. Newcomers to the drone market, such as Turkish company Baykar Defence, are already making waves, with their drones being deployed with striking success in the Libyan conflict.

Drone Dominance?In Libya, so many drones have been deployed that UN special representative to Libya Ghassan Salame called it the “largest drone war in the world,” Al Jazeera news reports. While Chinese Wing Loong drones initially helped the LNA capture ground in the conflict, once Turkish Baykar drones were supplied to the UN-backed GNA, the tide has quickly turned the other way. The UN reports that over 1000 drone strikes have been conducted since UAVs appeared in the conflict in 2016. In 2016, the U.S. Navy launched the first of its new unmanned surface vehicles (USVs) as a part of an anti -submarine warfare program. “Sea Hunter,” the first completed USV of the project, is essentially a full-size unmanned warship, specifically designed to hunt submarines, reports CNBC. Seahunter cost approximately $35.5 million USD to construct but is expected to save as much as 30% in maintenance costs over 10 years due to being crewless. In Syria, unmanned robotics have been making moves on the ground as well. Russia has been battle testing it’s new Uran-9 robotic tank. However, the Uran-9 has reportedly been having widespread issues. Business Insider reported that the tank had issues maintaining its connection with the operator around buildings and firing its gun, as well as a range of other problems. Despite setbacks, it is easy to see the speed at which the drone and robotics industry has cemented its place on the modern battlefield, with drones already well integrated into warfare for roles such as surveillance and bomb disposal. Additionally, As drones are creating new spaces for warfare and geopolitical competition, a rush has begun to create cheaper and more cost-effective options. A market that was once dominated by the U.S. is now expanding as new companies and countries construct cheaper drone parts.

Cheap as Chips? While the idea of armed drones and the U.S. military were once synonymous, the U.S. is arguably being squeezed out of markets by new competitors. To construct the iconic MQ-9 Reaper it costs approximately US$15.9 million, according to Defence News. When we compare that price to the Wing Long ii drone made in China that costs a mere estimated U.S. one to two million, it is easy to see market competition occurring. China has been increasingly willing to push into markets that the U.S. has in the past been unwilling to touch due to concerns such as human rights abuses. However, the Trump administration’s approach to drone sales is rapidly changing. The Stockholm International Peace Research Institute, an NGO which tracks international arms sales, claims that U.S. drone maker General Atomics sold just 15 MQ-9s to other countries between 2008 and 2018. For comparison, China sold 163 large armed drones to 13 countries and Israel exported 167 units during the same period. In short, drones are getting cheaper because we are getting more efficient at building them and because the drone manufacturing industry is growing rapidly. While the U.S. once had market dominance of the industry and could charge a premium for the technology, China is proving drones can be literally as cheap as the chips they’re built from. However, when all modern drones and unmanned systems still fail to rival the likes of manned fighter aircraft, tanks and ships in terms of speed, armaments and range, why are we rushing to build more?

Why send a drone instead of a person?
The immediate answer to this question is that there’s no risk to life or limb by sending a robot into battle in the place of a soldier. However, this is just one of the many reasons that decision-makers favour drones and robotics in warfare. Let’s take the recent U.S.-Iranian tensions as an example. On June 20, 2019, the BBC reported that the U.S. military confirmed Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps had shot down a United States RQ-4A Global Hawk surveillance drone over the strait of Hormuz. Iran claimed the drone was in its airspace while the U.S. denied this and claimed it in international airspace, the usual story. While tensions remained high, the incident did not immediately escalate further as it might have if, say, Iran had killed or captured a U.S. pilot. The U.S. arguably has less political accountability or connection to a drone than a U.S. soldier. This is a doctrine the U.S. has been following for decades now in its drone war on terror, especially in countries the U.S. technically or legally shouldn’t be operating in. As politicians face increasing pressure at home to end foreign conflicts and the possible stream of body bags they could create, the robotic replacement looks increasingly favourable.

But is it really that smart?
Are drones really all they’re made out to be in both modernising the battlefield and saving soldiers lives? The short answer is no, and the longer answer is also no. Even as drones become cheaper, only a select club of rich countries remain eager and able to buy them. While drones lower the risk of losing soldiers in conflict, in doing so they then raise the potential benefits of engaging in conflict for decision-makers. If politicians can send drones to do the dirty work of what previously required soldiers, in an arguably less accountable way, why wouldn’t they? And this is the crux of the issue. Drones arguably encourage richer countries to engage in foreign warfare away from their borders. This, in turn, desensitises politicians to violence and the significance of resorting to violence in international relations. If no body bags come home, then the public doesn’t see the problem first-hand and won’t hold decision-makers accountable. Yet we forget that on the other end of the situation are civilians and homes and cities left to the mercy of drone technology. The U.S. war on terror is a prime example of the desensitization to drone violence. How many times in the past decades have we seen reports of civilian casualties in drone strikes, and yet the market keeps expanding. While drones and robotic technology do have a real potential to benefit the world, is warfare where that is going to happen? At the end of the day, we need to ask whose lives are we saving by replacing the pilot in the plane with a computer?

About AuthorJason Woodroofe - Communications Advisor at Volunteer Service Abroad/ The Asia Foundation is a recent BA graduate student who majored in Politics and Security Studies at Massey University. He is particularly interested in non-traditional security issues, human security and foreign policy among other topics. Until recently he was working as a volunteer communications advisor and researcher in Timor-Leste looking at local security and community policing.

AboutThe Organization for World Peace - [OWP] The Organization for World Peace (OWP) targets key issues such as war and international security with the aim of educating and challenging individuals as well as larger international institutions to think critically about peaceful solutions to complex issues plaguing society. The OWP aims to challenge the status quo of resorting to war and destruction both within the national and international space. Instead, the OWP proposes peaceful solutions to these complex issues. The OWP aims to restore the lives of individuals and families affected by conflict by helping them rebuild their lives and helping them reintegrate back into society. This way, victims of war such as internally displaced persons and former child soldiers have a chance to break out of the perpetual cycle of violence.

EUROPEAN DEFENCE NEWS: European Defence Fund - €205 million to boost the EU’s strategic autonomy and industrial competitiveness - Analysis

2020-06-17T14:46:00.000+02:00

European Defence Fund: €205 million to boost the EU’s strategic autonomy and industrial competitiveness - Analysis (CorporateDespatch.com)
By Iain Fraser - Associate Publisher, Defence & Security Review
Malaga City (Remote)

The European Commission has announced 16 pan-European defence industrial projects and three disruptive technology projects that will benefit from €205 million financing aimed at enhancing the EU’s strategic autonomy.

In a statement, the Commission said that the projects will support the development of European defence capabilities such as drones and related technologies (low-observable and tactical drones, detect and avoid system for military drones, edge computing platforms for drones), space technologies (Galileo military-grade encrypted receivers, military grade optical payload for small satellites, big data system for satellite surveillance), unmanned ground vehicles, high precision missile systems (BLOS – anti-tank missiles), future naval platforms, airborne electronic attack capability, tactical and highly secured networks, cyber situational awareness platforms, or next generation of active stealth technologies.

In total, 441 entities applied to EDIDP calls, contributing to 40 proposals. 223 entities from 16 proposals will be supported by EDIDP. These entities are based in 24 different EU Member States

For the first time such funding is supporting three projects dedicated to disruptive technologies through dedicated calls, designed to prepare the future EDF, which allocates up to 8% of its budget to disruptive actions. These are important to make sure Europe remains at the forefront of technological development.

AFRICA North-east Nigeria - Dozens more killed in suspected Boko Haram attack

2020-06-15T23:40:00.001+02:00

AFRICA North-east Nigeria - Dozens more killed in suspected Boko Haram attack
By Iain Fraser - DefenceandSecurityReview.com
City of London Newsroom Google Indexed at 12:56 on 100620

At least 69 people reported killed in a suspected jihadist attack in North-east Nigeria.

Fighters entered the small, remote village of Faduma Koloram, in Gubio local government area of Borno state, North-east Nigeria yesterday afternoon [Tuesday, 9th June 2020] at about noon [Local Time] killing dozens. The gunmen stormed the village in vehicles and on motorcycles, firing their AK-47s into the air, razed the village and stole an estimated 1,200 cattle and camels.

Borno State, Nigeria

But the livestock pales into insignificance compared to the needless loss of life, latest advice from Reuters is that 69 have been killed in what intelligence sources think is a reprisal attack. They have reported that the militants suspected villagers of sharing information about their movements to security forces, while AFP said "jihadist fighters had been killed by locals trying to protect livestock."

While no group has yet claimed the attack it bears all the hallmarks of Boko Haram or its offshoot which fights under the banner of the Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) who have both been responsible for many deadly attacks in the North-east of the Country.

The current UK Foreign Office Threat Assessment states that "Terrorists are very likely to try to carry out attacks in Nigeria. Attacks could be indiscriminate and could affect western interests, as well as places visited by tourists."

There is a continued threat from extremist groups operating in the region. "The al Qaeda-linked" terrorist group Jamaat al Ansar al Muslimeen fi Bilad al Sudan, better known as ANSARU, has previously carried out attacks and kidnappings, including that of westerners, across northern Nigeria.

The most recent attack was in mid-January 2020 when ANSARU claimed to have killed at least six people, kidnapped dozens, and destroyed several vehicles during an ambush along the Kaduna-Zaira highway in Kaduna State. At this point details remain unclear and fatality figures may rise."

The threat assessment concludes with this salutory note "Most attacks take place in Northern and North-east Nigeria; there has been an increase in insurgent attacks in Borno State."

Numerous terrorist attacks have been carried out against public buildings and security forces in the country in the last year. Since 2017, killings of civilians by armed groups have been reported in Cabo Delgado, leaving around 350 people dead and more than 150,000 others affected by the violence, according to rights group Amnesty International.

The Ongoing fight against Boko HaramThe group's decade-long insurgency has left thousands dead and displaced many more, however the fight against them continues with fervour. Only last week Special Forces soldiers from Mozambique carried out a two-day operation in northern Cabo Delgado region, according to Mozambique’s Interior Minister Amade Miquidade. The official line is "At least 50 terrorists [Boko Haram] were neutralized by Mozambican security forces in a two-day anti-terror operation

Who are Boko Haram?The Islamic State in West Africa or the Islamic State's West Africa Province, formerly known as Jamā'at Ahl as-Sunnah lid-Da'wah wa'l-Jihād which literally translated means "People Committed to the Propagation of the Prophet's Teachings and Jihad" but more commonly referred to as Boko Haram [so named by residents in the north-eastern city of Maiduguri, where the group had its headquarters] is a jihadist terrorist organisation based in North-east Nigeria and active in Chad, Niger and northern Cameroon. Boko originally meant fake but came to signify Western education, while Haram means forbidden, simply, "Western Education is Forbidden" Boko Haram promotes a version of Islam which makes it "Haram", or forbidden, for Muslims to take part in any political or social activity associated with Western society.

They came to global notoriety in 2014 when they abducted more than 270 schoolgirls in Chibok in Borno state. On the night of 14–15 April 2014, 276 female students were kidnapped from the Secondary School in the town. Boko Haram claimed responsibility for the kidnappings. 57 of the schoolgirls were rescued by Special Forces leaving 219 girls held captive. However there are hopes that the girls will be used as a bargaining chip in possible exchange for jailed Boko Haram fighters.

5 Essential facts about Boko Haram

Founded in 2002
Official Arabic name, Jama'atu Ahlis Sunna Lidda'awati wal-Jihad,
Initially focused on opposing Western education
Launched military operations in 2009 to create Islamic state
Designated a terrorist group by US in 2013

Boko Haram regards the Nigerian state as being run by non-believers, regardless of whether the president is Muslim or not - and it has extended its military campaign by targeting neighbouring states. The extremist Islamist group has caused havoc in Africa's most populous country through a wave of bombings, assassinations and abductions - It is fighting to overthrow the government and create an Islamic state. As recently as March 2020, its militants have ambushed and killed at least 47 Nigerian soldiers in the country's North-east, before killing almost 100 soldiers in Chad the following day.

More on Boko Haram by Iain Fraser
20022020 Feature: IS & Boko Haram - An Unholy Alliance!
17042019 GEO´_Insights™ - IS Unbeaten and Unabashed as they firm alliance with Boko Haram22112018 AFRICA - Boko Haram Jihadists kill 53 in three days

IRAN: Saudi Oil Tanker Attacks of Iranian Origin - US Weapons seizure confirms - Analysis

2020-06-15T22:30:00.000+02:00

IRAN: Saudi Oil Tanker Attacks of Iranian Origin - US Weapons seizure confirms - Analysis
By Iain Fraser - DefenceandSecurityReview.com
European News & Media Centre, Málaga City (Remote) Google Indexed at 12:49 hrs 150620

REUTERS: UN Report Links Iran To Attacks On Saudi Oil Tankers Weapons seized by the U.S. has concluded that they were of both of "Iranian Origin" and according to a trusted source "from the same batch" as those used in various missile attacks carried out by the Yemeni Houthi rebels on a mandate from Tehran on both Saudi Tankers & Infrastructure as well as the Abha International Airport attack injuring 26 civilians according to U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres in his latest report to the Security Council quoted by Reuters.

Reuters said it had seen the yet unpublished report delivered by the UN chief and that several items recovered in U.S. seizures of weapons and related material in November 2019 and February 2020 also came from Iran. The attacks knocked out half of the kingdom's crude production and fuelled a spike in oil prices. Saudi Arabia, as well as U.S., and European officials, have accused Iran of responsibility for the September 14 bombardment. The report would represent a change from the last assessment by Guterres in December 2019, when he said the United Nations at that point had been unable to confirm Iran's involvement in drone and cruise-missile attacks on two Saudi oil facilities.

Tehran immediately issued a vigorous rebuttal. In a statement carried by Iran's state media on June 12, the Foreign Ministry denied the allegations, saying they "appear to have been made under political pressure" from the United States and Saudi Arabia. The ministry noted that the report came "at a time when the United States is working to...extend an arms embargo against Iran."

DUBAI — Iran on Friday rejected a United Nations report that said cruise missiles used in attacks on oil facilities and an airport in Saudi Arabia last year were of "Iranian origin", saying it had been drawn up under U.S. and Saudi influence.

Though the report has yet to be made public, Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov reiterated Moscow’s view that the UN-imposed arms embargo that is due to expire in October "should not be extended." Iran on Wednesday called on Russia and China to resist a push by Washington to extend a U.N.-imposed arms embargo that is due to expire in October under Tehran's 2015 nuclear deal with six world powers.

U.S. President Donald Trump withdrew Washington from the deal in 2018 and his administration has been taking a harder line with the United Nations to extend and strengthen the embargo on Iran, saying lifting it would let Tehran acquire weapons that could fuel conflicts in the Middle East.

About Iain Fraser

Iain Fraser is a Geopolitical Journalist & Risk Analyst based in Malaga City, Spain. He is currently interim CIO at Argus News Group and Consultant Editor at GEOPoliticalMatters.com as well as being an authority contributor to various websites and magazines across the Defence, Cybercrime & European Political sectors. More at https://iainfraserjournalist.blogspot.com or on LinkedIn

AI IN DEFENCE: Artificial intelligence and humans have different risk tolerances when data is scarce - Analysis

2020-06-15T14:55:00.000+02:00

AI IN DEFENCE: Artificial intelligence and humans have different risk tolerances when data is scarce - Analysis
By Newsteam - DefenceandSecurityReview.com
City of London Newsroom (Remote)

Unexpected Findings in AI v Human Activity comparisons - Analysis
#AI #ArtificialIntelligence #MachineLearning #Defence #Technology

Recent findings by the US Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) has revealed that in a real comparison scenario where humans and AI were looking at enemy activity, Artificial Intelligence (AI) was actually more cautious than humans about its conclusions of possible outcomes, especially when data is limited, turning conventional thinking on its head.

Artificial intelligence and humans have different risk tolerances when data is scarce.

While the recent findings are being classified as "preliminary", they offer an important snapshot into how humans and AI will complement one another in critical defence and security scenarios. The DIAs technical director of Machine-Assisted Analytic Rapid-Repository System, [MARS] Terry Busch, revealed the experiments findings to Defenseone.com

The initial phase examined the use of available data to determine whether a particular ship was in U.S. waters. “Four analysts came up with four methodologies; and the machine came up with two different methodologies and that was cool. They all agreed that this particular ship was in the United States.” The conclusion is that Humans and machines using available data can reach similar conclusions.

The second phase tested a different methodology examining conviction. The question was, would humans and machines be equally certain in their conclusions if less data were available? For this phase, the test severed the connection to the Automatic Identification System, [AIS] which tracks ships worldwide.

Previous thinking had been that with less data availability, human analysis would be less certain in its conclusions but the DIA Research has found the complete opposite. “Once we began to take away sources, everyone was left with the same source material — which was numerous reports, generally social media, open source kinds of things, or references to the ship being in the United States — so everyone had access to the same data.

The difference was that AI and those responsible for the machine learning, took far less risk — in confidence — than the human analysis did. “The machine actually does a better job of lowering its confidence than the humans do…” The experiment provides a snapshot of how humans and AI will team for important analytical tasks, but it also highlights how human judgement can be clouded when pride is involved.