Raytheon is modernizing the U.S. Air Force's Air and Space Operations Center Weapon System, or AOC WS, over the next six years.

The contract, issued by the U.S. Air Force Materiel Command, will update the existing AOC WS baseline software, as well as developing and deploying new software upgrades to enhance air and space command and control operations at a cost of up to $375 million.

"Raytheon will use our unmatched cyber, automation and analytics expertise to modernize the Air Force's weapons system, providing an advantage in everything from security to actionable insight in the digital battlespace," Dave Wajsgras, president of Raytheon Intelligence, Information and Services, said in a press release.

Operating at 22 locations worldwide, Air and Space Operations Centers use the AOC WS for strategic command-and-control of aircraft.

Raytheon will perform the modernization using a sustainment approach to improve systems incrementally without interruption of critical missions, the company said.

Raytheon said it is hiring new employees for the work, with plans to base the development team in Hampton, Va.

U.S. Air Force seeks hackers to test the security of its web portals
Washington (UPI) Apr 27, 2017 - Vetted cyber-security experts are being invited by the U.S. Air Force to join an initiative to hack the service's key public websites.

The initiative, part of the Cyber Secure campaign sponsored by the Air Force's chief information officer, will feature a contest from May 30 to June 23 in which approved "white hat" hackers will try to penetrate the sites to expose vulnerabilities.

In addition to U.S. citizens, nationals from Britain, Canada, Australia and New Zealand are eligible to participate.

"This is the first time the AF has opened up our networks to such a broad scrutiny," Peter Kim, the Air Force's chief information security officer, said in a press release. "We have malicious hackers trying to get into our systems every day. It will be nice to have friendly hackers taking a shot and, most importantly, showing us how to improve our cyber-security and defense posture."

"The additional participation from our partner nations greatly widens the variety of experience available to find additional unique vulnerabilities."

The event expands on the Department of Defense's "Hack the Pentagon" bug bounty program, officials said.

Those interested in participating can register at the website for HackerOne, the security consulting firm running the contest.

"This outside approach -- drawing on the talent and expertise of our citizens and partner-nation citizens -- in identifying our security vulnerabilities will help bolster our cybersecurity," said U.S. Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David L. Goldfein. "We already aggressively conduct exercises and 'red team' our public facing and critical websites. But this next step throws open the doors and brings additional talent onto our cyber team."

Tweet

France orders new armored vehicles from Nexter, Renault, Thales
Washington (UPI) Apr 25, 2017
French companies Nexter, Renault Trucks Defense and Thales are to produce more than 300 newly designed armored vehicles for the French military, the companies announced on Monday. The platforms are the Griffon, a 6x6 multi-role personnel carrier, and the 6x6 Jaguar, which is armed with a 40mm gun and anti-tank missiles. The Griffon is expected to replace VAB Hot personnel carrier ... read more

Related Links
The latest in Military Technology for the 21st century at SpaceWar.com

Thanks for being here; We need your help. The SpaceDaily news network continues to grow but revenues have never been harder to maintain. With the rise of Ad Blockers, and Facebook - our traditional revenue sources via quality network advertising continues to decline. And unlike so many other news sites, we don't have a paywall - with those annoying usernames and passwords. Our news coverage takes time and effort to publish 365 days a year. If you find our news sites informative and useful then please consider becoming a regular supporter or for now make a one off contribution.
SpaceDaily Contributor $5 Billed Once credit card or paypal		SpaceDaily Monthly Supporter $5 Billed Monthly paypal only