Stauder to improve USMC Android apps
US Marines using the MCH tablet on an exercise in August 2018. (Photo: USMC/Sgt Gloria Lepko)
Will unspecified ‘software enhancements’ for KILSWITCH and APASS address previously recognised cybersecurity issues?
The US Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division has awarded Stauder Technologies a $49.15 million IDIQ contract to develop and deliver unspecified software enhancements to the Joint Effects Coordination Link (JECL) family of digital interoperability software.
The company is expected to complete this work by January 2027 via a series of individual orders, the DoD announced on 14 January.
Stauder will also provide plugins for the Digital Precision Strike Suite (DPSS) family of software applications used by the DoD and FMS customers.
JECL and DPSS include the Digital Imagery Exploitation Engine for C2, the Kinetic Integrated Lightweight Software Individual Tactical Combat Handheld (KILSWITCH), Android Precision Assault Strike Suite (APASS), and the Marine Air-Ground Task Force Common Handheld (MCH) lightweight tablet communications device.
KILSWITCH is an Android app used by the USMC to improve situational awareness via Google Maps-style graphic displays, even without a server connection.
APASS (another Android app) works in a similar way to KILSWITCH by showing satellite imagery of surroundings, including objectives, mission goals, and the position of enemy and friendly forces.
Both APASS and KILSWITCH are designed to replace radios and hardcopy maps, but a USN Inspector General report (compiled in March 2018 but only released to the public nine months later) revealed potentially severe cyber vulnerabilities in live combat scenarios.
The report added that neither app was designed to be deployed in combat scenarios, noting that cybersecurity ‘was not a concern for the developers’ as they expected APASS and KILSWITCH to be used mainly for training purposes.
More from Digital Battlespace
-
![Curtiss-Wright unveils miniature telemetry unit for missile tests]()
Curtiss-Wright unveils miniature telemetry unit for missile tests
The MiTSPI nTTU-2600 is designed for use in SWaP-constrained applications such as missile tests.
-
![US Air National Guard adopts Scorpion HMD for F-16 pilots]()
US Air National Guard adopts Scorpion HMD for F-16 pilots
The Scorpion HMD will ultimately become ‘the common HMD’ solution for Air National Guard and USAF Reserve F-16 pilots, Thales claims.
-
![FAAD C2 demonstrates counter-drone interface]()
FAAD C2 demonstrates counter-drone interface
The Universal Command and Control interface, as used in a recent demonstration, forms part of a DoD initiative to create a universal language for situational awareness and C2.
-
![USAF raises contract ceiling for DB-110 reconnaissance pod]()
USAF raises contract ceiling for DB-110 reconnaissance pod
Major modification raises ceiling of DB-110 airborne ISR pod contract to beyond $1 billion.
-
![Parallax takes a view on cognitive systems engineering]()
Parallax takes a view on cognitive systems engineering
USAF picks Parallax Advanced Research to create software prototypes that improve analytic reasoning and insight from ‘complex and uncertain data in a variety of operational domains’.
-
![Northrop Grumman presses on with next-gen EW suite for F-16s]()
Northrop Grumman presses on with next-gen EW suite for F-16s
Northrop Grumman is integrating its AN/ALQ-257 Integrated Viper Electronic Warfare Suite aboard USAF F-16 fighter aircraft.
