Air Force asks Dell Federal to upgrade trusted computing cybersecurity hardware in Air Force networks

July 1, 2019
The Air Force Cyberspace Vulnerability Assessment/Hunter system (CVA/H) handles cyber vulnerability assessments, threat detection, and compliance.

LACKLAND AIR FORCE BASE, Texas – U.S. Air Force trusted computing experts needed information security upgrades to the Air Force Information Network (AFIN). They found their solution from Dell Federal Systems LP in Round Rock, Texas.

Officials of the Air Force Installation Contracting Center, Lackland Air Force Base, Texas, announced a $35.8 million contract to Dell on Thursday for the Mobile Interceptor Platform and the Deployable Interceptor Platform.

These two systems are part of the Air Force Cyberspace Vulnerability Assessment/Hunter Weapon System (CVA/H), which reached full operational capability in February 2016 to handle cybersecurity, cyber vulnerability assessments, adversary threat detection, and compliance evaluations. The Air Force issues the CVA/H to its cyber protection teams. The contract calls for Dell to provide hardware refresh for cyber protection teams for defending against cyber threats.

The CVA/H weapon system consists of four primary components: the Mobile Interceptor Platform, the Deployable Interceptor Platform, the Garrison Interceptor Platform, and the Information Operations Platform-Fly Away Kit.

The CVA/H enables cyber teams to find, fix, track, target, engage, and assess advanced persistent cyber threats to Air Force missions on priority network enclaves within Air Force networks.

Related: Trends in trusted computing and network security in aerospace and defense embedded computing applications

The Air Force defines the AFIN as the globally interconnected, end-to-end set of Air Force information capabilities for collecting, processing, storing, and disseminating information on-demand.

It includes owned, leased and contracted communications, computer hardware, software, data, security services, and national security systems. The AFIN's users are warfighters, policy-makers, and support personnel.

The CVA/H provides a deployable, precision capability to identify, pursue, and mitigate cyberspace threats to critical network links and nodes, including in-depth assessment of computers, infrastructure, applications, data, and cyberspace operations. CVA/H officially was designated a weapon system by the Air Force chief of staff in March 2013.

On this contract Dell will do the work in San Antonio, Texas, and should be finished by 2019. For more information contact Dell Federal Systems online at www.dellemc.com, or the Air Force Installation Contracting Center at www.wpafb.af.mil/aficc.

About the Author

John Keller | Editor-in-Chief

John Keller is the Editor-in-Chief, Military & Aerospace Electronics Magazine--provides extensive coverage and analysis of enabling electronics and optoelectronic technologies in military, space and commercial aviation applications. John has been a member of the Military & Aerospace Electronics staff since 1989 and chief editor since 1995.

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