17 companies to develop anti-tamper enabling technologies in microprocessors, cryptography, and sensors
WRIGHT-PATTERSON AFB, Ohio – U.S. Air Force information security experts are hiring 17 defense technology companies to provide anti-tamper technologies that will help prevent enemies from reverse-engineering computers and other electronics to discover their secrets.
Officials of the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, announced contracts collectively worth $499 million on Wednesday to design and build production-ready anti-tamper enabling technologies for a broad range of U.S. military programs.
These kinds of electronics anti-tamper solutions in microprocessors, sensors, and cryptography will help protect critical program information from adversarial tamper efforts, Air Force researchers say.
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Companies chosen are:
-- Battelle Memorial Institute in Columbus, Ohio;
-- the Boeing Co. Defense, Space & Security segment in St. Louis;
-- the Charles Stark Draper Laboratory in Cambridge, Mass;
-- Chip Scan Inc. in Rockaway Beach, N.Y.;
-- the General Dynamics Corp. Mission Systems segment in Dedham, Mass.;
-- GE Aerospace in Grand Rapids, Mich.;
-- Honeywell International in Clearwater, Fla.;
-- Idaho Scientific LLC in Boise, Idaho;
-- Kratos Defense in San Diego;
-- L3Harris Technologies in Palm Bay, Fla.;
-- Lockheed Martin Corp. in Orlando, Fla.;
-- Mercury Systems Inc. in Andover, Mass.;
-- Microsemi SOC Corp. in San Jose, Calif.;
-- the Northrop Grumman Corp. Mission Systems segment in Linthicum Heights, Md.;
-- Radiance Technologies Inc. in Huntsville, Ala.;
-- Raytheon Technologies Corp. (RTX) Raytheon segment in McKinney, Texas; and
-- Sabre Systems Inc. in Warminster, Pa.
This program is to develop anti-tamper enabling technologies to protect U.S. weapons and military systems from attempts at reverse-engineering. The program chose 17 of 20 companies bidding.
The program will procure and develop anti-tamper solutions in secure processing; volume protection and sensors; and protecting systems with cryptography.
The objective is to deter, prevent, delay, or respond to reverse-engineering attempts that may compromise critical program information, and prevent adversary countermeasure development, unintended technology transfer, or alteration of a system due to reverse-engineering.
The purpose is to obtain contractor support from large and small businesses in developing unique anti-tamper technologies, integrated anti-tamper technologies.
Secure processing will develop products and technologies to establish and maintain secure processing in single-board computers, custom microelectronics, commercial microelectronics, or modified commercial processing devices, and to extend security from one device to another related to physical hardware, intellectual property (IP), or software that manages security.
This will involve a secure physical boundary around critical components in products to prevent non-privileged users from gaining access to the critical components or information in line-replaceable units (LRUs) and shop-replaceable units (SRUs).
Cryptographic protection, meanwhile, will protect critical information in products and technology through encrypted algorithms, cryptographic key-generating methods, key storage products, or ways to discourage an adversary from gaining access to key material.
On this contract the 17 companies will do the work in the continental U.S., and should be finished by February 2030. For more information contact the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center online at www.aflcmc.af.mil.
John Keller | Editor
John Keller is editor-in-chief of Military & Aerospace Electronics magazine, which provides extensive coverage and analysis of enabling electronic and optoelectronic technologies in military, space, and commercial aviation applications. A member of the Military & Aerospace Electronics staff since the magazine's founding in 1989, Mr. Keller took over as chief editor in 1995.
