JAMS: From Wheels up to Mission Ready
Universal Modular Inc. is proud to introduce JAMS, a fully accreditable SCIF that can be transported by air and deployed in 10 minutes or less.
A first-of-its-kind air-transportable SCIF that meets all ICD 705 requirements has finally arrived. In January 2025, Universal Modular Inc. (UMI) introduced the Joint Airlift Micro SCIF (JAMS) in partnership with Highland Engineering, Inc. (HEI).
“JAMS came as the end result of market demand and the need to have an air-transportable SCIF,” UMI President Zachary Stark explained. “We developed a product that doesn’t exist.”
This unique mobile SCIF (Sensitive Compartmented Information Facility) was converted from an EAC-90. The EAC-90 is HEI’s version of an ISU-90, a military shipping container that can be deployed quickly and has the same dimensions as a JAMS facility.
The original EAC-90 features an air-transportable container built on a pallet system designed to roll into a military transport aircraft and lock straight in. UMI leaned on its own acoustic, RF shielding, and ICD 705 expertise paired with HEI’s expert manufacturing capabilities—and verified the resulting performance with independent third parties—to unveil JAMS as a fully accreditable SCIF capable of achieving over 100dB of RF shielding and exceeding acoustic protection levels of sound transmission class (STC) 50.
In addition to providing the kind of performance that is unheard of with most temporary SCIFs, JAMS facilities are ATTLA-certified for air transport, weigh little compared to other container SCIFs, and can be operational in about 10 minutes.
What it looks like
When stowed, a JAMS facility is 108” by 88” by 90” and weighs under 4,400 pounds. At this weight, the facility can be easily moved using a small forklift, a feature that’s a “really important advantage” for transportability, Stark says.
Each JAMS facility has enough space inside to accommodate two small workstations totaling about 40 usable square feet—or enough room in which two people can work while seated on stools. A mini split HVAC and the necessary wiring for data and communications are among its many features.
Once inside, those working within the facility will notice that the white noise typically heard within other temporary SCIFs is missing. This is because JAMS facilities achieve STC levels over 50 without the use of sound masking—another rare achievement.
The project’s original goals
When a temporary SCIF is needed, the solution is often to set up a makeshift tent-like facility with some levels of protection, like sound masking and a 24-hour armed guard, in place. But unlike JAMS, these facilities don’t have any real acoustic or RF protection.
With JAMS, UMI aspired to transform container SCIFs into the kind of high performance facilities that would meet 100dB of RF shielding and a sound protection level of STC 50. The project exceeded both goals.
Complete TEMPEST mitigations
Tent-like temporary SCIFs often fall short of the government-provided SCIF security requirements spelled out in the Intelligence Community Directive (ICD) 705. JAMS facilities meet or exceed all ICD 705 requirements, which cover the SCIF’s physical, acoustic, and emanation security, as well as its visual controls, access control systems, and intrusion detection systems.
TEMPEST requirements can be tricky for temporary SCIFs to meet—but not JAMS. TEMPEST, the term used to reference the investigation, research, and control of potentially compromising emanations that come from electronic devices, includes RF shielding. The amount of RF shielding a modular SCIF requires varies from one project to the next. However, JAMS facilities are able to achieve RF protection levels of 100dB—a very difficult level to reach—in a range from 10 KHz to 18 GHz.
In addition to providing emanation protection levels that exceed all military standard RF shielding requirements, JAMS facilities provide additional TEMPEST mitigations, including power filtering and a fiber waveguide pass-through.
High acoustic protection levels are also tricky for mobile SCIFs to meet. While some temporary facilities are able to hit STC 50 levels, most SCIF air vent ducts don’t perform at that level. However, JAMS facilities are able to achieve this high acoustic performance level without additional sound masking.
Why JAMS?
When the U.S. Department of Defense deploys mobile SCIFs at forward operating sites, these temporary facilities are often used in the discussion and processing of classified data. With our enemies growing more sophisticated, there is a rising need for fully accreditable SCIFs that can be easily transported by air.
“The need to actually protect in forward operating positions has been there for a long time; there just hasn’t been a good solution,” Stark said. “This is that solution for them to be able to adequately protect classified data.”
To learn more about JAMS or get started on a quote, reach out to us.