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Alion Awarded Task Order for Spectrum Management Research and Analysis for Air Force AFSMO; Alan Dietrich Quoted
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Alion Awarded Task Order for Spectrum Management Research and Analysis for Air Force AFSMO; Alan Dietrich Quoted

Alion Science and Technology has received a potential five-year, $18 million task order, under the Department of Defense Information Analysis Center's (DoD IAC) multiple-award contract (MAC) vehicle, to provide Spectrum Management Research and Analysis for the Air Force Spectrum Management Office (AFSMO).

"Alion will continue to support this key customer with a team of recognized subject matter experts in spectrum research, analysis and management. We will continue to excel the mission of AFSMO by developing tools and providing advanced technologies to address spectrum issues critical to AF spectrum-dependent weapons systems and platforms," said Alan Dietrich, senior vice president and general manager of Alion's ISR Group. 

Alion will perform scientific and technical support related to AFSMO spectrum management issues for presentation to spectrum bodies within international organizations. 

Work under the task order will include technical and analytical spectrum research, analysis, and assessments pertaining to national and international spectrum issues to meet the AFSMO mission of ensuring the AF's global access to the spectrum. 

Alion will also provide strategic planning, integrated spectrum plans, and long-term strategies addressing current and future AF spectrum access requirements and provide scientific and technical support for AFSMO policy development as well as international, national, civil, and military (North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), allied, and coalition) forums.

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FTC’s Lina Khan Responds to Senator’s Queries Over Vertical Deals in Defense Sector
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FTC’s Lina Khan Responds to Senator’s Queries Over Vertical Deals in Defense Sector

Lina Khan, chair of the Federal Trade Commission (FTC), responded to a letter by Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., with regard to the lawmaker’s questions over FTC’s analysis of vertical mergers in the defense industry. Khan shared her views on the use of behavioral and structural remedies in vertical deals to protect competition in the industry.

“While structural remedies generally have a stronger track record than behavioral remedies, studies show that divestitures, too, may prove inadequate in the face of an unlawful merger,” Khan wrote in the Aug. 6th letter to the senator. “In light of this, I believe the antitrust agencies should more frequently consider opposing problematic deals outright.”

Khan answered several questions, including the consultative role the Department of Defense (DOD) plays in the commission’s review of proposed defense deals under the Hart-Scott-Rodino Act, transactions that have been subjected to behavioral remedies since 2000 and mechanisms FTC uses to select monitors to ensure that parties meet the requirements of a behavioral remedy.

The FTC chair also noted that she is skeptical that behavioral remedies are enough to keep a vertical merger from harming competition.

“This is especially true for vertical mergers involving large firms with substantial market power at one or more levels of the supply chain. The larger the market share, the higher the risk that a vertical merger will result in a reduction of competition post-merger,” Khan said.

“For that reason, I prefer structural remedies that prevent the harmful integration of assets, or would support the Commission moving to block the merger altogether,” she added.

Warren said she believes Congress and FTC should launch major antitrust reforms to safeguard national security and reduce costs for U.S. taxpayers.

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John Costello Joins National Cyber Director Office as Chief of Staff
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John Costello Joins National Cyber Director Office as Chief of Staff

John Costello, former deputy executive director of the congressionally chartered Cyberspace Solarium Commission (CSC), has assumed the chief of staff role at the Office of the National Cyber Director (NCD), MeriTalk reported Friday.

He works in the office created by the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) for Fiscal Year 2021 and led by National Cyber Director Chris Inglis, who is responsible for coordinating policies meant to bolster the security of federal information systems and serves as a point of contact between the White House and Congress on cybersecurity matters.

Costello has served as an adjunct senior fellow at the Center for a New American Security's technology and national security program since February and held a short stint as a senior adviser at Washington, D.C.-based consulting firm WestExec Advisors.

His government experience also includes time as deputy assistant secretary of intelligence and security at the Department of Commerce, director of strategy, policy and plans at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), operations officer at the National Security Agency (NSA) and congressional innovation fellow at the House Oversight Committee.

A former enlisted U.S. Navy sailor, Costello also worked as the service branch's cryptologic linguist.

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DHS Seeks to Advance Assessment of Industry Compliance With Cyber Hygiene Requirements
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DHS Seeks to Advance Assessment of Industry Compliance With Cyber Hygiene Requirements

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is carrying out a pathfinder assessment to chart a course forward as it works to further advance the process of evaluating vendors’ compliance with cyber hygiene requirements.

“Our end goal is to have a means of ensuring a contractor has key cybersecurity and cyber hygiene practices in place as a condition for contract award,” DHS said in a notice posted Tuesday on the SAM website.

In 2015, the department required contractors to comply with certain cyber protections and standards by integrating cyber hygiene clauses into agreements and contracts. DHS said it will gather information from the pathfinder initiative and will share the next steps once the effort is completed.

The department noted that it is also tracking the Pentagon’s implementation of the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC) program to identify best practices and lessons learned that could be considered as DHS advances its process.

Supply Chain Cybersecurity: Revelations and Innovations

ExecutiveBiz, sister site of GovConDaily and part of the Executive Mosaic digital media umbrella, will host a virtual event about securing the supply chain on Oct. 26. Visit ExecutiveBiz.com to sign up for the “Supply Chain Cybersecurity: Revelations and Innovations” event.

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Lt. Gen. Michael Guetlein to Lead USSF’s New Space Systems Command
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Lt. Gen. Michael Guetlein to Lead USSF’s New Space Systems Command

Lt. Gen. Michael Guetlein, formerly the National Reconnaissance Office’s deputy director, has assumed leadership of Space Systems Command, which will gather and develop space technologies that support the Pentagon’s National Defense Strategy.

SSC, which serves as the U. S. Space Force’s second field command, will launch, produce, maintain and test the service branch’s space systems, USSF said Friday.

The command will also perform on-orbit checkout for these systems and oversee the Space Force’s science and technology projects. USSF’s Space and Missile Systems Center, formerly part of the U.S. Air Force, will function as SSC’s core.

“Space Systems Command is about continuing the culture shift away from being service providers to being warfighters and defending our way of life from, through and in space,” said Guetlein, who was promoted to a three-star military officer on Friday.

He will lead a 10,000-man workforce of both military and civilian personnel and oversee 85 percent of the Department of Defense’s $11 billion space budget. Guetlein helped manage NRO’s tactical and strategic operations and led the agency’s Space Force-related activities in his former role.

Lt. Gen. Michael Guetlein to Lead USSF's New Space Systems Command

If you’re interested in learning more about the military’s space goals, check out GovConWire’s Space Acquisition Forum on Sept. 14th. Register here.

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Oak Ridge National Lab Develops Modeling Tool to Support Urban Planning of Buildings; Joshua New Quoted
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Oak Ridge National Lab Develops Modeling Tool to Support Urban Planning of Buildings; Joshua New Quoted

The Department of Energy's Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) has made a modeling software suite designed to provide details on every building within the U.S. and support the creation of digital twins that represent these buildings.

Automatic Building Energy Modeling or AutoBEM can use publicly available data to help urban planners identify areas that require an update, ORNL said Wednesday.

AutoBEM uses satellite imagery and other public data sources to provide information on a building's size, energy makeup and other externally observable characteristics such as floor count, window count and heating, ventilation and cooling systems.

Joshua New leads ORNL’s research team, which publicly released the AutoBEM models earlier in 2021.

“To build AutoBEM, we looked at many of the available data sources and created partnerships with the people that are in the business of generating this data, like satellite, aerial and street view imagery, LiDAR data and other types of databases,” New said.

DOE expects the tool would help buildings contribute to the department's goal of achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2050, as buildings represent 40 percent of U.S. energy consumption.

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Army, NGA Leaders Discuss Collaboration to Bring GEOINT Data to Future Military Operations
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Army, NGA Leaders Discuss Collaboration to Bring GEOINT Data to Future Military Operations

Officials from the U.S. Army and the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA) highlighted collaborative efforts to get GEOINT data and imagery into the hands of military personnel for use in their future missions.

Army Geospatial Center Director Gary Blohm and Maj. Gen. Charlie Cleveland, associate director of operations at NGA, were among the participants in the U.S. Geospatial Intelligence Foundation's virtual event held Wednesday, the Army Futures Command said Friday.

“As we look to where the Army is going in the future, with Multi-Domain Operations and everything else, we think Army Futures Command is really a place where we need to be further tied in, and we want to continue to work very, very closely with the Army Futures Command,” said Maj. Gen. Charlie Cleveland, associate director of operations at NGA.

Blohm said that the center is working with the private sector in efforts to help decision-makers access geospatial information at the tactical edge.

The branch awarded Leidos a four-year, $600 million contract in early August to provide operation and technology integration support to AGC’s High-Resolution Three Dimensional Geospatial Information program.

At the USGIF event, Cleveland noted that NGA wants to continue working closely with Army Futures Command as the service is aiming to realize the multidomain operations concept.

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DOE Awards $83M to Building Energy Efficiency Projects; Secretary Jennifer Granholm Quoted
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DOE Awards $83M to Building Energy Efficiency Projects; Secretary Jennifer Granholm Quoted

The Department of Energy (DOE) has selected 44 projects to receive $82.6 million in total funds to pursue energy efficiency innovations in building materials, lighting, heating and cooling systems. DOE said Friday that the grants will also support training, education and technical programs for the domestic energy efficiency sector.

Among the awardees are North Dakota State University, which will focus on a material that can efficiently absorb thermal energy, and the New Jersey Institute of Technology, which will prototype a residential wall retrofit that can achieve over 30 percent heating and cooling energy savings.

Wilmington, Delaware-based Baryon will develop an air-conditioning unit that employs evaporative cooling and dehumidification methods while Sidney, Ohio-based Emerson Commercial and Residential Solutions will design a refrigerated supermarket display case.

The Atlanta-based Southeast Energy Efficiency Alliance will produce materials needed to train workers and educate consumers about the advantages of using electrified building systems.

“Americans spend about $100 billion every year on wasted energy from buildings, heating and cooling units, and more – increasing energy bills and needless emissions that dirty our air and worsen the climate crisis,” said Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm.

“By pursuing advancements that make both existing and newly constructed buildings more energy-efficient, we can save consumers money and reduce the climate impacts of the places we live and work.”

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Lt. Gen. James Richardson: Army to Evaluate Joint Interoperability Tools, Methods During 2021 Project Convergence
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Lt. Gen. James Richardson: Army to Evaluate Joint Interoperability Tools, Methods During 2021 Project Convergence

Lt. Gen. James Richardson, deputy commanding general of Army Futures Command (AFC), said a service-led exercise slated to take place in the fourth quarter will focus on assessing new processes and technology platforms for joint interoperability.

He expects more than 6,000 military personnel and industry representatives to join Project Convergence 21 in October and November to demonstrate sensor-to-shooter systems, Army Futures Command said Friday.

"The end result of Project Convergence really is to inform, and that is to inform the Joint warfighting concept; to inform the four functional concepts; to inform how the Army is going to organize, and how the Army is going to fight,” Richardson told an audience at the 24th Annual Space and Missile Defense Symposium.

The campaign's inaugural series of learning experiments tested military tactics for the Department of Defense's Joint All-Domain Command and Control strategy in a push to meet multidomain operation goals by 2028.

Lt. Gen. James Richardson: Army to Evaluate Joint Interoperability Tools, Methods During 2021 Project Convergence

Warfighting technology modernization and C4ISR initiatives were the focal points of Aug. 12 discussions at The Potomac Officers Club's 6th Annual Army Forum. Visit the POC website to rewatch the virtual forum and register for the upcoming event, “Building the Future Battle: The Keys to JADC2.”

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AFRL to Fund High-Power Microwave Tech Projects; Robert Torres Quoted
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AFRL to Fund High-Power Microwave Tech Projects; Robert Torres Quoted

The Air Force Research Laboratory will invest $10 million in projects that aim to develop components of high-power microwave weapon systems.

AFRL said Friday it specifically seeks compact, high-gain antennas and solid-state switches for use in effects research and high-repetition-rate pulsed power, respectively.

The laboratory's directed energy directorate announced the funds, which will support awards made under the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program. Robert Torres, senior strategist at AFRL, will lead a team of subject matter experts to manage the investment.

“Each topic will consist of 16 Phase I awards of $150,000 each for a nine-month period,” Torres said. He added the team will downselect eight projects for 18-month SBIR Phase II awards worth $1 million each.

“This money is intended to stimulate the defense industrial base for high power microwave electronics,” said Dr. Don Shiffler, the chief scientist of AFRL's directed energy directorate. Shiffler added that they hope businesses from New Mexico will submit proposals for the awards.

AFRL expects SBIR to call for entries in January 2022 and begin issuing the awards in April that same year.

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