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Orbital Insight to Work on Computer Vision Model for Detecting Novel Objects Under NGA’s Phase II SBIR Contract
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Orbital Insight to Work on Computer Vision Model for Detecting Novel Objects Under NGA’s Phase II SBIR Contract

Orbital Insight and its partners will work on a computer vision model to make it capable of detecting novel objects in support of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency.

The company said Thursday that it secured a phase two contract under the Small Business Innovation Research program, under which it will collaborate with Rendered.ai and the University of California, Berkeley on the use of both synthetic and real imagery to train object detection models. 

The initiative is aimed at developing enhanced training approaches when utilizing mixed training data. The company completed a Phase I collaboration with NGA that led to the award of the Phase II SBIR contract.

“There is an influx in imagery and data that humans can’t analyze with eyesight alone. While our national security relies on this data, computer vision can help provide the right answers,” said Kevin O’Brien, CEO of Orbital Insight.

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Senate Bill Calls for VA EHR Modernization Transparency
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Senate Bill Calls for VA EHR Modernization Transparency

Two senators have introduced a bill that would require the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to submit electronic health record modernization project reports to Congress on a periodic basis.

Sens. Jerry Moran, R-Kan., and Jon Tester, D-Mont., sponsored the VA Electronic Health Record Transparency Act to mandate transparency and accountability from the department on its ongoing project, the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee said Tuesday.

Under the proposed bill, the VA secretary must periodically give updates on how much money is being spent on the program along with performance and outcome metrics.

The Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee leaders took legislative action after the department’s inspector general office raised concerns over cost estimation and reporting problems with the EHR upgrade effort.

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CACI Expands Space Market Offerings With Completion of SA Photonics Buy; John Mengucci Quoted
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CACI Expands Space Market Offerings With Completion of SA Photonics Buy; John Mengucci Quoted

CACI International has completed its acquisition of SA Photonics, a Los Gatos, California-based developer of photonics technologies.

The purchase, which was initially announced in early Nov. 2021, expands CACI’s existing photonics portfolio and broadens the enterprise’s offerings in the proliferated low-earth-orbit market, CACI said Thursday.

“Together, our combined transformative technology and advanced manufacturing enables us to deliver innovation in laser communications for customers ranging from national security to human spaceflight and across all domains,” said two-time Wash100 Award recipient John Mengucci, CEO and president of CACI.

CACI’s recently closed deal aligns with the company’s space market expansion efforts, outlined by Mengucci in an Executive Spotlight interview earlier this year. “We have significant work related to space, and it’s very much a top priority for us to build upon that momentum to offer robust technologies to our customers in all areas of the space domain,” he commented.

SA Photonics’ optical inter satellite links technology and rapid data transmitting IP technology complement CACI’s capabilities across FSO communications, LiDAR sensing and photonic product development, delivering enhanced photonics capabilities to space, airborne and terrestrial missions in the government and commercial sectors.

The transaction follows CACI’s recent contract awards, including its win of all ten pools on the GSA’s ASTRO contract, and its previous acquisition of two mission technology companies, reported in the first quarter of CACI’s 2022 fiscal year.

Gibson, Dunn & Crutcher served as legal counsel to CACI, while Jefferies LLC and King & Spalding LLP served as financial advisor and legal advisor, respectively, to SA Photonics.

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Michael LaRouche: SAIC’s Rugged Apps to Secure Commercial Mobile Applications for Government Use
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Michael LaRouche: SAIC’s Rugged Apps to Secure Commercial Mobile Applications for Government Use

Science Applications International Corporation has launched its mobile application security and software scanning offering for government customers, Rugged Apps.

SAIC said Thursday its Rugged Apps offering fortifies mobile applications, protects against cyber attacks and meets strict National Information Assurance Partnership requirements for federal agencies.

Wash100 Award winner Michael LaRouche, president of SAIC’s national security and space sector, said that while government agencies want to use popular mobile applications for their missions, many of these commercial apps contain vulnerabilities and pose cybersecurity threats.

“Rugged Apps offers SAIC’s innovative scanning and testing services for these popular applications, enabling the demonstration of meeting the government’s rigorous security requirements,” LaRouche explained. “After commercial apps are ruggedized, they can be securely used by the military, federal agencies and state governments.”

The first Rugged Apps application available for use, Avenza Maps Pro, provides secure geographic information capabilities for governments, individuals, organizations and academic institutions.

SAIC’s launch follows its inaugural Rugged Apps Mobile Challenge contest in November, during which commercial app developers demonstrated mobile products featuring requirements such as end-to-end encryption, secure group chat and multi-mode communications. SAIC is planning additional app development competitions in 2022.

The launch also builds on SAIC’s recent third quarter fiscal year 2022 financial results, which reported a four percent increase in revenue.

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Navy Preps Block 2 Solicitation for ‘COBRA’ Mine Detection Tech Program
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Navy Preps Block 2 Solicitation for ‘COBRA’ Mine Detection Tech Program

The U.S. Navy has indicated its intent to solicit proposals in the second quarter of fiscal year 2022 for the development of a new version of the service branch’s Coastal Battlefield Reconnaissance and Analysis (COBRA) sensor technology.

A presolicitation notice posted on SAM.gov states the Naval Sea Systems Command is eyeing small businesses to produce up to three engineering and manufacturing development models and five low-rate initial production units of the COBRA Block II system.

COBRA Block II systems will be built to locate mine-like objects, minefields, mine lines and obstacles in the surf and beach zones, very shallow waters, shallow waters and deep waters during aerial reconnaissance missions over the littoral battlespace.

NAVSEA said it will accept feedback on the upcoming small business set-aside procurement program through Jan. 14th.

California-based remote sensing company Arete Associates, the prime contractor on the Block I LRIP effort, received a potential $92.9 million indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for engineering support services.

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Senate OKs $778B National Defense Authorization Act for FY 2022
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Senate OKs $778B National Defense Authorization Act for FY 2022

The Senate on Wednesday approved a $778 billion defense policy bill for fiscal year 2022 in an 88-11 vote, The Wall Street Journal reported.

The FY 2022 National Defense Authorization Act includes $27.3 billion for shipbuilding programs, $13.3 billion for military construction projects and a 2.7 percent pay increase for soldiers and civilian defense employees.

The NDAA reflects a 5 percent jump from the previous fiscal year’s defense policy measure and includes $300 million to deliver equipment and training support to Ukraine’s armed forces amid of a potential Russian invasion.

The bill introduces reforms to the military justice system and establishes an independent commission composed of 16 members tasked with investigating the two-decade Afghanistan war.

The FY 2022 NDAA had been delayed in the upper chamber by a number of proposed amendments, including the incorporation of a language from a bill that would prohibit products made by Uyghur Muslims through forced labor from reaching the U.S. market. The House on Tuesday approved a compromise version of the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act after the lower chamber reached a bipartisan deal with the Senate, which is expected to pass the measure this week.

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Senate Panel Passes Federal Secure Cloud Improvement and Jobs Act
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Senate Panel Passes Federal Secure Cloud Improvement and Jobs Act

The Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee has approved a bipartisan bill that would improve and authorize the Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program for five years to help speed up the approval process for cloud service offerings and accelerate adoption of such platforms by federal agencies.

The Federal Secure Cloud Improvement and Jobs Act would create metrics to help improve FedRAMP implementation and establish a new advisory committee to enhance communications between cloud service providers and federal agencies, the Senate panel said Wednesday.

Sens. Gary Peters, D-Mich., and Josh Hawley, R-Mo., co-authorized the measure with Sens. Maggie Hassan, D-N.H., Steve Daines, R-Mont., and Rob Portman, R-Ohio.

The legislation “will modernize and expedite the process by which agencies can receive approval to securely use cloud technologies, create good-paying jobs, and incentivize cloud companies to create more effective products,” said Peters.

“This bipartisan bill would streamline the approval process for cloud computing products, which will help speed up our IT modernization efforts and strengthen our overall cybersecurity capabilities,” Hassan said.

IRS Rewords Virtual Currency Query in Tax Form
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IRS Rewords Virtual Currency Query in Tax Form

The Internal Revenue Service has updated a question about cryptocurrency transactions in the agency’s official document for the 2021 tax season as more individuals are becoming interested in putting their money into such digital assets, CNBC reported Wednesday.

Shehan Chandrasekera, head of tax strategy at crypto portfolio monitoring tool provider CoinTracker, said the Form 1040 query for virtual currency investors included non-taxable holdings and the agency changed wording in the new paper to state only taxable transactions.

A May report by the Department of the Treasury stated that the crypto market capitalization hit $2 trillion and digital currencies pose tax evasion risk.

“Every year, there’s a new wave of people coming into crypto who think it’s not taxed,” Chandrasekera told CNBC.

Some industry representatives told House Financial Services Committee members at a meeting earlier this month that Congress should produce clearer and bespoke crypto regulations.

IRS Rewords Virtual Currency Query in Tax Form

On Jan. 27, the Potomac Officers Club will bring together distinguished government and industry leaders to offer the GovCon community an insight into the economic aspects and national security aspects of digital currencies.

POC’s Digital Currency and National Security forum will feature National Cyber Director Chris Inglis as keynote speaker. Industry executives invited to speak at the event include Juan Zarate, global co-managing partner and chief strategy officer at K2 Integrity, and MicroStrategy CEO Michael Saylor.

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Air Force’s PNT AgilePod Prototype Completes Multiple Firsts in November Tests
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Air Force’s PNT AgilePod Prototype Completes Multiple Firsts in November Tests

The Air Force Research Laboratory’s airborne alternative position, navigation and timing system prototype reached three milestones during recent test flights onboard a T-38C supersonic aircraft in November.

The PNT AgilePod prototype completed its first test on a high-dynamic-range platform, its first remote interfacing and alternative positioning data transmission, and its first demonstration of overland and overwater transition operations, AFRL said Wednesday.

“We encountered and overcame a range of challenges associated with computational, power, and electromagnetic environments that were very different from previous tests,” shared Maj. Andrew Cottle, an official from the Air Force Strategic Development Planning and Experimentation office.

The U.S. Air Force envisions the finalized PNT version of the open architecture-based AgilePod to carry plug-and-play sensors and software that enable alternative positioning technologies to integrate and transmit information following common standards.

According to AFRL, the recent testing will inform the military brass’ plans to meet AgilePod’s fiscal 2022 and 2023 transition objectives, which include meeting the various navigation needs of other Air Force organizations.

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President Biden Nominates Nuclear Physicist Marvin Adams to Oversee DOE Defense Programs
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President Biden Nominates Nuclear Physicist Marvin Adams to Oversee DOE Defense Programs

Marvin Adams, director of national laboratories mission support at the Texas A&M University System, has been nominated to serve as the Department of Energy’s deputy director for defense programs.

Adams formerly served as a physicist at DOE’s Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory and is now a member of the President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology, the White House said Wednesday.

He also serves on the National Academies Committee on International Security and Arms Control and the stockpile assessment team within a group advising the U.S. Strategic Command.

The physicist, whose expertise has supported various national security studies, is also a nuclear engineering professor at Texas A&M University.

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