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Pravina Raghavan Joins NIST as Manufacturing Extension Partnership Director
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Pravina Raghavan Joins NIST as Manufacturing Extension Partnership Director

Pravina Raghavan, a two-decade business advisory professional, has joined the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) as director of NIST’s Hollings Manufacturing Extension Partnership.

She will lead the public-private partnership that backs manufacturing companies in new product development, supply chain and business expansion pursuits, NIST said Tuesday.

Raghavan rejoins the federal government from Empire State Development, where she worked as executive vice president in the small business and technology development division of New York’s primary economic development agency.

Her government service also includes time as a senior adviser at the Department of Commerce and deputy associate administrator of the Small Business Administration’s Office of Investment and Innovation.

Earlier in her career, Raghavan spent more than six years at AT&T.

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Adm. Christopher Grady Talks Joint Requirements Process, Weapons Systems at Senate Confirmation Hearing
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Adm. Christopher Grady Talks Joint Requirements Process, Weapons Systems at Senate Confirmation Hearing

Adm. Christopher Grady, the Biden administration’s pick to serve as vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said he would use threat-based analyses and data to help address parochialism and reform the joint requirements process once confirmed for the vice chair role, Defense News reported Wednesday.

“Strong leadership in the [Joint Requirements Oversight Council] and consultation with my colleagues on the panel has to ensure a very disciplined approach to that, so we don’t get that mission creep, which can be very parochial at times,” Grady, who serves as head of U.S. Fleet Forces Command, told Senate Armed Services Committee members during his confirmation hearing Wednesday.

He said weapons systems should leverage advances in artificial intelligence, software development and quantum computing.

“A very important element of any new system will be the ability to get past a hardware-oriented weapons system development to one that is software oriented, such that you can spin in new technologies in an app-based approach,” he noted.

Grady also fielded questions regarding nuclear triad modernization efforts and China’s advances in the field of hypersonic weapons.

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Kathleen Hicks: DOD Creates Chief Digital and AI Officer Position
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Kathleen Hicks: DOD Creates Chief Digital and AI Officer Position

Kathleen Hicks, deputy secretary at the Department of Defense and a 2021 Wash100 Award recipient, has issued a memorandum announcing the creation of a new position to oversee DOD’s artificial intelligence, data and digital initiatives.

DOD expects the office of the chief digital and AI officer (CDAO) to achieve initial operating capability by Feb. 1st and full operating capability no later than June 1st, Hicks wrote in the memo released Wednesday.

The office of the CDAO, which will directly report to Hicks, will act as the successor organization to the Joint Artificial Intelligence Center and intervening supervisor for the Defense Digital Service. It will also be operationally aligned with the office of the chief data officer, which will continue to report to the secretary and deputy secretary of defense through the Pentagon’s chief information officer.

James Mitre, senior adviser to the deputy secretary of defense, will come up with an implementation plan by Jan. 15, to meet the IOC and FOC milestones for the new office.

A senior defense official said the organizational change is part of efforts to advance DOD’s Joint All-Domain Command and Control (JADC2) concept, C4ISRNET reported.

“JADC2 is the integration of disparate data sources into a common architecture that allows us to have clear, senior-leader-down-to-operator decisions to drive warfighting improvements,” the official said. “To do that. you need a range of capabilities from common data architecture to a common development and deployment environment that allows you to take your applications either digital or AI-enabled and move them to the warfighter.”

PAE Obtains 2 New ISO Certifications; CEO Charlie Peiffer Quoted
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PAE Obtains 2 New ISO Certifications; CEO Charlie Peiffer Quoted

PAE has achieved two certifications from the International Organization for Standardization.

Following an extensive recent audit by the ISO, the company met standards for ISO 45001:2018 regarding Occupational Health and Safety Management Systems, as well as ISO 14001:2015 for Environmental Management Systems, PAE said Wednesday.

“For 2021, we set a strategic goal of meeting these standards and certifying related corporate operations as a process improvement and to show the commitment we have to our employees and the environment,” said Charles Peiffer, interim president and CEO of PAE.

Peiffer added that the company is proud of the ISO audit outcomes and of PAE’s certification achievements, which represent the culmination of concerted efforts by the organization’s stakeholders and its Ready, Set, Protect initiative.

PAE’s Stephen Easley and Sam Frontera spearheaded the company’s effort to qualify for the certifications.

Easley, director of Risk Management, Occupational Health and Safety + Environmental and Quality, said PAE’s ability to meet the stringent international standards outlined by ISO reflects the company’s position as an industry leader in healthy workplaces and environmental performance.

The ISO’s assessment report commended PAE for its employee engagement, communications and commitment to leadership. 

PAE is currently on track to complete its merger with Amentum, in an all-cash deal worth approximately $1.9 billion, by the first quarter of 2022.

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New Air Force KC-46A IRC MIssion Set Expands List of Refuelable Aircraft
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New Air Force KC-46A IRC MIssion Set Expands List of Refuelable Aircraft

The U.S. Air Force’s Air Mobility Command has approved KC-46A Pegasus’ fourth interim capability release mission set that expands the types of aircraft the tanker can support during missions.

Under the ICR, KC-46A can now refuel the AC-130J Ghostrider, HC-130J Combat King II, MC-130J Commando II, C-5M Super Galaxy and E-3G Sentry, the Air Force said Tuesday.

According to Lt. Col. Kevin White, AMC Aircraft and Logistics Requirements Division deputy chief, the milestone meant that the tanker can provide services to nearly 70 percent of all receiver aircraft under the U.S. Transportation Command’s purview.

The set will see the Pegasus crew sharing missions with the KC135 Stratotanker and KC-10 Extender tankers to gain operational experience and increase the military branch’s air refueling capacity.

The ICR decision is part of an overall plan in which Air Force leaders assess an aircrew’s qualitative and quantitative achievements in increments until the personnel met all operational confidence measures.

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New FAA Directives Aimed at Protecting Aircraft Sensors From 5G Interference
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New FAA Directives Aimed at Protecting Aircraft Sensors From 5G Interference

The Federal Aviation Administration has released two airworthiness directives aimed at protecting aviation safety equipment from the potential effects of 5G technologies.

The two directives call for the ban on any transport and commuter airplane and helicopter activities that require the use of radio altimeter data in locations where 5G C-band interference is present, FAA said Tuesday.

According to the agency, wireless broadband operations in between 3.7 GHz and 3.98 GHz frequency bands have been determined to affect the reliability of radio altimeters.

The 5G-related prohibition will be reflected through revisions on existing rotorcraft and airplane/aircraft flight manuals. 

The FAA shared that it is working with the Federal Communications Commission and wireless companies in the expansion of 5G networks without impacting the aviation sector.

In late November, AT&T and Verizon Communications told FCC they are willing to lower the power levels of their 5G cell towers for six months to assess the effect of the wireless technology on aircraft sensors.

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Space Force Launches Tech Demo Mission With 2 Satellites
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Space Force Launches Tech Demo Mission With 2 Satellites

The U.S. Space Force has launched a United Launch Alliance-made Atlas V rocket that carried two satellites under the Space Test Program, which provides spaceflight opportunities for the Department of Defense’s science and technology pursuits.

Space Systems Command said Tuesday its STP-3 mission carried STP Satellite-6 and the Long Duration Propulsive Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle Secondary Payload Adapter – 1 to space on the same day.

STPSat-6 is designed to support the detection of nuclear detonations and demonstrate new NASA-made technologies: NASA’s Laser Communications Relay Demonstration and the Ultraviolet Spectro-Coronagraph Pathfinder developed by the space agency and the Naval Research Laboratory.

NASA will use LCRD to demonstrate two-way laser relay communications via infrared, which has the potential to deliver data rates up to 100 times greater than radio frequency technology. The UVSC Pathfinder is a space weather payload that will explore the Sun’s energetic particles, which are the most dangerous kind of solar radiation.

On the other hand, LDPE-1’s experimental payloads are designed to help DOD manage risks and inform prospective efforts.

“It’s a complex mission that included thousands of inspections over four years and daily coordination with Space Force Guardians, who provide mission assurance and work with us to ensure everything goes as planned,” Ron Fortson, ULA director and general manager of launch operations, said about the STP-3 mission.

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NIST Seeks Feedback on Draft Combination Frequency Differencing White Paper
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NIST Seeks Feedback on Draft Combination Frequency Differencing White Paper

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) is seeking public comments on a draft white paper detailing the use of combination frequency differencing in artificial intelligence and machine learning applications.

The paper introduces a new method related to combinatorial testing and measurement that is particularly appropriate for AI and ML applications, the agency said Monday.

NIST said that more recently, methods applying coverage measures have been used in AI and ML applications to explain and analyze the aspects of transfer learning.

“These methods have been developed using measures that depend on the inclusion or absence of t-tuples of values in inputs and test cases,” NIST explained.

In the paper, NIST scientists Richard Kuhn, Raghu Kacker and M S Raunak extend the combinatorial coverage measures to include the frequency of occurrence of combinations.

“We illustrate the use of this method by applying it to analyzing physically unclonable functions (PUFs) for bit combinations that disproportionately influences PUF response values, and in turn provides an indication of the PUF potentially being more vulnerable to model-building attacks. Additionally, it is shown that combination frequency differences provide a simple but effective algorithm for classification problems,” the authors said.

Interested parties may submit feedback on the draft paper until Feb. 7, 2022. 

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MDA Declares Initial Fielding of New Alaska-Based Radar; Jon Hill Quoted
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MDA Declares Initial Fielding of New Alaska-Based Radar; Jon Hill Quoted

The Missile Defense Agency has declared the initial fielding of a new Alaska-based multi-mission radar system built with gallium nitride technology.

The Long Range Discrimination Radar (LRDR) received its initial fielding declaration on Dec. 6th and will go on to track ballistic missiles and small objects for national security, MDA said the same day.

The radar, which operates in S-band frequencies, features a discrimination capability designed to differentiate lethal objects and warheads from non-lethal decoys. MDA believes this capability can help missile defense operators conserve ground-based interceptors.

LRDR can also identity, track and monitor orbiting satellites to boost space domain awareness.

“The Long Range Discrimination Radar has finished construction, and we can now begin the testing phase that will lead to the full operational use of this vital system,” said Vice Adm. Jon Hill, MDA director.

The Department of Defense’s Command, Control, Battle Management and Communications element integrates with LRDR to deliver situational awareness for missile defense.

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Inmarsat Government Launches G-MODMAN Products to Support GX Integration; Matt Wissler Quoted
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Inmarsat Government Launches G-MODMAN Products to Support GX Integration; Matt Wissler Quoted

Inmarsat’s federal business arm has launched its modem manager and Open Platform smart ecosystem solutions designed to support the integration of Global Xpress terminals on government aviation platforms.

The G-MODMAN II modem manager and G-MODMAN Open Platform products will support a wide scope of modems and services for crewed and uncrewed aviation missions, Inmarsat Government said Wednesday.

Matt Wissler, chief technology officer for Inmarsat Government, said the new products will help military and government customers meet their diverse satellite communications needs and requirements.

“The G-MODMAN II and G-MODMAN OP solutions are testament to the company’s dedication to solving customers’ problems, maximizing and extending the capabilities that our customers have come to expect and trust from Inmarsat Government.”

G-MODMAN II, which features high-fidelity monitoring and logging capabilities, integrates with existing antenna systems and provides the technology to enable the implementation of existing and future GX services and terminals across an array of aviation platforms.

G-MODMAN OP is an option to G-MODMAN II which allows users interoperability between GX, Inmarsat’s steerable beams and the Wideband Global SATCOM system. G-MODMAN OP uses loadable coverage map files and a graphical user interface to integrate multiple modems and services with a single antenna.

Both products support the implementation of Inmarsat’s GX Ka-band network that provides wideband access and military satellite communications services to government customers.

Earlier this year, Inmarsat successfully tested its Orbit GX30 multi-purpose terminal which operates on the company’s GX network.

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