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Defense Digital Service, Air Force Research Lab Plan Counter-UAS Tech Transition; Katie Olson Quoted
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Defense Digital Service, Air Force Research Lab Plan Counter-UAS Tech Transition; Katie Olson Quoted

The Defense Department’s digital service group plans to transition its small unmanned aircraft system sense-and-detect platforms to the Air Force Research Laboratory’s Negation of Improvised Non-State Joint Aerial (NINJA) system program by Sept. 30, FedScoop reported Friday.

The technology transfer effort reportedly follows a memorandum of understanding signed between the Defense Digital Service and AFRL in April for collaborative work in the counter-sUAS area.

Acting DDS Director Katie Olson told the publication that the agency has tested and delivered technologies to military personnel for their drone threat detection and tracking activities since early 2020.

“Transitioning these capabilities to AFRL enables their evolution and growth and allows them to continue to support and modernize the DOD defensive posture,” Olson added.

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NNSA Updates Power Equipment at 2 National Security Mission Sites; Sheila Feddis Quoted
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NNSA Updates Power Equipment at 2 National Security Mission Sites; Sheila Feddis Quoted

The National Nuclear Security Administration has completed projects to replace a 60-year-old diesel generator at the Savannah River Site in South Carolina and a standby power system at the Device Assembly Facility in Nevada.

NNSA said Friday it updated the electrical feed for the Savannah complex's 234-H building with an integrated permanent backup system to power the agency's tritium handling process.

The DAF standby power replacement effort at the Nevada National Security Site saw the installation of new batteries, and transformers to ensure continuity of critical mission work in the event of an outage.

“These two projects that provide dependable and resilient power are integral modernization activities for NNSA to deliver its mission,” said Sheila Feddis, director of the NNSA's infrastructure operations and modernization office.

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Sean Connelly: Agencies Can Utilize CISA Services to Meet Zero Trust Security Mandate
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Sean Connelly: Agencies Can Utilize CISA Services to Meet Zero Trust Security Mandate

Sean Connelly, program manager of Trusted Internet Connections (TIC) at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), said that CISA will offer services for agencies mandated to implement zero trust strategies under President Biden’s cybersecurity executive order, Federal News Network reported Friday.

He noted at a NextGov event last week that CISA plans to make its protective domain name system services available to other agencies in an effort to help them reach zero trust maturity status.

Connelly said there are existing and potential services that could help agencies understand the maturity model buildout effort. CISA distributed its preliminary “Zero Trust Maturity Model" guidance after the White House released the Executive Order on Improving the Nation’s Cybersecurity.

The maturity model includes five pillars where specific examples of traditional, advanced and optimal zero trust architecture are provided. It also cites three cross-cutting capabilities identified as visibility and analytics, automation and orchestration, and governance.

The draft guide is open for public comments through Oct. 1st.

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Octo, Dataiku Partnership Fosters Data Science Innovation; CEO Mehul Sanghani Quoted
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Octo, Dataiku Partnership Fosters Data Science Innovation; CEO Mehul Sanghani Quoted

Leading federal IT modernization contractor, Octo Consulting announced on Friday that the company is partnering with Dataiku, an artificial intelligence and machine learning company, to better provide mission-critical solutions for complex IT challenges in the defense, intelligence, health, finance and law enforcement markets. 

Octo CEO, Mehul Sanghani commented, “We are exceedingly pleased to be able to offer our customers alternatives in data science solutions to address their unique, complex challenges.”

The collaboration between the two companies will utilize the New York-based Data Science Studio's (DSS) singular end-to-end platform to enable data scientists, mission owners, business analysts and non-coder employees alike to work together in building and developing their own AI models.

Dataiku, named a leader in Gartner’s Magic Quadrant for Data Science and Machine-Learning Platforms, works to democratize data access in order to empower organization-wide collaboration and promote a more human approach to AI integration. 

Senior Director of Octo’s AI Center of Excellence, Rob Albritton notes, “This is especially important as we work toward making tactical data accessible to soldiers, first responders, and teams in other sectors that depend on the ability of our data scientists to collaborate and find viable solutions.”

To elaborate, Cindy Walker, vice president of Octo’s Data Science Center of Excellence, explained the importance of improving the collaborative outcomes with Dataiku to deliver stronger innovation solutions and approaches to manage the use of data and enhance mission information. 

Octo’s partnership with Daiku will also work to expand their clients’ access to data without jeopardizing system security. 

About Octo 

Octo is a technology firm dedicated to solving the Federal Government’s most complex challenges, enabling agencies to jump the technology curve. We don’t just modernize. We create lasting change through best practices that help agencies implement and integrate at-scale next-generation technology and innovation.

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USAF Kessel Run Supports RabbitMQ Open-Source Message Broker; Nick Barber Quoted
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USAF Kessel Run Supports RabbitMQ Open-Source Message Broker; Nick Barber Quoted

The U.S. Air Force's Kessel Run software laboratory produced a submission for the RabbitMQ message broker's open-source messaging-topology operator.

Kessel Run said Thursday its All Domain Common Platform (ADCP) product line made the submission to RabbitMQ, which allows multiple systems and applications to exchange information.

ADCP serves as a platform for command and control applications that allow for distributed operations across the globe. The platform helps developers scale applications from across the globe and accelerate deliveries of C2 applications.

Nick Barber, Kessel Run's software engineer who made the submission, said the RabbitMQ fix will allow sourcing from different namespaces, as software engineers from across the globe use RabbitMQ to seek solutions.

“For RabbitMQ, there are people who post issues on their (messaging) board saying something doesn’t work or that they’d like someone to add a functionality,” Barber said.

“Anytime it's obvious that you’re using someone's open source, that gives them the ability to dedicate more resources to it, and it's proof that it's the direction they should be moving in," he added.

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Army Develops Model to Enable Question-Based Robotic Learning; Felix Gervits Quoted
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Army Develops Model to Enable Question-Based Robotic Learning; Felix Gervits Quoted

The U.S. Army has created a computational model that enables robotic systems to learn from soldiers via conversational interaction.

The service branch said Thursday it pursues this research in partnership with Tufts University under the Department of Defense's Laboratory University Collaboration Initiative (LUCI).

This research supports the Army's plan to implement autonomous robots that operate as part of soldier teams in the future. Researchers at the Army tested the model with a cognitive robotic architecture to demonstrate how the approach can support actual military activities.

“The model enables a robot to ask effective clarification questions based on its knowledge of the environment and to learn from the responses,” said Felix Gervits, researcher at the Army Combat Capabilities Development Command's Army Research Laboratory.

The team will move the project forward by making the model understand more types of questions.

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AFRL Chief Heather Pringle: Partnerships With Industry Sought for Space Tech Development
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AFRL Chief Heather Pringle: Partnerships With Industry Sought for Space Tech Development

The Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) is looking to expand its partnerships with the industry and with academic institutions to develop space capabilities supporting the U.S. Space Force (USSF). 

AFRL Commander Maj. Gen. Heather Pringle pointed out at the 36th National Space Symposium that partnerships with private companies help the organization “deliver transformational capabilities” while increasing its exposure to ideas and innovation, the U.S. Air Force (USAF) said Thursday.

“I absolutely love the excitement, the opportunities to connect, the partnerships we can build and the palpable enthusiasm to exchange ideas that build the space ecosystem together," explained Pringle.

According to the general, the AFRL has expanded its responsibilities from working on just technologies for the Air Force to also conducting research and development for the military service's space counterpart.

As part of its new task, the R&D facility launched the SpaceWERX space innovation arm that Pringle described as “one of our most energetic thrusts in this area.” 

Similar to the Air Force-focused AFWERX, SpaceWERX will enable industry and the academe to work with space operators, laboratory engineers and acquisition professionals to develop novel technologies for USSF.

Pringle stressed that the success of the AFRL and its partner companies in providing new capabilities “is benefiting both sides.”

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DISA’s Brian Hermann on Agency’s Contributions to DOD’s JADC2 Effort
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DISA’s Brian Hermann on Agency’s Contributions to DOD’s JADC2 Effort

Brian Hermann, director of the Defense Information Systems Agency's (DISA) services development directorate, expects DISA to have an increasing role in the implementation of the Department of Defense's Joint All-Domain Command and Control (JADC2) intiaitive as it progresses, C4ISRNET reported Friday.

In an interview with the publication, Hermann said the agency would potentially support network transport and data hosting, and ensure DOD's access to spectrum to enable network function.

"Now what we have to do is we have to look at the JADC2 requirements for transport and we have to say, 'What do we do differently? Do I need to make them somehow more robust than what I had originally planned our connectivity between theaters or between specific sites?'"

Helping meet the network transport needs of the Joint Force is one area Hermann specified as where DISA’s role will evolve.

Thunderdome, a zero-trust cybersecurity initiative for addressing JADC2-related challenges; and the modernization of Global Command and Control System-Joint battlefield awareness platform and Joint Planning and Execution Services tool are some of the other agency efforts in support of JADC2.

“That said, the architecture of those [legacy command and control] tools is today not really very JADC2-focused because there are many enclaves around the department that provide separate pieces of the common operational picture that are then stitched together at the enterprise level.”

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GAO Presents Recommendation to Pentagon Over Post-Government Employment Restrictions
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GAO Presents Recommendation to Pentagon Over Post-Government Employment Restrictions

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has recommended that the Department of Defense (DOD) evaluate whether to integrate into acquisition regulations post-government employment lobbying restrictions.

PGE restrictions seek to prevent conflicts of interest and promote public confidence in the government and GAO said in a report published Thursday failure to assess whether to update regulations to incorporate a restriction on lobbying activities may lead to DOD to miss an opportunity to establish a “shared sense of accountability between the employees and the contractors who hire them.”

The congressional watchdog found that the Pentagon has improved certain processes to ensure compliance with PGE restrictions. These include processes for maintaining and issuing ethics opinion letters and training to raise employee awareness about PGE restrictions.

GAO reviewed 14 major defense companies and found that those contractors hired 1,718 former DOD senior military and civilian officials or former acquisition officials in 2019. The vendors reported that they use several practices to drive compliance with PGE restrictions.

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Executive Order to Direct Federal Contractors to Provide COVID-19 Safeguards to Workforce
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Executive Order to Direct Federal Contractors to Provide COVID-19 Safeguards to Workforce

The White House has issued an executive order that requires federal contractors to provide safety protocols to their employees to reduce the spread of COVID-19 as part of efforts to improve the economy and efficiency in federal procurement.

The policy directs executive departments and agencies to ensure that contracts and contract-like instruments contain a clause requiring vendors and subcontractors to comply with the Safer Federal Workforce Task Force’s guidance for workplace locations. for workplace locations, the White House said Thursday.

The task force should define terms and provide explanations of protocols by Sept. 24th to facilitate contractors’ compliance with COVID-19 workplace safety guidance, which will be reviewed and approved by the director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). 

The document also requires the Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council to amend the Federal Acquisition Regulation to facilitate the inclusion of the clause in contracts and solicitations. Agencies should take initial measures by Oct. 8th to incorporate the clause in contracts.

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