Congress members have canceled a $9 billion boost in the next planned COVID-19 relief package for the Technology Modernization Fund (TMF). The cancelation follows petitions made in January by Rep. Carolyn Maloney, D-N.Y., and Rep. Gerry Connolly, D-Va., for TMF increases in support of cybersecurity and information technology projects.

Maloney and Connolly chair the House Oversight Committee and its subcommittee on government operations, respectively. A congressional source noted that Sen. Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz., had issues with the supposed TMF boost.

The same source said Congress is now planning to use the $9 billion TMF funds for future legislation.

Lockheed Martin has contracted ABL Space Systems, a provider of low-cost launch vehicles and launch systems for the small satellite industry, to provide a rocket and launch services for Lockheed Martin’s first UK vertical satellite launch, UK Pathfinder, the company reported on Tuesday.

“We are absolutely committed to the success of this program and the world class capability that ABL Space Systems brings will allow us to build on our long-standing partnership with the UK and strengthen the growth of the UK space sector, aligned to the UK Government’s prosperity and industrial strategy,” said Nik Smith, regional director of Lockheed Martin Space.

Lockheed Martin’s UK Pathfinder Launch is planned to be the first vertical small satellite launch from UK soil, which is planned to launch from Scotland in 2022. It will also be the first UK commercial launch for ABL Space Systems’ RS1 rocket.

ABL Space Systems’ flexible, integrated GSO launch system, along with the company’s RS1 rocket, will enable rapid and cost-effective deployment with advanced launch performance. Lockheed Martin’s Launch will support the UK Space Agency’s Launch UK.

“We want the UK to be the first in Europe to launch small satellites into orbit… Lockheed Martin’s selection of ABL Space Systems for their UK Pathfinder launch brings us one step closer to realizing this ambition,” Ian Annett, deputy CEO of UK Space Agency said.

The addition of ABL Space Systems as a partner completes Lockheed Martin’s UK Pathfinder Launch program team. On launch day, ABL Space Systems’ RS1 rocket will lift off from Shetland Space Centre, in Unst, Shetland.

Once in orbit, the rocket will release a small launch orbital maneuvering vehicle, which can carry and deploy up to six 6U CubeSats, optimizing orbital placement and timing for each small satellite’s missions.

“ABL Space Systems is proud to partner with Lockheed Martin on the UK Pathfinder Launch Program,” said Harry O’Hanley, co-Founder and CEO of ABL Space Systems. “Our team was founded to deliver new launch capabilities, on-demand. We’re thrilled at the opportunity bring our system to Shetland’s launch site and execute this ground-breaking mission with our partners.”

Oracle Cloud VMware Solution has obtained Provisional Authority to Operate (P-ATO) at the High impact level from the FedRAMP Joint Authorization Board (JAB), which has recognized the solution’s ability to adhere to stringent performance, security and compliance standards. With the authorization, government customers can operate VMware software-defined data centers in Oracle Cloud to manage and run critical applications and workloads.

"With the Oracle Cloud VMware Solution attaining FedRAMP High JAB P-ATO, Oracle is providing those customers a zero trust, native VMware solution that meets the stringent compliance standards, while mitigating risk and cost," said Scott Twaddle, vice president of Oracle Cloud Infrastructure Product, Industries and Partnerships. 

The Oracle Cloud VMware Solution will enable government agencies to advance cloud strategies by migrating VMware environments to Oracle Cloud. The offering will also deliver operations continuity, staffing, best practices, and tools from their on-premises VMware environments.

Oracle Cloud VMware Solution is VMware Cloud Verified, which has validated the integration and interoperability for customers operating VMware environments in the Oracle Cloud VMware Solution. The authorization has expanded Oracle's suite of FedRAMP High Agency P-ATO offerings.

Oracle leveraged an accredited Third-Party Assessment Organization to complete a readiness assessment of the cloud service for the authorization process, in order to prepare for and achieve the FedRAMP High JAB P-ATO. 

Throughout the accreditation process, the service offerings underwent a security and compliance review by leading technology officials from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), Department of Defense (DoD) and General Services Administration (GSA).

"In achieving FedRAMP High ATO, Oracle Cloud VMware Solution enables government IT customers to migrate, modernize and better protect enterprise applications leveraging the agility, economics, and scale of modern VMware-based multi-cloud services," said Mark Lohmeyer, senior vice president and general manager, Cloud Services Business Unit, VMware.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) has proposed to amend its regulations to establish rules that would provide incentives to electric companies and other public utilities for making cybersecurity investments that go beyond the requirements of the Critical Infrastructure Protection Reliability Standards.

The proposed rule published Friday in Federal Register would allow public utilities to seek an increase in the rate of return on equity and apply for “deferred cost recovery” for their cybersecurity-related investments.

The deferred cost recovery would apply for three types of expenses: spending related to third-party provision of software, hardware and computing networking services; spending on training to implement cyber improvements; and risk assessments and other implementation expenses by third parties.

“In all such cases, eligible costs would be limited to costs associated with implementing cybersecurity upgrades and would not include ongoing costs including system maintenance, surveillance, and other labor costs, either in the form of employee salaries or third-party service contracts,” FERC said in the notice.

The commission will accept comments on the proposed rule through April 6th.

Stephen Russell, information sciences division chief at DEVCOM, Army Research Laboratory (ARL), said ARL uses cloud and network infrastructure to conduct research, perform materials modeling and advance the development of artificial intelligence and machine learning algorithms, the Army reported Monday.

“Consider materials modeling as an example, to do that activity efficiently you likely need cloud compute and you need infrastructure to not only analyze complex materials properties, but also to create high-resolution models,” Russell said during a Jan. 27 virtual discussion hosted by FedInsider and George Washington University Center for Excellence in Public Leadership. “These kinds of models are important to improve the capabilities the Army needs for the nature of its many missions.”

Russell also discussed the internet of battlefield things concept and mentioned his division’s efforts to advance tactical edge computing.

“In the Information Sciences Division, we do a great deal of work on low-level algorithms that make devices intelligent and autonomously functional across the spectrum of cloud and edge computing,” Russell said.

Featuring Derek Tournear, SDA Director and 2021 Wash100 Award recipient, as the keynote speaker, 2021 SDA Forum will address advancements and challenges within the development and delivery of innovative space solutions, as well as how the industry can support SDA initiatives.

Join Potomac Officers Club’s 2021 SDA Forum to learn how SDA continues to evolve, in addition to how the government and industry work together to deliver the best technologies, so the nation can maintain its advantage in the modern space race.

To register for the 2021 SDA Forum, as well as view upcoming opportunities, visit Potomac Officers Club’s Event Page.

Mark Forman, a federal information technology market veteran and former administrator for e-government and IT at the Office of Management and Budget, said there are ways agency chief information officers can fund IT modernization efforts without seeking congressional funding and one is through agency priority goals, Federal News Network reported Friday.

“And we know, in this next phase of picking up the pieces after the triage that was done immediately after the pandemic, there are going to be gaps and agencies will have to invest in it,” Forman said on FNN’s Ask the CIO.

“Tying that investment — not anecdotes, but specific metrics tied to either the outgoing Trump administration or the incoming Biden administration priority goals — is path one, but it requires clear line of sight to how the investment drives the benefits.”

The former Unisys Federal executive called on agency CIOs to partner with those working on evidence-based policymaking and advance use of their data action plans. Another path agencies could consider to fund IT modernization initiatives is through the 21st Century Integrated Digital Experience Act, he noted.

“We know as a result of this movement to basically the workforce and business processes being online, there needs to be changes in user experience, both inside the government and with the state and local governments,” said Forman, who

“As these delivery processes move online, this is not outside of the CIO, just a piece within the CIO organization. This needs to be a core area that they look at for modernization, leveraging, what is a Circular A-11 for 21st Century IDEA Act.”

Lt. Col. Matthew Arrol, commandant of the U.S. Army’s Joint Support Team at Hurlburt Field in Florida, wrote in an article published Friday on Breaking Defense that the service should conduct a thorough analysis of its current command-and-control structures and optimize C2 to advance multidomain operations and make the Combined Joint All-Domain C2 concept a reality.

Arrol said the Army should consider “how closely and widely we want to integrate the new C2 systems with our allies and non-military Unified Action Partners.” He called on the service to design its C2 systems “from the ground up with inclusion as a mission goal” and work to achieve and protect that synergy with a multinational force.

“Even for those partners outside of traditional alliances, US forces must prepare for the day when we may need to rapidly integrate those forces,” Arrol said. “Hybrid warfare and winning in the ‘competition period’ requires the capabilities and expertise of a whole-of-government approach.”

Arrol noted that adapting the C2 structure to support C/JADC2 calls for the Army to address education by reassessing the skills and training at all echelons and exposing warfighters to the joint force far earlier in their careers.

“Practitioners of C/JADC2 processes will need to be trained to execute in a degraded environment and possess the command relationships and authorities to act appropriately,” he wrote. “This will naturally be enabled by technology to diagnose, treat, and heal broken C2 networks automatically to maintain the desired decision advantage.”

He said the Army should identify “change agents” and “champions” that could help oversee JADC2, act as an active participant and “must be deliberate in its approach to change, resilient during the process, and seek out those who are uniquely qualified to help lead it.”