The U.S. Navy's Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division (NAWCAD) is working on augmented reality headset applications to help engineers communicate with engineers worldwide to repair and maintain the service branch's platforms and air vehicles.

The Augmented Reality Remote Maintenance Support Service (ARRMSS) is a portable suite that employs augmented reality headsets to connect two users from any location worldwide through a virtual environment, the Naval Air Systems Command said Monday.

ARRMSS consists of a headset, a remote wireless access point and a tablet and can operate on low-bandwidth networks. Users can share files and photos and communicate verbally with one another through holograms superimposed on any equipment.

"We’re working to an aggressive developmental schedule – ARRMSS went from proof of concept to working prototype in less than two years, and we’re ready to start beta-testing the product worldwide," said Aristides Staikos, AR research and development engineering lead at NAWCAD Lakehurst.

NAWCAD tested ARRMSS across the East Coast of the U.S. and is set to enter the next phase for the system. The suite is slated to enter production in 2023.

Adm. Michael Gilday, chief of naval operations, said he wants the service to equip new unmanned vessels only with proven technologies, to avoid issues in development. Gilday said this approach aims to avoid problems the Navy experienced with littoral combat ships due to using untested equipment, Breaking Defense reported Monday.

The service branch will identify its technology priorities for the new vessels under the Unmanned Campaign Plan. Adm. Gilday also told Breaking Defense he wants the unmanned vessels to integrate with the command and control networks of other domains, instead of relying on separate C2 systems.

The unmanned vessels must align with the Navy's Project Overmatch, an effort to develop a C2 network compatible with the Department of Defense's (DOD) planned Joint All-Domain Command and Control (JADC2) concept.

DOD envisions JADC2 as an integrated network of sensors and situational awareness systems across all military domains.

Denis McDonough, formerly chief of staff to Barack Obama, has been Senate-confirmed to become secretary of veterans affairs, NPR reported Monday.

A Senate meeting on Monday resulted in an 87-7 vote in favor of McDonough, President Biden’s nominee to lead the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). McDonough was the deputy national security adviser during the Obama administration and also served in the former president’s transition team.

The newly appointed VA secretary also advised Tom Daschle, who was the Senate democratic leader, on foreign policy. McDonough, as VA secretary, will oversee efforts to distribute COVID-19 vaccines to the country’s veterans.

Alion Science and Technology will be a participant in the U.S. Air Force AFWERX Reimagining Energy for the Department of Defense (DoD) Challenge, the company reported on Tuesday. 

"Alion is honored to be included in this showcase and excited to be able to demonstrate our technology and solutions to support such an important global DoD energy effort," said John Eubank, Alion's director of Artificial Intelligence (AI).

As a participant, Alion will pitch innovative ideas to a panel of evaluators and subject matter experts, which will help the DoD reimagine the ways to generate, transmit, store and use energy. Alion's subject matter experts will present Fortis AI and Big Data Platform (BDP) technologies and solutions. 

The company’s Fortis AI is an algo gymnasium for the rapid processing of text- based data sets, leveraging a highly scalable cloud-based architecture. BDP is a government-owned knowledge management platform for securely processing large data sets at the speed of DoD operations. 

BDP and Fortis AI provide a comprehensive architecture for storing, processing and deriving value from the DoD's Energy Data. Alion’s offerings develop a knowledge management capability for Energy Data Scientists to explore DoD energy policy, education, usage and other data sets. 

Alion’s offerings will also provide recommendations and solution implementation to enable and monitor change in the DoD Energy Culture. AFWERX recently launched the Reimagining Energy for the DoD Challenge to help reduce the U.S. military's reliance on fossil fuels. 

The Air Force’s  innovation arm has also aimed to accelerate its shift toward renewable and resilient energy sources. AFWERX effort has aligned with the DoD's mission to deter conflict and ensure the nation's security, and will work to advance the clean energy industry.

"This is a phenomenal opportunity to apply Alion's expertise to solve and contribute to the future of resilient energy production, transmission, use and storage for the DoD and to come together with other leader's in the energy industry to solve this global issue,” Eubank added.

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.