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Lt. Gen. Dennis Crall: Joint Staff to Assess JADC2 Gaps
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Lt. Gen. Dennis Crall: Joint Staff to Assess JADC2 Gaps

U.S. Marine Corps Lt. Gen. Dennis Crall, who leads the the Joint Staff's command and control group or J6, said the military intends to analyze requirements of a planned multi-domain C2 approach, Breaking Defense reported Monday.

As the military plans to implement an integration of sensors and weapon systems through the Joint All-Domain Command and Control (JADC2) approach, J6 wants to identify JADC2's possible gaps and release results by February 2021. 

Crall said the analysis will begin this month and he expects to produce a JADC2 posture review based on the results. The gap analysis will inform J6's funding strategy for JADC2, he noted.

The Department of Defense (DoD) envisions JADC2 as an integration between sensors, communications and weapon systems. This approach is designed to accelerate and improve commanders' decision making in joint battlefield environments.

Lt. Gen. Crall said this approach will require automation across all systems involved to ensure information can move to where it is needed.

“It is about taking advantage of that sensor-rich environment — looking at things like data standards; making sure that we can move this information into an area that, again, we can process it properly; bringing on cloud; bringing on artificial intelligence, predictive analytics; and then undergirding this with a network that can handle this, all domains and partners," he said.

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HUD Continues Modernization Under GSA IT Centers of Excellence Program; Irving Dennis Quoted
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HUD Continues Modernization Under GSA IT Centers of Excellence Program; Irving Dennis Quoted

The Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) has launched an effort to centralize its data warehouse operations and call-center activities in line with the General Services Administration’s (GSA) Centers of Excellence (CoE) program, FedScoop reported Monday.

Irving Dennis, chief financial officer of HUD, told the publication that the department is now entering Phase 2 of information technology modernization activities as part of GSA’s IT CoE program. In 2018, HUD began efforts to adopt cloud technologies, streamline contact centers and improve customer experience as part of the IT CoE initiative.

The department has since simplified auditing procedures and ensured compliance with standards such as the Improper Payments Elimination and Recovery Improvement Act, according to the report.  Dennis noted that he envisions a chief data officer IT shop that would operate independently or within other offices.

“The financial infrastructure and reporting in the IT systems at HUD were fairly weak. Probably the weakest of all of the Cabinet-level agencies,” Dennis said. “I would encourage each agency to have a very open mind, understand what their capabilities are and then reach out to them; go through your Phase 1.”

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Unanet Launches Advanced Capabilities of ERP Platform; Assad Jarrahian Quoted
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Unanet Launches Advanced Capabilities of ERP Platform; Assad Jarrahian Quoted

Unanet has announced new features and functions to augment its ERP platform for government contractors (GovCons), and architecture and engineering (A/E) companies, the company reported on Tuesday.

“Unanet is continually investing in its ERP to ensure it has the latest cutting-edge technology” said Assad Jarrahian, chief product officer, Unanet. “Unanet ERP is rapidly displacing the siloed, outdated tools many companies struggle with. These new releases further solidify our position as the ERP provider of choice.”

Unanet’s new capabilities will provide customers with greater visibility, best-in-class analytics and real-time project management tools, as well as enhanced customer service and support. The company’s upgrades have been engineered directly from customer feedback, adding to Unanet’s commitment to deliver tools to run businesses more efficiently.

Of the recent advancements, the company has integrated Contract Management, Project Central Dashboard, Unanet Mobile, and Inventory integration to further support government contractors.

The advancements will deliver greater control over data, providing a single, consistent and reliable source of information. Additionally it will supply access real-time insight that will accelerate projects, meet deadlines and run their projects and their business profitably.

For A/E customers, Unanet’s new features provide a more seamless deployment experience for project managers, accounting teams in both AP and AR, and all desktop users. Highlighting the latest release is a new web experience for Project Managers, enhancements to Unanet Pay, and updates to project planning and purchasing functionalities.

“Each function released today is specifically designed to resolve a pain-point that customers have expressed, while also integrating and simplifying processes,” continued Jarrahian. “We pay specific attention to ensuring our releases seamlessly integrate and improve the user experience, so we continue to offer greater value to our customers.”

These capabilities follow the recent launch of Unanet Connect, an open integration marketplace and platform that work to seamlessly integrate with systems. Unanet also launched integrated analytics features, with advanced dashboards and advanced real-time reporting capabilities.

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Joe Biden Taps David Recordon, Austin Lin for White House Tech Roles
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Joe Biden Taps David Recordon, Austin Lin for White House Tech Roles

President-elect Joe Biden’s transition team has named David Recordon and Austin Lin to serve in the incoming administration, FedScoop reported on Tuesday. Recordon will serve as the director of technology in the White House’s Office of Management and Administration, with Lin as deputy. 

“The technology leaders will play an important role in restoring faith across the federal government by encouraging collaboration to further secure American cyber interests,” said a release from the Biden-Harris transition.

Prior to the new position, Recordon served as vice president of Infrastructure and Security with the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative. In the role, he created and led the Infrastructure & Security organization, which works across education; justice and opportunity; and science. He also helped scale operations.

Recordon previously served with the Obama administration, where he worked with the U.S. Digital Service before serving as the first director of White House information technology. He also worked on IT modernization and cybersecurity issues. Recordon has served as the deputy chief technology officer for the Biden-Harris transition team.

Lin also served with the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, holding the position of technical program manager. In addition, Lin previously served as deputy director of Information Technology, within White House Information Technology.

With the White House, Lin directed technology preparation for the 2017 Presidential Transition across a cross-functional team of engineering, security, legal and support staff. He also provided lightweight project management to allow teams to collaboratively discuss and track decisions.

“In addition to working with organizations and communities, these accomplished public servants sit at the forefront of collaboration across the administration,” Biden said in a statement. “They will lead initiatives ranging from developing policies and processes, to ensuring our cybersecurity needs are met with a whole of government response.”

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Curtiss-Wright Defense Solutions Supports Wind River’s Cybersecurity Efforts
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Curtiss-Wright Defense Solutions Supports Wind River’s Cybersecurity Efforts

Wind River has collaborated with Curtiss-Wright Defense Solutions to offer integrated cybersecurity and anti-tamper protections for aerospace and defense systems, Curtiss-Wright Defense Solutions reported on Tuesday. The advanced solutions will further security and performance requirements for mission-critical applications.

“By working with leaders like Wind River, we can help our customers accelerate their innovation and development cycles while also preparing their defense systems to guard against ever-increasing cyberthreats,” said Chris Wiltsey, senior vice president and general manager, Curtiss-Wright Defense Solutions.

Wind River Titanium Security Suite will deliver proven capabilities to provide secure, trusted and controlled execution. The suite will also protect against cyberattacks, tampering and reverse engineering. The suite has included solutions for hardening Linux environments, securely leveraging virtualization and protecting the boot process and chain.

By collaborating with Curtiss-Wright, the companies will deliver a secure hardware and software solution for applications. Titanium Security Suite has been integrated, tested and validated on Curtiss-Wright OpenVPX modules and will be supported on the CHAMP-XD1S processor module.

The modules will feature built-in Intel Trusted Execution Technology (Intel TXT), Curtiss-Wright TrustedCOTS protections and flexible APIs to support secure software solutions. Wind River and Curtiss-Wright will enable customers to strengthen system security, and reduce risk, cost, complexity and development time.

“By collaborating with Curtiss-Wright, we are helping our shared customers integrate security during the design phase, incorporating advanced cybersecurity and technology protections that meet DoD requirements,” said Michel Genard, vice president, Industry Solutions, Wind River.

About Curtiss-Wright Corporation

Curtiss-Wright Corporation is a global innovative company that delivers highly engineered, critical-function products and services to the commercial, industrial, defense, and energy markets.

Building on the heritage of Glenn Curtiss and the Wright brothers, Curtiss-Wright has a long tradition of providing reliable solutions through trusted customer relationships. The company is headquartered in Davidson, N.C., and employs approximately 8,300 people worldwide.

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BAE Systems Wins US Navy Contract to Demonstrate RFCM System
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BAE Systems Wins US Navy Contract to Demonstrate RFCM System

BAE Systems has secured a $4 million contract from the U.S. Navy to conduct a quick-turnaround demonstration of a new radio frequency countermeasure (RFCM) system for the P-8A Poseidon, the company reported on Tuesday. 

“The ability to meet this unprecedented response time underscores our agility, focus on meeting customer needs, and our ultimate goal of protecting our warfighters,” said Don Davidson, director of the Advanced Compact Electronic Warfare Solutions product line at BAE Systems.

BAE Systems’ pod-mounted RFCM system has integrated leading-edge, lightweight, high-power capabilities that will deliver a self-protection capability to the U.S. Navy’s P-8A Poseidon. “A process that used to take 18 to 24 months has been scaled to five or six months, which is remarkable, as is deploying this new self-protection capability,” Davidson added. 

The company has collaborated with small focus teams that developed an innovative approach to the design and fabrication of the system’s mechanical parts, which has enabled the system’s rapid response. The RFCM system consists of a small form factor jammer, a high-powered amplifier and the AN/ALE-55 Fiber-Optic Towed Decoy (FOTD).

FOTD is an advanced RF self-protection jammer that combats against RF missile threats to protect any fixed-wing aircraft. AN/ALE-55 FOTD jams signals with a high-powered response from off-board the aircraft at the end of the towline.  Missiles are guided safely away from the aircraft to the towed decoy.

Under the contract, BAE Systems will design, build, integrate and ship the RFCM system over approximately five months, followed by two months of flight testing on the P-8A Poseidon platform. Testing will begin early in 2021. Work on the contract will be performed at the company’s state-of-the-art facility in Nashua, New Hampshire.

About BAE Systems

BAE Systems, Inc. is the U.S. subsidiary of BAE Systems plc, an international defense, aerospace and security company which delivers a full range of products and services for air, land and naval forces, as well as advanced electronics, security, information technology solutions and customer support services.

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HHS Unveils Online Resources for Health IT Standards Compliance
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HHS Unveils Online Resources for Health IT Standards Compliance

The Department of Health and Human Services’ (HHS) Office of the National Coordinator (ONC) for Health Information Technology has introduced online resources to help health IT professionals comply with new electronic health information system standards.

Robert Anthony, director of the ONC Office of Technology’s certification and testing division, said in a blog post published Monday that the online resources can be accessed through the Cures Act Rule website. 

Resources include information on key dates as well as application programming interface requirements in compliance with the Health IT Certification Program Final Rule and the 21st Century Cures Act.

The website also covers topics such as compliance date extensions, health IT certification and test procedures. Other items include updates to the 2015 Edition Certification Criteria, Certification Companion Guides, ONC clarifications and other educational materials.

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Matthew Graviss Named State Department’s First Chief Data Officer
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Matthew Graviss Named State Department’s First Chief Data Officer

Matthew Graviss, former chief data officer (CDO) of the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, has been appointed as CDO with the State Department. Graviss will succeed acting CDO, Janice deGarmo. Graviss will report to deGarmo, who was recently promoted to director of the Office of Management Strategy and Solutions.

The department said Monday Graviss will lead the analytics center within its Office of Management Strategy and Solution in efforts to help personnel gain insights from data that can support diplomatic missions.

Graviss is a PhD Systems Engineer who has led high-profile operations and technology organizations. He brings deep experience across strategic communication, change management, data management and data analytics. 

He previously  served as director of security threat assessment operations at the Transportation Security Administration (TSA) before joining USCIS in July 2018. At TSA, he oversaw the adjudication of credential and benefit applications and risk analysis initiatives across the agency.

Graviss previously worked as director of a Customs and Border Protection (CBP) division responsible for evaluating border surveillance technology from the private sector.

He holds a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from Auburn University, a master’s degree from Texas A&M University and a Ph.D. from George Washington University.

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DHS Tests Ability of Biometric Acquisition Systems in Identifying People With Face Masks
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DHS Tests Ability of Biometric Acquisition Systems in Identifying People With Face Masks

Preliminary test results of the third Biometric Technology Rally held by the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) science and technology (S&T) directorate in the fall of 2020 showed that biometric acquisition tools and matching algorithms were up to 96 percent accurate in identifying individuals with protective face masks.

The S&T directorate tested 60 facial recognition systems with 582 test volunteers during the 10-day testing period to evaluate the technologies’ ability to capture images of people with or without wearing masks, volunteer satisfaction and processing time. 

Matching algorithms and biometric acquisition systems showed an identification rate of 77 percent as their median system performance for recognizing individuals who are wearing masks. 

“This isn’t a perfect 100% solution but it may reduce risks for many travelers, as well as the frontline staff working in airports, who no longer have to ask all travelers to remove masks,” said Arun Vemury, director of S&T directorate’s Biometric and Identity Technology Center.

The directorate said it expects to release the 2020 Biometric Technology Rally’s final test results in the next few weeks.

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Lt. Col. Ryan Rose on Space Force’s Small Satellite Launch Plans
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Lt. Col. Ryan Rose on Space Force’s Small Satellite Launch Plans

Lt. Col. Ryan Rose, chief of the small launch and targets division of the Space and Missile Systems Center’s (SMC) launch enterprise, said the U.S. Space Force plans to assess and work with as many small launch providers as possible and determine how to procure services from such companies to meet future demand, SpaceNews reported Monday.

“Our customers are building more small sats,” Rose told the publication in an interview. “We’re trying to make sure we have contract vehicles available to satisfy those requirements. It’s hard to say how many providers we’ll need.” 

The COVID-19 pandemic and technical challenges pushed back several small satellite launch missions to 2021 and those include launches by Space Vector, Rocket Lab and Virgin Orbit.

Rose said Rocket Lab’s Electron rocket for the Space Test Program STP-27RM mission is now projected to lift off by spring or summer of 2021 and the Air Force Research Laboratory’s (ARL) sounding rocket mission aboard a vehicle developed by Kratos and Space Vector is now expected to launch in the spring.

She added the first of two Virgin Orbit launches, STP-27VP, is now targeted for summer, while the STP-S28 mission is expected to take off later this year.

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