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Air Force, Army Train, Integrate for Joint Air Defense; Capt. Nicholas Volz, Capt. Nathanael Agront Quoted
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Air Force, Army Train, Integrate for Joint Air Defense; Capt. Nicholas Volz, Capt. Nathanael Agront Quoted

U.S. Air Force and U.S. Army components are working together to integrate communication networks, defense weapons and radar systems to boost joint efficiency.

USAF said Monday its 726th Air Control Squadron and the Army's 31st Air Defense Artillery Brigade are training together and combining capabilities for bolstered readiness and security.

“Working with the Army ensures the safety of particular assets and regions,” said Capt. Nicholas Volz,  chief of weapons and tactics at the 726th ACS.

The squadron, operating from Mountain Home Air Force Base, offers an early-detection radar, then the 31st ADA BDE delivers anti-air firepower via the MIM-104 Patriot missile. The two play different roles in the joint kill chain or the set of events required for strikes.

“JTEN (joint training and experimentation network) allows this training experience and interpersonal relationships to continue to progress and develop without waiting for joint training events,” said Capt. Nathanael Agront, air defense artillery fire control officer for the 31st ADA BDE.

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NAVWAR Awards $104M in OTA Production Contracts for Warfare Tech Transition Effort
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NAVWAR Awards $104M in OTA Production Contracts for Warfare Tech Transition Effort

Naval Information Warfare Systems Command (NIWC) has awarded other transaction authority production (OTP) contracts worth $104 million combined to transition three prototype technologies under the Information Warfare Research Project (IWRP).

Projects selected to transition into production include the Low Altitude Range Communication System (LARCS) under the U.S. Marine Corps, the Analytic Performance Assessment Capability (APAC) under the Chief of Naval Operations' Navy Programming Division (OPNAV N80) and the Healthcare Master Data Management (MDM) tool under the Defense Health Agency (DHA), DVIDShub reported Monday.

LARCS serves as a modernized version of the Marine Corps’ air-to-ground communications platform that uses graphical user interfaces and other elements suited for voice over internet protocol (VoIP) architectures.

APAC is an updated data management system that uses analytics and machine learning to process a range of resources such as wargaming assets, documents and historical papers for U.S. Navy operations. MDM integrates analytics capabilities for medical repository functions to service all military branches.

“This process provides a unique opportunity to leverage an OTA to not only rapidly prototype – which we are actively and successfully doing through IWRP – but also to rapidly produce technology and place it in the hands of our Sailors and Marines faster,” said Don Sallee, acquisition planning services manager at NIWC Atlantic.
 
Four other IWRP prototypes are slated to receive OTPs in three to four months.

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Brig. Gen. Robert Barrie: Army Brings New Prototype Drones to the Field; Maj. Gen. David Francis Quoted
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Brig. Gen. Robert Barrie: Army Brings New Prototype Drones to the Field; Maj. Gen. David Francis Quoted

Brig. Gen. Robert Barrie, commander of the U.S. Army’s Program Executive Office Aviation, said the service branch has commenced field-testing of Future Tactical Unmanned Aircraft Systems (FTUAS), Military.com reported Monday.

Barrie said at the Association of the U.S. Army’s virtual conference last week that soldiers are now being equipped with FTUAS prototypes for fielding.

The FTUAS effort aims to modernize the Army’s drones under the Future Vertical Lift program. The effort’s result would provide quieter performance for Army reconnaissance operations and replace the existing RQ-7B Shadow aircraft.

“We could not be more excited about the aviation modernization effort with the Future Vertical Lift,” Maj. Gen. David Francis, who commands the Army Aviation Center of Excellence, said at the AUSA event.

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JAIC’s Nand Mulchandani on Global AI Partnerships, Ethical Framework Dev’t
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JAIC’s Nand Mulchandani on Global AI Partnerships, Ethical Framework Dev’t

Nand Mulchandani, chief technology officer of the Joint Artificial Intelligence Center (JAIC), has said that global partnerships are key to leveraging global datasets and scaling the artificial intelligence technologies for the Department of Defense (DoD).

Mulchandani told attendees at the recent Politico AI Summit that the DoD is focused on working with companies that can help explain and develop trust in AI systems in line with the government’s stringent approach to establishing AI ethical principles, DoD News reported Monday.

He noted that JAIC previously entered into an AI partnership with NATO and other European allies to establish such principles in AI.

"Industry has to develop on its own, and that's where the global talent is; that's where the money is; that's where all of the innovation is going on," said Mulchandani.

"The real tricky part is: How do we actually take that technology and get it deployed? That's the complexity of integrating AI into existing systems, because one isn't going to throw away the entire investment of legacy systems that one has, whether it be software or hardware or even military hardware."

JAIC's Nand Mulchandani on Global AI Partnerships, Ethical Framework Dev't

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Register here to attend ArchIntel’s first virtual event: AI in Competitive Intelligence Forum.

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AECOM Moves Global Headquarters to Los Angeles; Troy Rudd Quoted
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AECOM Moves Global Headquarters to Los Angeles; Troy Rudd Quoted

AECOM will relocate its global headquarters from the Century City business district in Los Angeles to downtown Los Angeles, effective January 1, 2021. The company will close its offices at 1999 Avenue of the Stars and consolidate its headquarters and Corporate employees into existing AECOM offices at 300 South Grand Avenue.

“As we continue our transformation to a higher-margin, lower-risk Professional Services firm, we are focused on ensuring our teams have the best opportunity to collaborate and deliver for our clients,” said Troy Rudd, AECOM’s chief executive officer. 

As part of AECOM’s transformation, the company also sold its Power construction business to affiliates of CriticalPoint Capital. AECOM has worked to align the company around a global structure to advance collaboration and foster new growth opportunities. 

In addition, AECOM has integrated its Design and Consulting Services (DCS) businesses into one global organization as part of the company’s phased strategy. The new unit will be led by Lara Poloni, AECOM’s president, the company reported in Oct. 2020. The merger will simplify the operating structure of the company and will enable greater connectivity and collaboration across the enterprise.

The recent announcement follows AECOM’s sale of it’s management services business for $2.4 billion, which the Affiliates of private equity firms Lindsay Goldberg and American Securities have completed in Feb. 2020. 

The completed sale has accelerated AECOM’s value creation strategy and advances its ongoing transformation and focus on its higher-returning and lower-risk Professional Services business.

“We are continuing to prioritize our time and capital towards delivering on our commitment to our stakeholders, and optimizing our real estate portfolio is a key driver of achieving these objectives,” Rudd added. 

About AECOM

AECOM (NYSE:ACM) is the world’s premier infrastructure consulting firm, delivering professional services throughout the project lifecycle – from planning, design and engineering to program and construction management. 

We partner with our clients in the public and private sectors to solve their most complex challenges and build legacies for generations to come. On projects spanning transportation, buildings, water, governments, energy and the environment, our teams are driven by a common purpose to deliver a better world. AECOM is a Fortune 500 firm and its Professional Services business had revenue of approximately $13.6 billion in fiscal year 2019.

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Accenture Partners with Blue Yonder to Transform Supply Chain Operations; Kris Timmermans, Mark Morgan Quoted
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Accenture Partners with Blue Yonder to Transform Supply Chain Operations; Kris Timmermans, Mark Morgan Quoted

Accenture has partnered with Blue Yonder to deliver intelligent, customer-centric supply chain transformations that leverage a cloud-first approach, Accenture reported on Tuesday. The partnership will accelerate digital transformation by using the cloud. 

“Expanding our alliance with Blue Yonder will provide our joint clients the necessary tools and visibility to actively respond to disruptions in their supply chains, while also reinforcing the cloud-first approach as a key tenet of digital supply chain transformation,” said Kris Timmermans, senior managing director and Accenture’s global Supply Chain & Operations lead. 

Under the partnership with Blue Yonder, Accenture will expand and scale its Supply Chain  and Operations practice with new capabilities and skills to meet that demand. 

Accenture and Blue Yonder will continue to offer advanced supply chain expertise and solutions across the value chain from planning to logistics; providing end-to-end visibility, while also fast-tracking existing client journeys to a more cost-effective and agile cloud architecture. 

The companies will also jointly develop innovative fit-for-purpose supply chain offerings that leverage Blue Yonder’s cloud-based Luminate platform, which runs on Microsoft Azure Cloud. 

Offering advanced artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) technologies, the partnership will develop new solutions that help joint clients achieve network-wide visibility and collaboration, automated execution, improved demand and supply planning, optimized inventory management and enhanced fulfillment.

Previously, the team has helped a variety of global clients address the supply chain challenges with cloud-based solutions. 

Accenture and Blue Yonder collaborated to help Essity set-up a central transport control tower during the COVID-19 pandemic to gain transparency and increase efficiency. With the support, Essity mitigated the impact on its business with better decision-making processes. Accenture and Blue Yonder transformed the supply chain to increase resilience and provide critical data and analytics.

“Together with Accenture, we will drive greater client value with proven methodologies that help companies achieve their visions for resilient supply chains by putting cloud at the center,” said said Mark Morgan, executive vice president of Worldwide Commercial Business, Blue Yonder.

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Iridium Reports Third Quarter 2020 Results; Matt Desch Quoted
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Iridium Reports Third Quarter 2020 Results; Matt Desch Quoted

Iridium has announced financial results for the third quarter of 2020, reporting that  net loss was $4.0 million, as compared to net loss of $18.0 million for the third quarter of 2019, which is attributable to the lower net interest expenses related to the refinancing of Iridium's credit facility and high-yield notes from the year ago period.  

"Iridium's business model has proven quite resilient given the importance of our services in the face of a global pandemic," said Matt Desch, CEO of Iridium and 2020 Wash100 Award recipient. "Iridium delivered a record 67,000 net subscriber additions during the quarter, which drove sequential growth in commercial services. Subscriber equipment sales also increased by 18% year-over-year, driven by increased demand in the third quarter."

Iridium noted the company’s growth was attributable to service revenue and lower selling, general and administrative expenses. Operational EBITDA for the third quarter was $93.4 million, as compared to $88.5 million for the prior-year period, increasing 6 percent. The OEBITDA margin was 62 percent. OEBITDA benefited from increased commercial revenue and reduced operating expenses.

Iridium reported third-quarter total revenue of $151.5 million, including $116.9 million of service revenue and $34.6 million of revenue related to equipment sales and engineering and support projects.  

The company’s total revenue increased by five percent versus the comparable period of 2019, while service revenue grew by one percent. Service revenue was 77 percent of total revenue for the third quarter of 2020.

Iridium ended the quarter with 1.429 million total billable subscribers, compared to 1.3 million for the year-ago period. Subscriber growth was driven by rising activations of personal communications devices. Total billable subscribers grew 13 percent year-over-year, driven by growth in commercial IoT customers.

"In light of continued momentum, Iridium is raising its full-year guidance for 2020. We now expect to generate approximately $355 million in operational EBITDA and finish the year with net leverage of approximately 4.0 times operational EBITDA. With nearly a full turn of deleveraging in 2020, we are well on our way to achieving our targeted leverage range and undertaking material returns of capital to shareholders," Desch added. 

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MCA Names Michael Smith as CIO; Lisa Firestone Quoted
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MCA Names Michael Smith as CIO; Lisa Firestone Quoted

Managed Care Advisors (MCA) has appointed Michael Smith as chief information officer (CIO) to support the organization’s growth strategy and business opportunities, following the recent award of  SaaS, Case Management and COVID-19 Management contracts. 

“After careful consideration, we chose Michael Smith because of his solutions-oriented and innovative approach to solving complex challenges. His unique ability to simplify complex issues into actionable solutions is exactly what we need to support our continued growth,” said Lisa Firestone, MCA president and CEO.

In his new role, Smith will supervise MCA’s Technical Solutions and will serve on the Senior Leadership Team and Executive Quality Steering Committee (EQSC). Smith’s skill set includes Cloud, IT Transformation, Information Assurance, Vulnerability Management, Security Operations Management, Agile and Enterprise Architecture.

Smith has joined MCA with more than two decades of experience in supporting information security requirements for both the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Department of Commerce. Smith has a demonstrated history focused on providing premier services to the federal, Department of Defense (DoD), civilian, health and commercial sectors in cyber disciplines. 

He is recognized as a Subject Matter Expert on government regulations and standards such as FISMA, HIPAA, and NIST. He directly oversees corporate governance, risk, and compliance functions, promoting effective Cyber and Information Security policies to address resilience, Insider Threat & Third-Party Risk Management.

Smith has previously worked for Accenture, where he served as a senior vice president of Risk & Compliance. He began his career with the U.S. Marine Corps, and since has held notable roles in security operations, business development, including chief security officer (CSO), chief information security officer (CISO) and other leadership positions with excellent communication skills. 

He is also a Certified Information Security Officer (CISO), Project Management Professional (PMP), Certified Professional in Healthcare Information and Management Systems, PECB: ISO/IEC 27001 Lead Implementer, Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP), Information Technology Infrastructure Library (ITIL) v3 & v4, Certified Enterprise Architect (CEA), and Certified Scrum Master.

“We specifically earmarked Michael Smith because he comes with not only two decades of experience, but he is very experienced in security, from infrastructure, software security, and personnel… We needed to have someone to lead that charge with the experience and depth that Michael brings. It’s so important to the people we serve as well as our business,” Firestone said during her Executive Spotlight Interview with ExecutiveBiz. 

During Lisa Firestone’s Executive Spotlight, she addressed new acquisitions, hires, and technologies that have expanded MCA’s presence in the federal sector.

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ECS Names Aaron Burciaga as Senior Director of AI, Analytics; George Wilson Quoted
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ECS Names Aaron Burciaga as Senior Director of AI, Analytics; George Wilson Quoted

ECS has appointed Aaron Burciaga as senior director of artificial intelligence (AI) and analytics, the company reported on Tuesday. 

“Aaron brings two decades worth of experience leading AI, ML, and analytics teams,” said ECS president and 2020 Wash100 Award recipient George Wilson. “His insights and expertise will be integral to ECS as we continue to define, develop, and maintain world-class analytics and AI capabilities.”

With ECS, Burciaga will collaborate with ECS’s national security and intelligence division to advance AI and machine learning (ML) solutions. He will also develop an Analytics Center of Excellence, similar to the company’s Cloud and Cyber Centers of Excellence.

Burciaga brings deep experience in startup and enterprise settings, with extensive knowledge in automation, data science, AI, and ML. Prior to joining ECS, Burciaga served with HCL Technologies as global operations director for analytics and artificial intelligence. 

Before his tenure with HCL Technologies, Burciaga served as vice president Data Science and AI with Booz Allen Hamilton. In the role, he led data science, AI and analytics functional community activities to support federal agencies and commercial Fortune 500 enterprises. 

With Accenture, Burciaga was the senior manager of Global Analytics and Applied Intelligence, where he directed analytics engagements with Fortune 100 companies and formed client partnerships, initiatives and opportunities promoting various global and North American revenue projects.

He is also a veteran of the Iraq War, where Burciaga served as an officer in the U.S. Marine Corps (USMC). He also served as the lead data technologist at USMC headquarters through 2019, where he assisted the service branch’s chief information officer (CIO).

“I’m excited to join a company committed to leveraging the latest AI and ML technology towards national security and prosperity,” said Burciaga. “In doing so, ECS continues to define the industry’s best practices. Our solutions transform how commercial and federal clients collect, analyze, and ultimately make better decisions using data.”

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Mark Esper: DoD Needs 5% Budget Increase to Stay Ahead of Adversaries
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Mark Esper: DoD Needs 5% Budget Increase to Stay Ahead of Adversaries

Mark Esper, the defense secretary and a 2020 Wash100 Award recipient, has said the Pentagon needs a 3 to 5 percent increase in budget to keep up with near-peer adversaries and boost military readiness.

Esper told attendees at a Heritage Foundation event that the Department of Defense (DoD) needs to be “better stewards of the taxpayer dollar” while the Congress must ensure a steady increase of annual defense funding, the Washington Business Journal reported Friday.

He noted that the DoD is looking to realign program funds and reform 2018 National Defense Strategy goals to ensure spending efficiency. “I talk about freeing up time, money and manpower to put into other priorities,” said Esper.

“What that does is, that allows the services to use dollars spent to maintain an unnecessarily high level of readiness and invest it into people, into modernization, into any other thing they want without jeopardizing their ability to meet the war plans.”

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