Gen. John Murray, commanding general of the U.S. Army Futures Command (AFC) and a 2020 Wash100 Award winner, has said the Army’s integrated tactical network (ITN) needs updated commercial technologies to operate at constrained bandwidth ranges.

The Army conducted an experiment called “Project Convergence” to test ITN’s capacity to ingest data through artificial intelligence, robotics and automated systems. The exercise began in August and lasted for several weeks at Yuma Proving Ground in Arizona, FCW reported Thursday.

Brig. Gen. Ross Coffman, head of the AFC cross-functional team for next-generation combat vehicles, said that the primarily mobile network ran into challenges during the assessment due to its lack of capacity to handle network components in a ruggedized environment.

According to Murray, the network is the backbone of the Army’s main operations and the service needs to “spin in commercial capabilities to continue to enrich and expand the network we have.”

The Army plans to include weapons systems and testing approaches from the other military branches for the network’s next assessment scheduled for 2021. Last month, the Army announced plans to include a secure but unclassified (SBU) environment for the tactical network in the service’s Capability Set ‘21.

Bill Monet, CEO of Akima, earned his first Wash100 Award for his leadership and expertise to drive company growth and expand its portfolio by securing major contracts across the government contracting sector.

His experience has expanded over 30 years in the federal sector working with federal, state, local and commercial clients. Monet has managed a range of programs under Akima’s portfolio, including information technology, system integration, mission support, aviation, facilities management, and construction.

Most recently, Akima announced in May that its subsidiary, Akima Logistics Services, was awarded a spot on the ten-year, $6.1 billion Kits, Recovery, Augmentation, Components and Engines (KRACEn) Multiple Award Contract (MAC) to support the U.S. Navy.

Under the contract, Akima Logistics Services will provide maintenance services and support for single satellite sites, small aircraft quantities, personnel to augment government maintenance teams, and overhaul capabilities for aircraft components and subsystems.

In addition, The company also announced in October 2019 that it had received a potential eight-year, $152 million contract to provide facility support to the Arnold Engineering Development Complex at Arnold Air Force Base.

The work is being performed at Arnold Air Force Base, Tenn., with specific performance at White Oak, Maryland and Moffett Field, California. Akima’s services will include command, control, and communication functions as well as test security, other security services, base supply, cargo movement, and vehicle maintenance.

Executive Mosaic congratulates Akima and Bill Monet on his 2020 Wash100 Award. Monet’s expertise and leadership have helped to establish Akima as an elite company in the GovCon sector.

MG Kimberly Crider, acting chief technology and innovation officer (CTIO) of the Space Force, recently discussed the initiatives of the U.S. Space Force, stating that the agency will be a “digital service” on the leading edge of technology, SpaceNews reported on Friday.

“Our goal is to be the first digital service by design, to be born digital as we stand up at this new service,” says Crider. “We want to utilize digital technologies and digital capabilities in all the things that we do and we want to develop a digital workforce.”

The Space Force, created the Chief Technology Innovation Office (CTIO), will ensure that technology and innovation are primary focal points of the agency to attract quality talent. The agency will use digital engineering to develop its future Space Force’s tech-heavy vision to overcome obstacles. 

Josh Marcuse, head of strategy and innovation at Google Cloud, said that the Space Force digital service will have to rethink how tech talent is valued and recognized.

“Coders are the fighter jocks of the Space Force,” he says. The ability to deliver software fast and manage data are key capabilities that will give space forces a competitive advantage, Marcuse adds. The future space generals are going to be the “individuals who understand how the entire system is networked, how the network impacts the entire mission.”

In June 2020, Mark Esper, Secretary of Defense and 2020 Wash100 Award recipient, released the Defense Space Strategy, which has identified how the Department of Defense (DoD) will advance spacepower to be able to compete and win in a complex security environment. 

“The Defense Space Strategy is the next step to ensure space superiority and to secure the Nation’s vital interests in space now and in the future,” said Esper. “We desire a secure, stable, and accessible space domain that underpins our Nation’s security, prosperity and scientific achievement.” 

Through the strategy, DoD will advance spacepower with three new objectives, including Maintain Space Superiority; Provide Space Support to National, Joint, and Combined Operations; and Ensure Space Stability.

In addition, the department will pursue four priority lines of effort to address identified threats, opportunities, and challenges, including building a comprehensive military advantage in space; integrating military spacepower into national, joint, and combined operations; shape the strategic environment; and cooperate with allies, partners, industry and federal departments and agencies.

“We have to implement enterprise-wide changes to policies, strategies, operations, investments, capabilities, and expertise for this new strategic environment. This strategy identifies a phased approach on how we are going to achieve the desired conditions in space over the next 10 years,” Esper added.

Will Roper, assistant secretary for acquisition, technology and logistics at the U.S. Air Force and a 2020 Wash100 Award winner, said a redesign of the KC-46 Pegasus aerial refueling aircraft’s remote vision system is driving the service to plan for the possible integration of autonomous or semi-autonomous capabilities into its next tanker, the Military website reported Thursday.

"The KC-46 is going to take us all the way up to the doorstep of semi-autonomous and autonomous tanking," Roper told reporters Wednesday during a phone call. "And the Air Force has committed to put in those algorithms because, when you build a properly designed RVS, you've done everything needed to do autonomous tanking. The only thing you're missing are the algorithms to actually do it."

Boeing and the Air Force signed a memorandum of agreement in April to implement for KC-46A a final RVS design, RVS 2.0, which will feature a laser ranger for refueling aircraft distance measurement and boom assistance augmented reality, among others. Roper said the service considers survivability as a priority for its future tanker fleet.

"We're definitely going to be thinking about autonomy as a way to change the risk calculus so looking at something that is stealthy and more survivable is a different way we could go, [or] looking at something that's defendable,” he noted.