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Army Researchers Develop Anomaly Detection Approach to Network Security
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Army Researchers Develop Anomaly Detection Approach to Network Security

The U.S. Army has developed an algorithm that can help protect networks and detect malicious activity with applications ranging from supply chain management to cybersecurity.

The Army said Monday its researchers were able to establish a higher-order network comprised of additional nodes that harvest social signals to identify emerging events throughout the network infrastructure.

According to the service branch, the higher-order network utilizes data streams to detect changes in the network commonly overlooked by traditional methods.

“The higher-order network analysis can find weak signals in a logistics network of adversarial actions that would be missed by first-order network representations,” said Lance Kaplan, a researcher at the Army Combat Capabilities Development Command’s Army Research Laboratory. “This can include preparations by non-state actors to launch an attack in support of a peer adversary.”

Plans are currently in place for further development and testing operations, with focus on maturing the concept for warfighting applications.

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DOE Allots Funds for User Facility AI Research
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DOE Allots Funds for User Facility AI Research

The Department of Energy (DOE) has invested a new round of funds worth $37M in artificial intelligence research projects that aim to support scientific facilities. 

DOE said Monday it will use the funds to finance 14 projects across seven national laboratories in an effort to automate facility operations and support data-related activities such as analysis and modeling.

The allotted $37 million will cover three years of work, with fiscal 2020 and outyear funds worth $11 million subject to approval by Congress. DOE conducted a peer review and selected projects that tackle user facility topics such as particle accelerators, nanoscale science research centers and large X-ray light sources.

“Artificial Intelligence and machine learning have the potential to transform a host of scientific disciplines and to revolutionize experimentation and operations at user facilities in the coming years,” said Chris Fall, who leads DOE’s science office.

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Air Force Begins LAIRCM Tests;
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Air Force Begins LAIRCM Tests;

The 22nd Aircraft Maintenance Squadron has started testing efforts for a Northrop Grumman-built defensive system designed for large transport and rotary-wing aircraft.

The team attached the Large Aircraft Infrared Counter-Measures system to the underside of KC-46A Pegasus aerial refueling aircraft to mark the beginning of testing activities, the U.S. Air Force said Friday.

“We tested the system to ensure electronic counter-measures were working as intended,” said Tech. Sgt. Spencer Balint, laser security officer at 22nd AMXS.

LAIRCM employs missile warning and infrared laser jammer systems to defend aircraft units from guided-missile attacks.

USAF aims to augment KC-46’s aerial refueling capabilities in combat zones through LAIRCM.

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Lt. Gen. Nina Armagno Appointed HQ Staff Director of Space Force
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Lt. Gen. Nina Armagno Appointed HQ Staff Director of Space Force

Lt. Gen. Nina Armagno has been assigned to serve as the U.S. Space Force's director of staff for headquarters, a role through which she will lead daily staff operations of the service's HQ.

She also received a promotion to three-star general, making her USSF's first female general officer, the service branch said Monday. The Pentagon held a ceremony the same day to commemorate her promotion and appointment.

“We’re going to be agile, we’re going to be nimble, and we’re going to bring the best of everything into the space force," she said.

She joined the U.S. military in 1988 and went on to fill roles across multiple space defense-related areas.

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Robert Tipton Osterthaler Named FirstNet Board Chair
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Robert Tipton Osterthaler Named FirstNet Board Chair

Robert Tipton Osterthaler, a retired brigadier general at the U.S. Air Force, has been appointed board chair of the First Responder Network Authority. Ostherthaler will replace Edward Horowitz, who is slated to complete his term as board chair Aug. 19th, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) said Monday.

Osterthaler joined FirstNet in 2018 and leads the organization's finance committee as chair. He previously served as president and CEO at SES' government solutions subsidiary. He also held the role of senior vice president at Science Applications International Corp.

Doug Kinkoph, acting deputy assistant secretary for communications and information at the Department of Commerce (DOC), said NTIA will continue its partnership with FirstNet along with the deployment of a nationwide public safety broadband network.

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Maj. Gen. B. Chance Saltzman to Lead Space Force’s Cyber, Nuclear Operations
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Maj. Gen. B. Chance Saltzman to Lead Space Force’s Cyber, Nuclear Operations

Maj. Gen. B. Chance Saltzman has received a promotion to lieutenant general, becoming the U.S. Space Force's first promoted general officer.

Saltzman will serve as the Space Force's deputy chief of space operations for cyber and nuclear, a role through which he will oversee the service's sustainment, operational, nuclear-related and intelligence aspects, USSF said Friday.

“It’s a historic time in the space community and being given a leadership role and helping stand up the Space Force is truly humbling,” Saltzman said.

The Space Force held a ceremony at the Pentagon to commemorate Saltzman's promotion. He served as deputy commander of Air Forces Central Command most recently where he led air command and control for operations within Southwest and Central Asia.

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Lt. Gen. Jeffrey Kruse Named Senior Military Adviser of National Intelligence Director
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Lt. Gen. Jeffrey Kruse Named Senior Military Adviser of National Intelligence Director

Lt. Gen. Jeffrey Kruse of the U.S. Air Force has been appointed to serve as the military adviser for the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. He will advise the director of national intelligence on defense matters relevant to the intelligence community, ODNI said Monday. His advisory contributions will also reach centers and directorates under ODNI.

Most recently, Kruse served as the director of Defense Intelligence for warfighter support at the Office of the Undersecretary of Defense for Intelligence and Security. The military officer also held intelligence-related roles for U.S. Indo-Pacific Command.

“Lt. Gen. Kruse’s previous experience as the director of intelligence and senior intelligence officer in the heavily militarized Indo-Pacific region is especially welcome to ODNI, as that area is home to seven of the world’s largest standing militaries and five of the world’s declared nuclear nations,” said John Ratcliffe, DNI.

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Russell Vought Releases OMB Memo on FY 2022 Gov’t R&D Priorities
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Russell Vought Releases OMB Memo on FY 2022 Gov’t R&D Priorities

Russell Vought, director of the Office of Management and Budget (OMB), has issued a memo detailing the Trump administration’s new budgetary priority for research and development efforts in fiscal year 2022.

Vought said the memo dated Aug. 14 that the new priority area is focused on U.S. public health security and innovation to ensure biotechnology and biomedical preparedness for future pandemics following the COVID-19 crisis.

The memo also details the government’s crosscutting actions and R&D strategies in “Industries of the Future” subject areas such as artificial intelligence, quantum information science, biotechnology, advanced manufacturing and advanced communication networks.

According to Vought, the government will work to invest in early-stage research, workforce education and training, research environment optimization and other efforts to lower administrative barriers as part of its commitment to science and technology programs.

“A foundation of the Nation's ability to respond to COVID-19 is the capacity of government, the private sector, academia, and nonprofits to make substantial and complementary investments in R&D and effectively partner to create the discoveries and innovations,” he noted.

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Space Force Seeks $131M to Continue Weather Imaging Satellite Effort; Col. Russell Teehan Quoted
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Space Force Seeks $131M to Continue Weather Imaging Satellite Effort; Col. Russell Teehan Quoted

The U.S. Space Force is requesting $131 million to support continued efforts to deploy space-based sensor technologies to low-Earth orbit for combat-focused weather imaging operations in fiscal year 2021, C4ISRnet reported Monday.

This summer, the military branch issued contracts to Raytheon Technologies, Astra and General Atomics to prototype space-based sensor systems with cloud characterization elements for LEO weather imaging applications.

Col. Russell Teehan, a portfolio architect at the Space and Missile Systems Center, told the publication in an interview that the Space Force plans to spend $30 million to $50 million for small satellites that will make up a “proliferation LEO” constellation to support theater operations.

“[T]he activities in the past were generally $700 million-plus individual systems, which forced us into architectures that were [made up of less than five satellites] that were significantly vulnerable if we were in a time of conflict,” he said.

The new prototyping initiative builds on the U.S. Air Force’s efforts to replace its legacy Defense Meteorological Satellite Program since 2015, according to the report.

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SAIC Names Nyla Beth Gawel as SVP of Strategy; Dee Dee Helfenstein Quoted
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SAIC Names Nyla Beth Gawel as SVP of Strategy; Dee Dee Helfenstein Quoted

SAIC has appointed Nyla Beth Gawel as senior vice president of strategy to develop the company’s strategy and drive significant organic growth and market leadership, SAIC reported on Tuesday.

“Nyla Beth’s experience and background as a strategy leader will be an enormous asset to SAIC as we drive organic growth and strengthen our capabilities to deliver digital transformation solutions to federal government customers,” said Dee Dee Helfenstein, executive vice president and chief strategic growth officer at SAIC. “She brings to SAIC 20 years of experience and broad consulting expertise focused on technology and innovation advancement for public sector markets.”

Gawel will work with leaders across SAIC to ensure strategic business plans are successfully executed. She has joined SAIC with more than 20 years of experience as a leader of strategy and development throughout the public sector.

Prior to joining SAIC, Gawel served as director of Public Sector Strategy for Verizon Business.  In this role she shaped the Public Sector Business Unit’s approach to technology adoption, 5G edge, and connectivity-centric managed and professional services.

Gawel’s focus included public sector compliance, organic and inorganic growth prioritization, and approaches for new platform and solution focused offerings in areas of remote learning, immersive training, and transportation distribution and logistics.

Before her tenure at Verizon, Gawel served as vice president with Booz Allen Hamilton. She drove increasingly complex and strategic initiatives for the company, ranging from standing up new accounts to developing game-changing market entry strategies focused on emerging technology adoption.

Gawel also led the firm’s efforts to diversify its portfolio and expand its technology market footprint with new solution-oriented and platform-focused (-aaS) offerings. She also spearheaded Booz Allen’s Futures strategy, Internet of Things (IoT) programs/investments, and helped establish the firm’s digital practice.

Gawel began her career in 2000 as a contracted program analyst for the National Institute of Justice, before moving into a homeland security director position at G&H International Services LLC.

“I’m excited to take on this new role with the SAIC team and to leverage my experience to help the company grow and expand on its success in helping government customers achieve their goals for digital transformation and accelerated technology adoption,” said Gawel. “I look forward to collaborating with SAIC’s leadership to develop and orchestrate the company’s growth strategy.”

About SAIC

SAIC® is a premier Fortune 500® technology integrator driving our nation’s digital transformation. Our robust portfolio of offerings across the defense, space, civilian, and intelligence markets includes secure high-end solutions in engineering, IT modernization, and mission solutions. Using our expertise and understanding of existing and emerging technologies, we integrate the best components from our own portfolio and our partner ecosystem to deliver innovative, effective, and efficient solutions that are critical to achieving our customers’ missions.

We are 25,500 strong; driven by mission, united by purpose, and inspired by opportunities. Headquartered in Reston, Virginia, SAIC has pro forma annual revenues of approximately $7.1 billion.

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