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OSTP Seeks Info on PNT Infrastructure Resilience Approaches
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OSTP Seeks Info on PNT Infrastructure Resilience Approaches

The White House’s Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) is looking for input that will help inform the Trump administration’s efforts to improve the resiliency of the nation’s positioning, navigation and timing (PNT) architecture.

OSTP said in a Federal Register notice posted Monday that OSTP and the National Science and Technology Council's (NSTC) Subcommittee on Resilience Science and Technology (SRST) seek to create a national strategy for PNT-related research and development.

In February, President Trump signed an executive order directing the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and other agencies to work on a strategy for fortifying PNT assets and infrastructure.

The plan will cover pilot testing operations for PNT systems designed to resist manipulation and interference while operating independently from global navigation satellite systems (GNSS).

According to the notice, SRST seeks input specifically on future PNT capabilities and R&D proposals in various areas including PNT sources, distribution methods, augmentation approaches and related equipment.

OSTP will accept feedback from interested parties until Sept. 9.

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Space Force Publishes First Doctrine to Define Service Mission; Gen. Jay Raymond Quoted
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Space Force Publishes First Doctrine to Define Service Mission; Gen. Jay Raymond Quoted

The U.S. Space Force has issued its first doctrine, a document that tackles the service branch's approach as a distinct military force and role in joint missions. The "Spacepower" Space Capstone Publication discusses space as a unique domain and will function as USSF's basis for future doctrines that will address various space defense challenges, USSF said Monday.

“The Space Capstone Publication explains why spacepower is a vital element of U.S. prosperity and security – now and in the future – and guides its employment in multidomain operations," said Gen. Jay Raymond, USSF's chief of Space Operations and 2020 Wash100 Award winner.

The doctrine's tackled topics include national and military spacepower, space forces development and the space domain's unique characteristics. The Space Force intends to update the doctrine over time based on future application and evaluation.

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MITRE Names Pete Leroy as VP of Integration & Operations; Jerry Hogge Quoted
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MITRE Names Pete Leroy as VP of Integration & Operations; Jerry Hogge Quoted

MITRE has appointed Charles “Pete” Leroy as vice president of integration and operations within MITRE Public Sector (MPS), the company reported on Tuesday. 

“Pete’s robust, cross-sector track record will be an asset as he takes on this new role and facilitates collaboration across our diverse populations, projects, and teams,” said Jerry Hogge, senior vice president and general manager, MITRE Public Sector. “His experience leading complex, large-scale projects will greatly benefit MITRE’s ability to deliver impact to a wide range of challenging problems.”

Leroy will bring more than two-decades of experience in leading business development, strategy, operations, and project management to MITRE. Leroy has focused within the defense and telecom industries, and will provide an understanding of the impacts of business decisions and operational performance to corporate financials.

With MITRE, Leroy will develop and supervise the implementation of operational policies and practices. He will also lead the integration of efforts across MPS, focusing on workforce engagement, program execution, business development, financial management and quality assurance.

Prior to joining MITRE, Leroy most recently served as chief of staff, military and veterans’ health, for Leidos Health Group. In the role, he supervised program operations and oversight to support capture and business development opportunities. 

With SAIC, which he was appointed as AHLTA program manager in 2003, Leroy developed strategy for and led SAIC proposal effort for the MHS AHLTA Integration contract and built a new team from the ground up to design all processes, procedures and tools for the company’s efforts. 

Leroy has also served in a variety of leadership positions with Verizon Communications, ReFlex Communications, and Sky View World Media. He earned his bachelor’s degree in finance, real estate, and law from California Polytechnic State University, Pomona. He also holds active certifications as a Project Management Professional and ITIL Foundation V3.

About MITRE

MITRE’s mission-driven teams are dedicated to solving problems for a safer world. Through our public-private partnerships and federally funded R&D centers, we work across government and in partnership with industry to tackle challenges to the safety, stability, and well-being of our nation.

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DoD Signs Agreement with BioFire Defense to Increase COVID-19 Test Kit Production
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DoD Signs Agreement with BioFire Defense to Increase COVID-19 Test Kit Production

The Department of Defense (DoD) has entered into a $3.1 million agreement with bioMerieux's BioFire Defense subsidiary to increase manufacturing capacity for COVID-19 test kits.

The company will use the investment to install two new production lines into its facility in Salt Lake City to expand test kit production in September, DoD said Monday.

BioFire's test kits are built to work with the company's FilmArray panel, an instrument designed to help users identify pathogens related to an infectious disease.

The agreement is a part of the Joint Acquisition Task Force's efforts to ensure the availability of medical resources via the Defense Production Act Title III program.

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Bipartisan Bill Aims to Technologically Bolster U.S. Border Security; Michael McCaul Quoted
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Bipartisan Bill Aims to Technologically Bolster U.S. Border Security; Michael McCaul Quoted

Reps. Xochitl Torres Small, D-N.M.; Michael Cloud, R-Texas; Michael McCaul, R-Texas; and Elisa Slotkin, D-Mich., have introduced a bill to strengthen the U.S.-Mexico border's technological capability. Sens. Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz., and John Cornyn, R-Texas, introduced the bill in the Senate side of Congress.

The Southwest Border Security Technology Improvement Act of 2020 would task the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to analyze the border's technological gaps, Torres Small's office said Aug. 5.

"By determining gaps in our border technology, we will be able to detect where improvements must be made to strengthen our border security and national security,” Rep. McCaul said.

The legislation's sought analysis would address the areas of terrorist prevention and criminal activity reduction, and explore new security-applicable technologies such as unmanned aerial systems and tunnel detection.

DHS would also form a border security technology plan based on the analysis. The plan would include efforts to procure or develop the identified technologies.

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ECS Names Pamela Rothka CFO; George Wilson Quoted
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ECS Names Pamela Rothka CFO; George Wilson Quoted

ECS has appointed Pamela Rothka as chief financial officer (CFO) to supervise strategic finance, accounting, contracts, pricing, business operations and facilities, the company reported on Tuesday. 

“Pamela is an industry leader with the knowledge and experience to have a significant impact on ECS’ future,” said George Wilson, president of ECS and 2020 Wash100 Award recipient. “We are proud to have Pamela join our team and look forward to leveraging her partnership, knowledge, and experience to support our growth.”

In her new role, Rothka will also spearhead ECS’ mergers and acquisitions, as well as divisional reporting.  She brings over 20 years of experience in corporate finance, a career that spans both the government and commercial sectors. Prior to joining ECS, Rothka served as CFO with Octo Consulting. 

“I’m excited to be a part of the ECS family and look forward to serving our customers,” said Rothka. “I am eager to collaborate with my new teammates to chart the financial path forward for ECS.”

About ECS

ECS, a segment of ASGN, delivers advanced solutions in cloud, cybersecurity, artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), application and IT modernization, science, and engineering. 

The company solves critical, complex challenges for customers across the U.S. public sector, defense, intelligence, and commercial industries. ECS maintains partnerships with leading cloud, cybersecurity, and AI/ML providers and holds specialized certifications in their technologies. Headquartered in Fairfax, Virginia, ECS has more than 3,000 employees throughout the United States.

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Pivot3 Partners with Bosch to Develop Certified HCI Platform; Mike Koponen Quoted
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Pivot3 Partners with Bosch to Develop Certified HCI Platform; Mike Koponen Quoted

Pivot3 has launched the first hyperconverged infrastructure (HCI) platform to be certified with BVMS,  the video management system from Bosch, Pivot3 reported on Tuesday. With the certification, Pivot3 will provide organizations with additional improvements in economics, simplicity and agility in their physical security environments. 

"Both Pivot3 and Bosch have a strong presence and focus in the federal community including having federal system integrators in common who design, propose, deploy and support solutions based on BVMS running on Pivot3," said Mike Koponen, senior director business development, Pivot3.

The company’s HCI surveillance solution is the industry's only hyperconverged infrastructure designed specifically for the unique demands of video workloads and complements the embedded resilience, scalability and reduced total cost of ownership benefits BVMS delivers.

Pivot3's hyperconverged infrastructure will unify storage, compute and virtualization resources into a highly resilient, easy-to-deploy and scale solution that will reduce cost, complexity and organizational risk. 

The company is purpose-built for mission-critical video surveillance and security operations with the ability to consolidate video management, video storage, video analytics, access control and other security workloads onto a common infrastructure. 

Pivot3's infrastructure has also integrated intelligent automation to deliver proactive system health, configuration optimization and automatic information sharing with Pivot3's Support Cloud to ensure systems are running at peak performance and availability.

"We are pleased to partner with the Bosch team on this validation; this certification validates the use of Pivot3 HCI with BVMS for customers wishing to deploy our intelligent solutions together," Koponen concluded.

About Pivot3

Pivot3 is the leading provider of intelligent hyperconverged infrastructure solutions for video surveillance, video analytics, VDI, and mixed workloads. Pivot3's solutions provide security, resilience, and management simplicity at scale for customers' mission-critical environments. 

With thousands of customers in 64 countries, and deployments in education, hospitality, transportation, government, defense, healthcare, gaming, financial services, and retail, Pivot3 allows IT to manage complexity at scale through intelligence and automation.

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Dewberry EVP Dave Mahoney Named to Board of Directors
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Dewberry EVP Dave Mahoney Named to Board of Directors

Dewberry has appointed Dave Mahoney to the Construction Industry Round Table’s (CIRT) board of directors, the organization reported on Tuesday.

“I am thrilled to be appointed to this role on the board of directors,” said Mahoney. “CIRT plays a critical role in the design and construction industry by supporting its members and representing the industry on public policy issues.”

Mahoney is an executive vice president at Dewberry, where he supervises the firm’s transportation department. He brings more than three-decades of experience to the board, and is a recognized expert in design-build practices for large-scale transportation projects. 

He has worked on a variety of high-traffic roadways and interchanges, including the Dulles Metrorail Corridor in Northern Virginia and the Intercounty Connector in suburban Maryland.

In his new role, Mahoney will be responsible for working with industry professionals to enact positive change in the design and construction industry. Additionally, Mahoney will help members improve the management performance of their individual companies. 

He is also a member of the American Road & Transportation Builders Association, American Public Works Association, Dulles Area Transportation Association, and the Design Build Institute of America. Mahoney earned a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from South Dakota State University. 

CIRT has helped to provide efficient and valuable services, improve the industry’s image and relationships with public and private clients as well as provide a forum for networking and education of members and industry improvements.

About Dewberry

Dewberry is a leading, market-facing firm with a proven history of providing professional services to a wide variety of public- and private-sector clients. Recognized for combining unsurpassed commitment to client service with deep subject matter expertise, Dewberry is dedicated to solving clients’ most complex challenges and transforming their communities. Established in 1956, Dewberry is headquartered in Fairfax, Virginia, with more than 50 locations and 2,000+ professionals nationwide.

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CIA Publishes Documents on ‘Aquiline’ Drone Program
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CIA Publishes Documents on ‘Aquiline’ Drone Program

The CIA has declassified documents about a reconnaissance drone project in the 1960s, Inceptive Mind reported Monday.

The Aquiline project sought to develop reconnaissance drones based on birds’ flight characteristics. The drone has a wingspan of 10 feet for use in carrying infrared cameras, radio equipment, radar and other payloads.

The agency envisioned Aquiline as a long-range vehicle that could navigate stealthily into denied locations to gather technical intelligence and support other agency missions, according to the CIA’s news release.

The project did not advance to the operational phase, but the agency said the concept for Aquiline “proved invaluable as a forerunner” to multicapability unmanned aerial vehicles in use today.

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Report: Congress Should Provide Necessary Funding to Build Up Homeland Missile Defense
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Report: Congress Should Provide Necessary Funding to Build Up Homeland Missile Defense

A report by The Heritage Foundation recommends that Congress support the Missile Defense Agency (MDA) by providing the needed funding to demonstrate that homeland defense serves as top priority of the Missile Defense Review and the National Defense Strategy.

The country’s missile defense faces uncertainty due to program cancelations and delays, misguided policy and other program management issues, Patty-Jane Geller, policy analyst for nuclear deterrence and missile defense at Heritage, wrote in the report published Friday.

Geller noted that a capable missile defense plays a critical role in the U.S. nuclear deterrent strategy and the country’s efforts to protect its people from nuclear attacks.

“To move forward with developing a missile defense system that can respond to the growing missile threat and contribute to U.S. deterrence, the Department of Defense needs to answer many questions, stabilize programs such as the space sensor layer, and be held accountable for the weakening ground-based interceptor fleet,” Geller wrote.

The report calls on Congress and the current administration to provide sufficient funding for the space sensor layer program; invest to maintain the current fleet of GBIs; pursue an underlay using SM-3 Block IIA interceptors; and provide funding for the Homeland Defense Radar-H program in fiscal year 2021.

Congress should also ask MDA to continue research efforts on the boost-phase intercept as a long-term capability for homeland defense and decline to accept restrictions to homeland missile defense in negotiations over arms control.

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