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Leidos Wins $292M Contract to Support FAA System Upgrades; Fran Hill Quoted
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Leidos Wins $292M Contract to Support FAA System Upgrades; Fran Hill Quoted

Leidos has been awarded a four-year, approximate $292 million prime contract by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to design and develop a system that will provide real-time access to weather, aeronautical, and National Airspace System (NAS) information, the company reported on Tuesday. 

"Our job at Leidos is to help controllers do their work more efficiently. The new E-IDS will enable them to access standardized data, customize their displays and operate with two clicks or less," said Fran Hill, senior vice president of Leidos Transportation Solutions.

Leidos will perform work through a common, NAS-wide Enterprise-Information Display System (E-IDS) to replace five legacy systems as part of FAA's Next Generation Air Transportation System (NextGen) modernization project. 

Under the contract, Leidos will perform the critical activities required to deliver E-IDS, including: program management, systems engineering, design and development, system test and evaluation, training, production, and site implementation. 

The system will be developed to run on a combination of physical resources at more than 400 FAA NAS facilities and on FAA virtualized platforms including the Integrated Enterprise Services Platform (IESP) and the Enterprise Information Management (EIM) Data Platform (DP) using FAA Cloud Services (FCS).

The E-IDS will provide FAA access to efficient configuration and data management tools to support the needs of NAS stakeholders. The single award contract has 11 one-year options. Work will be performed in Gaithersburg, Md., Eagan, Minn., and Chesapeake, Va.

"Our nation's air traffic controllers keep the NAS safe, relying on the display of multiple data sources to perform their critical mission," Hill added. 

Leidos has supported the FAA for more than 50 years. In Jan. 2020, the company was awarded a prime contract by FAA to replace the agency's Mode S Beacon Systems under the Mode S Beacon Replacement System (MSBRS) contract. 

The contract has a four-year base period of performance followed by four two-year option periods, at an approximate value of $450 million, if all options are exercised. Work will be performed in Gaithersburg, Md., Eagan, Minn., and Chesapeake, Va.

Under the MSBRS contract, Leidos, along with Thales, a leading provider of Mode S beacon systems, will perform program management, systems engineering, design and development, system test and evaluation, training, production, and site implementation. 

The modern Mode S beacon system will help the FAA increase operational availability and performance of the system, supporting common and consistent interface requirements, and providing a modern system that complies with current FAA Security Standards.

About Leidos

Leidos is a Fortune 500® information technology, engineering, and science solutions and services leader working to solve the world's toughest challenges in the defense, intelligence, homeland security, civil, and health markets. The company's 37,000 employees support vital missions for government and commercial customers. Headquartered in Reston, Va., Leidos reported annual revenues of approximately $11.09 billion for the fiscal year ended January 3, 2020.

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Axon Partners with Fotokite to Develop UAS Solutions for Agencies; Jeff Kunins, Christopher McCall Quoted
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Axon Partners with Fotokite to Develop UAS Solutions for Agencies; Jeff Kunins, Christopher McCall Quoted

Axon has partnered with Fotokite, a service provider of actively tethered Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) solutions and public safety software tools, to provide products and services as part of the Axon Air program, Axon reported on Tuesday.

“This partnership with Fotokite is a game-changer for how our law enforcement customers view, assess and respond to crisis situations in real-time,” says Axon CPO and EVP Software, Jeff Kunins. “This program will be a great addition for agencies with already existing drone programs as it allows for a greater breadth of incident coverage.”

Under the partnership, Axon’s law enforcement customers will be able to view live-streamed footage within Axon Evidence, the company’s digital evidence management solution. The Axon Air program has included the Fotokite Sigma UAS, Fotokite’s situational awareness software tools, and the tools needed to view, manage and share video evidence.

The drone will provide increased safety and significant team resource savings with autonomous flight, compared to a standard drone. The collaborative offering will not require piloting is needed for operations up to 150 feet above ground level.

Fotokite Sigma can fly in harsh weather conditions and stay airborne beyond 24 hours of continuous flight versus the shorter flight times of free-flying drones. The drone will include Evidence Management with integrated video footage to enable agencies to gather a holistic view of an investigation.

The drone will also provide live-streaming to support real-time video through Axon Aware situational awareness software, enabling agencies to deploy resources more quickly and efficiently.

With the UAS, agencies reduce time and cost in the operation of the system with simplified program management that does not require federal Part 107 licenses or a Certificate of Authorization (COA) from the FAA.

Axon’s offering will also feature a scalable aerial situational awareness, without the need for pilots on-scene, providing law enforcement the ability to gain instant situational awareness and incident records early in a response.

“We’re thrilled to partner exclusively with Axon in delivering a purpose-built tool to first responders in the public safety community. Our actively tethered UAS technology will directly serve Axon’s customers with the integrated product they need,” says Fotokite CEO, Christopher McCall.

The Fotokite system is designed for public safety and will be available to law enforcement customers in the US and Canada exclusively through the Axon Air program beginning in 2021.

About Axon

Axon is a network of devices, apps and people that helps public safety personnel become smarter and safer. With a mission of protecting life, our technologies give customers the confidence, focus and time they need to keep their communities safe. Our products impact every aspect of a public safety officer’s day-to-day experience with the goal of helping everyone get home safe.

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HighPoint Appoints New Executives to Leadership Team; Scott Willis Quoted
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HighPoint Appoints New Executives to Leadership Team; Scott Willis Quoted

HighPoint has appointed Joel Imholte as vice president and Jennifer Mehrpour as director of business development to grow the company’s federal civilian footprint, HighPoint reported on Tuesday. 

“We are thrilled that Joel and Jennifer have joined the HighPoint team,” said Scott Willis, HighPoint chief operating officer. “Both Joel and Jennifer bring tremendous experience and passion for delivering innovative solutions that will undoubtedly accelerate the company’s growth and exceed client expectations.”

Mehrpour brings more than two decades of commercial and federal experience in information technology business development, capture management, customer care, service delivery and solution design to HighPoint. Throughout her career, she has designed customer solutions and led business development strategies. 

Prior to joining HighPoint, Mehrpour most recently served as capture manager with SAIC. She also held the position of solution architect with the company before her appointment as capture manager. 

Before her tenure at SAIC, Mehrpour served as solution architect with CSRA, and previously served in the same role at Creative Computing Solutions (CCSi). With CCSi, Mehrpour was responsible for providing expert advisory, program management, technical assessment and implementation support services for a component of the Department of Homeland Security. 

She also produced plans, assessments of current and future processes and developed guidelines, based on industry best practices that would enable CCSi to improve and align the link between enterprise technology services and the agency’s mission.

In his new role, Imholte will establish client relationships and supervise operations for the HighPoint’s programs at the Department of State, the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency, the Department of Housing and Urban Development and other civilian contracts. Imholte will bring 20 years of expertise across civilian, intelligence and defense agencies to HighPoint, which will strengthen the company’s contracts and grow new business opportunities. 

Throughout his career, he has managed multidisciplinary clients and supervised business lines in the areas of cybersecurity, enterprise IT, emerging technology, unified communications and software development within the private and public sectors. 

Prior to joining HighPoint, Imholte served as chief operating officer with National Capitol Contracting, where he supervised the execution of operational contracts and business development activities in support of the federal government.

Before that, Imholte served as vice president and general manager of Pragmatics’ Federal Civilian Division. In the role, he provided operational and strategic oversight over the full portfolio of the company’s programs to deliver consulting services to federal civilian clients. 

Imholte previously served in leadership roles with InfoReliance Corporation and Allied Technology Group. 

“HighPoint works with many remarkable agencies to provide critical IT services, data management, application development and digital and media services,” said Imholte. “I look forward to partnering with these agencies and our employees to deliver operational excellence and grow HighPoint’s capabilities in the federal civilian market.” 

About HighPoint 

HighPoint helps government agencies elevate experiences. From contact centers and training to digital and data services, our team works with government agencies to more efficiently integrate the people, processes and technology that help government deliver on the needs of citizens and employees. HighPoint delivers services for 13 government clients including the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Office of the Comptroller of Currency, Department of State, Defense Logistics Agency and Department of Housing and Urban Development.

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Army Advances Aviation Mission Common Server Program With OTA Contracts
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Army Advances Aviation Mission Common Server Program With OTA Contracts

David Hylton, a spokesman for the U.S. Army, said the service awarded other transaction authority contracts to three companies – Mercury Systems, Elbit Systems of America and Physical Optics – in July 2020 to perform analysis for the Aviation Mission Common Server program, Defense News reported Monday.

The report said the Army’s program executive office aviation said the service plans to deploy by the end of fiscal year 2024 a “cloud in the sky” for its aircraft fleet. Maj. Gen. Thomas Todd, then-PEO for Army aviation, told the publication in an interview last year that AMCS is “very much a flying cloud” and “will reside inside every aircraft” to provide data storage, transport and processing capabilities.

After the analysis, the next phase of the AMCS effort will focus on preliminary design and critical design work. Demonstration and qualification testing will be the fourth and final stages, respectively. Hylton said the service will require vendors to provide production-representative prototype hardware line-replaceable units of AMCS, software and other components.

“The government reserves the right to perform a downselect at the end of each stage,” Hylton added.

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NASA Seeks White Papers on Science Objectives for Artemis Lunar Mission
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NASA Seeks White Papers on Science Objectives for Artemis Lunar Mission

NASA has asked stakeholders to submit white papers on scientific research and other activities that could be performed by astronauts as part of the first Artemis lunar landing mission in 2024.

The white papers should not exceed the maximum limit of two pages and will support a science definition team within NASA’s science mission directorate as it works to come up with science objectives for the Artemis III mission, according to a notice posted by the Universities Space Research Association’s Lunar and Planetary Institute.

LPI said the SDT will use Decadal surveys, the Lunar Exploration Analysis Group roadmap and other resources to develop the science goals for the mission.

The two astronauts on the Artemis III mission will land near the moon’s South Pole and carry out “multiple walking excursions” to collect lunar samples and perform other activities.

White papers should be submitted by Sept. 8th, and “should focus on the science objectives to be accomplished and not on instrument or technology development recommendations,” the institute said in the notice.

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CISA Unveils 5G Strategy; Christopher Krebs Quoted
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CISA Unveils 5G Strategy; Christopher Krebs Quoted

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency has issued a new strategy to ensure the resilience and security of the country’s 5G infrastructure. CISA’s 5G Strategy has five strategic initiatives that support the four lines of effort of the National Strategy to Secure 5G, the agency said Monday.

These initiatives are supporting 5G policy and standards development by emphasizing security and resiliency; expanding situational awareness of 5G supply chain risks and promoting security measures; partnering with stakeholders to secure and strengthen existing infrastructure to support future 5G deployments; encouraging innovation in the 5G marketplace to promote trusted 5G vendors; and analyzing potential 5G use cases and sharing information on risk management strategies.

“The promise of 5G is undeniable, but with 5G technology posed to underpin a wide range of critical infrastructure functions, it’s vital that we manage these risks adequately and promote a trusted ecosystem of 5G componentry,” said CISA Director and a 2020 Wash100 Award winner Christopher Krebs. “CISA is committed to working with partners to build a resilient 5G infrastructure, and this strategy identifies a roadmap of how we will bring stakeholders together to achieve this.”

Each initiative seeks to address physical security concerns, supply chain vulnerabilities and other critical risks to secure 5G deployment. The document also outlines specific responsibilities and measures within each strategic initiative to ensure a resilient and secure 5G infrastructure.

CISA also announced the release of an infographic to inform stakeholders on 5G-related risks and challenges.

5G Summit Banner

Join Potomac Officers Club for its 5G Summit on Oct. 27, 2020 to learn about the impact that innovative technologies and 5G integration have on the private and public sectors, the steps the federal agencies have taken to remain up to speed with the rapid advancement of technology, and the future programs, plans and priorities as the nation aligns with emerging technology.

Hon. Ellen Lord, undersecretary for acquisition and sustainment at the Department of Defense (DoD) and four-time Wash100 Award recipient, will be featured as the keynote speaker. Don’t miss out on this must see event! Register here for the 5G Summit on October 27th.

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USAF Conducts Electric VTOL Flight Test
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USAF Conducts Electric VTOL Flight Test

LIFT Aircraft has demonstrated an electric vertical takeoff and landing flight vehicle at Camp Mabry in Texas as part of a U.S. Air Force initiative.

The Agility Prime effort aims to speed up the commercialization of air mobility vehicles including eVTOL systems, the service branch said Friday.

Col. Nathan Diller, Agility Prime lead and director at AFWERX, said USAF has received more than 15 applications from various aircraft manufacturers for the program.

Diller added USAF plans to perform more tests to mitigate technical risks and prepare for Agility Prime's deployment in 2023.

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DOT Invests in Academe-Led UAS Research, Education Initiatives; Elaine Chao Quoted
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DOT Invests in Academe-Led UAS Research, Education Initiatives; Elaine Chao Quoted

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has awarded grants worth $7.5 million combined to support eight unmanned aircraft research, training and education efforts under the agency’s Centers of Excellence (CoE) institutions.

FAA said Friday the selected universities represent the Department of Transportation (DOT) component’s Air Transportation CoE for Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) network.

The CoE group, also dubbed the Alliance for System Safety of UAS through Research Excellence (ASSURE), secured 19 awards for the grant program's third round for fiscal year 2020.

The new funding brings the current FY 2020 amount of ASSURE funding to $13.4 million.

Elaine Chao, the secretary of transportation, said the federal investment is meant to fund the universities’ efforts related to “the safe integration of drones into our national airspace.”

Topic areas covered by the grants include low-altitude UAS detection, airport safety approaches, flutter flight testing and wake turbulence, urban air mobility, UAS mapping, cybersecurity and remote identification.

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Los Alamos Nat’l Lab Develops AI Algorithm to Secure Cryptocurrency Data in Supercomputers
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Los Alamos Nat’l Lab Develops AI Algorithm to Secure Cryptocurrency Data in Supercomputers

Researchers from the Department of Energy’s (DOE) Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) in New Mexico have developed an artificial intelligence algorithm intended to detect malicious codes that breach cryptocurrency data.

LANL said Thursday the algorithm is meant to identify codes that hack data from supercomputers to mine cryptocurrency forms such as Bitcoin and Monero.

The lab’s AI-driven approach utilizes graph comparisons and fingerprint-type identification to prevent hacker break-ins and seemingly legitimate programming that hide cyber threats.

Gopinath Chennupati, a researcher at LANL, said his team developed the AI algorithms in an effort to address recently reported cryptocurrency break-ins in Europe.

“Our deep learning artificial intelligence model is designed to detect the abusive use of supercomputers specifically for the purpose of cryptocurrency mining,” he said.

The LANL researchers’ findings are detailed in the “Code Characterization with Graph Convolutions and Capsule Networks” paper in the IEEE Access journal.

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NASA Eyes Machine Learning, DoD Partnerships to Support Zero-Trust Implementation
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NASA Eyes Machine Learning, DoD Partnerships to Support Zero-Trust Implementation

Mike Witt, associate chief information officer for cybersecurity and privacy at NASA, has said the agency is working to apply zero-trust principles through emerging technologies and partnerships with the Department of Defense (DoD), FedScoop reported Friday.

Witt told attendees at an ACT-IAC webinar that NASA is investing in an enterprise-wide system that will leverage machine learning to collate system logs and detect cyber threats.

According to Witt, NASA is also partnering with the DoD and intelligence community in red teaming activities to improve agency capacities for network threat detection. NASA is additionally looking to collaborate with commercial entities to complement threat analysis activities, he added.

“We’ve got to get away from the mindset of: You can account for every alert,” Witt noted. “You’ve got to embrace orchestration … artificial intelligence, machine learning.”

Most NASA employees worked remotely in missions during the COVID-19 pandemic including the Demo-2 launch in May, according to FedScoop.

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