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Lt. Gen. Charles Hooper: US Offers Options to Foreign Arms Clients Facing Economic Challenges
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Lt. Gen. Charles Hooper: US Offers Options to Foreign Arms Clients Facing Economic Challenges

Lt. Gen. Charles Hooper, most recently director of the Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) and a previous Wash100 Award winner, said the U.S. government is offering options to foreign allies to keep them from dropping planned arms procurements as they deal with the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, Defense News reported Tuesday.

Hooper told the publication during an interview options include changing payment schedules and allowing foreign nations to fund weapons systems procurement through U.S. bank loans.

“The bottom line here is, we are willing to work with our allies and partners, when they raise the challenges that they have, to find ways for them to continue to buy American and to ensure that they can pay for the equipment along a payment schedule that reflects their own economic conditions,” he added.

Hooper retired as head of DSCA on Monday, Aug. 3th, and was succeeded by Heidi Grant, former director of the Defense Technology Security Administration.

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New DARPA Program Aims to Safely, Easily Update Legacy Software
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New DARPA Program Aims to Safely, Easily Update Legacy Software

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has launched an effort to help developers safely update old software without the need to rewrite the code entirely.

DARPA said Thursday it will use novel concepts to allow for incremental updates in legacy software under the Verified Security and Performance Enhancement of Large Legacy Software or V-SPELLS program. The agency will leverage V-SPELLS to address the compatibility problem between legacy infrastructure and newer software components.

V-SPELLS aims to study the software components of large legacy codebases, develop tools that can safely and fully augment legacy software and create standard methods to address related technical issues. The effort will also explore concepts in domain-specific computer languages.

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DHS, DOT Pick University-Led Consortium for 911 Interoperability Test Framework
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DHS, DOT Pick University-Led Consortium for 911 Interoperability Test Framework

The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Department of Transportation (DoT) have tapped a consortium led by the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign to build a set of processes for Next Generation 911 interoperability and compatibility tests.

The Critical Infrastructure Resilience Institute will secure end-user feedback on testing standards and validate an approach that may define a formal procedure to assess interoperability, DHS said Monday.

The project aims to drive engagement with the Department of Defense, DHS, DOT, public safety agencies, industry and academia to determine test approach and requirements.

NG911 platforms are updated emergency response systems designed to allow text, voice and video communications through the use of internet protocol.

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Tinker AFB Unveils 3D Printing Project for Aircraft Engine Component
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Tinker AFB Unveils 3D Printing Project for Aircraft Engine Component

The Tinker Air Force Base's Oklahoma City Air Logistics Complex manufactured a 3D-printed anti-ice gasket meant to work with the TF33-P103 aircraft engine.

The Reverse Engineering and Critical Tooling Lab digitally engineered and printed 3D anti-ice gaskets, while the 76th Propulsion Maintenance Group conducted engine acceptance tests for the components, the U.S. Air Force said Monday.

USAF noted the manufacturing process lowered administrative lead time from a range of 120 to 136 days to a period of 14 to 21 days. OC-ALC aims to address the shortage of anti-ice gaskets through the additive printing project.

The TF33-P103 engine is designed to power E-3 Airborne Warning and Control Systems, B-52 Stratofortress aircraft units and E-8 Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar Systems.

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NASA Confirms Integration Schedule of Lucy Asteroid Probe Mission
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NASA Confirms Integration Schedule of Lucy Asteroid Probe Mission

NASA has concluded the systems integration review of a space probe mission that will explore Jupiter's Trojan asteroids, verifying the spacecraft's components for integration.

The review evaluated the integration schedule of the Lucy spacecraft's subsystems, electrical components, scientific instruments, navigation systems and communications, NASA said Monday.

The assessment confirmed the availability of plans, personnel and facilities required for the on-schedule integration of these components. The review ran from July 27 to 30.

NASA had to delay some of Lucy's production activities due to COVID-19 restrictions and made a new schedule that still accommodates the planned October 2021 launch date. The space agency can proceed to Lucy's assembly and test activities with Lockheed Martin next month.

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Gen. John Raymond: Commercial Partners, Resilient Industrial Base Key to Driving Space Efforts
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Gen. John Raymond: Commercial Partners, Resilient Industrial Base Key to Driving Space Efforts

Gen. John Raymond, chief of Space Operations and a 2020 Wash100 Award winner, has said the U.S. must leverage the space industrial base’s commercial expansion to retain the nation’s global leadership, DoD News reported Monday.

According to Raymond, the recently released report on the state of the U.S. space industry offers valuable input on how the nation can drive commercial space efforts through actions such as increasing the resilience of the space supply chain and accelerating the development of human spaceflight technologies.

''By working with commercial partners, we will harness the best of both civil and government technology to further accelerate capabilities and expand the overall space economy,'' he noted.

The report, titled ''State of the Space Industrial Base 2020: A Time for Action to Sustain U.S. Economic and Military Leadership in Space”, includes feedback from stakeholders during this year’s State of the Space Industrial Base Workshop held in May.

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DSCA’s Charles Hooper: FMS Procedures Progressed Since FY 2017
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DSCA’s Charles Hooper: FMS Procedures Progressed Since FY 2017

Lt. Gen. Charles Hooper, director of the Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) and a former Wash100 Award recipient, has said that U.S. foreign arms sales increased and acquisition procedures improved since fiscal year 2017.

In a Defense News interview published Monday, Hooper said the Department of Defense (DoD) seeks to improve its technology acquisition and development approach to ensure rapid response to constantly evolving threats. He added that interoperability between systems is “the key to success” and the DoD aims to prevent delays when introducing new technologies.

According to Hooper, actions such as the FY 2017 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), the National Defense Strategy and revisions in government arms transfer policies helped DSCA “strengthen alliances and attract new partners.” He also cited efforts like the establishment of the Defense Security Cooperation University to train a new workforce of foreign military sales personnel.

“Defense exports are driven by a rapidly evolving security environment and emerging threats," said Hooper. "And so we can’t really predict this system or that system, or this category of systems. In the past, there was a lag between when the United States would introduce a system and when our allies and partners would ask for us to export it, and those days are behind us.”

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Rep. Steny Hoyer Seeks Consolidated TMF Funding for IRS System Modernization
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Rep. Steny Hoyer Seeks Consolidated TMF Funding for IRS System Modernization

Rep. Steny Hoyer, D-Md., is urging the U.S. government to consolidate technology modernization policies outlined in the Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions (HEROES) Act and the Senate Republicans’ COVID-19 recovery bill.

Hoyer’s office said Friday that the HEROES Act earmarks $1 billion in Technology Modernization Fund (TMF) allocations while the GOP bill seeks $2 billion for technology updates specifically for the Internal Revenue Service’s (IRS) systems.

In his letter to Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin dated July 31, the House majority leader proposed that the $2 billion be funneled into TMF efforts for the IRS. Hoyer noted that the consolidated funding would help eliminate barriers to the implementation of COVID-19 relief programs and streamline the modernization of government systems.

“Since the funds will be administered through the TMF, the long-term cost savings resulting from the IRS upgrades would be reinvested through the TMF’s competitive revolving fund model into other urgently needed federal technology upgrades, including the Treasury Department, the Small Business Administration, and other agencies,” Hoyer said.

"That TMF model has already proven effective through three years of success."

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Army Official Jonathan Moak Nominated for New Financial Management Role
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Army Official Jonathan Moak Nominated for New Financial Management Role

Jonathan Moak, principal deputy assistant secretary of the U.S. Army for financial management and comptroller, has been selected by President Trump for a higher-level role.

President Trump intends to nominate Moak for the role of assistant secretary of the Army for financial management and comptroller, the White House said Monday.

Moak concurrently serves as assistant secretary of the Army on an acting basis. The nominee also serves as an infantry officer for the Army National Guard, and formerly worked as a program analyst with the U.S. Army.

His over fifteen years of service as a member of the Army National Guard includes an operation in the Middle East and has received the Global War on Terrorism Expeditionary Medal, Ranger Tab, and Expert Infantryman Badge.

He was also a consultant for government, public sector and defense engagements at Deloitte Consulting, having contributed work to the company's finance and enterprise performance business.

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Cyxtera Collaborates with NVIDIA to Provide AI/ML Compute Service Offering; Russell Cozart, Charlie Boyle Quoted
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Cyxtera Collaborates with NVIDIA to Provide AI/ML Compute Service Offering; Russell Cozart, Charlie Boyle Quoted

Cyxtera has launched its Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning (AI/ML) compute as a service offering to deliver data center platform capabilities enabling AI-powered workloads, the company reported on Tuesday.

“Launching our DGX-based AI/ML compute as a service offering reinforces our continued focus on providing enterprise customers with a rich variety of leading-edge infrastructure options across our global footprint,” said Russell Cozart, SVP of Marketing and Product Strategy for Cyxtera. 

Cyxtera has utilized the NVIDIA DGX A100 system to provide organizations with improved agility and faster deployment and a flexible OpEx model to reduce large capital outlays and over provisioning.

The solution will simplify maneuverability of the cloud, with an enhanced infrastructure. The flexible infrastructure will leverage point-and-click provisioning through the company’s data center services exchange.

In addition, customers will also have direct access to an ecosystem of service providers and technology solutions, including storage/Storage as a Service (StaaS), interconnectivity and security. Enterprises will be able to provision NVIDIA DGX A100 systems via Cyxtera’s service exchange. 

NVIDIA DGX A100 systems will provide the security and control and dedicated infrastructure as well as flexibility and agility of cloud. The NVIDIA DGX A100 offering will also enable managed service providers to focus on service delivery by eliminating large, upfront capital investments in data center infrastructure. 

“Cyxtera’s AI/ML compute-as-a-service offering makes it easy to leverage the performance, flexibility and efficiency of DGX A100 in a cost-effective model, enabling more businesses to succeed in the race to deploy AI,” said Charlie Boyle, VP, General Manager of DGX Systems at NVIDIA.

About Cyxtera

Cyxtera is a global leader in data center colocation and interconnection services. The company operates a footprint of 62 data centers in 29 markets around the world, providing services to more than 2,000 leading enterprises and U.S. federal government agencies. Cyxtera brings proven operational excellence, global scale, flexibility and customer-focused innovation together to provide a comprehensive portfolio of data center and interconnection services.

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