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AFWERX to Host Collaborative Space Industry Event
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AFWERX to Host Collaborative Space Industry Event

The U.S. Air Force's AFWERX innovation arm has opened registration for a two-day virtual event that aims to foster collaboration between government, military, academia, investors and stakeholders from the space industry.

Slated to run from Sept. 29 to 30, the EngageSpace event seeks to provide an avenue for the government to procure technologies that may address space-related concerns, USAF said Wednesday.

The event will also showcase submissions from 178 teams that participated in AFWERX's space-focused challenges. The Air Force noted some of the applicants will be provided funding opportunities to develop prototypes of their concepts.

"EngageSpace is exactly the type of event that we need to help bridge knowledge gaps, explore funding for small companies, and align industry and government interests to ensure that America maintains its technological and innovative edge in the space domain," said Maj. Ryan Pennington, deputy for space ventures at the Space and Missile Systems Center.

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Gen. Kenneth Wilsbach: Pacific Forces Need More Satellites
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Gen. Kenneth Wilsbach: Pacific Forces Need More Satellites

Gen. Kenneth Wilsbach, who commands Pacific Air Forces, said he wants more satellites to support the intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance of battles on Earth, Space News reported on Wednesday.

He told reporters Wednesday at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam that satellites are needed in nearly every operation, and Indo-Pacific Command requires more of these systems than other commands due to a larger assigned coverage.

Wilsbach also noted that he has been discussing with Gen. John Raymond, the U.S. Space Force’s chief of space operations and 2020 Wash100 Award recipient, regarding the need for military support systems in space.

The commander added that INDO-PACOM mentioned space-based ISR in a list of requirements sent to the Pentagon. Combatant commanders submit requirement lists on a yearly basis to help officials plan defense budgets.

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Lt. Gen. Mary O’Brien: USAF Implements New, Expanded Emphasis on Electronic Warfare
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Lt. Gen. Mary O’Brien: USAF Implements New, Expanded Emphasis on Electronic Warfare

Lt. Gen. Mary O’Brien, the U.S. Air Force's (USAF) deputy chief of staff for Intelligence, Surveillance, Reconnaissance and Cyber Effects Operations, said her team is including electronic warfare among priorities, C4ISRnet reported Wednesday.

She said at the Air, Space and Cyber Conference virtual event that USAF is reorganizing its spectrum management office as part of efforts to pursue priorities.

The office works to protect EW assets and facilitate the military's access to the electromagnetic spectrum, O’Brien noted. USAF's approach to EW will expand to electromagnetic spectrum operations and cover a wider coverage of functions.

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President Trump Eyes Nomination of Nathan Smington as FCC Member
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President Trump Eyes Nomination of Nathan Smington as FCC Member

President Trump plans to nominate Nathan Simington, senior adviser at the National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA), to serve as a member of the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).

As part of his current role, Simington oversees supply chains, U.S. 5G security and the American Broadband Initiative, the White House said Tuesday.

He also represents NTIA at the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers' (ICANN) government advisory committee. Before NTIA, Simington served as senior counsel at Brightstar Corp. He also worked as an associate at Kirkland & Ellis and Mayer Brown.

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Novetta Recognized for National Security Efforts Under NCIS RISER Program; Bill Dorr, Kevin Heald Quoted
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Novetta Recognized for National Security Efforts Under NCIS RISER Program; Bill Dorr, Kevin Heald Quoted

Novetta has been recognized by the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) Technical Services Field Office Identity Activities Branch (TSFO-IA) for the company’s contributions to the RISER Program, which won “Best Technical Advancement” during the FedID awards.

“Throughout development, applied advancements in machine learning domains improved RISER’s operational efficiency,” said Bill Dorr,  senior director of Mission Platform Automation Group. “Our team is able to ideate, innovate, and engineer creative solutions when we have a partner, like the TSFO-IA team, who embraces new technologies.”

RISER is Government-off-the-Shelf (GOTS) software for rapid ingestion of biometric data from fingerprint cards. The software will convert the data into digital images to search against databases and watchlists for threats. TSFO-IA has advanced card scanning technology to efficiently make hundreds of thousands of previously archived biometric records available for automated biometric matching.

RISER has utilized neural networks to train algorithms that recognize the layout and image placement of biometric and biographic fields on fingerprint cards. The software has reduced the time and effort to process biometric records, increasing card processing time by 3,390 percent per hour and reduced delivery time from a year to a week.

The RISER program has advanced national security across federal agencies, including the Department of State, U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP) and the Department of Justice (DoJ) to assist partner nations with their fingerprint collections.

Through RISER and collaboration with NCIS field offices, international law enforcement relationships are strengthened, criminal information is shared and valuable services are provided in support of this nation and its allies.

The TSFO-IA team included Novetta and multiple government organizations, including Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment (OUSD A&S), CDM and DFSC. The Combating Terrorism Technical Support Office (CTTSO) was the programmatic team lead and financial sponsor of the most recent RISER development project.

“RISER is a classic example of how Novetta partners with our customers to apply cutting edge technology to solve difficult mission challenges. I’m proud of what Bill and his team have accomplished,” said Kevin Heald, Novetta’s vice president of Information Explotation.

About Novetta

Novetta delivers scalable advanced analytic and technical solutions to address challenges of national and global significance. Novetta is headquartered in McLean, VA with over 1,300 employees across the U.S.

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Maxar Wins Contract From Intelsat to Build Satellite Network; Megan Fitzgerald Quoted
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Maxar Wins Contract From Intelsat to Build Satellite Network; Megan Fitzgerald Quoted

Maxar Technologies has been awarded a contract from Intelsat to build the Galaxy 37 geostationary communications satellite, the sixth Intelsat geostationary communications satellite. The satellite is scheduled for delivery in 2023.

“With a relationship dating back to the 1970s, Intelsat has procured 59 spacecraft from Maxar,” said Megan Fitzgerald, Maxar’s SVP of Space Programs Delivery. “We’re delighted to add Galaxy 37 to the five other spacecraft we’re currently building for Intelsat.”

Maxar’s contract adds to its support of Intelsat’s satellite network. Galaxy 37 will join four previously ordered satellites from Maxar to transition Intelsat’s existing media distribution and contribution services from the 3.7 to 4.0 gigahertz portion of the C-band, to the 4.0 to 4.2 gigahertz portion of the band, freeing up spectrum for 5G terrestrial wireless services.

Galaxy 37 will be based on Maxar’s 1300-class spacecraft platform, which will provide flexibility and power for customer missions. Intelsat has also contracted Maxar to manufacture its next-generation Intelsat 40e geostationary communications satellite.

“Maxar has been a trusted and reliable partner in delivering world-class spacecraft to Intelsat for many years,” said Mike DeMarco, Intelsat chief services officer. “We look forward to working with them on Galaxy 37, which will play an essential role in our U.S. C-band clearing strategy.”

About Maxar

Maxar is a trusted partner and innovator in Earth Intelligence and Space Infrastructure. We deliver disruptive value to government and commercial customers to help them monitor, understand and navigate our changing planet; deliver global broadband communications; and explore and advance the use of space. 

Our unique approach combines decades of deep mission understanding and a proven commercial and defense foundation to deploy solutions and deliver insights with unrivaled speed, scale and cost effectiveness. Maxar’s 4,000 team members in 20 global locations are inspired to harness the potential of space to help our customers create a better world. Maxar trades on the New York Stock Exchange and Toronto Stock Exchange as MAXR.

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HHS, DoD Unveil COVID-19 Vaccine Strategy
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HHS, DoD Unveil COVID-19 Vaccine Strategy

The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) and Department of Defense (DoD) have published strategic documents that represent how the Trump administration plans to provide COVID-19 vaccines.

The strategy directs the government to engage with local communities, quickly distribute vaccines, safely administer supply availability and track programmatic data for the distribution effort, HHS said Wednesday.

McKesson Corp., a health care company, will help the government distribute COVID-19 vaccines under a contract with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

“CDC is drawing on its years of planning and cooperation with state and local public health partners to ensure a safe, effective and life-saving COVID-19 vaccine is ready to be distributed following Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval,” said CDC Director Robert Redfield.

The effort aims to produce over 100 million doses of the vaccine by January 2021.

The vaccine distribution strategy can be found here and a corresponding interim playbook here. A DoD-published infographic for the distribution can be found here.

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Ginnie Mae Awards CGI BPA to Establish Digital Transformation Strategy; Stefan Becker Quoted
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Ginnie Mae Awards CGI BPA to Establish Digital Transformation Strategy; Stefan Becker Quoted

CGI has been awarded a one-year blanket purchase agreement (BPA) by the Government National Mortgage Association (Ginnie Mae) within the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to support the Digital Asset Management Solution (DAMS). The BPA has included four option years.

“DAMS will enable Ginnie Mae to digitally transform its document and records management operations and prepare for future technology platforms,” said CGI Federal SVP Stefan Becker.

Under the BPA, CGI will help Ginnie Mae establish an enterprise-wide strategy for document, record and content management to support the digital transformation of the agency’s operations and enhance the user experience of its stakeholders, as part of Ginnie Mae’s overall systems modernization strategy.

CGI will help build a strategic roadmap that will drive the technical direction and integration of the organization’s document, records and content management capabilities. CGI’s support will enable data to be more easily searchable, discoverable, and accessible across enterprise systems.

In addition, the roadmap also will support Ginnie Mae’s ongoing use and evolution of cloud services and data ingestion automation. In addition, it will enhance the agency’s ability to control document and data access in accordance with security and data privacy requirements, such as the National Archives and Records Administration (NARA) guidelines.

“CGI is proud to help Ginnie Mae modernize its digital asset management operations. This work will help its stakeholders better manage risk and deliver capital to housing markets servicing first time homebuyers, veterans and those in rural America,” Becker added.

About CGI Federal

CGI Federal Inc. is a wholly-owned U.S. operating subsidiary of CGI Inc., dedicated to partnering with federal agencies to provide solutions for defense, civilian, healthcare and intelligence missions. Founded in 1976, CGI is among the largest independent IT and business consulting services firms in the world.

With 77,500 consultants and other professionals across the globe, CGI delivers an end-to-end portfolio of capabilities, from strategic IT and business consulting to systems integration, managed IT and business process services and intellectual property solutions. CGI works with clients through a local relationship model complemented by a global delivery network that helps clients digitally transform their organizations and accelerate results. With Fiscal 2019 reported revenue of C$12.1 billion, CGI shares are listed on the TSX (GIB.A) and the NYSE (GIB).

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Lockheed Martin Wins Contract to Deliver LUSV Study for US Navy; Joe DePietro, Richard McCreary Quoted
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Lockheed Martin Wins Contract to Deliver LUSV Study for US Navy; Joe DePietro, Richard McCreary Quoted

The U.S. Navy has awarded Lockheed Martin a $7 million contract to deliver a study for a proven, integrated and capable payload ship that will be able to patrol for extended durations, under the U.S. Navy’s Large Unmanned Surface Vessel (LUSV) competition, Lockheed Martin reported on Thursday.

“The Lockheed Martin team brings together nearly 200 years of combined experience in shipbuilding, integration, automation and autonomy,” said Joe DePietro, vice president and general manager of Small Combatants and Ship Systems for Lockheed Martin. “Our team is energized by and focused on delivering the Navy what they’ve asked for – a design for an affordable, low-risk ship capable of bringing the Navy’s Distributed Maritime Operations (DMO) vision to life.”

As prime contractor, Lockheed Martin will manage the program, deliver platform integration, systems engineering, combat management, automation and cyber solutions. Lockheed Martin has partnered with Vigor Works, who will serve as the shipbuilder.

The company’s design will use a proven commercial ship that will be augmented with automation, autonomy and cybersecurity elements to house a payload. The design will leverage Lockheed Martin’s autonomy and automation experience, including the proven platform-agnostic Sikorsky MATRIX technology and AXIS control technology.

Sikorsky MATRIX has been used to fly a helicopter from a wireless tablet. AXIS control technology has been used in more than half of the U.S. Navy surface ships to manage engineering and machinery controls.

“We are honored to be part of the Lockheed Martin team and to leverage our extensive fabrication expertise, including previously building 16 USVs of various designs and sizes,” said Richard McCreary, Vigor vice president of Business Development. “We are ready to deliver a concept design that will help the Navy deploy a safe, efficient and affordable LUSV fleet for the future.”

Lockheed Martin will deliver the study within 12 months in advance of the next phase of the competition, the Navy’s LUSV Detailed Design & Construction competition.

Lockheed Martin Wins Contract to Deliver LUSV Study for US Navy; Joe DePietro, Richard McCreary Quoted

Potomac Officers Club will host its 2020 Navy Forum on September 30th. Click here to register for the event.

James Geurts
James Geurts

James Geurts, Assistant Secretary for Research, Development, and Acquisition with the U.S. Navy and 2020 Wash100 Award recipient will serve as a keynote speaker during the event. Geurts will discuss how the U.S. Navy has continually worked to decentralize, differentialize and digitize the service branch’s work as well as develop its talent in the field. 

The Navy has also accelerated acquisition channels, modernized emerging technologies and increased research and development to become more effective in warfare. As the Navy continues to evolve to meet the growing demands, challenges still remain. 

Join Potomac Officers Club’s 2020 Navy Forum to hear notable industry and federal leaders discuss the initiatives, efficiencies and challenges the service branch faces as well as how to join together to improve the future of warfare. Click here to register for the 2020 Navy Forum.

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DVS Appoints Douglas Boufford as EVP of Federal Civilian Programs; Michael McHugh Quoted
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DVS Appoints Douglas Boufford as EVP of Federal Civilian Programs; Michael McHugh Quoted

DirectViz Solutions (DVS) has appointed Douglas Boufford as the company’s executive vice president of Federal Civilian Programs, effective immediately, the company reported on Wednesday.

“As part of his support to DVS’ growth team, Mr. Boufford will help expand our existing federal civilian footprint,” said Michael McHugh, DVS CEO. “This new role supports DVS’ transition from a small business into a large systems integrator. His experience and background will help us target new agencies for expansion and identify where we can extend our services in agencies where DVS currently operates.”

Boufford will join DVS with more than three decades of experience in providing mission critical Information Technology (IT), professional and technical services to customers across the government sector.

Throughout his career, Boufford has gained experience in developing and implementing strategic plans necessary to promote and meet corporate business development goals. He has a long track record of using effective management practices to focus on maximizing organizational profit and cash goals.

Prior to joining DVS, Boufford served as senior vice president with Sev1Tech. He has also served in senior management positions with Digital Management (DMI), Martin Marietta Services and TECHMATICS Inc.

In the roles, he developed and implemented strategic plans for business development, financial performance and service delivery. During his 21-year tenure with General Dynamics Information Technology (GDIT), Boufford most recently served as vice president of Justice and Border Security Programs.

“Mr. Boufford has experience developing and implementing the strategic plans necessary to promote and meet corporate business development goals,” added McHugh. “We are excited to have him joining DVS at this critical juncture in our growth, where his established track record will aid our successful transition as DVS graduates from a small business status.”

About DirectViz Solutions

DVS, founded in 2012 as a Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Business, started with the vision of delivering innovative technology solutions and high-quality services to meet the federal government’s toughest IT and cybersecurity challenges.

The company recognized a growing demand for technology services in federal civilian and Department of Defense agencies and sought to provide value by responding to customers’ needs in an agile, efficient, responsive, and timely manner while reducing costs normally associated with larger companies.

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