A group of 30 senators will urge the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) through a letter to reverse its approval of Ligado’s application to use the L-band spectrum to field a mobile broadband network to provide 5G services, C4ISRNET reported Thursday.

The FCC is expected Friday, May 15, to receive the letter, which cites potential disruption of GPS signals and impact on military, agriculture, emergency response, trucking and logistics and other commercial activities as a result of the decision.

“FCC’s actions also threaten weather satellites, crucial to saving lives and property when tornadoes, hurricanes and floods strike. GPS also forms the backbone of countless military operations and applications,” according to a draft of the letter obtained by the publication.

The lawmakers who signed off on the letter include Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Jim Inhofe (R-Okla.); Sens. Jack Reed (D-R.I.), ranking member of the Senate panel; Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), chair of the Senate Finance Committee; Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), chair of the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee; and Pat Roberts (R-Kan.), chair of the Senate Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry Committee.

Pentagon officials testified before the Senate Armed Service Committee on May 6 to present their arguments over the FCC decision.

The Department of Energy is investing $27M in efforts to develop nuclear reactor frameworks via digital twin technology, a simulation-based development approach.

DOE said Wednesday it will pursue these nine projects under the Generating Electricity Managed by Intelligent Nuclear Assets or GEMINA program. The Advanced Research Projects Agency-Energy manages GEMINA.

Digital twins virtually model a system to reduce the costs of a system's development and automate some activities. This approach reduces the need for physical tests that would require higher costs.

Teams will use digital twins, artificial intelligence and other modern tools to develop frameworks that would reduce operational and maintenance costs of nuclear power plants.

“These GEMINA teams are working to develop tools for the advanced reactors of tomorrow to improve operations and lower maintenance costs by designing more autonomous and efficient processes," said Lane Genatowski, ARPA-E director.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) has launched a dashboard tool to visualize frequently requested agency data as part of its Enterprise Data Analytics Modernization Initiative, Federal News Network reported Wednesday. FEMA officials will conduct quarterly analyses through the “FEMA by the Numbers” tool and update elements such as points of contact as necessary.

Amber Noel, analysis and communications branch chief at FEMA’s Enterprise Analysis Division, said at a prior Tableau-hosted webinar that the agency launched EDAMI to replace its current analytics system and drive efforts to improve financial transparency at the state and county levels.

FEMA also intends to provide insight into its work with partners like the Army Corps of Engineers in critical activities such as the detection of power generators and fuel resources during natural disasters, she said. In addition, FEMA wants to address citizens’ inquiries into its non-disaster operations such as pre-disaster mitigation and preparedness grant funding.

“It runs the gamut, we see things like how many disasters have we declared so far this year, how many people are out in the field right now? We also have human capital questions, financial questions, how much money have we outlaid on certain program areas so far this year,” said Noel.

Reps. Greg Walden, R-Ore., and Cathy McMorris Rodger, R-Wash., members of the Energy and Commerce Committee, have unveiled an effort to support the country's performance in the global technology competition.

The Consumer Protection and Commerce Subcommittee, led by Rodgers on the republican side, will pursue an agenda that includes 15 bills dedicated to U.S. global technology leadership, the E&C Committee said Tuesday.

These bills aim to advance emerging technologies, global data innovation and security, U.S.-wide innovation and the use of artificial intelligence to address online crimes.

The agenda includes the following bills:

• Advancing 3D Printing Act
• Advancing Blockchain Act
• Advancing Facial Recognition Act
• Advancing Gig Economy Act
• Advancing IOT Manufacturing Act
• Advancing New and Advanced Materials Act
• Advancing Quantum Computing Act
• Advancing Tech Startups Act
• Advancing Unmanned Delivery Services Act
• Countering Online Harms Act
• Generating Artificial Intelligence Networking Security Act
• Internet Application Integrity and Disclosure Act
• Showing How Isolationism Effects Long-term Development or SHIELD Act
• Smart IoT Act
• Telling Everyone the Location of data Leaving the U.S. or TELL Act

The U.S. Air Force Special Operations Command (AFSOC) plans to demonstrate a high-energy laser system integrated into its AC-130J Ghostrider aircraft by fiscal year 2022, National Defense Magazine reported Wednesday.

Previously, AFSOC and the Naval Surface Warfare Center conducted ground tests and research into deploying directed-energy weapons into the Ghostrider ground-attack aircraft. Col. Melissa Johnson, program executive officer for fixed-wing programs at USSOCOM, said at the Virtual Special Operations Forces Industry Conference that the planned demonstration will likely utilize a 60-kilowatt laser weapon.

“This is pretty exciting,” she said. “And if it is successful — and we are planning for success — then it will feed into our new requirements and potentially a new program down the road.”

Additional research, development, test and evaluation activities will also commence if the team moves past the demonstration phase, noted Johnson.

Naval Information Warfare Systems Command has launched a virtual platform that consolidates multiple datasets with content on the COVID-19 disease.

The Fusion Cell repository is designed to integrate and disseminate information on how COVID-19 has affected NAVWAR personnel, facilities, programs and other assets, the U.S. Navy said Wednesday.

NAVWAR's Fleet Readiness Directorate developed Fusion Cell to inform pandemic-related decision making and help the Navy globally maintain fleet readiness.

“The Fusion Cell provides real-time situational awareness to ensure the command is able to keep pace with the rapidly changing environment while remaining mission focused on installing, supporting and modernizing the Navy’s command, control, communications, computers and intelligence systems to ensure the fleet remains prepared to meet all mission requirements no matter the challenge," said Mike Spencer, the directorate's executive director.

NAWAR has been using Fusion Cell's data analytics to sustain health across the force. Navy reservists support the data management needs of Fusion Cell.