A Virginia-class submarine built by Huntington Ingalls Industries and General Dynamics‘ Electric Boat company has entered into active service with the U.S. Navy.

Codenamed SSN 791, USS Delaware is the 18th of the Virginia-class attack submarines to join the service branch, the Department of Defense said Saturday.

The attack submarine measures 377 feet long and will work to conduct various operations such as anti-surface warfare, intelligence, reconnaissance and surveillance missions. It can also submerge at depths over 800 feet, travel at a speed of more than 25 knots and operate for over three decades.

“I am equally proud of the families who have stood by through the long hours of shift work, testing, and sea trials and supported our mission with patriotism and devotion,” said Cmdr. Matthew Horton, commanding officer at USS Delaware.

U.S. Army officials have said that the military branch is working to prevent further delays in its more than 800 acquisition programs as the coronavirus pandemic continues to cause disruptions, National Defense Magazine reported Friday.

Gen. John Murray, commanding officer of the Army Futures Command and 2020 Wash100 Award winner, said at a teleconference that programs such as the integrated air-and-missile defense battle command system could be at risk of delays due to current health-related restrictions.

Testing of the IBCS was initially slated to take place in May while another test for the long-range precision strike missile is scheduled for this month. According to Murray, the Army may “have to look at some concurrency” if the service deems it necessary.

Bruce Jette, assistant secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics and Technology, and a fellow 2020 Wash100 Award recipient, added that the service has continued network modernization initiative as well as testing of hypersonics technology amid the health crisis.

Other Army projects that could face disruptions include the Integrated Visual Augmentation System designed to support warfighters’ situational awareness functions on the field, Murray noted.

About The Wash100

This year represents our sixth annual Wash100 Award selection. The Wash100 is the premier group of private and public sector leaders selected by Executive Mosaic’s organizational and editorial leadership as the most influential leaders in the GovCon sector. These leaders demonstrate skills in leadership, innovation, achievement, and vision.

Visit the Wash100 site to learn about the other 99 winners of the 2020 Wash100 Award. On the site, you can submit your 10 votes for the GovCon executives of consequence that you believe will have the most significant impact in 2020.

Parsons has released new capabilities the company will deliver to its customers and community to assist during the coronavirus outbreak, Parsons announced on Monday.

“I am proud of our employee’s response to supporting their communities, and furthermore want to share the capabilities and products that are being deployed across our enterprise to empower our customers during this unprecedented coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic,” said Chuck Harrington, Parsons chairman and CEO and 2020 Wash100 Award recipient.

Parsons’ team in Huntsville, Alabama initiated an effort internally to 3D print face shields, which are being used to augment personal protective equipment for our teams performing mission essential services.

The company’s team in Abu Dhabi will continue to work closely with the local government, Abu Dhabi Municipality, to sanitize public areas and help prevent the spread of COVID-19. In addition, Parsons has announced alternate care facilities, where the company will rapidly convert conference centers, arenas, hotels and other areas into healthcare facilities to treat patients.

Parsons will also create a mobile and transportable COVID-19 structure, where the company will design and deploy safe testing infrastructure, modular energy and secure communications solutions to support rapidly deployed medical environments.

The company also released smart technology to support airports, military bases and ports of entry to provide contactless passenger check-in and screening, biometrics and modified baggage handling and virus detection to detect and eliminate dangerous viruses.

Parsons has also introduced cyber protection and expanded its cyber defense solutions to support critical infrastructure sectors, including healthcare, elections, transportation, energy, emergency services and water in addition to its situational awareness and analysis to ensure visibility of real-time conditions.

“As COVID-19 continues disrupting lives and businesses around the world, we are reminded that the true measure of humankind is not our response in times of normalcy, but how we rise to the challenge in times of adversity. While the global situation remains fluid, we remain agile and steadfast in supporting our customer’s missions,” concluded Harrington.

About Parsons

Parsons (NYSE: PSN) is a leading disruptive technology provider in the global defense, intelligence, and critical infrastructure markets, with capabilities across cybersecurity, missile defense, space, connected infrastructure, and smart cities. Please visit parsons.com and follow us on LinkedIn and Facebook to learn how we’re making an impact.

Serco has secured a six-year, $57 million contract from the U.S. Space Force to manage, operate and maintain the Ground-Based Electro-Optical Deep Space Surveillance (GEODSS) system, the company announced on Monday.  The contract has an eight-month base period and six one-year option years.

“This win builds on Serco’s presence in the space domain, in particular our UK & Europe division with its contracts in earth observation support services and spacecraft and satellite management,” said Dave Dacquino, Serco’s chairman and CEO.

Secro will provide modification services to the GEODDS system that supports the U.S. Strategic Command and theater war fighters’ requirements through the detection and surveillance of deep space satellites using one-meter telescopes that are equipped with highly sensitive digital camera technology.

The GEODSS system also detects, tracks, identifies and reports on all deep-space man-made objects in the Earth’s orbit.  The system requires both new objects that are discovered and objects already in the catalogue require regular observations in order to keep the orbit information accurate.

In addition, Serco’s operators will perform space observation, including operating the telescopes, maintaining and supporting the systems and logging and reporting the findings to support the Combined Space Operations Center (CSpOC), the National Space Defense Center (NSDC) and the 18th Space Control Squadron (SPCS).

Serco will provide Space Object Identification tasks for the National Air and Space Intelligence Center (NASIC).  Serco will also supply operation and maintenance (O&M), and exercise and testing, and mission systems maintenance including repairs, logistics management, civil engineering, and support depot modifications.

Work will be performed at all three geographically-separated GEODSS locations in Socorro, New Mexico; Diego Garcia, British Indian Ocean Territory (BIOT); and Maui, Hawaii. “This is an exciting new win for Serco in supporting the U.S. Space Force and their GEODSS systems as it goes through upgrades and expansions,”  added Dacquino.

About Serco Inc. 

Serco Inc. is a leading provider of professional, technology, and management services. We advise, design, integrate, and deliver solutions that transform how clients achieve their missions. Our customer-first approach, robust portfolio of services, and global experience enable us to respond with solutions that achieve outcomes with value.

Headquartered in Herndon, Virginia, Serco Inc. has approximately 8,000 employees and annual revenue of $1.2 billion. Serco Inc. is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Serco Group plc, a $4 billion international business that helps transform government and public services around the world.