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Geospark Analytics to Update Hyperion App Under USAF Contract
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Geospark Analytics to Update Hyperion App Under USAF Contract

Geospark Analytics has received a contract from AFWERX through the second phase of the Small Business Innovation Research vehicle to incorporate collaborative capabilities into a cloud-based mobile application.

The Hyperion app utilizes artificial intelligence to forecast social, political and economical risks worldwide, Geospark said Wednesday.

The company aims to streamline the distribution of analysis and threat data between aircrews and the U.S. Air Force's intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance and operational support units through the contract.

Geospark plans to market the updated Hyperion app to customers from the commercial operations and travel security sectors.

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Airmen Propose VR Tech for B-52 Bomber Training
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Airmen Propose VR Tech for B-52 Bomber Training

Airmen are exploring the use of virtual reality to train for B-52 Stratofortress aircrew operations. The U.S. Air Force said Tuesday it demonstrated the Virtual Reality Procedures Trainer proposed by Air Force Global Strike Command's Maj. Mark Budgeon, 11th Bomb Squadron Chief Pilot and Chief of Innovations Maj. Justin Stephenson and Maj. Brandon Wolf of the 307th Operations Support Squadron.

The demonstration took place at StrikeWerx in Louisiana with support from VR training company King Crow Studios. The company helped USAF develop and demonstrate the VR Procedures Trainer that works to educate and assess B-52 trainees.

“It would be accessible to them all the time, so they can take it home and practice,” Wolf said.

Accessed via VR goggles, the system generates a 360-degree simulation of the bomber aircraft's cockpit. King Crow Studios will work to complete a VRPT prototype within the year.

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Air Force Materiel Command Presents New Readiness Plan; Gen. Arnold Bunch Quoted
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Air Force Materiel Command Presents New Readiness Plan; Gen. Arnold Bunch Quoted

Air Force Materiel Command has unveiled a plan that highlights four focus areas aiming to sustain the Department of the Air Force’s combat readiness.

The plan revolves around AFMC’s efforts to boost readiness and lethality, speedily perform deliveries, strengthen the materiel team and foster connections in support of the U.S. Air Force and U.S. Space Force, USAF said Wednesday.

The plan also redefines AFMC’s mission and includes a goal to diversify the command’s workforce.

“AFMC built the most powerful Air Force in the world and our nation still depends on us to build and power the Air Force of the future,” said Gen. Arnold Bunch, AFMC Commander.

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Vice Adm. Nancy Norton: DoD Eyes Launch of Zero Trust Architecture by Year’s End
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Vice Adm. Nancy Norton: DoD Eyes Launch of Zero Trust Architecture by Year’s End

Vice Adm. Nancy Norton, director of the Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) and a 2018 Wash100 Award recipient, said DISA is collaborating with the National Security Agency (NSA) and other agencies to develop and release by the end of 2020 an initial zero trust architecture in an effort to strengthen cybersecurity across the Department of Defense (DoD), Signal Magazine reported Wednesday.

Norton, also commander of the Joint Force Headquarters-DoD Information Network, said the zero trust architecture will be used by the U.S. Army and other DoD components and will mark a move away from the network-centric security model amid threats posed by state and non-state actors.

“This paradigm shift from a network-centric to a data-centric security model will affect every arena of our cyber domain, focusing first on how to protect our data and critical resources and then secondarily on our networks,” she said at the Army’s virtual 2020 Signal Conference.

“Under our traditional defense-in-depth approach, we have tried to make the DODIN trusted and safe territory. Under our new zero trust model, we will always assume that our internal networks are as hostile as external networks.”

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House Appropriations Committee OKs $24.6B in FY21 Financial Services, General Gov’t Funding
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House Appropriations Committee OKs $24.6B in FY21 Financial Services, General Gov’t Funding

A House panel has approved $24.6 billion in funding for the departments of the Treasury and Judiciary as well as the Executive Office of the President and independent agencies like the Small Business Administration.

The House Appropriations Committee said Wednesday it voted 30-22 to pass the draft Financial Services and General Government (FSGG) funding bill for fiscal year 2021.

The bill, which represents an $808 million increase in discretionary funding from FY 2020, includes $61 billion for broadband services and $6 billion for federal building refurbishment.

House Appropriations Committee Chairwoman Rep. Nita Lowey, D-N.Y., said the bill also covers over $37 billion in lending authorities as well as budget increases for entrepreneurial development initiatives.

Rep. Mike Quigley, D-Ill., said the FSGG bill brings focus to the integrity of U.S. markets while supporting small businesses and providing equal access to internet services.

“During these uncertain times it is important we do everything we can to provide Americans stability and ensure resources are available,” said Quigley, who heads the Financial Services and General Government Appropriations Subcommittee.

According to a Nextgov report, Quigley proposed amendments in the bill to support 5G infrastructure development and increased efforts to ban foreign-owned telecommunications providers like Huawei and ZTE in 5G initiatives.

The House panel additionally recommends the General Services Administration and Technology Modernization Fund to accelerate efforts to update citizen-facing services, according to the report.

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16th Air Force Gets Full Operational Capability Authorization; Timothy Haugh Quoted
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16th Air Force Gets Full Operational Capability Authorization; Timothy Haugh Quoted

The U.S. Air Force’s new cyber and information warfare-focused command unit has achieved full operational capability that certifies it for activities with the U.S. Cyber Command (USCYBERCOM) and National Security Agency (NSA), C4ISRnet reported Wednesday.

Established in October 2019, 16th Air Force/Air Forces Cyber integrates the operations of the 24th and 25th AF that involve cyber, electronic warfare and intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions.

Lt. Gen. Timothy Haugh, commander of 16th AF, told attendees at a Mitchell Institute webcast that the Air Force component will focus on driving convergence with partners such as the FBI and the departments of State and Homeland Security.

“In partnership with Air Combat Command as our lead [Major Command], we have now established the structure of the organization,” he said.  “We organized that staff really consistent with what a [joint task force] looks like."

According to Haugh, 16th AF also began standing up subordinate elements such as the J-39 responsible for coordinating information with combatant commands and the joint staff.

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USAF Physically Tests Gray Wolf Prototype Missile
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USAF Physically Tests Gray Wolf Prototype Missile

Air Force Research Laboratory and the 416th Flight Test Squadron have demonstrated a cruise missile prototype designed for subsonic, networked performance.

AFRL's Gray Wolf prototype missiles are built to operate as a group against objects that threaten air defense, AF Test Center said Tuesday. Gray Wolf also offers a variable payload feature.

The test took place at Edwards Air Force Base, Calif., where the prototype demonstrated physical flight.

“Gray Wolf is a science and technology demonstration effort, intended as a proof of concept program,” said Conor Most, a flight test engineer from the 416th FLTS.

“With just one captive carry flight, the team learned more than in weeks or months of laboratory testing," he added, emphasizing the importance of physical testing as opposed to complete reliance on simulations.

The test follows a high-altitude flight trial of the missile's TDI-J85 engine earlier this year.

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Navy Commissions USS Tripoli Amphibious Assault Ship
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Navy Commissions USS Tripoli Amphibious Assault Ship

The U.S. Navy has commissioned the USS Tripoli or LHA 7 amphibious assault ship without a traditional large ceremony due to restrictions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. The ship, third of its name, is now part of the naval force and has begun normal operations, the Navy said Wednesday.

“This ship will extend the maneuverability and lethality of our fleet to confront the many challenges of a complex world, from maintaining the sea lanes to countering instability to maintaining our edge in this era of renewed great power competition," Kenneth Braithwaite, secretary of the Navy.

USS Tripoli features a larger hangar deck, expanded facilities for aircraft maintenance, boosted aircraft fuel capacity and more equipment storage to better accommodate aviation needs.

The newly commissioned America-class LHA is also geared to operate with the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter and other aircraft to be used by the U.S. Marine Corps in the future.

Huntington Ingalls Industries christened the ship in 2017. The Navy is still considering a future celebratory event to commemorate USS Tripoli's fleet entry. 

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CDC Transitioning COVID-19 Data Analysis Operations to ‘HHS Protect’ System
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CDC Transitioning COVID-19 Data Analysis Operations to ‘HHS Protect’ System

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) is implementing a new Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) technology to replace the National Health Safety Network (NHSN) for collecting COVID-19 patient data, FedScoop reported Wednesday.

CDC will discontinue its use of NHSN and deploy HHS Protect, which was developed in April and works to collate data from over 225 health systems and 20 state health departments.

HHS also procured Pittsburgh-based company TeleTracking Technologies' data management platform to help hospitals directly relay COVID-19 data such as treatments and emerging symptoms to the department.

Robert Redfield, director of CDC, said at a prior call with reporters that the move to HHS Protect will enable the center to mitigate duplication and NHSN to focus on long-term care centers and nursing homes.

“I think the change that you’ll see is when additional data elements are requested by HHS — that we think that we need to understand what’s happening across the United States — we will be asking hospitals to report that data,” noted Jose Arrieta, chief information officer of HHS.

The department also selected Palantir to provide technologies for COVID-19 data analysis and processing.

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Battelle CCDS Passed 3M Respirator Test; Lou Von Thaer Quoted
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Battelle CCDS Passed 3M Respirator Test; Lou Von Thaer Quoted

The Battelle Critical Care Decontamination System (CCDS) has passed both filtration efficiency and fit-related evaluations for its 1860 and 8210 3M respirators, Battelle CCDS reported on Thursday. 

“The Battelle CCDS was developed in response to the 2014 Ebola outbreak, at the request of the FDA,” said Battelle president and CEO, and five-time Wash100 Award recipient Lou Von Thaer. “In 2020, after COVID-19 hit the U.S. and caused exactly the kind of PPE shortage this system was designed to address, CCDS was quickly mobilized as a stopgap measure to alleviate the N95 shortage.”

Battelle has successfully passed 3M’s evaluation and multiple decontamination processes on the fit and filtration performance of certain 3M N95s. Battelle CCDS was named an effective respirator decontamination for passing the four components of the test. 

3M has evaluated the effect of the Battelle CCDS process on the respirators tested and found that the decontamination process is not expected to have a detrimental impact on respirator filtration or fit for up to 20 cycles. 

Battelle also measured the residual hydrogen peroxide content to be below OSHA’s Permissible Exposure Limit (PEL) concentration of 1 parts per million. The company’s system is compliant with the CDC guidance on Decontamination and Reuse of FFRs and has been studying ways to decontaminate filtering facepiece respirators for years.

The FDA confirmed in 2016 that Battelle’s process is safe and effective for decontaminating N95 respirators and a 2020 Duke University study found that “N95 respirators still met performance requirements even after decontamination with hydrogen peroxide vapor in the laboratory setting for over 50 times.” 

About Battelle 

Every day, the people of Battelle apply science and technology to solving what matters most. At major technology centers and national laboratories around the world, Battelle conducts research and development, designs and manufactures products, and delivers critical services for government and commercial customers. 

Headquartered in Columbus, Ohio since its founding in 1929, Battelle serves the national security, health and life sciences, and energy and environmental industries.

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