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Air Force Lays Groundwork for AI Center of Excellence
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The Department of the Air Force is making efforts to establish an AI center of excellence to speed up adoption.

The Department of the Air Force is establishing an Artificial Intelligence Center of Excellence to help accelerate the adoption of AI-powered capabilities across the military branch, Federal News Network reported Friday.

Air Force Chief Data and AI Officer Susan Davenport’s office and Data and AI Board members will oversee the new center, which is expected to achieve initial operating capability by the end of 2025 and full operational capability by mid-2026.

What Is the Purpose of the Air Force AI Center of Excellence?

Venice Goodwine, the Air Force’s outgoing chief information officer and a two-time Wash100 awardee, said the new center will help ensure that the development and implementation of AI tools are mission-driven and coordinated.

“We’re establishing a Department of the Air Force Artificial Intelligence Center of Excellence. And the reason we’re doing that is because AI has a continuum,” Goodwine said during her keynote at a May 7 conference in Baltimore.

“Yes, I can use AI for summarizing briefs in the legal world. I can use AI for productivity, but I also can use AI for AI-enabled autonomy. So when you have a continuum that broad, how do you make sure that the use cases, the tools that you use, the investment that you’re making enable the strategic objectives? The AI Center of Excellence in the Air Force is going to do that,” she added.

Air Force spokesperson Laura McAndrews told FNN that the new center will “shorten the timeline between prototype and mission adoption by bringing together the personnel, resources and authorities to create operational efficiencies, develop policy to break down barriers and speed AI adoption, while ensuring AI capabilities support Department of Defense priorities.”

Andrews added that the center will play a role in workforce development.

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DHS S&T Unveils Global Navigation Toolset to Protect Critical Infrastructure
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DHS S&T's new Global Navigation Satellite System Test Vector Suite aims to help safeguard critical infrastructure.

The Department of Homeland Security Science and Technology Directorate has unveiled a new toolset designed to protect critical infrastructure.

DHS S&T said the Global Navigation Satellite System, or GNSS, Test Vector Suite and Distribution Methodology is now accessible on GitHub.

Enhancing PNT Systems

This initiative supports Executive Order 13905, which prioritizes positioning, navigation and timing, or PNT, systems for the energy, transportation and telecommunications sectors. The new resource enhances PNT systems, which rely on accurate GNSS signals, by reinforcing critical services against natural events, technical failures, cyber threats and other disruptions. It equips critical infrastructure owners and operators with the ability to independently assess and boost their system’s resilience through test scenarios that comply with assessment standards.

What Is the GNSS Test Vector Suite?

The GNSS Test Vector Suite is a collection of test scenarios and specialized tools designed to evaluate equipment performance when confronted with signal interference, spoofing attempts, and other challenges. Through the new toolset, developers and testers can generate simulated data and convert it into signals mimicking real-world GNSS systems. They can then feed the signals into designated GNSS devices or PNT equipment to assess how their systems handle simulated disruptions.

“Accurate and precise positioning, navigation and timing information is vital to the nation’s critical infrastructure and is the backbone of the many services we depend on daily, from keeping our lights on to ensuring planes land safely,” said Julie Brewer, acting under secretary for science and technology at DHS. “This new toolset gives people responsible for safeguarding these systems a way to independently test and strengthen them, ensuring our nation’s infrastructure is more secure against potential disruptions.”

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NNSA Builds First B61-13 Nuclear Gravity Bomb
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B61-13 nuclear gravity bomb

The Department of Energy’s National Nuclear Security Administration has completed the first B61-13 gravity bomb unit designed to defeat hard and large-area military targets.

Part of the U.S. nuclear triad’s air leg and one of the seven ongoing warhead modernization programs at NNSA, the B61-13 nuclear weapon will only be certified for deployment by strategic bomber aircraft from bases in the continental United States, the DOE said Monday.

The latest B61 modification, manufactured using the same production capabilities that supported the B61-12, incorporates the latter’s modern safety, security and accuracy features.

Decades of Data-enabled Accelerated Production

The B61-13 was completed ahead of schedule, making the latest B61 nuclear weapon modification one of the fastest to transition from development to fielding since the Cold War.

DOE attributed the rapid B61-13 production to decades of B61 design and qualification data, which gave NNSA’s program managers and engineers confidence to accept calculated risks to accelerate the manufacturing process.

“Modernizing America’s nuclear stockpile is essential to delivering President Trump’s peace through strength agenda,” said Secretary of Energy Chris Wright. “The remarkable speed of the B61-13’s production is a testament to the ingenuity of our scientists and engineers and the urgency we face to fortify deterrence in a volatile new age.

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GSA, Salesforce Partner to Reduce Slack Price, Enhance Government Productivity
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GSA has formed a OneGov agreement with Salesforce to reduce the price of Slack in an effort to help federal agencies.

The U.S. General Services Administration has entered into an agreement with Salesforce to reduce the price of Slack for federal agencies.

OneGov Initiative Meant to Empower Federal Agencies

GSA said Monday that the OneGov agreement enables the federal government to purchase Slack Enterprise Grid at a temporary 90 percent discount. In addition, each agency will be offered a 70 percent deduction for each user on Slack AI for Enterprise. The offer will be available until Nov. 30.

The OneGov agreement provides agencies with the tools to enhance productivity. It is designed to optimize IT procurement by setting prices based on total government purchasing volume. This unified model replaces fragmented discounts previously offered through individual agency deals. Furthermore, the agreement maximizes savings and reduces redundancy through consistent pricing and terms.

“GSA welcomes Salesforce’s commitment to work with the federal government as one customer,” said Josh Gruenbaum, GSA federal acquisition service commissioner and 2025 Wash100 Award winner. “These deals are a harbinger for the next phase, which is already underway, of longer term commitments from industry at discounted pricing in the new fiscal year and beyond,” continued Gruenbaum.

“Slack will help transform government operations by providing a secure, FedRAMP-authorized work operating system that accelerates decision-making and unifies agencies,” said Dave Rey, president of public sector at Salesforce. “Paired with Salesforce’s robust ecosystem, data processes and AI agents, Slack enables government agencies to enhance productivity and deliver citizen-focused outcomes with precision and speed,” he added.

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NASA Announces Solicitation for Innovative Space Mission Tech
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NASA has issued a solicitation for disruptive technologies with strong commercial relevance and potential societal benefits.

NASA has announced an upcoming solicitation for the 2025 Small Business Innovation Research Ignite program, which seeks products and services to support space missions.

The space agency is looking for disruptive technologies that can be introduced to commercial markets and deliver societal benefits, according to a presolicitation notice posted Monday on SAM.gov.

NASA Seeks Tech for Commercial Markets

Specifically, NASA requires innovative capabilities with strong commercial relevance. For the 2025 SBIR Ignite, the agency seeks potential providers with expertise in advanced manufacturing, artificial intelligence, radar and robotics. The required capabilities should focus on real-time monitoring for additive manufacturing, AI-enabled space hardware automation, low-cost radar for planetary exploration vehicles and scalable robotic manufacturing tools.

2025 SBIR Ignite Solicitation Requirements and Benefits

Vendors who believe they can provide the requirements should demonstrate how their technology meets a need within the commercial market. To qualify for the award, they must also provide a solid commercialization plan for the proposed technology.

Through the solicitation, the government expects to hear from entrepreneurs, startups, and small businesses without previous NASA collaboration. The selected companies stand to receive up to $150,000 to advance their technologies for Phase I of the program, while those advancing to Phase II, or the commercialization stage, will access up to $850,000.

Interested parties are invited to submit their responses to the notice no later than July 22.

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NIST Introduces Equation for Identifying IT Vulnerability Exploitation
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NIST's new cybersecurity white paper describes a method for calculating vulnerability exploitation.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology has published a white paper that establishes a metric for determining if a product vulnerability has been exploited. The NIST Cybersecurity White Paper, or CWSP, 41 describes the Likely Exploited Vulnerabilities, or LEV, calculation and how organizations can use it to guide their prioritization efforts, the agency said Monday. 

LEV, according to NIST, can augment the Exploit Prediction Scoring System, or EPSS, and the Known Exploited Vulnerability, a.k.a. KEV, list. 

A New Way to Address IT Vulnerabilities

The white paper offers two versions of the LEV equation: one that utilizes EPSS scores as predictors for 30-day windows as intended and one that divides the EPSS scores by 30 to create single-day predictions. 

The second LEV equation, the document revealed, requires more computational resources, incorporates more EPSS scores and takes into account changing EPSS scores. 

NIST warned that the LEV has an unknown margin of error. The equation uses the EPSS, which can be inaccurate because it does not include past vulnerability exploitation as an input into its model. Vulnerabilities exploited within 30 days will also not receive an EPSS score bump in a subsequent period. 

The agency hopes that the white paper can also identify opportunities to improve popular systems used to determine vulnerability exploitation.

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SSC Issues RFI for Tactical SDA in LEO Sensors-as-a-Service
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Official seal of the U.S. Space Systems Command

The Space Systems Command has released a request for information to determine potential vendors for commercially-available space surveillance systems capable of timely and accurate Space Domain Awareness data for the Low Earth Orbit regime.

Sensors-as-a-Service

According to the sources sought notice issued Friday on SAM.gov, the SSC aims to identify companies specializing in sensors-as-a-service that can directly task individual sensors from a current U.S. government mission application layer, the software suite used to understand the space environment. The mission application layer, which supports the LEO SDA, facilitates tactical command and control of commercial sensors used to close a feedback loop.

Discover business opportunities involving LEO space system technologies at the Potomac Officers Club’s 2025 Air and Space Summit! The event will feature a fascinating keynote by U.S. Space Force Vice Chief of Space Operations Gen. Michael Guetlein. Don’t miss out!

The SSC seeks services focused on data quality, verification and traceability for reliable data to make timely decisions. It should also work with various datatypes, including precise metric or positional data obtained through radar and electro-optical, and active and passive radio frequency observations. The surveillance system should be compatible with Unified Data Library schemas, application programming interfaces, and other integration mechanisms.

Growing Demand for Tactical SDA in LEO

The demand for tactical SDA in LEO is rising due to the rapid proliferation of space objects along with the complexities of the crowded orbital environment. The potential project is intended to contract a company capable of meeting its need for real-time space object discovery, tracking, characterization and custody in LEO. The tactical SDA in LEO is meant to boost LEO situational awareness, determine possible collisions with quick and accurate assessment and investigate and resolve anomalies.

Interested companies can submit their responses until June 6.

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GAO Updates ‘Green Book’ to Help Improve Federal Internal Control Systems
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Headshot of Gene Dodaro, U.S. Comptroller General and head of the Government Accountability Office

The Government Accountability Office has made revisions to the “Green Book”, officially titled Standards for Internal Control in the Federal Government, as part of efforts to help federal managers strengthen accountability in achieving agencies’ missions.

“The updated standards will help federal agencies bolster their internal control systems to prevent and prepare for risks in all areas, especially those increasingly susceptible to fraud, improper payments, and information security threats,” Gene Dodaro, comptroller general of the U.S. and head of GAO, said in a statement published Thursday.

“To ensure accountability and transparency of federal funds, especially in crisis situations where money is being spent quickly, these standards require clarification and modernization to keep up with changing risk environments. I want to thank those involved in the revision process, including the Advisory Council and all those who submitted public comment,” added Dodaro.

What Is the Purpose of GAO’s Green Book?

The Green Book establishes the standards and provides a framework for designing, implementing and operating an effective internal control system.

Auditors, program and financial managers, and compliance officers use the Green Book as a key resource to ensure the effective use of public resources.

What Are the Changes to the Green Book?

Key changes to the document include:

  • The need to consider risks related to improper payments and information security when identifying, analyzing and responding to risks
  • Documentation of the results of risk assessments
  • Documentation of a change assessment process so that the internal control system can be quickly adapted to respond to significant changes as they occur
  • Two new appendixes that provide information that management can use for effective internal control systems to address risks, including areas related to improper payments, fraud and information security

 

The 2025 revision to the Green Book highlights preventive control activities and management’s responsibility for internal control at all levels.  It also includes updates that clarify the standards’ intent and continue harmonization with the Internal Control-Integrated Framework the Committee of Sponsoring Organizations of the Treadway Commission, a.k.a. COSO.

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SwRI Secures $250M Air Force Contract for Aircraft Systems, Materials Degradation Study
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Logo of Southwest Research Institute

The U.S. Air Force has awarded Southwest Research Institute a $250 million indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract to support a study on aircraft systems and materials degradation due to operational use.

Work under the Center for Aircraft Structural Life Extension research and development effort, also known as CAStLE, will be performed at the U.S. Air Force Academy in Colorado and other U.S. locations through May 2032, the Department of Defense said Friday.

SwRI’s latest contract win builds on the USAF’s $99 million CAStLE IDIQ award to the nonprofit organization in 2021 to conduct research and engineering work on aging systems and materials.

Center for Aircraft Structural Life Extension Research Mission

CAStLE R&D projects aim to deliver critical science and technology data and tools required to understand the impact of material degradation in structural systems for various government, academic and commercial sponsors.

Its major projects are:

  • Aircraft Structural Integrity Program engineering support for the sustainment of various DOD weapon systems
  • Structural redesign, material substitution, prototyping and validation testing
  • Digital transformation support and product lifecycle management for major weapon systems 
  • Fatigue testing of full-scale aircraft structural components
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NGA Director Says $1.7B St. Louis Campus to Open in September
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Vice Adm. Frank Whitworth, eighth director of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency

The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency will officially open its $1.7 billion facility north of downtown St. Louis in Missouri in September, Space News reported Vice Adm. Frank Whitworth, the agency’s director and four-time Wash100 Award winner, saying during a recent House hearing.

This new campus will foster innovation and collaboration between the federal government, private companies and academia, Whitworth added.

Top leaders from the intelligence community will discuss its challenges and opportunities at Potomac Officers Club’s 2025 Intel Summit on Oct. 2. Register for the in-person event here.

What is NGA West? 

The campus will replace NGA’s current site in downtown. According to the agency, the 700,000-square-foot office building will have a delivery inspection facility, a visitor center and secure entrance and exit points for its 3,150 staff members. 

NGA West represents the largest federal investment in St. Louis. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, with support from McCarthy HITT Joint Venture, is managing the large-scale construction project. 

“One of the best examples of the combination of business, academia, civil government, federal government, intelligence, all banding together to ensure that this is a success,” Whitworth commented about the facility. 

The official also emphasized the importance of space-based systems for NGA’s mission to deliver geospatial intelligence data for for national security. 

“Gathering the data and imagery necessary to characterize the activities and operations of our adversaries from the earth to space, is not a simple task,” he said.

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