Boeing has completed another COVID-19 transport mission, using a Boeing Dreamlifter to bring personal protective equipment (PPE) from Hong Kong to the United States, the company reported on Monday.

Boeing has partnered with Prisma Health, Atlas Air Worldwide and Discommon founder Neil Ferrier to transport 1.5 million medical-grade face masks bound for healthcare professionals at Prisma Health in South Carolina.

“Boeing is making another significant investment in our state by partnering with other South Carolina businesses to help combat this deadly virus. South Carolinians are unique in their compassion and care for one another. The businesses that have collaborated to make this delivery possible are an embodiment of those qualities, and we owe a debt of gratitude to each of them,” said South Carolina Governor Henry McMaster.

Discommon, the importer of record for the delivery, secured production of the PPE from trusted manufacturers in China and turned to Boeing to facilitate their transport to Prisma Health, the Boeing has donated the cost of the mission transport.

The Dreamlifter, a converted Boeing 747-400 Large Cargo Freighter, flew from Hong Kong to Greenville, South Carolina, with the face masks in its lower lobe. Following the delivery, the Dreamlifter will return to its home base in North Charleston, South Carolina and deliver 787 Dreamliner parts in support of the global aerospace supply chain.

Boeing will continue to support local communities and healthcare professionals working to stop the spread of COVID-19. Additional airlift transport missions with the Boeing Dreamlifter and ecoDemonstrator are planned in the future.

“Boeing is proud to be part of this historic flight to bring vital PPE to healthcare workers across South Carolina. I want to offer my personal thanks to the Boeing team and our Atlas Air partners for what they’ve done to support this essential mission and ensure our frontline healthcare workers have the equipment they critically need,” said Dave Calhoun, president and CEO, Boeing.

About Boeing

Boeing is the world’s largest aerospace company and leading provider of commercial airplanes, defense, space and security systems, and global services. As the top U.S. exporter, the company supports commercial and government customers in more than 150 countries.

Boeing employs more than 150,000 people worldwide and leverages the talents of a global supplier base. Building on a legacy of aerospace leadership, Boeing continues to lead in technology and innovation, deliver for its customers and invest in its people and future growth.

IBM has  announced IBM Rapid Supplier Connect, a blockchain-based network designed to help government agencies and healthcare organizations identify new, non-traditional suppliers who have pivoted to address the shortage of equipment, devices and supplies needed for COVID-19 relief efforts, the company reported on Monday.

“Northwell Health has had adequate supplies to protect patients and our staff during the increase in New York COVID-19 patient cases,” said Phyllis McCready, vice president and chief procurement officer at Northwell Health. “It is through creating our own GPOs and supply chain, and joining forces with non-traditional suppliers that we have maintained an adequate stockpile of PPE and other equipment and supplies, so we are pleased to join IBM Rapid Supplier Connect.”

IBM Rapid Supplier Connect will enable suppliers and buyers currently joining the network, including hospitals and other organizations such as Northwell Health and The Worldwide Supply Chain Federation, expedite the procurement system.

These organizations have reconfigured to mass produce masks, gowns and other essential supplies. In order to begin purchasing from them at scale, buyers such as hospitals, state procurement divisions and pharmacies, will be able to identify new suppliers, efficiently vet and on-board them, and understand their real-time inventory availability with Rapid Supplier Connect.

The network will also identify existing supplies and excess inventory going unused, allowing hospitals to make it available to others and redirect supplies where they are needed most. Buyers who access the network can benefit from a range of suppliers outside of the traditional supply chain.

In addition, suppliers will benefit from a portable online identity, access to user feedback and the ability to post and manage inventory availability. IBM has harnessed the Trust Your Supplier blockchain-based identity platform built by Chainyard for qualification and identification, in conjunction with Sterling Supply Chain Suite and highly scalable Inventory Visibility microservice to deliver this increased visibility.

Viasat has announced that the company has shipped 200 production units of its advanced Move Out / Jump Off (MOJO) Link 16 expeditionary tactical gateway system, Viasat reported on Monday. 

"Our MOJO system is designed for easy adoption into specialized units like the U.S. Army's Security Force Assistance Brigades and modernization efforts like the U.S. Army's Integrated Tactical Network, which gives military users access to mobile, secure, high-speed connectivity for enhanced communications and cloud-enabled applications across the battlespace," said Ken Peterman, president, Government Systems, Viasat. 

Viasat’s MOJO system will enable platforms with size, weight and power restrictions to communicate on a Link 16 network and exchange near real-time tactical situational awareness data and secure voice with other, high-valued Link 16 platforms.

MOJO systems are currently in use by all U.S. military services, the U.S. National Guard and coalition partners. The systems are deployed throughout the U.S. Department of Defense's (DoD) Combatant Commands. Viasat has planned to steadily increase its production run rate and establish a surge capacity to meet customer demand.

MOJO has been a large contributor to Viasat's portfolio of Non-Developmental Item (NDI) offerings, leveraging Link 16 communications for the U.S. and international defense markets. The company’s NDI offerings are designed to quickly deliver next-generation technology solutions ahead of the traditional government procurement model through Viasat's agile development process and flexible business model.

The MOJO system has been equipped with Viasat's Small Tactical Terminal to enable mobile warfighters to have a rapidly-deployable solution that delivers access to critical air/ground situational awareness data. 

In addition, the MOJO is a complete, compact and ruggedized line-of-sight and beyond-line-of-sight communications system that will translate incompatible messages from disparate satellite communications networks in remote locations where network extensions are critical to execute a mission.

"The number of MOJO production units shipped-to-date in fiscal year 2020 demonstrates the value of our NDI offerings for military customers who require access to the most advanced technology solutions to assist in immediate mission needs," added Peterman. 

About Viasat

Viasat is a global communications company that believes everyone and everything in the world can be connected. For more than 30 years, Viasat has helped shape how consumers, businesses, governments and militaries around the world communicate. Today, the Company is developing the ultimate global communications network to power high-quality, secure, affordable, fast connections to impact people's lives anywhere they are—on the ground, in the air or at sea.

Advanced Concepts and Technologies International, LLC (ACT I) has announced a series of charitable contributions to organizations across the United States in response to the COVID-19 outbreak, the company announced on Monday.

“This is ACT I in Action,” said ACT I CEO Michael Niggel.  “We are proud to call Albany, Arlington, Colorado Springs, Okaloosa County, Patuxent River, and Waco our home.  These communities support us every day, and during this important time in our history, it is our humbling opportunity to do what we can to support them.”

Through the new initiative, ACT I employees have recommended charitable organizations in communities across the nation to deliver mission-essential services to government customers. The contributions have been made on behalf of the ACT I workforce in six communities across the country with ACT I operating locations to directly assist community needs in response to the crisis.

Among the company’s selection include the Marine Corps Logistics Base in Albany, GA to assist the Phoebe Foundation and USO of Metropolitan Washington-Baltimore and Capital Area Food Bank located in Arlington, VA, from ACT I Corporate Headquarters; Support to government agencies throughout the National Capital Region)

ACT I will deliver relief support to Care and Share: Food Bank for Southern Colorado and Humane Society of the Pikes Peak Region, located Colorado Springs, CO, by Peterson Air Force Base as well as Air Force Enlisted Village in Okaloosa County, FL from Hurlburt Field.

In addition, the company will support Feed St. Mary’s, located in St. Mary’s County, MD and supported by the Naval Air Station Patuxent River, and Central Texas Food Bank and United Way of Waco – McLennan County in Waco, TX by ACT I Support Headquarters.

The company has also delivered meals to the Arlington County Fire Department ordered from local Arlington restaurants to additionally bolster community businesses.  ACT I has also partnered with the Virginia Hospital Center to provide meals for healthcare professionals in the weeks ahead.

ACT I will remain active in local communities to support vital community organizations as part of its charitable fund, including Wreaths Across America, the Air Force Aid Society, the Coast Guard Foundation, the Urban Alliance of Northern Virginia and the American Heart Association’s Heart Walk.

“I am proud of the rich cross-section of organizations we are supporting as part of our COVID-19 contributions,” said Niggel. “We know these communities, and our Nation, will emerge united from this pandemic, and we will continue to stand with them.”

PAE was selected under a federal mandate to advance a range of services in support of the Canadian government, including design expertise and delivery of up to ten 100-bed mobile health units, under the SNC-Lavalin PAE Inc. joint venture, the company reported on Monday.

“We’re proud to bring our specialized expertise to bolster Canada’s health preparedness. PAE has a long history of responding to humanitarian crises around the world,” said PAE President and CEO, and 2020 Wash100 Award recipient John Heller. “Working with SNC-Lavalin, our talented workforce in Canada will deliver that same rapid response critical to Canada’s health readiness.”

As part of the federal mandate, the SNC-Lavalin and PAE partnership will arrange for the delivery, construction, warehousing and sustainment of up to ten 100-bed mobile health units. The joint venture will also deliver advanced medical and logistical integration under one program management structure that will rapidly respond to changing requirements in support of contingency measures.

SNC-Lavalin PAE will provide designs and configurations aligned with the standardized best practices with innovative progressive solutions to accommodate large and smaller urban settings, as well as remote settings.

“Safety is at the heart of our work at SNC-Lavalin, and it is a privilege to continue to provide our expertise to help support Canadian efforts as we have done for government agencies around the world,” said Ian Edwards, President and CEO, SNC-Lavalin.

In addition, the companies will use agile and flexible contracting and procurement for the provision of medical logistics services on an as-needed basis to sustain the support mission of the mobile health units. National and global cooperation will also be fundamental to achieving the level of readiness required to protect Canadians against global health challenges in the future.

“In an enduring partnership supporting the Canadian Armed Forces on deployed operations in Bosnia, Kabul and Kandahar in Afghanistan, and currently in Iraq and Kuwait, it is an honor and privilege to leverage the significant experience, capabilities and resources of SNC-Lavalin and PAE in serving Canadians at home,” said Robert Spencer, president and general manager of SNC-Lavalin PAE Inc.

About PAE

For 65 years, PAE has tackled the world’s toughest challenges to deliver agile and steadfast solutions to the U.S. government and its allies. With a global workforce of more than 20,000 on all seven continents and in approximately 60 countries, PAE delivers a broad range of operational support services to meet the critical needs of our clients. Our headquarters is in Falls Church, Virginia.

Michael Rigas, acting director of the Office of Personnel Management, has authorized a solicitation that will allow agencies to pledge funding to over 6,000 charities under the Combined Federal Campaign program.

Rigas said in a memo issued Wednesday that agencies may pledge support through the CFC’s online donation portal to help organizations under the 2019 CFC Charity List in various COVID-19 response efforts.

As part of the program, federal employees as well as military personnel, retirees and other staff may also provide donations through payroll-based pledges and issue gifts to CFC partners through a mobile app.

The move also designates Benjamin Carson, secretary of the Department of Housing and Urban Development, as a special solicitation “honorary champion”, the memo states.

“The CFC is uniquely positioned to supplement the Federal government’s overall response by allowing employees to pledge additional resources to these vetted charities and to those that are actively responding throughout the world to various community needs as a result of the COVID-19 outbreak,” Rigas said.

The CFC portal will remain open through June 30.