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ODNI Issues Intelligence Community Standards Document
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ODNI Issues Intelligence Community Standards Document

The Office of the Director of National Intelligence has released a document outlining citation and reference standards for open source intelligence, commercially available information and publicly available information, Federal News Network reported Tuesday.

The Intelligence Community Standards, or ICS, document signed on Dec. 2 seeks to standardize how intelligence agencies should cite open source data and commercial information, including artificial intelligence-backed services, in their reports and products.

“In many ways, this has made the citing of PAI, CAI and OSINT much easier to do,” Eliot Jardines, director of operations at the OSINT Foundation, said of the new IC document.

The former head of open source efforts at ODNI stated that the ICS replaces a 2017 standards document that was not open for the public.

“Having this standards document be unclassified means it’s available for industry to use, and certainly for academia to use so those future open source officers can be trained,” Jardines said.

The president of Gnosis Solutions noted that the new document provides transparency and enables the protection of privacy and civil liberty.

“At the same time, because the standards are so well articulated in when we need to be completely explicit about where we get this and where in other instances we might not want to do that, it also enhances operational security,” Jardines added.

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DOC Funds Micron Projects to Enhance Memory Chip Production
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DOC Funds Micron Projects to Enhance Memory Chip Production

The Department of Commerce has awarded $6.17 billion in direct funding to Micron Technology for projects to boost the production of legacy memory chips.

Micron will use the award to expand its facilities in Idaho and New York, which is expected to strengthen the domestic supply chain of DRAM chips, Commerce said Tuesday.

Micron’s 20-Year Manufacturing Project

The CHIPS investment supports Micron’s 20-year, $125 billion plan of modernizing and expanding its facilities. The company intends to utilize $100 billion on its New York facility, while the Idaho site will get $25 billion. The projects are expected to generate around 20,000 jobs and bolster the nation’s share of advanced memory manufacturing from less than 2 percent today to 10 percent by 2035. 

What Are Micron DRAM Chips?

DRAM chips are necessary for advanced technologies including personal computing, industrial, high-performance compute, automotive, wireless communications and artificial intelligence. The chips generate and fuel Micron’s performance memory, known as high-bandwidth memory, or HBM, and HBM is key in new AI model support.

DOC will also invest in the expansion of Micron’s facility in Manassas, Virginia to onshore the company’s 1-alpha technology. The two parties have already signed a non-binding preliminary memorandum of terms for proposed funding valued at $275 million.

Secretary of Commerce Gina Raimondo stated, “With this investment in Micron, we are delivering on one of the core objectives of the CHIPS program – onshoring the development and production of the most advanced memory semiconductor technology, which is crucial for safeguarding our leadership on artificial intelligence and protecting our economic and national security.”

Micron President and CEO Sanjay Mehrotra added, “Micron’s investments in domestic semiconductor manufacturing capabilities, supported by the bipartisan CHIPS Act, will help drive economic growth and ensure that the U.S. remains at the forefront of technological advancements.”

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EY Books DHA Contract to Prototype Military Healthcare Tool
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EY Books DHA Contract to Prototype Military Healthcare Tool

Global business advisory firm Ernst & Young has secured one of the initial four spots in a multi-contract award to prototype patient-centered technologies for the Defense Health Agency’s Digital Front Door, or DFD, program for which the Defense Innovation Unit issued a solicitation in April. Besides patient experience, DFD’s focus also includes supportive commercial products for healthcare providers, DIU said.

The tasks in Ernst & Young’s DFD other transaction contract award include the development of a tool to streamline health record access and virtual healthcare. The company will partner with the DHA team to develop a technical strategy for integrating the native iPhone operating system and Android development with the military health system and third-party offerings.

Meet the Other Prototype Contractors

Another DFD contractor, Bluestaq, will prototype a defense health data technology designed to enhance the usability of DHA’s existing health database for downstream applications.

DHA has also selected Clearstep to prototype a smart routing platform for a secure, clinically validated artificial intelligence healthcare assistant for self-service access to patients.

The fourth DFD contractor, BDR Solutions, will prototype a health data system integrating advanced data management approaches, such as application programming interfaces, generative AI and cloud computing.

The competitive solicitation for DFD prototypes drew proposals from over 220 companies, DIU said.

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CMS Releases Presolicitation Notice for RMADA 3 IDIQ
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CMS Releases Presolicitation Notice for RMADA 3 IDIQ

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services has issued the statement of work, or SOW, for the Research, Measurement, Assessment, Design and Analysis 3 indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract.

Presolicitation Objectives

The purpose of the issuance is to provide vendors information regarding the requirements under RMADA 3 and allow for the development of appropriate business partnerships to address those needs, according to a presolicitation notice posted Tuesday on SAM.gov.

Contract Requirements

RMADA 3 calls for analytical support and technical assistance activities that will support various programs involving innovative care delivery and payment models as created or derived under current or future health reform legislation. The assistance activities will also support the demonstration efforts for those models.

The assistance activities will take various forms, including support for model design and operations; program, data and environmental analysis; model site implementation monitoring; and survey and data collection design and implementation.

CMS may also ask the contractor to help develop and implement learning systems to bring about accelerated learning, improvement and dissemination of promising practices.

Future RFP

CMS intends to issue task orders under RMADA 3 to meet these requirements, though the agency, as yet, is not calling for proposals.

Comments regarding the SOW may be incorporated into the document’s final version, which will accompany a future request for proposals.

Past RMADA Contracts

Positions on the second iteration of RMADA were awarded in late 2019. An additional 3 companies were added to the list of awardees in early 2020. RMADA 2 had a total potential value of $5 billion.

The original RMADA contract had a period of performance of five years and featured 15 vendors. That contract had a total potential value of $7 billion.

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NASA to Launch 2 Balloon Flights for December Antarctic Campaign
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NASA to Launch 2 Balloon Flights for December Antarctic Campaign

NASA will resume its annual long-duration balloon operation in Antarctica by launching two flights in mid-December for planned nine missions to near space.

The Antarctic campaign’s balloon flights will lift off from a camp near the National Science Foundation’s McMurdo Station on the Ross Ice Shelf to conduct astrophysics, space biology, heliospheric research and upper atmospheric research probes, the space agency said Tuesday.

Andrew Hamilton, acting chief of NASA’s Balloon Program Office, noted that carrying out an operation in a remote location was made easier with support from NSF, the New Zealand government and the U.S. Air Force. “Antarctica is our cornerstone location for long-duration balloon missions,” he explained.

Critical NASA Missions in Near Space

For the 2024 campaign, one of NASA’s chief missions is to identify anti-matter particles produced by dark matter interactions that can be observed only in space. Spearheaded by Columbia University in New York, the experiment aims to better understand the dark matter’s unexplored energy regime.

NASA’s Columbia Scientific Balloon Facility will also conduct the Salter Test Flight Universal mission to test and verify long-duration balloons and subsystems. Within the effort, the agency will support smaller payloads or piggyback missions, such as studying how a fungus called Aspergillus niger adapts to thrive in harsh environments. A deeper knowledge of the fungus could prompt the development of treatments to protect astronauts from high radiation exposure.

Data Gathering Operation

NASA employs zero-pressure balloons in the Antarctic campaign to take advantage of the region’s stable wind conditions, enabling the balloon missions to remain in near space for an extended period to collect massive amounts of scientific data.

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Lockheed Missile Interceptor Demos Guam Defense
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Lockheed Missile Interceptor Demos Guam Defense

Lockheed Martin and the Missile Defense Agency have demonstrated a live exo-atmospheric intercept of an in-flight, medium-range ballistic missile through the company’s Aegis Guam System, or AGS, at the western North Pacific island. 

The demo, dubbed Flight Experiment Mission-02, or FEM-02, supports the Department of Defense and the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command’s capability to defend Guam, Lockheed said Wednesday.

Rapid Systems Integration

Paul Lemmo, Lockheed vice president and general manager of integrated warfare systems and sensors, noted that the company’s partnership with MDA enabled the transition from contract award to intercept flight demo in less than two years. “This rapid integration of capabilities to demonstrate the defense of Guam was enabled by leveraging proven systems and Lockheed Martin’s systems engineering, production and test excellence,” he said.

According to Rear Adm. Greg Huffman, Joint Task Force-Micronesia commander, the test confirmed the INDOPACOM unit’s capability in detecting, tracking and engaging a target flying missile, which increases defense readiness against evolving enemy threats, Breaking Defense reported.

First End-to-End Missile Radar Tracking

In the FEM-02 demo, Lockheed deployed its AN/TPY-6 Radar, Vertical Launching System, or VLS, in the AGS at Guam’s Andersen Air Force Base. The VLS fired a standard Missile-3 Block IIA to counter an air-launched medium-range ballistic missile.

“The AN/TPY-6 radar tracked the target shortly after launch to intercept in the first end-to-end tracking use of the radar during a live ballistic missile flight test,” the Pentagon said in the Breaking Defense report.

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SAIC Readying Mobile Command Vehicle Delivery to USMC
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SAIC Readying Mobile Command Vehicle Delivery to USMC

SAIC is set to begin its contracted delivery of mobile command vehicles to the U.S. Marine Corps in January 2025. The Reston, Virginia-based company won the contract in June.

The Marine Corps said Tuesday the initial delivery of 18 MCVs will begin in January and is expected to be completed in July.

Contract Details

The contract is meant to support the modernization efforts of the Marine Corps, particularly in their capacity to engage and defend against emerging warfare capabilities. The current threat landscape involves advanced surveillance, targeting and electronic warfare tactics that make it easier for fixed positions to be targeted.

The Marine Corps intends to address the need for mobile and resilient command and control systems with distributed precision fire capabilities. It aims to bridge the gap by enabling swift emplacements, displacements, and command, control and communications on the move. The procurement of the MCVs is one way the military is attempting to adapt to modern warfare.

The first 18 MCVs to be delivered will be utilized by Marine Littoral Regiments Medium-range Missile firing units, which fall under the USMC’s Artillery Modernization Plan. The Marine Corps is expected to procure another 18 MCVs, with deliveries slated to begin in August 2025 and potentially end in early 2026.

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Booz Allen’s Judi Dotson on the State of Public-Private Partnership
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Booz Allen’s Judi Dotson on the State of Public-Private Partnership

In recent years, the U.S. federal government has signaled a clear need for closer collaboration with the private sector. In today’s era of rapidly evolving technological advancements, these partnerships are more important, urgent and consequential than ever before.

“Well, the good news is I would say we are collaborating. But we all agree that there’s more to do, just given how fast everything is moving,” said Judi Dotson, president of the global defense sector at Booz Allen Hamilton and a two-time Wash100 Award winner, during a new video interview with Executive Mosaic.

Booz Allen’s Judi Dotson on the State of Public-Private Partnership

Hear about the latest public-private partnerships and collaborative efforts at the Potomac Officers Club’s 2025 Defense R&D Summit on Jan. 23. Join the 2025 Defense R&D Summit to meet and learn from the government and industry executives leading defense innovation. 

Key Government Innovation Efforts

Dotson highlighted a few promising efforts and initiatives underway within the federal government to bolster commercial collaboration. First, the national defense strategy has provided a clearly communicated and outlined path for industry to take in its support of government missions.

“I think that the national defense strategy put out a framework that is very helpful for startups and other innovators,” said Dotson. “[It] makes it very clear that there’s a whole-of-nation approach that’s needed to be sure that we are working together to bring the best to our troops and to the best to the fight.”

Another example Dotson shared was the establishment of the Office of Strategic Capital in 2022. Dotson noted that OSC has been working to “help those companies that are developing critical technologies get the funding that they need” in order to support innovation in the defense landscape.

“Overall, the message from DOD is clear, it’s loud: Bring me your innovations,” Dotson said.

Barriers to Federal Innovation

While the innovation directive is loud and clear, there are still some hurdles that remain in achieving such innovation. One hurdle is around clarifying urgency and speed.

“Urgent threats in regions are not yet translating to the level of speed necessary to really achieve the deterrence that we need to put in place,” said Dotson. “DOD is working hard to change this, as is industry, but we still have to deal with realities like rigid multi-year planning cycles, like political consequences of failure.”

Dotson said that in the process of innovation, failure is not only inevitable but necessary. Today, there may be serious consequences for failure, but Dotson hopes that changes on a cultural level.

“We need to be able to fail fast and we need to be able to win together. And winning together means everybody coming together and bringing their best. And that isn’t really the way we’ve been aligned historically, but it’s certainly what we need going forward,” the Booz Allen president commented.

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US, Japan Mark Completion of QZS-6 Satellite With US Payload
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US, Japan Mark Completion of QZS-6 Satellite With US Payload

The U.S. Space Force and its Japanese partners celebrated on Nov. 18 the integration of a U.S. payload with the first of two Japanese host satellites that will launch from Japan’s Tanegashima National Space Center in early 2025.

Space Systems Command said Monday the Japanese satellite, QZS-6, with the U.S. space domain awareness optical payload has also been cleared for delivery to the launch site.

In December 2020, the U.S. Space Force and Japan’s Office of National Space Policy signed a memorandum of understanding to launch two U.S. payloads on Japan’s Quasi Zenith Satellite System, or QZSS.

“We went from a signature on an international agreement to a launch-ready capability with our Japanese partners in less than four years,” said Joy White, executive director of SSC.

“Hats off to the entire program team. This is an amazing accomplishment. Not only does this mission serve as the benchmark for successful allied partnership, but it also delivers a much-needed space domain awareness capability. It took a lot of effort and collaboration between our two nations to get to this point,” added White.

The MIT Lincoln Laboratory designed and built the space domain awareness optical payloads for Japan’s host satellites.

SSC said Japan is performing assembly, testing and integration work on the second host satellite, QZS-7, which is expected to launch in early fiscal year 2026.

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Kenyatta Jackson Joins FCC’s Inspector General Office as CTO
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Kenyatta Jackson Joins FCC’s Inspector General Office as CTO

Kenyatta Jackson, a technology expert with years of leadership experience in government, has assumed new responsibilities as chief technology officer and assistant inspector general of management at the Federal Communications Commission’s Office of Inspector General. He confirmed his new position in a recent post on LinkedIn.

Who Is Kenyatta Jackson?

Jackson joined the FCC from AmeriCorps, where he also served as CTO at the agency’s OIG for four years. At AmeriCorps, he oversaw the agency’s IT division and led the development of technology-related strategic and operational planning documents. He also served as a technical adviser to the inspector general and assistant inspector generals. 

Before AmeriCorps, Jackson held the role of chief information security officer at the Department of the Treasury. As CISO, he was involved in the Office of the Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program and was the Treasury’s SIGTARP representative for in-agency meetings, conferences and workshops.

The technology expert’s career in government also includes positions at the Nuclear Regulatory Commission, the Department of the Air Force and the Department of the Army.

Jackson has a master’s degree in cybersecurity management and policy from the University of Maryland, as well as both a master’s in business administration and a bachelor’s in technology management from Saint Leo University.

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