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Australia to Reservice Retired Aircraft for USAF Training
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Australia to Reservice Retired Aircraft for USAF Training
Australia to Reservice Retired Aircraft for USAF Training

The Australian government will prepare decommissioned F/A-18 Classic Hornet aircraft over a maximum of four years for U.S. Air Force training services.

Australia's defense department said Sunday it will reservice 46 retired F/A-18 units that Air USA, an air combat training provider, will buy and use to deliver services.

The reservicing work would also create jobs for those residing in New South Wales' Hunter region.

Melissa Price, Australia's defense industry minister, said preparation work would generate 24 industry jobs as the Royal Australian Air Force transitions to the F‑35 aircraft. Australia has ordered a total of 72 F-35 units.

“Apart from the jobs directly supported by the work at RAAF Base Williamtown, more defense industry jobs are expected to be created across Australia through repair and overhaul work on aircraft servicing components," she added.

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Navy Develops Autonomous System for UAS Tracking
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Navy Develops Autonomous System for UAS Tracking
Navy Develops Autonomous System for UAS Tracking

Scientific and technical personnel from Naval Surface Warfare Center Panama City Division have created technology designed to identify and track unmanned aerial systems autonomously.

The autonomous UAS detection system, known as the Threat Tracker, uses sensors, 3D radars, machine learning algorithms and unique features to function, Naval Sea Systems Command said Sunday.

Threat Tracker works to spot and classify enemy UAS operating on both land and sea domains. The user may choose the command and control system that receives the tracker's information.

“What makes the Threat Tracker unique is that it incorporates machine learning algorithms to autonomously process radar detections, analyze thermal images to assist in video-based tracking, and classify tracked targets to determine if the object is a UAS,” said Marvin Peardon, Threat Tracker program manager at NSWC PCD.

The detection tool also features a Gyro-stabilized Marine Platform that addresses the issue of imagery distortion.

“The Gyro-stabilized Marine Platform will prevent the imagery from being distorted and possibly misclassified," said Jeremy Johnson, systems manager for the effort.

Both Johnson and Peardon want to pursue operational testing within the year.

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Intell Community Eyes AI Governance Framework
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Intell Community Eyes AI Governance Framework
Intell Community Eyes AI Governance Framework

The intelligence community is working on establishing its own set of principles on the ethical use of artificial intelligence, C4ISRnet reported Saturday.

Ben Huebner, chief of the Civil Liberties, Privacy, and Transparency Office within the Office of Director of National Intelligence, told attendees at an Intelligence and National Security Alliance event that ODNI intends to make the principles public and the IC has been working on the effort for “quite a bit of time”.

“Bluntly, there’s a bit of hype,” he said. “There’s a lot of things that the intelligence community has been doing for quite a bit of time. Automation isn’t new. We’ve been doing automation for decades. The amount of data that we’re processing worldwide has grown exponentially, but having a process for handling data sets by the intelligence community is not new either.”

According to Huebner, ODNI also plans to create an ethical framework that will guide employees seeking to implement the AI principles in day-to-day duties.

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NASA Tests Teleworking in Case of Conovirus Outbreak; Steve Jurczyk Quoted
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NASA Tests Teleworking in Case of Conovirus Outbreak; Steve Jurczyk Quoted
Steve Jurczyk
Steve Jurczyk

NASA tested the agency's capacity to accommodate a large mass of work-from-home arrangements caused by a potential cononavirus outbreak, Federal Times reported Friday.

The space agency conducted an exercise Friday to demonstrate the NASA infrastructure's and emergency systems' preparedness for mass teleworking. Steve Jurczyk, associate administrator of NASA, said in an email that he encouraged the agency's staff to participate in the teleworking test if applicable.

NASA may implement a mandatory telework order in the event of a coronavirus-related emergency.

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Defense Innovation Board Calls for DoD Digital Recruitment Officer, Software Acquisition Revamp
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Defense Innovation Board Calls for DoD Digital Recruitment Officer, Software Acquisition Revamp
Defense Innovation Board Calls for DoD Digital Recruitment Officer, Software Acquisition Revamp

The Defense Innovation Board has recommended the implementation of a software acquisition category system as well as the creation of a talent recruitment role for Department of Defense digital operations, FedScoop reported Friday.

DIB announced during its pubic meeting in Austin, Texas, that it wants the DoD to appoint a “chief digital engineering recruitment and management officer” as outlined in the fiscal year 2020 National Defense Authorization Act. 

The role entails recruiting personnel with sufficient technical background and consolidating the disparate human resources requirements across agencies.

“I just don’t think that we are going to get enough software people without having them have a more traditional pipeline,” said Eric Schmidt, a DIB member and former Google CEO.

The board also seeks a software procurement approach based on “colors of money” to enable the purchase of products and services without having to shift between purchasing categories.

“When you split things into multiple pots, that is not how software works,” noted Richard Murray, a professor at the California Institute of Technology.

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Ellen Lord Recommends Strategies to Prepare for CMMC Implementation: Four Step Process
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Ellen Lord Recommends Strategies to Prepare for CMMC Implementation: Four Step Process

Ellen Lord Recommends Strategies to Prepare for CMMC Implementation: Four Step Process

Ellen Lord, under secretary of defense for Acquisition and Sustainment and 2020 Wash100 Award recipient, after the announcement of the new cybersecurity regulations, emphasized the concerns that  the Department of Defense (DoD) had with its supply chain concerning sensitive and unclassified government data, and discussed the three new changes with the implementation of the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification (CMMC).

First, Lord noted the reasoning behind the new regulations, citing vulnerabilities within the department’s supply chain. She emphasized the national security threat that contractors and subcontractors face from advanced cyber adversaries.  She noted, in the past year alone, cyber attacks resulted in approximately $600 billion dollars of global GDP lost through cyber theft.

Second, Lord set forth an estimated timeline for the integration process. She noted that DoD will implement a “crawl, walk, run” approach as CMMC is integrated.

DoD has projected that complete implementation of CMMC will occur by 2026. Lord stated that this year, DoD intends to select third party accreditation vendors, to be called “C3PAOs,” and will publish a new DFARS regulation in late spring or in early summer. CMMC will add requirements to ten procurements at the end of this year with contractors and subcontractors expected to meet all applicable CMMC requirements at the time of award.

Third, Lord addressed the new Accreditation Body (AB). The AB will supervise training, quality and administration of the C3PAOs. It will have 13 members from the defense industrial base, cybersecurity community, and academic community who self-nominate to join.

She noted that DoD is currently drafting a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Accreditation Body that will outline the roles, rules and responsibilities of the parties.

Finally, Lord answered questions that contractors have had since CMMC has been released. She clarified that DoD will not seek to modify current contracts to apply the CMMC retroactively.  Additionally, DoD said that subcontractors will only need to be certified to the appropriate level based on the data that they receive or develop and the work they will perform on a contract.

Therefore, according to the type of work, it will be possible that a Level 3 procurement could have Level 1 subcontractors.  CMMC accreditation will be effective for three years.

Potomac Officers Club will host its CMMC Forum 2020 on April 2. Click here to register for the event.

Ellen Lord Recommends Strategies to Prepare for CMMC Implementation: Four Step Process

Katie Arrington, chief information security officer at the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and a 2020 Wash100 Award recipient, will serve as a keynote speaker at the CMMC Forum 2020. She will address the CMMC’s timeline, how the certification process could change and will provide a memorandum of understanding with a newly established CMMC accrediting body.

A full expert panel will include Ty Schieber, senior director of executive education and CMMC-AB chairman of the University of Virginia and Richard Naylor of the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency (DCSA) among other members of the federal sector and industry.

Register here to join Potomac Officers Club for its CMMC Forum 2020 on April 2nd to learn about the impact DoD’s CMMC will have on cybersecurity practices, supply chain security and other aspects of the federal market.

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Ted Ross, SpyCloud Co-Founder and CEO, to Serve as Panelist at Potomac Officers Club’s CMMC Forum 2020 on April 2nd
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Ted Ross, SpyCloud Co-Founder and CEO, to Serve as Panelist at Potomac Officers Club’s CMMC Forum 2020 on April 2nd
Ted Ross, SpyCloud Co-Founder and CEO, to Serve as Panelist at Potomac Officers Club’s CMMC Forum 2020 on April 2nd
Ted Ross

Ted Ross, co-founder and CEO of SpyCloud, will serve as a panelist at Potomac Officers Club’s CMMC Forum 2020 on Thursday, April 2nd.

Ross brings more than 29 years of industry experience, focusing on network and security. He began his career with the U.S. Air Force, then was director of network engineering at West Corp. He has also worked with Walmart as strategy architect and with TippingPoint as executive technology director.

He created a new team at HP as director of threat intelligence at HP Security Research, that was centralized around threat intelligence practice from the ground up. His team created reports on nation-state threat groups that were considered to be the most comprehensive reports on select adversarial nation’s cyber capabilities.

On the panel, Ross will use his knowledge and experience he gained from his career in the industry to discuss the regulation changes within CMMC, and how it will affect both government and industry employees.

As CMMC’s revision has moved away from self-certification, it has replaced current National Institute of Science and Technology’s (NIST) standards for cybersecurity with a five-level system of requirements for defense contractors.

Ted Ross, SpyCloud Co-Founder and CEO, to Serve as Panelist at Potomac Officers Club’s CMMC Forum 2020 on April 2nd

Ty Schieber with the University of Virginia, Richard Naylor of the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency, Terry Roberts with WhiteHawk, and Dawn Greenman with John Hopkins University will serve alongside Ross as panelists at the forum.

The panelist will use their time to address the CMMC’s timeline, how the certification process could change and will provide a memorandum of understanding with a newly established CMMC accrediting body.

Join Potomac Officers Club for its CMMC Forum 2020 on April 2nd to learn about the impact DoD’s CMMC will have on cybersecurity practices, supply chain security and other aspects of the federal market.

Register here for Potomac Officers Club’s CMMC Forum 2020 on Thursday, April 2nd.

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USAF Research Laboratory Awards Jacobs $225M Contract for Rocket Propulsion Research Support; Steve Arnette Quoted
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USAF Research Laboratory Awards Jacobs $225M Contract for Rocket Propulsion Research Support; Steve Arnette Quoted
USAF Research Laboratory Awards Jacobs $225M Contract for Rocket Propulsion Research Support; Steve Arnette Quoted

Jacobs has received a eight-year, $225 million contract by the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory, Aerospace Systems Directorate West (AFRL/RQ-West), under the Rocket and Propulsion Technology Research contract (RAPTR) at Edwards Air Force Base in California, the company announced on Monday. 

The cost-plus-fixed-fee award has a 10-month period of performance that will begin in April 2020. The contract also has a 24-month base period, and includes two 41-month option periods.

"The importance of AFRL's mission and challenges they face turning rocket propulsion science into operational effectiveness for the nation's warfighters are tremendous catalysts that energize our entire workforce to redefine what's possible in delivering innovative solutions for the client," said Jacobs Critical Mission Solutions senior vice president, Steve Arnette. 

With the award, Jacobs will continue its longstanding relationship with the Air Force by serving as one of the AFRL's premier solutions providers to help meet current and future technology needs. 

Jacobs will provide on-site basic, exploratory and experimental research and development (R&D) support to the AFRL/RQ-West. Under RAPTR, the company will assist the development and transition of a variety of rocket and space propulsion-related technologies to the warfighter. 

Specific scientific and technical R&D areas include combustion processes, fluid dynamics and materials sciences; chemical/material sciences; aerophysics and plasma physics; analytical chemistry; in-space propulsion; high-payoff propulsion technologies; and high energy density matter.

"This is a premier opportunity for Jacobs to work with the U.S. Air Force in developing and transitioning advanced technologies needed to address a complex and evolving threat environment and successfully execute their national defense mission," added Arnette. 

Jacobs has also provided research assistance for NASA under a contract awarded in March 2019. The company will continue to support facility operations and aerospace tests at NASA’s Ames Research Center in California under a one-year contract option.

The space agency has estimated that the exercised option will bring the total potential value of the Aerospace Testing and Facility Operation and Maintenance IV contract to $178 million. 

Jacobs has helped manage the center’s arc jets, wind tunnels, hypersonic facilities and ballistics complexes. The company added it will continue to support the maintenance and repair of facilities there, as well as aeronautics and space technology testing efforts and advanced development projects.

About Jacobs

At Jacobs, we're challenging today to reinvent tomorrow by solving the world's most critical problems for thriving cities, resilient environments, mission-critical outcomes, operational advancement, scientific discovery and cutting-edge manufacturing, turning abstract ideas into realities that transform the world for good. 

With $13 billion in revenue and a talent force of approximately 52,000, Jacobs provides a full spectrum of professional services including consulting, technical, scientific and project delivery for the government and private sector.

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VT Halter Marine and Mississippi Gulf Community College Partner to Create Apprenticeship Program; Tom Vecchiolla Quoted
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VT Halter Marine and Mississippi Gulf Community College Partner to Create Apprenticeship Program; Tom Vecchiolla Quoted

VT Halter Marine and Mississippi Gulf Community College Partner to Create Apprenticeship Program; Tom Vecchiolla Quoted

VT Halter Marine and Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College have developed an apprenticeship program, the company announced on Monday. The Mississippi Department of Labor (DoL) approved the apprenticeship program on Friday, March 6th.

“The partnership with Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College to create this apprenticeship program is critical to develop our future workforce here at VT Halter Marine,” said Tom Vecchiolla, president and CEO of ST Engineering North America and 2016 Wash100 Award recipient.

The program is set to launch in August 2020. The program will offer training in the craft labor fields of welding, ship fitting, pipe fitting, pipe welding and electrical. Additionally, the apprenticeship will be designed in three modules: on-the-job training, classroom training and a progressive wage increase as participants reach set milestones.

“I also want to recognize and congratulate the apprentices selected for this most important program and look forward to their success,” added Vecchiolla. Apprentices will be assigned to VT Halter Marine employee mentors to guide them throughout the program.

“Apprenticeship is an industry-driven, high-quality career pathway where employers can develop and prepare their future workforce, and individuals can obtain paid work experience, classroom instruction, and a portable, nationally recognized credential.” the DoL stated.

In addition to the partner program with the college, VT Halter Marine has partnered with the city of Pensacola in Florida to bring 1.7K aircraft maintenance jobs to the region in Feb. 2020. The company has a paid educational program for student mechanics and previously offered aviation maintenance positions to George Stone Technical College students upon their graduation in May 2020.

About VT Halter Marine

VT Halter Marine, Inc. is a shipbuilding company and a subsidiary of VT Systems, the American subsidiary of ST Engineering. It is located in Pascagoula, Mississippi. It specializes in ship design, construction, and repair, and serves both public and private clients, including the United States Department of Defense.

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