Leidos has announced the company’s partnership with Rusada to serve as systems integrator for ENVISION, Rusada's Aviation Maintenance Repair and Overhaul (MRO) and Flight Operations software, Leidos reported on Thursday.

"As a premier provider of airborne solutions, Leidos is committed to keeping its customers abreast of best-of-breed technology enhancements," said Kevin Lansdowne, senior vice president of Leidos Airborne Solutions. "This agreement will leverage both companies' expertise to deliver next generation software for airlines and aircraft operators across the globe."

Leidos' Airborne Solutions Operation (ASO) will serve as the systems integrator. The company will provide services to install, configure, operate and apply the software for customer's aviation business. Rusada will continue to be the software product developer. 

ENVISION has been implemented by aircraft operators, MRO providers and manufacturers to provide management maintenance and airworthiness activities. The web-based software utilizes the current, advanced technologies, which has supplied aviation decision-makers with informative data, adding value to their organization.

"This partnership is the natural conclusion of the great work we have already done together," said Julian Stourton, CEO of Rusada. "Both companies strive to deliver the highest quality services in our respective fields and together we present an unparalleled offering to aviation companies across the globe."

In addition to the company’s partnership with Rusada, Leidos has agreed to partner Clarify Health Solutions’ predictive analytics in support of customers’ health care activities in Jan. 2020. 

Leidos will integrate Clarify’s predictive insights into Leidos’ careC2 platform that works to facilitate the operational, clinical and financial oversight of healthcare processes. The careC2 system’s security, governance and data functions will work with Clarify’s analytics to help industry clients design and deliver tailored health care applications.

The two companies will also jointly build a roadmap to help customers technologically address challenges and cater to their customers’ needs. Jon Scholl, president at Leidos Health Group, said the two firms’ combined expertise will allow healthcare partners to gain boosted visibility across operations.

About Leidos

Leidos is a Fortune 500® information technology, engineering, and science solutions and services leader working to solve the world's toughest challenges in the defense, intelligence, homeland security, civil, and health markets. The company's 36,000 employees support vital missions for government and commercial customers. Headquartered in Reston, Va., Leidos reported annual revenues of approximately $10.19 billion for the fiscal year ended December 28, 2018.

Dr. Mike Gazarik, Ball Aerospace's vice president of Engineering, has been appointed by the American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) to its 2020 class of Fellows for his continued efforts to advance space technology, the company reported on Thursday. 

"Mike has spent his career advancing the future of space technology and mentoring the next generation of aerospace professionals in a manner fitting the distinction of AIAA Fellow," said Rob Strain, president, Ball Aerospace. 

As vice president of Engineering at Ball Aerospace, Gazarik oversees Ball’s technology to help advance business demands and growth. He is responsible for Ball's research and development portfolio, where he ensures the company will continue to deliver high-impact discriminating technologies to provide new advancements to the customer base. 

Gazarik brings over 25 years of experience in the design, development and deployment of spaceflight systems. Prior to joining Ball in March 2015, he served as associate administrator for the Space Technology Mission Directorate with NASA from Jan. 2011 to Feb. 2015. 

He also served as director of Engineering at the administration’s Langley Research Center from May 2003 to Jan. 2011. Gazarik has served in a variety of managerial roles from 1997 to 2003, and began his career at MIT Lincoln Laboratory as a part of the technical staff after graduating from Georgia Institute of Technology in 1997 with a Ph.D. in electrical engineering. 

"As a widely recognized and respected leader, Mike's talent for empowering innovative organizations and people shows across our industry in the many people he has inspired and in the transformative organizations he has shaped."

Gazarik will be inducted on May 19, 2020, and then recognized on May 20, 2020, at the AIAA Aerospace Spotlight Awards Gala in Washington, D.C.

About Ball Corporation

Ball Corporation (NYSE: BLL) supplies innovative, sustainable aluminum packaging solutions for beverage, personal care and household products customers, as well as aerospace and other technologies and services primarily for the U.S. government. Ball Corporation and its subsidiaries employ more than 18,300 people worldwide and reported 2019 net sales of $11.5 billion.

KPMG has released a report stating that close to 90 percent of tech industry leaders support the implementation of a company Artificial Intelligence (AI) ethics policy across all industries to help government AI initiatives, KPMG reported on Thursday. 

"Companies that are embedding AI and other forms of digitization into every process and functionality are disrupting the competition," said Sreekar Krishna, KPMG Principal Innovation and AI-enabled Digital Transformation. "Those with big legacy technology infrastructures, who have been hesitant to invest, are being left behind."

KPMG’s report has been based on a survey of 150 U.S. tech sector leaders. The study is a part of a larger KPMG-commissioned survey of 751 business decision-makers across five sectors, technology, transportation, retail, healthcare, and financial services. 69 percent of the surveyed group are in favor of some level of government involvement in regulating AI. 

The company’s research has revealed that tech executives have common views on the future of AI within the sector as well as the steps they plan to take to maximize benefits and mitigate challenges. KPMG has divided the report into two sections, AI and Jobs and AI adoption by technology companies.

In AI and Jobs, the report found that more than a third of technology industry decision-makers are worried that AI could replace their positions. The report has stated that while 61 percent feel existing employees are prepared for AI adoption, leaders need more workers who are prepared for AI transformation and need to improve how to integrate the technology into the business.

AI adoption by technology companies has reported that 62 percent of respondents believe that AI adoption is moving at an appropriate speed across their industry and 73 percent think the respective companies should be even more aggressive in AI investment and adoption, specifically within organizational improvement efficiencies.

"The tech sector's search for talent, not only in AI but across multiple digital skills, is one of the factors contributing to the rise of tech hubs, where talent, infrastructure and economics converge to produce these capabilities," said Tim Zanni, KPMG Global and U.S. Technology Sector Leader. "Tech companies must address the needs of their current and future workforces, and quickly achieving that balance sets the stage for long-term success."

About KPMG

KPMG is one of the world's leading professional services firms, providing innovative business solutions and audit, tax, and advisory services to many of the world's largest and most prestigious organizations.

KPMG is widely recognized for being a great place to work and build a career. Our people share a sense of purpose in the work we do, and a strong commitment to community service, inclusion and diversity, and eradicating childhood illiteracy.

The Professional Services Council (PSC) has backed the supply chain regulatory change that reduces the reporting burden on federal contractors in Section 889(a), the company reported on Monday. 

“Allowing offerors to annually certify in SAM, rather than having to make that declaration on an offer-by-offer basis, is a productive step. This interim rule will assist those companies that are not otherwise impacted by the prohibition but are affected by its reporting requirements,” said Alan Chvotkin, PSC Executive Vice President and Counsel as well as a GovCon expert for Executive Mosaic.

The Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council’s second interim rule now allows offerors to annually certify in the System for Award Management (SAM) database in Dec. 2019. The council has stated that they are not using products or services from certain Chinese companies.

Section 889 of the Fiscal Year 2019 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA, P.L. 115-232) has imposed prohibitions on the government’s purchase of certain telecommunications products and services and use of those products and services in a federal contractor’s supply chain. 

PSC has supported the rule, commending the government for listening to the feedback within the GovCon sector and acting to address the challenges in the Section 889(a) implementation. 

PSC led a coalition of associations in commenting on the August 2019 interim FAR rule titled, “Prohibition on Contracting for Certain Telecommunications and Video Surveillance Services or Equipment” in Oct. 2019.  

The coalition’s first recommendation has requested expeditious implementation of the one-time SAM certification. As that letter stated in part: "A one-time, annual certification, rather than offer-by-offer representation, would dramatically reduce the administrative burden on, and the compliance costs for, both the government and federal contracting community.

The document stated that the SAM certification would also allow contracting officers and agencies to focus on offerors, including covered equipment or supply chain services. The implementation will additionally provide more time for contractors to prepare information, effective in Aug. 2020. 

“Accordingly, we urge the government to issue proposed regulations for phase two as expeditiously as possible, to expand outreach to the impacted communities, and to assist the contractor community with implementing this very expansive and challenging mandate,” concluded Chvotkin.

About PSC

PSC is the voice of the government technology and professional services industry. PSC’s more than 400 member companies represent small, medium and large businesses that provide federal agencies with services of all kinds, including information technology, engineering, logistics, facilities management, operations and maintenance, consulting, international development, scientific, social, environmental services, and more. Together, the trade association’s members employ hundreds of thousands of Americans in all 50 states.

KBR has announced its partnership with Mitsubishi Hitachi Power Systems (MHPS) to provide ROSE, KBR’s pitch generated from market-leading solvent de-asphalting (SDA) technology for steam and power generation, the company reported on Thursday.

Doug Kelly, president of KBR Technology Solutions said, “Our combined solution with MHPS will enhance the economic efficiency of plants and provide a new, environmentally friendly option for power generation.”

The companies will use pitch, the residue stream left over from the ROSE SDA process once the high-value material has been extracted, to provide KBR as Asphaltene integrated Generation System (AiGSSM).

KBR ROSE technology will work to reuse valuable products from crude oil. ROSE has the capability to address the IMO2020 bunker fuel transition and has been continuously reengineered to meet current industry demands.

The company’s advanced technology is a highly reliable process that uses up to 60 percent less energy and consistently delivers high returns on investment. The technology also holds a global market share of more than 90 percent.

MHPS will enable KBR to deliver products from ROSE technology by converting the SDA pitch into clean power. MHPS will also help KBR  integrate thermal power generation systems and environmental technology.

In addition, MHPS will supervise the production process from development, design, manufacturing, construction and commissioning to after-sales service for thermal power plants.  MHPS’ technology has three reference units in operation.

“We are excited to offer this combined solution to our clients to include electricity generation through SDA pitch-fired boilers,” Kelly added.

About KBR, Inc.

KBR is a global provider of differentiated professional services and technologies across the asset and program lifecycle within the Government Solutions and Energy sectors. KBR employs approximately 38,000 people worldwide (including our joint ventures), with customers in more than 80 countries, and operations in 40 countries, across three synergistic global businesses.

The House Armed Services Committee has asked the Department of Defense to submit its three-decade shipbuilding plan for fiscal year 2021 by Feb. 27 and provide an update on the status of the Force Structure Assessment.

Rep. Joe Courtney (D-Conn.), chairman of the House panel’s seapower and projection forces subcommittee, and Rep. Rob Wittman (R-Va.), the subcommittee’s ranking member, made the request in a Wednesday letter to DoD Secretary and 2020 Wash100 Award winner Mark Esper.

The correspondence was made in response to the department’s FY 2021 budget request for the U.S. Navy’s shipbuilding programs. The lawmakers said the Pentagon’s proposed budget represents a 20 percent reduction in the number of ships to be procured between 2021 and 2025.

Noblis announced on Wednesday that scientists from the company and the Defense Biological Product Assurance Office (DBPAO), a component of the Joint Program Executive Office for Chemical, Biological, Radiological, and Nuclear Defense (JPEO-CBRND), have identified unique genetic sequences of the international Wuhan coronavirus.

“Noblis is pleased to collaborate with our customers to accelerate the virus detection process and combat the coronavirus outbreak,” said Amr ElSawy, president and CEO, Noblis. “Our scientists and technical experts are using advanced analytics, bioinformatics and high-performance computing solutions for biosurveillance and other areas which are contributing to global public health and safety.”

Noblis and DBPAO scientists used BioLaboro, a Noblis application developed for rapidly designing de novo (new) assays and validating existing PCR detection assays, for research and discovered four highly specific sequences which are unique to the new coronavirus and are in disparate locations across the genome.

The four BioLaboro assays were compared to four assays from a German group (Corman and colleagues) as well as the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The four Noblis assays were found to be in different locations in the genome sequence compared to the other assays.

As new whole genome sequences of the Wuhan virus are added daily, there is an ongoing need to immediately evaluate the effectiveness of existing assays and to design new ones when signature erosion is observed.

Noblis and DBPAO are using new data submissions to continue to monitor signature erosion in the Wuhan virus with BioLaboro. The updates are being posted on Viological.org.

About Noblis

Noblis is a dynamic science, technology, and strategy organization dedicated to creating forward-thinking technical and advisory solutions in the public interest. We bring the best of scientific thought, management, and engineering expertise together in an environment of independence and objectivity to deliver enduring impact on federal missions.

Noblis works with a wide range of government clients in the defense, intelligence and federal civil sectors. Together with our wholly owned subsidiary, Noblis ESI, we tackle the nation’s toughest problems and support our clients’ most critical missions.