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Air Force Taps Carnegie Mellon to Create Materials Science Research Center
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Air Force Taps Carnegie Mellon to Create Materials Science Research Center


Air Force Taps Carnegie Mellon to Create Materials Science Research Center

Air Force Research Laboratory, Air Force Office of Scientific Research and Carnegie Mellon University have partnered to launch a center of excellence that focuses on materials sciences.

CMU will host the center under a multi-million-dollar agreement with the U.S. Air Force in support of academic research and development, Wright-Patterson AF Base said Monday.

Students working for doctorates will use artificial intelligence applications to create new materials and further build on existing ones. The center will support such projects.

“Student researchers will spend their summers onsite at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base and AFRL scientists will, in turn, spend time at CMU throughout the academic year,” said Sean Donegan, project manager at AFRL.

The CoE will also consist of experts in machine learning and computer science, fields that would serve as mediums for the research.

AFRL and a separate panel of advisers will conduct yearly reviews on the CoE’s work to track progress.

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NSA Looks to Promote Access to Cyber Education
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NSA Looks to Promote Access to Cyber Education


NSA Looks to Promote Access to Cyber Education

Diane Janosek, commandant of the National Security Agency’s National Cryptologic School, said the agency is focusing on expanding access to cybersecurity education as cyber threats continue to bring economic risks, Federal Times reported Tuesday.

Janosek noted that NSA seeks to train future cyber professionals on skills that can be applied to industries beyond defense and intelligence such as manufacturing, health care, banking and finance. NSA currently holds cyber education partnerships with over 300 institutions through the Centers of Academic Excellence program.

The agency also designates institutions as national or regional resource centers. The national centers handle webinars, mentoring, faculty development, information sharing and application review while the regional centers help academic entities prepare for CAE designation in cyber operations, cyber defense research or cyber defense.

According to an NSA spokesperson, around 63 of the CAE partners are minority-serving institutions.

“We now can recruit in very key areas from the schools that we know have the caliber of the curriculum that we’re looking for,” noted Janosek. “We need lots of talent, and that talent needs to be diverse and reflect who we are as a country.”

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FAA Plans Remote ID for UAS Operating in Nat’l Airspace
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FAA Plans Remote ID for UAS Operating in Nat’l Airspace


FAA Plans Remote ID for UAS Operating in Nat'l Airspace

The Federal Aviation Administration is seeking public input on a proposed rule to mandate remote identification for unmanned aerial systems seeking airspace authorizations.

FAA said Thursday the rule covers drones that weigh more than 0.55 pounds as well as operators of foreign civil UAS. The policy will not apply to recreational drones or small UAS that fall below the designated weight class.

The agency noted that the rule will support the development of policies for more complex UAS operations such as beyond-visual-line-of-sight flights. The rule will also help FAA in its efforts to establish an air traffic management system for UAS.

FAA’s previously launched efforts to safely integrate small UAS into the national airspace and automate the authorization process for UAS operators.

Elaine Chao, secretary of the Department of Transportation, said remote ID technologies can help “enhance safety and security” by allowing the FAA as well as federal and other law enforcement authorities to identify drones flying within their jurisdiction.

There are currently 1.5 million drones and around 160,000 pilots registered with the FAA, according to the agency.

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Air Force Demos AGR-20A Laser-Guided Rockets in Flight Test
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Air Force Demos AGR-20A Laser-Guided Rockets in Flight Test


Air Force Demos AGR-20A Laser-Guided Rockets in Flight Test

The 85th Test and Evaluation Squadron and the 40th Flight Test Squadron tested laser-guided rocket systems through F-16 Fighting Falcon aircraft units during a demonstration on Dec. 19.

The aircraft units utilized AGR-20A Advanced Precision Kill Weapon Systems to destroy a subscale drone at low altitude, the U.S. Air Force said Thursday.

Efforts under the demonstration are intended to deliver a proof of concept for the deployment of rockets on F-16 aircraft units in cruise missile defense missions.

“This proof of concept can have implications for homeland defense missions, combined defense of the Arabian Gulf and beyond,” said Col. Ryan Messer, commander at the 53rd Wing.

The AGR-20A is a mid-body guidance system that works to equip unguided missiles with laser-guided capacities. The platform was initially built to function as a low collateral damage-to-air weapon in support of missions in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Navy Honors WWII Battleships With New Submarine Naming
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Navy Honors WWII Battleships With New Submarine Naming


Navy Honors WWII Battleships With New Submarine Naming

The U.S. Navy has plans to name the next two Virginia-class submarines after states Oklahoma and Arizona, names once carried by World War II U.S. battleships.

The service branch said Monday its naming decision for SSN-802 and SSN-803, respectively, honors the servicemen who had served and sacrificed their lives in the BB-37 and BB-39 vessels.

“I am honored and humbled to name the next two Virginia-class nuclear fast-attack submarines to be built as the USS Oklahoma (SSN-802) and the USS Arizona (SSN-803),” said Thomas Modly, acting secretary of the Navy.

Modly added he wishes for Arizonians and Oklahomans to support the commemoration of the battleships’ sailors who lost their lives in Pearl Harbor almost eight decades ago.

Virginia-class vessels bring surveillance, stealth and special features that address the Navy’s requirements across a variety of mission types.

Study Predicts Gov’t Counterrorism Expenses to Add by Trillion
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Study Predicts Gov’t Counterrorism Expenses to Add by Trillion


Study Predicts Gov't Counterrorism Expenses to Add by Trillion

Neta Crawford, a professor from Boston University, said the federal government may add $1T to counterterrorism investments over the next decades, National Defense Magazine reported Tuesday.

Her recent report, titled “United States Budgetary Costs and Obligations of Post-9/11 Wars through FY 2020: $6.4 Trillion” projects government spending to continue a pattern of increasing counterterrorism over time.

Government investments in counterterrorism reached $5.4T between fiscal years 2001 and 2020. Crawford’s report said the government might invest at least $1T in medical services for conflict-affected veterans.

“These wars, and the domestic counterterrorism mobilization, have entailed significant expenses, paid for by deficit spending,” the study noted.

Crawford’s research attributes spending increases to accustomed costs related to post-9/11 conflicts.

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DoD Eyes New Data Processing Techniques for Battlefield Operations
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DoD Eyes New Data Processing Techniques for Battlefield Operations


DoD Eyes New Data Processing Techniques for Battlefield Operations

The Department of Defense is working to discover new ways of storing and leveraging data through aggregation techniques and new technologies like artificial intelligence and machine learning, C4ISRnet reported Thursday.

Matt Benigni, chief data scientist at the Joint Special Operations Command, said the command has created an algorithm that will enable the processing and transfer of enemy data from overseas to systems in the U.S. According to Benigni, the command has also launched an effort with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Lincoln Labs to discover advanced data processing methodologies, including the fusion of datasets extracted from the field.

John Ferrari, chief administrative officer of software and analytics firm QOMPLX, said at an Association of the U.S. Army event that he expects military assets like tanks to include AI and data processing features in their development requirements within 20 years.

“The Defense Department is in the business of data destruction,” he said. “We are also in the business of being enormously afraid of aggregating data. If you put that data set together, yeah they’re both unclassified, maybe they’ll be classified. Whatever you do, don’t bring the data together, keep it siloed.”

Proposed OPM Rule Seeks to Facilitate Hiring of Former Federal Employees
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Proposed OPM Rule Seeks to Facilitate Hiring of Former Federal Employees


Proposed OPM Rule Seeks to Facilitate Hiring of Former Federal Employees

The Office of Personnel Management has proposed a rule that allows agencies to hire former federal personnel who have acquired higher-level skillsets and appoint them without competition to roles at any grade level for which they are qualified.

The proposed regulation posted Thursday on Federal Register says individuals seeking to return to the federal government will be compensated at grade levels that commensurate the experience and skills they have.

Under the rule, candidates need to meet two conditions to qualify for reinstatement in the federal workforce. They should be off their current job for at least a year and have received a “fully successful” rating of record in their most recent positions.

“The proposed 1-year requirement will prevent situations in which employees seeking a promotion quit and get reinstated to a higher-graded position (in essence a promotion) prior to meeting the specialized experience requirement,” according to the proposed policy.

Comments on the proposed rule are due Feb. 24.

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White House Names Robert Blair Special Representative for Int’l Telecom Policy
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White House Names Robert Blair Special Representative for Int’l Telecom Policy


White House Names Robert Blair Special Representative for Int'l Telecom Policy

President Donald Trump has appointed Robert Blair, assistant to the president and senior adviser to interim  White House chief of staff Mick Mulvaney, as the U.S. representative for international telecommunications policy.

The White House said Monday Blair will be responsible for prioritizing the administration’s efforts to promote communications security and reliability and coordinating with stakeholders on telecom infrastructure matters.

He will also work with Larry Kudlow, assistant to the president for economic policy, to shape 5G policies.

Blair previously worked at the Office of Management and Budget as assistant director of defense programs and served for more than a decade on the House Appropriations Committee.

Prior to Capitol Hill, he was a presidential management fellow with the State Department. He started his federal career as a volunteer for the Peace Corps.

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David Shahady on Air Force Small Business Innovation Research Program, Space Pitch Day
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David Shahady on Air Force Small Business Innovation Research Program, Space Pitch Day


David Shahady
David Shahady

David Shahady, director of the Air Force Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer programs, told SpaceNews in an interview published Thursday about the SBIR program and some of the changes to the initiative.

“The financial and the contracting community have knocked down lots of barriers, everything from shortened contracts to paying with a government credit card to giving people their initial money upfront,” Shahady said. “For the companies getting awards, we’re depositing $50,000 off a credit card in their bank account right here, today. … They’re now working on our dime instead of their own, which is the proposition that we want to see.”

Shahady talked about the service’s Space Pitch Day and the three SBIR phases. He said the first phase deals with the development of a concept. Phase two focuses on prototype development and demonstration, while the third phase is the “graduation” from the SBIR program and involves the practice of matching funds or co-investing.

He said the Air Force allows companies to get matching funding from various sources under the third phase of the SBIR program. “If they can find outside money from state and local governments, other services, venture capital investors, large primes or even commercial sales, those are all great propositions because all of those things build up the industrial base. That’s a huge part of competing in a global market,” Shahady added.

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