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Senate Bill Pushes for International Quantum Research Program
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Senate Bill Pushes for International Quantum Research Program

Sens. Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H., and Todd Young, R-Ind., have introduced the International Quantum Research Exchange Act, which would promote U.S. leadership in quantum research through international research exchanges with allies and partners.

If enacted into law, the bill would direct the State Department to fund collaborative research programs with countries that have signed quantum cooperation statements with the United States, according to a Thursday press release from the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

International Tech Research Partnerships

In a statement, Shaheen, a ranking member of the panel, said the proposed law would enable the United States to lead quantum research efforts by establishing partnerships with its closest allies and partners. “I will continue to explore every opportunity to strengthen U.S. international partnerships with countries that share our values,” she stressed.

According to Young, the bill would promote partnerships with like-minded countries that would allow the United States to increase its access to quantum R&D and maintain leadership in the emerging technology. “Quantum innovation is crucial to our national security priorities, including protecting our supply chains and ensuring we don’t rely on China for critical technologies,” he explained.

Quantum-Focused Collaborative Research Programs

Under the legislation, the State Department would be mandated to establish a program to enhance international cooperation in quantum information science. Congress would authorize $20 million for fiscal year 2026 to conduct quantum-focused collaborative research programs.

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NASA Seeks Proposals for Reusable Hypersonics Development Test Vehicle
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NASA Seeks Proposals for Reusable Hypersonics Development Test Vehicle

NASA has issued a request for proposals in support of the Hypersonic Technology Project, or HTP, which seeks to develop airbreathing hypersonic technologies meant to enable reusable high-speed flight to address defense and potential commercial needs.

MACH Program Flight Test Vehicle

Contributing to the HTP is the Making Advancements in Commercial Hypersonics, or MACH, program. This seeks to improve the ability of government as well as industry to test and mature innovations for routine and reusable hypersonic applications, according to the solicitation posted Wednesday on SAM.gov.

The RFP calls on capable vendors to perform a study on a flight test vehicle concept to be used under the MACH program. The information the study ultimately seeks includes the characteristics of the proposed test vehicle, the technology that must be developed in order for the vehicle to meet NASA requirements, and related cost estimates.

Industry Day & Proposal Deadline

Interested vendors have until May 28 to submit proposals. An industry day will be held virtually on April 21 to provide prospective offerors with more information regarding NASA’s needs for the effort.

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DOE Selects 5 Companies for Initial Round of HALEU Allocations
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DOE Selects 5 Companies for Initial Round of HALEU Allocations

The Department of Energy has made conditional commitments to distribute high-assay low-enriched uranium, or HALEU, to five nuclear developers as part of the first round of HALEU allocations.

DOE said Wednesday TRISO-X, Kairos Power, Radiant Industries, Westinghouse Electric and TerraPower are the five companies that secured conditional commitments from the department through the HALEU Availability Program.

Table of Contents

HALEU Allocation

“Allocating this HALEU material will help U.S. nuclear developers deploy their advanced reactors with materials sourced from secure supply chains, marking an important step forward in President Trump’s program to revitalize America’s nuclear sector,” said Energy Secretary Chris Wright.

Out of 15 companies that sent HALEU requests, DOE selected five nuclear developers that met prioritization criteria. Three of these developers require fuel delivery in 2025.

The department will begin the contracting process to allocate the HALEU material to the selected companies as early as this fall.

According to DOE, the allocated HALEU supports the Advanced Reactor Demonstration Program, or ARDP, Pathway 1 award recipients. These are firms that plan to demonstrate in the DOME test bed and some ARDP risk reduction awardees.

What Is HALEU?

HALEU is uranium enriched between 5 percent and less than 20 percent in uranium-235, the main fissile isotope that generates energy during a chain reaction. It is used as fuel in advanced nuclear reactors and allows developers to achieve smaller reactor designs and optimize their systems for longer operating cycles.

According to DOE, the domestic demand for HALEU could hit 50 metric tons annually by 2035. To help meet this growing need, the department is exploring ways to offer HALEU to nuclear developers to support advanced reactor testing and demonstration efforts.

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Marine Corps to Field Dismounted C-sUAS
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Marine Corps to Field Dismounted C-sUAS

The U.S. Marine Corps plans to field new technologies to address the growing global threat of small unmanned aircraft systems. The service will evaluate dismounted counter-sUAS platforms to protect American and allied troops and maintain an operational advantage, the DOD said Wednesday. 

Marine Corps Drone Threat

Adversaries are increasingly deploying sUAS for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance or to attack targets. Aside from its low manufacturing cost, the technology is agile, easy to use and generates low radar signature. 

Although small, sUAS can compromise security, destroy critical military assets, disrupt operations and even lead to loss of life. 

“One of the things that is apparent to all of us is that unmanned aerial systems are a threat not just to infantry Marines, but to all Marines,” explained Lt. Gen. Eric Austin, head of the Marine Corps Combat Development Command, via Defense One. 

Counter-sUAS Testing to Begin Soon

The Marine Corps did not identify which technologies for fielding, but officials shared that the prototype platforms will enable warfighters to detect, track, identify and defeat enemy drones through kinetic and non-kinetic effects. 

“These systems will be lightweight, easy-to-use, easy-to-train, military occupational specialty-agnostic, and, to the maximum extent possible, use weapon systems organic to individual units,” Lt. Col. Eric Flanagan, a spokesperson for Combat Development and Integration, told Task & Purpose. 

A service official also said the Marine Expeditionary Units and Marine Littoral Regiments will be first to test out the C-sUAS platforms in the coming weeks.

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Redhorse Deploys GraphAware Hume at DOD Impact Level 5 on Air Force Cloud One
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Redhorse Deploys GraphAware Hume at DOD Impact Level 5 on Air Force Cloud One

Redhorse and GraphAware have revealed the first DOD Impact Level 5, or IL5, deployment of their connected data analytics platform, GraphAware Hume, for a vital DOD program.

Redhorse said Wednesday it launched the first production instance of GraphAware Hume on a DOD IL5 network situated within an accredited development, security and operations, or DevSecOps, platform in the U.S. Air Force’s Cloud One, the cloud environment managed by the service branch.

Top Redhorse, GraphAware Executives on the IL5 Deployment

“We look forward to supporting this important USAF-led effort to deliver the game-changing power of knowledge graphs and graph-enabled AI applications for mission critical analytics,” said Vincent Bridgeman, senior vice president of national security services at Redhorse. “We are especially excited about the newest (large language model) LLM-enabled features available in Hume 2.26, which truly transforms the analyst experience.”

Michal Bachman, CEO of GraphAware, added, “The world is increasingly connected and intelligence analysts must adopt technologies specifically designed for connected data to remain effective. This first IL5 deployment of GraphAware Hume marks an important step toward broader adoption of graph technology across the DOD.”

In 2022, the two companies forged a strategic partnership where Redhorse was tasked as the exclusive official reseller to market GraphAware Hume to the national security, defense and intelligence sectors.

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NSF to Provide Expanded Cloud Computing Access for Scientific Research
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NSF to Provide Expanded Cloud Computing Access for Scientific Research

The National Science Foundation has awarded a $20 million grant to expand the NSF CloudBank, which aims to deliver commercial cloud computing for science and engineering research efforts.

The funding will advance the initiative to increase access to cutting-edge computing, artificial intelligence and other commercial cloud services, bolstering the U.S. science and technology workforce, NSF said Wednesday.

The University of California San Diego’s Supercomputer Center and Information Technology Services Division will collaborate with UC Berkeley’s College of Computing, Data Science and Society and the University of Washington’s eScience Institute under the CloudBank 2.0 project. The program will continue working with major cloud providers, such as Amazon Web Services, Google Cloud, IBM Cloud, Microsoft Azure and NVIDIA’s DGX Cloud.

Strengthening Public-Private Partnerships

According to NSF Director Sethuraman Panchanathan, CloudBank 2.0 will use industry resources to strengthen public-private partnerships and accelerate innovation. “CloudBank 2.0 will further our mission to expand the ecosystem of advanced computing, data and AI services available to the U.S. research community — from leading research universities to smaller institutions,” he explained.

Advancing AI and Scientific Innovation

NSF’s investment in CloudBank 2.0 underscores its commitment to working with the private sector in advancing AI and scientific innovation. The program will fund around 500 research projects annually over the next five years and make computing more accessible to institutions with limited resources, such as community colleges and small universities. It will also boost workforce development by partnering with educational institutions to provide students with hands-on experience of the same cloud technologies used by global companies.

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Executive Order Seeks to Reform Foreign Defense Sales System
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Executive Order Seeks to Reform Foreign Defense Sales System

President Donald Trump on Wednesday signed an executive order to introduce reforms to the foreign defense sales system as part of efforts to improve transparency and accountability throughout the system and revitalize the defense industrial base.

In a fact sheet published Wednesday, the White House said the order aims to reduce rules and regulations involved in the development and execution of foreign defense sales as well as promote U.S. competitiveness abroad.

Ensuring Effective Defense Cooperation

Within 60 days, the new policy directs the secretary of state to work with the defense secretary to develop a list of priority partners for conventional arms transfers and release updated guidance to chiefs of U.S. diplomatic missions regarding the list.

The secretary of defense should create a list of priority end-items for potential transfer to priority partners and ensure that the transfer would not cause any major harm to U.S. force readiness while advancing the administration’s goal of strengthening allied burden-sharing.

The order directs the secretaries of defense and state to review and update the list of defense items that can only be procured through the foreign military sales process.

Foreign Defense Sales Metrics

Over the next three months, the two secretaries should collaborate to submit a plan to the president. It should have steps on how to improve the U.S. defense sales system’s transparency to foreign partners by developing accountability metrics, securing exportability as a requirement in the acquisition’s early phases. It should consolidate technology security and foreign disclosure approvals.

The order also requires the submission to the assistant to the president for national security affairs of a plan to develop a single electronic platform to monitor all ongoing FMS efforts and Direct Commercial Sales export license requests.

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Space Officials Stress Partnership Need for Intelligence, Innovation
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Space Officials Stress Partnership Need for Intelligence, Innovation

Insights from four-time Wash100 Award winner U.S. Navy Vice Adm. Frank Whitworth, National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency director, and first time Wash100 Award winner U.S. Space Force Vice Chief of Space Operations Gen. Michael Guetlein served as one of the highlights of the 40th Space Symposium Tuesday. They focused specifically on opportunities and challenges for intelligence community collaboration, USSF said in a statement Wednesday.

Their discussion also covered space industry partnerships, innovation and data, topics which are among the underlying themes of the symposium hosted by the Space Foundation.

Minimizing Duplicative Efforts 

According to Guetlein, opportunities outnumber challenges when it comes to intelligence sharing in the space industry, both military and civil. “It is going to be absolutely imperative to the protection and defense of this nation that we can integrate and network (intelligence) capabilities and seamlessly share data, share situational awareness (and) not duplicate development efforts going forward (to) optimize the utility of our resources,” the USSF official said. 

Guetlein added that some duplicate efforts will be inevitable, in the same way that some duplication will be beneficial. “But what we want to do is reduce and eliminate as much of the duplication as we possibly can to save resources. That comes from a very close partnership between the organizations,” Guetlein remarked.

Success Stories in Partnerships

Sharing the USSF official’s view, NGA’s Whitworth cited the Joint Overhead Persistent-Infrared Center of the NGA, USSF and U.S. Space Command as an example of a successful partnership that eventually became the template for the Joint Mission Management Center. “It really is about ensuring unity and integration,” the NGA official stated.

Partnerships are also at play in USSF innovation, according to Guetlein. He cited collaboration with industry, academia and allied partners on a Unified Data Library and a Space Domain Awareness Tools, Applications, and Processing Lab. “Space is too big for any organization to go at it alone, so we are absolutely dependent on our partnerships,” the USSF official stressed.

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Elbridge Colby Confirmed as DOD Under Secretary for Policy
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Elbridge Colby Confirmed as DOD Under Secretary for Policy

The Senate on Tuesday voted 54-45 to confirm Elbridge Colby, a former Department of Defense official, for the position of under secretary of defense for policy.

Colby’s confirmation marks his return to DOD, where he served as deputy assistant secretary of defense for strategy and force development during President Donald Trump’s first term.

The Hill reported that Colby appeared before the Senate Armed Services Committee in March for his confirmation hearing and fielded questions from lawmakers over his stance on various defense policy matters, including his views on Taiwan and NATO.

Elbridge Colby’s Career Background

As deputy assistant secretary at DOD, he was responsible for defense strategy, force development and strategic analysis within the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy.

Prior to joining the Pentagon in 2017, he was the Robert M. Gates Senior Fellow at the Center for a New American Security. He also served as a principal analyst and division lead for global strategic affairs at CNA from 2010 through 2013.

Earlier in his career, the Harvard College and Yale Law School graduate served for over five years at DOD, the State Department and within the intelligence community, where he worked on strategic forces, weapons of mass destruction and intelligence reform matters.

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Tulsi Gabbard’s Task Force Seeks to Restore Transparency Within IC
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Tulsi Gabbard’s Task Force Seeks to Restore Transparency Within IC

Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard has established a new task force to help rebuild trust and restore accountability and transparency within the U.S. intelligence community.

The Office of the Director of National Intelligence said Tuesday the newly formed Director’s Initiatives Group, or DIG, has begun executing tasks in compliance with President Donald Trump’s intelligence-related executive orders and presidential actions.

What Is the Director’s Initiatives Group Doing?

Under Gabbard’s direction, DIG is assessing IC’s structure, resources and personnel to eliminate wasteful spending and enhance efficiency.

The task force is also reviewing documents for potential declassification, including information related to the origin of COVID-19, Anomalous Health Incidents and Crossfire Hurricane.

“We are already identifying wasteful spending in real time, streamlining outdated processes, reviewing documents for declassification, and leading ongoing efforts to root out abuses of power and politicization,” said Gabbard.

“We are committed to executing the President’s vision and focusing the Intelligence Community on its core mission: ensuring our security by providing the President and policymakers with timely, apolitical, objective, relevant intelligence to inform their decision-making to ensure the safety, security and freedom of the American people,” she added.

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