Lt. Gen. Robert Ashley, director of the Defense Intelligence Agency and 2019 Wash100 Award winner, said the Department of Defense faces the challenge of scaling data for interoperability, Federal News Network reported Tuesday.

DoD can process data at needed speeds, but has difficulty in scaling to have different pieces of data connect and work together, he said Aug. 19 in a presentation at the DoD Intelligence Information System Worldwide conference.

“I don’t know that we have as much a speed problem as we have a scale problem, and buried within that scale problem is the challenge of interoperability,” he said.

The director noted that addressing scaling and interoperability issues would support the agency’s mission against misinformation. The agency is now working on the Machine-Assisted Analytic Rapid-Repository System, an intelligence-tailored platform that uses machine learning to process and scale information.

Anil Cheriyan, deputy commissioner of the General Services Administration’s Federal Acquisition Service, said the agency’s Centers of Excellence program has made artificial intelligence its sixth modernization focus area, Federal Times reported Tuesday.

“You name it and there’s a significant amount of opportunity in AI,” Cheriyan said Tuesday at GSA’s IT Modernization Showcase. “AI is really our next big thing.”

The other five focus areas are cloud adoption, data analytics, customer experience, infrastructure optimization and contact center. The move came weeks after GSA selected the Department of Defense’s Joint AI Center as the fifth partner agency for the CoE initiative.

GSA Administrator and 2019 Wash100 Award winner Emily Murphy said the JAIC CoE program will work on AI platforms to support predictive maintenance, humanitarian aid and disaster response with plans to expand work in other areas such as logistics, cyber and health care.

The Federal Aviation Administration has completed implementation of a new air traffic surveillance system across 155 airports. FAA said Monday that it activated the Automatic Dependent Surveillance – Broadcast system at Ohio-based Akron-Canton Airport and Mansfield Lahm Regional Airport for the last batch of implementation.

The ADS-B system works to boost the accuracy of tracking aircraft during air traffic control operations. FAA concluded the system’s implementation on schedule before Jan. 1 when aircraft are required to operate with ADS-B.

Pilots using the system receive location, weather, flight restriction and air traffic information on cockpit displays. The implementation covered airports, en route facilities and other air traffic control sites across the U.S.

The U.S. Army’s 4th Infantry Division has tested combat vehicle technologies in a virtual, simulated environment to help a cross-functional team further understand requirements. The service branch said Monday that its Ground Vehicle Systems Center is virtually prototyping technologies to reduce the need for in-field tests and save resources.

The five-day series of virtual trials would generate input for the Next Generation Combat Vehicle CFT’s effort to learn more about manned-unmanned teaming.

“This latest experiment will provide us with an understanding of which technologies are most critical for the robotic combat vehicle to be successful in an operational environment,” said Brig. Gen. Ross Coffman, the CFT’s director.

The trials produced findings on formations, crew configuration, enabling technologies, vehicle features and networked functions. Tackled issues include signal degradation, mobility limits and task organization.

“RCVs were able to effectively designate targets and conduct target handoff with other RCVs which executed the target using Hellfire missiles,” said a soldier who took took part in the virtual exercise.

John Kroger, newly appointed chief learning officer at the Department of the Navy, seeks to establish a force of thinkers and has been working with officials to organize DON’s education system, USNI News reported Monday.

As CLO, he carries the task to organize the United States Naval Academy, the future Naval Community College, Marine Corps University and other academic institutions within DON.

“If we don’t outthink people, we can’t outfight them,” Kroger told USNI News.

Kroger said sailors and marines must be educated to keep up with the growing complexities of weapon technologies.

He also noted the use of distance learning to educate warfighters even during frontline service. Kroger said he seeks a system that allows sailors and marines to undergo sustained learning without having to withdraw from active duty.