Army Research Laboratory has awarded a three-year, $25M grant to Worcester Polytechnic Institute for further development of a repair method that combines cold spray and 3D printing. WPI said Tuesday that it will develop new metal alloys for cold spray to provide a more efficent repair method for the battlefield.

Cold sprays work to accelerate metal particles or powders that form solid layers of coating when subjected to supersonic speeds. The institute will use a variety of tools to identify the powders’ properties in chemistry and structure.

Researchers will use a synchronous laser diffraction and dynamic image particle analyzer to study the powder’s morphologies. Other tools include nanoindenters for nano-scale measurements, a scanning electron microscope and energy dispersive spectroscopy unit. The Army would use the resulting cold spray 3D printing approach for vehicle repairs.

The Department of Homeland Security Science and Technology Directorate has released details on its participation in the Federal Emergency Management Agency’s earthquake readiness exercise. DHS S&T said Tuesday that it sent teams across multiple locations to help state and local entities adopt new new technologies under FEMA’s 2019 Shaken Fury exercise.

The exercise simulated response efforts in preparation for potential 7.7 magnitude earthquakes. Shaken Fury activities ran from May 29th to June 7th. DHS is seeking to address readiness for potential earthquakes in the New Madrid Seismic Zone that covers areas in Arkansas, Illinois, Indiana, Missouri, Kentucky, Mississippi, Oklahoma and Tennessee.

“Our role in Shaken Fury was to bring in science and technology capabilities to enhance not only resilience, but also to foster a stronger culture of innovation within the first responder space,” said Colin Murray, senior exchange officer from Canada to DHS S&T.

Katie Olson, chief of staff of the Defense Digital Service, said adopting the principle of “designing with and not for users” has been key in advancing digital transformation across the Department of Defense, Nextgov reported Wednesday.

“What’s really, I think, a testament to our team and the success we’ve had so far in some of the major transformations we’ve had is that we think about who we are designing this with and we’re not just thinking about this as something we’re just dropping off and handing over,” Olson said Wednesday at an FCW workshop in Washington.

She cited the development and deployment of the move.mil website and improvement of Army Cyber Command’s Army Cyber School curriculum as some of the DDS projects that reflect the adoption of the principle.

“It’s really important to be embedded with the people who are ultimately going to be using the technology to make sure that we’ve gotten not only the product itself right, but also the supporting processes as well,” Olson added.

The U.S. Air Force’s 412th Test Wing conducted an expanded carriage test for the B-1B Lancer aircraft to demonstrate the bomber’s weapons integration feature. The aircraft held a Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile through the use of a pylon during the flight test, Robins Air Force Base said Friday. 

“The purpose of the demonstration was to show that we’re still able to move the bulkhead from the forward intermediate bay to the forward location; increasing the intermediate bay capacity from 180 inches to 269 inches,” said Lt. Col. Dominic Ross, B-1B program element monitor at Air Force Global Strike Command.

Ross noted that the aircraft can hold weapons externally through six of its hard points. According to Ross, the aircraft may carry 24 weapons based on the pylon attachment and is designed to comply with the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty.

Lawmakers and government officials discussed the security of internet infrastructure during a House committee hearing held Tuesday, FCW reported Wednesday. Rep. Jim Langevin (D-R.I.) of the House Armed Services Committee said no single entity oversees the internet infrastructure despite the efforts of some federal agencies to define cybersecurity roles.

“I’m very worried that by carving out discrete lanes in the road, there are seams left unaddressed in the middle, and I’m concerned that internet architecture security is one of those seam issues,” Langevin said.

Jeanette Manfra, assistant director at the Department of Homeland Security’s Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, said most of the oversight of security issues related to the internet infrastructure lies with the private sector.

“It’s not so much that here’s a clear jurisdiction and it ends at this part of the internet architecture,” Manfra told lawmakers. “It’s really private sector led in all cases and what we have are different tools to analyze and make assessments and take action if we have concerns.”

Mark Bathrik, director of the Interior Department’s Office of Aviation Services, told attendees at a Brookings Institution event that airspace regulations should also involve unmanned aerial systems that fly below 400 feet, Fedscoop reported Wednesday.

Bathrik said he is pleased with the government’s increased investment in small UAS technologies. However, he has concerns over regulators potentially enforcing stringent policies to prevent drones from impacting line-of-sight activities.

“I worry that we’re going to overregulate and over-equip drones that don’t ever need to fly beyond visual line of sight,” Bathrik said.

OAS deploys more than 670 drones that utilize sensor data to assist in operations such as federal land management, dam inspections, animal migration tracking and other flood, fire and volcano-related missions.