Naval Undersea Warfare Center Division Keyport took part in a two-week exercise to help marines evaluate new prototype technologies. The Fight the Naval Force Forward Advanced Naval Technology Exercise took place at Camp Lejeune in North Carolina from July 9 to 19, the U.S. Navy said Tuesday.

The event covered tests of technologies designed for various marine operations such as logistics, force protection, communications and command and control. The NUWC team assessed a common unmanned surface vehicle and MRZR, an all-terrain vehicle built to accommodate high-bandwidth communications.

“I think the ANTX is important because it has the potential to significantly speed up the acquisition process,” said Laura Mortimore, a member of the NUWC Division Keyport’s Non-Traditional Programs Office.

The team also tested a shipping container with 3D printers that marines would use to manufacture parts as needed. The exercise’s final day featured demonstrations of projects by various senior officials within the Navy and U.S. Marine Corps.

The U.S. Navy has authorized the USS Gerald R. Ford to use its recovery technology to retrieve propeller and fighter aircraft systems via an aircraft recovery bulletin. The Advanced Arresting Gear works to recover aircraft units, allow large safety margins and mitigate potential fatigue impact, maintenance and manpower needs, the Navy said Tuesday.

“The pace of system testing was consistently demanding and required numerous team members to perform their duties in difficult conditions and in all types of weather in order to meet critical program milestones leading up to these ARB releases,”  said Jeff Mclean, deputy program manager for AAG system design and development at the Navy.

Additionally, General Atomics has partnered with the service branch to perform system development tests and demonstration to validate if the AAG will meet stringent Navy safety standards prior to its deployment. The aircraft systems noted in the ARB include the F/A-18E/F Super Hornet, E/A-18G Growler, E-2C Hawkeye, C-2A Greyhound and E-2D Advanced Hawkeye.

NASA and the Canadian space agency have completed a mission to refuel a spacecraft via a Canada-made robot, NASA Spaceflight reported Tuesday. Goddard Space Flight Center developed the Robotic Refueling Mission payload to test tools and techniques supporting in-space satellite refueling.

Dextre, Canada’s space robot, operated tools to inject methane into the RRM3 module’s source tank. RRM is a payload of the International Space Station. RRM3 also served as storage for liquid methane over a four-month period.

This demonstrates a reduction in fluid loss and nullifies the requirement for oversized tanks. The recent mission marks the third RRM and follows two previous entries in 2011 and 2015. RRM3 demonstrated storage and super-cold cryogenic fluids, differing from the previous missions.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology solicited comments from industry partners as it works on a set of cybersecurity standards for manufacturers and users of internet of things-based devices, Federal News Network reported Tuesday. NIST officials held a workshop at its Gaithersburg, Md.-based headquarters Tuesday to seek industry feedback on an IoT risk management report released in June.

Katerina Megas, program manager of cybersecurity for the IoT program at NIST, said the proposed IoT guidance seeks to help agencies address security issues related to tech adoption and that the agency is focused on coming up with a “core baseline” that would serve as a starting point for industry-specific standards.

“We had devices in place in federal agencies, in some cases, that had already been purchased,” Megas said. “We wanted to ensure what we provided some information to those operational entities that were already using IoT devices, understanding they had a range of capabilities.”

Other NIST officials also used the workshop as a venue to understand existing industry best practices as they work on the IoT guidance.

Michael Griffin, undersecretary of defense for research and engineering and 2019 Wash100 Award recipient, said DoD plans to appoint assistant directors to oversee the “strategic shaping” of 5G technology and other tech modernization efforts, FCW reported Tuesday.

“We will shortly be bringing on board an assistant director for 5G … and similarly for all our other [areas],” Griffin said Tuesday at a Hudson Institute event.

He noted that Lisa Porter, deputy defense undersecretary for R&E, is spearheading the department’s 5G testing at military bases and other related initiatives. The Office of Management and Budget and Congress are expected to evaluate 5G plans this year.

Griffin also discussed the advantage and disadvantage of 5G and the need for the Pentagon to get used to working in untrusted networks.