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Army Testing New AI Workspace for Contract Writing, Other Uses
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Army Testing New AI Workspace for Contract Writing, Other Uses

U.S. Army Contracting Command – Aberdeen Proving Ground is conducting a pilot test of A.I. Flow, a tailored AI workspace built by the Communications-Electronics Command Software Engineering Center, or CECOM SEC, to enhance the Army’s operations.

A.I. Flow, authorized to operate with controlled unclassified information, is currently accessible to select engineering center personnel, the U.S. Army said Tuesday.

A.I. Flow Uses

The product, which has a secure, user-friendly interface, can be used for various applications, including writing appraisals, new job information and contracts. CECOM SEC, in partnership with ACC-APG, sets parameters, uploads example documents and creates guidelines to create a justification and approval document, or J&A, for military contracting. According to the military branch, the trial showed that A.I. Flow can deliver one such document that is 80 percent complete.

With the AI-powered system, developing a J&A document will be faster compared to the manual process, which takes days or weeks.

A.I. Flow can be customized to meet the specific needs of users. The team behind the software’s development continuously receives feedback to improve the program and support more use cases.

Generative AI as a Service

The pilot test is expected to result in a fully operational A.I. Flow, which Ronald Rizzo, deputy executive director of CECOM SEC, described as “generative AI as a service.”

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Input Sought on Federal Guidance for Greater Public Engagement
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Input Sought on Federal Guidance for Greater Public Engagement

The Office of Management and Budget is soliciting comments regarding two documents meant to help government agencies improve opportunities for public participation and community engagement when it comes to policy and program formulation.

Guidance for Public Engagement

The first document serves as a draft guidance that offers federal agencies with definitions and principles related to participation and engagement, a sample decision-making framework on when and how the public should be involved, and recommended steps on how public engagement can be broadened, according to a blog entry posted Tuesday on Performance.gov.

The draft guidance also calls on agencies to adopt leading engagement practices and offers steps that can be taken by the Federal Executive Councils to support the broadening of public participation and engagement.

Toolkit for Public Participation

The second document is a draft outline for a toolkit to be used by agencies in planning, implementing and assessing participation and engagement impacts. The same toolkit would serve to centralize materials that could help with public engagement.

Comments from the public will be used by OMB to develop the final guidance and toolkit. Interested parties have until Nov. 29 to respond.

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DOD Increases Spending on PLEO Satellite Internet Program to $13B
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DOD Increases Spending on PLEO Satellite Internet Program to $13B

The Department of Defense has raised the ceiling value of the Proliferated Low Earth Orbit, or PLEO, Satellite-Based Services program, from $900 million to approximately $13 billion in response to the increasing demand across the military, SpaceNews reported Tuesday.

PLEO Contract

The Defense Information Systems Agency and Space Systems Command’s Commercial Satellite Communications Office, or CSCO, manage the PLEO program, which launched in 2023.

PLEO is an indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract with a five-year base term and five option years. Under this contract, 20 contractors are eligible to compete for task orders.

In July 2023, DISA initially selected 16 vendors for the IDIQ contract. Three months later, it was announced that four additional companies were added to the contract vehicle.

In January, CSCO Director Clare Hopper hinted at the possibility of raising the contract ceiling due to rising military demand.

Prior to the increase, about $660 million of the contract’s original ceiling had been spent.

According to the report, most of the orders under the contract have been for the militarized version of SpaceX‘s Starlink service called Starshield.

Offering Flexibility to Vendors and Government

Kevin Seybert, SpaceX’s business development leader for Starlink and Starshield, said the PLEO contract allows vendors to define services, enabling them to advance more flexible pricing options.

Seybert added that the contract could help DOD keep pace with commercial innovation because it allows them to integrate new tech capabilities.

According to the report, the IDIQ contract provides the government with an opportunity to get more favorable pricing by consolidating demand across all military branches.

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CISA Issues Three-Pronged International Cybersecurity Roadmap
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CISA Issues Three-Pronged International Cybersecurity Roadmap

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency has outlined three goals in its first international roadmap for the proactive engagement of foreign partners to bolster the security and resilience of critical U.S. infrastructure. 

CISA Director Jen Easterly said the agency’s 2025–2026 International Strategic Plan released on Tuesday will pave the way for improving coordination and strengthening relationships with allies “to reduce risk to the globally interconnected and interdependent cyber and physical infrastructure that Americans rely on every day.”

The Plan in Three Parts

One of the objectives of the three-pronged strategic plan focuses on pinpointing the priority infrastructures critical to bolstering U.S. security and resilience. To pursue this goal, CISA will boost its coordination with U.S. government agencies and global and domestic partners on the prioritized foreign critical infrastructure and supply chains.

CISA’s global strategy also calls for strengthening integrated cyber defense to lower shared risks through increased engagements of the U.S. bilateral and multilateral Computer Security Incident Response Team.

As the agency’s third goal, CISA will unify and standardize its inter-agency processes and procedures for international activities.

CISA’s recent globally oriented work covered coordination with the National Security Agency, the FBI and the Multi-State Information Sharing and Analysis Center in a collaborative project with counterparts in Australia, the United Kingdom, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Japan and South Korea to establish guidelines on creating and maintaining a safe and secure environment for operational technology.

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DOD Seeks Manufacturing Tech to Modernize Industrial Base
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DOD Seeks Manufacturing Tech to Modernize Industrial Base

The Department of Defense Manufacturing Technology program has issued a broad other transaction announcement to identify companies with new manufacturing processes and emerging technologies.

The BOTA seeks proposals on advanced manufacturing capabilities that could be readily integrated into the U.S. defense industrial base, DOD ManTech said Tuesday, noting that the government is interested in mid- or high-level technologies and prototypes that would help the DOD modernize its industrial base.

Under the program, the Defense Department seeks to increase its collaboration with capable vendors to identify, develop and advance defense manufacturing and repair processes. The effort also intends to accelerate the deployment of newly developed warfighting capabilities.

The DOD invites all sources that can meet the government’s requirements to submit a white paper or presentation. Interested parties are encouraged to submit separately if they plan to furnish multiple proposals.

Multiple awards can be expected under the BOTA but the amount of resources will be determined by the quality of received submissions and the availability of funds.

Launched on Oct. 2, the BOTA will remain open until 2027.

DOD Seeks Manufacturing Tech to Modernize Industrial Base

On Jan. 23, 2026, join the Potomac Officers Club’s 2025 Defense R&D Summit. Engage in discussions with key industry players and forge valuable connections at the summit.

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NASA to Relaunch Mentor-Protégé Program
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NASA to Relaunch Mentor-Protégé Program

NASA is set to relaunch its Mentor-Protégé Program for contractors on Nov. 1 to boost the growth of commercial markets supporting the future of space exploration, scientific discovery and aeronautics research.

The agency said Tuesday the program aims to encourage NASA prime contractors to partner with small businesses on various contracts and subcontract awards to enhance the protégés’ performance through technical and developmental assistance from the mentors. The program also intends to help the mentors and protégés develop long-term business relationships and build more networking and contract opportunities while reducing gaps in the supply chain.

The relaunched program will be open to all small businesses, underserved communities and minority-serving institutions, including Historically Black Colleges and Universities and Ability One entities. The program will also focus on North American Industry Classifications System codes and specific industry sectors like research and development and aerospace manufacturing.

NASA will manage each mentor-protégé partnership while the agency’s Office of Small Business Programs will oversee the program. Performance reviews will be held semi-annually to monitor the progress of each agreement.

Dwight Deneal, assistant administrator of the OSBP, stated, “The NASA Mentor-Protégé Program is a critical enabling tool that allows experienced companies to provide business developmental assistance to emerging firms. The program enables NASA to expand its industrial base of suppliers, as prime and subcontractors, to assist in executing the mission and programs throughout the agency.”

An online lunch and learn event will be held on Nov. 7 at 1:00 p.m. EST to provide more information about the program.

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DOD Shares Plan for National Defense Industrial Strategy Rollout
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DOD Shares Plan for National Defense Industrial Strategy Rollout

The Department of Defense has released a plan outlining the measures DOD will take to implement the National Defense Industrial Strategy, or NDIS.

DOD said Tuesday the NDIS Implementation Plan outlines six key implementation initiatives and associated lines of effort that will enable the department to mitigate risks and achieve a more resilient defense industrial base.

“This implementation plan offers industry, global allies, and partners clear direction on the Department’s priorities for industrial capacity building,” said Laura Taylor-Kale, assistant secretary of defense for industrial base policy.

6 Key Implementation Initiatives

The initiatives outlined in the document are Indo-Pacific deterrence, production and supply chains, allied and partner industrial collaboration, capabilities and infrastructure modernization, new capabilities using flexible pathways, and intellectual property and data analysis.

Each initiative comes with specific lines of effort.

Under production and supply chains, lines of effort include assessing supply chain risk vulnerabilities, onshoring critical production capacity and advancing industrial cybersecurity.

“Implementing these initiatives will require coordinated efforts across the DoD, and support and cooperation from our interagency, industry, and international stakeholders, as well as our champions in Congress,” noted Taylor-Kale.

What Is NDIS?

In January, the Pentagon issued the inaugural National Defense Industrial Strategy, outlining the department’s four strategic priorities: resilient supply chains, workforce readiness, flexible acquisition and economic deterrence.

The strategy recommends several measures under each strategic priority and intends to guide DOD’s policy development, engagement and investment in the defense industrial base over the next three to five years.

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How Oracle Is Approaching Zero Trust
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How Oracle Is Approaching Zero Trust

Cybersecurity is essential in today’s rapidly evolving cyber landscape. And government agencies are getting serious about cybersecurity approaches like zero trust, especially as the Department of Defense moves toward making zero trust a requirement. In a new video interview, Executive Mosaic spoke with Steve Derr of Oracle to learn more about how the company is implementing zero trust and other cybersecurity measures.

Secure Cloud Computing Architecture Update

In September, Oracle announced the release of a second version of its Secure Cloud Computing Architecture, or SCCA. The update is designed to meet the DOD’s secure landing zone requirements for mission owners and cloud brokers, Derr explained.

“The capability is fully scripted and automated to expedite the speed of deployment of the landing zone, which allows both those cloud brokers and mission owners to deploy faster using cloud native capabilities to secure their workloads,” said Derr, vice president of Oracle’s JWCC program management office and Cloud Operations and Engineering.

Oracle’s Zero Trust Capabilities

According to Derr, Oracle’s focus on zero trust is centered around supporting the DOD’s and the Intelligence Community’s zero trust strategies, protecting workloads from insider threats and providing greater control of access privileges.

“We’ve taken lessons learned from the DOD zero trust testing that we accomplished in September 2023, and have created a zero trust-enabled landing zone that aligns with the seven principles of zero trust,” shared Derr.

“The DOD and the Intelligence Community benefit from the R&D that Oracle has done on their behalf to expedite both the security compliance, which is a heavy lift for most mission owners, and the speed to mission for critical workloads,” he added.

Dive Into Cloud With 4×24

Derr is the chair of the Cloud Group within Executive Mosaic’s 4×24 Executive Leadership program. Through the program, senior industry executives and government decision makers convene in a series of networking dinners to discuss the ins and outs of the cloud computing sector. 

“These events offer a great venue for in-depth discussions that lead to valuable outcomes for the government, as well as an avenue for business and industry partners to ask open questions about the needs, the requirements and the upcoming strategies of these government leaders,” Derr said.

Be a part of the Cloud Group! Learn more about 4×24 and see if you qualify for the program.  

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NASA Identifies Artemis III South Pole Landing Sites
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NASA Identifies Artemis III South Pole Landing Sites

NASA has identified nine potential landing regions on the lunar South Pole for the Artemis III capsule that is intended to bring humans to the moon for the first time in over 50 years.

A multidisciplinary team of scientists and engineers analyzed data from the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter and lunar science research together with science and industry partners to select the landing sites, which offer the potential to provide new scientific discoveries to better understand rocky planets, lunar resources, and the history of our solar system, NASA said Monday.

The selected landing regions for the third Artemis mission, scheduled to lift off in 2026, are Peak near Cabeus B, Haworth, Malapert Massif, Mons Mouton Plateau, Mons Mouton, Nobile Rim 1, Nobile Rim 2, de Gerlache Rim 2 and Slater Plain.

According to the space agency, the mission will also mark the first human landing on the lunar South Pole region, which remains unexplored by a crewed mission.

Sarah Noble, Artemis lunar science lead at NASA, said the South Pole “offers access to some of the Moon’s oldest terrain, as well as cold, shadowed regions that may contain water and other compounds.”

SpaceX is developing a human landing system, or HLS, version of its Starship space vehicle under a contract with NASA.

The space agency has yet to identify the two astronauts who will board the HLS and explore the South Pole for a week.

Artemis III was initially set for launch in late 2025 but was delayed to give more time to address development, operation and integration challenges.

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FEMA Issues Notice of Funding Opportunity for NSGP-NSS
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FEMA Issues Notice of Funding Opportunity for NSGP-NSS

The Grant Programs Directorate within the Federal Emergency Management Agency is now accepting applications for Nonprofit Security Grant Program – National Security Supplemental, or NSGP-NSS. The program seeks to finance enhancements and activities that bolster the physical and cybersecurity of nonprofit organizations at risk of terrorist or extremist attack, according to a notice of funding opportunity posted Monday on the FEMA website.

NSGP-NSS Funding Priorities

The top funding priority for NSGP-NSS involves enhancing the protection of soft targets or crowded places. Possible project types under this priority area include installing closed circuit television security cameras or screening equipment for people and baggage, providing access control equipment and delivering cybersecurity enhancements.

Secondarily, NSGP-NSS seeks to fund projects related to planning, training and awareness and exercises. Possible project types under these priority areas include the development of emergency or contingency plans, conducting public awareness or preparedness campaigns and carrying out response exercises.

Award Details

A total of $210 million is available for the funding opportunity. Half will be allocated for subapplicants located within high-risk urban areas as designated by the FY 2024 Urban Area Security Initiative while the other half will be allocated for subapplicants located outside high-risk urban areas.

Up to 56 awards are expected to be issued under the program. The period of performance begins on May 1, 2025, and ends on April 30, 2028, for a total of 36 months.

Application Deadline

Interested parties have until Jan. 24, 2025, to submit applications. Awards are expected to be issued no later than May 10, 2025.

FEMA Issues Notice of Funding Opportunity for NSGP-NSS

Hear from various speakers to learn more about the various security concerns facing the U.S. and what’s being done to address them at the Potomac Officers Club’s 2024 Homeland Security Summit, which will take place on Nov. 13.

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