Michael Griffin, undersecretary for research and engineering at the Department of Defense and 2019 Wash100 Award winner, said the Space Development Agency’s acquisition strategy seeks to accelerate the development of capabilities that are cost effective and responsive to any threat, the DoD website reported Tuesday.

The strategy supports SDA’s efforts to mass produce satellites that ensure redundancy and make it more challenging for adversaries to attack them, Griffin said Tuesday during SDA’s industry day. He also cited SDA’s role in advancing communication between service branches and government agencies to identify capability gaps and avoid duplication.

Derek Tournear, acting director of SDA, also spoke at the event to provide an overview of the agency and discuss its role in helping military branches advance their space initiatives. The report said SDA plans to deploy several platforms such as defensive anti-jamming, anti-spoofing and cyber capabilities and artificial intelligence-based ground systems and cross-networked satellites.

Senior government officials discussed a range of national concerns on chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear defense during the National Defense Industrial Association’s CBRN Conference and Exhibition in Delaware, National Defense magazine reported Tuesday. Andrew Kilianski, chief intelligence officer at the joint program executive office for CBRN, said that focus must be shifted to emerging threats and potential attacks from near-peer adversaries.

James Madsen, lead clinical consultant and clinical laboratory director at the U.S. Army Medical Research Institute of Chemical Defense’s chemical casualty care division, noted that while Russsia is the country’s biggest chemical threat, China “knows more about marine toxins in particular than any other country in the world.”

Previously, President Trump released his budget request for fiscal 2020 which earmarks $1.4 billion for CBRN defense efforts.

Gary Washington, chief information officer of the Department of Agriculture, said at an ACT-IAC event that the department plans to issue a task order for systems modernization support in the coming days, FCW reported Tuesday. The task order will fall under the General Services Administration’s Enterprise Infrastructure Solutions contract for telecommunications services valued at $50 billion. 

“We’re very excited about some of the things — such as modernization, improved performance and delivery of services — that we’re going to be able to provide,” Washington noted. He added that USDA aims to complete the EIS modernization effort throughout its 17 networks by 2023.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Baltimore District is nearing completion of the Secure Administrative/Operations Facility in Virginia which will house operations under the Army Intelligence and Security Command, DVIDShub.net reported Monday.

The 381,000-square foot facility is located at Fort Belvoir and will be used for INSCOM’s various intelligence-related activities including training, acquisition, logistics and communications to support operations under the joint and coalition commands, Army and intelligence community. USACE contracted the Manhattan Construction Company to help build the complex in 2016.

The Army component expects SAOF’s construction to conclude by fall of this year. “We’ve created a facility that consolidates INSCOM’s operations, which were previously dispersed throughout the national capital region,” said Col. John Litz, the Baltimore District’s commander.

Austal USA released the U.S. Navy’s 12th Independence-variant littoral combat ship into the sea in preparation for delivery in 2020. The service branch said Monday that its future USS Oakland or LCS 24 touched water for the first time on Sunday at the shipbuilder’s facility in Mobile, Ala.

Kate Brandt, sustainability officer at Google, christened LCS 24 last month and had her initials welded at a keel laying ceremony last year as the ship’s sponsor. Austal’s Alabama-based shipyard houses work for four ongoing LCS construction efforts including the future USS Mobile and Savannah.

The future USS Kansas City, meanwhile, is undergoing preparations for sea testing.

Ajit Pai, chairman at the Federal Communications Commission, has proposed two approaches to update and simplify the agency’s procedures. Pai proposed that the agency should utilize written testimonies to speed up hearing processes, FCC said Monday.

In addition, Pai recommends the FCC migrate its licensing tool to an electronic system to augment correspondence and filing capacities.

“By transitioning more records and communications from paper to electronic format, we can save money and increase our efficiency,” said Pai. Pai added that streaming hearing protocols will assist FCC in concluding disputes and provide potential benefits to the private sector.

Matthew Donovan, acting secretary at the U.S. Air Force, toured three facilities in Florida to showcase the service branch’s communications, air and space investments. Donovan examined the Kennedy Space Center’s X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle processing facility and visited Northrop Grumman‘s design and development area for the B-21 Raider aircraft, the Air Force said Monday.

The B-21 bomber aircraft is designed to help warfighters infiltrate air defenses. Donovan noted that the Air Force will utilize the aircraft to modernize its capacities in line with the National Defense Strategy. Donovan also went to L3Harris Technologies‘ headquarters to discuss the firm’s partnerships with the military service in the areas of avionics and aerospace technologies.

“The Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office team is proud of the work we are accomplishing on both the B-21 Raider and X-37B,” said Randy Walden, director of the Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office. “The visit has been a great opportunity to showcase the capabilities we will provide to the warfighter.”