The Department of Agriculture unveiled a resource guide to help facilitate broadband connection deployment in rural areas. The e-Connectivity Toolkit is a free PDF file listing over 27 programs that are intended to assist potential customers locate projects and resources to develop potential broadband initiatives, USDA said Wednesday.

The file includes information on technical assistance programs, loan services and grants under the agency’s various mission areas. Anne Hazlett, assistance to the secretary for rural development at USDA, said the guide allows users to view the agency’s resources and support broadband expansion in U.S. rural locations. The effort is under the agency’s Rural Development program which provides economic and employment opportunities through grants and loan assistance.

President Trump formed the Interagency Task Force on Agriculture and Rural Prosperity to validate policy changes that can market agricultural programs to rural communities.

The U.S. Army is making progress to reach its 2022 readiness goals but still faces challenges on staffing, repairs, modernization and training for large-scale conflicts, according to a Government Accountability Office report released Wednesday.

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GAO analyzed the Army’s efforts to improve warfighting readiness since 2016 as part of the study. The government watchdog noted that the Army has advanced the efforts to increase its personnel, develop new warfighting concepts, update equipment and launch new training strategies such as the implementation of simulated technology.

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However, GAO said the Army failed to progress on matters such as achieving recruitment targets, staffing new cyber and security force units, repairing Patriot missile systems, evaluating modernization costs and boosting unmanned aerial system training efforts. Other challenges detailed in the report include failing to hire and retain personnel for the service branch’s maintenance depots.

According to the report, the Army must continue to work on GAO’s 44 recommendations to support its transformation ahead of future warfare operations especially in the new cyber domain.

Will Roper, Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition, Technology and Logistics, said during a recent roundtable that an “architect” could be deployed for the Advanced Battle Management System effort, Defense News reported Thursday.

Roper said the architect will be responsible to ensure compliance with U.S. Air Force requirements and find technological alternatives if the need arises. The Air Force will oversee four initial prototyping efforts for the ABMS command-and-control network, which intends to replace the JSTARS ground surveillance aircraft. Roper noted that the ABMS may involve air-based sensors, space-based technology, disposable drones and communication links.

According to the acquisition head, the architect model could be used as a basis for similar programs in the future if the strategy is successful. 

The U.S. Air Force’s top acquisition official wants to increase the service’s partnerships with the small launch industry to utilize small satellites for missions commonly supported by large spacecrafts, Space News reported Wednesday.

Will Roper, assistant secretary of the Air Force for acquisition, technology and logistics, announced the initiative after a meeting with Virgin Galactic founder Richard Branson at the Pentagon. The officials discussed how the company could help the service in its future space missions. Roper said there is an opportunity for small satellites to become “a big deal” at the Pentagon as the military establishes a “responsive space” for rapid deployment of assets in space. 
 
“If you lose a satellite, you put another one up at the time you need it,” he said. “You don’t put it up earlier because you’re just  giving an adversary time to think about how to take it out.”

Roper added the Air Force wants to work with space startups and commercial businesses to gain ideas to help the military enhance its space capabilities.

Andrew Knaggs, deputy assistant secretary of defense for special operations and combating terrorism, said the U.S. Special Operations Command must explore and develop new information warfare methods, Air Force Times reported Wednesday.

“We need to move beyond our 20th century approach to messaging and start looking at influence as an integral aspect of modern irregular warfare,” Knaggs said during a recent defense industry symposium.

USSOCOM looks to adopt the use of analytics and other technologies to cope with and address influencing operations of adversaries such as Russia. In the modern age, U.S. adversaries leverage social media to interfere in elections, shifting from the older telephone-radio approach, the report noted.

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Knagg emphasized the threat that disinformation represents to the country’s interests, and that SOCOM must augment existing efforts to adapt. The Pentagon official added the command would employ technologies that allow for information operations in environments with limited connectivity.

Sens. Amy Klobuchar, D-Minn., and Dan Sullivan, R-Ark., reintroduced a bill to open the country’s election practice information to foreign allies. The Global Electoral Exchange Act would direct the Department of State to exchange election administration information with allies, Klobuchar’s office said Tuesday.

The information sharing effort hopes to help the U.S. and allies address a number of election-related issues including audit and voter database security. The Department of State would also receive authority to task election-specializing organizations to coordinate information exchanges with their foreign equivalents. Organizations would perform these tasks under grant agreements with the department. The bill would also allow foreign representatives to participate in administrative activities during election.

“This bipartisan legislation will allow the State Department to work with our allies abroad to share information, discuss best practices and combat the growing threat of election interference around the world,” Klobuchar said.

Sens. John Cornyn, R-Texas, and Mark Warner, D-Va., introduced a bill to increase statutory cap on Private Activity Bonds to $20.8B to help state and local governments enter new public-private partnerships for surface transportation projects. The lawmakers unveiled the Building United States Infrastructure and Leveraging Development Act on Wednesday intending to boost the original statutory cap from the current $15B budget. 

The BUILD Act would increase the amount of tax-exempt bonds the Department of Transportation provides for highway and freight improvement projects. Cornyn said allowing the government partner with more private companies in such infrastructure projects would reduce the cost to taxpayers. 

“As more and more of our infrastructure requires critical improvements, it’s imperative we find ways to reinvest in our roads and rails without the burden falling to taxpayers,” he said. 

Warner added the bill would also boost U.S. competitiveness in the growing efforts of other countries, like China and India, to invest in infrastructures. He noted the BUILD Act could potentially close the current infrastructure gap in the U.S. through the combination of private investment and public funds.