FAA Appoints Michael Chasen as DAC Chairman, Adds 12 Members
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FAA Appoints Michael Chasen as DAC Chairman, Adds 12 Members


Jeff Brody

Michael Chasen, CEO at PrecisionHAWK USA, has been named chairman of the Federal Aviation Administration’s Drone Advisory Committee by Department of Transportation Secretary Elaine Chao. The 35-man committee was formed to help FAA address concerns and prioritize update efforts for unmanned air vehicles, the agency said Monday. The agency also appointed 12 new members from companies, government agencies and organizations that support drone initiatives.

“Michael and the DAC will help guide the FAA to build flexible, responsive regulatory processes that can keep up with the industry’s creativity while ensuring the highest level of safety,” said Daniel Elwell, acting administrator at FAA.

The committee’s appointees are:

  • Bob Brock, director of aviation and UAS, Kansas Department of Transportation
  • Chris Anderson, CEO, 3DR
  • David Silver, vice president for civil aviation, Aerospace Industries Association
  • Joseph DePete, president, Air Line Pilots Association
  • Lorne Cass, vice president of regulatory affairs, American Airlines
  • Mariah Scott, president, Skyward
  • Mark Colborn, senior corporal, Dallas Police Department
  • Michael Leo, captain, New York City Fire Department
  • Michael Sinnett, vice president of product development and strategy, Boeing
  • Peter Cleveland, vice president of law and policy group, Intel
  • Thomas Karol, general counsel, National Association of Mutual Insurance Companies

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Army to Award Contracts for Future Simulator, VR Training Systems
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Army to Award Contracts for Future Simulator, VR Training Systems


Jeff Brody

The U.S. Army will award contracts to support the testing and development of a new set of simulators and virtual reality-based training systems this summer, Army Times reported Monday. Service officials aim to bring advanced simulators to four to five installations over the next two years and to begin fielding the training systems at all major Army facilities in mid-2020s. 

The Army is testing the Squad Advanced Marksmanship Trainer at Fort Drum, N.Y., and six other installations. The platform enables users to move and shoot together in a room and around obstacles, untethered. Ongoing tests hope to improve SAM-T to remove the wall-based projection screen and integrate VR-style goggles to connect soldiers from different areas or bases. 

The Army is also working on the Reconfigurable Virtual Collective Trainer, which supports training for both Army and Marine air and ground systems. The new Common Synthetic Environment also received the attention in April during tests. The technology combines dismounted ground and aviation systems to provide a “One World Terrain” based on real-world areas.

Navy Acquisition Lead Details Plans to Accelerate Modernization
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Navy Acquisition Lead Details Plans to Accelerate Modernization


Jeff Brody
James Geurts

The U.S. Navy’s top acquisition official wants to speed up the acquisition process, lower costs, new talent and industry partnerships to support the service’s modernization efforts, Defense News reported Monday. 

James Geurts, assistant secretary of the Navy for research, development and acquisition, is fixing the service’s slow acquisition system. He said he wants to change transactional requirements with industry and technical experts to bring capabilities faster to the fleet. Geurts noted the changes will focus on cost and time.

“We’re looking at reducing government inspections by 50 percent,” he said. “We need to set the standards for shipbuilders in the ship repair world, and then let them go so that we are not unnecessarily holding up maintenance activities as they’re ongoing.” 

Contract vehicles would also help the Navy modernize its fleet. Geurts said the Navy’s future contract strategy will utilize multiple contracts to work with different vendors. 

DHS Warns of Data Security Risk Associated With Chinese-Made Drones
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DHS Warns of Data Security Risk Associated With Chinese-Made Drones


DHS Warns of Data Security Risk Associated With Chinese-Made Drones

The Department of Homeland Security issued an alert saying Chinese-built drones may be transmitting to manufacturers sensitive flight information that could be accessed by the Chinese government, CNN reported Monday.

The drones “contain components that can compromise your data and share your information on a server accessed beyond the company itself,” DHS’ Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency said in the alert obtained by CNN.

“The United States government has strong concerns about any technology product that takes American data into the territory of an authoritarian state that permits its intelligence services to have unfettered access to that data or otherwise abuses that access,” CISA noted.

CISA warns users to practice caution when buying unmanned systems from China, remove digital cards and limit the drone’s access to networks to prevent data theft.

The DHS alert came days after President Trump signed an executive order declaring a national emergency to address foreign threats to the country’s information and communications technology supply chain.

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Anthony Robbins, VP of NVIDIA’s Public Sector, Receives Executive Mosaic’s Chairman’s Award
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Anthony Robbins, VP of NVIDIA’s Public Sector, Receives Executive Mosaic’s Chairman’s Award


Jeff Brody

Jim Garrettson, chief executive officer of Executive Mosaic, presented Anthony Robbins, vice president of NVIDIA’s public sector and 2019 Wash100 Award recipient, with the Chairman’s Award for his first year chairing the Artificial Intelligence 4×24 Group for Executive Mosaic’s 4×24 program.

Robbins is also a two-time Wash100 Award recipient as a result of his leadership and role in the development of emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, robotics and machine learning. The Wash100 is the premier group of private and public sector leaders selected by Executive Mosaic’s organizational and editorial leadership as the most influential leaders in the GovCon sector.

Robbins joined NVIDIA in his current role in Oct. 2017. In the position, he’s responsible for building and leading the North American Public Sector business for the company and assists the governments across North America to leverage GPU’s and the CUDA programming model to usher in a new era of artificial intelligence and other emerging technologies.

Prior to joining NVIDIA, Robbins served as the vice president of AT&T’s Global Defense business between June 2016 and Oct. 2017. From Aug. 2011 to June 2016, Robbins was the vice president of Brocade and he was the senior vice president of Oracle Corp. between Feb. 2010 and Aug. 2011. He was also the vice president of Sales for Sun Microsystems from Jul. 2006 and Jan. 2010, and  served in a variety of senior leadership roles for SGI between 2006 and 1994.

In addition, Robbins has served as the executive vice president of AFCEA DC since Sept. 2013 and was chairman of the 41st, 42nd and 43rd AFCEA Winter Gala between 2016 and 2017. He attended Walker College, which was acquired by the University of Alabama Birmingham and graduated with a Bachelor of Science Degree in Business and Marketing from Jacksonville State University in 1982 while also playing four years of college basketball on a full scholarship.

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USACE Baltimore District Awards $24.5M Architect/Engineer Contract to Dewberry
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USACE Baltimore District Awards $24.5M Architect/Engineer Contract to Dewberry


Jeff Brody

Dewberry announced on Tuesday that the company secured a potential five-year, $24.5 million maximum capacity architect/engineer contract from the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (USACE) Baltimore District to support predominantly sustainment, restoration, and maintenance projects.

Under the contract, Dewberry is responsible for comprehensive A/E services, including preparation of full plans and specifications, preparation of design-build requests for proposal, construction cost estimating, site investigations, analysis, planning, master planning, National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) documentation, programming (1391), topographic and utility surveys, geotechnical investigations, stormwater management design, sediment and erosion control plans.

National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permitting to include obtaining all necessary state permits, charrettes, hazardous material investigations, building information modeling (BIM), energy modeling, and the preparation of reports, studies, design criteria/design analysis documents, LEED documentation, value engineering, coordination with various government agencies and commissions, and other general A/E services.

“We’re passionate about serving our nation’s military and intelligence communities to further sustain and enhance their missions as a trusted partner” said Dewberry Vice President Joseph Wells, AIA, NCARB.

Dewberry may also contribute to International and Interagency Services (IIS) projects, civil works, and larger value military construction projects for military and other non-military government agencies, including the Intelligence Community (IC) mission within the Baltimore District with incidental support to the North Atlantic Division.

Donald Parker: DISA’s Purebred Mobile Credentialing System ‘Doing Really Well’
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Donald Parker: DISA’s Purebred Mobile Credentialing System ‘Doing Really Well’


Jeff Brody

Donald Parker, head of the Defense Information Systems Agency’s Public Key Infrastructure branch, said that DISA’s Purebred tool is “doing really well as a capability to support mobile credentialing,” the agency said Monday. Parker told attendees at a recent AFCEA event in Baltimore, Md. that PKI has emerged as the foundation for internet security and secure data transmission.

“Identification and authentication, data integrity, confidentiality, and technical non-repudiation combined are elements that provide a secure, non-breakable environment for any type of electronic transaction,” he noted.

Purebred handles PKI credentialing for Department of Defense devices and enables encypted communications without constant Common Access Card user requirements. DoD devices supported by the tool include Apple iOS and Android platforms, Windows 10 tablets and Yubikey systems. DISA has deployed Purebred to support credentialing for over 100,000 DoD-issued mobile devices to date, according to Parker.

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Report: Poor Contract Handling Leads EPA to Pay ‘Unallowable’ Fees
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Report: Poor Contract Handling Leads EPA to Pay ‘Unallowable’ Fees


Jeff Brody

A new watchdog report shows the Environmental Protection Agency overpaid contractors in a $100 million information technology contract due to poor contract management controls. The audit issued Monday by EPA’s office of inspector general reviewed 11 of 64 invoices released between March 2018 and February 2019 through a single task order under the contract with SRA International. The IG said it received a complaint about EPA’s invoices and payments. 

All files reviewed “did not comply with contract requirements” and led to more than $5,100 “unallowable fixed fee” paid by the EPA, the report states. The IG associated the overbilling to staffing problems, high turnover, poor contract file management disorganization and inadequate oversight. 

“However, without adequate review of all invoices… the EPA does not know whether there are further unallowable costs that it has paid for under the task order,” the watchdog said. 

EPA’s Office of Acquisition Solutions plans to investigate the report and to require the contractor to refund the extra amount. 

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AAR Delivers First P-8A Poseidon to U.S. Navy Fleet; Capt. Tony Rossi and William Patton Quoted
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AAR Delivers First P-8A Poseidon to U.S. Navy Fleet; Capt. Tony Rossi and William Patton Quoted


Jeff Brody

The AAR Corporation announced on Monday that the company has completed its first planned overhaul, age exploration and planned inspection of its first Navy P-8A Poseidon aircraft.

“Delivering a mission-ready aircraft means executing a successful maintenance-repair plan. Many thanks to the AAR team for a job well done,” said Capt. Tony Rossi, Program Manager for NAVAIR’s Maritime Patrol and Reconnaissance Program (PMA-290). “As expected, there have been no significant aircraft condition findings.”

As part of a seven-year, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity (IDIQ) contract signed in 2018 with the Navy, AAR is providing heavy depot airframe maintenance, as well as year-round field support, for the U.S. fleet. The P-8A aircraft arrived at AAR for its first Age Exploration Plan Depot (AEPD) visit, which is part of a systematic, scheduled maintenance requirement.

In addition to the P-8A program, AAR has also performed service on the U.S. Navy’s C-40, Clipper, Harrier Jet Sustainment, C-9 Nightingale and H60R fleets. All of the maintenance for the P-8A Program is performed at AAR’s Indianapolis facility, which has serviced over 2,000 B737 aircraft both for commercial and government customers

“Our team is honored to perform maintenance on the P-8A Poseidon for the U.S. Navy and ensure its operational-readiness for the warfighter,” said William Patton, AAR P-8A Program Manager and 20-year U.S. Navy veteran. “With our vast experience in B737s and long standing working relationship with military programs, AAR’s P-8A Program has excelled in meeting strict government compliance standards and maintaining the quality of the aircraft.”

About AAR

AAR is a global aerospace and defense aftermarket solutions company that employs more than 6,000 people in over 20 countries. Headquartered in the Chicago area, AAR supports commercial and government customers through two operating segments: Aviation Services and Expeditionary Services. AAR’s Aviation Services include parts supply; OEM solutions; integrated solutions; maintenance, repair, overhaul; and engineering. AAR’s Expeditionary Services include mobility systems and composite manufacturing operations.

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NIST Demos Experimental Atomic Clock
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NIST Demos Experimental Atomic Clock


Jeff Brody

The National Institute of Standards and Technology tested a miniature atomic clock designed to tick at optical frequencies. The experimental clock consists of rubidium atoms placed in a vapor cell and two frequency combs that function to link the ticks to low microwave frequencies, NIST said Friday.

The device operates at 275 milliwatts and is built to work at a handheld form factor. According to NIST, it can also potentially succeed traditional oscillators and assist in telecommunications and navigation applications.

“Ultimately, we expect this work to lead to small, low-power clocks that are exceptionally stable and will bring a new generation of accurate timing to portable, battery-operated devices,” said John Kitching, a fellow at NIST.

The clock was developed in partnership with Stanford University, Charles Stark Draper Laboratories and the California Institute of Technology. NIST plans to decrease the device’s size and integrate low-noise laser technologies in future updates.

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