The Office of Management and Budget will not publish select data on the federal government’s information technology spending for 2020 on the IT Dashboard web site, Bloomberg Government reported Tuesday.

Officials will withhold information related to federal infrastructure, management and security investments as part of its “data masking decision,” according to the General Services Administration.

Alan Chvotkin, executive vice president for the Professional Services Council, said federal contractors uses the IT Dashboard as a tool for strategic planning activities.

“It’s been a useful tool, both from a budget standpoint as well as an oversight perspective,” he said. “Congress should be concerned that they’re losing a readily available source of spending information.” 

According to the report, approximately $36B of the White House’s $88B unclassified IT funding request for 2020 is noted on the website.

The Department of Defense will require contracting officials to secure approval from the agency’s program manager before restricting companies to subcontract in procurement deals.

Officials issued the final rule in the Federal Register Monday to implement section 824 of the National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2019. The update covers the regulations under the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement.

“The contracting officer shall not withhold consent to subcontract without the written approval of the program manager or comparable requiring activity official exercising program management responsibilities, if the contractor has an approved purchasing system,”  according to the announcement. 

The Department of Energy is investing $26.1M in to develop marine and hydrokinetics technologies that would help the country continue leveraging hydropower. Officials said Monday that the department’s water power technologies office will identify projects that reduce the cost and boost the flexibility of hydropower and marine energy.

The research investment effort will consist of four study areas. The first area aims to boost the flexibility of hydropower technologies and address constraining factors while the second will leverage the potential of low head hydropower and in-stream hydrokinetic systems.

The third area is intended to design, develop and prepare wave energy converters for open-water tests, and the final area will modernize the research infrastructure of national marine renewable energy centers.

“This opportunity is critical to advancing new water technologies that harness energy from our nation’s rivers and oceans,” said Daniel Simmons, assistant secretary for energy efficiency and renewable energy.

The Department of the Interior saved $14.8 million in 2018 as it expanded its fleet of unmanned aircraft systems to support operations across the U.S. The department released its UAS Program 2018 Use Report Monday that details the agency’s spending and aircraft use during the year.

The agency conducted 10,342 unmanned aircraft flights in 2018, two times higher than the 2017 figure.  Use of drones for natural disaster response accounted for the majority of missions in 2018. The number is expected to continue to rise as first responders find new opportunities for the aircraft to assist in their missions, Mark Bathrick, director of DOI Office of Aviation Services, told Nextgov.

Interior uses 530 drones to survey federal lands, inspect infrastructure, track wildlife and assist disaster response efforts. The agency plans to increase its aerial drone fleet to nearly 800 systems by 2020. Officials also plan to increase investment in-house capabilities with 205 new drone pilots added to the agency’s certified operators.

The U.S. Army is working to incorporate commercial off-the-shelf platforms into the future integrated tactical network to field an initial ITN capability set, C4ISRnet reported Tuesday.Â

Maj. Gen. Randy Taylor, commander of the Army’s Communications and Electronics Command, said the ITN will be a mix of legacy and modernized systems that requires different sustainment procedures during the AUSA Global Force Symposium in Huntsville, Ala.

The Army also increased equipment warranty terms from one year to five years to accommodate short-term system sustainment. Army officials developed a strategy to integrate capabilities into the ITN biannually ahead of the network’s projected deployment by 2028.