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Forge Institute Launches Atomic Anvil Program
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Forge Institute Launches Atomic Anvil Program

Forge Institute has unveiled a new program that grows collaboration among researchers, entrepreneurs and non-traditional entities with Department of Defense mission partners to enhance national security.

Boosting National Security

The company said the Atomic Anvil program aims to accelerate the process of advancing technologies, overcoming significant technological challenges and deploying these innovations to address critical national security challenges.

The program prioritizes essential defense areas such as advanced manufacturing, photonics, directed energy, mobility systems, drone and counter-drone technologies. It also focuses on intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, or ISR, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, direct fires, critical minerals and supply chain.

The initiative, launched in partnership with the Air Force Research Laboratory and the Academic Partnership Engagement Experiment Partnership Intermediary Agreement with Parallax Advanced Research, intends to create a direct pathway for researchers, small businesses and startups to collaborate with the DOD. 

Participants of the Atomic Anvil program can engage in different ways. One is to attend Industry Days and workshops and to connect through funding opportunities. Another is to engage in mission-focused sprints, paid internships and hands-on work at cyber and artificial intelligence labs and technology assessments. The last area of engagement is to receive mentorship, attend the Defense 101 Course and join the Embers Xcelerator program.

Lee Watson, chairman and CEO of Forge Institute, stated, “Innovating at the speed of mission is imperative as we develop national security capabilities to outpace the adversary. Atomic Anvil is designed to rapidly connect, innovate and accelerate the delivery of cutting-edge solutions, ensuring our warfighters maintain the decisive advantage.” 

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NASA Installs New RS-25 Engine for Artemis Missions
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NASA Installs New RS-25 Engine for Artemis Missions

NASA has completed the installation of the first RS-25 engine, the first of 24 new flight engines intended for future Artemis program lunar missions starting with Artemis V.

The agency said Thursday the engine was installed on the Fred Haise Test Stand on Feb. 18 to prepare it for next month’s acceptance testing. The RS-25 engine was built by L3Harris, the primary contractor for NASA’s Space Launch Systems, or SLS, engines.

Hot Fire Test

The RS-25 engine will be evaluated by the NASA Stennis Space Center test team, which includes operators from NASA, L3Harris and Syncom Space Services, to see if it is ready for future lunar missions. The hot fire test involves exposing the engine to a full-duration, 500-second hot fire. The test mimics the actual launch where the engines fire for around 500 seconds and reach up to 111 percent power level when launching SLS into orbit with the Orion spacecraft onboard. Four RS-25 engines, with a combined thrust power of two million pounds, will be used to launch the SLS.

The engine has undergone two certification tests confirming the new engine production process and components passed all performance standards. An acceptance test will follow to assess its performance and ensure it meets safety requirements.

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Pavan Pidugu Sworn In as DOT Chief Information Officer
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Pavan Pidugu Sworn In as DOT Chief Information Officer

Pavan Pidugu was sworn in as the Department of Transportation’s new chief information officer.

DOT said Tuesday Pavan previously served as chief technology officer of its Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, radically transforming how technology is developed and delivered at the agency.

Who Is Pavan Pidugu?

Prior to joining the Transportation Department, Pidugu spent more than a decade in the retail industry, focusing on technological innovations. At Walmart, he held the posts of leader of digital customer and omni-channel experience for international markets and senior manager for global strategy for point of sale, according to his LinkedIn profile.

He also spent almost three years at NCR as director of program delivery for retail solutions. In his nearly six years at Target, he served as senior project manager and worked on several projects, including enterprise integration for its pharmacy inventory management and corporate intranet solutions for eight business areas.

Marlow Business School recognized Pidugu for his impact on the technology landscape with its World 100 Technology Leaders 2024 award.

He holds a bachelor’s degree in marketing and finance from Sri Krishnadevaraya University, a master’s certificate in IT project management from the George Washington University School of Business, a master’s degree in operations management from the University of Arkansas and an executive master of science degree in executive technology management from Columbia University.

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Senate Confirms Kashyap Patel as FBI Director
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Senate Confirms Kashyap Patel as FBI Director

Senate has confirmed Kashyap Patel as director of the FBI. On Thursday, lawmakers voted 51-49 in favor of appointing Patel as head of the investigative agency, Senate.gov reported. 

All Democrats and two Republicans, Sens. Susan Collins and Lisa Murkowski, opposed Patel’s confirmation.

Who Is Kash Patel?

Patel is President Donald J. Trump’s second term choice for FBI director, replacing Christopher Wray who stepped down from the role in January. 

Patel previously served as chief of staff to Acting Secretary of Defense Christopher Miller. As chief of staff, he led the executive staff in executing the secretary’s mission and provided counsel on the department’s operations. 

He also held the role of deputy assistant to the president and senior director for counterterrorism at the National Security Council during the Trump administration’s first term. In the role, he ensured the execution of the president’s top priorities such as eliminating ISIS and Al-Qa’ida and repatriating American hostages. 

Before his stint at the NSC, Patel was a national security adviser and senior counsel to the House Permanent Select Committee on Intelligence. He was involved in investigations into Russia’s campaign to influence the 2016 presidential election. 

Earlier in his career, he was a terrorism prosecutor at the Department of Justice, where he prosecuted individuals with connections to ISIS and Al-Qa’ida. 

Patel earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Richmond in Virginia and completed his law degree from the University College London Faculty of Laws in the United Kingdom. 

Patel’s Plan for the FBI

Patel previously heavily criticized the FBI and expressed his desire to implement changes within the investigative agency. 

In a September interview, he vowed to cease FBI operations at the J. Edgar Hoover Building and transform it into a “museum of the ‘deep state.” He added that the about 7,000 employees working in the Hoover building will be dispersed across the nation to “chase down criminals.” 

He also called for the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, or FISA, to be reformed. FISA allows the FBI to surveil suspected spies and terrorists. 

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DOD Eyes Termination of ‘Non-Essential’ Consulting Contracts
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DOD Eyes Termination of ‘Non-Essential’ Consulting Contracts

The Department of Defense has released a memo directing heads of component agencies to review and validate existing consulting services contracts.

The Feb. 18 memo issued to senior Pentagon leadership, defense agencies and DOD field activities directors calls for the assessment of the “essentiality of contracts … for the purpose of terminating or descoping contracts for activities that are not essential for the Department to fulfill its statutory purposes.”

The move seeks to ensure alignment with President Trump’s America First priorities and the direction of Pete Hegseth, secretary of defense and 2025 Wash100 awardee.

Phased Approach to Contract Review, Validation

DOD will implement a phased approach to assessing and validating the contracts, according to the memo signed by Steven Morani, who currently performs the duties of the under secretary of defense for acquisition and sustainment.

The initial review will be for contracts where a DOD contracting officer has placed an order against a General Services Administration contract vehicle for consulting services.

Under Phase 2, component agencies will evaluate and validate non-GSA contracts for consulting services.

For consultancy contracts determined to be “essential,” components should submit a short justification, including a validation of the requirement by a general officer or a Senior Executive Service member.

Components have until March 19 to submit the results of their review for GSA-related contracts. Submissions for non-GSA contracts are due April 19.

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Integrated Team Construct Seeks to Sharpen AF Battle Network
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Integrated Team Construct Seeks to Sharpen AF Battle Network

The Department of the Air Force has announced that its Program Executive Office for Command, Control, Communications and Battle Management, or C3BM, is adopting an Integrated Product Team construct to run the DAF Battle Network. 

Maj. Gen. Luke Cropsey, PEO head for C3BM and a 2025 Wash100 awardee, said the new team construct addresses the complicated and broad challenges in integrating the network designed to link the service branch’s sensors, effectors and logistics systems for sharper situational awareness and faster operational decision-making. 

Broadened Team Mindset

He described the team’s new approach as a shift “away from a mindset of ‘my program, my system’ and toward a mindset of ‘our system, our mission.’”

Horizontal integration is one of the specific challenges that the IPT construct will address through the creation of a mechanism for a DBN system-of-systems integration. The DAF network integration spans some 50 programs of record kept across the department to help provide decision and information advantage to the Air Force, Space Force and allied forces.

Knowledge-Sharing Across Various Domains

With the new team framework, IPT will also seek to maximize the DAF network potential through consistent venues for sharing knowledge in organization, training and equipment. C3BM showed its capability in this battle network area during the Emerald Flag 24-3 exercise in October wherein DBN tested a new aerial networking system.

The IPT leads under the new construct are expected to be named later this February, with appointees drawn from those already within the C3BM office and other PEOs supporting the DAF Battle Network.

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DIU Partners With AWS, C3 AI, Google to Enhance DOD Logistics
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DIU Partners With AWS, C3 AI, Google to Enhance DOD Logistics

The Defense Innovation Unit has awarded contracts to Amazon Web Services, C3 AI and Google Public Sector to enhance the Department of Defense’s flight scheduling processes. 

DIU said Wednesday, the collaboration aims to develop a prototype for a commercial technology capable of accelerating, optimizing and automating the DOD’s logistical processes, including flight scheduling.

Air Logistics Optimization Program

The Air Logistics Optimization, or ALO, is a program initiated by DIU to address the challenges of manual logistical planning. It is intended to develop a way to optimize the scheduling and allocation of transport flights to reduce fuel consumption and carbon footprint and prevent passenger-less flights.

Aside from DIU, other organizations behind the program are the Air Force’s Operational Energy Office, the Navy’s Air Logistics Office—known as NALO—and the Transportation Command’s Air Mobility Command. The three companies that received contracts are tasked with developing specialized systems for the program members.

C3 AI provided the Air Force Operational Energy with an artificial intelligence-driven dashboard that reduces the time to process data by integrating aircraft sensors with mission data. This development has led to more efficient flight procedures and less fuel consumption while maintaining combat capabilities.

Google Public Sector designed a user-facing application for NALO that automates and optimizes flight scheduling. The system is capable of handling disruptions like weather changes and aircraft maintenance with seamless real-time adjustments. This boosts operational readiness and situational awareness while reducing fuel consumption.

AWS developed an air logistics optimization engine for USTRANSCOM and AMC that utilizes its global delivery capabilities, including long-term routes, flight plan execution and disruption and recovery management.

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NASA Requires Input on Space Weather Observation Satellite
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NASA Requires Input on Space Weather Observation Satellite

NASA Goddard Space Flight Center is requesting sources to provide information on developing a spacecraft for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Space Weather GEO, or SW GEO, Series program.

GSFC is soliciting input on spacecraft flight hardware design concepts, mission operations services and hosting possibilities for the SW GEO project, which supports NOAA’s mission to reduce the impact of severe space weather events, according to a notice posted Tuesday on SAM.gov.

Soliciting Concept Designs for 2 Satellites

Specifically, the government expects the potential contractor to create spacecraft concept designs, prepare documentation for its upcoming development, provide operational and maintenance support, and identify payload hosting opportunities.

The program aims to operate up to two satellites in the geostationary orbit over the continental U.S. to meet NOAA’s observatory instrument data availability objectives. Each of the spacecraft is anticipated to host eight government-furnished payloads, such as sensors and imaging instruments.

Monitoring Space Weather Events

When it becomes operational, the SW GEO spacecraft will enable NOAA to monitor and warn about space weather events that can potentially disrupt the country’s electrical power grid, communications infrastructure, and navigation and timing systems.

Interested parties are invited to submit their feedback and suggestions no later than March 28.

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Kelly Loeffler Confirmed as SBA Administrator
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Kelly Loeffler Confirmed as SBA Administrator

The Senate on Wednesday voted 52-46 to confirm Kelly Loeffler, a former senator from Georgia, as head of the Small Business Administration.

In this capacity, Loeffler will lead a cabinet-level federal agency that supports small businesses by providing capital, counseling and contracting expertise.

Loeffler’s Career Highlights

The Georgia businesswoman briefly served in the Senate after she was appointed by Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp to fill the vacancy created by Sen. Johnny Isakson’s retirement.

Loeffler, who co-chaired President Trump’s second inaugural committee, previously served as senior vice president of investor relations, chief communications officer and chief marketing officer at Intercontinental Exchange, a financial services firm that owns the New York Stock Exchange.

The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign graduate launched fintech company Bakkt, where she served as its founding CEO.

She is a former co-owner of the Atlanta Dream team of the Women’s National Basketball Association.

Earlier in her career, Loeffler held positions at several automotive and financial services firms, including Toyota Motor Sales USA, Citigroup and William Blair.

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DOD Seeks to Redirect $50B Toward Trump’s Priorities
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DOD Seeks to Redirect $50B Toward Trump’s Priorities

Secretary of Defense and 2025 Wash100 winner Pete Hegseth has ordered Department of Defense officials to conduct a review and find approximately $50 billion in the Biden administration’s proposed fiscal year 2026 budget that could be shifted toward President Trump’s national defense priorities, including the Iron Dome for America and border security, Breaking Defense reported Wednesday.

“The Department will develop a list of potential offsets that could be used to fund these priorities, as well as to refocus the Department on its core mission of deterring and winning wars. The offsets are targeted at 8% of the Biden Administration’s FY26 budget, totaling around $50 billion, which will then be spent on programs aligned with President Trump’s priorities,” Robert Salesses, who performs the duties of deputy secretary of defense, said in a statement published Wednesday.

Priority Categories That May Be Excluded

Following the release of the DOD official’s statement, Breaking Defense obtained a list of the 17 priority categories or “offsets” that may not be included by military services and component agencies in their 8 percent spending reduction recommendations or should be financially protected in the next fiscal year.

These are:

  • Audit
  • Collaborative combat aircraft
  • Combatant command support agency funding
  • Combating transnational criminal organizations in the Western Hemisphere
  • Core readiness, including full DRT funding
  • Counter-small UAS initiatives
  • Executable surface ships
  • Executable U.S. Indo-Pacific Command MILCON
  • Homeland missile defense
  • Medical private-sector care
  • Munitions
  • Munitions and energetics organic industrial bases
  • Nuclear modernization
  • One-way attack/autonomous systems
  • Priority critical cybersecurity
  • Southwest border activities
  • Virginia-class submarines
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