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Raj Parekh Appointed as First Corporate Enforcement Chief at BIS
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Raj Parekh Appointed as First Corporate Enforcement Chief at BIS

The Bureau of Industry and Security has selected Raj Parekh to serve as its inaugural chief of corporate enforcement.

In his new role, Parekh will work closely with the Department of Commerce’s Office of Chief Counsel for Industry and Security and the Department of Justice to progress major corporate investigations, the BIS said Thursday.

Assistant Secretary of Commerce for Export Enforcement Matthew Axelrod said in a statement that Parekh’s appointment is an important step forward in efforts to bolster the U.S. administrative enforcement program.

A seasoned lawyer, the new appointee most recently served as a U.S. attorney in Virginia, where he supervised over 300 federal prosecutors, civil litigators and support personnel.

Recognized as the highest-ranking non-political official in the Eastern District of Virginia, Parekh’s career boasts more than 40 cases brought to verdict.

His previous work experience includes stints at the Justice Department, the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the District of Columbia and the CIA as well as IBM and an international law firm.

Parekh joins the BIS following its implementation of revised rules concerning voluntary self-disclosures and penalty guidelines, which encourage companies to report violations in exchange for incentives or reduced fines.

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GovCon Index Declined Last Week
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GovCon Index Declined Last Week

Executive Mosaic’s GovCon Index ended last week with an average of $5,256.32, a 1.07% drop from the previous week.

GovCon Index is an aggregate index that displays real-time data on the stock market performance of 30 notable government contracting companies. Users can leverage this information to evaluate the financial status of each organization and deepen their understanding of key trends in today’s GovCon market.

Multiple companies were able to break through last week’s decline with significant gains, most notably Palantir, which soared to the top of the ranks with an increase of 14.78%. In second place was The Carlyle Group (+7.04%), and Aerovironment followed with gains of 6.58%. Parsons (+6.44%) and V2X (+6.33%) secured fourth and fifth place, respectively.

GovCon Index’s daily performance was mixed last week, with frequent shifts between positive and negative territory. Its highest growth day was Monday, in which the average rose by 1.35%.

For a closer look at daily GovCon Index performance, check out last week’s market reports. To access the full list of tracked companies, click here.

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Former DAF CIO Winston Beauchamp Takes on New Director Role
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Former DAF CIO Winston Beauchamp Takes on New Director Role

Winston Beauchamp has taken on the role of director of security, special program oversight and information protection at U.S. Department of the Air Force.

The DAF official announced his new job on LinkedIn, where he also expressed gratitude to colleagues and partners from industry, with whom he had worked while serving as DAF deputy chief information officer, a position he held for nearly four years.

Beauchamp said he was especially thankful to former DAF CIO and past Wash100 winner Lauren Knausenberger and current DAF CIO Venice Goodwine, whom he described as “the exact leaders the DAF needed at the time.”

Beauchamp has held other roles within the Air Force, including enterprise IT director within the Office of the Deputy CIO. He has also been part of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, Lockheed Martin and GE Aerospace.

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Palantir Secures $99M Army Contract for User-centered ML
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Palantir Secures $99M Army Contract for User-centered ML

A Palantir Technologies subsidiary has booked a contract from the U.S. Army worth $99.2 million to provide support for user-centered machine learning, dubbed UCML.

The Department of Defense said Palantir USG will provide research and development efforts centered on UCML.

Under the firm-fixed-price contract, the Palo Alto, California-based company is expected to be completed by Sept. 12, 2029.

Funding for the project will be determined with each order placed under the contract. Work location will also be specified upon issuance of each order.

The Army Contracting Command located in Adelphi, Maryland is the contracting activity.

Palantir is currently working with the Army to perform research and development to determine possible military uses for artificial intelligence and machine learning tools. The two parties agreed on the $250 million contract in 2023.

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Can Your Company Solve DOD’s Latest CJADC2 Challenge?
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Can Your Company Solve DOD’s Latest CJADC2 Challenge?

The Department of Defense wants to bring new industry partners into Combined Joint All-Domain Command and Control, or CJADC2, through a new challenge on its Tradewinds marketplace.

Can Your Company Solve DOD’s Latest CJADC2 Challenge?

This opportunity is focused on contested logistics and serves as a part of the DOD’s Global Information Dominance Experiments program, through which the department tests commercial capabilities — most notably artificial intelligence — in the context of joint force data sharing. Communications is the main focus of CJADC2, which aims to strengthen connectivity between U.S. forces, allies and partners.

Get an even closer look into CJADC2 opportunities at the Potomac Officers Club’s GovCon International Summit on Oct. 10. The event will feature a variety of keynote speakers and panel discussions, one of which will consider the “combined” aspect of CJADC2. To learn more and register to attend the summit, visit the event page on the Potomac Officers Club website.

The Pentagon’s GIDE Journey

GIDE began several years ago and was initially managed by the Northern American Aerospace Defense Command and U.S. Northern command. In 2023, the Chief Digital and AI Office assumed control of the program and realigned its goals to better suit the needs of joint warfighting. 

Awards issued through the new challenge will represent iterations 12 and 13 of the program. GIDE 10, 11 and 12 took place earlier this year and were designed to cover global integration, joint kill chains and allied and partner integration, respectively, CDAO GIDE Director Col. Matthew Strohmeyer told DefenseScoop.

In July, the Pentagon hosted its first-ever GIDE Industry Insights Forum to deepen relationships with program participants. The event focused on collaboration opportunities — specifically those surrounding AI technologies — for both traditional and nontraditional partners as well as lessons learned from previous editions of GIDE.

DOD Seeking Data-Driven Logistics Capabilities

Efforts to advance CJADC2 through have shown that the DOD’s strengths lie in developing dynamic logistics plans. According to the notice, what the department needs from industry now is help in creating a “common, enterprise-level data ontology for logistics and sustainment” to solve decision making challenges posed by stovepiped data.

The latest GIDE challenge builds on a May contract award issued to Palantir for its Maven Smart System, which the DOD uses as the primary platform for enterprise CJADC2 workflows and intends to continue deploying as GIDE progresses, DefenseScoop reported. Capabilities pitched under the challenge are expected to “develop the global logistics data ontology in MSS while enriching current ontology and workflows with existing government logistics data.”

The challenge also presents industry with three new areas to focus on: live logistics and sustainment data; curated digital insights; and integrated applications. Proposers can submit ideas to address any number of these topics in the form of a video pitch.

What’s Next for CJADC2?

CJADC2 achieved minimal viable capability combining software applications, data integration and cross-domain operational concepts in February. Though details of what the capability was specifically developed for have been kept under wraps, Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks, a 2024 Wash100 Award winner, said the next step is scaling.

Gain even more insights into CJADC2 at the 2024 GovCon International Summit. Register here.

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DSCA Appoints Mike Miller as Director
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DSCA Appoints Mike Miller as Director

The Defense Security Cooperation Agency has appointed Mike Miller as its new director, replacing Jim Hursch, a 2024 Wash100 awardee, who retired effective July 31. 

Formerly deputy director and initially named acting director immediately following Hursch’s retirement, Miller will lead the agency’s tasks on national security support and engagement and cooperation with allies and partners, the DSCA said in a LinkedIn post. 

In his former deputy director role, Miller oversaw the DSCA’s security cooperation programs and worked with external stakeholders to synchronize the agency’s activities with U.S. national security and foreign policy goals.

Before he joined the agency, Miller worked for more than 24 years at the Department of State, with his last post as deputy assistant secretary of state for defense trade in the Bureau of Political-Military Affairs.

He started his State Department stint in 1998 as a presidential management fellow and subsequently moved to several other positions, including as office director for regional security and arms transfers and program manager for the anti-terrorism assistance program. 

Miller was also posted overseas for two years as economic and commercial attaché of the U.S. Embassy in Tripoli, Libya.

He holds a degree in Bachelor of Arts in International Politics, graduating with honors at Juniata College in Huntingdon, Pennsylvania. Miller also holds a Master of Arts in International Affairs from Columbia University’s School of International and Public Affairs.

DSCA Appoints Mike Miller as Director

Register here to attend the Potomac Officers Club’s GovCon International Summit on Oct. 10 and listen to Miller and other speakers discuss how international partnerships, coalition warfare and emerging technologies are reshaping the defense landscape.

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GovCon Index Declined Last Week
Published on

GovCon Index Declined Last Week

Executive Mosaic’s GovCon Index ended last week with an average of $5,256.32, a 1.07% drop from the previous week.

GovCon Index is an aggregate index that displays real-time data on the stock market performance of 30 notable government contracting companies. Users can leverage this information to evaluate the financial status of each organization and deepen their understanding of key trends in today’s GovCon market.

Multiple companies were able to break through last week’s decline with significant gains, most notably Palantir, which soared to the top of the ranks with an increase of 14.78%. In second place was The Carlyle Group (+7.04%), and Aerovironment followed with gains of 6.58%. Parsons (+6.44%) and V2X (+6.33%) secured fourth and fifth place, respectively.

GovCon Index’s daily performance was mixed last week, with frequent shifts between positive and negative territory. Its highest growth day was Monday, in which the average rose by 1.35%.

For a closer look at daily GovCon Index performance, check out last week’s market reports. To access the full list of tracked companies, click here.

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Vahid Majidi Resigning as SRNL Director
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Vahid Majidi Resigning as SRNL Director

Vahid Majidi has announced his intention to step down as the director of Savannah River National Laboratory.

Majidi’s resignation goes into effect in January 2025 but the official will stay on until a new director is selected, SRNL said Thursday.

“My decision to step down has not come lightly but I know instinctively that now is the right time for new leadership to take SRNL to another level,” Majidi, who has led the national laboratory since 2018, said regarding his upcoming departure.

In 2021, the SRNL director headed the establishment of Battelle Savannah River Alliance, of which he has served as president. BSRA has since handled the management and operation of SRNL as an independent national laboratory.

“With the establishment of Battelle Savannah River Alliance, I pledged to serve a three-year term and ensure a methodical transition to new leadership. I feel SRNL is positioned for successful further expansion and now is the time for me to announce my departure from SRNL and BSRA,” Majidi explained.

BSRA is working with SRNL to identify candidates who can succeed Majidi.

Regarding his work at the national laboratory, the outgoing director said, “Working together as one team, we succeeded in establishing SRNL’s independence – a monumental effort – and today I am proud to say we have a better laboratory in almost every aspect.”

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DARPA Awards BAE Systems R&D Contract for AI Air Combat Modeling
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DARPA Awards BAE Systems R&D Contract for AI Air Combat Modeling

BAE Systems announced that its FAST Labs research and development organization has received a $4 million contract under Phase 1 of the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s Artificial Intelligence Reinforcement, or AIR, program to develop autonomy solutions in air combat. 

Under the contract, FAST Labs will develop machine learning-based simulation models of sensors, weapons and electronic warfare systems currently used in air combat missions, BAE said Tuesday.

The contract’s work also includes FAST Labs using ML to establish combat aerial physics for input to the processes required in the rapid development and delivery of future AIR software products. The work will be performed at BAE Systems facilities in Arlington, Virginia, and Burlington, Massachusetts.

Michael Planer, FAST Labs scientist and principal investigator, pointed to the vast data and complex testing cycles needed for air combat performance to be reliable and consistent. “Using machine learning, we will train the models used to make dynamic decisions – ensuring that the artificial intelligence pilot is tested and trusted by human pilots,” he said.

The AIR program, which DARPA launched with a proposal solicitation in November 2022, is divided into two technical areas: model development and multi-agent AI agent training. Each area has a Phase 1 as the base period and a Phase 2 option for system design, development and testing.

In June, the agency awarded EpiSys Science and PhysicsAI an 18-month, $6 million Phase 1 AIR contract to develop tactical algorithms for team-based air combat missions. 

Other industry players under contract in the program include Lockheed Martin, which received a $4.6 million award in July, and Northrop Grumman, which secured a $28.9 million contract in February.

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White House Outlines Steps to Advance US Leadership in AI
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White House Outlines Steps to Advance US Leadership in AI

The White House has announced several initiatives to promote public-private sector collaboration and maintain U.S. leadership in artificial intelligence.

The White House said Thursday initiatives include the launch of an interagency Task Force on AI Datacenter Infrastructure to streamline coordination on policies in alignment with national security, economic and environmental goals and effort to scale up technical support to federal, state and local agencies responsible for data center permitting.

Other AI-related actions announced are the Department of Energy’s move to establish an AI data center engagement team and share with data center developers resources on repurposing closed coal sites.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers will help accelerate the establishment of eligible AI data centers through the identification of nationwide permits.

The White House on Thursday convened industry leaders and government officials for a roundtable to discuss steps to ensure that the country maintains its edge in AI technology.

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