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NTIA Seeks Public Input for Policies on Data Center Development
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NTIA Seeks Public Input for Policies on Data Center Development

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration has issued a request for comment on how federal policies can help grow and secure U.S. data centers to meet the rising demand from emerging technologies. 

The RFC, published on the Federal Register Wednesday, seeks input for a report on data center infrastructure development policy recommendations on sustainable data center growth, NTIA said.

The Department of Commerce agency noted that the current count of over 5,000 U.S. data centers is expected to increase by 9 percent through 2030, as demand for computing and storage infrastructure from emerging technologies like artificial intelligence accelerates further.  

According to projections, the U.S. does not have enough data centers to drive future AI breakthroughs, said Alan Davidson, assistant secretary of commerce for communications and information and NTIA administrator. “Our inquiry will lead to policy approaches that encourage the sustainable growth of this essential computing infrastructure across the country,” he added.

The NTIA’s comment request, which also solicits ideas fostering a resilient data center supply chain, was issued in coordination with the Department of Energy, which is pursuing science and technology solutions to address U.S. energy challenges.

The deadline for comment submission is on Nov. 4.

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SDA Demonstrates PWSA Tranche 0 Intersatellite Links
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SDA Demonstrates PWSA Tranche 0 Intersatellite Links

Space Development Agency has performed an on-orbit demonstration of the laser light terminals onboard two SpaceX-built missile-warning satellites, showing that the devices can link spacecraft and enable laser communications, Breaking Defense reported Wednesday.

The satellites carrying the terminals manufactured by Tesat were launched in 2023 for the SDA’s Tranche 0 initial, experimental constellation, which is part of the agency’s plan to create a Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture comprising military space assets and commercial spacecraft in low Earth orbit that enable a resilient and reliable data transport and missile warning and tracking network.

Speaking at the annual Defense News conference, SDA Director Derek Tournear, a past Wash100 awardee, said the on-orbit event on Tuesday is the first successful demonstration of intersatellite laser links — the capability critical to the planned mesh network.

“The requirement in our optical comm standard is that it takes you less than 100 seconds to acquire a link during pointing, acquisition and timing, with like a stretch goal of less than 10 seconds,” Tournear said. “They were well under the 100 seconds, but they were over the 10 seconds, and they maintained that link for several hours.”

By the end of 2024, the SDA expects to launch a new batch of satellites for the PWSA’s Tranche 1 segment to provide initial operating capability to warfighters.

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Proposed DOD Rule Seeks to Revise Regulations on OT Agreements for Prototype Projects
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Proposed DOD Rule Seeks to Revise Regulations on OT Agreements for Prototype Projects

The Department of Defense has proposed a rule to amend its regulations on other transaction agreements, or OTAs, for prototype projects as part of efforts to implement changes in statutory authority that Congress enacted since the most recent update in 2004.

According to a Federal Register notice published Wednesday, the proposed DOD rule provides authority for follow-on production OTAs and contracts and addresses special circumstances for awarding OTAs to nontraditional defense contractors, small businesses, consortia and nonprofit research institutions.

According to the document, the proposed rule will promote the growth of small entities by reducing the paperwork burden on small businesses and encouraging competition and awards of OTs for prototype agreements to small enterprises.

The proposed rule also includes changes to approval requirements for large dollar OTAs, application of procurement ethics requirements to covered agreements and the authority to supply prototypes and production items as government-furnished items to another contractor.

Comments on the proposed rule are due Nov. 4.

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TechnoMile Featured in Latest Forrester Contract Lifecycle Management Report
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TechnoMile Featured in Latest Forrester Contract Lifecycle Management Report

TechnoMile, a cloud technology company, is among 27 notable vendors featured in the new Forrester Contract Lifecycle Management—or CLM—Platforms Landscape report.

Forrester’s 2024 Q3 report aims to inform technology executives and procurement, legal and risk professionals of the value they can expect from a CLM platform vendor based on size and market focus, TechnoMile told ExecutiveGov Thursday.

Kevin Brancato, senior vice president of product strategy at TechnoMile, said, “It’s very exciting to see a top research and advisory firm, like Forrester, recognize TechnoMile as a notable vendor in the CLM platform market.”

“Our inclusion in this report and the acknowledgment from Forrester speak to our commitment to empowering federal contractors to modernize their operations,” Brancato added.

Forrester describes CLM platforms as applications able to be utilized for buy-side contracts, sell-side contracts and legal operations. The research company also defines CLM platforms as “technology that automates contract digitization, creation, negotiation, execution and governance.”

TechnoMile’s Contracts Suite aims to harness artificial intelligence to modernize the management of prime contracts, subcontracts and other commercial agreements on one joint cloud platform. The company offers a vertical-specific enterprise CLM platform meant to help aerospace and defense, GovCon and different types of companies doing business with the federal government.

“With the ability to swiftly deploy an AI-enabled CLM platform built for the unique requirements of doing business with the U.S. government, TechnoMile’s customers can be certain they are not only bolstering their ability to manage compliance, mitigate risk and work efficiently, but also best positioning their organizations to accelerate innovation and growth,” Brancato stated.

TechnoMile’s self-reported broad use cases of contract compliance, obligations management and contract repository and search are reportedly the top reasons customers have used the company’s CLM services.

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Space Systems Command Calling for Proposals for 2024 Fight Tonight Competition
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Space Systems Command Calling for Proposals for 2024 Fight Tonight Competition

Space Systems Command is calling on its personnel to participate in the third annual Fight Tonight competition, which seeks innovations that will help the U.S. Space Force achieve its mission of securing the space domain.

SSC said Wednesday that of particular interest to this year’s competition are innovations that enhance space situational awareness systems and the space common operating picture for ops centers; assist operations in denied areas; reduce operator workloads; and ensure tracking, telemetry and command resiliency.

Interested parties have until Sept. 6 to submit proposals, which must have a Space Operations Command sponsor to ensure operational relevance. Proposals must also be scalable and doable within a one-year timeframe.

Coaches from AtlasX will be made available to provide guidance regarding the submission processes or to consult regarding proposals. AtlasX is a business innovation office within SSC that works to facilitate Fight Tonight.

Commenting on the competition, SSC commander Lt. Gen. Philip Garrant said it is a means by which his organization ensures the readiness of the Space Force “for the Great Power Competition and the 2026 fight.”

“Our people are some of the smartest, most innovative minds in the space industry today and we want to harness their best ideas and put them to work to help protect the Nation,” Garrant added.

Up to $12 million in funding will be made available to the winning proposals.

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DOD Eyes Streamlined Contracting for JWCC Next Cloud Contract
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DOD Eyes Streamlined Contracting for JWCC Next Cloud Contract

The Department of Defense plans to streamline the contracting process and add more cloud service providers as it prepares for the next iteration of the Joint Warfighting Cloud Capability contract, Federal News Network reported Wednesday.

Under the current JWCC contract, DOD has awarded over 65 task orders valued at more than $1 billion.

“$1 billion worth of task orders — it’s pretty powerful when a year and a half ago, people said we wouldn’t be able to even do the contract because of the issues that we had with [Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure ] and some other contracting means, but now we’re looking at JWCC Next,” said Lt. Gen. Robert Skinner, director of DISA.

“What it’s going to bring is even faster commercial cloud capability, greater diversity where we can hope that we can have even more cloud service providers and potentially have an option of not having task orders competed, that we can have an [indefinite delivery/indefinite quantity] as well as task order competition,” added Skinner, a 2024 Wash100 awardee.

In December 2022, the Pentagon awarded four companies positions on the potential $9 billion JWCC contract.

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VA OIG Flags Veterans Benefits Administration for Delayed Digital GI Bill Platform Implementation
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VA OIG Flags Veterans Benefits Administration for Delayed Digital GI Bill Platform Implementation

Unclear contract requirements and unrealistic expectations have contributed to delays in efforts by the Veterans Benefits Administration to implement and transition to a Digital GI Bill platform, which is meant to improve the delivery of education benefits, according to a report by the Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General.

The report, which the VA OIG released on Aug. 28, details the results of an audit that the office had conducted to assess the progress VBA was making in implementing the platform, which originally involved a 10-year, $453 million deal with a contractor.

According to the OIG, the VBA has so far only delivered one of three test environments that, under the original contract, should have already been available as of October 2022. The OIG attributed the backlog to limited resources and infrastructure.

The VA watchdog also noted that the deployment of the Digital GI Bill platform depends upon the decommissioning of older systems like the Benefits Delivery Network. The BDN was originally scheduled to be decommissioned in September 2023 but the target date has now been pushed back as far as spring 2025.

The inspector general also called out the VBA for its failure to effectively communicate critical information to the contractor, including the project’s integrated master schedule, which plots the scope of the effort. The VBA had not even formulated the master schedule until February 2023.

The same communication issues also resulted failures in the critical path, a schedule’s sequence of activities.

The VBA has since renegotiated the contract, which is now worth $932 million. The renegotiation is also expected to further delay the platform’s implementation.

To address these issues, the VA OIG recommended the establishment of a mechanism to monitor the project’s progress, better communication with the contractor and the formulation of strategies to address critical path failures.

VA OIG Flags Veterans Benefits Administration for Delayed Digital GI Bill Platform Implementation

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Sara Siegle Named NSA Strategic Communications Lead
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Sara Siegle Named NSA Strategic Communications Lead

Sara Siegle, most recently reauthorization lead for the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act’s Section 702 at the National Security Agency, has been appointed NSA’s chief of strategic communications and senior adviser to the board of directors.

NSA said Tuesday Siegle will oversee the agency’s communications strategy and lead a global workforce of communications professionals.

“Sara’s 20 years of experience in the Agency is evident in her passion for the people, the partnerships and the mission,” said Gen. Timothy Haugh, director of NSA and commander of U.S. Cyber Command.

“As Chief of the Authorities Integration Group, Sara played an integral role in working with our partners in Congress to ensure the continuation of authorities that are crucial to NSA’s mission,” added Haugh, a 2024 Wash100 awardee who also serves as chief of the Central Security Service. 

In 2004, Siegle joined NSA as an intelligence analyst.

Since starting her career at NSA two decades ago, the newly appointed head of strategic communications has held various roles within the agency’s operations and cybersecurity directorates, including deputy chief of the Cybersecurity Collaboration Center.

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DOE Announces Funding for 16 Data Development Projects Focused on High-Assay Low-Enriched Uranium
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DOE Announces Funding for 16 Data Development Projects Focused on High-Assay Low-Enriched Uranium

The U.S. Department of Energy has selected 16 experiment and analysis projects to receive $17 million in funding to support the development of criticality benchmark data, which the Nuclear Regulatory Commission will use in licensing and regulating high-assay low-enriched uranium, or HALEU.

The projects, which won funding through a criticality benchmarking solicitation, involve six national laboratories and include partnerships with six universities and multiple industry partners, the DOE said Friday.

The teams will perform research and development covering five topic areas: UF6 transportation with moderator exclusion, 10 percent to 20 percent enrichment gap, non-fissile material validation, fissile salts and advanced moderator nuclear data.

According to Michael Goff, acting assistant secretary for nuclear energy, the data collected from the projects will help ensure HALEU infrastructure is licensed and regulated in a timely manner for reactor demonstrations and deployments.

“Many advanced reactor developers require HALEU to achieve smaller designs, longer operating cycles, and increased efficiencies over existing technologies,” he explained.

The DOE plans to issue two more proposal calls for criticality benchmark data development, with the next solicitation expected in early 2025.

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CIA Appoints Andrew Scott to China Specialist Role
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CIA Appoints Andrew Scott to China Specialist Role

Andrew Scott, a cybersecurity veteran with over 20 years of experience working for the U.S. government, has joined the Central Intelligence Agency as its top China specialist, The Record reported Friday.

Scott previously served as associate director for China operations at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency. Entrusted with managing CISA’s China initiatives, Scott oversaw the interdisciplinary team tasked with enhancing cybersecurity efforts against hybrid threats from nation-states.

CISA Director and Wash100 Award recipient Jen Easterly, noting Scott’s pivotal role at the agency, said, “Andrew was instrumental in working across the agency to develop a comprehensive multi-year plan to address the threat posed by PRC cyber actors to U.S. critical infrastructure.”

Before joining CISA, Scott was with the National Security Council as senior director for cyber policy. He served as the special assistant to the president at the same time. In addition, Scott held various positions for the State Department including deputy director for information technology of the executive secretariat.

Scott’s appointment comes on the heels of the hacking perpetrated by the Volt Typhoon, a group of Chinese government-linked hackers that managed to break into U.S. internet service providers.

At a recent summit, Scott emphasized the need for the U.S. to prepare for China’s evolving digital threats in the event of a conflict between the two nations.

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CIA Appoints Andrew Scott to China Specialist Role
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