Processing....

Logo

Digital News Coverage of Government Contracting and Federal Policy Landscape
Sticky Logo
  • Home
  • Acquisition & Procurement
  • Agencies
    • DoD
    • Intelligence
    • DHS
    • Civilian
    • Space
  • Cybersecurity
  • Technology
  • Executives
    • Profiles
    • Announcements
    • Awards
  • News
  • Articles
  • About
  • Wash100
  • Contact Us
    • Advertising
    • Submit your news
    • Jobs
Logo
DoD/News
James Mattis: Operations in Syria will Disrupt Islamic State Militant Group Recruitment
by Scott Nicholas
Published on January 8, 2018
James Mattis: Operations in Syria will Disrupt Islamic State Militant Group Recruitment


James Mattis: Operations in Syria will Disrupt Islamic State Militant Group Recruitment
James Mattis

James Mattis, Secretary of Defense, has said he expects to witness a lagging indicator that proves recent operations in Syria will diminish the number of recruits and foreign fighters joining the Islamic State militant group’s ranks, DoD News reported Friday.

Mattis answered inquiries at the Pentagon regarding topics involving South Asia, North Korea and Iran during an impromptu discussion with reporters.

He said the U.S. remains observant of illicit weapons activities in Iran and the illegal displays of missiles, unmanned aerial vehicles and antitank weapons at the Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling.

The report noted Iran repeatedly violated United Nations Security Council Resolution 2231 which tackles sanctions related to the country’s distribution of weapons and ballistic missile program.

The defense secretary also said U.S. and South Korea maintain close bonds and diplomatic efforts continue to attempt denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula.

He added U.S.-South Korean military exercises will push through after the Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang and the succeeding Paralympic games.

DHS/Government Technology/News
Report: DHS Transitioned 10 Cyber Tech Concepts to Marketplace in FY2017
by Scott Nicholas
Published on January 8, 2018
Report: DHS Transitioned 10 Cyber Tech Concepts to Marketplace in FY2017


Report: DHS Transitioned 10 Cyber Tech Concepts to Marketplace in FY2017The Department of Homeland Security Science and Technology Directorate commercialized, spun off and released 10 cybersecurity technologies to the marketplace in fiscal year 2017 through its Transition to Practice program.

DHS said Thursday it attributes the program’s progress to S&T’s growing capacity to determine and streamline the maturation of cybersecurity technologies needed in the public and private sectors.

TTP determines emerging cybersecurity technologies under development at federal laboratories, universities and federally funded research and development centers which can be funded through the lab-to-market program.

The agency puts the selected technologies through a structured transition process which involves pilot deployments, outreach, market validation, testing and evaluation before introducing the systems to potential developers, investors and integrators who can transition the technologies into commercially applicable products.

The program spun off a University of North Carolina-developed exploit detection and analytics tool into a startup company dubbed as ZeroPoint Dynamics and licensed Hyperion, an Oak Ridge National Laboratory-made malware forensics detection and software assurance tool, to Manassas, Virginia-based cybersecurity company Lenvio.

TTP also awarded the license of the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory-designed Network FLOW AnalyzER software application to zSofTech Solutions and spun off the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory-built REnigma malware execution recording technology to Deterministic Security.

IP Group licensed three PNNL-made algorithms and industrial control systems including MLSTONES, Digital Ants and SerialTap.

The Worcester Polytechnic Institute developed the Policy Enforcement and Access Control for End-points network connection protection platform which ContexSure Networks spun off.

Nadia Carlsten, program manager of the TTP, said the program is in a position to continue its growth and ride the momentum throughout 2018.

S&T also released two TTP technologies as open-source for the developer community and organizations that seek to use it including the Los Alamos National Laboratory-built search-optimized packet capture system called PcapDB and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology-made Keylime cloud computing security tool.

DoD/Government Technology/News
Army Office Launches Cloud Migration Assistance Website
by Nichols Martin
Published on January 8, 2018
Army Office Launches Cloud Migration Assistance Website


Army Office Launches Cloud Migration Assistance WebsiteThe U.S. Army‘s Application Migration Business Office has introduced a website designed to assist the military branch’s information technology community in meeting cloud migration requirements, GCN reported Friday.

The AAMBO portal features information about the office’s cloud migration readiness evaluation process, policies established by the Army Chief Information Officer/G-6 and providers under the Army Cloud Computing Enterprise Transformation contract vehicle.

The Army’s program executive office for enterprise information systems formed AAMBO to serve as a liaison between Defense Department-authorized enterprise environment providers and managers of systems and applications, the report said.

AAMBO supports the Enterprise Computing Operations Service Center under the Network Enterprise Technology Command.

Civilian/News
Sen. Claire McCaskill Asks CBP for Info on $297M Staff Hiring Support Contract
by Jane Edwards
Published on January 8, 2018
Sen. Claire McCaskill Asks CBP for Info on $297M Staff Hiring Support Contract


Sen. Claire McCaskill Asks CBP for Info on $297M Staff Hiring Support ContractSen. Claire McCaskill, ranking member of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, has asked the Customs and Border Protection to provide information about a potential five-year, $297 million contract awarded to Accenture for recruitment support services.

The contract calls for Accenture’s federal services business to recruit and employ 5,000 border patrol agents, 2,000 customs officers and 500 air and marine interdiction employees, McCaskill wrote in a Wednesday letter to Kevin McAleenan, CBP acting commissioner.

She noted that CBP would need to spend approximately $40,000 for each hire under the contract.

McCaskill asked the agency to submit the final contract document and respond to several questions about the office of human resources management’s capacity to recruit additional staff for CBP; per capita cost for new law enforcement officers; ways to fund the contract; and other recruitment support contracts the agency holds.

CBP has until Jan. 24 to submit information in response to the senator’s letter.

 

DoD/News
Trump Administration, Senators Eye Bipartisan Bill on Iran Nuclear Deal
by Jane Edwards
Published on January 8, 2018
Trump Administration, Senators Eye Bipartisan Bill on Iran Nuclear Deal


Trump Administration, Senators Eye Bipartisan Bill on Iran Nuclear DealSenators and White House officials held a meeting Thursday to draft a possible bill that seeks to implement tougher restrictions on Iran and keep the U.S. in a 2015 nuclear deal with the Middle Eastern country, Reuters reported Friday.

Army Lt. Gen. H.R. McMaster, national security adviser under President Donald Trump’s administration, met with Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Corker (R-Tennessee) and Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Maryland) at the White House to discuss possible measures.

Those include the possible termination of a requirement that directs the U.S. president to recertify the nuclear deal every 90 days and amendments to “sunset provisions” that would enable the U.S. government to reimpose sanctions if Iran’s nuclear efforts escalate.

Lawmakers have initiated efforts to draft a bipartisan bill that would authorize the president not to reimpose sanctions on Iran’s oil products as the nuclear deal approaches another deadline this week.

The Treasury Department imposed sanctions Thursday on five Iran-based companies for their involvement in activities that support the country’s ballistic missile development program.

DoD/News
Trump Administration Orders Freeze on Security Aid to Pakistan
by Jane Edwards
Published on January 5, 2018
Trump Administration Orders Freeze on Security Aid to Pakistan


Trump Administration Orders Freeze on Security Aid to PakistanThe White House on Thursday decided to impose a freeze on all security aid to Pakistan in response to the South Asian country’s refusal to quell terrorist groups, The New York Times reported Thursday.

The decision could suspend annual aid worth approximately $1.3 billion, which includes $1.1 billion in Coalition Support Funds the Defense Department provides to help cover counterterrorism-related costs in Pakistan.

The suspension includes a freeze on the delivery of U.S. military equipment to Pakistan but will not affect civilian support programs in the country.

“Pakistan has the ability to get this money back in the future, but they have to take decisive action,” said Heather Nauert, a spokeswoman for the State Department.

The State Department on Thursday also included Pakistan on a watch list of countries for religious freedom violations.

The measures came three days after President Donald Trump said in a Twitter post Monday that Pakistan offered a “safe haven” for terrorists that U.S. forces crack down in Afghanistan, the report added.

Civilian/News
NIST Studies Use of Quantum Physics to Support Underground, Underwater & Indoor Comms
by Ramona Adams
Published on January 5, 2018
NIST Studies Use of Quantum Physics to Support Underground, Underwater & Indoor Comms


NIST Studies Use of Quantum Physics to Support Underground, Underwater & Indoor CommsThe National Institute of Standards and Technology has begun to experiment with “quantum radios” that might be able to support communications and mapping in environments where radios, global positioning systems and cellphones cannot operate reliably.

NIST said Tuesday its researchers are studying very low frequency digitally-modulated magnetic signals that can penetrate building materials, water and soil more deeply than electromagnetic communications signals at higher frequencies.

Submarine operators already use VLF electromagnetic fields to communicate underwater, but the low-frequency radios do not have enough bandwidth to support other communication modes than text messaging.

Submarines must also rise to about 60 feet below the water surface to be able to communicate using VLF signals.

Dave Howe, the NIST project leader, said that the use of quantum sensors may help achieve increased magnetic field sensitivity, which could lead to longer communication range and higher bandwidth.

The team demonstrated the use of a magnetic-field sensor powered by the quantum properties of rubidium atoms to detect digitally-modulated magnetic signals, or messages comprised of digital bits 0 and 1.

The researchers plan to build improved transmitters in the future as well as boost sensor sensitivity to expand the range and bandwidth of low-frequency magnetic field signals.

DoD/Government Technology/News
Air Force Develops New Multi-Junction Solar Cell Technology
by Nichols Martin
Published on January 5, 2018
Air Force Develops New Multi-Junction Solar Cell Technology


Air Force Develops New Multi-Junction Solar Cell TechnologyThe U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory has reported the development of solar cell technology designed to augment power supply capacities for space missions.

Inverted Metamorphic Multi-Junction Solar Cells that are made as lighter and more efficient solar cell variants, the Air Force said Thursday.

Standard multi-junction solar cells undergo growth on germanium substrates and use multiple sheets of light-absorption materials.

The currently-used multi-junction cells needed further development to address efficiency limits caused by increasing power needs and mass capacities.

To address these limits, the collaboration intended to develop a new cell architecture involving an upside-down growth process for cell manufacturing with the use of semiconductor materials, resulting to the creation of IMM solar cells.

“AFRL began looking at this specific technology back in the mid-2000s, recognizing that increasing power needs of spacecraft would require more efficient solar technologies,” said Kerry Bennington, an electronics engineer at the AFRL’s Materials and Manufacturing Directorate.

“We found that by growing cells upside down on gallium arsenide, we can more effectively tailor the material properties of the individual absorbing layers,” Bennington added.

The new cells were observed to generate 15 percent more power than standard multi-junction cells, and are ran through an ongoing evaluation to meet requirements imposed by the American Institute for Aeronautics and Astronautics S-111 standard.

DoD/News
Senators Debate Defense Spending in FY 2018 Budget Talks
by Jane Edwards
Published on January 5, 2018
Senators Debate Defense Spending in FY 2018 Budget Talks


Senators Debate Defense Spending in FY 2018 Budget TalksSenate lawmakers on Thursday discussed military spending matters as they work to strike a budget deal for fiscal 2018 before the current continuing resolution expires on Jan. 19, Defense News reported Thursday.

Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) said Thursday in a floor speech that reductions to discretionary defense spending have exceeded nondefense spending cuts by approximately $85 billion since fiscal 2013.

McConnell’s statement was in response to Democrats’ push for equal increases in defense and nondefense spending.

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) said McConnell failed to cite increases to overseas contingency operations funds that are not covered by budget caps.

“If you include the overseas contingency operations funding, the reality is that overall defense spending has gone up, not down, over this time period while non-defense discretionary spending has been severely cut,” he said.

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-New York) has called for a budget agreement that incorporates a package for health care, disaster aid and protection for young immigrants covered under the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program.

“Ultimately the budget agreement must lift the caps with parity between defense and urgent domestic priorities,” Schumer added.

DoD/News
Report: Air Force Creates Flight Plan for Future ISR Ops
by Scott Nicholas
Published on January 5, 2018
Report: Air Force Creates Flight Plan for Future ISR Ops


Report: Air Force Creates Flight Plan for Future ISR OpsThe U.S. Air Force aims to complete by spring a new intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance flight plan that will cover operations of the service branch’s future platforms and technologies such as artificial intelligence systems, C4ISRNET reported Thursday.

Lt. Gen. VeraLinn Jamieson, USAF’s deputy chief of staff for ISR, told C4ISRNET the plan will include five-year increments through 2035 and strategies to address future threats in the air, cyber and space domains.

The blueprint will also dictate hardware systems that the service branch must acquire to comply with future requirements for sensors and unmanned aerial systems, the report noted.

USAF also included software acquisition strategies in the plan.

Previous 1 … 2,083 2,084 2,085 2,086 2,087 … 2,597 Next
News Briefing
I'm Interested In:
Recent Posts
  • GSA Unveils Generative AI Evaluation Suite USAi
  • FAR Council Issues Model Deviation Text for Federal Acquisition Regulation’s 6 Sections
  • NSF, NVIDIA Back Ai2 in Development of Open-Source AI Models
  • Navy CDAO Discusses Upcoming AI, Data Weaponization Strategy
About

ExecutiveGov, published by Executive Mosaic, is a site dedicated to the news and headlines in the federal government. ExecutiveGov serves as a news source for the hot topics and issues facing federal government departments and agencies such as Gov 2.0, cybersecurity policy, health IT, green IT and national security. We also aim to spotlight various federal government employees and interview key government executives whose impact resonates beyond their agency.

Read More >>

RSS ExecutiveBiz
  • CGS Joins US Coast Guard in National Security Cutter Commissioning
  • BigBear.ai, Smiths Detection Complete Testing of Integrated Airport Security Technology
  • BlackSea Technologies Adds Mike Kushin to Board
  • Divergent & Raytheon Partner to Re-engineer Naval Systems Using Digital Manufacturing
  • X-energy, DIU & Air Force to Advance Commercial Microreactor Technology
  • Scott Bukofsky Joins NSTXL as Senior Vice President of Microelectronics
RSS GovConWire
  • Navy Taps eSimplicity for $99M Spectrum Management Support Contract
  • Kepler Appoints Carl Jenkins as SVP of Engineering
  • Lockheed Martin Lands $4.2B Army Contract Modification for Guided Rocket Systems
  • Merlin Eyes Going Public Through Inflection Point-Backed Bleichroeder SPAC Merger
  • William Maxwell Named Highlight Chief Financial Officer
  • Booz Allen Secures $1.6B DIA Task Order for CWMD Intelligence Analysis Support
Footer Logo

Copyright © 2025
Executive Mosaic
All Rights Reserved

  • Executive Mosaic
  • GovCon Wire
  • ExecutiveBiz
  • GovCon Exec Magazine
  • POC
  • Home
  • Acquisition & Procurement
  • Agencies
    • DoD
    • Intelligence
    • DHS
    • Civilian
    • Space
  • Cybersecurity
  • Technology
  • Executives
    • Profiles
    • Announcements
    • Awards
  • News
  • Articles
  • About
  • Wash100
  • Contact Us
    • Advertising
    • Submit your news
    • Jobs
Go toTop