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Lt. Gen. Jerry Harris: Air Force Eyes 165-Bomber Fleet
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Lt. Gen. Jerry Harris: Air Force Eyes 165-Bomber Fleet


Lt. Gen. Jerry Harris: Air Force Eyes 165-Bomber FleetLt. Gen. Jerry Harris, deputy chief of staff for strategic plans and requirements at the U.S. Air Force, has told lawmakers that the service branch wants to have 165 aircraft in its future bomber fleet, DoD Buzz reported Monday.

Members of the House Armed Services Committee’s Seapower and Projection Forces Subcommittee asked Harris during a May 25 hearing about a potential increase in the planned quantity of the next-generation B-21 Raider stealth bomber.

The Air Force awarded Northrop Grumman a contract in 2015 to build up to 100 bomber aircraft worth approximately $55 billion in total as part of the Long Range Strike Bomber program.

Air Force spokeswoman Ann Stefanek told Military.com that the 165 figure reflects the total number of bombers and not just B-21s.

Stefanek added that the military branch currently has 159 bombers including 62 B-1B Lancers, 20 B-2 Spirits and 77 B-52 Stratofortresses, the report stated.

B-21 bombers are slated to join the Air Force’s fleet in the mid-2020s and eventually replace B-1 Lancer planes.

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DOE, NIFA to Help Fund Biomass R&D Projects
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DOE, NIFA to Help Fund Biomass R&D Projects


DOE, NIFA to Help Fund Biomass R&D ProjectsThe Energy Department and the Agriculture Department‘s National Institute of Food and Agriculture will provide a total of $9 million in fiscal 2017 to research and development  projects that can help boost the country’s energy independence.

The Biomass Research and Development Initiative seeks projects in the areas of biofuel development analysis, feedstock development and bio-based product development, DOE said Monday.

NIFA and DOE collectively plan to award up to 20 contracts that range from $500,000 $2 million through their joint initiative.

BRDI-funded projects will work to help both departments create renewable biomass sources, diversify the country’s energy portfolio and increase the volume of renewable fuels and other bio-based products.

Interested companies, national laboratories, universities and nonprofit organizations can submit proposals through Sept 22.

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NASA, NIAS Demo Drone Traffic Mgmt System at Nevada UAS Test Site
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NASA, NIAS Demo Drone Traffic Mgmt System at Nevada UAS Test Site


NASA, NIAS Demo Drone Traffic Mgmt System at Nevada UAS Test SiteNASA has partnered with the Nevada Institute for Autonomous Systems to test the space agency’s traffic management system and demonstrate its capability to facilitate operations of multiple unmanned aerial systems.

NIAS and NASA conducted the UTM test on May 25 at the Nevada UAS test site as part of the Technology Capability Level 2 National Campaign, NIAS said Monday.

The three-week TCL2 campaign started on May 9 and is a second-phase test that sought to demonstrate the NASA UTM system’s capabilities in aerial survey, parachute-based emergency package deliveries and beyond-line-of-sight operations across six Federal Aviation Administration-designated UAS test sites.

The NASA UTM test involved the use of command-and-control systems, detect-and-avoid platforms, visual observers, communications systems, radars and sensors that are linked to NASA’s UAS service supplier network.

Chris Walach, director of the Nevada UAS test site, said the NASA UTM test flights helped facilitate the first parachute-based package delivery and beyond-line-of-sight missions  in the National Airspace System.

“The National Campaign data provided to NASA from our two-week operation will go a long way toward advancing the UTM for the FAA and the UAS industry,” Wallach added.

Companies that participated in the NASA UTM TCL2 test include AirMap, Drone America, Carbon Autonomous, Delair-Tech and Sensofusion.

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White House to Move Air Traffic Control Oversight from FAA to Nongovernmental Entity
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White House to Move Air Traffic Control Oversight from FAA to Nongovernmental Entity


White House to Move Air Traffic Control Oversight from FAA to Nongovernmental EntityThe White House has proposed to transfer oversight of U.S. air traffic control operations from the Federal Aviation Administration to a new nongovernmental, nonprofit entity.

A White House news release published Monday says the plan seeks to expand the National Airspace System and address aircraft delays through the implementation of next-generation technology platforms and facilitate the integration of commercial space vehicles and unmanned aerial systems.

The Transportation Department’s secretary will oversee the transition of ATC operations to the new independent entity over a three-year period.

A board of directors will manage the nongovernmental organization that will operate through the use of fees collected from NAS users.

The new ATC institution should provide general aviation users, military and rural communities open access to the country’s airspace, detect and counter cyber threats, recognize existing labor agreements and be allowed to use the spectrum for free.

Under the ATC reform plan, President Donald Trump has proposed to move FAA to a “performance-based framework responsible for providing effective oversight of the new ATC entity” and retain regulation of aviation safety under DOT.

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FCC’s David Bray to Serve as First NGA Chief Ventures Officer
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FCC’s David Bray to Serve as First NGA Chief Ventures Officer


FCC's David Bray to Serve as First NGA Chief Ventures Officer
David Bray

David Bray, chief information officer of the Federal Communications Commission, will join the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency next month as the organization’s first chief ventures officer in July, MeriTalk reported Monday.

He will be responsible for helping drive NGA’s internal and commercial innovation efforts in his new position, according to the report.

He led FCC’s information technology modernization efforts during his tenure as the commission’s CIO and manaed the development of its universal licensing system.

The more than 20-year IT veteran serves as a member of the Council on Foreign Relations, an Eisenhower fellow to Taiwan and Australia and a visiting executive at Harvard University.

Bray previously held various roles within the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Energy Department, Institute for Defense Analyses, Microsoft, Intellinet and Yahoo.

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Report: GSA to Launch Blockchain Pilot Initiative Under Digital Govt Services Program
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Report: GSA to Launch Blockchain Pilot Initiative Under Digital Govt Services Program


Report: GSA to Launch Blockchain Pilot Initiative Under Digital Govt Services ProgramThe General Services Administration plans to launch a blockchain pilot initiative this summer as part of the agency’s Emerging Citizen Technology program that seeks to explore how artificial intelligence and new technologies can be integrated into digital government services, Federal News Radio reported Monday.

Justin Herman, manager of social media and digital engagement programs at GSA’s Technology Transformation Service, told Federal News Radio that GSA has begun to identify government business cases and needs that blockchain technology can help address.

Herman added GSA’s Federal Acquisition Service and the State Department‘s Office of Global Partnerships will host a forum in the coming months to discuss ways to work with the blockchain industry, the report stated.

He said rapid development pilots could pave a path for agencies to begin looking into blockchain and emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, Federal News Radio noted.

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Aircraft Systems Top Marine Corps’ FY 2018 Unfunded Priorities List
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Aircraft Systems Top Marine Corps’ FY 2018 Unfunded Priorities List


Aircraft Systems Top Marine Corps' FY 2018 Unfunded Priorities ListThe U.S. Marines Corps has submitted its fiscal year 2018 unfunded priorities list to Congress, which requests a total of $3.18 billion including $2.36 billion for aircraft and aviation systems procurement, USNI News reported Monday.

The list includes two Sikorsky-built CH-53K Super Stallion heavy lift helicopters worth $287.7 million; four Lockheed Martin-made KC-130J transport planes for $355.5 million; and six Lockheed F-35 Joint Strike Fighters worth $876.6 million, the report stated.

Two MV-22 tilt-rotor aircraft and seven AH-1Z Viper attack helicopters also made the list at $180.5 million and $220 million, respectively.

The Marine Corps also seeks $482.7 million to support ground forces, including $16.6 million for a long-range small unmanned aerial vehicle as well as $42.5 million for 155m artillery and 60mm and 81mm mortars training rounds, among others.

DHS Unveils $1.6B in Emergency Preparedness Grant Opportunities; John Kelly Comments
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DHS Unveils $1.6B in Emergency Preparedness Grant Opportunities; John Kelly Comments


DHS Unveils $1.6B in Emergency Preparedness Grant Opportunities; John Kelly CommentsThe Department of Homeland Security has allocated up to $1.6 billion for 10 preparedness grant programs intended to help non-federal government agencies, nonprofit organizations and companies prepare for natural disasters, terrorist attacks and other emergency situations.

DHS said Friday the fiscal year 2017 funding grants represent the department’s push to fulfill the country’s immediate security needs and maintain public safety in state, local, tribal and territorial communities.

The department aims to support up to regional preparedness efforts in 33 high-threat urban areas through the Urban Area Security Initiative.

DHS will also provide funds to law enforcement and terrorism prevention efforts across the country to help communities prepare for and respond to activities that may be indicators of terrorist activity.

“The administration remains committed to strengthening the security and resilience of our state and local communities,” said Homeland Security Secretary John Kelly.

Kelly added that funds from the Federal Emergency Management Agency will help recipients develop and sustain preparedness tools at various levels of government and communities.

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Robert Cardillo: NGA Needs to Address Full-Motion Video Automation
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Robert Cardillo: NGA Needs to Address Full-Motion Video Automation


Robert Cardillo: NGA Needs to Address Full-Motion Video Automation
Robert Cardillo

National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency Director Robert Cardillo has said extracting data and insights from full-motion video has posed a challenge to NGA, Breaking Defense reported Monday.

FMV is “time-consuming, manually intensive, redundantly exploited, poorly integrated and it leaves a great deal of useful data unexploited and undiscovered,” Cardillo said Monday at the GEOINT Symposium in San Antonio, Texas.

He said he has tapped Buzz Roberts, special programs lead at NGA, to serve as the agency’s chief of artificial intelligence, automation and augmentation to help advance FMV automation efforts.

Cardillo, an inductee into Executive Mosaic’s Wash100 for 2017, said NGA plans to set up a public-private partnership to help facilitate collaboration with industry.

He noted that Anthony Vinci, director of plans and programs at NGA, will lead the proposed public-private partnership that seeks to invest NGA’s data, analysis and byproducts into companies, startups and concepts.

“The goal would be to obtain a return on that data in the form of new or transformed data, new algorithms, trained machine vision approaches or an application of linked software,” he added.

Cardillo also tapped David Bray, chief information officer at the Federal Communications Commission, to join NGA in July to lead the newly created office of ventures and innovation, the report noted.

Heather Wilson: Air Force Needs to Get Beyond Budget Caps to Restore Readiness
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Heather Wilson: Air Force Needs to Get Beyond Budget Caps to Restore Readiness


Heather Wilson: Air Force Needs to Get Beyond Budget Caps to Restore Readiness
Heather Wilson

Air Force Secretary Heather Wilson has said Congress should put an end to budget caps that impede the service branch’s efforts to build up readiness and update its aging aircraft fleet, Defense News reported Monday.

“If you don’t provide relief from the Budget Control Act, we will hollow out the force and set ourselves back years,” Wilson said Monday at a breakfast event of the Air Force Association.

“We have to get beyond the Budget Control Act.”

She also reiterated her support to investments in space capabilities, recapitalization of the Air Force’s nuclear weapons and retention of the A-10 Warthog aircraft.

“At some point, there are about 134 A-10s that are going to have to get their wings redone if we’re going to keep them long term, but when we look out five years they are still in the Air Force inventory,” added Wilson, who assumed her current post in May.

Wilson also discussed the service branch’s budget proposal for fiscal year 2018 that includes the plan to acquire 46 Lockheed Martin-built F-35A Lightning II fighter jets and 15 Boeing-made KC-46A Pegasus aircraft as well as fund development work on the B-21 Raider bomber program, the Air Force reported Monday.

She said the service branch intends to retain more pilots and aircrews through the implementation of a new aviation bonus structure and plans to field to Europe an F-16 Fighter Falcon fighter unit in early 2018 in support of the European Reassurance Initiative, the report added.

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