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Israel Receives First Two Lockheed-Built F-35s
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Israel Receives First Two Lockheed-Built F-35s


Israel Receives First Two Lockheed-Built F-35sIsraeli defense forces hosted a welcoming ceremony for the arrival of two Lockheed Martin-built F-35 fighters Monday at Nevatim Air Base in Israel, the Jerusalem Post reported Monday.

Israeli President Reuven Rivlin said the F-35 aircraft, nicknamed  Adir, will help redefine the country’s deterrence capacity as well as its operational space, according to the report by Anna Ahronheim.

“With the turmoil in the region, we are more dedicated than ever before to Israel’s security, and America’s pledge to defend Israel’s security remains unwavering,” Defense Secretary Ashton Carter said during his visit to Israel.

Israel is the first country to receive an F-35 outside of the U.S. and the delivered units are the first two of 50 aircraft the country ordered, Reuters reported Monday.

Ori Lewis writes the country looks to maintain two F-35 squadrons and has also signed a 10-year, $38 billion arms deal with the U.S.

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GSA Lists Federal Acquisition Service Achievements in Fiscal 2016
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GSA Lists Federal Acquisition Service Achievements in Fiscal 2016


GSA Lists Federal Acquisition Service Achievements in Fiscal 2016The General Services Administration has listed major achievements of GSA’s Federal Acquisition Service in fiscal year 2016 as part of a year-end review.

GSA said Friday FAS’ 2016 highlights include the creation of new IT Schedule 70 special item numbers for Highly Adaptive Cybersecurity Services.

GSA Administrator Denise Turner Roth said the new SINs will work to provide access to pre-vetted support services that will help agencies test high-priority information technology systems; address vulnerabilities and mitigate threats.

FAS also published the Transactional Data Rule that requires federal contractors to provide transactional data on purchases made through GSA contract vehicles in an effort to inform contracting officers’ purchasing decisions.

In FY 2016, GSA also reached 10,000 users on its Acquisition Gateway that is designed to provide an acquisition community for federal government buyers.

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Army to Evaluate BAE-Built Armored Multipurpose Vehicle
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Army to Evaluate BAE-Built Armored Multipurpose Vehicle


Army to Evaluate BAE-Built Armored Multipurpose VehicleThe U.S. Army will test an armored multipurpose vehicle demonstrator BAE Systems  built as part of a contract to replace the military branch’s fleet of M113 armored personnel carriers.

BAE was awarded a potential $1.2 billion contract in December 2014 to support the development, engineering, manufacturing and low-rate initial production of AMPVs for the military branch.

The Army said Friday the company could produce several hundred units of the vehicle for testing in the next four years if the military branch approves the LRIP option of the contract.

The AMPV is designed to address survivability, force protection, size, weight, power and cooling requirements as well as integrate with the network and future technologies of the Army.

Maj. Gen. David Bassett, program executive officer for ground combat systems at the Army, said combat vehicles basically act as a box that contains communications, lethality and mobility systems.

The branch also works to conceptualize a new suite of mobile protected firepower to address a need for a light tank of infantry brigade combat teams.

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Rep. Robert Wittman: Threat Analysis Should Inform Trump’s 350-Ship Navy Fleet Plan
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Rep. Robert Wittman: Threat Analysis Should Inform Trump’s 350-Ship Navy Fleet Plan


Rep. Robert Wittman: Threat Analysis Should Inform Trump's 350-Ship Navy Fleet Plan
Robert Wittman

Rep. Robert Wittman (R-Virginia) has said a threat analysis must take place in support of President-elect Donald Trump’s plan to grow the U.S. Navy‘s fleet to 350 ships from the current 272 number, USNI News reported Wednesday.

Megan Eckstein writes Wittman said at the U.S. Naval Institute’s Defense Forum Washington event that the composition of the 350-ship fleet should be designed according to warfighting requirements.

Wittman added the Virginia-class attack submarine, San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock and Ford-class aircraft carrier could help grow the fleet through accelerated build rates and hot production lines that could lead to cost savings, Eckstein reported.

Wittment also noted that efforts to start new ship classes could extend the timeline and increase risks, the report stated.

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Cedric Leighton: DoD Works to Address Advanced Persistent Threats
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Cedric Leighton: DoD Works to Address Advanced Persistent Threats


Cedric Leighton: DoD Works to Address Advanced Persistent ThreatsThe Defense Department seeks to address cybersecurity concerns such as advanced persistent threats that use unauthorized entities to gain access to networks and steal data from an organization, C4ISR & Networks reported Wednesday.

John Edwards writes Cedric Leighton, former National Security Agency deputy director of training, said APTs can collect large amounts of information which may be operationally sensitive.

A Galois and Guardtime Federal team received a $1.8 million contract from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency in September to verify the capacity of Keyless Signature Infrastructure to serve as a monitoring system against security threats.

“The DoD, along with the Department of Homeland Security and the intelligence community, are working hard to protect all U.S. government networks from APTs,” said Leighton.

“We’re working in coordination with the [DoD], typically DARPA, on finding ways to effectively detect APTs and essentially amplify the attention of the defenders so that they can root them out and squash them,” added David Hamilton, Guardtime Federal president.

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Bob McDonald Expects Next VA Secretary to Build on His Work
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Bob McDonald Expects Next VA Secretary to Build on His Work


Bob McDonald Expects Next VA Secretary to Build on His Work
Robert McDonald

Bob McDonald, outgoing secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs, has said he expects the next VA chief to build on his current work at the department, Military Times reported Monday.

Leo Shane III writes President-elect Donald Trump has vowed to revamp the way VA operates in an effort to make the department behave more like a private business under his administration.

McDonald said he believes the VA has many improvements over the last two years in terms of new strategies, processes and evaluation systems to measure outcomes, according to the report.

“This transformation has probably gone farther and faster than any I’ve been involved in, but also it’s not yet far enough,” McDonald was quoted as saying.

McDonald, formerly CEO of Procter & Gamble, said he hopes for the next administration to consider the work done to address the 2014 medical wait times issue as a blueprint for operations, Shane reports.

McDonald also said he has started to work with Trump’s transition team and told current VA officials to continue the 2017 goals for the MyVA plans, Military Times reports.

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NASA’s Ames Research Center to Demo Air Traffic Mgmt Simulator
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NASA’s Ames Research Center to Demo Air Traffic Mgmt Simulator


NASA's Ames Research Center to Demo Air Traffic Mgmt SimulatorNASA‘s Ames Research Center in Califonia has created a full-scale simulator designed to mimic a variety of air traffic management scenarios as part of efforts to ensure air travel safety and efficiency this holiday season.

The space agency said Friday that the FutureFlight platform works to help NASA, the Federal Aviation Administration and private-sector researchers study how to manage U.S. airspace.

Air traffic controllers and pilots also use FutureFlight to test NASA-developed tools in a virtual environment that can simulate airports under varying environmental and traffic conditions.

NASA’s Ames Research Center will host a demonstration at Los Angeles and Charlotte airports on Dec. 14 to simulate environments at night, day, rain, snow, sleet, sun and other conditions.

Army Vet James Gilman Named Chief Exec of NIH Clinical Research Center; Francis Collins Comments
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Army Vet James Gilman Named Chief Exec of NIH Clinical Research Center; Francis Collins Comments


Army Vet James Gilman Named Chief Exec of NIH Clinical Research Center; Francis Collins Comments
James Gilman

The National Institutes of Health has appointed James Gilman, a retired U.S. Army major general, as the first CEO of NIH’s clinical research center in a move that takes effect January 2017.

NIH said Friday Gilman will oversee the 870,000-square-foot research center located inside NIH’s campus in Bethesda, Maryland, and guide the facility’s safety and care quality measures with the development of new hospital operations policies.

“Dr. Gilman is a cardiologist and highly decorated leader with rich experience in commanding the operations of numerous hospital systems,” said NIH Director Francis Collins.

Gilman previously served as commanding general of the Army Medical Research and Materiel Command at Fort Detrick and director of health policy and services in the Office of the Surgeon General of the Army Medical Command.

His 35-year Army career also includes leadership roles at various Army hospitals such as Brooke Army Medical Center, Walter Reed Health Care System and Bassett Army Community Hospital.

Gilman retired from the Army in 2013 and joined the Hopkins Military & Veterans Institute in Baltimore as executive director until June.

Collins also announced that John Gallin, former director of the NIH clinical center, has taken a new role as associate director for clinical research and chief scientific officer of NIH.

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Steve Cook, Greg Autry Among Donald Trump’s NASA Transition Team Members
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Steve Cook, Greg Autry Among Donald Trump’s NASA Transition Team Members


Steve Cook, Greg Autry Among Donald Trump’s NASA Transition Team MembersPresident-elect Donald Trump’s transition team has named six additional individuals to the NASA landing team, Space News reported Friday.

Brian Berger and Jeff Foust write Steve Cook, a corporate vice president at Dynetics, has been selected to join the NASA transition team.

Prior to Dynetics, Cook previously worked at NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center in Alabama, where he was responsible for the development of the Ares 1 and Ares 5 rocket programs.

Other individuals named to the NASA transition team include Greg Autry, an assistant professor of entrepreneurship at the University of Southern California; Jack Burns, senior vice president of the American Astronomical Society and a professor at the University of Colorado; Rodney Liesveld, a former senior policy adviser at NASA; Sandy Magnus, a former NASA astronaut; and Jeff Waksman, a former research fellow at the House of Representatives.

The appointments come more than a week after the incoming administration tapped Chris Shank, former policy director for the House Science Committee, to lead the NASA transition team, the report added.

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White House Establishes Northern Bering Sea Climate Resilience Area Through Executive Order
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White House Establishes Northern Bering Sea Climate Resilience Area Through Executive Order


White House Establishes Northern Bering Sea Climate Resilience Area Through Executive OrderPresident Barack Obama has signed an executive order to establish the Northern Bering Sea Climate Resilience Area in an effort to protect the natural and cultural resources as well as the communities in the Alaskan Arctic.

The executive order will create a task force that will work with a Bering intergovernmental tribal advisory council to coordinate federal programs designed to advance community and ecosystem resilience, safeguard cultural values and promote natural resources conservation in support of Alaskan native communities, the White House said in a news release published Friday.

The rule would establish a federal policy that would prohibit bottom trawling operations and require the U.S. Coast Guard to consider recommendations on “areas to be avoided” as part of the port access route study.

Obama also orders the Coast Guard to release its PARS findings by the end of 2016 and relay its conclusions to the International Maritime Organization to facilitate the development of new measures by 2018.

The executive order also covers the withdrawal from future oil and gas leasing of 40,300 square miles of the Norton Basin planning area and some parts of the St. Matthew-Hall planning area.

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