DARPA Unmanned Vessel Flies TALONS Payload in Demonstration; Scott Littlefield Comments
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DARPA Unmanned Vessel Flies TALONS Payload in Demonstration; Scott Littlefield Comments


TALONSThe Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency has tested a new unmanned vessel off the coast of California with a prototype elevated sensor mast as the vessel’s first payload.

DARPA said Monday the technology demonstration vessel sailed with a Towed Airborne Lift of Naval Systems payload onboard for two days with 90 minutes of flight each day as part of the agency’s Anti-Submarine Warfare Continuous Trail Unmanned Vessel program.

ACTUV is meant to establish the foundation for a new class of unmanned vessels intended to travel thousands of miles across the open seas for various missions such as submarine tracking and countermine operations.

“I was delighted to explore the possibility of hosting TALONS on ACTUV and from my perspective, the testing could not have gone better,” said Scott Littlefield, DARPA program manager for ACTUV.

“We just started at-sea testing of ACTUV in June, and until now we’ve been focused on getting the basic ship systems to work,” added Littlefield.

During the test, TALONS demonstrated an expanded range of the sensors and radios onboard as opposed to the systems mounted on a surface vessel.

The demonstration team includes Maritime Applied Physics Corp. and the Naval Surface Warfare Center Carderock Division for TALONS, and the U.S. Navy Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command-Pacific and Leidos for ACTUV.

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Cybercom’s Mission Force Teams Reach Initial Operating Capability
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Cybercom’s Mission Force Teams Reach Initial Operating Capability


Cyber CommandThe U.S. Cyber Command‘s 133 cyber force teams have reached initial operating capability status that authorizes each team to execute their respective fundamental missions.

Cybercom said Monday the groups align with the three primary missions of the Defense Department‘s Cyber Strategy to defend DoD networks and secure data, support joint military commander objectives and as protect the U.S. infrastructure.

The Cyber Mission Force currently includes 5,000 individuals across 133 teams and Cybercom aims to increase the number of members to 6,200.

Each team member will operate at a full mission capacity to plan, direct and synchronize cyberspace operations for cyber deterrence against adversaries, the command added.

Navy Adm. Michael Rogers, Cybercom commander, said the U.S. military services’ recognition of cyber as a mission set that needs dedicated expertise helped the DoD train and build the Cyber Mission Force.

Navy to Work on Updates for Sailor Pay, Personnel Support System
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Navy to Work on Updates for Sailor Pay, Personnel Support System


U.S. NavyThe U.S. Navy has identified new actions in an effort to update its pay and personnel services for sailors.

The military branch said Friday it plans to perform organizational shifts, reform the sailor and command self-service system, update training for pay and personnel professionals, as well as assign additional military staff to Personnel Support Detachments across the nation.

The Navy will also rename the command pass coordinator position to command pay and personnel administrator, which includes responsibility for command-level accountability, auditability and engagement to the assigned PSD.

“Our efforts are aimed at having a sailor-focused pay and personnel support system that is highly trained, auditable and enhanced by today’s technology,” said Dave Menzen, director of the Navy’s total force manpower, training and education requirements division.

All Navy commands and detachments with an independent unit identification will be assigned a CPPA who will have monthly engagements designed to identify available resources and pursue training, guidance and clarification on the pay and personnel system, the Navy said.

The service branch added it will also establish the Navy Enlisted Classification code of 95AD for CPPAs that will require CPPAs to complete the training course and apply their skills across the fleet.

“The partnership between commands and their supporting PSD is the key to providing sailors with accurate and timely personnel and pay support,” said Capt. Steven Friloux, commanding officer of the Navy’s pay and personnel support center.

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White House’s Science and Technology Office Launches Small Satellite Initiative
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White House’s Science and Technology Office Launches Small Satellite Initiative


satelliteThe White House’s Office of Science and Technology has introduced a new initiative intended to support the use of small satellites in the government and private sectors for many types of mission requirements.

The White House said Friday OSTP intends for the Harnessing the Small Satellite Revolution initiative to collaborate with NASA, Defense Department, Commerce Department and other federal agencies to identify additional steps to develop smallsat technologies.

The goal is to apply small satellites to remote sensing, communications, science and space exploration projects.

NASA will invest up to $25 million to purchase data from non-governmental small spacecraft constellations and $5 million to mature small spacecraft constellation technologies.

The space agency also plans to open a Small Spacecraft Virtual Institute at Ames Research Center in Silicon Valley in 2017 to provide technical knowledge in small spacecraft technology fields.

For its part, the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency awarded a $20 million contract to startup firm Planet to develop a constellation of imagery smallsats in low earth orbit in an effort to acquire imagery of at least 85 percent of the Earth’s landmass.

The Commerce Department has also mandated the director of the Office of Space Commerce to serve as ombudsman for the commercial space industry within the federal government.

The Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity has also released satellite data sets to help analyze overhead imagery as part of the Multi-View Stereo 3D Mapping Challenge under the initiative.

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Maj. Gen. Nina Armagno: Air Force Surveillance Telescope to Aid Space Domain Accountability
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Maj. Gen. Nina Armagno: Air Force Surveillance Telescope to Aid Space Domain Accountability


darpa-space-surveillance-telescopeU.S. Air Force Maj. Gen. Nina Armagno has said the Air Force’s Space Surveillance Telescope will help defend U.S. space assets against adversaries and support accountability in the space domain, DoD News reported Saturday.

Cheryl Pellerin writes the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency-built SST is designed to track a few large space objects at a time to a widescreen view of 10,000 objects as small as softballs.

DARPA transferred the ownership of SST to the Air Force during a transition ceremony at the White Sands Missile Range in New Mexico, ExecutiveGov reported Friday.

“We must be able to see aggressive behavior when it unfolds [and] be prepared to act decisively to defend our own assets and to hold others accountable for their actions,” said Armagno, director of strategic plans, programs, requirements and analysis for Air Force Space Command.

Armagno added SST is part of the U.S.’ space situational awareness system that will help reveal adversaries’ intent and mitigate aggressive behavior, Pellerin wrote.

SST will also serve as a dedicated sensor in the U.S. Space Surveillance Network that is operated by the Air Force Space Command, the report stated.

The telescope is built to search an area larger than the U.S. in seconds and scan a quarter of the sky multiple times a night, Pellerin reported.

DHA Adds 25 New Lab-Developed Tests for Tricare Availability
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DHA Adds 25 New Lab-Developed Tests for Tricare Availability


medical health doctorThe Defense Health Agency has updated its policies to make 25 additional laboratory developed tests available to Tricate patients via the DHA Evaluation of Non-U.S. Food and Drug Administration Approved Laboratory Developed Tests Demonstration Project.

DHA said Friday the new set of LDTs include noninvasive prenatal screening tests that help providers screen expectant mothers for trisomies 13, 18, 21, X and Y in pregnancies with a risk of fetal aneuploidy.

The demonstration project covers approximately 100 total LDTs on cancer diagnosis, risk and treatment, blood or clotting disorders, genetic diseases and neurological conditions.

DHA says the demonstration helps the Defense Department perform evaluations of laboratory developed tests, establish a list of tests that will be deemed as “safe and effective” as well as a process to add new tests to the list.

A full list of LDTs covered under the demonstration can be found on this link.

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NASA Seeks to Advance Small Spacecraft Platform Devt Through New Virtual Institute
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NASA Seeks to Advance Small Spacecraft Platform Devt Through New Virtual Institute


CubeSatNASA has established a new virtual institute at Ames Research Center in California that aims to promote the development of small spacecraft systems and facilitate communication on such systems among government agencies, industry and academia.

The Small Spacecraft Systems Virtual Institute will work to identify collaborative opportunities on small space vehicle platforms and determine policy issues and technical scope through partnership with subject matter experts, NASA said Friday.

The space agency said S3VI will host an online resource for small spacecraft lessons, systems test data repository and the space technology mission directorate’s Small Spacecraft Technology State of the Art report.

The virtual institute will also coordinate the human exploration and operations mission directorate’s CubeSat Launch Initiative and STMD’s Cube Quest Challenge in order to help students and industry launch miniature satellites as supplemental payloads on future space launches.

NASA’s STMD and the science mission directorate will jointly sponsor the S3VI portal that is scheduled to go live in early 2017.

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Army Activates New Battalion for Space, Missile Defense Operations
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Army Activates New Battalion for Space, Missile Defense Operations


Army Activates New Battalion for Space, Missile Defense OperationsThe U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command/Army Forces Strategic Command has held an activation ceremony for the organization’s 1st Space Battalion, 1st Space Brigade.

Army said Thursday Lt. Col. Bryan Shrank, 1st Space Battalion commander, has entrusted Maj. John Bierce to care for and lead the unit as the first company commander and Sgt. 1st Class Wade Parker formally assumed the role of company first sergeant.

“There was no question Maj. Jack Bierce and 1st Sgt. Wade Parker are the absolute right team to stand up this organization, and I know they will do an amazing job,” said Shrank.

U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command/Army Forces Strategic Command conducts space and missile defense operations in support of U.S. Strategic Command’s missions on strategic deterrence, integrated missile defense and space operations.

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Michael Horowitz: Inspectors General Ask Congress to Move Deadline for 1st DATA Act Spending Reports
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Michael Horowitz: Inspectors General Ask Congress to Move Deadline for 1st DATA Act Spending Reports


budget analysis reviewMichael Horowitz, inspector general at the Justice Department, has said that IGs would not be able to meet the congressional deadline for the first reports in November due to a timing anomaly in the 2014 Digital Accountability and Transparency Act, Government Executive reported Thursday.

Charles S. Clark writes Horowitz, also chairman of the Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency, said in a December 2015 letter to House and Senate government oversight committees the DATA Act does not require government agencies to submit spending information until May 2017.

“As a result, inspectors general would be unable to report on the spending data submitted under the act, as this data will not exist until the following year,” Horowitz added.

Horowitz asked lawmakers to push back the deadline of the first IG reports to November 2017 in an effort to address the timing glitch in the DATA Act, which seeks to require agencies to make their spending data available to the public, Clark reports.

The council also urged IGs to carry out readiness reviews ahead of the proposed November 2017 deadline, according to the letter.

The report also noted that the Government Accountability Office plans to release an updated report on the law’s implementation in November.

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Marine Corps Launches New Tech Discovery Task Force
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Marine Corps Launches New Tech Discovery Task Force


AmphibiousTransportDockMaj. Jim Foley of the U.S. Marine Corps‘ Ellis Group has said the service branch has established a new task force that works to find existing systems to help exploit gaps in enemy defenses for Marine amphibious vehicles to maneuver from shore to shore, Marine Corps Times reported Saturday.

Jeff Schogol writes the new task force will evaluate everything from drone boats to electronic deception to help Marines possess technologies that can help raiders and landing teams get to shore.

Foley told Marine Corps Times that the service branch could possess different vehicles and have en route fire support to aid missions that will take warfighters to shore.

He added that the task force will also look to boost information warfare capacities to support the C2 capacities of commanders during operations in a push to assist the decision making process.

Foley said industry, academia and government think tanks will gather at Camp Pendleton in April to demonstrate technologies that will help meet the Marine Corps’ needs which the task force will then hope to use in an amphibious exercise.

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