DoD Asks Congress to Reprogram $2.6B in Funds
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DoD Asks Congress to Reprogram $2.6B in Funds


BudgetThe Defense Department has asked Congress’ approval to shift approximately $2.6 billion in fiscal 2016 funds across defense programs, Defense News reported Thursday.

Aaron Mehta writes the programming request that DoD Comptroller Mike McCord submitted to Congress June 30 includes a proposal to move $583 million in funds to the operations and maintenance budget from defense working capital funds.

The U.S. Army would see a budget increase of $267 million under the reprogramming request, the Navy would get $467 million in added funds and the Air Force would see a $273 million boost, Mehta reports.

Sydney J. Freedberg Jr. also reports for Breaking Defense that House Armed Services Committee Chairman Mac Thornberry (R-Texas) has said he believes Congress should approve the fiscal 2017 defense policy bill that would increase defense spending.

Thornberry noted that the Senate and House should work to deal with the top-line budget for the proposed 2017 National Defense Authorization Act.

“The job for us is to try to do our best to come to agreement on the NDAA before the end of September,” he added, according to the report.

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NGA Launches GEOINT App For First Responders on iTunes, Google Play
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NGA Launches GEOINT App For First Responders on iTunes, Google Play


mobile appThe National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency has launched a mobile application to the public via the iTunes and Google Play app stores in efforts to aid first responders during natural disasters.

NGA said Tuesday the Mobile Awareness GEOINT Environment app works to help users create geo-tagged field reports; take photos, videos and voice recordings; and share the reports and multimedia observations with team members.

MAGE is designed to accommodate the storage of geospatial data layers on mobile devices even when disconnected from the network, the agency noted.

NGA said MAGE, which was previously only available through the agency’s GEOINT App Store, can also be customized for law enforcement, security and military situations.

Ben Tuttle, NGA’s mobile apps team lead, said the agency released MAGE on iTunes and Google Play in efforts to support non-Defense Department users.

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GSA Launches Big Data Mgmt Platform for Open Data & Transparency Goals
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GSA Launches Big Data Mgmt Platform for Open Data & Transparency Goals


big dataThe General Services Administration has developed a government big data management platform designed to address data analysis speed and accuracy demand and support the government’s mission to promote openness, transparency and accessibility.

GSA said Thursday its Data to Decisions program was recognized at the 10th Annual Red Hat Innovation Awards open source technology event for its services that include user-friendly data analytics tools to support operational-to-executive decision making.

The agency worked with Acuity Systems to design and implement the data and decision management framework to manage the use of data resources and meet government cost efficiency and security requirements.

GSA added the D2D provides reports on hidden patterns and insight on current and future behaviors to provide users with foresight for decisions.

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Air Force Research Lab, Industry Partners Create Remote Aircraft Inspection Tool
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Air Force Research Lab, Industry Partners Create Remote Aircraft Inspection Tool


manufacturingThe Air Force Research Laboratory has collaborated with the Mercer Engineering Research Center, United Western Technologies and the Southwest Research Institute to develop a remote access tool for aircraft field maintainers.

The Surgical Nondestructive Evaluation tool is designed to help maintainers determine serious aircraft structural problems may require attention during a scheduled depot maintenance, the Air Force said June 29.

AFRL and its partners are working with the service branch’s C-130 Maintenance Requirements Supportability Process office to deploy the technology to the Air Force Special Operations Command’s field bases.

Charles Buynak, AFRL materials and manufacturing directorate research engineer, said he believes the use of the SuNDE technology can help depot personnel plan maintenance activities in advance.

The tool works to validate visual damage indications to facilitate pre-positioning of aircraft replacement parts and components before a programmed depot maintenance, the service branch noted.

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Washington University Engineering Team Receives Navy Grant to Develop Biorobotic Sensing Tech
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Washington University Engineering Team Receives Navy Grant to Develop Biorobotic Sensing Tech


Locust ImageA team of engineers at Washington University in St. Louis, Missouri has secured a three-year, $750,000 grant from the U.S. Navy‘s Office of Naval Research to develop sensing technology based on the locust olfactory system.

Engineers Baranidharan Raman, Srikanth Singamaneni and Shantanu Chakrabartty aim to use locusts’ sense of smell as basis for the development of a biorobotic sensor for homeland security applications, the university said June 28.

The engineering team found during studies that odor-induced neural activity allows the insect to detect a particular scent and trained locusts can identify certain odors in a complex environment, according to the university.

“If you look at the insect antenna, where their chemical sensors are located, there are several hundreds of thousands of sensors and of a variety of types,” said Raman.

“We expect this work to develop and demonstrate a proof-of-concept, hybrid locust-based, chemical-sensing approach for explosive detection,” he added.

Singamaneni aims to apply a plasmonic “tattoo” studded with nanostructures to locust wings and remotely maneuver the insect to particular locations.

The engineers also plan to study the insect’s brain activity as it moves, explores and decodes various odorants.

Walter Reed, Partners Conduct Zika Vaccine Tests on Monkeys, Eye Future Trials on Humans
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Walter Reed, Partners Conduct Zika Vaccine Tests on Monkeys, Eye Future Trials on Humans


medical health doctorWalter Reed Army Institute of Research doctors have begun a series of Zika vaccine tests on monkeys and aim to carry over their efforts to human trials within the year, the U.S. Army reported Wednesday.

Gary Sheftick writes WRAIR researchers have completed a study that showed the effects of the ZPIV vaccine and a Harvard Medical School-developed DNA vaccine that helped mice subjects gain immunity over the Zika virus.

“Our institution’s number one mission is to preserve and ensure operational readiness,” said Col. Stephen Thomas, WRAIR lead for the Zika vaccine.

Army said Walter Reed’s Pilot Bioproduction Facility has manufactured small doses of the ZPIV for use in clinical research to be conducted at various facilities and the National Institutes of Health will conduct vaccine trial evaluation units.

DoD News reported Thursday a Sanofi Pasteur vaccines division will also collaborate with WRAIR to develop a Zika vaccine and build on previous work from the Army research organization at the Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center.

Cheryl Pellerin writes public health experts and congressional leaders look to address a need for funding for to address the spread of the Zika virus that has affected more than 2,500 local cases.

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US, South Korea to Deploy THAAD Missile Defense System on Peninsula
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US, South Korea to Deploy THAAD Missile Defense System on Peninsula


MissileDefenseThe U.S. and South Korea have made an alliance decision to deploy a Terminal High-Altitude Area Defense system on the Korean Peninsula amid North Korea’s nuclear and ballistic missile tests.

The Defense Department said Thursday U.S. and South Korea have engaged in consultations since February to discuss the feasibility of using THAAD to protect South Korea and allied military forces from North Korea’s threats.

The South Korea-U.S. joint working group is preparing its recommendation for the defense heads of the two countries regarding the Korean Peninsula site that could support THAAD’s operations and meet environmental, health, and safety requirements.

U.S. Forces Korea will operate the missile defense system to focus solely on North Korea’s launch activities, DoD noted.

The Lockheed Martin-built THAAD system works to intercept short and medium ranged ballistic missiles inside and outside the atmosphere.

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GAO Asks OMB to Facilitate Inter-Govt Coordination on Real Property Data
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GAO Asks OMB to Facilitate Inter-Govt Coordination on Real Property Data


EmptyOfficeFEMAThe Government Accountability Office has urged the Office of Management and Budget to support coordination between federal entities with independent leasing authorities to add information on the government’s portfolio of real property.

GAO said in a report published Wednesday federal entities that do not participate in the OMB-chaired Federal Real Property Council are not required to submit real property data to the General Services Administration‘s Federal Real Property Profile — an inventory of federal facilities.

The government watchdog said having partial information undermines FRPP’s oversight capacity for independent leases.

GAO surveyed 103 federal entities and 52 of them claimed to have independent leasing authority over 944 domestic offices and 164 warehouses as of October 2015.

Twenty-five of the 52 federal tenants with the authority are non-FRPC members and do not submit real property data to FRPP on 243 offices and warehouses that cost approximately $303.4 million in annual rent, GAO noted.

Auditors also found the average of all evaluated leases more than doubled GSA’s recommended 150 rentable square feet per employee for office space.

GAO recommended greater coordination and real-property management practices at FRPC in order to help federal entities meet space utilization targets.

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FDA Drafts Genomic Test Guidelines to Support White House’s Precision Medicine Initiative
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FDA Drafts Genomic Test Guidelines to Support White House’s Precision Medicine Initiative


HealthThe Food and Drug Administration has released two draft guidance documents that seek to provide a streamlined oversight process for genomic tests as part of the Precision Medicine Initiative established by the Obama Administration.

FDA proposed a new regulatory system meant to help manufacturers accelerate the development of genetic screening devices, the White House said Wednesday.

The draft guides outline standards for next generation sequencing-based in vitro methods to diagnose germline diseases as well as the use of genetic databases to support clinical evaluation of NGS-based in vitro diagnostics.

The agency crafted the policies in an effort to help developers market genomic tests based on community standards and scientific evidence, according to the White House.

There will be a 90-day comment period on the guides.

PMI aims to foster biomedical discoveries to provide tailored prevention and treatment strategies for a patient’s unique characteristics.

NASA: 3 Astronauts Begin Voyage to ISS Onboard Soyuz MS-01 Spacecraft
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NASA: 3 Astronauts Begin Voyage to ISS Onboard Soyuz MS-01 Spacecraft


spaceAn updated Soyuz spacecraft launched Wednesday at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan to ferry three crew members to the International Space Station.

Kate Rubins of NASA, Soyuz Commander Anatoly Ivanishin of Russia’s space agency and Takuya Onishi of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency began their voyage 9:36 p.m. Eastern Time Wednesday and will test modified systems before the spacecraft docks to ISS’ Rassvet module, NASA said Thursday.

The crew members will join the Expedition 48 team to conduct at least 250 science studies related to biology, Earth science, human research, physical sciences and technology development.

Expedition 48 crew members will work to install ISS’ first international docking adapter to accommodate future U.S. commercial crew spacecraft.

NASA is scheduled to launch SpaceX‘s cargo resupply spacecraft CRS-9 this month to deliver test systems meant to sequence DNA in space, regulate temperatures aboard spacecraft, study bone loss and monitor ships worldwide to the orbiting laboratory.

Orbital ATK’s sixth commercial resupply mission and two Russian Progress resupply missions that will carry food, fuel, supplies and research projects are also set for delivery to Expedition 48.

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