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US, Japan Ink Reciprocal Defense Procurement Pact
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US, Japan Ink Reciprocal Defense Procurement Pact


partnershipDefense Secretary Ashton Carter and Gen Nakatani, Japan’s defense minister, have signed an agreement that aims to facilitate the procurement of defense supplies between the two countries and exempt defense products from Buy America provisions, Breaking Defense reported Tuesday.

Sydney Freedberg Jr. writes the reciprocal defense procurement agreement signed on June 3 by Carter and Nakatani during the Shangri-la Dialogue comes amid China’s increasing military activities.

Japan’s decision to join a list of 23 countries that have RDP pacts with the U.S. would help promote collaboration on missile defense platforms, a Capitol Hill staffer told Breaking Defense.

According to the report, Japan has been involved in the development of the latest version of Standard Missile SM-3 and already manufactures parts for the Patriot missile.

Bryan Clark, a former aide to the chief of naval operations, told the publication that the RDP pact would help facilitate the sale of sensors and other high-tech components from Japan for integration with U.S.-built weapons systems.

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Air Force Begins Development Work on Mid-Air Collision Avoidance Tool for Fighter Jets
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Air Force Begins Development Work on Mid-Air Collision Avoidance Tool for Fighter Jets


F-16Engineers at the U.S. Air Force have started development work on an auto-air collision avoidance platform designed to prevent mid-air collisions involving fighter jets, Scout Warrior reported Wednesday.

Kris Osborn writes the new platform is based on an auto-ground collision avoidance system that is already installed onboard digital versions of F-16 fighter aircraft.

The auto-ground collision avoidance tool works to prevent potential ground collisions by altering the aircraft’s flight path through the use of computer algorithms, according to the report.

The service branch plans to integrate the auto-ground collision avoidance system with other fighter jets apart from F-16s in order to avert potential air-to-ground crashes.

“With this technology there is now a chance that the pilot can regain consciousness and become situationally aware and prevent flying that airplane into the ground,” Lt. Gen. Arnold Bunch, military deputy for acquisition at the Air Force, said in an interview with Scout Warrior.

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Beth Cobert: OPM Makes Strides in IT Cybersecurity
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Beth Cobert: OPM Makes Strides in IT Cybersecurity


Beth Cobert
Beth Cobert

Beth Cobert, acting director at the Office of Personnel Management, has said she is confident about the cybersecurity of the agency’s new information technology systems in an interview with the Washington Post published Wednesday.

She told The Post’s Joe Davidson that OPM moved to implement data protection measures after last year’s breach incident that affected approximately 22 million federal employee records.

“We have made huge strides,” Cobert noted during the interview.

“We have a lot of great tools in place.”

Davidson reports the agency established a continuous monitoring program, limited remote access to its network and formed a centralized security workforce to help protect IT systems across the organization.

OPM also adopted a two-factor authentication system as well as tools designed to stop malicious programs from entering the agency’s network and prevent data extrusion, according to the report.

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GovExec: OPM Looks to Extend Identity Theft Protection Services for Up to 10 Years
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GovExec: OPM Looks to Extend Identity Theft Protection Services for Up to 10 Years


cyber-hack-network-computerA spokesman for the Office of Personnel Management has said OPM has initiated steps to extend identify theft and credit monitoring services to victims of data breaches at the agency from three years to up to 10 years, Government Executive reported Wednesday.

The spokesman added that OPM also plans to increase its spending on such services from $1 million to as much as $5 million, Eric Katz writes.

Bob Gregg, CEO of data breach response services provider ID Experts, told GovExec that OPM might also expand identity theft protection to data hack victims who use their personal data to gain access to medical services.

According to the report, ID Experts received a $330 million contract from OPM to provide such services to approximately 21.5 million federal employees whose personal data were compromised in cyber hacks at the agency.

Gregg added that talks over OPM’s plan to introduce a proposal on the types of identity theft protection and credit monitoring assistance that the agency would offer to all federal employees might “heat up” soon as the 18-month fraud protection support contract for the first breach incident at the agency approaches expiration, according to GovExec.

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Glenn Walters Nominated as Marine Corps Assistant Commandant
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Glenn Walters Nominated as Marine Corps Assistant Commandant


Glenn_Walters
Glenn Walters

President Barack Obama has nominated U.S. Marine Corps Lt. Gen. Glenn Walters, deputy commandant for programs and resources at the service branch’s headquarters, as the assistant commandant of the Marines.

The Defense Department said Tuesday Walters is also slated for promotion to the rank of general.

He has received training on the AH-1 aircraft, served as an air officer and operations officer with the 1st Reconnaissance Battalion at Camp Pendleton, supported Operation Ernest Will in the Arabian Gulf and graduated from the United States Naval Test Pilot School.

Walters, who has held several aviation leadership posts, was appointed to his current rank in June 2013 and has been awarded the Defense Superior Service Medal, Legion of Merit, Meritorious Service Medal and Navy Achievement Medal, among others.

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USA Today: FAA Warns Military Tests Could Impact GPS Availability in the West
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USA Today: FAA Warns Military Tests Could Impact GPS Availability in the West


Federal aviation administration (FAA)The Federal Aviation Administration has advised pilots that GPS signals in the West could be affected by military tests at the Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division in China Lake, California, USA Today reported Tuesday.

Bart Jansen writes the FAA said tests could make GPS signals unreliable or unavailable on June 7, 9, 21, 23, 28 and 30 and affect the flight stability of Embraer Phenom 300 business jets.

“This FAA flight advisory was issued in support of routine research, development, and test and evaluation efforts conducted at China Lake,” NAWCWD said in a statement.

The tests could interfere with GPS signals within at least 50 feet off the ground to as high as 40,000 feet above sea level nearly 550 miles away, USA Today said.

The affected area spans California and Nevada as well as parts of Oregon, Idaho, Utah and Arizona, Jansen wrote.

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Maj. Gen. Joseph Osterman Nominated Special Operations Command Deputy Leader
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Maj. Gen. Joseph Osterman Nominated Special Operations Command Deputy Leader


Joseph_Osterman
Maj. Gen. Joseph Osterman

President Barack Obama has nominated Maj. Gen. Joseph Osterman, U.S. Marine Corps Forces Special Operations Command commander, for a new assignment as deputy commander at U.S. Special Operations Command  for a promotion to the lieutenant general rank and an

The Defense Department said Tuesday Obama also designated Osterman for a promotion in rank to lieutenant general.

Osterman’s 33-year career includes roles such as Expeditionary Warfare School director, assistant division command for the 2nd and 1st Marine Division and was deployed to Afghanistan as 1st Marine Division commanding general.

He is a recipient of the Defense Superior Service Medal with gold star, Meritorious Service Medal with two gold stars, the Navy Marine Corps Commendation Medal with gold star and the Navy Marine Corps Achievement Medal with gold star.

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Senate Appropriations Subcommittee OKs $2B NIH FY 2017 Budget Boost
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Senate Appropriations Subcommittee OKs $2B NIH FY 2017 Budget Boost


NIHA Senate Appropriations subcommittee has approved a $2 billion increase in the National Institutes of Health‘s fiscal year 2017 budget, The Atlantic reported Tuesday.

Nora Kelly writes the subpanel’s fiscal 2017 budget bill will head to the full committee and House members will determine the final amount the biomedical research agency will receive.

The report noted NIH would receive $34 billion under the Senate’s bill and those funds would go to internal research as well as scientists at institutes and universities worldwide.

Specific budget hikes were also added for NIH programs in areas such as opioid abuse, the Precision Medicine Initiative and Alzheimer’s disease research.

Jocelyn Kaiser, a staff writer for reported Tuesday the 6.2-percent increase in the budget matches a spike in the previous year’s budget and $300 million will be allotted for the Brain Research through Advancing Innovative Neurotechnologies brain-mapping project and federal initiative to combat antimicrobial resistance.

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Rear Adm. Michael Gilday Nominated to Lead Fleet Cyber Command
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Rear Adm. Michael Gilday Nominated to Lead Fleet Cyber Command


Michael Gilday
Michael Gilday

U.S. Navy Rear Adm. Michael Gilday, current director of operations at the U.S. Cyber Command, has been nominated to serve as commander of the military branch’s Fleet Cyber Command that operates as the Tenth Fleet.

Defense Secretary Ashton Carter said Tuesday that President Barack Obama hass also endorsed Gilday for promotion to the rank of vice admiral.

If confirmed by Senate, Gilday would lead the command that supports the Navy’s networks, cryptologic and signals intelligence, information operations, space, electronic warfare and cyber technologies at sea and onshore.

He previously worked for the Bureau of Naval Personnel, the Office of the Chief of Naval Operations’ strategic plans and policy directorate and the Office of the Vice Chief of Naval Operations.

Gilday also served as naval aide to the U.S. president, executive assistant to the Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman, director of operations at NATO’s Joint Force Command in Lisbon, Portugal, and chief of staff for Naval Striking and Support Forces NATO.

He also previously commanded the USS Higgins, USS Benfold, Destroyer Squadron 7 and Carrier Strike Group 8 as well as served aboard the USS Gettysburg during Operation Desert Fox, USS Princeton during Desert Shield/Storm and USS Chandler during the Iran-Iraq War.

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Federal News Radio: Air Force Establishes Office For Open Architecture Initiative
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Federal News Radio: Air Force Establishes Office For Open Architecture Initiative


Air Force logoThe U.S. Air Force is establishing a new office at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base to oversee the implementation of open architecture standards throughout the service branch’s acquisition system, Federal News Radio reported Tuesday.

Jared Serbu writes the branch expects to launch the Open Approaches Management Office later this year to take responsibility over the Open Mission Systems project currently managed by the Air Force Rapid Capabilities Office.

Lt. Gen. Arnold Bunch, military deputy to the assistant air force secretary for acquisition, said at an AFCEA symposium that the service branch aims to integrate OMS standards into the Lifecycle Management Center to make it more available for future programs.

The standards were established in collaboration with Air Force contractors in efforts to give the service branch an option to recompete portions of an acquisition program when they need to replace certain parts of a system, Serbu noted.

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