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Dean Ball Appointed Senior Fellow at Foundation for American Innovation
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Dean Ball. Ball was named as the Foundation for American Innovation's senior fellow.

Dean Ball has been named senior fellow at the Foundation of American Innovation, or FAI. He announced Tuesday on LinkedIn that he has returned to the private sector after the release of the AI Action Plan and will continue writing the Hyperdimensional newsletter.

Commenting on his appointment, the former senior policy adviser at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy thanked the Trump administration and his colleagues for giving him an opportunity to serve the country.

“Ultimately, I believe my skills are better suited to public writing and scholarship. But there is a remarkably capable group of people throughout government who already are working diligently to implement the President’s vision for AI, as laid out in the Action Plan. I look forward to celebrating their successes over the months and years to come,” Ball remarked.

Who Is Dean Ball?

Ball is a board member of the Alexander Hamilton Institute for the Study of Western Civilization. Before joining the FAI and serving at OSTP, he was a research fellow at the Mercatus Center at George Mason University. He also became the senior program manager of the state and local governance initiative at the Hoover Institution of Stanford University. At the Scala Foundation, he served as a secretary and treasurer. Ball was also an executive director at the Calvin Coolidge Presidential Foundation and completed a six-year stint at the Manhattan Institute, beginning as a manager of state and local policy. 

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Department of Energy Announces Firms to Accelerate Advanced Nuclear Reactor Deployment
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James Danly, deputy secretary at the Department of Energy. Danly said DOE will support the Reactor Pilot Program participants

The Department of Energy has named the companies that will participate in the Reactor Pilot Program, which aims to accelerate the testing and deployment of advanced reactor technologies.

As part of the program, the DOE will work with the firms to construct and operate nuclear reactors and achieve criticality by July 2026.

Reactor Pilot Program Details

The Reactor Pilot Program was announced in June following President Donald Trump’s Executive Order 14301, which called for a reform in how DOE conducts nuclear reactor testing and reestablishes the United States as a global leader in nuclear energy.

“President Trump’s Reactor Pilot Program is a call to action,” commented James P. Danly, deputy secretary of energy. “These companies aim to all safely achieve criticality by Independence Day and DOE will do everything we can to support their efforts.”

DOE selected 11 advanced reactor projects for the pilot. The companies will bear the costs associated with designing, manufacturing, constructing, operating and decommissioning the proposed reactors.

The selected firms are as follows:

  • Aalo Atomics
  • Antares Nuclear
  • Atomic Alchemy
  • Deep Fission
  • Last Energy
  • Oklo
  • Natura Resources
  • Radiant Industries
  • Terrestrial Energy
  • Valar Atomics

“We are pleased to have been selected by the DOE for this important project, which will help the U.S. win the race to energy dominance that is now so important for competitive commercial [artificial intelligence] and the re-shoring of U.S. manufacturing,” Simon Irish, CEO of Terrestrial Energy, commented about his company’s selection in the pilot.

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ULA Launches First Space Force-Sanctioned Vulcan Mission
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ULA logo. ULA launched the first Space Force-sanctioned Vulcan mission.

United Launch Alliance, a joint venture between Boeing and Lockheed Martin, has launched its Vulcan rocket from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, CBS News reported Tuesday.

Vulcan Rocket Deploys Military Payloads

The event marked the third overall and first operational launch of the Vulcan rocket, which is expected to replace ULA’s Atlas 5 and Delta rockets. The U.S. Space Force-sanctioned mission reportedly carried two military satellites, a classified spacecraft and the experimental Navigation Technology Satellite-3 Vanguard, onboard the Vulcan rocket, which features four solid-fuel strap-on boosters and two methane-fueled BE-4 engines. The satellites were bound for geosynchronous orbit.

The experimental spacecraft will conduct tests of enhanced atomic clocks and navigation technology. The Air Force Research Laboratory-developed NTS-3, designed by L3Harris Technologies, is intended to strengthen the resilience and responsiveness of space-based positioning, navigation and timing capabilities. It is meant to reinforce the reliability and security of GPS and other systems.

ULA CEO Tory Bruno on the Vulcan Launch

ULA president and CEO Tory Bruno, a one-time Wash100 Award winner, said the Vulcan rocket is engineered to handle heavy military payloads, thanks to the BE-4 engines from Blue Origin and its high-power Centaur upper stage.

“It is specifically designed for these exotic orbits that are primarily for the government. And this particular mission is the quintessential example. It is a direct injection to geosynchronous orbit. That means that it is a very, very long-duration mission,” said Bruno.

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DARPA Unveils Digital RF Battlespace Emulator for Electronic Warfare
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DARPA logo. DARPA unveiled the Digital RF Battlespace Emulator virtual test range.

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency has developed the Digital RF Battlespace Emulator, or DRBE, to accelerate the creation of advanced radio frequency systems in response to evolving electronic warfare threats.

Addressing Complex RF Threats

DARPA said Tuesday the DRBE, the largest virtual radio frequency test range in the world, simulates complex electronic warfare scenarios. The high-fidelity real-time platform enables simultaneous interactions of synthetic RF entities in a software-defined environment, allowing artificial intelligence-powered EW capabilities to be tested.

The DRBE features a high-performance, wafer-scale computing architecture, which provides the massive throughput and ultra-low latency necessary to simulate complex RF engagements and modern EW tactics accurately.

DARPA aims to deliver the first DRBE system to the Navy in late 2025. The agency will then proceed with enhancing the DRBE system by integrating advanced optical interconnects to boost its bandwidth and enable connectivity between hundreds of wafer-scale computers. This expansion is intended to allow the system to support other mission domains, including battlespace autonomy, materials science and digital twins. 

Remarks From DARPA Executive

“DRBE is a leap forward in how we can prepare and equip RF systems against sophisticated adversaries,” said Anna Tauke-Pedretti, DRBE program manager in DARPA’s Microsystems Technology Office.

“DRBE is not only setting a new benchmark for real-time simulation but is also accelerating our ability to develop and refine advanced electronic warfare capabilities that keep pace with emerging threats,” she added.

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GSA Says FedRAMP Hit Record Cloud Security Authorizations in July
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Michael Rigas. The acting GSA administrator said FedRAMP 20x reflects a shift to "outcome-focused security."

The General Services Administration announced that the Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program, or FedRAMP, completed 114 cloud security authorizations in July for fiscal year 2025, more than double the number finished in FY 2024.

GSA said Monday FedRAMP also authorized four new cloud service offerings through the FedRAMP 20x Phase One pilot.

What Is FedRAMP 20x?

Launched in March, FedRAMP 20x is a cloud-native authorization approach that seeks to reduce red tape and advance automation to enable companies to continuously validate the security of their cloud offerings.

The framework seeks to simplify security requirements to speed up the authorization of new cloud services within weeks. It also aims to provide more flexibility and promote better collaboration between federal agencies and cloud service providers.

“FedRAMP 20x represents a critical shift from process-driven compliance to outcome-focused security, empowering agencies to adopt innovative cloud services faster while maintaining robust protections for federal data,” said GSA Acting Administrator Michael Rigas. 

“The program is setting a new standard for federal IT modernization and reaffirming GSA’s commitment to delivering smarter, more secure services for Americans,” Rigas added.

Rethinking FedRAMP Cloud Authorization Model

GSA noted that it will continue to collaborate with industry and agency partners to further refine the FedRAMP 20x model.

“FedRAMP 20x has allowed us to rethink the entire authorization model and prove that security and speed can coexist in the federal space. We’re not just catching up—we’re leading,” said FedRAMP Director Pete Waterman.

Since the launch of FedRAMP 20x, GSA said it has shortened the time for cloud security authorizations from over a year on average to approximately five weeks.

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Air Force, DIU Launch Finance First Program to Accelerate Energy Resilience Projects
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Defense Innovation Unit logo. DIU announces launch of Finance First program for energy resilience projects.

The Department of the Air Force, in partnership with the Defense Innovation Unit, has unveiled Finance First, an initiative designed to accelerate development, deployment and financing of secure, resilient and reliable energy solutions at U.S. military installations.

Finance First Builds on Private Sector Practices

According to DIU, the program aims to improve energy resiliency and maintain uninterrupted mission operations by applying agile private sector practices to the design, financing and deployment of energy systems that can withstand grid instability, cyberattacks and other disruptions, while ensuring on-base power redundancy through an ‘all of the above’ approach to fuel sources and energy generation technologies.

Finance First will partner with private industry to create scalable, repeatable business processes that deliver proven technologies without requiring large upfront Department of Defense capital outlays. Program objectives include identifying installation energy gaps; developing comprehensive technology solutions that best address identified gaps; and creating turnkey energy mission assurance, where private industry designs, builds, finances, operates and maintains developed solutions.

ECC Energy Solutions, FESCO Energy and Ionic Blue Management were selected in April to develop prototype business processes, which will be tested at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland. The processes could be adopted government-wide.

Nancy Balkus, deputy assistant secretary of the Air Force for infrastructure, energy, and environment, said the program will leverage proven commercial business practices to keep installations mission-ready. “Our ability to deter adversaries depends on secure, resilient, reliable, and efficient energy on our installations,” she explained.

Kirk Phillips, director of the Air Force Office of Energy Assurance, added that Finance First brings financing discussions earlier into project planning to identify the right resilience measures.

The initiative supports recently issued executive orders related to defense acquisitions and American energy.

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Gen. Michael Erik Kurilla Steps Down as CENTCOM Commander
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Gen. Michael Kurilla. Kurilla has stepped down as the commander of CENTCOM.

Gen. Michael Erik Kurilla has stepped down as the commander of the U.S. Central Command, concluding a three-year tenure in the role. He handed over the command to Adm. Brad Cooper in a ceremony, CENTCOM said Friday.

Commenting on his departure, Kurilla said, “It has been the honor of my life to have been their commander.”

He welcomed the appointment of Cooper, saying that under his leadership, the “front lines of freedom will always succeed.”

Who Is Gen. Michael Erik Kurilla?

Kurilla has been CENTCOM’s commander since April 2022. Over the years, he headed the Airborne, Mechanized, Stryker, Ranger and Special Operations units on missions and combat deployments in locations including Panama, Iraq, Afghanistan, Haiti, Kosovo, Bosnia and more, according to his Department of Defense profile. From 2004 to 2014, he led troops in the Middle East for CENTCOM. He commanded the 1st Battalion, 24th Infantry (Stryker), 2nd Ranger Battalion, the 75th Ranger Regiment, the 82nd Airborne Division and the XVIII Airborne Corps.  Before that, he held key leadership roles in special operations, counter-terrorism and served as CENTCOM’s chief of staff. He joined the Infantry in 1988 after graduating from the United States Military Academy.

Who Is Brad Cooper?

Before his appointment, Cooper served as the deputy commander of CENTCOM. He was also the commander of the U.S. Naval Forces Central Command,  commander of the Naval Surface Force Atlantic, the U.S. Navy’s chief of legislative affairs, led the Expeditionary Strike Group in Japan and commanded the U.S. Naval Forces Korea. Cooper also served as the director of the Surface Career Management division under the Navy Personnel Command. He began his career as the commander of the USS Gettysburg.

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Special Forces to Field WARP Health Monitoring Device by Year’s End
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Soldiers on the battlefield. The U.S. military will field a new health monitoring wearable device for warfighters

Special operations forces, or SOF, will test the Wearable All-hazard Remote-monitoring Program, shortened to WARP, a device that can monitor vitals and warn command posts when an operator is exposed to dangerous chemicals and gases, by the end of 2025.

In an interview, Steve Carrig, product lead for strategic acquisitions at the Joint Program Executive Office for Chemical, Biological, Radiological and Nuclear Defense, or JPEO-CBRND, said WARP integrates “sensors that warfighters are able to carry around and do that chemical sensing.”

“So you’re not only using the the physiological market signs that you’re detecting, you know, heat, stress, fatigue, etc, but then you’re combining it with that environmental monitor as a separate data stream to really inform the subject matter experts that are there in a tactical environment to say, ‘I’ve got this sensor over here going off with this individual and their heart rates spiked,” he told Breaking Defense.

Army’s WARP Wearable Device

WARP is being developed by LifeLens Technologies, a Warminster, Pennsylvania-headquartered company that specializes in health monitoring equipment.

In January 2024, Carrig’s team began exploring wearable devices under a rapid acquisition effort. The team eventually selected LifeLens’ product offering for its comfort and convenience.

“You may have the most amount of information you could ever possibly have on a wearable, but if an individual is not going to wear it for comfort reasons, then you’re kind of at a loss,” the official explained.

WARP is equipped with 25 tiny monitors and a fob-sized gateway that enables distributed sensor fusion. It can be attached anywhere on the body, but it is usually worn on the chest, according to Carrig.

The wearable sends information to MRI Global’s data visualization tools, which combine data from various sources into a tactical awareness kit that would enable end users and subject matter experts to see a wholistic view of a warfighter’s condition.

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SMDC Opens Digital Simulation & Analysis Center
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SMDC ribbon-cutting ceremony. The US Army SMDC inaugurated the Digital Simulation and Analysis Center.

The U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command inaugurated the Digital Simulation and Analysis Center on Aug. 7.

New Digital Simulation and Analysis Center

The Army said Friday the 8,000-square-foot research, development and analysis facility on Redstone Arsenal will serve as a central hub for computational and analytical capabilities for USASMDC Technical Center’s laboratories. The DSAC will help in advancing modeling and simulation, analysis, and integration efforts and facilitate partnerships focused on technological development. It will be utilized for R&D and engineering advancement for the Army’s modernization efforts, including the development of directed energy strategic weapons technologies.

SMDC Commanding General Sean Gainey on the DSAC

“DSAC gives us and our partners the space and tools to stay at the front of technology change and keep winning for the Army,” said Lt. Gen. Sean Gainey, SMDC commanding general.

“SMDC is the Army’s space and missile defense warfighting headquarters and part of what we do is take science and technology outputs and weave them into the fabric of Army units, creating formation-based transformation that comes with some teeth, improving lethality,” Gainey continued. 

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NASA Leads Studies for Swift Observatory Orbit Boost to Extend Mission
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Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory rendering. NASA initiated a new effort for a potential Swift mission orbit boost.

NASA has initiated a new effort to potentially raise the orbit of the Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory spacecraft to a higher altitude and extend its mission.

Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory Orbit Boost Design Studies

The agency said Monday Cambrian Works and Katalyst Space Technologies were awarded $150,000 each to develop concept design studies to determine if an orbit boost is plausible. The studies, funded through NASA’s Small Business Innovation Research program, will help the agency decide whether to extend the mission or replace Swift’s capabilities with a new satellite.

In addition, Starfish Space will study the feasibility of leveraging its Small Spacecraft Propulsion and Inspection Capability, a technology currently in development under a Phase III SBIR award, to perform the Swift orbit boost.

NASA Swift Mission

The NASA Swift mission, launched in 2004, has been instrumental in monitoring changes in the universe. Its primary function is to investigate gamma-ray bursts and send data to other NASA and partner telescopes to observe these events further.

With the satellite’s low Earth orbit gradually decaying and recent solar activity accelerating its decline, the agency is exploring the possibility of developing advanced capabilities that could extend the mission and boost space innovation.

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