Idaho Lab & University Sign Agreement on Enhancing R&D Cooperation
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Idaho Lab & University Sign Agreement on Enhancing R&D Cooperation

The Idaho National Laboratory and Idaho State University have signed the Strategic Understanding for Premier Education and Research, or SUPER, agreement.

SUPER Objectives

The goal of the effort is to expand cooperation in critical and strategic materials and minerals research, which involves the investigation and development of materials and minerals vital to modern technology and industrial processes but whose supply is at risk of disruption, INL said Wednesday.

The effort also seeks expanded cooperation in environmental sustainability and security, including carbon reduction, digitalization and artificial intelligence, and spent fuel storage and disposition.

Terms of the Agreement

The SUPER agreement will last five years, during which cooperation between the signatories will involve shared academic materials, visiting research scholars and various joint events like workshops and conferences. The signatories will also pursue ongoing research and development collaborations.

“Research in critical and strategic materials and minerals is essential to our nation’s manufacturing and tech centers. This agreement with the university has the potential to elevate INL’s impact on this urgent national priority,” INL Laboratory Director John Wagner said.

For his part, ISU President Robert Wagner said, “ISU and INL have a long history of successful partnerships and collaborations,” adding, “Not only do we prepare our students for the future, INL and ISU faculty are finding innovative solutions to the energy challenges ahead.”

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Charles River Books DARPA Contract for Automated Planning
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Charles River Books DARPA Contract for Automated Planning

Charles River Analytics has been awarded by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency Strategic Technology Office a contract worth $9.9 million to develop automated strategies for planning complex operations.

The company said Monday it will work with Data Machines on Phase 2 of the project, which involves further development of the Meta-Reinforcement Learning System for Strategy and Tactics Assistance using Force-on-Force Forecasting, or MERLINS-STAFF. Phase 1 of the contract, worth $4 million, covered the development of a new neuro-symbolic artificial intelligence approach using strategic games to support the planning process.

What Is MERLINS-STAFF?

MERLINS-STAFF is a component of DARPA’s Strategic Chaos Engine for Planning, Tactics, Experimentation and Resilience, or SCEPTER, program. It aims to develop machine-generated strategies using neuro-symbolic AI to assist humans in planning operations and making complex decisions.

With the limitation of existing AI systems, DARPA aims to fully develop and utilize AI-enhanced planning through the SCEPTER program. The agency envisions a human-machine teaming system capable of adapting to different environments and developing statistically significant enhancements.

According to Michael Harradon, principal scientist at Charles River and principal investigator on MERLINS‑STAFF, real-time strategy computer games can be used to evaluate how new AI techniques perform in a controlled environment.

“In Phase 1, we achieved significant advancements, including playing longer games, reducing training time by 1000x, handling more complex entity controls and creating human-understandable plans,” said Harradon.

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FCC Selects UL Solutions for IoT Cyber Labeling Program
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FCC Selects UL Solutions for IoT Cyber Labeling Program

The Federal Communications Commission has selected UL Solutions to serve as the lead administrator and cybersecurity label administrator, or CLA, of its voluntary cyber labeling program for Internet of Things products.

As lead administrator, the Northbrook, Illinois-based privacy security company will develop and recommend IoT-specific standards and testing procedures for the program, the FCC said Wednesday, adding that the organization will also serve as a liaison between the commission and CLAs. The commission noted that UL Solutions was approved for the roles as it satisfied the program requirements.

FCC Marks on Qualified IoT Devices

According to the FCC’s Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau, additional CLAs will be announced soon and they will be authorized to certify the use of IoT marks on products that comply with the commission’s cyber labeling program rules. The program will use labels, such as the U.S. Cyber Trust Mark, on qualified smart products, enabling consumers to make informed purchasing decisions.

The FCC program will also help consumers identify trustworthy products and encourage manufacturers to apply higher cybersecurity standards on the devices they release to the market. It will also function as a collaborative platform for the public and private sectors.

Public and Private Sector Partnership

While the commission intends to advance partnerships under the effort, it will retain oversight and control of the program while selected third-party administrators will be allowed to supervise activities, such as evaluating product applications, granting permission for label use and educating consumers.

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NIST Seeks Public Input on Zero Trust Guidance
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NIST Seeks Public Input on Zero Trust Guidance

The National Cybersecurity Center of Excellence within the National Institute of Science and Technology is soliciting public comments on its final draft of the NIST’s implementation guide on zero trust architecture, or ZTA, to help tame cyberattack risks in government and industry. The guide was developed from the findings on NCCoE’s consultations with 24 vendors on their best ZTA practices, NIST said Thursday. 

Titled “Implementing a Zero Trust Architecture,” the 45-page guidance contains technical data and findings on the 19 ZTA implementations demonstrated during the vendors’ consultations.

Functional ZTA Cybersecurity Mapping

The implemented ZTAs in the guide include policy engines from Microsoft, IBM, Symantec and Palo Alto Networks. The NCCoE draft publication also provides mappings for ZTA cybersecurity functions to help an organization’s senior management understand that resources spent in ZTA implementation can also support meeting other security requirements.

In addition, the guide recommends steps that an organization adopting ZTA should take, the first of which is an inventory of such assets as software and hardware in its operating environment. Another recommendation calls for continuous ZTA improvement in response to changing cyberthreats, new technologies and shifts in organizational goals.

Submission of comments on the NIST guide have a deadline of Jan. 31.

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Luke Cropsey to Lead USAF’s Information Dominance Systems Center
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Luke Cropsey to Lead USAF’s Information Dominance Systems Center

President Joe Biden has nominated Maj. Gen. Luke Cropsey to be the first chief of the newly created Air Force Information Dominance Systems Center.

Cropsey serves as head of the Department of the Air Force’s command, control, communications and battle management—a.k.a. C3BM—program executive office in Washington, D.C., the Department of Defense said Wednesday. He oversees the department’s efforts to advance the DOD vision of connecting the U.S. military’s warfighting systems through the Combined Joint All-Domain Command and Control program.

Prioritizing C3BM Efforts

If confirmed by the Senate, the USAF general will receive his third star and run AFIDSC, which was established to support the service’s increasing focus on C3BM efforts, including cyber operations, electronic warfare, information systems and enterprise digital infrastructure. When it becomes operational, four PEOs, namely C3BM, cyber and networks, electronic systems and business enterprise systems, will be realigned from the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center to the new center.

New Center’s Initial Operational Details

The Air Force designated Hanscom Air Force Base in Massachusetts as the new AFIDSC headquarters. The organization will operate within the Air Force Materiel Command and will be manned by around 136 personnel.

The basing decision for the center will be finalized by year’s end and the Air Force plans to formally stand up AFIDSC in 2025.

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DIU Seeks Solutions for Resilient DOD Energy Installations
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DIU Seeks Solutions for Resilient DOD Energy Installations

The Defense Innovation Unit has issued an area of interest, or AOI, solicitation for Phase 2 of the Department of Defense’s Finance First initiative seeking industry-made capabilities for resilient energy installations. The solicitation seeks proposals for installations that can be completed within two to three years and can deliver an acceptable per kilowatt hour cost with small or no upfront investment, DIU said.

The agency noted that AOI proponents have to provide alternative financing structures and operational strategies for cost-effective energy generation. The potential approaches to meet such goals include requesting access to DOD land and tax credit and awards grant applications.

Technical Capability Requirements

The proponents’ basic qualifications outlined in the solicitation include the technical capability to accomplish build-own-operate-and-transfer projects or similar delivery schemes. Pitches on the DIU solicitation should also include a letter of credit indicating a proponent’s capacity to undertake a project valued at over $50 million. The AOI solicitation’s response deadline is on Dec. 20.

The selected solution providers are eligible for other transaction contracts for follow-on production without further competition. The vendors may also be awarded contracts for solutions across the federal government.

The DIU initiated Finance First in March 2023, with an AOI solicitation for the Department of the Air Force energy installations as the focus.

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Air Force Tests New Air-to-Surface Missile
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Air Force Tests New Air-to-Surface Missile

The U.S. Air Force Armament Directorate has completed a test to evaluate the capability of the new tactical air-to-surface weapon to separate from an aircraft.

Eglin Air Force Base said Monday the Stand-in Attack Weapon, or SIAW, was launched from a 40th Flight Test Squadron F-16 Fighting Falcon during a test held on Nov. 7 over the Gulf of Mexico. This was the first time the new air-to-surface missile was released from an aircraft.

Stand-in Attack Weapon Drop Test

The SIAW air-to-surface missile is designed to neutralize rapidly moving targets such as cruise and anti-ship missile launchers and jamming platforms. To test it, a jettison test vehicle was used. JTVs are tools used to assess the separation process of a weapon. This test missile does not have a rocket motor or internal electronics.

The SIAW drop test was a collaborative effort among different units of the 96th Test Wing. Test conductors were responsible for the planning and control of the test from the Eglin Central Control Facility. Engineers monitored the separation process while pilots and photographers captured aerial footage. The engineers will also conduct post-flight analysis.

Maj. James Tipton, assistant director of operations of the 780th Test Squadron, remarked, “Successful execution of this test was a testament to the outstanding teamwork from everyone involved.”

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Mike Sears Joins TCOM as Director of Business Development
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Mike Sears Joins TCOM as Director of Business Development

Mike Sears has joined TCOM as the company’s director of business development.

In this new role, Sears will leverage his 40 years of aviation experience, including 25 years of service in the U.S. Marine Corps, to support the growth of TCOM’s international aerospace and defense business, the Washington, D.C.-based company announced Wednesday. 

Ron Bendlin, president and CEO of TCOM, said, “The experience Mike will bring to our dynamic technology roadmap is invaluable as we look to the future of our expanding capabilities. His knowledge, gained from supporting military and civilian missions, will guide us in defining our strategies to bring our innovations to market.”

Mike Sears’ Aviation Career

During Sears’ 25-year Marine Corps career, he served as an aviation supply operations officer and historian for the service branch. Following his Marine Corps tenure, he was the director of international programs at the Naval Air Systems Command, or NAVAIR. Sears also served as NAVAIR’s assistant program executive officer of unmanned aviation and strike weapons for global programs.

Prior to joining the TCOM leadership team, he served as the director of international business development at Honeywell Corporation.

Sears’ previous roles have given him knowledge of budget management, defense business development, global sales and international relations efforts.

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David Cattler on DCSA’s Adoption of Agile Methodologies
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David Cattler on DCSA’s Adoption of Agile Methodologies

David Cattler, director of the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency, said DCSA is advancing the adoption of Scaled Agile Framework, or SAFe, methodologies for software development to help ensure quality and timely delivery of platforms, DCSA reported Monday 

“While this method applies most directly to software development, we’re also embracing it across the agency as a whole,” Cattler said during DCSA’s second annual Acquisition Workforce Symposium held in November. 

“The traditional, hierarchical, waterfall methods we’ve used in the past no longer meet the demand for swift value delivery and adaptation to change,” he added.

He noted that the agency’s personnel security, industrial security and training functions could benefit from an Agile approach and stressed the organization’s commitment to developing an Agile mindset at every level.

According to Cattler, 264 agency employees had undergone agile training and 178 had passed the certification exam as of November.

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Army Working on Precision Strike Missile Increment 5
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Army Working on Precision Strike Missile Increment 5

Brig. Gen. Rory Crooks, director of the Long-Range Precision Fires Cross Functional Team at U.S. Army Futures Command, said the military branch is working on a fifth increment of the Precision Strike Missile system, dubbed PrSM, that could strike targets beyond 1,000 kilometers, Breaking Defense reported Tuesday.

Crooks said the service intends to design a weapon system that could be launched from an autonomous vehicle.

“We’re in the science and technology phase of something that we’ll maybe, eventually call Increment 5,” the brigadier general said at an event Tuesday. “You might be able to employ something that’s actually longer … and you might be able to achieve ranges that, right now, don’t seem realistic.”

According to the report, the service is deploying the initial batch of PrSM Increment 1 rounds it received from Lockheed Martin in 2023.

The PrSM Increment 1 Early Operational Capability missiles could hit targets at least 500 km away.

What Is PrSM?

PrSM is the Army’s next-generation missile designed to provide the warfighter with a long-range precision fire capability to neutralize targets at ranges greater than 400 kilometers. The weapon system comes with an open systems architecture and can be launched from M142 High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems and M270A2 Multiple Launch Rocket Systems.

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