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DOD FutureG Office, NPS Partner on Project to Develop 5G Expertise in Active-Duty Force; Tom Rondeau Quoted
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DOD FutureG Office, NPS Partner on Project to Develop 5G Expertise in Active-Duty Force; Tom Rondeau Quoted

The Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering’s FutureG Office and the Naval Postgraduate School have partnered on a project to advance the adoption of 5G and FutureG networks and develop the workforce that may be tasked with deploying such networks in expeditionary environments, DVIDS reported Wednesday.

The Active-Duty Open-Source Development project, or ADOSD, intends to establish a graduate-level education and research program at NPS to enable active-duty personnel to develop expertise in 5G and FutureG.

To support the project, the FutureG Office will invest $1.8 million in NPS over the next five years.

Tom Rondeau, principal director of FutureG at the Department of Defense, approved the investment on April 22.

“FutureG pursued this partnership because NPS understands the mission context in which 5G/FutureG technology will come to bear,” said Rondeau.

“This extends beyond the active-duty students to the faculty and staff that have become highly skilled in the application of their expertise to dynamic warfighter challenges. The expertise they gain will help us understand how to buy, deploy, and manage advanced wireless networks like 5G and 6G. Coupled with their previous experiences in the fleet, this will help us innovate and deploy technologies that support future operations and the department’s strategic vision,” he added.

ADOSD Project’s Three Phases

The initial phase of the project will advance master and doctoral-level research that will leverage an open standards-based private 5G network testbed. The research should align with FutureG’s Expeditionary and Tactical Use portfolio and other priorities.

The research will inform curriculum development efforts in the second phase, which will implement a course progression resulting in an academic certificate.

The third and final phase will continuously develop the cellular curriculum to support master and doctoral research and ensure operational and technical relevance.

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L3Harris to Deliver Counter Communication Systems to Space Systems Command
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L3Harris to Deliver Counter Communication Systems to Space Systems Command

L3Harris Technologies will manufacture counter communication systems under a three-year, $27 million contract from Space Systems Command.

The Department of Defense said Wednesday the systems will be added to SSC’s ground-based electronic warfare portfolio.

Work under the fixed-price-incentive-fee space systems engineering contract will be performed at L3Harris’ Palm Bay, Florida location until June 23, 2027.

The contracting division of SSC’s Space Superiority Systems Directorate, which serves as the contracting activity, is obligating $21 million from fiscal 2024 procurement funds at the time of award.

In October 2021, L3Harris secured a potential $120.8 million contract from the U.S. Space Force to modernize 16 fielded Block 10.2 units of the Counter Communications System at three military bases within the U.S. and in overseas classified locations. Work is expected to be completed by Feb. 28, 2025.

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GSA Unveils Procurement Co-Pilot Tool
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GSA Unveils Procurement Co-Pilot Tool

The General Services Administration has developed an online tool designed to improve federal acquisition professionals’ access to governmentwide buying data and help them make better spending decisions.

GSA said Wednesday it collaborated with the Office of Management and Budget to develop the Procurement Co-Pilot, which could enable acquisition professionals to review information on prices paid on products bought by agencies.

The tool, which is available on the Acquisition Gateway, could help federal employees identify vendors across all sizes and categories that work with the government and find the best contract that suits the needs of their agency’s mission.

GSA said it has used the Transactional Data Reporting Program as a data source for the online platform, which could increase visibility into data from partners.

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Senate Bill to Establish Standards for Federal AI Use, Procurement
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Senate Bill to Establish Standards for Federal AI Use, Procurement

Sens. Gary Peters, D-Mich., and Thom Tillis, R-N.C., have introduced bipartisan legislation to set standards and safeguards to guide the purchase and use of artificial intelligence systems across the federal government.

The Promoting Responsible Evaluation and Procurement to Advance Readiness for Enterprise-wide Deployment for AI Act would require federal agencies to assess and address the AI risks before buying and deploying the emerging technology and develop pilot programs to test flexible purchasing practices, the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs said Tuesday.

The PREPARED For AI Act would require agencies to include safety and security terms in government contracts for AI capabilities, conduct testing and evaluation to mitigate potential risks and set up AI governance structures to coordinate procurement efforts.

“Artificial intelligence has the power to reshape how the federal government provides services to the American people for the better, but if left unchecked, it can pose serious risks,” said Peters. “These guardrails will help guide federal agencies’ responsible adoption and use of AI tools, and ensure that systems paid for by taxpayers are being used safely and securely.”

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Benjy Grover to Succeed Sandra Brereton as Associate Principal Deputy Director at Lawrence Livermore
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Benjy Grover to Succeed Sandra Brereton as Associate Principal Deputy Director at Lawrence Livermore

Benjy Grover, a seasoned technical leader with over 20 years of experience, will succeed Sandra Brereton as associate principal deputy director at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, or LLNL, effective July 1.

He has been with LLNL for over a decade, most recently serving as its transformation officer and deputy principal associate director for program enablement in strategic Deterrence, the lab said Monday.

Grover, on behalf of the Director’s Office, will lead, manage and work with senior LLNL officials on various efforts across the lab and the Department of Energy and/or National Nuclear Security Administration enterprise.

He will also become a member of LLNL’s Business Council, co-lead the Principal Deputies Committee and oversee the Operations Community of Practice.

Brereton, who will retire from LLNL, will help Grover transition to his new role before her retirement date.

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NASA Selects 3 Proposals to Examine Space Weather Systems
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NASA Selects 3 Proposals to Examine Space Weather Systems

NASA has selected three proposals for the Dynamical Neutral Atmosphere-Ionosphere Coupling, or DYNAMIC, mission, to conduct studies of the space weather system and its connection to Earth’s atmosphere.

Teams led by the University of Colorado, Boulder and Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University will each receive $2 million to conduct nine-month studies to examine how changes in Earth’s lower atmosphere influence the upper atmosphere, where space weather like auroras occurs, NASA said Tuesday.

“While space weather can spark the beautiful auroras across our skies, it also has the potential to cause disruptions for us here on Earth and can be dangerous for our spacecraft and astronauts in space,” said Nicola Fox, associate administrator of NASA’s Science Mission Directorate.

“The DYNAMIC mission will expand our understanding of how Earth itself shapes space weather events that influence our home planet,” Fox said.

A CU Boulder concept study led by principal investigator Tomoko Matsuo will include support from Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory, NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory and Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Haystack Observatory.

Another concept study from the university will be led by principal investigator Aimee Merkel and partners BAE Systems and Naval Research Laboratory.

Virginia Tech will partner with Southwest Research Institute, Space Dynamics Laboratory, Global Atmospheric Technologies and Sciences and Computational Physics on its proposal led by principal investigator Scott Bailey.

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20 Companies Chosen for 2024 National Security Innovation Network Vector Program
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20 Companies Chosen for 2024 National Security Innovation Network Vector Program

The Defense Innovation Unit’s National Security Innovation Network has selected a cohort of 20 companies out of 170 applicants for the 2024 edition of NSIN Vector, a program that aims to support pre-Series A or early-stage ventures seeking to do business with and develop innovations for the Department of Defense.

Under the Vector program, the members of the cohort will work with DOD mentors who, in the next 10 weeks, will provide guidance on the federal procurement process, doing market research, raising capital and how to receive additional resources to scale innovations for DOD use, according to an article posted Monday on the NSIN website.

The cohort members are working on innovations covering a variety of fields, including command and control, resilient position navigation and timing, data sharing, advanced sensing and communications in contested environments.

At the end of Vector, the participants will highlight their achievements during a showcase event, where they will also compete for $50,000 in prizes.

Commenting on the selections, NSIN Venture Portfolio Director and Defense Innovation Unit Global Partnerships Deputy Director Abigail Desjardins welcomed the program’s participants, saying, “With the help of the Vector’s government and alumni mentors, these teams will grow, gain perspective on dual-use business, and plug into an incredible defense innovation ecosystem. In return, they will provide the DoD with access to leading-edge technologies that have the potential to address key modernization priorities.”

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Rocket Lab to Expand Solar Cell Production With Proposed CHIPS Investment; Peter Beck Quoted
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Rocket Lab to Expand Solar Cell Production With Proposed CHIPS Investment; Peter Beck Quoted

Rocket Lab could receive direct funding through the CHIPS and Science Act under a nonbinding preliminary memorandum of terms it signed with the Department of Commerce and plans to use the proposed investment to establish a resilient supply of solar cells used to power satellites and other spacecraft.

The department said Tuesday the company’s space-grade solar cells are radiation-resistant compound semiconductors that could convert light to electricity, powering exploratory science missions, missile awareness systems and other key U.S. space programs.

The proposed $23.9 million CHIPS investment would enable Rocket Lab to generate over 100 direct manufacturing jobs.

“Semiconductors are central to modern life, to our economy, and to America’s future. We are proud to be strengthening that future with the support of the CHIPS Office by expanding our production facilities to meet growing demand for the semiconductors that power the nation’s most critical science, defense and commercial space missions,” said Peter Beck, founder and CEO of Rocket Lab.

With the expansion project, the company could increase its production of compound semiconductors by 50 percent within the next three years.

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Victor Vigliotti on Expansion Plans for Space Systems Command’s Front Door Portal
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Victor Vigliotti on Expansion Plans for Space Systems Command’s Front Door Portal

Victor Vigliotti, director of Space Systems Command’s Front Door online portal, said the Front Door has implemented automation and a new customer relationship management, or CRM, tool to help streamline processes and that his team is working to expand the platform beyond SSC.

SSC said Tuesday the Front Door portal seeks to help commercial space companies with emerging technologies facilitate collaboration with the federal government to quickly bring capabilities to warfighters.

“What we’re trying to do now is to expand the Front Door out beyond just SSC,” Vigliotti said.

“We’re working to expand it out all the way across the field commands within the U.S. Space Force, inevitably becoming the Space Force Front Door. And someday connect defense, civil, and intelligence space alike into one unified Space Front Door. This would ensure the U.S. government has full transparency into the interactions and offerings across the commercial sector,” he added.

For companies that submitted information before September 2023, Vigliotti advised them to submit again using the new portal to ensure the tracking of data in the new CRM platform.

Since the Front Door system upgrade, more than 500 businesses have submitted information through the portal.

SBA Extends 8(a) Program Bona Fide Place of Business Requirement Moratorium Anew
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SBA Extends 8(a) Program Bona Fide Place of Business Requirement Moratorium Anew

The Small Business Administration is extending through Sept. 30, 2025, its moratorium on the 8(a) Business Development Program Bona Fide Place of Business requirement for small disadvantaged businesses, or SDBs.

Enacted in 2021, the moratorium makes it possible for 8(a) Program participants to receive construction contracts even without having a bona fide place of business in a given geographic location, the SBA said Tuesday.

The moratorium was put into effect in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, which necessitated remote work arrangements. A prior extension had set the moratorium to be lifted by Sept. 30 this year.

The SBA is extending the moratorium due to feedback from 8(a) construction firms, which indicated increasing difficulty in the recruitment and retention of office-based workers resulting from shortages in the workforce, cultural shifts and people now preferring remote work.

Commenting on the extension, SBA Administrator Isabel Casillas Guzman said the government acknowledges “that small businesses continue to pivot and adapt to changing workforce trends in the marketplace” and that “extending the moratorium on the Bona Fide Place of Business requirement will enable SDBs to continue focusing on expanding their business and capturing more revenue.”

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