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ORNL, Vanderbilt University Partnering to Develop Methods Ensuring Reliability of AI Systems for Defense Applications
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ORNL, Vanderbilt University Partnering to Develop Methods Ensuring Reliability of AI Systems for Defense Applications

Oak Ridge National Laboratory announced during the Tennessee Valley Corridor 2024 National Summit a partnership with Vanderbilt University to develop methods of training and testing artificial intelligence with the ultimate aim of accelerating the adoption of AI-powered systems by the Department of Defense.

The partnership covers research and development work to produce AI assurance methods that will reportedly guarantee the functionality and resilience of AI systems and tools when put to use in challenging mission-relevant environments, ORNL said Thursday.

Initial efforts will focus on helping the U.S. Air Force maximize the use of autonomous vehicles.

Commenting on the partnership, ORNL Director Stephen Streiffer said, “Working in close cooperation with Vanderbilt, I look forward to advancing the Defense Department’s deployment of AI-based systems for national defense.”

For his part, Vanderbilt Chancellor Daniel Diermeier said, “We are excited to partner with Oak Ridge National Laboratory to ensure AI-enabled programs are safe, accurate and reliable at a time when it has never been more imperative to do so.”

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NASA Releases Space-Based Air Quality Data From TEMPO Instrument
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NASA Releases Space-Based Air Quality Data From TEMPO Instrument

NASA has made air quality data available through its Tropospheric Emissions: Monitoring of Pollution instrument, a.k.a. TEMPO, a space-based spectrometer that collects information on air pollutants across North America.

The agency said Thursday new data collected by TEMPO is available from the Atmospheric Science Data Center at Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia.

TEMPO, built by BAE Systems’ space and mission systems division, flies aboard the Intelsat 40e satellite and measures air pollutants such as formaldehyde, nitrogen dioxide and ground-level ozone.

“NASA and the Biden-Harris Administration are committed to addressing the climate crisis and making climate data more open and available to all. The air we breathe affects everyone, and this new data is revolutionizing the way we track air quality for the benefit of humanity,” said NASA Administrator Bill Nelson.

Xiong Liu, senior physicist at the Smithsonian Astrophysical Observatory and principal investigator for the TEMPO mission, said air quality data from TEMPO will play a critical role in the scientific analysis of pollution.

“For example, we will be able to conduct studies of rush hour pollution, linkages of diseases and health issues to acute exposure of air pollution, how air pollution disproportionately impacts underserved communities, the potential for improved air quality alerts, the effects of lightning on ozone, and the movement of pollution from forest fires and volcanoes,” he said.

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Justin Fanelli Issues Memo on DON’s Structured Challenges Approach
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Justin Fanelli Issues Memo on DON’s Structured Challenges Approach

Justin Fanelli, acting chief technology officer at the Department of the Navy, has released a memorandum on a new approach designed to help DON confront prefixed problems to rapidly optimize capabilities for warfighters and maintain competitive advantage.

The DON Chief Information Officer announced the memo on the department’s Structured Challenges Approach in a LinkedIn post published Thursday.

According to the memo, a structured challenge is an organized event aimed at addressing specific problems and exploring innovative platforms.

The document states that structured challenges, including hackathons, seek to accelerate the adoption of new capabilities, minimize the risk of adopting unsuitable systems and improve the range and quality of capabilities by considering diverse perspectives.

Plan, execute and follow-up are the three steps that should be considered when implementing structured challenges.

The document outlines several best practices to consider when implementing the approach, such as considering world class alignment metrics for evaluating challenge results, maintaining detailed records and documentation in a designated DON CIO location and creating prize challenges where possible.

POC - 2024 Navy Summit

Register here to join the Potomac Officers Club’s 2024 Navy Summit on Aug. 15 and hear government and industry leaders, innovators and experts discuss the latest technological advancements, maritime security and more.

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NSA Releases Guidance on Integrating Zero Trust Model’s Visibility & Analytics Pillar
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NSA Releases Guidance on Integrating Zero Trust Model’s Visibility & Analytics Pillar

The National Security Agency has released a new cybersecurity information sheet, or CSI, on advancing organizations’ zero trust framework by focusing on visibility and analytics.

According to the CSI, the zero trust model’s visibility and analytics aspect empowers organizations to utilize infrastructure, tools, data and techniques to enable proactive risk identification, mitigation and response.

“Visibility and analytics form the cornerstone of any ZT strategy, empowering organizations to harness infrastructure, tools, data, and techniques for proactively mitigating risks and for rapid identification, detection, and response to emerging cyber threats,” said Dave Luber, director of cybersecurity at NSA.

To fully utilize the visibility and analytics pillar’s capabilities, the NSA recommends that organizations perform activity logging, regularly use security and risk analytics, centralize security information and event management, develop user and entity behavior analytics, automate dynamic policies and integrate threat intelligence.

POC - 2024 Cyber Summit

Join the Potomac Officers Club’s 2024 Cyber Summit on June 6 to hear from government and industry experts about the dynamic and ever-evolving role of cyber in the public sector. Register here!

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New Engagement Guide to Ensure Effective Communication Between AFSC, Industrial Base
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New Engagement Guide to Ensure Effective Communication Between AFSC, Industrial Base

The Air Force Sustainment Center has released a new Customer Engagement Guide in order to more effectively communicate with various mission partners, including those in academia and industry, on how to do business with it.

Ronnie Hobbs, the director of small business for AFSC, describes interacting with the organization as “a daunting task” which necessitates “a clear standard,” according to an article posted Wednesday on the Air Force Materiel Command website.

“Vendor communications are key to an open dialogue between industry, acquisition personnel, and requirement offices,” Hobbs said, adding that the guide not only outlines the resources needed to work with AFSC but also gives mission partners “the ability to provide direct feedback to make future improvements.”

AFSC works to facilitate innovation to ensure U.S. warfighter readiness. This mission requires building relationships with large as well as small contractors, which, in fiscal year 2023 received $85.2 billion in prime contracts from the Department of Defense.

For Hobbs, interchanges with the industrial base “ensures the effective connection of industry capabilities to AFSC requirements.”

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CDAO Introduces Open DAGIR Ecosystem to Scale AI, Analytics Capabilities; Radha Plumb Quoted
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CDAO Introduces Open DAGIR Ecosystem to Scale AI, Analytics Capabilities; Radha Plumb Quoted

The Department of Defense’s Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Office has launched a multivendor ecosystem that could enable government and industry to integrate applications, data platforms, development tools and services and support the Combined Joint All-Domain Command and Control.

DOD said Thursday CDAO expects the ecosystem, known as the Open Data and Applications Government-owned Interoperable Repositories or Open DAGIR, to help protect industry’s intellectual property and government data ownership as well as scale data, AI and analytics capabilities.

“Open DAGIR builds upon the momentum created by the Deputy Secretary of Defense’s 2021 Creating Data Advantage memo, which included five data decrees for how the Department would retain ownership of its data while maximizing data sharing,” said CDAO Radha Plumb.

“Open DAGIR brings the best industry has to offer to the Department. It allows us to ensure enduring access to government-owned, contractor-operated technology stacks and infrastructure and retain data rights while also maximizing the ability of other companies to develop applications with government data,” added Plumb.

CDAO will identify platforms to add to the Open DAGIR ecosystem using its Global Information Dominance Experience series and conduct an industry day in mid-July.

According to Plumb, Open DAGIR could help DOD to leverage innovative platforms from software developers to develop capabilities for decision-makers and warfighters.

DOD Proposes Rule to Implement DFARS Section for Incentivizing Contracting with Employee-Owned Businesses
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DOD Proposes Rule to Implement DFARS Section for Incentivizing Contracting with Employee-Owned Businesses

The Department of Defense is requesting comments on a proposed rule to amend the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement, or DFARS, to implement National Defense Authorization Act provisions authorizing a pilot program to incentivize contracting with employee-owned businesses.

In a Federal Register notice published Thursday, DOD said it proposes to add new DFARS part 270 that would authorize the department to establish a pilot program that allows the noncompetitive award of certain follow-on contracts to employee-owned businesses meeting the definition of a “qualified business.”

The proposed rule would authorize contracting officers to award a sole source, follow-on contract to procure products or services similar to those acquired under predecessor contracts.

The pilot program is authorized under section 874 of the NDAA for fiscal year 2022 and section 872 of the NDAA for FY 2024.

The comment period is open until July 29.

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DOD Organizations Come Together to Elevate C4/Cyber Capabilities; Lt. Gen. David Isaacson Quoted
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DOD Organizations Come Together to Elevate C4/Cyber Capabilities; Lt. Gen. David Isaacson Quoted

Last week, representatives from various Department of Defense components gathered at the Joint Staff J-6’s yearly Command, Control, Communications and Computers—known as C4—Cyber Global Summit to discuss ways to improve C4/Cyber capabilities for the joint force.

Participating organizations included the 11 combatant commands, Defense Information Systems Agency, Office of the DOD Chief Information Officer, Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Office and Joint Staff, the department said Friday.

“Forums such as this one allow us to level set with the combatant commands and focus on things we can tackle collectively,” said Army Lt. Gen. David Isaacson, director for C4/Cyber and chief information officer of J-6, Joint Staff.

The event, he explained, aims to balance the demands of the readiness-focused combatant commands with the responsibilities of the military services to organize, train and equip the force.

At this year’s summit, participants evaluated the current and future state of C4/Cyber with a goal of assisting the development of modern operating approaches, accelerating the acquisition of novel capabilities and helping the joint force maintain competitive advantages. Conversation topics varied, covering issues such as joint force readiness, risk mitigation, modernization and innovation.

Keynote speakers called attention to the importance of a resilient defense ecosystem, efficient technology development and delivery and global integration.

“Our adversaries are modernizing; they’re not defending their homelands differently than we. They’re buying more capability, not less; they’re buying smaller capability, not larger; they’re going faster than ever before, not slower; and they’re maneuverable and not predictable,” said Isaacson.

To keep up, he continued, the Joint Staff wants to “maximize our strategic partnerships and optimize capabilities that allow the joint force to defend, deter, modernize and prevail in conflict when necessary.”

DOD Organizations Come Together to Elevate C4/Cyber Capabilities; Lt. Gen. David Isaacson Quoted

Events like these are one way the Pentagon is working to strengthen its cyber capabilities. The Potomac Officers Club’s 2024 Cyber Summit on June 6 will offer additional perspectives from top public and private sector officials, who will come together to dive into the most pressing challenges and priorities characterizing the federal government’s approach to the cyber domain. To learn more and register to attend the event, click here.

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GSA Solicits Industry Input on Improving MAS Contractor Experience, Success
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GSA Solicits Industry Input on Improving MAS Contractor Experience, Success

The General Services Administration’s Multiple Award Schedule Program Management Office is seeking input from MAS contractors on ways to improve the experience and success of federal government suppliers.

In a request for information published Thursday, the MAS PMO said it is looking for feedback to better understand and eliminate roadblocks preventing contractors from meeting the minimum sales requirement.

The RFI is open to contractors in different socio-economic categories that have been providing services to federal government customers under the MAS contract vehicle.

MAS contractors may access the RFI on SAM.gov and submit responses by June 21.

Federal, state and local government agencies use MAS, also called Federal Supply Schedule, to buy commercial products and services assigned to different special item numbers.

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DIU Seeking Commercial Tech for Modular Spectrum Characterization
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DIU Seeking Commercial Tech for Modular Spectrum Characterization

The Defense Innovation Unit is seeking commercial technologies capable of autonomous operations and passive detection and collection of data primarily against wideband, high bandwidth electromagnetic spectrum.

According to a DIU posting for modular spectrum characterization, traditional methods of gathering electromagnetic spectrum signature are limited by several factors, including inability to capture wideband, high bandwidth signatures and size, weight and power constraints, and so the Department of Defense is seeking industry capabilities to address those hindrances.

Proposed tech must be capable of incorporating multiple configurable triggering methods like user-based and geofence boundary activation, and recording both Power Spectral Density and raw in-phase and quadrature data to on-board and/or attached storage media.

“The technology needs to be able to be packaged and operable when enclosed within an array of small form factor enclosures and withstand rudimentary physical inspection without drawing attention or causing alarm; it should also be secure against undesired examination,” the release reads.

Vendors interested in participating must submit their responses by June 11.

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