/
State Department Unveils America First Global Health Strategy
Published on
Healthcare professionals. US launches health strategy to curb outbreaks, boost efficiency and advance American innovation.

The State Department has released the America First Global Health Strategy, a framework aimed at strengthening U.S. leadership in global health while prioritizing American safety, economic resilience and international partnerships.

The strategy builds on past global health programs that reportedly helped save millions of lives, prevented infectious disease outbreaks from reaching U.S. shores, and delivered treatments and prevention efforts worldwide. At the same time, it seeks to address inefficiencies, high overhead costs and a “culture of dependency” among recipient countries.

“We will continue to be the world’s health leader and the most generous nation in the world, but we will do so in a way that directly benefits the American people and directly promotes our national interest,” said Secretary of State Marco Rubio, a 2025 Wash100 Award recipient.

State Department Unveils America First Global Health Strategy

The 2025 Healthcare Summit, hosted by the Potomac Officers Club, is this year’s must-attend GovCon gathering for federal healthcare leaders, innovators and industry partners. This exclusive conference will feature dynamic keynotes, interactive panels and robust networking designed to spark collaboration, tackle challenges and accelerate modernization across the nation’s healthcare ecosystem. From CMS platform modernization to AI-ready public health services, the summit highlights the critical technologies shaping the future of care for citizens and warfighters alike. Register now to join this exciting federal healthcare event.

Strategy’s Three-Pillar Approach

The strategy is built around three central pillars: safer, stronger and more prosperous.

Safer. The plan emphasizes protecting Americans by improving global outbreak surveillance and ensuring rapid response capacity. This includes working with local governments to contain outbreaks, surging resources when necessary, screening travelers and preventing infectious threats from reaching the United States or harming Americans abroad.

Stronger. The approach calls for replacing open-ended assistance with planned multi-year bilateral agreements that support both U.S. interests and recipient country self-reliance. These agreements are expected to:

  • Maintain full funding for frontline healthcare workers and commodity purchases.
  • Require reliable epidemiology, service delivery and supply chain data systems.
  • Transition U.S. technical assistance away from direct site-level support toward strengthening government capacity, supplemented by private sector and faith-based organizations.
  • Include co-investment by recipient governments and performance benchmarks tied to continued U.S. funding.

The State Department aims to finalize agreements with recipient countries receiving the vast majority of U.S. health foreign assistance by the end of 2025 and begin implementation of new agreements in 2026.

According to the report, less than 40 percent of past foreign assistance has gone directly to frontline care or supplies, with the majority consumed by overhead, management and technical support. By restructuring programs under the new strategy, the United States intends to redirect funding toward frontline needs while requiring partner nations to take on greater responsibility.

More Prosperous. The strategy highlights the economic stakes of global health, noting that unchecked outbreaks can disrupt U.S. markets and supply chains. It pledges to support American jobs and industries by procuring health goods from U.S. companies for foreign assistance programs and leveraging partnerships abroad to expand the reach of American health innovations.

//
US, UK Forge Deal to Advance AI, Quantum, Nuclear Energy Tech Development
Published on
Two people shaking hands, representing partnership. The U.S. and the U.K. will collaborate on key technology R&D

President Donald J. Trump has signed a deal with U.K. Prime Minister Keir Starmer to collaborate on efforts to advance artificial intelligence, quantum computing and civil nuclear energy technologies.

Michael Kratsios, director of the White House’s Office of Science and Technology Policy and a two-time Wash100 winner, said Thursday that the Technology Prosperity Deal reinforces American technology leadership.

“With the TPD, the United States is exporting its world-class tech stack, accelerating scientific discovery and advancing pro-innovation policies worldwide,” the official stated.

US, UK Forge Deal to Advance AI, Quantum, Nuclear Energy Tech Development

Potomac Officers Club’s 2025 GovCon International and Global Defense Summit will cover the future of global collaboration, technological innovation and other topics that may impact the Department of Defense and U.S. allies. The event, scheduled for Oct. 16, will feature leaders from NATO, global partners and the defense industrial base. Grab your tickets to the highly anticipated networking event today.

US-UK Planned Technology Cooperation

For AI, the governments of the U.S. and the U.K. intend to launch collaborative efforts to advance biotechnology research and precision medicine. As part of the deal, the two nations will work together to develop AI models for space applications, establish pro-innovation policies, secure technology infrastructures and build a skilled workforce.

In civil nuclear energy, the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission will align its processes with the U.K. Office for Nuclear Regulation and Environment Agency to accelerate licensing of reactor designs and sites. The organizations will also coordinate on the use of AI in fusion energy research and development.

In addition, through the prosperity deal, the U.K. committed to achieve full independence from Russian nuclear fuel by the end of 2028.

To advance quantum technologies, the U.S. and the U.K. governments will form a joint benchmarking task force that will oversee hardware, software and algorithms.

//
Marine Corps Selects FPV Drone Platforms From 4 Companies to Advance to Next Project GI Phase
Published on
Drones in flight. The U.S. Marine Corps selected companies whose technologies will move to the next Project G.I. phase

The U.S. Marine Corps has selected first-person-view, or FPV, unmanned aerial vehilces from Auterion, ModalAI, Neros and Nokturnal to move to the next stage of the Defense Innovation Unit’s Project G.I. The proposed solutions from the four companies will now undergo National Defense Authorization Act compliance and cybersecurity review, DIU said Thursday.

The selection was made after eight days of flight demonstrations at the Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton in California. The demonstration is part of the FPV tactical kinetic effects Phase of Project G.I.

Military evaluators also picked a component from Kraken Kinetics to move forward in the program.

Learn more about worldwide requirements for FPV UAVs at the Potomac Officers Club’s 2025 GovCon International and Global Defense Summit on October 16!

What Is Project GI?

Project G.I. is DIU’s agile development and deployment effort for uncrewed aerial systems and supporting items. It is designed to rapidly identify, assess and integrate “ready-now” autonomous technologies at scale to support warfighters.

The program has three phases: proposal evaluation and downselection, live demonstration, and further maturation, procurement and delivery.

DIU a request for proposals for Project G.I. in June.

Next Steps for FPV Platforms

Once deemed compliant with the required defense standards, the selected FPV platforms may be added to the DIU’s Blue Unmanned Aircraft System and Framework, the military catalog for drones and related components pre-approved for use across the Department of Defense.

The technologies will also continue to develop and improve capabilities based on end-user feedback from the 3rd Light Armored Reconnaissance Battalion, the Marine Corps’ designated unit, through a series of three 60-day sprints. Testing will be carried out in representative electronic warfare environments across various geographic locations.

DIU may announce additional winners in the future.

//
Naval Research Lab Completes Robotic Servicing Payload Thermal Vacuum Test
Published on
NRL logo. NRL, DARPA and Northrop Grumman have completed a key test of a robotic servicing spacecraft.

The Naval Research Laboratory has collaborated with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency and Northrop Grumman‘s SpaceLogistics to demonstrate a robotic spacecraft developed to service and extend the life of space-based satellites.

Thermal Vacuum Test

NRL said Thursday that the test, completed on Sept. 5, evaluated the space readiness of the Robotic Servicing of Geosynchronous Satellites, or RSGS, payload. The spacecraft, integrated with SpaceLogistics’ Mission Robotic Vehicle, underwent the thermal vacuum, or TVAC, test, which confirmed the system can endure the extreme temperatures and vacuum conditions of space.

Following the successful test, the system will be returned to Northrop Grumman’s Dulles, Virginia, facility for final checks and integrated systems testing before it is brought to the launch site.

“The completion of spacecraft thermal vacuum testing marks the most critical milestone of recognizing the NRL-developed payload and MRV are capable of working together as a system,” said Bruce Danly, director of research at NRL.

Advancing Satellite Servicing Technology

The RSGS program, a result of over two decades of research and development at NRL, is intended to develop robotic systems capable of performing close inspections, orbital adjustments, hardware upgrades and in-orbit repairs on satellites in geosynchronous orbit.

The robotic spacecraft will carry a Rendezvous and Proximity Operations suite, including cameras, sensors and infrared imaging that will reportedly enable it to approach safely and service client satellites.

//
Senate Bill Seeks to Address Contractor Price Gouging
Published on
Capitol Hill building. Four U.S. senators introduced the bipartisan Transparency in Contract Pricing Act of 2025.

Four U.S. senators have proposed a bipartisan bill that seeks to address price gouging by defense contractors and improve transparency in maintenance contracts.

Sens. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., and Elissa Slotkin, D-Mich., introduced the Transparency in Contract Pricing Act of 2025 with Sens. Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa, and Joni Ernst, R-Iowa.

In a statement published Wednesday, Warren said some contractors threaten U.S. military readiness by introducing unreasonably high prices into military contracts for spare parts and other basic materials.

“Our common-sense bill puts these contractors on notice and requires them to justify major price increases — and they can bet we’ll double-check their math to ensure we are getting a fair shake,” she added.

Provisions of the Proposed Transparency in Contract Pricing Act of 2025

The proposed legislation would require contractors to report price increases to the Pentagon’s contracting officers within 30 days of becoming aware of a covered price increase and direct the Defense Contract Audit Agency to report vendors that fail to comply with the price notification requirements, audits performed regarding noncompliance and details regarding the product that was not reported on the Federal Awardee Performance and Integrity Information System.

The bill would define a covered price increase as 25 percent above the price specified in the contract bid that the government agreed to or the price the government paid for the product in the previous calendar year. 

The proposed measure would define a covered contract as one that was awarded on a sole-source basis, meaning there was no competitive bidding process.

/
SRNL Taps Former ORNL Official Dana Hewit to Lead Laboratory Operations
Published on
Dana Hewit, deputy laboratory director for operations at SRNL. Hewit joins SRNL from ORNL

Savannah River National Laboratory has named Dana Hewit as its deputy laboratory director for operations. Hewit, who previously led the Office of Integrated Performance Management at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, will officially join SRNL in mid-October, the South Carolina lab said Monday.

In her new role, she will oversee the laboratory’s facilities and infrastructure and ensure that SRNL is operating safely, securely, efficiently and in compliance with the Department of Energy’s mission.

“I am honored to join SRNL at such an exciting time for the laboratory,” stated the official “I look forward to working with the talented operations team and staff across the lab to build on SRNL’s strong foundation of safety, security and mission support.”

Who Is Dana Hewit?

At ORNL, Hewit served as director of the Office of Integrated Performance Management. In the role, she was in charge of contractor assurance and performance management systems and aided the deputy director of operators in developing and implementing lab’s mission support strategy. She joined ORNL in 2020 as chief operations officer for the Physical Sciences Directorate.

Hewit also held leadership roles at the Canadian Nuclear Laboratories and Idaho National Laboratory earlier in her career.

“Dana brings deep experience in laboratory operations and a proven record of leadership,” stated Johney Green, director of SRNL. “Her expertise will be instrumental in strengthening SRNL’s operational capabilities as we continue to expand our mission impact.”

Hewit holds a bachelor’s degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Central Florida.

/
MITRE, FAA Launch Aerospace LLM Evaluation Benchmark
Published on
Artificial intelligence. MITRE and the FAA launched the ALUE benchmark to enable the evaluation of LLMs for aerospace tasks.

The Federal Aviation Administration and MITRE have unveiled a benchmark to facilitate the assessment of large language models, or LLMs, for aerospace tasks.

ALUE Benchmark

MITRE said Wednesday the Aerospace Language Understanding Evaluation, or ALUE, benchmark is designed to streamline the inference and evaluation of LLMs using information specific to the aerospace domain.

ALUE supports open-source and domain-specific LLMs, custom datasets, user-defined prompts and various quantitative performance metrics. LLM evaluations are important in assessing a model’s performance and understanding its potential risks and limitations, including biases, hallucinations and privacy concerns.

“ALUE allows the FAA and the aerospace community to create a definitive library of diverse and specific aviation nomenclature and terms that will enable the agency to harness the power of AI for tools and tasks that will continuously improve safety and efficiency today and into the future,” said Kerry Buckley, vice president at MITRE and director of the Center for Advanced Aviation System Development.

MITRE noted that ALUE will help ensure artificial intelligence tools are fit to improve the safety of the National Airspace System.

Ongoing & Future Work Related to ALUE Benchmark

According to MITRE, ongoing work will continue to expand the ALUE benchmark’s scope to address more complex aerospace challenges, such as developing tasks for extracting complex data from charts.

For future work, the nonprofit organization said it expects the benchmark to integrate tasks that require LLMs to consult aircraft operational manuals and other external data sources to determine thrust and flap settings and other parameters under specific conditions.

/
Johns Hopkins APL Initiative Aims to Accelerate Materials Development
Published on
Additive manufacturing. Johns Hopkins APL is working on TETRA to accelerate the process of testing metal components.

Scientists and engineers at the Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory are developing a new approach that aims to speed up the process of designing, optimizing and testing metal components for the defense industrial base using artificial intelligence and robotics.

APL’s TETRA Initiative

APL said Wednesday the Transforming Evaluation and Testing via Robotics and Acceleration, or TETRA, effort is funded by the Pentagon’s Industrial Base Analysis and Sustainment program.

“When developing materials for defense needs, it’s not just about the composition of the alloy or system — it’s also about how you shape, treat and refine it,” said Morgan Trexler, head of the research program area at APL’s Research and Exploratory Development Mission Area.

“TETRA has potential to be game-changing because it allows us to simultaneously consider every variable that impacts performance, which until now, has been painstaking and time-consuming, sometimes taking months to achieve what TETRA can accomplish in just a matter of days,” added Trexler.

Paul Lambert, TETRA co-lead, mentioned how the TETRA lab could help accelerate the material testing process.

“With the TETRA lab, we’re working to simultaneously explore all of the different composition and processing variants that influence properties and performance — or at least we aim to do this significantly more rapidly,” Lambert noted.

TETRA’s Adoption of Additive Manufacturing

APL said TETRA leverages the blown-powder directed energy deposition, or DED, process. DED is an additive manufacturing technique that involves the use of a laser to melt metal powder as it is fed into the build area, solidifying quickly and allowing the formation of dense metal structures.

The TETRA lab is expected to serve as a materials research and development facility. It will feature several capabilities, including a melting furnace for the synthesis of custom castings from raw materials, hot forging equipment and custom heat treatment furnaces.

Lamber stated that such tools could help researchers identify problems in the manufacturing of legacy or existing parts, such as figuring out why a large number of parts are rejected due to poor quality.

“One envisioned future use for the TETRA lab is to help diagnose those kinds of problems with existing parts, in addition to creating new ones,” Lambert said.

/
DOE Expands Quantum-in-Space Initiative With IonQ, Honeywell & EPB
Published on
DOE seal. The Department of Energy welcomed the addition of IonQ, Honeywell and EPB to its Quantum-in-Space Collaboration.

The Department of Energy’s Office of Technology Commercialization has announced the addition of IonQ, Honeywell and the Electric Power Board of Chattanooga, or EPB, to its Quantum-in-Space Collaboration.

Hear experts discuss the impact of quantum computing on national security during a panel discussion at the 2025 Intel Summit on Oct. 2! Register for this action-packed GovCon networking event before it’s too late.

Advancing Space-Based Quantum Capabilities

DOE said Wednesday the three new signatories will join the collaboration, which unites government, industry and academic partners with a common goal of accelerating the development and deployment of space-based quantum capabilities technologies to strengthen national security.

“This expansion shows how DOE is building the bridge from demonstration to deployment by adding commercial partners that can bring lab-proven systems into orbit and open pathways to market applications,” said Anthony Pugliese, DOE chief commercialization officer and director of OTC.

Quantum-in-Space Collaboration

The DOE initiative is evolving into a significant testing ground for quantum technologies, providing the DOE, Department of Defense and NASA a platform for feasibility studies and demonstrations. The collaboration currently includes the following companies:

  • Boeing
  • Axiom Space
  • USRA
  • Vescent
  • Qrypt
  • Blue Origin
  • Infleqtion
  • Accenture
  • Nebula

“This collaboration will help us seed a quantum sandbox in space to support resource exploration and manufacturing of high-value products leveraging microgravity, as well as explore new capabilities,” said Rima Kasia Oueid, DOE senior commercialization executive and lead architect of the Quantum-in-Space Collaboration.

DOE Expands Quantum-in-Space Initiative With IonQ, Honeywell & EPB
/
GAO Flags Potential Redundancies in DOD Cyberspace Operations
Published on
GAO logo. GAO released a report urging the DOD to address overlapping cyberspace operations roles.

The Government Accountability Office has released a report detailing the potential of overlapping or redundant roles within a network of nearly 500 organizations in the Department of Defense’s cyberspace operations.

DOD Cyberspace Structure

GAO mentions in its report published Wednesday that the DOD’s cyberspace operations workforce includes 440 organizations with 61,000 military and civilian employees, as well as 9,500 contractors. The agency also identified around 70 organizations and 3,400 personnel performing supporting roles.

Most of these organizations are aligned with the U.S. Cyber Command or retained by various military services. They perform a variety of functions including offensive, defensive and DOD Information Network operations.

GAO Identifies Possible Overlapping Functions

GAO noted the potential for redundancy and inefficiency among multiple organizations, particularly within the supporting organizations and personnel in areas such as budgeting, policy and training. It particularly mentioned similar cyberspace training courses provided by organizations and the administration of various cybersecurity service providers. The agency pointed out that some overlaps were intentional and necessary, while the others can result in wasted funds.

To address this issue, GAO recommended that the DOD evaluate the feasibility of consolidating similar training courses to establish a joint training model. The agency also urged the DOD to explore opportunities to combine cybersecurity service providers to enhance mission effectiveness.

1 … 25 26 27 28 29 … 2,639