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Gen. Stephen Whiting: Space Command Eyeing ‘Common Operational Picture’ Through Data Fusion Pilot Project
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Gen. Stephen Whiting: Space Command Eyeing ‘Common Operational Picture’ Through Data Fusion Pilot Project

Gen. Stephen Whiting, commander of U.S. Space Command and a 2024 Wash100 awardee, said SPACECOM is setting up a pilot project that seeks to demonstrate how data can be fused to provide operators with a “common operational picture” as part of efforts to enhance command and control capabilities, Breaking Defense reported Monday.

“We need improved command and control capabilities to fuse all this data, be able to display it to us. Now, can we operate without having that single, common operational picture, absolutely, but we want to do better,” Whiting said Monday at an event.

“I’m not quite ready to announce all the details, but me and my J6 have just decided in the last month or so that we’re going to pick up a test case in one of our mission areas, where we feel like there’s a lot of data and … we’re going to be able to fuse all the data we have and put it on a single pane of glass,” he added.

The general noted that the command will work with existing data and systems for the planned data fusion pilot.

According to Whiting, space domain awareness is one of the mission areas that needs improved C2 capabilities.

He stated that the command uses a C2 system called the Space Defense Operations Center, or SPADOC, for space domain awareness.

“We’ve modernized the hardware; it’s all on modern hardware, but the internal software is still pretty old, and so working with the Space Force and their acquisition arms to deliver an improved command and control capability for us in that mission area would be very helpful,” Whiting said of SPADOC.

POC - 2024 Air Defense Summit

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University Researchers Receive Funding to Support NNSA’s Nuclear Nonproliferation Research
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University Researchers Receive Funding to Support NNSA’s Nuclear Nonproliferation Research

The National Nuclear Security Administration has awarded funding of $50 million to two university consortia to support nuclear security and nonproliferation research.

The Enabling Capabilities in Technology Consortium led by the University of Tennessee, Knoxville, and the Consortium for Enabling Technologies and Innovation led by the Georgia Institute of Technology will each receive $5 million annually from the Office of Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation for the next five years.

According to NNSA’s Nonproliferation Chief Jeff Chamberlin, the goal of the program is to develop concepts that national laboratories can replicate and the private sector can later adopt.

“These consortia are critical to the of future of NNSA’s nuclear security and nonproliferation research and development work,” he said.

University researchers will work with scientists from 12 of the Department of Energy national laboratories on the nonproliferation concepts.

Nuclear arms control has become a critical challenge amid rising global tensions.

The NNSA’s Office of Defense Nuclear Nonproliferation is in charge of ensuring that state and non-state actors are not developing or collecting materials that can be used to develop weapons of mass destruction.

The United States is one of the founding members of the International Atomic Energy Agency, which facilitates global cooperation on the safe and responsible use of nuclear technologies.

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New Senate Bill Calls for Public Education Campaign to Increase AI Trust, Awareness
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New Senate Bill Calls for Public Education Campaign to Increase AI Trust, Awareness

Sens. Todd Young, R-Ind., and Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, have introduced legislation with the aim of raising awareness about artificial intelligence and boosting public trust in the technology.

The office of Sen. Young said Thursday that the Artificial Intelligence Public Awareness and Education Campaign Act calls on the secretary of the Department of Commerce to conduct a public awareness and education campaign that will provide information about the prevalence of AI in the lives of individuals, the rights that individuals have with regard to AI, best practices when it comes to detecting and differentiating AI-generated content and work opportunities brought about by the technology.

The measure also requires the commerce secretary to file a report about the campaign’s effectiveness one year after launch.

Young described the proposal as “an important step in ensuring all Americans can benefit from the opportunities created by AI.”

For his part, Schatz said, “As AI tools and content become increasingly common, it’s essential that the public is aware of the risks and benefits associated with them.”

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Air Force Migrates Propulsion Requirements System to Cloud One
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Air Force Migrates Propulsion Requirements System to Cloud One

The Air Force Life Cycle Management Center’s Business and Enterprise Systems Directorate has deployed a new version of a system that supports the management of the service branch’s propulsion assets.

The newer version of the Propulsion Requirements System, a.k.a. PRS, has been migrated to Air Force Cloud One, which provides access to Amazon Web Services’ Impact Level 6 cloud environment, Air Force Materiel Command announced Monday.

With the cloud-based PRS, command engine managers can now compute engine requirements via Secret Internet Protocol Router Network at Air Force Network locations without traveling to Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio.

“The new system gives the users more access and reduced time in computing spare engine requirements and ensures this vital capability is maintained for the USAF in the coming years,” said Greg Patterson, depot lead engine item manager.

POC - 2024 Air Defense Summit

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DCSA Posts Update on NBIS Recovery Plan, Digital Transformation Roadmap
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DCSA Posts Update on NBIS Recovery Plan, Digital Transformation Roadmap

The Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency is working with other Department of Defense agencies to implement a coordinated recovery plan for the National Background Investigation Services, or NBIS, program to realign the system’s development with Trusted Workforce 2.0 requirements.

DCSA said Monday it is finalizing a digital transformation roadmap for the NBIS program outlining efforts to modernize the Defense Information System for Security and other existing applications, accelerate technology delivery and reduce risks.

The NBIS program will continue its outreach and communicate the milestones to customers to help them prepare for the system changes.

The NBIS eApplication will remain the entry point for users to submit requests for personnel background investigations.

DCSA is working with the Office of the Under Secretary for Intelligence and Security, the Office of the Under Secretary for Acquisition and Sustainment and the DOD’s Office of the Chief Information Officer on the recovery plan.

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FirstNet Authority Board OKs $684M FY 2025 Budget Package; Richard Carrizzo Quoted
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FirstNet Authority Board OKs $684M FY 2025 Budget Package; Richard Carrizzo Quoted

The First Responder Network Authority Board has cleared a $684 million budget for fiscal year 2025 that would fund operations and improvements to the nationwide wireless broadband network for public safety professionals.

FirstNet said Monday the budget package, called Resolution 118, includes $535 million for network enhancements, $100.2 million for the authority’s FY 2025 operations and another $50 million for reserves.

“The FirstNet Authority is focused on evolving and enhancing FirstNet, so it meets the needs of public safety now and in the future,” said Richard Carrizzo, chair of the FirstNet Authority Board.

“This budget will enable our team to continue to engage with and advocate for the nation’s public safety community and advance communications for first responders nationwide,” Carrizzo added.

The board approved the budget package during its meeting on Monday in Chicago.

Public Safety Broadband Network Expansion

In February, the FirstNet Authority and AT&T launched a 10-year, $8 billion initiative to further develop and expand FirstNet, the country’s public safety broadband network.

Under the investment effort, the two parties will deliver always-on priority and preemption capabilities across 5G to first responders, build 1,000 new FirstNet cell sites within the next two years, establish a standalone 5G core to improve 5G functionality and support the move of the Band 14 spectrum to 5G.

More than 28,000 public safety agencies and organizations in the U.S. use the FirstNet network.

The FirstNet Authority has invested in upgrades to advance 5G capabilities and expand the fleet of deployable assets in support of the public safety community.

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VA Posts Enterprise Learning Management Solution RFP
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VA Posts Enterprise Learning Management Solution RFP

The Department of Veterans Affairs’ Technology Acquisition Center is soliciting proposals to provide an Enterprise Learning Management Solution with the necessary software, hardware, licenses and services to support enterprise-wide talent development and learning management activities.

The ELMS should be a commercial-off-the-shelf solution running in a cloud environment with at least a moderate-level authorization from the Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program, according to a performance work statement — or PWS — posted on SAM.gov.

Interested contractors have until Monday to submit their proposals.

The ELMS, which should also be a FedRAMP-compliant solution, will replace the agency’s current enterprise system for training and educating employees, support staff, private sector individuals working with the VA and people from other federal agencies.

According to the PWS, the VA intends to award a contract with a one-year base and four-year option periods.

Contract work includes providing program management and planning and supporting ELMS system design, pilot tests, deployment and implementation.

The solution must comply with Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973 within six months following the contract award. Section 508 requires federal agencies to ensure that their electronic and information technology is accessible to persons with disabilities.

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Pentagon Publishes New IT Strategy
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Pentagon Publishes New IT Strategy

The Department of Defense has released a new strategy to continue progressive change in the digital workforce.

The Fulcrum: DOD Information Technology Advancement Strategy will help the department provide capabilities oriented with warfighting mission goals. The strategy emphasizes quality user experience and infrastructure growth to tackle enhanced operation requirements, the DOD said Tuesday.

Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks, a Wash100 Award winner, said, “To succeed, today’s warfighter requires information technology that is compatible with the complex demands of a dynamic operating environment and modern battlefield. Technology that enables functional, rapid, and secure support.”

“To achieve this objective, this strategy focuses on ensuring our IT systems are fully integrated, our capabilities are best-in-class, our infrastructure is resilient and secure, and our IT management processes are efficient and agile enough to move at the speed and scale needed to support and achieve our operational needs at any given moment,” Hicks stated.

Spread across four integrated lines of effort — providing joint warfighting IT capabilities; modernizing information networks and compute; optimizing IT governance; and cultivating a premier digital workforce — the Fulcrum Strategy will make sure the department efficiently supports the warfighters who serve them.

Through the second LOE, the DOD plans to leverage zero-trust cybersecurity principles to enable network modernization.

The strategy was originally approved and signed on June 20.

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State Department Counselor Derek Chollet Named DOD Chief of Staff
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State Department Counselor Derek Chollet Named DOD Chief of Staff

Derek Chollet, counselor of the State Department, will join the Department of Defense in July to serve as chief of staff.

In a statement published Monday, Defense Secretary and three-time Wash100 awardee Lloyd Austin said Chollet “is one of the most distinguished, far-sighted, and skillful national-security practitioners of his generation, and I am grateful to him for taking on this key assignment at such an important moment.”

Chollet will return to the Pentagon, where he served as assistant secretary of defense for international security affairs from 2012 to 2015.

His government career included time as special assistant to the president and senior director for strategic planning on the National Security Council and principal deputy director of the State Department’s policy planning staff.

Before moving to the State Department, he was executive vice president and senior adviser for security and defense policy at the German Marshall Fund of the United States.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken appointed Tom Sullivan, deputy chief of staff for policy, as the department’s next counselor.

“Tom has an unmatched depth of knowledge about how national security policy is formulated and implemented, one that he brings to bear every day on behalf of the American people,” Blinken, a previous Wash100 awardee, said in a statement.

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GovCon Index Took Positive Turn Last Week
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GovCon Index Took Positive Turn Last Week

Executive Mosaic’s GovCon Index rose by 1.86% last week, reversing a three-week downward trend and lifting the average to $4,979.17.

GovCon Index is an aggregate index that tracks real-time data on the stock market performance of 30 major government contracting organizations. With the information it provides, users can come to their own conclusions about the financial state of the GovCon marketplace and assess the performance of each individual company.

With an increase of 8.75%, V2X led the way as GovCon Index swung back into positive territory. Accenture came in second with an increase of 7.21%, and HII, which grew by 4.20%, was third. Fourth and fifth place were claimed by Kratos (+4.12%) and L3Harris (+3.57%), respectively.

On Monday – the highest growth day of the week – GovCon Index rose by 0.84%. Its upward trajectory continued through Thursday, but came to a halt on Friday with a minor drop of 0.04%.

Check out last week’s market reports for more information on daily GovCon Index performance. Click here to view the full list of tracked companies.

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