/
Air Force Advances X-62 VISTA Upgrades to Expand Autonomous Flight Test Capability
Published on
Air Force logo. The U.S. Air Force has started upgrading the X-62 VISTA test aircraft.

The U.S. Air Force has begun a new modernization phase for the X-62 VISTA test aircraft, expanding its role as a flight test platform for autonomy, artificial intelligence and mission-system integration.

Air Force Advances X-62 VISTA Upgrades to Expand Autonomous Flight Test Capability

AI is now embedded in how government and defense organizations operate, moving rapidly from experimentation to mission use. The 2026 Artificial Intelligence Summit on March 19 will bring together federal, defense and industry practitioners to discuss how AI, machine learning and automation are being applied today; where adoption is heading next; and what practical challenges remain. Register now.

The effort is being executed with funding from the Test Resource Management Center and implemented through the 412th Test Wing’s Test Pilot School at Edwards Air Force Base, the USAF said Thursday. The work is designed to enhance the aircraft as a test infrastructure.

What Is Being Upgraded on the X-62 VISTA?

Rather than conducting operations, the platform serves as a developmental sandbox supporting integration, interoperability and resilience testing.

The mission systems upgrade focuses on enabling more complex test scenarios by integrating advanced sensors, mission systems and autonomy-enabling technologies. According to the Air Force, the improvements will enable the aircraft to assess how AI systems integrate with combat-relevant mission hardware and collaborate with airborne agents in real time.

The upgrade builds on capabilities demonstrated during the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency’s Air Combat Evolution program. The X-62 complements other USAF autonomy initiatives, including the Viper Experimentation and Next-Generation Operations Model program.

Raytheon Radar Integration

VISTA is a modified F-16D Block 30 test aircraft that has been upgraded with Block 40 avionics, serving as a hybrid test bed integrated with machine learning and specialized software.

As part of the upgrade effort, RTX’s Raytheon was awarded a contract to equip the X-62 with its PhantomStrike radar, a compact, air-cooled fire-control radar designed for smaller size, weight and power requirements.

PhantomStrike supports digital beamforming, multimodal operations and simultaneous air and ground targeting.

/
HHS Seeks Public Input on Accelerating AI Adoption in Healthcare
Published on
HHS logo. HHS seeks feedback on using AI to improve clinical care, reduce provider burden and lower healthcare costs.

The Department of Health and Human Services has issued a new request for information seeking public input on how artificial intelligence can be more rapidly adopted in clinical care to reduce costs, improve outcomes and ease provider burden across the U.S. healthcare system.

HHS said Friday that stakeholders are invited to share perspectives on how it can better use its regulatory, reimbursement and research authorities to enable practical, safe AI deployment. The effort is being led by the HHS Office of the Deputy Secretary as part of a broader push to extend the department’s AI strategy beyond internal operations.

HHS Seeks Public Input on Accelerating AI Adoption in Healthcare

Federal healthcare agencies are navigating rapid change as technology, data and user experience expectations continue to evolve. The 2025 Healthcare Summit on Feb. 12 will convene government and industry leaders to examine how modernization efforts across health IT, interoperability, cybersecurity and digital services are shaping care delivery for service members, veterans and the public. Register now.

What Outcomes Is HHS Seeking From AI Use in Healthcare?

The agency is particularly interested in how AI tools could enhance patient and caregiver experiences, improve care quality and deliver efficiency gains that help lessen healthcare spending for consumers and government programs. Respondents are also encouraged to discuss how existing digital health and software regulatory frameworks may need to evolve to accommodate AI-driven tools while ensuring patient safety.

Another focus area is reimbursement. HHS is seeking feedback on how payment structures could be simplified or better aligned to support technologies that reduce administrative workload and enable more efficient care delivery. The RFI also inquires about how federal research and development investments can enhance implementation science and establish best practices, particularly in complex or high-acuity clinical environments.

“We want to hear from you,” said HHS Deputy Secretary Jim O’Neill. “Our efforts to accelerate AI adoption must be guided by the real needs and experiences of those developing these tools and delivering care.”

The RFI complements HHS’ recently released AI strategy, which outlines a “OneHHS” framework for modernizing care delivery, strengthening governance and advancing research through responsible AI use.

//
Senate Confirms Kirsten Davies as Pentagon CIO
Published on
Kirsten Davies. The cybersecurity leader received Senate confirmation for the Pentagon CIO role.

The Senate has confirmed Kirsten Davies, a technology and cybersecurity leader, as the Department of War’s chief information officer. 

Senate Confirms Kirsten Davies as Pentagon CIO

Be part of the conversation shaping government technology at the Potomac Officers Club’s 2026 Digital Transformation Summit on April 22. Hear from experts on AI, cyber and enterprise IT. Sign up today to save your spot.

DefenseScoop reported that the upper chamber on Thursday voted 53-43 to confirm Davies for the CIO role. Her nomination was part of a broader slate of federal government nominees approved en bloc by the Senate.

What Are Kirsten Davies’ Top Priorities as Pentagon CIO?

During her Senate confirmation hearing, Davies said her priorities would include addressing the “tech debt” at DOW; working with other officials to “embed the building blocks of AI supporting data supremacy and decision dominance” for the U.S. military, allies and partners; and advancing a new generation of cyber partnerships with industry, according to DefenseScoop.

President Trump nominated Davies for the position in May.

With her confirmation, Davies will assume responsibilities from Katie Arrington, who currently performs the duties of the DOD CIO. Arrington is a former South Carolina state lawmaker and a previous Wash100 awardee.

Who Is Kirsten Davies?

According to her LinkedIn profile, Davies served as chief information security officer at Unilever. Prior to that, she was senior vice president and CISO at The Estee Lauder Companies.

Her industry career also includes roles as managing director and group chief security officer at Barclays; VP and deputy CISO at Hewlett-Packard; global deputy CISO at Siemens; and senior associate at Booz Allen Hamilton.

In addition to her corporate leadership experience, Davies is the founder and CEO of the Institute for Cyber, a nonprofit organization.

/
Executive Order Targets 2028 Moon Landing
Published on
White House. President Trump signed an executive order that calls for the return of astronauts to the lunar surface by 2028.

President Donald Trump has signed an executive order that calls for the return of American astronauts to the moon by 2028 as part of efforts to ensure U.S. leadership in space exploration, commerce and security.

Discover how leaders and experts are tackling evolving threats and driving innovation in the air and space domains at the Potomac Officers Club’s 2026 Air & Space Summit, scheduled for July 2026. Reserve your seat today!

In a fact sheet published Thursday, the White House said the EO also calls for the establishment of initial components of a permanent outpost on the moon by 2030.

The new policy came four months after the president signed an EO to streamline regulations and promote competition in the commercial space industry.

What Other Space Priorities Are Outlined in the Executive Order?

The directive also outlines a broader set of priorities advancing U.S. space leadership. 

The EO directs the deployment of nuclear reactors to the lunar surface and in orbit, including a lunar surface reactor expected to be ready for launch by 2030. It also emphasizes strengthening national security in space by ensuring the country’s ability to detect, characterize and counter security threats to U.S. space assets.

The order encourages private sector innovation and investment by upgrading launch infrastructure and creating a commercial pathway to replace the International Space Station by 2030. 

Through the new directive, the Trump administration requires the assistant to the president for science and technology, or APST, to coordinate national space policy initiatives and directs federal agencies to collaborate to streamline the procurement process and implement space security strategies.

What Role Does the APST Play in Advancing US Space Policy Under the EO? 

The executive order directs the APST to coordinate the overall implementation of the policy, including issuing guidance for a National Initiative for American Space Nuclear Power and proposing revisions to the National Space Transportation Policy.

Under the EO, the APST should integrate plans and reports from NASA, the Department of Commerce and the Department of War to address supply chain, technology and industrial capacity gaps while advancing U.S. space exploration and security objectives.

Executive Order Targets 2028 Moon Landing
/
Dan Bongino to Leave FBI Deputy Director Role
Published on
Dan Bongino. The FBI deputy director will depart the bureau in January.

Dan Bongino will leave his post as FBI deputy director in January, ending a tenure that began earlier this year.

Bongino confirmed his departure in a post on the social media platform X on Thursday. He did not cite a reason for his exit or outline future plans.

“I want to thank you, my fellow Americans, for the privilege to serve you,” Bongino said. “God bless America, and all those who defend Her.”

When Did Dan Bongino Become FBI Deputy Director?

Bongino was selected in February by FBI Director Kash Patel to serve as the bureau’s second-highest-ranking official. 

Patel described Bongino as a key partner in advancing internal reforms and operational priorities at the bureau.

“Dan is the best partner I could’ve asked for in helping restore this FBI,” Patel said. “He brought critical reforms to make the organization more efficient, led the successful Summer Heat op, served as the people’s voice for transparency, and delivered major breakthroughs in long unsolved cases like the pipe bomb investigation.” Patel added that Bongino “far exceeded” expectations during his tenure.

What Is Dan Bongino’s Law Enforcement Background?

Bongino began his public service career with the New York Police Department in the mid-1990s before joining the U.S. Secret Service in 1999. His assignments included financial fraud investigations, instructor roles at the Secret Service Training Center and service in the Presidential Protective Division under former presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama.

After concluding protective duty, Bongino returned to criminal investigations in the Baltimore Field Office, where he served as lead agent on a multimillion-dollar fraud case that resulted in successful prosecutions.

Bongino holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the City University of New York. He also earned a master’s degree from Penn State University.

/
Trump Nominates USINDOPACOM’s Lt. Gen. Joshua Rudd as NSA, CYBERCOM Leader
Published on
Lt. Gen. Joshua Rudd, deputy commander of the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command. Rudd has been nominated as head of NSA and CYBERCOM

The Senate has confirmed receipt of President Donald Trump’s nomination of Lt. Gen. Joshua Rudd, deputy commander of the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, as director of the National Security Agency and commander of the U.S. Cyber Command.

According to data on Congress.gov, the nomination was received from the White House on Monday and was promptly referred to the Committee on Armed Services. Rudd’s nomination will also be sent to the Senate Intelligence Committee.

Additionally, the president recommended that Rudd be promoted to the rank of general. 

Is Joshua Rudd the Next NSA-CYBERCOM Leader?

The Department of War officially confirmed Rudd’s nomination for the dual-hat position on Thursday as part of its General Officer Announcements. 

Sen. Mark Warner, D-Va., who serves as vice chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee, said in a statement to Politico that he is looking forward to “reviewing Lt. Gen. Rudd’s nomination and evaluating his qualifications to lead the NSA and U.S. Cyber Command at a moment of unprecedented cyber and national security threats.”

NSA and CYBERCOM have been without an official leader since April. Lt. Gen. William Hartman currently oversees the organizations in an acting capacity. 

Who Is Joshua Rudd?

Rudd entered active duty as a quartermaster officer and became a Special Forces officer after completing the Special Forces assessment and selection in 1996. 

Throughout his military career, he “commanded at every echelon,” according to his biography on PACOM.mil. His command assignments include Operations of the 25th Infantry Division, 1st Special Forces Command (Airborne) and Forward Deployed Combined Joint Task Force. 

He also served as commander of the Special Operations Command Pacific and oversaw planning and execution of sustained special operations in the Indo-Pacific region. 

Sources familiar with the matter disclosed that Rudd’s selection as NSA and CYBERCOM leader is based on his experience operating in a region that includes China, Nextgov/FCW reported.

/
Google, Oracle, Accenture, 21 Other Organizations Sign AI Agreements With DOE to Advance Genesis Mission
Published on
OSTP Director Michael Kratsios. Kratsios met with DOE officials and industry partners to advance Genesis Mission

The Department of Energy has signed memorandums of understanding with Google, Amazon Web Services, NVIDIA, Microsoft, Accenture, Oracle and 18 other organizations to advance the Genesis Mission, a White House initiative that promotes the use of artificial intelligence to accelerate scientific discovery and drive innovation.

DOE said Thursday that the organizations were selected based on responses to a previously issued request for information or currently have active projects with the department and national laboratories. 

Google, Oracle, Accenture, 21 Other Organizations Sign AI Agreements With DOE to Advance Genesis Mission

Join Mark Andress, global vice president for Oracle Government, Defense, & Intelligence, and other industry leaders at Potomac Officers Club’s 2026 Artificial Intelligence Summit on March 19. The event will feature insightful keynote speeches and panel discussions on the increasing role of AI in government and military processes. Get your tickets today.

Industry participants have already convened at the White House with Energy Secretary Chris Wright; Dario Gil, DOE under secretary for science and Genesis mission director; and Michael Kratsios, director of the Office of Science and Technology Policy and a Wash100 winner, to launch public-private AI innovation partnerships.

“Harnessing cutting-edge AI for science will dramatically increase the productivity of American scientists and researchers,” Kratsios stated. “The Genesis Mission will help America’s scientists automate experiment design, accelerate simulations, and generate predictive models that will lead to breakthroughs in energy, manufacturing, drug discovery and beyond.”

What Will Industry Contribute to the White House’s Genesis Mission?

In a Thursday statement, Oracle confirmed that it has entered a non-binding agreement with DOE to accelerate AI deployment and increase domestic capacity for compute infrastructure, data architecture and AI development. 

Kim Lynch, executive vice president for defense and intelligence at Oracle Government and a two-time Wash100 awardee, said the company’s participation at the White House event reflects the company’s commitment to ensuring that the U.S. maintains leadership in AI and high-performance computing. 

Meanwhile, Accenture said it will provide platform design and integration, data curation, and automation tools and services to Genesis research partners. Julie Sweet, chair and CEO of Accenture and also a Wash100 recipient, described the Genesis Mission as a “bold national ambition” that requires “a new kind of partnership.”

Google Public Sector offered Gemini for Government, a platform that provides agentic tools to support scientific research, and AI co-scientist, which will serve as a virtual collaborator for researchers, according to a blog post co-written by Jim Kelly, the company’s vice president of federal and a Wash100 recipient.

//
Rocket Lab’s Electron Rocket Lifts Off DOW R&D Satellites
Published on
Rocket Lab logo. An Electron spacecraft launched DOW satellites under the STP-S30 mission.

Rocket Lab’s Electron rocket has launched four Department of War research and development satellites into low Earth orbit under the Space Test Program S30 mission.

The Electron vehicle lifted off on Thursday from Launch Complex 2 at the Mid-Atlantic Regional Spaceport in Wallops Island, Virginia, SSC said that day, adding that satellite operators are expected to begin initial on-orbit checkout activities in the days following deployment to confirm spacecraft health and functionality.

Rocket Lab's Electron Rocket Lifts Off DOW R&D Satellites

Learn about all of the latest DOW R&D endeavors at Potomac Officers Club’s 2026 Defense R&D Summit on Jan. 29, including an expert panel discussion on space-based IT!

Launch services for STP-S30 were procured through the Rocket Systems Launch Program under the Orbital Services Program-4 contract. Initially scheduled for spring 2026, the launch was advanced by approximately five months. The earlier timeline was attributed to the coordinated execution of programs and the availability of responsive commercial launch services.

The STP-S30 mission is managed by SSC’s System Delta 89 Innovation and Prototyping Program Office and supports technology demonstrations intended to inform future Space Force operational systems. It was conducted with support from NASA, The Aerospace Corp. and SSC’s newly activated System Delta 80.

Why Did SSC Stand Up System Delta 80?

One day prior to the STP-S30 announcement, SSC formally recognized the activation of SYD 80 during a ceremony at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. The new delta consolidates acquisition and execution responsibilities across the Assured Access to Space portfolio.

SYD 80 includes six system program directorates covering the National Security Space Launch; the Rocket Systems Launch Program; launch and test range systems; and servicing, mobility and logistics programs.

The delta was officially established in October.

//
Douglas Matty Leaving CDAO Post to Focus on Golden Dome
Published on
Douglas Matty. The Pentagon’s CDAO is leaving his post to focus on the Golden Dome for America missile defense project.

Douglas Matty, the Department of War’s chief digital and artificial intelligence officer, is leaving his current role to focus on the Trump administration’s Golden Dome for America next-generation missile defense shield project, DefenseScoop reported Wednesday.

Douglas Matty Leaving CDAO Post to Focus on Golden Dome

Gain exclusive insights from industry experts and explore innovative programs shaping national security at the Potomac Officers Club’s 2026 Defense R&D Summit on Jan. 29. Reserve your spot today for this must-attend event.

Andrew Mapes, acting principal deputy CDAO, will serve as acting chief of the Pentagon’s AI office until DOW finds a permanent replacement to Matty.

In April, Matty took on the CDAO role to oversee efforts to accelerate DOW’s adoption of AI, analytics and data to enable decision advantage on the battlefield.

Who Is Douglas Matty?

Matty is a national security leader with expertise spanning AI, operational command and data integration.

Before joining the Pentagon, he was director of research for AI and autonomy at the University of Alabama in Huntsville.

He previously served as an executive engineer at RAND and was the director of Army AI capabilities within the Department of the Army.

He is the founder of the U.S. Army Artificial Intelligence Integration Center, which is responsible for developing, synchronizing and coordinating AI capabilities for the military branch and providing critical support for DOW’s Joint AI Center.

For 30 years, Matty served as an active-duty officer in the Air Defense Artillery and Operations Research and Systems Analysis Functional Area.

The West Point computer engineering graduate has a doctorate degree in engineering systems from MIT.

What Is Golden Dome?

Golden Dome is envisioned as a multilayered defense system to intercept cruise, ballistic and hypersonic missile threats, integrating space-based sensors and interceptors.

According to a U.S. government slide presentation in August, Golden Dome will include four layers: one satellite-based platform and three land-based missile systems. One layer will provide space-based sensing and targeting for missile warning, tracking and defense. The three ground-based layers will consist of radar arrays, missile interceptors and lasers.

In July, the Senate confirmed Gen. Michael Guetlein, most recently vice chief of space operations at the U.S. Space Force and a 2025 Wash100 awardee, as direct reporting program manager for the Golden Dome project.

In January, President Donald Trump signed an executive order to build the Golden Dome for America, which is expected to cost $175 billion and be completed by 2028.

/
Jared Isaacman Confirmed as NASA Administrator
Published on
NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman. Jared Isaacman has been confirmed as administrator of NASA.

The Senate confirmed Jared Isaacman as the next administrator of NASA on Wednesday.

Isaacman’s nomination was approved by a vote of 67 in favor and 30 against, with three senators not voting, according to the official Senate roll call. He succeeds Secretary of Transportation Sean Duffy, who was named interim NASA administrator in July. 

How Did President Trump Handle Isaacman’s Nomination?

President Trump initially nominated Isaacman to be NASA administrator in December 2024 but withdrew the nomination five months later following “a thorough review of prior associations.” Isaacman was renominated in November.

“Jared’s passion for space, astronaut experience and dedication to pushing the boundaries of exploration, unlocking the mysteries of the universe and advancing the new Space economy, make him ideally suited to lead NASA into a bold new era,” the president posted on Truth Social, announcing the nomination.

Who Is Jared Isaacman?

Isaacman is the founder and CEO of Shift4, a payment processing company with nearly 4,000 employees and over $260 billion in annual transaction volume, serving more than 200,000 customers worldwide.

AIA CEO Eric Fanning on Isaacman’s Confirmation

Aerospace Industries Association President and CEO Eric Fanning, a previous Wash100 Award winner, congratulated Isaacman on his confirmation, saying, “The Aerospace Industries Association congratulates Mr. Isaacman on his confirmation to serve as the next Administrator of NASA, and we look forward to working with him to continue expanding our reach, both here on Earth and beyond.”

1 2 3 4 … 2,658