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DIU Awards Autonomous Maritime Vehicle Prototype Contracts
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DIU Awards Autonomous Maritime Vehicle Prototype Contracts

The Defense Innovation Unit, in partnership with the U.S. Navy, has awarded contracts to select mid-size, non-traditional and venture-backed companies to prototype small unmanned surface vehicle — or sUSV — interceptors that can operate together as robotic swarms in contested environments.

The effort supports the Department of Defense’s Replicator initiative, which aims to provide warfighters with all-domain, attritable, autonomous systems faster than traditional procurement timelines, the DIU said Monday.

Speaking at the National Defense Industry Association 2024 Emerging Technology for Defense Conference, Kathleen Hicks, deputy secretary of Defense and a 2024 Wash100 awardee, said Replicator is demonstrating how to deliver all kinds of capability at speed and scale.

“What we’ve done in under 12 months can take seven-to-ten years. At the end of the day, all our efforts are conditioning DoD, Congress, and the private sector for the battlespace of the future, and the pace of change necessary to succeed,” she added.

The sUSV prototype contract awardees were selected among over 100 applicants that responded to the DIU’s solicitation for production-ready automated maritime drones in January.

DIU Director Doug Beck said having non-traditional defense companies as contract winners demonstrates the DOD’s “growing ability to leverage leading commercial and dual-use technologies to meet critical and emerging national security needs.”

Get an in-depth look into current Navy priorities at the Potomac Officers Club’s 2024 Navy Summit on August 15. Register here.

DIU Awards Autonomous Maritime Vehicle Prototype Contracts
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GovCon Index Took Downward Turn Last Week
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GovCon Index Took Downward Turn Last Week

Executive Mosaic’s GovCon Index fell by 0.03% last week. This slight loss marked the end of a four-week growth trend.

GovCon Index is an aggregate index that presents real-time data on the stock market performance of 30 major government contracting companies. This information enables users to analyze the financial success of each tracked organization and gain insights into the broad trends shaping today’s GovCon marketplace.

GovCon Index began last week with a 2.15% drop on Monday. It jumped back into positive territory on Tuesday, and made slight gains on Wednesday. On Thursday, GovCon Index rose by a notable 1.74% — an increase driven by Palantir’s 11.25% rise. Though growth continued on Friday, GovCon Index stayed negative overall.

For more details on daily GovCon Index performance, check out last week’s market reports. To access the complete list of tracked companies, click here.

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NSF Selects First Pilot Projects Advancing National Quantum Virtual Laboratory
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NSF Selects First Pilot Projects Advancing National Quantum Virtual Laboratory

The National Science Foundation has selected the initial batch of pilot projects to advance its National Quantum Virtual Laboratory program.

The five projects, which will receive funding of $1 million each, will build the foundation for NQVL, a decentralized national resource enabling accelerated discovery and development of use-inspired quantum technologies, NSF said.

For instance, one of the projects will build a quantum network to support secure long-distance communication systems. Stony Brook University will collaborate with Columbia University, Yale University and Brookhaven National Laboratory on the effort.

According to NSF Assistant Director for Mathematical and Physical Sciences Denise Caldwell, the upcoming laboratory will facilitate the translation of new scientific ideas into developed technologies that benefit society.

NSF noted that NQVL will accelerate the translation of fundamental science and engineering concepts into practical applications co-designed by a diverse community of computing, networking and sensing experts.

The laboratory also intends to train the STEM workforce that would spearhead U.S. industries in the future, the foundation explained.

NSF will announce five additional projects supporting NQVL in late 2024.

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DOD Unveils Housing Feedback System for Service Members
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DOD Unveils Housing Feedback System for Service Members

The Department of Defense has unveiled a system to improve communication between service members and their privatized landlords throughout DOD military housing.

The DOD Housing Feedback System, or DHFS, will allow service members and their authorized dependents to submit public feedback on the condition of their current housing unit by opening an additional communication channel for occupants, the DOD announced Monday.

Deborah Rosenblum, acting deputy under secretary of defense for acquisition and sustainment, said, “The Department of Defense has a moral obligation to ensure that the spaces where our Service members and their families live are healthy, functional, and resilient.”

The DHFS will provide a direct portal to place maintenance work order requests as the department continues to improve the housing quality of approximately 250,000 homes for service members and their families.

“This new feedback system is a critical step to ensuring transparent and timely responses to occupants’ concerns and aligns with Secretary Austin’s priority to Take Care of Our People,” Rosenblum emphasized.

“We are focused on putting our people’s experiences at the very center of all the work we do,” she added.

Earlier this year, the DOD unveiled a Resilient and Healthy Defense Communities Strategy designed to produce sustainable housing for service members and their families. The DHFS is currently up and running.

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Air Force Conducts QUICKSINK Demo to Enhance Naval Warfare Capabilities
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Air Force Conducts QUICKSINK Demo to Enhance Naval Warfare Capabilities

The U.S. Air Force recently conducted a demonstration to determine the capability of low-cost, air-delivered methods in neutralizing surface vessels.

The Air Force said Thursday a QUICKSINK demonstration took place in the Gulf of Mexico near Elgin Air Force. The test was done with the goal of strengthening the nation’s defense against maritime threats. In particular, the QUICKSINK program aims to develop the capability to quickly neutralize such threats despite the vastness of the oceans.

QUICKSINK is part of the Maritime Weapon Program spearheaded by the Air Force Research Laboratory and the Navy. This program covers the development of enhanced weapons that can be launched from an aircraft to neutralize enemy vessels.

Another QUICKSINK demo was performed in July as part of the second RIMPAC SINKEX. In the demo, a low-cost air-delivered method was tested with the help of a B-2 Spirit stealth bomber .

Col. Matthew Caspers, director of AFRL, Munitions Directorate, stressed the strategic importance of QUICKSINK. “The development of this technology helps deliver technological superiority to ensure the United States can defend our interests, maintain freedom of action, and seize the initiative over large maritime areas.”

“QUICKSINK is an answer to an urgent need to neutralize maritime threats to freedom around the world. This program is unique in that it can provide capabilities to modify existing and future Department of Defense weapons systems, giving combatant commanders and our national leaders new ways to defend against maritime threats,” added Caspers.

The Potomac Officers Club invites you to the 2024 Navy Summit, where naval leaders, experts, and innovators from government and industry will gather to discuss maritime security and other vital issues. Click here to register.

Air Force Conducts QUICKSINK Demo to Enhance Naval Warfare Capabilities
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Bipartisan Senate Bill Seeks Mandatory Contractor Cyber Vulnerability Disclosure
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Bipartisan Senate Bill Seeks Mandatory Contractor Cyber Vulnerability Disclosure

Sens. Mark Warner, D-Va., and James Lankford, R-Okla. have put forward the Federal Contractor Cybersecurity Vulnerability Reduction Act of 2024, which would extend the coverage of the National Institute of Standards and Technology’s vulnerability disclosure policies, or VDPs, to federal contractors.

A companion House bill has been introduced by Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., calling for a Federal Acquisition Regulation update requiring federal contractors to implement VDPs, Warner’s office said Friday.

The policies currently cover civilian federal agencies but do not regulate the information systems that federal contractors use in their contracts, the senator’s office added.

One of the provisions of the Warner-Lankford bill requires the Secretary of Defense to direct revisions on the Defense Federal Acquisition Regulation Supplement contract requirements to ensure contractors’ compliance to VDPs.

Warner describes VDPs as proactive tools to mitigate cyber vulnerabilities. “This legislation will ensure that federal contractors, along with federal agencies, are adhering to national guidelines that will better protect our critical infrastructure, and sensitive data from potential attacks,” he stressed.

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John Hill Named Acting Assistant Secretary of Defense for Space Policy
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John Hill Named Acting Assistant Secretary of Defense for Space Policy

John Hill, deputy assistant secretary for space and missile defense at the Department of Defense, has been selected to replace Vipin Narang as acting assistant secretary of defense for space policy.

Amanda Dory, acting undersecretary of defense for policy, announced the leadership transition in a news release published Friday.

Dory acknowledged Narang’s efforts in advancing DOD’s strategic capabilities for integrated deterrence and his leadership in space, nuclear systems and weapons of mass destruction mitigation.

Narang is leaving his post at the department to return to academia.

Hill has held various positions within DOD, including principal director for space policy, the department’s representative in negotiations with Afghanistan on the Security and Defense Cooperation Agreement, director for Northeast Asia and senior country director for Japan.

He is a Presidential Rank Award recipient whose experience spans international negotiations encompassing defense posture, nuclear non-proliferation, status of forces and defense industrial collaboration.

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ONCD Releases Summary Report of Public Feedback on Open-Source Software Security
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ONCD Releases Summary Report of Public Feedback on Open-Source Software Security

The Office of the National Cyber Director has released the summary report on the request for information it had issued in 2023 to call for recommendations on the areas that need to be focused on and prioritized in order to properly secure the open-source software, or OSS, ecosystem.

The report consolidates the feedback that was received from the OSS community, the ONCD said Friday. The feedback covered five areas, namely: secure OSS foundations; sustaining OSS communities and governance; behavioral and economic incentives to securing the OSS ecosystem; research and development; and international collaboration.

Feedback that did not fall under these groups were classified under a general sixth category named “other.”

Based on the comments, the public agreed on, among other things, the need to use memory-safe programming languages; investment in education to develop a workforce versed in programming; strong contribution on the part of the federal government, including participation in standards-setting, incentivizing the promotion of ecosystem safety and collaboration with international partners; and the need for better vulnerability disclosure mechanisms.

The RFI was issued in light of the growing use of OSS, as promoted by the National Cybersecurity Strategy, and the increasing cyber threat that accompanied it.

“It is imperative to bolster the security and resilience of the open-source software ecosystem while preserving the key features that foster innovation and economic prosperity,” the report said.

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FedRAMP Seeks Public Input on Draft Policy for Cryptographic Module Selection & Use
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FedRAMP Seeks Public Input on Draft Policy for Cryptographic Module Selection & Use

The Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program has begun seeking public comments on a draft policy update that seeks to strengthen the use of cryptography to ensure the security of federal cloud systems.

The draft policy outlines the requirements for selecting and using cryptographic modules for cloud-based systems.

FedRAMP said Friday it wants input on the policy’s potential implications for how cloud providers develop their offerings and whether the policy addresses a specific challenge in applying cryptography in cloud services.

The program is also asking stakeholders whether there are specific requirements they think should be included in the document to effectively implement the policy.

According to the draft, FedRAMP has several goals for the draft policy update, such as ensuring that cryptographic algorithms and functions being used to protect the confidentiality or integrity of federal systems and data are approved and promoting the use of cryptographic modules that are free of known vulnerabilities.

Public comments on the draft policy are due Sept. 9.

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NAVWAR Welcomes Rear Adm. Seiko Okano as New Commander
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NAVWAR Welcomes Rear Adm. Seiko Okano as New Commander

Rear Adm. Seiko Okano took charge of Naval Information Warfare Systems Command during a change of command ceremony that took place on Aug. 9 in San Diego.

The new NAVWAR commander previously served as program executive officer for integrated warfare systems within Naval Sea Systems Command, according to a news article posted Friday on the U.S. Navy website.

Through her career, Okano has served in operational tours and has taken on roles in acquisition, including at the Missile Defense Agency, the Space and Missile Systems Center and at Naval Surface Warfare Center, Port Hueneme.

In her new position, Okano will be responsible for thousands of military and civilian personnel working on advanced Navy communications and information capabilities.

Okano succeeded Rear Adm. Doug Small, who has retired from military service. Small had led NAVWAR for four years, during which the organization was deemed the best place to work in the Navy in the 2023 Best Places to Work in Federal Government rankings. He was also responsible for establishing Project Overmatch, an initiative that seeks to field a new naval operating architecture and deliver rapid integration systems.

Regarding his successor, Small said during the ceremony, “Be proud of the amazing work you do here and keep holding onto the mission together. You will be in good hands with Rear Adm. Okano, and I can’t wait to see what else you all will accomplish.”

For his part, Third Fleet Commander Vice Adm. John Wade, who presided over the ceremony, said no one is better suited “to sustain and increase the momentum” Small established at NAVWAR than Okano.

“I look forward to serving with you and the NAVWAR team as we continue bring capability forward,” Wade added.

NAVWAR Welcomes Rear Adm. Seiko Okano as New Commander

Naval leaders, experts and innovators from government and industry will discuss how they’re enhancing maritime security, driving technological advancements and fostering strategic cooperation during the Potomac Officers Club’s 2024 Navy Summit, which will take place on Aug. 15. Register now to attend this important event!

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