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Manuel Gauto: Navy’s Black Pearl Software Factory Eyes Impact Level 6 Accreditation
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Manuel Gauto: Navy’s Black Pearl Software Factory Eyes Impact Level 6 Accreditation

Manuel Gauto, chief engineer for the Department of the Navy’s Black Pearl software factory program, said the program is looking to secure accreditation for Impact Level 6 in order for it to work with secret-level classified workloads, Federal News Network reported Friday.

“So the folks who aren’t able to operate on unclassified [networks] also have an option,” he told FNN.

As the Black Pearl program works to secure authority-to-operate packages, it has developed partnerships with authorizing officials across the Navy.

“We have a cyber team on Black Pearl. We’ve built relationships with the authorizing official team. They now work together to figure out how to get to ‘yes.’ It’s much less adversarial,” Gauto said.

The chief engineer noted that Black Pearl has created guidance for organizations within the military branch to facilitate communications with authorizing officials about the cloud, software containers, Kubernetes and other edge technologies.

Gauto also noted that the program is working on Shipyard, a new offering that will serve as the Navy’s software factory for delivering to the cloud.

“It will be the policies and procedures, it will be the rules for the code scanners, it will be a little dashboard or something that’s like, ‘you are good to go or you are not good to go because XYZ,’” he said of Shipyard.

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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CISA Adds 3 New Topic Areas to Secure Tomorrow Series Toolkit
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CISA Adds 3 New Topic Areas to Secure Tomorrow Series Toolkit

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency has chosen three new topics for its Secure Tomorrow Series Toolkit, a set of interactive products to help critical infrastructure stakeholders identify and mitigate emerging risks.

These additions will focus on information and communications technology supply chain resilience, advanced manufacturing and water availability as factors that could impact national critical functions, CISA Associate Director of Strategic Foresight Erin Walsh shared in a blog post published Monday.

Existing topic areas include anonymity and privacy, trust and social cohesion, data storage and transmission, brain-computer interfaces, synthetic biology and quantum technologies.

The toolkit offers game templates, guides for facilitators, players and controllers, read-ahead materials and other resources to help critical infrastructure operators conduct matrix games, scenarios workshops, cross-impacts sessions and threat timelines activity.

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NASA Taps University of Hawaii to Operate Infrared Telescope Facility
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NASA Taps University of Hawaii to Operate Infrared Telescope Facility

The University of Hawaii has secured a potential 10-year, $85.5 million contract from NASA to maintain and operate the Infrared Telescope Facility, or IRTF, on Mauna Kea in Hilo, Hawaii.

NASA said Friday the university will create and execute an operations strategy to enable the scientific community to use the telescope to help the agency achieve its scientific discovery, mission support and planetary defense goals.

The contract has a one-year base period of performance with nine option years, which could extend these activities until the end of 2033 if exercised.

IRTF is a 3.2-meter telescope designed to provide infrared observations of the solar system in support of NASA’s mission objectives.

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National Space Intelligence Center Undergoes Change of Command, Redesignation as Field Operating Agency
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National Space Intelligence Center Undergoes Change of Command, Redesignation as Field Operating Agency

Col. Marcus Starks has assumed the role of commander of the National Space Intelligence Center, succeeding Col. Marqus Randall.

A ceremony took place at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base on June 28 to mark the change in command, according to an article published to the U.S. Space Force website on Monday.

Starks expressed his excitement at assuming the leadership of NSIC, saying, “I’m looking forward to serving the intelligence community and our local communities, and forging partnerships that will innovate problem solving and bring about the success we envision.”

Also known as Space Delta 18, the NSIC works to support the Space Force by providing intelligence and technical understanding.

During the same ceremony, the NSIC was redesignated as a USSF field operating agency.

Deputy Chief of Space Operations for Intelligence Maj. Gen. Gregory Gagnon said the redesignation “postures NSIC for increased effectiveness both inside the service and with our national intelligence community partners” amid increased demand for space-related intelligence driven by emerging threats.

Gagnon oversees all intelligence activities for the Space Force. As an FOA, the NSIC will report directly to him.

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DIU Solicits Tech Proposals for Autonomous Collaborative Teaming
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DIU Solicits Tech Proposals for Autonomous Collaborative Teaming

The Defense Innovation Unit is seeking proposals for collaborative autonomy systems integration technologies and command and control user interfaces to improve coordination among unmanned assets in challenging environments, including in areas where navigation and communication capabilities are degraded or denied.

According to a DIU solicitation posted on Monday, the technologies will address a lack of autonomous collaborative technologies within the Department of Defense.

DOD is inviting industry players with experience in developing and deploying large-scale distributed autonomy solutions to submit proposals.

Interested companies are advised to offer technologies that can meet the required core features, including mission management and prioritization, communications management and the capability to combine all targets detected by various sensors into a single target track.

For C2, DOD is interested in user interfaces designed to manage hundreds of vehicles, enable extensive mission planning and support real-time interaction with data from various vehicle and track sources.

Responses to the solicitation are due July 19.

Commerce Department to Support Microdevices Manufacturing With CHIPS & Science Act Investment
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Commerce Department to Support Microdevices Manufacturing With CHIPS & Science Act Investment

Rogue Valley Microdevices is set to receive $6.7 million in proposed direct CHIPS and Science Act funding, the first such investment for a women- and minority-owned business.

The Department of Commerce said Monday that it has signed a non-binding preliminary memorandum of terms with RVM to facilitate the funding, which would aid in the construction of a pure-play microelectromechanical systems, or MEMs, and sensor foundry facility in Palm Bay, Florida.

The investment is intended to help bolster the domestic supply of microelectronics and increase U.S. supply chain resilience. Projected for mid-2025, the completion of the facility is expected to result in additional employment opportunities in Florida.

Commenting on the investment, RVM Founder and CEO Jessica Gomez said the company is “deeply committed to the onshore manufacturing of advanced microelectronics.”

“We plan to use this capital infusion to increase production of the miniature, intelligent sensors that are critical to markets for which a robust supply chain is essential, including automotive, biomedical, and industrial,” she said.

Laurie Locascio, under secretary of commerce for standards and technology and director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology said, “As one of the only U.S. based MEMS foundries, RVM is positioned to support the U.S. semiconductor ecosystem with its 300mm MEMS foundry services.”

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USSF Kicks Off Commit Phase of Space Force Generation Model; Gen. Chance Saltzman Quoted
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USSF Kicks Off Commit Phase of Space Force Generation Model; Gen. Chance Saltzman Quoted

The U.S. Space Force has started the commit phase of a readiness model designed to deliver optimized, tailored mission readiness to service-assigned and combatant command missions to help meet the demands of great power competition.

The service branch said Monday implementation of the Space Force Generation model kicked off in October 2022.

Under the SPAFORGEN model, combat squadrons and combat detachments rotate through three phases: prepare, ready and commit.

“Day-to-day space operations, while critical, do not routinely offer Guardians the opportunity to practice for the challenges they will face in a combat environment,” said Gen. Chance Saltzman, chief of space operations for the Space Force.

“Rotating force elements through Prepare, Ready, and Commit phases creates the opportunity to deliberately build the high-end readiness we need,” added Saltzman, a 2024 Wash100 awardee.

The start of the first synchronized commit cycle came after the service branch completed the prepare and ready phases.

Under the commit phase, Guardians in force elements are fully validated, resourced and ready to perform combat operations, supporting combatant commanders in conducting operational missions.

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NASA Issues White Papers Regarding Moon to Mars Architecture
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NASA Issues White Papers Regarding Moon to Mars Architecture

NASA has published two white papers addressing considerations for the Moon to Mars architecture, an initiative that seeks to articulate the elements necessary for long-term, human-led deep space exploration.

The first, titled “Lunar Mobility Drivers and Needs,” focuses on the issue of moving cargo and assets on the surface of the moon as well as factors that might affect mobility systems, NASA said Friday.

Dubbed “Lunar Surface Cargo,” the second white paper tackles the expected requirements of any effort to transport cargo to the moon’s surface as well as the current gaps in capabilities that these endeavors may need.

These white papers were released by the space agency to communicate relevant information across different areas of interest to stakeholders.

White papers are usually released on a yearly cycle but are sometimes released mid-cycle, as is the case with these two documents.

SBA Launches Funding Solicitation for Emerging, Mature Regional Innovation Cluster Networks; Isabel Casillas Guzman Quoted
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SBA Launches Funding Solicitation for Emerging, Mature Regional Innovation Cluster Networks; Isabel Casillas Guzman Quoted

Isabel Casillas Guzman, administrator of the Small Business Administration, has announced a new funding opportunity to drive small business development.

Awards made through the solicitation will support the SBA’s Regional Innovation Cluster, or RIC, initiative and will be issued at both the emerging and mature cluster levels, the agency said Friday.

“Our two new funding levels will support both emerging and mature industry clusters and help ensure small business innovators have access to the technical assistance, industry knowledge, and capital products necessary to start and grow their businesses,” Guzman explained in a statement.

Launched in 2010, the RIC program seeks to establish and promote networks of clusters, or geographically concentrated teams of interconnected businesses, suppliers and associated entities, to help small businesses grow in their respective industries.

Emerging clusters provide small business assistance in their specific regions and industries, while mature clusters include organizations with experience in creating and implementing programming to support small businesses.

The Office of Investment and Innovation’s Investment and Innovation Ecosystem Development will hold a webinar on July 9 to discuss the funding opportunity. The RIC solicitation is open until July 26.

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DCMA Stands Up New Contract Management Office in Central Region
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DCMA Stands Up New Contract Management Office in Central Region

The Defense Contract Management Agency has established a new contract management office as part of its reorganization effort in the Central Region.

DCMA Ohio River Valley, or ORV, is the primary CMO supporting the Air Force Simulators program and contracts for the Special Operations Command and the joint nuclear enterprise programs, the agency said Thursday.

The new office was activated in June and replaces DCMA Dayton. It has over 380 employees responsible for the management and oversight of $41 billion in contract obligations, 16,000 contract actions and 1,200 contractors in Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan and Ohio.

Moreover, the reorganization involved realigning subordinate commands DCMA Lexington and DCMA Cleveland under ORV and moving some employees from DCMA Chicago and DCMA Detroit, now known as DCMA Land Systems, to the new office.

“Standing up a new organization brings with it an uncertainty that could create a negative environment,” said Air Force Col. Thomas Clohessy, director of DCMA ORV. “We had planned accordingly to mitigate this threat and ensure as smooth a transition as possible for everyone involved.”

The restructuring process was done in support of the DCMA vision to be a team of trusted professionals delivering value to the warfighters throughout the acquisition lifecycle.

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