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Northrop Secures $388M Air Force Award for Continued Global Hawk Aircraft Sustainment
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Northrop Secures $388M Air Force Award for Continued Global Hawk Aircraft Sustainment

Northrop Grumman will continue providing logistics services in support of RQ-4 Global Hawk aircraft under a $387.5 million definitized contract action from the U.S. Air Force.

The company will perform sustainment work on the high-altitude, remotely-piloted surveillance aircraft at its San Diego, California sites and other locations for global customers through April 30, 2025, the Department of Defense said Friday.

NATO, South Korea and Japan procure the services through the Foreign Military Sales program, and Northrop is expected to conduct aircraft support at Sacheon and Osan Air Bases in South Korea, Misawa Air Base in Japan and Naval Air Station Sigonella in Italy.

Northrop has been providing services for South Korea’s Global Hawks since it received a $158.4 million undefinitized contract in November 2020. The company secured a $108.8 million contract modification the following year for the aircraft’s continued logistics support.

For the current action, Northrop is being obligated $33.7 million FMS funds at the time of award.

NTIA’s Charles Cooper Provides Updates on National Spectrum Strategy Implementation
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NTIA’s Charles Cooper Provides Updates on National Spectrum Strategy Implementation

Charles Cooper, associate administrator of the National Telecommunications and Information Administration’s Office of Spectrum Management, said the agency is initiating technical studies of spectrum bands as part of its efforts to implement the National Spectrum Strategy.

NTIA is working to streamline the process for federal agencies to obtain funding from the Spectrum Relocation Fund for their studies of the lower 3 GHz and the 7/8 GHz bands.

“We expect that more than 10 federal agencies will seek funding, and our hope is this streamlined process will make the application process easier and quicker for these agencies,” Cooper said.

Participating agencies will have two years to complete the band studies following the distribution of the “pipeline” funds by October.

NTIA is also exploring advanced spectrum management techniques, including Dynamic Spectrum Sharing, in collaboration with the Department of Defense.

“Although this effort hopefully will inform spectrum sharing in the future for this band and others, it is separate and apart from the Lower 3 GHz band study discussed above,” according to Cooper.

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NAVSUP Releases New Naval Sustainment System-Supply Framework to Improve Fleet Readiness
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NAVSUP Releases New Naval Sustainment System-Supply Framework to Improve Fleet Readiness

Naval Supply Systems Command has released a new version of its Naval Sustainment System-Supply, or NSS-Supply, framework focused on improving fleet outcomes and strengthening NAVSUP’s fleet readiness support initiatives, DVIDS reported Wednesday.

The NSS-Supply 2.0 framework shifts to a readiness calculation from a monetized-value calculation to assess the Surface Warfare community’s progress in reaching their fleet readiness goals.

NAVSUP focuses on the three categories of the Navy’s fleet readiness goals — subsurface, surface and aviation.

NSS-Supply is a multi-year Navy-wide initiative aimed at transforming the end-to-end supply chain and sustaining the naval fleet’s mission needs.

The effort utilizes an Agile approach to assessing problem areas in the supply chain and deploying innovations that can accelerate the Navy’s warfighting advantage.

Since 2021, NSS-Supply has launched 33 initiatives, including building the E2E Naval Shipyard Supply Chain Management tool to improve submarine material support and increasing nuclear submarine capabilities through enhanced policies and improved spares pool health.

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Commerce Department Proposes $6B in Funding to Back Micron’s Domestic Memory Chip Production; Gina Raimondo Quoted
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Commerce Department Proposes $6B in Funding to Back Micron’s Domestic Memory Chip Production; Gina Raimondo Quoted

The Department of Commerce has proposed to provide Micron Technology with approximately $6.14 billion in funding through the CHIPS and Science Act to help the company expand its dynamic random-access memory — or DRAM — chip production in New York and Idaho.

The department said Thursday the proposed funding under a nonbinding preliminary memorandum of terms signed with Micron would support the construction of two DRAM fabs in New York and another facility in Idaho.

The plan would support Micron’s plans to onshore about 40 percent of its DRAM chip production in the next 20 years.

“With this proposed investment, we are working to deliver on one of the core objectives of President Biden’s CHIPS program – onshoring the development and production of the most advanced memory semiconductor technology which is crucial for safeguarding our leadership on artificial intelligence and protecting our economic and national security,” said Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo.

“With these proposed investments, coupled with Micron’s historic private investment of up to $125 billion in New York and Idaho over the next 20 years, President Biden is working to revitalize U.S. technological leadership and creating tens of thousands of good-paying jobs,” added Raimondo.

Over the next six years, Micron plans to spend $50 billion on the construction of the first three fabs in the U.S.

In the next two decades, the company’s fab construction projects are expected to generate over 13,500 construction and facility jobs in New York and about 6,500 construction and manufacturing jobs in Idaho.

The projects in the two states will operate under project labor agreements, which focus on workforce training.

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CISA Helps Critical Infrastructure Organizations Prevent Ransomware Attacks Through Pilot Program
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CISA Helps Critical Infrastructure Organizations Prevent Ransomware Attacks Through Pilot Program

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency completed 1,754 notifications to critical infrastructure organizations in calendar year 2023 through its Ransomware Vulnerability Warning Pilot program.

Launched in March 2023, the RVWP program seeks to help federal government, state and local agencies and critical infrastructure organizations mitigate vulnerabilities and protect their networks and systems from ransomware attacks through notifications, CISA said Thursday.

Of those more than 1,700 notifications, CISA found that 852 resulted in patching of vulnerable devices, implementation of a compensating control and actions to take those devices offline after receiving notifications.

CISA has called on organizations to adopt its Cyber Hygiene Vulnerability Scanning, a no-cost service that tracks internet-connected devices for known vulnerabilities and informs organizations of vulnerabilities commonly linked to ransomware exploitation.

According to the agency, organizations implementing the vulnerability scanning service could reduce their exposure by 40 percent within the first year.

POC - 2024 Cyber Summit

Join the Potomac Officers Club’s 2024 Cyber Summit on June 6 and hear cyber experts, government and industry leaders discuss the latest trends and the dynamic role of cyber in the public sector. Register here.

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DLA Chief Lt. Gen. Mark Simerly on Importance of Data Acumen, Need to Promote Small Businesses
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DLA Chief Lt. Gen. Mark Simerly on Importance of Data Acumen, Need to Promote Small Businesses

Army Lt. Gen. Mark Simerly, director of the Defense Logistics Agency, highlighted the importance of data within DLA and the need for industry partners to address the data acumen of their workforce.

“Data is the most decisive commodity we manage, and DLA’s role within the DoD is unique when it comes to delivering and connecting logistics data,” Simerly said during his keynote speech at a conference on Wednesday.

“Our responsibility to effectively employ data to drive decisions and achieve advantages depends on the data acumen of our workforce and the leaders who support them,” he added.

Simerly told conference attendees that advancing defense socioeconomic goals is one of DLA’s primary focus areas. He also stressed the importance of promoting small businesses in the defense ecosystem.

“Together, we stand committed to fostering an environment where small businesses thrive, collaborating seamlessly with prime contractors to ensure collective success and sustainability across the defense industrial base,” he said.

“We recognize that by nurturing our small businesses, we not only bolster our industrial base but promote economic vitality and inclusivity within our communities,” the DLA director added.

His remarks also touched on DLA’s transformation framework, which focuses on enhancing the agency’s workforce, precision, posture and partnerships.

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Army Unveils New Electronic Health Data Capture Software Modernization Program
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Army Unveils New Electronic Health Data Capture Software Modernization Program

The U.S. Army has launched a new program to modernize the service branch’s efforts to develop, integrate and field software capabilities to capture electronic health data of soldiers worldwide.

The Operational Medicine Information Systems-Army, or OMIS-A, will replace the Medical Communications for Combat Casualty Care program, which has provided operational health information technology products to the Army since 1999.

“Over the past 20-plus years, the MC4 team not only rose to the challenges in software development, fielding and product sustainment, but it showed resilience and transformed to meet Army needs,” said Col. Matthew Paul, project manager for Integrated Personnel and Pay System-Army.

“We’re building on the legacy of MC4’s accomplishments to rapidly develop and deploy innovative software solutions to revolutionize operational health IT,” said Steve Reichard, the incoming OMIS-A product lead.

According to the Army Program Executive Office for Enterprise Information Systems, OMIS-A will electronically capture all medical treatment provided to Soldiers to update their electronic health records.

OMIS-A will also provide a tactical medical capability at all care levels to Army physicians and medical specialists, address the Army’s medical information requirements and ensure integration with current and future Department of Defense and Army communication infrastructures.

POC - 9th Annual Army Summit

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Lloyd Austin to Meet With Australian, Japanese, Philippine Counterparts Next Week
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Lloyd Austin to Meet With Australian, Japanese, Philippine Counterparts Next Week

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin will travel to Hawaii next week to meet with defense leaders from Australia, Japan and the Philippines as part of ongoing efforts to bolster the United States’ defense and security relationship with the three countries, the Pentagon said Friday.

Lloyd Austin to Meet With Australian, Japanese, Philippine Counterparts Next Week

Learn more about how the U.S. is engaging with allies and international partners at the first-ever GovCon International Summit hosted by the Potomac Officers Club on Oct. 10, 2024. Hear insights from defense experts, industry leaders and government decision-makers in a collaborative environment. Register here. 

Secretary Austin, a previous Wash100 Award recipient, will meet individually with Australian Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Defence Richard Marles and Japanese Minister of Defense Kihara Minoru on May 2. Then, all three officials will participate in a Trilateral Defense Ministerial Meeting.

The last scheduled meeting includes Secretary Austin, Deputy Prime Minister Marles, Minister Kihara, and Philippines Secretary of National Defense Gilberto Teodoro. This will mark the second-ever meeting between the four defense officials.

These meetings come at a time when tensions are rising in the Indo-Pacific region, competition is intensifying between the U.S. and China and U.S. defense officials are calling for deeper relationships with allied nations.

Secretary Austin recently spoke virtually with Adm. Dong Jun, defense minister of China, for the first time in nearly 18 months. According to the Department of Defense, the two leaders discussed defense relations between the U.S. and China, among other timely topics.

During his trip, Austin will also preside over a change of command ceremony at the U.S. Indo-Pacific Command, known as INDOPACOM. He will recognize outgoing commander Admiral John Aquilino and welcome incoming commander Admiral Samuel Paparo.

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MITRE Updates Cyber Resiliency Engineering Framework Navigator to Align With CMMC
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MITRE Updates Cyber Resiliency Engineering Framework Navigator to Align With CMMC

MITRE has incorporated the Department of Defense’s Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification into Cyber Resiliency Engineering Framework Navigator, a tool that works to help engineers in their decision-making process when designing cyber-resilient capabilities.

Launched in 2023, CREF Navigator visually represents the various elements of National Institute of Standards and Technology Special Publication 800-160 Volume 2 Revision 1, which MITRE said Thursday it had helped develop in collaboration with NIST.

With the incorporation of CMMC, the tool shows the relationship of NIST SP 800-160 Volume 2 (Rev 1) to NIST SP 800-171 and the elements of NIST SP 800-172 aligned with CMMC, in addition to various cybersecurity frameworks like the MITRE ATT&CK knowledgebase of tactics and techniques and Cyber Model-Based Systems Engineering for cyber threat modeling.

Regarding the changes to CREF Navigator, MITRE Principal Cybersecurity Engineer Shane Steiger said the enhancements would make it possible for cyber engineers to “create their own scenarios and apply different parameters of threats and techniques,” resulting in customization tailored to individual needs.

MITRE Updates Cyber Resiliency Engineering Framework Navigator to Align With CMMC

Cyber experts, government leaders and industry visionaries will speak about the dynamic and evolving role of cyber in the public sector at the Potomac Officers Club’s 2024 Cyber Summit, which will take place in June. Register now to attend this important event!

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SBA Seeks Contractors for Initiative to Establish Regional Clusters to Support Small Businesses
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SBA Seeks Contractors for Initiative to Establish Regional Clusters to Support Small Businesses

The Small Business Administration Office of Investment and Innovation seeks to determine the availability of contractors that can provide a variety of services in support of the Regional Innovation Clusters, or RICs, initiative, which seeks to establish networks of organizations that work to support small businesses, enabling them to grow and become competitive.

The required services cover the building of cluster networks, the management and oversight of RICs, the delivery of small business support and the development of reports, according to a sources sought notice posted Monday on SAM.gov.

The government expects to conduct a competition for the requirement that will result in up to 12 time and material contract awards. July 1 is the target start of the performance period.

Interested parties have until May 2 to respond to the notice. Respondents must indicate the geographic location of their proposed innovation cluster and the industry they are targeting.

Of particular interest to the government are industries that line up with the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy’s critical and emerging technology areas, which include artificial intelligence, advanced computing and manufacturing, clean energy generation and storage, hypersonics, quantum information and enabling technologies and semiconductors and microelectronics.

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