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Army Releases Data Platform Guidance
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Army Releases Data Platform Guidance

The Department of the Army has issued a memorandum to clarify approved data platforms and allowable low-code/no-code activities within data platforms.

According to the memo publicly posted on Thursday, data platforms provide an approved and accredited environment to implement the decision-driven data concept of operations and serve as a key technology enabler for establishing a data-centric Army.

The document states that Army organizations will only utilize Department of Defense Approved Data Platforms, or DADP, and will not develop new data management platforms for business mission activities without the approval of the service branch’s chief data and analytics officer, also known as CDAO.

When an Army component determines that the DADP is not sufficient to complete a mission or objective, it can request an exemption to the Army CDAO through the Army Data Board.

According to the memo, users are allowed to conduct low-code/no-code activities in accordance with the approved scope of the platform requirement and approved accreditation boundaries.

The guidance document requires the owner or proponent of an approved data platform to maintain a governance body that will assess activities within the platform to ensure that low-code/no-code activities lie within the accreditation boundary and requirements scope.

The memo was signed by Leonel Garciga, the Army’s chief information officer and a 2024 Wash100 Award recipient, and Douglas Bush, the Army’s acquisition executive and a previous Wash100 awardee.

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MagniX, NASA Perform Engine Altitude Tests to Support Future Hybrid Electric Flight
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MagniX, NASA Perform Engine Altitude Tests to Support Future Hybrid Electric Flight

MagniX engineers conducted a series of altitude tests for a battery-powered engine to demonstrate its capabilities to potentially support hybrid electric flight in the future.

The company used an altitude chamber at NASA’s Electric Aircraft Testbed — a.k.a. NEAT — facility, to test the propulsion system at a simulated 27,500 feet and evaluate its performance under realistic flight conditions, the space agency said Tuesday.

The completion of the activity in April wrapped up the first phase of NEAT-hosted altitude tests under NASA’s Electrified Powertrain Flight Demonstration, or EPFD, project, which focuses on the feasibility of powering future commercial aircraft with hybrid electric propulsion.

Emphasizing the importance of the recent activity, Brad French, lead systems engineer for NASA EPFD, said, “The testing at NEAT is critical for high-power electrified aircraft propulsion technologies because many of the potential problems that a design might encounter only present themselves at higher altitudes.”

MagniX and NASA examined how the temperature at higher altitudes and high voltage could affect the electric engine when operational. Partial discharge tests were also performed to study the strength of the system’s electrical insulation.

Under EPFD, a De Havilland Dash 7 aircraft is being retrofitted with a new propulsion system with traditional turbo-propellor engines and electric motors.

The hybrid electric flight testing of the aircraft is planned for 2026.

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DOE Releases Set of Principles to Ensure Energy Infrastructure Supply Chain Cybersecurity
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DOE Releases Set of Principles to Ensure Energy Infrastructure Supply Chain Cybersecurity

The Department of Energy has issued a document outlining a set of principles regarding cybersecurity best practices for energy infrastructure supply chains.

The document, titled Supply Chain Cybersecurity Principles, was developed in collaboration with Idaho National Laboratory for the benefit of manufacturers as well as end users, the DOE said Tuesday.

Commenting on the issuance of the principles, Deputy National Security Adviser for Cyber and Emerging Technologies and past Wash100 Award winner Anne Neuberger said, “The Biden-Harris Administration is prioritizing the security and resilience of our critical energy infrastructure with this global initiative, emphasizing the importance of aligning individual supply chain security efforts for operational technology used in the energy sector.”

For his part, Deputy Secretary of Energy David Turk said, “Together with our G7 allies, we’re helping ensure energy infrastructure worldwide is more reliable and resilient against tomorrow’s threats and challenges.”

Multiple energy sector companies — including GE Vernova, Schneider Electric, Hitachi Energy, Siemens and Honeywell — have expressed support for the principles.

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CISA Issues Guidance Promoting Use of Modern Network Access Security Approaches
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CISA Issues Guidance Promoting Use of Modern Network Access Security Approaches

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency is calling on business leaders to review a recently-released joint guidance titled Modern Approaches to Network Access Security, which is meant for organizations seeking to transition to more modern, fine-grained network security options that meet their data access needs.

The guidance specifically recommends the adoption of three security approaches — zero trust, Secure Service Edge and Secure Access Service Edge — which offer improved network activity visibility, CISA said Tuesday.

The guidance also tackles remote access and VPN deployment and associated practices, threats and vulnerabilities, including those related to remote access misconfiguration.

CISA co-authored the document along with the FBI, the Canadian Centre for Cyber Security and New Zealand’s Government Communications Security Bureau and Computer Emergency Response Team.

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Department of Transportation Selects 9 Vendors to Provide Complementary PNT Technologies for Field Testing
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Department of Transportation Selects 9 Vendors to Provide Complementary PNT Technologies for Field Testing

The Department of Transportation has awarded contracts to nine companies that will provide the Volpe National Transportation Systems Center with commercial complementary positioning, navigation and timing technologies to be subjected to field test trials.

During the tests, the Volpe Center will deploy the CPNT technologies in nominal as well as challenging conditions, evaluate them and use the resulting data in research work for the promotion of CPNT service adoption, according to a solicitation posted on SAM.gov.

CPNTs are envisioned as complementary services to be deployed in the event of disruption of conventional PNT capabilities, like the Global Positioning System, according to the DOT’s Complementary PNT Action Plan.

Karen Van Dyke, director for positioning, navigation and timing & spectrum management at the DOT’s Office of the Assistant Secretary for Research & Technology, said in an interview with Inside GNSS that the aim of the field trials is to get CPNT “thoroughly tested” so that its limits and vulnerabilities can be “well understood” before the agency can recommend its use.

The following are the awardees and the value of their contracts:

  • NextNav – $1.8M
  • Carahsoft Technology – $1.5M
  • Microsemi Frequency and Time Corp. – $1.4M
  • Parsons Government Services – $132,416
  • Hoptroff – $934,076
  • Locata – $778,630
  • Safran Trusted 4D – $245,300
  • NAL Research- $144,599
  • Tern AI – $51,780
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Istari Digital Wins AFWERX Contract for Modeling & Simulation Services; Dr. Will Roper Quoted
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Istari Digital Wins AFWERX Contract for Modeling & Simulation Services; Dr. Will Roper Quoted

Istari Digital has received a $15 million AFWERX contract titled “Model One.” The program will connect models and simulations throughout the Air Force to tackle the challenges of “internetized” warfare.

Dr. Will Roper, Istari Digital founder, president and CEO, believes that with digital transformation increasingly accelerating industries, the new contract will allow the company to speed up its innovation processes, the Arlington, Virginia-based company announced Wednesday.

“This latest contract demonstrates our commitment to breakthrough data-meshing solutions and our customers’ confidence in leveraging them,” said Roper, a multiple Wash100 Award winner. “Our plug-n-play digital thread platform provides secure, real-time, digital collaboration across difficult-to-integrate data types, unlocking digital speed of all innovation.”

An Air Force program dubbed “Flyer Øne” is already harnessing Istari Digital’s platform, effectively constructing the world’s first digitally-certified airplane.

Former Google CEO Eric Schmidt remarked, “Model Øne is an exciting opportunity for Istari Digital to create a virtual military on the way towards creating the industries of the future.”

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Lockheed Secures $64M Navy Award for Continued F-35 Joint Strike Fighter Program Support
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Lockheed Secures $64M Navy Award for Continued F-35 Joint Strike Fighter Program Support

Lockheed Martin‘s aeronautics business will continue providing infrastructure services in support of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program for the U.S. Air Force, Navy, Marine Corps and F-35 cooperative program partners under a $63.5 million contract modification.

The award for continued infrastructure support covers engineering, maintenance, logistics, manpower and material for F-35 JSF laboratory facilities and aircraft developmental flight test activities, the Department of Defense said Tuesday.

Lockheed Martin Aeronautics will perform the majority of work in Fort Worth, Texas, until August. Other contract locations are in Orlando, Florida; Linthicum, Maryland; Nashua, New Hampshire; San Diego and El Segundo, California; the U.K.; and within the continental U.S.

Patuxent River, Maryland-based Naval Air Systems Command serves as the contracting activity.

In May 2022, Lockheed received a two-year, $632.1 million contract from NAVAIR for software builds and developmental flight tests in support of the F-35 program. The recent modification award extends the company’s work under this contract.

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OFPP Seeks Comments on Application of Cost Accounting Standards to Indefinite Delivery Vehicles
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OFPP Seeks Comments on Application of Cost Accounting Standards to Indefinite Delivery Vehicles

The Office of Federal Procurement Policy within the Office of Management and Budget is soliciting public comments on whether and how to amend the rules to address the application of cost accounting standards, or CAS, to indefinite delivery vehicles, or IDVs.

According to a Federal Register notice published Tuesday, the Cost Accounting Standards Board within OFPP will accept comments through Aug. 19.

The CAS Board is considering the disadvantages and benefits of revising its rules to address when CAS applies to IDVs in light of the notable increase in the use of the vehicles in government procurement.

The board seeks to ensure its continued ability to achieve consistency in the cost accounting practices governing the assignment, measurement and allocation of costs to contracts with the U.S. government and identified provisional principles to support its assessment of alternatives.

Principles include helping each contract party to manage risks, reducing regulatory burden to the government and contractor, and promoting consistency in the application of CAS.

The board has identified six possible approaches to addressing CAS coverage to IDVs to facilitate public feedback: order-by-order; maximum award value; minimum award value; cumulative threshold; order-by-order for multiple award IDVs and maximum award value for single award IDVs; and order-by-order for multiple award IDVs and cumulative threshold for single award IDVs.

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Army Eyes Generative AI Pilot Program in July; Jennifer Swanson Quoted
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Army Eyes Generative AI Pilot Program in July; Jennifer Swanson Quoted

The U.S. Army plans to conduct a pilot program of a generative artificial intelligence technology in July as part of a 500-day plan to mitigate risks associated with AI algorithms, Breaking Defense reported Tuesday.

The pilot program within the Army’s acquisition, logistics and technology division will use a large language model and will be conducted in a secure cloud environment classified at Impact Level 5.

“The pilot is not just about increasing our productivity, which will be great, but also what are the other things that we can do? What are the other industry tools that are out there that we might be able to leverage or add on … say, our vehicles or you know, our weapon systems,” Jennifer Swanson, deputy assistant secretary of the Army for data, engineering and software, said Tuesday at a summit.

According to Swanson, the military branch will use its own data to train the LLM and expects the technology to accelerate the contract writing process in the future.

“I don’t think we are going to necessarily out of the gate write contracts with it, but I think in the area of contracts and in the area of policy, I think there’s a huge return on investment for us,” Swanson said. “But we got to pilot and test and make sure everybody’s comfortable with it first.”

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Rear Adm. Doug Noble Retires as DLA Logistics Operations Director
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Rear Adm. Doug Noble Retires as DLA Logistics Operations Director

Navy Rear Adm. Doug Noble, director of logistics operations and commander of joint regional command support at the Defense Logistics Agency, has retired after 35 years of active service.

DLA said Tuesday Air Force Maj. Gen. David Sanford, director of logistics, engineering and force protection at Headquarters Air Mobility Command at Scott Air Force Base in Illinois, will succeed Noble as head of logistics operations.

Army Lt. Gen. Mark Simerly, director of DLA, presided over the retirement ceremony held Friday at the McNamara Headquarters Complex Auditorium at Fort Belvoir in Virginia.

During the event, Simerly commended Noble for leading efforts to help the service branches and combatant commands restore readiness of weapon systems and for overseeing the development of a plan to ensure the agency’s capability in supporting the Department of Defense’s response to conflict, global competition and natural disasters.

In May 2021, he assumed the positions of logistics operations director and head of joint regional combat support at DLA.

His previous assignments include commander of the DLA Support Team-Afghanistan, commander of the Naval Supply Systems Command Weapon Systems Support and special assistant for audit readiness to the assistant secretary of the Navy, financial management and comptroller.

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