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Federal CDO Council Solicits Public Input on Synthetic Data Generation
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Federal CDO Council Solicits Public Input on Synthetic Data Generation

The Federal Chief Data Officers Council has issued a request for information regarding synthetic data generation, the act of creating a new synthetic or artificial dataset using computational methods, as it works to establish best practices for the process.

Questions for responders have been divided into five sections, with the first two focused on defining and applying synthetic data generation, according to a notice published by the General Services Administration in the Federal Register on Friday.

The three other sections deal with the challenges and limitations in synthetic data generation, ethics and equity considerations and evidence-building.

Interested stakeholders are encouraged to provide answers to a number of questions. Topics to discuss include approaches CDOs can leverage to address challenges associated with synthetic data generation, available techniques to increase transparency around synthetic data and the intersection of synthetic data generation and open government data.

Responses to the RFI are due Feb. 5.

Commerce Department Enters 2nd Preliminary MoT for CHIPS Funding With Microchip Technology; Laurie Locascio Quoted
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Commerce Department Enters 2nd Preliminary MoT for CHIPS Funding With Microchip Technology; Laurie Locascio Quoted

The Biden administration has agreed to set aside $162 million in CHIPS Act funding for Microchip Technology to promote the onshoring of semiconductor manufacturing and construction jobs.

On Thursday, the Department of Commerce entered into a non-binding preliminary memorandum of terms to enable the company to ramp up production of specialty semiconductors such as microcontroller units, according to the National Institute of Standards and Technology.

“This proposed investment and others like it will help ensure that U.S. companies have a stable supply of the critical chip components they need to keep their factories running,” said Laurie Locascio, NIST director and undersecretary of commerce for standards and technology.

Under the terms of the agreement, Microchip Technology will utilize the funds to expand and modernize its facilities in Colorado Springs, Colorado and Gresham, Oregon. The Colorado Springs fabrication site will receive an estimated $90 million, while the Gresham installation will be granted approximately $72 million.

The federal incentives are expected to triple the company’s output of semiconductors produced at these facilities, which are critical to the defense, automotive, aerospace and commerce sectors.

Last month, the White House announced its first PMT through a $35 million agreement with BAE Systems.

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DARPA Issues RFI for Human-Machine Teaming Research Opportunity
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DARPA Issues RFI for Human-Machine Teaming Research Opportunity

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency is accepting proposals for exploratory human-artificial intelligence teaming models as part of its new AI Exploration research program.

This presolicitation is for DARPA’s “third wave” of AI investments, which focuses on theory and applications to refine statistical learning-based technologies, according to a notice on SAM.gov.

DARPA is seeking technologies that can support quantitative modeling and the evaluation of human-machine teams in real-world scenarios. The study will be divided into two phases, one for a feasibility study and the other for proof of concept.

Respondents have until Feb. 2. to submit their proposals. The agency may grant multiple awards in the form of other transaction agreements for the chosen prototype projects.

POC - 5th Annual Artificial Intelligence Summit

Human-machine teaming is one topic that may be highlighted at the Potomac Officers Club’s 5th Annual Artificial Intelligence Summit on March 21. Register now to take part in the event.

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Space Force Investigates On-Orbit Refueling in Latest Tabletop Exercise Series
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Space Force Investigates On-Orbit Refueling in Latest Tabletop Exercise Series

The Assured Access to Space Program Executive Office within the Space Systems Command recently conducted an exercise under its Parallax Rising program.

Parallax Rising 2.2, the third installment in a series of tabletop exercises, focused on on-orbit refueling within the context of space mobility and logistics, which the U.S. Space Force considers critical to achieving contested space superiority and moving military assets into, around and down from the space domain, the SSC said Wednesday.

On-orbit refueling would sustain a satellite’s ability to perform maneuvers, allowing the spacecraft to evade threats while providing continuous support for terrestrial military operations during conflicts.

The Parallax Rising exercise series intends to answer a number of questions, including what kinds of refuelers are best for space conflict and the ways in which commercial and Department of Defense refuelers and processes could be integrated into these operations.

Participants in the exercise include private sector organizations and members of the three Space Force field commands.

The results of the exercise, once analyzed and reviewed, are intended to inform acquisitions for the development of the USSF space architecture.

Space Force Investigates On-Orbit Refueling in Latest Tabletop Exercise Series

Interested in learning more about U.S. space operations? At the Potomac Officers Club’s 2024 Space Summit on March 5, you will have the opportunity to hear from key space leaders from both government and industry, who will come together to discuss the nation’s most important priorities in the domain. Click here to learn more, and click here to register for the event.

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VTG to Help Modernize Navy Aegis Combat System Under New Contract
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VTG to Help Modernize Navy Aegis Combat System Under New Contract

VTG has secured a $40 million U.S. Navy task order to support the service branch’s Aegis Combat System.

The award was issued through VTG’s Technical Insertion 16 (TI16) prime contract with the Naval Surface Warfare Center Port Hueneme Division, or NSWC-PHD, and focuses on Infrastructure-as-a-Service provisions, the Chantilly, Virginia-based company announced on Thursday.

“VTG enjoys a strong partnership with NSWC Port Hueneme, the Navy’s center of excellence for warfare systems, and we’re excited to expand our scope of support to the Aegis modernization effort,” said VTG President and CEO John Hassoun.

The TI16 initiative aims to update combat systems for the Navy’s surface fleet, which includes all cruisers, destroyers, aircraft carriers and amphibious ships, by integrating new commercial-off-the-shelf technologies and open architecture designs into existing platforms.

Aegis, said Hassoun, is the “combat systems workhorse of the surface fleet.”

VTG’s responsibilities under the award will support engineering, logistics and manufacturing, assembly and testing activities conducted by NSWC-PHD’s Digital Engineering Department.

The company won an earlier TL16 task order in January 2022, through which it is providing engineering services and lifecycle support for the NSWC-PHD’s Air Dominance Department. This award is valued at $20 million.

More recently, VTG secured a prime position on the Navy’s potential $4.1 billion indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract to produce the Consolidated Afloat Networks and Enterprise Services information warfare platform. The multiple-award contract, which was issued in April 2023, aims to deliver a secure tactical afloat network for Naval and joint operations.

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General Dynamics Rings in the New Year With Senior Leadership Appointments; Phebe Novakovic Quoted
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General Dynamics Rings in the New Year With Senior Leadership Appointments; Phebe Novakovic Quoted

Mark Roualet, executive vice president of combat systems at General Dynamics, will retire in April, and Danny Deep, president of General Dynamics Land Systems, will take over the role, marking one of many leadership transitions announced by the company on Friday.

General Dynamics Chairman and CEO Phebe Novakovic, a nine-time Wash100 Award winner, highlighted Roualet’s “demonstrated record of operational excellence” and noted Deep’s leadership experience and background in operations and land forces initiatives.

David Paddock, president of General Dynamics’ jet aviation unit, will succeed Deep as head of General Dynamics Land Systems on April 1, and Jeremie Caillet, senior vice president of operations in Basel, Switzerland, will assume Paddock’s role.

Paddock, said Novakovic, is a “proven executive with strong leadership.” She described Caillet as “a highly skilled operations and program management executive.”

Jason Aiken, executive vice president of the organization’s technology arm and chief financial officer, will step away from his CFO responsibilities to center his focus on technology group operating duties, effective Feb. 15.

He “has been a superb CFO,” according to Novakovic, who said he will “remain integrally involved in all aspects of the senior leadership of General Dynamics.”

The CFO role will be filled by Kim Kuryea, senior vice president of human resources and administration at General Dynamics, on Feb. 15. Shane Berg, senior vice president of planning and development, will take over Kuryea’s current role.

Novakovic noted Kuryea’s two decades of financial experience within the enterprise as CFO, a business unit lead, head of internal audit function and comptroller.

Berg, who joined General Dynamics two years ago, has been a “superb addition to the senior leadership team,” she said.

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NTIA Seeks Candidates for FirstNet Authority Board
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NTIA Seeks Candidates for FirstNet Authority Board

The Department of Commerce’s National Telecommunications and Information Administration has started the recruitment process for new board members of the First Responder Network Authority by issuing a notice on the Federal Register.

NTIA said Wednesday the term of 11 FirstNet Authority Board members will be available for appointment and reappointment in calendar year 2024 and interested stakeholders should submit expressions of interest on or before Feb. 2.

The board provides strategic guidance and policy direction for the FirstNet Authority, which deploys and operates a national public safety broadband network.

According to the notice, board candidates should have expertise and experience in public safety, as well as technical, network and financial areas.

Energy Department Issues RFI for National Zero Emissions Building Definition Development
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Energy Department Issues RFI for National Zero Emissions Building Definition Development

The Department of Energy’s Building Technologies Office has started soliciting insights from industry, academia and other federal agencies as it works to develop a national definition of a zero emissions building.

DOE said Wednesday it expects the national definition to establish a clear market signal and serve as a framework that could be used to influence the design and operation of buildings as part of efforts to transition the building sector to zero emissions.

The RFI was issued by DOE for Part 1 of a draft definition for zero emissions buildings.

According to the department, federal assistance initiatives supporting the renovation and construction of non-federally owned buildings will be encouraged to fall in line with the national definition.

The definition’s initial part will focus on zero operating emissions and future parts will likely encompass key elements such as refrigerants and embodied carbon.

According to the proposed definition, a zero emissions building is a structure that is highly energy efficient, free of on-site emissions from energy use and powered solely from clean energy.

Responses to the RFI are due Feb. 5.

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NOAA Requests Information on Space Weather Ground Mission Services Requirement
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NOAA Requests Information on Space Weather Ground Mission Services Requirement

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration has begun seeking information from potential industry sources capable of providing ground and mission support services for NOAA’s future space weather spacecraft missions.

A notice posted Tuesday on SAM.gov states that the NOAA Office of Space Weather Observations under the National Environmental Satellite, Data and Information Service requires mission-specific services to support the continuity of space weather observations around Earth-Sun Lagrange Point 1 and other orbits.

SWO mission services will support the Space Weather Follow-On Program L1 observatory scheduled to deploy in 2025 and the Space Weather Next L1 Series observatories set for launch in late 2028 and 2032.

For the second L1 Series observatory, SWO mission services must operate up to three observatories at L1 simultaneously while ground services must operate a geosynchronous series of space weather satellites starting in 2032.

Interested parties have until Feb. 2 to respond to the request for information.

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RAND Calls for Comprehensive Approach to Cybersecurity, Supply Chain Risk Management; Victoria Greenfield Quoted
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RAND Calls for Comprehensive Approach to Cybersecurity, Supply Chain Risk Management; Victoria Greenfield Quoted

A new RAND Corp. report highlights the need for the defense industrial base to take a comprehensive approach when it comes to addressing cybersecurity and supply chain risk management and look at the consequences of cyberattacks, Federal News Network reported Wednesday.

“So, taking that more comprehensive approach, thinking about consequences and thinking about consequences, not just for information, but its consequences for supply chain functionality … And so thinking about the functionality of your supply chain, whether or not you’re able to get what you need when you need it. Not just about the security of the information itself,” said Victoria Greenfield, a senior economist at RAND, told FNN.

Greenfield discussed one of the findings of the report: that a conflict between cybersecurity and SCRM could result in an increase in cyberattacks.

“In conventional SCRM…you would think, ‘Alright, I’m going to make my supply chain less risky by adding more potential suppliers, bringing more businesses and expanding my rolodex,’” Greenfield noted.

“What does that do from a cyber perspective? You have potentially increased the points of attack, … And so you may, from a cyber perspective, be making things riskier,” she added.

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