/
Jane Rathbun Named Department of the Navy CIO; Carlos Del Toro Quoted
Published on
Jane Rathbun Named Department of the Navy CIO; Carlos Del Toro Quoted

Jane Rathbun, formerly principal deputy chief information officer at the Department of the Navy, has been appointed DON’s special assistant for information management and CIO.

She officially assumed responsibilities as SAIM and DON CIO on Oct. 29, supporting the secretary of the Navy on matters related to digital modernization, information technology, data management and cybersecurity, the service branch said Friday.

“Jane’s leadership, technical acumen, and personal character stood out amongst a very competitive field of candidates and represent the best of our ongoing efforts to build a culture of warfighting among our one Navy-Marine Corps team,” said Carlos Del Toro, secretary of the Navy and a 2023 Wash100 awardee.

Rathbun assumed the role of acting DON CIO in March and previously served as deputy secretary of the Navy for information and chief technology officer.

She also served within the Office of the Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment as deputy director for defense business systems.

“I take seriously our mission to build a modern, agile, and adaptive naval information environment that can be leveraged anytime and anywhere to meet the challenges during all phases of competition, crisis, and conflict. I look forward to working with the CNO and Commandant to achieving the operational and business outcomes articulated in the NAVPLAN and Force Design 2030,” Rathbun said.

The freshly appointed DON CIO delivered the keynote address at Potomac Officers Club’s 2023 Navy Summit in June. Register now for 2024’s Navy Summit to hear more illuminating insights.

Jane Rathbun Named Department of the Navy CIO; Carlos Del Toro Quoted
CBP Eyes Maritime Patrol Aircraft Maintenance & Logistical Services Recompete Contract
Published on
CBP Eyes Maritime Patrol Aircraft Maintenance & Logistical Services Recompete Contract

The Customs and Border Protection Air and Marine Operations has announced its intent to launch a full and open competition for a potential 10-year, recompete contract covering maritime patrol aircraft maintenance and logistical services.

AMO requires organizational and intermediate-level maintenance support services for CBP’s fleet of Lockheed Martin-built P-3 maritime surveillance aircraft and DHC-8 multi-role patrol aircraft, according to a notice posted Thursday on the Acquisition Planning Forecast System.

The selected contractor will support aircraft systems and subsystems, aircrew systems, support equipment and ground support equipment.

CBP anticipates releasing the solicitation for the contract on Feb. 20, 2024, with award expected in the first quarter of fiscal year 2025.

Northrop Grumman maintains CBP’s P-3 Orion maritime surveillance aircraft fleet under a potential $896.1 million contract awarded in June 2020.

/
House Bill to Modernize Authorization Process for Commercial Space Activities
Published on
House Bill to Modernize Authorization Process for Commercial Space Activities

Reps. Frank Lucas, R-Okla., and Brian Babin, R-Texas have introduced legislation to modernize government oversight of the commercial space sector to ensure U.S. leadership in space activities.

The Commercial Space Act of 2023 aims to streamline the authorization process for commercial space activities to reduce administrative burden while ensuring compliance with international regulations, Lucas’ office said Thursday.

Under the bill, the Office of Space Commerce will serve as the single authority responsible for the authorization and supervision certification process and work as its own entity within the Department of Commerce.

To encourage commercial space innovation, the bill will establish the Private Space Activity Advisory Committee to monitor the effectiveness of the new certification process and identify gaps in the sector.

“This bill crafts a favorable and competitive environment right here at home by streamlining our regulatory process and clarifying federal roles in licensing commercial space activities,” Lucas said.

DARPA Creates Program to Better Assess, Predict DOD Team Training Performance
Published on
DARPA Creates Program to Better Assess, Predict DOD Team Training Performance

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency launched a new program to improve the performance assessment of Department of Defense teams after training.

The Objective Prediction of Team Effectiveness via Models of Performance Outcomes, or OP TEMPO, program will be conducted over a 30-month period and could serve as a foundation for future methods to measure training effectiveness, DARPA said Thursday.

OP TEMPO will use bio-behavioral signatures and unobtrusive sensor suites to diagnose performance and calibrate training efficiency. The project will observe heart rate variability, communication dynamics and other biological signatures.

“DOD teams are not simply the sum of their collective parts, but have highly specialized and dynamic roles, and performance relies on collaboration, communication, and coordination,” OP TEMPO Program Manager Dr. Joeanna Arthur commented. “With OP TEMPO, we aim to solve the problem of ‘how do we turn a team of experts into an expert team?'”

DARPA has launched a presolicitation for OP TEMPO, with deadline for responses set on Jan. 31, 2024.

/
NASA Project Concludes 1st Step in Aviation Safety Tech Development Effort
Published on
NASA Project Concludes 1st Step in Aviation Safety Tech Development Effort

A NASA project has completed a key step in developing a new technology designed to improve aviation safety by predicting and detecting hazards long before they emerge.

The team working on NASA’s System-Wide Safety project concluded Technical Challenge 1, Terminal Area Risk Management, which could help inform the development of an In-Time Aviation Safety Management System, the space agency said Thursday.

The system is designed to prevent aviation-related accidents by quickly identifying risks and delivering actionable safety procedures to address such hazards.

Work on the technology comes as the National Airspace System prepares to see an influx of drones, air taxis and other new types of aircraft in the future.

Through TC-1, researchers were able to use machine learning algorithms to analyze data from airlines, study human performance and fatigue and gather data on how pilots, air traffic managers and other stakeholders interact with safety procedures, among others.

“What we’ve accomplished with TC-1 is really just beginning to scratch the surface of what’s possible,” said Kyle Ellis, System-Wide Safety project manager at NASA. “Developing these systems enables a new economy for aviation uses that will benefit us all in the future.”

Coast Guard DOL Renamed to Operational Logistics Command
Published on
Coast Guard DOL Renamed to Operational Logistics Command

The U.S. Coast Guard Director of Operational Logistics has been renamed the Operational Logistics Command, or LOGCOM, as part of efforts to streamline the military service’s logistics operations.

LOGCOM has command authority of all Coast Guard bases to provide mission support during contingency response and expeditionary operations, the Coast Guard said Thursday.

The command will provide administrative support to the fleet; oversee active duty, reserve and civilian personnel; manage base operational support and interface with technical authorities; coordinate with logistics and service centers; supervise financial support; and offer contracting services.

In August, LOGCOM reached full operating capability for its mission set capability for expeditionary logistics, or LOG-X, which has supported the deployment of national security cutters throughout the Pacific and fast response cutters throughout the Western Pacific and Oceania and in the Western Hemisphere.

/
Army Seeks Sources of Long Range Missiles to be Equipped on IBCT Vehicles
Published on
Army Seeks Sources of Long Range Missiles to be Equipped on IBCT Vehicles

The Tactical Aviation and Ground Munitions Project Office within the U.S. Army’s Program Executive Office – Missiles and Space is soliciting capability statements regarding solutions that companies can offer to address the Mobile-Long Range Precision Strike Missile, or M-LRPSM, requirement.

The M-LRPSM project seeks to acquire a “readily available” missile with a range of 25 kilometers or greater that can be equipped via an interface kit onto Infantry Brigade Combat Team platforms — either the Joint Light Tactical Vehicle or the Infantry Squad Vehicle, according to a request for information posted Thursday on SAM.gov.

The weapon’s other requirements include effectiveness against a variety of targets — like armored vehicles and fortifications — and the ability to retarget, adjust flight or abort.

Interested parties have until Nov. 22 to respond.

AFRL Opens In-House Facility for Semiconductor Laser Propagation Studies
Published on
AFRL Opens In-House Facility for Semiconductor Laser Propagation Studies

The Air Force Research Laboratory has opened a new Semiconductor Laser Indoor Propagation Range, known as SLIPR, at Kirtland Air Force Base in New Mexico to support research and development of future laser system propagation studies.

SLIPR has 100-meter-long broadcast ranges in an indoor facility to test semiconductor laser technology concepts and includes photoluminescence and X-ray laboratories to characterize molecular beam epitaxy products, AFRL said Thursday.

Imelda Atencio, chief of AFRL’s directed energy laser division, said expertise and equipment in laser design, processing, fabrication and characterization will enable AFRL’s laser illuminator group to develop illuminator laser technologies designed specifically for the warfighter.

“The mission of the laser division is to discover, develop and deliver advanced laser technology capability to the Department of the Air Force, components across the Department of Defense and most importantly, the warfighter,” said Shery Welsh, director of AFRL’s Directed Energy Directorate.

/
NIST Opens Application Phase for U.S. AI Safety Institute Consortium
Published on
NIST Opens Application Phase for U.S. AI Safety Institute Consortium

The National Institute of Standards and Technology is inviting organizations with expertise and capabilities in artificial intelligence safety to join its new consortium that aims to foster innovation in AI trustworthiness.

The consortium is part of the U.S. AI Safety Institute, which is led by NIST and aligns with the recent Executive Order on Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy Development and Use of AI, NIST said Thursday.

The safety institute will build on existing projects by NIST and other entities working to ensure the responsible use of AI technologies. The consortium will serve as a venue for information and insight sharing, research and development collaboration and testing and evaluation of prototypes.

Consortium members will enter into cooperative R&D agreements in areas such as AI metrology, human-AI teaming and interaction and economic analysis. They are also expected to contribute in project infrastructure support as well as conferences and events.

NIST will host consortium workshop on Nov. 17, two weeks before its deadline for accepting letters of interest on Dec. 2.

/
Eric Hysen on CIO Office’s Efforts to Advance AI Training for DHS Workforce
Published on
Eric Hysen on CIO Office’s Efforts to Advance AI Training for DHS Workforce

Eric Hysen, chief information officer at the Department of Homeland Security, said DHS is taking a generalized and specific approach to workforce training when it comes to artificial intelligence as part of efforts to advance the responsible use of AI tools, Federal News Network reported Wednesday.

“The first is how we train our IT professionals. Across the department there are over 5,000 people we want to be able to build skills around AI data science and related fields to manage software acquisitions and other complex work in this space. That’ll be done as part of the new IT academy that we are standing up across DHS,” Hysen said.

“The second is around AI literacy for the entire DHS workforce. We are still in the early stages, but we are looking to offer AI literacy training to every DHS employee so that they can understand how to use AI systems effectively. They can understand risks posed by unintended bias or hallucinations, and know what how they should be thinking about using the outputs from AI in their work,” he added.

The CIO office has been working on the new IT academy and associated courses in the past 18 months and Hysen said he expects the initial components to come out in early 2024.

Hysen also talked about generative AI and the AI Safety and Security Advisory Board and his office’s efforts to finalize policies to advance AI adoption in support of mission areas.

POC - 2023 Homeland Security Summit

Join the Potomac Officers Club’s 2023 Homeland Security Summit in mid-November to hear government and industry leaders discuss the latest digital transformation efforts to protect and secure the homeland amid evolving global threats. Click here to register.

1 … 409 410 411 412 413 … 2,598