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NASA Project Concludes 1st Step in Aviation Safety Tech Development Effort
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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
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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.

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

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

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

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Kathleen Hicks Unveils DOD’s Data, Analytics & AI Adoption Strategy
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Kathleen Hicks Unveils DOD’s Data, Analytics & AI Adoption Strategy

Kathleen Hicks, deputy secretary of the Department of Defense and a three-time Wash100 awardee, has launched a strategy meant to help DOD accelerate the adoption of analytics, data and artificial intelligence to speed up the decision-making process on the battlefield.

The Chief Digital and AI Office developed the 2023 Data, Analytics and AI Adoption Strategy in collaboration with other DOD offices, the department said Thursday.

“As we’ve focused on integrating AI into our operations responsibly and at speed, our main reason for doing so has been straightforward: because it gives us even better decision advantage than we already have today,” Hicks said.

The strategy describes an agile approach to AI adoption to scale five decision advantage outcomes: superior battlespace awareness and understanding; adaptive force planning and application; fast, precise and resilient kill chains; resilient sustainment support; and efficient enterprise business operations.

The document outlines DOD’s strategic goals to meet its “AI hierarchy of needs,” which includes quality data, governance, insightful analytics and metrics, assurance and responsible AI.

The strategic goals are strengthening governance and removing policy barriers; delivering capabilities for enterprise business and joint warfighting impact; improving foundational data management; investing in interoperable, federated infrastructure; advancing the data, analytics and AI ecosystem; and expanding digital talent management.

“Accelerating the adoption of advanced data, analytics, and artificial intelligence technologies presents an unprecedented opportunity to equip Department leaders, at all levels, with the data they need, to make better decisions faster, from the boardroom to the battlefield,” said Craig Martell, head of CDAO.

“Our strategic approach prioritizes an agile approach to adoption by focusing on the fundamentals of speed, agility, responsibility, and learning,” added Martell, a 2023 Wash100 awardee.

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Lt. Gen. Scott Berrier on Machine-Assisted Analytic Rapid-Repository System
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Lt. Gen. Scott Berrier on Machine-Assisted Analytic Rapid-Repository System

U.S. Army Lt. Gen. Scott Berrier, director of the Defense Intelligence Agency and a 2023 Wash100 awardee, said an artificial intelligence-assisted, cloud-based database designed to capture all-source intelligence data is expected to reach initial operational capability in the spring of 2024, Breaking Defense reported Wednesday.

The Machine-Assisted Analytic Rapid-Repository System — a.ka. MARS — will replace the Military Intelligence Integrated Database and is expected to achieve full operational capability in 2025, according to Berrier.

The MARS platform “takes everything that’s in MIDB, but infuses it with the tools that we have available today from all of those sources. And so not only a satellite image and a description, but you will have a map database infused with lots of different open source data points that will tell you what’s going on there — information that we can buy, other information that we can steal,” Berrier said during a fireside chat with the Center for Strategic and International Security.

“And it gives analysts through alarms and tippers ways to analyze what’s happening and techniques that we haven’t used before,” he added.

The DIA director also touched upon the importance of Section 702 of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act in the agency’s mission and shared his insights on the role of DIA in strategic competition with China and significance of intelligence sharing with allies and other partners.

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Senate Passes Bipartisan Bills to Support Commercial Launches, Reduce Space Junk
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Senate Passes Bipartisan Bills to Support Commercial Launches, Reduce Space Junk

The Senate has passed bipartisan bills aimed at establishing U.S. leadership in the space domain by fostering commercial space innovation and reducing space junk in orbit.

“We can’t let space junk and red tape stifle American innovations that are lifting us to new frontiers in space. Our bills will help our country maintain space leadership,” the bills’ sponsor Sen. John Hickenlooper, D-Colo., said in a statement published Wednesday.

The Orbital Sustainability Act aims to establish a research, development and demonstration program to remove the nearly 1 million pieces of orbital debris that pose risks to U.S. space assets and astronauts.

Meanwhile, the Launch Communications Act seeks to modernize the Federal Communications Commission’s current spectrum licensing process for commercial space launch missions to keep pace with the increasing demand for commercial launches that support national security objectives.

Both pieces of legislation secured approval from the Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee.

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Marie Bussiere Appointed Technical Director of NUWC Division Newport
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Marie Bussiere Appointed Technical Director of NUWC Division Newport

Marie Bussiere, digital transformation executive for the deputy assistant secretary of the Navy for research, development test and engineering since October 2021, has been named technical director of the Naval Undersea Warfare Center Division Newport.

She will assume her new post in January and succeed Ron Vien, who retired in March after nearly 36 years of service in the U.S. Navy, Naval Sea Systems Command said Wednesday.

Rebecca Chhim, acting technical director of NUWC Division Newport, will remain in the role through December.

Prior to her current role, Bussiere was head of the Undersea Warfare Combat Systems Department for nine years and led the planning and implementation of a spectrum program for submarine combat systems.

Bussiere previously headed the Department of the Navy Modeling and Simulation Office, the Undersea Weapons Acquisition and Life Cycle Engineering Division within the Torpedo Systems Department and the Logistics Product Development Branch within the USW Combat Systems Department.

She also served as logistics career field manager for the Naval Acquisition Development Program and NAVSEA’s Live, Virtual, Constructive Modeling and Simulation Knowledge Point Champion.

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