Transportation Department Launches Research Funding Initiative to Address Climate Challenges
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Transportation Department Launches Research Funding Initiative to Address Climate Challenges

The Department of Transportation plans to fund a new center to research and develop technologies to support the administration’s clean energy goals.

DOT said Tuesday it will partner with a university or other eligible organizations to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the transportation sector and strengthen the resilience of the U.S. transportation infrastructure.

“As we face the profound and urgent threat of the climate crisis, we need cleaner transportation systems, and this investment will help deliver that by harnessing research and technology to find new solutions,” said Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg.

The department will invest up to $12.5 million in the new Climate and Transportation Research Center over five years.

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Atlantic Council Report Recommends Ways for Effective Implementation of Private-Sector Activities in Warfare
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Atlantic Council Report Recommends Ways for Effective Implementation of Private-Sector Activities in Warfare

The Atlantic Council released a report on Wednesday outlining 10 recommendations to advance the development of a framework to operationalize the “sixth domain” or the “sphere of activities” of the private sector in warfare.

One of the recommendations in the report calls for the Department of Defense to further expand the use of commercial space capabilities, including the creation of contractual arrangements to ensure the availability of commercial space assets in the event of armed conflict.

According to the report, the U.S. Space Force is building up the Commercial Augmentation Space Reserve program, which will work to support the military through “voluntary pre-negotiated contractual arrangements.”

Such arrangements would ensure that satellite communications, remote sensing and other services are provided during wartime.

The government and industry should establish a critical infrastructure wartime planning and operations council to help plan and coordinate activities between public and private sectors in support of national defense, the council suggested.

The report, authored by Franklin Kramer, a distinguished fellow and board director at the Atlantic Council, recommends that Congress and the White House work together to broaden the national framework and facilitate coordination between the federal government and the private sector during wartime.

Other recommendations in the document include establishing private-sector systemic risk analysis and response centers for critical infrastructure; creating an integrated corps of cybersecurity providers; expanding Cyber Command’s “Hunt Forward” model of operations; and establishing international undersea infrastructure protection corps to improve the resilience of undersea cables and pipelines.

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Joint NSA-CISA Advisory Recommends Solutions to Top 10 Cybersecurity Misconfigurations; Eric Goldstein Quoted
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Joint NSA-CISA Advisory Recommends Solutions to Top 10 Cybersecurity Misconfigurations; Eric Goldstein Quoted

A joint advisory released by the National Security Agency and Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency listed 10 of the most common misconfigurations in enterprise IT defense and how to mitigate risks arising from such cases.

The list includes default software and application configurations, improper user and administrator privilege separation and insufficient monitoring of internal networks, according to the advisory released Thursday.

NSA and CISA found that some organizations lack network segmentation, effective patch management and access control lists on shared networks and services. In other cases, system access controls are bypassed, multifactor authentication tools and user credentials are weak and code executions lack restrictions.

The agencies urged network defenders to strengthen configurations, implement access controls, prioritize patching of commonly exploited vulnerabilities and monitor and reduce administrative privileges.

For software manufacturers, the NSA and CISA Red and Blue Teams pushed for the adoption of secure-by-design and -default principles to reduce cyber threats and their burden on network defenders.

Eric Goldstein, CISA’s executive assistant director for cybersecurity, echoed the call for practicing secure-by-design tactics. “While enterprises can and must take steps to identify and address these misconfigurations, we know that scalable progress requires urgent action by software manufacturers, particularly by adopting Secure by Design practices where software is designed securely from inception to end-of-life and by taking ownership to improve security outcomes of their customers,” Goldstein wrote in a blog post.

On Nov. 15, the Potomoc Officers Club will gather homeland and national security officials and experts for the 2023 Homeland Security Summit in Virginia. Register now to participate in the event.

POC - 2023 Homeland Security Summit
NASA Posts Draft Solicitation for Goddard Logistics Services Contract
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NASA Posts Draft Solicitation for Goddard Logistics Services Contract

NASA is requesting industry feedback on a draft solicitation for a potential five-year follow-on contract to provide logistics support services to the agency’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland.

The Goddard Logistics Services Contract will address Goddard’s logistics management requirements to achieve Earth science, space science and exploration mission objectives, according to a notice posted Tuesday on SAM.gov.

NASA anticipates awarding the contract on Aug. 28, 2024, with work commencing on Oct. 01, 2024.

Work will occur at Goddard Space Flight Center, Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia and the NASA Headquarters.

The contract has a one-year base period with four option years.

Responses are due Oct. 30.

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Interim Rule to Align FAR With Supply Chain Security Law on Risk Data Sharing
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Interim Rule to Align FAR With Supply Chain Security Law on Risk Data Sharing

NASA, the Department of Defense and the General Services Administration are implementing an interim rule aligning the Federal Acquisition Regulation with the Federal Acquisition Supply Chain Security Act of 2018.

The new policy focuses on supply risk data sharing based on due diligence and recommendations by the Federal Acquisition Security Council for removal or exclusion orders, according to a notice posted Wednesday on Federal Register.

FASC is tasked to review and recommend whether a covered article removal or exclusion order is needed for executive agency information systems or procurement actions. The council’s evaluation will begin with sources or covered articles that could be susceptible to intellectual property theft or lead to damage to federal data systems or critical infrastructure.

The interim rule provides contracting officers with standard rules for sharing potential supply risk information relevant to existing and new federal contracts.

The agencies are encouraging public feedback on the interim rule, which takes effect Dec. 4.

Marine Corps Conducts 1st Flight of XQ-58A Valkyrie UAV
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Marine Corps Conducts 1st Flight of XQ-58A Valkyrie UAV

The U.S. Marine Corps has conducted its first flight of the XQ-58A Valkyrie, an unmanned air vehicle manufactured by Kratos Defense & Security Solutions, at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida.

The flight took place nearly seven months after the Marine Corps received its first two XQ-58A UAVs in March to support platform prototyping and integration efforts for the Penetrating Affordable Autonomous Collaborative Killer – Portfolio program, the service branch said Thursday.

Scott Bey, a prototyping and experimentation portfolio manager at the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering, said the XQ-58A test flight will help drive future joint innovation and experimentation opportunities.

The Marine Corps is reportedly collaborating with the OUSD(R&E), the Naval Air Systems Command and the Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division on the ongoing research, development, test and evaluation of the XQ-58A Valkyrie aircraft.

The UAV will undergo six more test flights as part of the PAACK-P program to evaluate its ability to support intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions, determine the potential for AI-enabled platforms to assist combat air patrols and mature manned-unmanned teaming capability objectives.

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Edge Autonomy CEO John Purvis Shares Leadership Approach, Offers Perspective on Contracting Environment
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Edge Autonomy CEO John Purvis Shares Leadership Approach, Offers Perspective on Contracting Environment

Throughout his career, John Purvis has spent decades working alongside the intelligence and special operations communities. Now, as CEO of Edge Autonomy, he leads the company’s efforts to deliver uncrewed and autonomous systems to the U.S. government.

Purvis recently participated in an interview with the Potomac Officers Club, in which he discussed his career background, highlighted his leadership strengths and offered his insights on the federal technology and contracting ecosystem.

In this excerpt from the interview, Purvis reflects on what his career has taught him about team-building:

“I have been extremely lucky to see some success in my career at a fairly young age. Now that I have a few more years and some scar tissue built up, I realize the overall success of the team has less to do with me and more to do with the intelligence, creativity and cohesiveness of our team as a whole. My goal is to hire people who are far more talented than I am and learn from them – and I do my best to stay out of their way! I believe the CEO of a company works for their employees, not the other way around. My job is to get my team the resources and structure they need to do their best work, removing any roadblocks to success that they may encounter.”

For more on Purvis’ leadership approach, read the full Executive Spotlight interview on the Potomac Officers Club website.

Do you want to participate in your own Executive Spotlight interview? Potomac Officers Club members have full access to this exclusive opportunity as well as numerous other benefits. To explore our membership options and find out which one is right for you, click here.

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Northrop Awarded Navy Guided Ammunition Development Contract
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Northrop Awarded Navy Guided Ammunition Development Contract

Northrop Grumman will further develop its guided 57mm ammunition and test it for qualification under a contract — of an unspecified amount — with the U.S. Navy.

The newly designed ammunition uses an onboard seeker and a fuze to enable users to engage and counter surface targets, drones and swarming threats, Northrop said Wednesday.

Dave Fine, vice president of armament systems at Northrop, said the 57mm guided munition is meant to provide the Navy with the capability to defend against moving threats.

The 57mm round offers continuous trajectory guidance and is designed for use with the Mk110 Naval Gun Mount, a medium caliber gun installed aboard littoral combat ships and can fire up to 220 rounds per minute against surface, shore-based and airborne threats.

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PM Defensive Cyber Operations Transitions to Army’s PEO IEW&S; Brig. Gen. Ed Barker Quoted
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PM Defensive Cyber Operations Transitions to Army’s PEO IEW&S; Brig. Gen. Ed Barker Quoted

The Program Executive Office Intelligence, Electronic, Warfare and Sensors is building up the U.S. Army’s cyber capabilities with the addition of Project Manager Defensive Cyber Operations.

With the transition, PEO IEW&S is integrating into its portfolio PM DCO’s two key programs: Cyber Platforms and Systems and Cyber Analytics and Detection, the service branch said Thursday.

CPS facilitates the procurement and delivery of cybersecurity tools and related platforms to the armed forces and CAD offers capabilities that enable warfighters to analyze and detect internal and external cyberthreats to the Army.

“The days of the Army being a Kinetic only force are gone. Our ability to operate in multiple domains has become paramount with none more important than mastering the cyber warfare arena,” said Brig. Gen. Ed Barker, PEO for IEW&S.

Collins Aerospace Unveils New Facility to Test Electric Propulsion Systems
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Collins Aerospace Unveils New Facility to Test Electric Propulsion Systems

Collins Aerospace, an RTX company, has unveiled an electric power systems laboratory at its Rockford, Illinois facility to develop and test components for hybrid-electric engines for use in future aircraft.

Dubbed The Grid, the $50 million high-voltage lab has an initial test capability of 8 MW to support the testing and demonstration of electric motors, controllers, generators and distribution systems, RTX said Wednesday.

“Hybrid-electric aircraft will help our industry significantly reduce carbon emissions, and with The Grid, the most sophisticated lab of its kind, we are investing to help these aircraft take flight,” said Henry Brooks, president of power and controls at Collins Aerospace.

The Grid will test Collins Aerospace’s 1-megawatt electric generator and support flight demonstration and system integration work for RTX’s solid-state circuit breaker.

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