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SDA Seeks Proposals for Tranche 2 Demonstration and Experimentation System Europa Program
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SDA issued a request for proposals for the Tranche 2 Demonstration and Experimentation System Europa Program

The Space Development Agency has issued a request for proposals, under an other transaction solicitation, for the Tranche 2 Demonstration and Experimentation System, or T2DES, Europa Program.

According to the notice posted on SAM.gov Tuesday, interested prime contractors included in the Hybrid Acquisition of Low-Earth Orbit, or HALO, pool can send their proposals for the Europa program until July 28.

What Is the Europa Program?

The Europa program is a demonstration effort by SDA that will be integrated into the T2DES. It aims to demonstrate technologies and methodologies refined through the program that could be incorporated into the Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture, or PWSA.

SDA Seeks Proposals for Tranche 2 Demonstration and Experimentation System Europa Program

Join the 2025 Air and Space Summit on July 31 to learn about the latest initiatives to strengthen air and space defense, such as the Europa Program.

SDA intends to implement a two-phase down-select with two distinct opportunity tracks. The first track invites proposals for a two-space vehicle demonstration that is anticipated to be developed and tested 12 to 18 months before launch and spend one year in orbit for testing. The second track involves seeking proposals for commercial technologies that comply with Europa’s objectives. This includes six months of on-orbit demonstrations, commencing within three to six months of contract award.

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DCSA Announces Personnel Vetting Directorate
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DCSA Director David Cattler unveiled the newly realigned Personnel Vetting directorate, formerly Personnel Security

David Cattler, director of the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency, has approved the new organizational structure of the newly realigned Personnel Vetting directorate as part of DCSA’s efforts to drive innovation, continuous improvement and efficiency across the agency. 

“The implementation of this important transformation not only strengthens DCSA’s security posture but also enhances public trust in the agency’s ability to protect the nation’s sensitive information and assets,” Cattler said in a statement published Monday.

DCSA Personnel Vetting Directorate’s Leadership Team

DCSA said Mark Sherwin, assistant director for personnel vetting, will oversee the new PV directorate, formerly the Personnel Security directorate.

Other mission leaders joining Sherwin in the newly realigned directorate are Laura Eury, deputy assistant director of data collection and analytics; Marianna Martineau, deputy assistant director of operations management and control; Chakeia Ragin, acting deputy assistant director for trust decision; and James Cratty, acting deputy assistant director for risk analysis and information development.

“These leaders are the right people, in the right roles, at the right time,” said Cattler. “I’m confident this leadership structure will enable PV to gain efficiency, reduce redundancy, and improve operational performance in support of effective business strategies while adhering to the administration’s guidance.  

Key Capabilities of DCSA Personnel Vetting Directorate

The DCSA Personnel Vetting directorate has four key capabilities: data collection and analysis; risk analysis and information development; trust decision; and operations management and control capabilities.

The directorate’s risk analysis and information development capability, for instance, is focused on conducting initial reviews of the preliminary risk profile and sourcing additional information to prepare a comprehensive investigative product for further assessment.

According to DCSA, the realignment provided the agency with an opportunity to integrate continuous process improvement activities and suggestions on how to manage workforce shaping and manpower reduction efforts.

“This is not just a change in process, but a transformation in mindset – one that prioritizes proactive protection and adaptability in the face of evolving challenges,” said Cattler. “Over the past year, we have postured ourselves to a be a more responsive service provider and operate like a business and that’s how we approached this reorganization – SAFe Agile Framework principles, industry best practices and a customer-focused approach to name a few.”

DCSA said it expects additional structural changes and internal realignments to support Department of Defense and government reform initiatives.

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OMB Unveils Initiative to Improve Financial Accountability, Oversight
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OMB Director Russell Vought’s memo calls for a strategic reset of financial statement audits

Russell Vought, director of the Office of Management and Budget, has released a memorandum announcing an OMB initiative to improve financial accountability and oversight within the federal government.

In the June 23 memo published Monday on OMB’s website, Vought wrote that the Department of Government Efficiency has identified procurement irregularities, fund control lapses and other issues that traditional financial statement audits missed.

“They were symptoms of structural issues our current model does not address,” he stated in the memo.

Presenting Financial Statement Audits Using Single-Year Model

According to the OMB director, agencies will prepare and present financial statements and associated financial statement audits using a single-year format. The change will be reflected in the upcoming update to Circular A-136.

Vought noted that the single-year presentation model will allow the government to focus on current-year activity and balances; streamline audit scope; establish a cleaner, clearer baseline for progress in future years; and address high-risk programs and control weaknesses in real time to implement changes based on challenges identified by audits.

OMB Accountability Agenda

In addition to the single-year model, OMB will implement a broader accountability agenda that includes auditing the auditors to assess whether the audit ecosystem is aligned with outcomes, risks and mission delivery.

The agenda also includes focusing on high-impact audits, linking transparency to reform and addressing improper payments and waste.

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GSA Inspector General Identifies Issues in FAS Transactional Data Reporting Rule Pilot
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GSA's inspector general shared previous evaluations of the TDR pilot

The General Services Administration’s Federal Acquisition Service, FAS, has made the Transactional Data Reporting, or TDR, rule mandatory across the entire multiple award schedule, a.k.a. MAS, program. 

In an alert memorandum issued Friday, GSA’s Office of Inspector General said the rule implementation will happen “despite persistent data quality issues, lack of data usage for pricing decisions, lack of price competition and failure to support the OneGov Strategy.”

What Is the Transactional Data Reporting Rule?

In June 2016, the GSA introduced TDR, which requires contractors to report transactional data, including with government customers, for products and services under their MAS contracts. 

In exchange, contractors no longer have to submit their most favored customer and commercial pricing information. 

According to GSA, TDR collects pricing data to better understand what products and services the government purchases. 

By August 2016, GSA launched a three-year TDR pilot to improve the MAS program for federal customers and the American taxpayer. During the pilot, the agency said it would evaluate TDR based on a set of metrics, including changes in price and sale volume, small business participation, and purchasing strategies. 

The pilot was extended through fiscal years 2019 and 2020. 

TDR Pilot Findings

According to the inspector general, evaluation of the program in 2019 revealed that TDR data is not being used to improve purchasing decisions, but GSA still contended that the pilot is “on track to meet targets.” In a 2020 review, GSA also determined that the program meets or exceeds its targets, with plans to expand the pilot to the entire MAS program. 

In 2023, the OIG audited the TFR pilot and found that the data collected was still not being used to negotiate pricing. Moreover, the inspector general revealed that the data amassed is “inaccurate, unreliable and unusable.” 

Although GSA has since made improvements to the quality of TDR data it collected, about 73 percent of sales reported as of June 2, 2025 remain unusable. 

The OIG warned in the memorandum that the expanded TDR rule implementation could place government agencies at risk of overpaying

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Bipartisan ARMOR Act Introduced to Streamline AUKUS Tech Transfer
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Reps. Young, Zinke and Dean introduced ARMOR Act to strengthen AUKUS trilateral security partnership

Reps. Young Kim, R-Calif., Ryan Zinke, R-Mont., and Madeleine Dean, D-Pa., introduced the AUKUS Reform for Military Optimization and Review Act, or ARMOR, Act on June 27.

Kim, chairwoman of the House Foreign Affairs East Asia and Pacific Subcommittee, said Monday the bipartisan bill aims to optimize and reinforce the trilateral security partnership between Australia, United Kingdom and United States, or AUKUS. The proposed bill is intended to fast-track and strengthen the review processes for transfers, exports and activities involving advanced technologies and defense services.

What Is AUKUS?

Established in 2021, AUKUS is a trilateral security agreement uniting Australia, the UK and the U.S. to strengthen defense cooperation. The strategic alliance is structured around two key pillars. Pillar I is dedicated to assisting Australia in acquiring nuclear-powered submarines. Pillar II, the ARMOR Act’s primary concern, is focused on the joint development and sharing of advanced technologies to bolster military and defense technologies.

“The AUKUS trilateral security partnership protects our national security and projects shared strength. The ARMOR Act will improve and streamline the expedited review process for AUKUS activities involving advanced technologies and defense articles and services,” said Kim. 

“Expediting the sale of defense items and services to these close allies will strengthen our partnership and enhance America’s strength worldwide,” remarked Zinke, chairman of the Arms Sales Task Force.

“Since its creation in 2021, AUKUS has played a transformative role in allowing the United States to counter the rising threat China poses and shape a free and open Indo-Pacific for years to come,” stated Dean.

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DOD Eases Environmental Reviews to Fast-Track Infrastructure Projects
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The DOD has streamlined environmental reviews to fast-track military and public construction projects.

The Department of Defense has streamlined its National Environmental Policy Act, or NEPA, implementing processes as part of a government effort seeking to speed up and reduce the costs of environmental reviews to allow faster construction of public and military infrastructure.

Changes to NEPA Procedures

In a press release on Monday, the DOD said the changes to the NEPA implementing processes include expanding categorical exclusions for the department, setting deadlines for the completion of environmental reviews, simplifying the ability to adapt and update NEPA implementing procedures and using information from previous evaluations to fast-track new project reviews.

The changes to the implementing processes aim to generate momentum in the defense industrial base and to support President Donald Trump’s Executive Order, Unleashing American Energy. The executive order aims to make energy more affordable and available to Americans.

DOD’s Michael Duffey Shares Thoughts

Commenting on the streamlining of NEPA, Defense Under Secretary for Acquisition and Sustainment Michael Duffey said it was important for modernizing infrastructure and enhancing national security.

“By streamlining the environmental review process, we will deliver critical projects more efficiently, ensuring our military and defense industrial base have the facilities and resources needed to defend our nation,” he added.

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SBA Administrator Kelly Loeffler Initiates Full-Scale Audit of 8(a) Business Development Program
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SBA Administrator Kelly Loeffler ordered a full-scale audit of the 8(a) Business Development Program

The U.S. Small Business Administration has initiated a comprehensive audit of the 8(a) Business Development Program.

The SBA said Friday Kelly Loeffler, the agency’s administrator, called for the full-scale audit following revelations of a major fraud and bribery scheme involving a former U.S. Agency for International Development federal contracting officer and two participating 8(a) contractors.

Corruption in the 8(a) Business Development Program

The scheme was discovered after the Department of Justice conducted an investigation revealing that over $550 million in government contracts were improperly awarded by the former USAID contracting officer. The investigation also uncovered that one 8(a) contractor, flagged for lacking “honesty and integrity,” still managed to secure an additional $800 million in contracts to assess “issues affecting the root causes of irregular migration from Central America.”

SBA’s Office of General Contracting and Business Development, or GCBD, is tasked with conducting the audit while working closely with federal agencies that award contracts to 8(a) businesses. GCBD will start with high-value and limited-competition contracts covering the past 15 years. It will send its findings to the SBA Office of Inspector General and DOJ for enforcement. SBA intends to recover misused funds.

“Effective immediately, I am launching a full-scale audit of the program to stop bad actors from making the kind of backroom deals that have already cost taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars,” said Loeffler.

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Critical Infrastructure Operators Urged to Improve Cyber Defenses to Combat Potential Iran State-Sponsored Attacks
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U.S. agencies warned against a potential increase in cyberattacks from Iranian cyber actors.

U.S. agencies have urged critical infrastructure asset owners and operators and at-risk organizations to enhance their defenses against potential cyberattacks from Iranian cyber actors, particularly those affiliated with the Iranian Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

In a joint cybersecurity information sheet, or CSI, released Wednesday, the National Security Agency, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, the FBI and the Department of Defense Cyber Crime Center said hacktivists and Iranian government-affiliated actors may target poorly secured U.S. devices and networks using outdated software and default or common passwords for disruptive cyberattacks. Iranian state-sponsored or affiliated threat actors are expected to launch more distributed denial of service campaigns and conduct ransomware attacks despite a declared ceasefire and ongoing negotiations, the authoring agencies added.

Why Is There Tension Between Iran and the USA?

U.S. President Donald Trump announced on June 23 that Israel and Iran agreed to a ceasefire, following U.S. airstrikes on Iranian nuclear facilities, CBS News reported. On the same day that the ceasefire was announced, Iran fired missiles at a U.S. base in Qatar in response to American strikes.

Recently, Trump indicated diplomatic talks with Iran could restart as early as this week; however, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi suggested that more time is needed, noting that Iran will have to ensure first that the United States will not perform similar attacks when the negotiations resume. 

Responding to Potential Cyberattacks

The CSI provides organizations with information about the cyber actors’ commonly used techniques and examples of their previous cyber campaigns. The organizations, particularly critical infrastructure asset owners and operators, are advised to review the guidance to assess their cybersecurity weaknesses and update incident response plans, and implement recommended mitigations to harden their cyber defenses against malicious actors.

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DOD Acquisition Chief Outlines Approval Process for IT Consulting Contracts
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DOD acquisition chief's memo requires DOD components to seek approval from DOGE before awarding IT consulting contracts

Michael Duffey, under secretary of defense for acquisition and sustainment, has issued a memorandum establishing a review and approval process for contracts or task orders for IT consulting, management services and advisory support.

The June 23 memo implements a directive that Pete Hegseth, secretary of the Department of Defense and a 2025 Wash100 awardee, issued in May. The DOD secretary’s memo directs DOD components to secure approval from the Department of Government Efficiency, or DOGE, before executing IT consulting and management services contracts or task orders.

Hegseth’s directive seeks to establish policies to leverage in-house capabilities to streamline operations and promote fiscal responsibility. It also complies with an executive order aimed at implementing the president’s DOGE cost-efficiency initiatives.

Data Capture Elements in Submissions for DOGE Contract Review Process

Effective immediately, DOD components must seek approval from DOGE by submitting supporting documents through go.mil/dogecontractreview before awarding unclassified contracts or task orders for IT consulting and managed support and advisory and assistance services, according to Duffey’s memo.

Submissions must include several data capture elements, including deliverables, total ceiling value and estimated initial obligation. Cost-benefit analysis, justification that contract work cannot be sourced within DOD or procured from a direct service provider and evidence of evaluation of alternatives should also be attached to the submission.

If DOGE does not respond within three business days, DOD components may presume approval and proceed with the acquisition process.

Contract Requirements Excluded From DOGE Review & Approval Process

The DOD acquisition chief’s memo excludes from the DOGE review and approval process contract requirements that are to be carried out by direct service providers and those in direct support of defense weapon system programs and associated sustainment activities.

The new policy does not cover advisory and assistance service contract requirements for system engineering and technical services in support of systems architecture, acquisition program management or sustainment services backing major defense acquisition programs.

An IT consulting and management service contract worth less than $10 million and an advisory support contract under $1 million are also excluded from the DOGE approval process.

“My staff will monitor compliance with this approval process by conducting intermittent reviews. Any awards identified as noncompliant will be subject to termination,” Duffey wrote in the memo.

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Morgan Adamski Exits U.S. Cyber Command, Patrick Ware Named New Executive Director
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Morgan Adamski has announced her departure from U.S. Cyber Command

Morgan Adamski announced on LinkedIn Friday that she is stepping down as executive director of the U.S. Cyber Command.

Patrick Ware, a senior executive at the National Security Agency, will succeed Adamski as the top civilian at the combatant command, reported Defense One.

“After 17 years of service at the National Security Agency, I’ve decided to turn the page to an exciting new chapter in my career. It has been an extraordinary journey contributing to the defense of our nation and advancing the cybersecurity mission across the U.S. government,” said Adamski in her LinkedIn post.

Adamski’s Career Highlights

Adamski is a seasoned executive with over 15 years of experience in the federal sector. She is renowned for her expertise in cybersecurity and a proven track record of developing teams and establishing strategic partnerships with organizations in the international and private sectors.

She has served as the highest-ranking civilian at the CYBERCOM since June 2024, leading the combatant command’s over 12,000 personnel. Before that, Adamski spent over 13 years at the NSA, most recently as the NSA Cybersecurity Collaboration Center director. She also served as operations manager for over 10 years. The executive started her federal service career in 2008 as a cyber threat analyst with the Defense Intelligence Agency.

Who Is Patrick Ware?

Ware is a seasoned NSA executive who has spent over three decades at the agency, contributing to critical offensive and defensive missions. In his new role, Ware will join the command’s leadership team and spearhead efforts to enhance CYBERCOM and subordinate commands’ key functions, including strategic communication, workforce management, partnerships, innovation and capability development.

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