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DOE Funds 3 Projects to Support Quantum Networking Research Advancement
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DOE Funds 3 Projects to Support Quantum Networking Research Advancement

Three research projects specializing in quantum computer networking will receive a total of $24 million in grants over a period of up to three years from the Department of Energy.

DOE announced Tuesday that the chosen projects will help advance devices, techniques and protocols to make distributed quantum computers a reality.

One of the teams involves Argonne National Laboratory, Fermi National Accelerator Laboratory, Northwestern University, the University of Chicago and the University of Illinois-Urbana-Champaign. They are using a full-stack, heterogenous approach to co-designing scalable quantum networks.

The Argonne and Fermi laboratories are also part of another study with the University of Illinois-Urbana-Champaign, Northwestern University and the California Institute of Technology. It focuses on error noise-robust correction techniques as well as hyper-entanglement-based networking, which are expected to enhance quantum networks used in science discovery.

Another group is developing performance-integrated scalable quantum internet protocols and architecture. The study is a collaboration among Oak Ridge National Laboratory, the University of Massachusetts-Amherst, University of Arizona and the Arizona State University.

Osprey MK III Completes 1st Autonomous Flight via AFWERX Autonomy Proving Ground
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Osprey MK III Completes 1st Autonomous Flight via AFWERX Autonomy Proving Ground

The U.S. Air Force’s innovation arm has conducted the first autonomous test flight of the Osprey MK III unmanned aerial system at Eglin Air Force Base in Florida under a testbed demonstration for autonomous technologies and capabilities.

Test operators launched Osprey MK III before the aircraft switched control to onboard autonomy and independently flew around designated airspace located at Duke Field as part of AFWERX’s Autonomy, Data and AI Experimentation Proving Ground effort, Air Force Materiel Command reported Wednesday.

The onboard autonomy was designed to fly MK III outside the user-defined airspace boundary constraints. It disengages and sends the UAS to a safe remediation point each time it is about to violate the airspace boundary.

The autonomy watchdog feature is part of the Test of Autonomy in Complex Environments, the software component of the Autonomy Prime Environment for Experimentation, which is a subset of ADAx.

ADAx is a joint venture between AFWERX and the Department of Defense’s Chief Digital and AI Office.

Naval Air Warfare Center & SPARC Collaborate on Missile Propulsion Enhancement Initiative
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Naval Air Warfare Center & SPARC Collaborate on Missile Propulsion Enhancement Initiative

The Naval Air Warfare Center Weapons Division will partner with SPARC Research on enhancing missile range and capability for warfighters over a three-year period.

SPARC said Wednesday the team will aim to boost the performance of solid rocket motors and air-breathing engines under a cooperative research and development agreement.

“We are honored to be working with SPARC Research to enable us to cooperatively develop, build, test and effectively transition emerging propulsion technologies to future weapon development programs,” said Matthew Gross, principal investigator at NAWCWD.

Based in Warrenton, Virginia, SPARC works to advance rocket and airbreathing technologies, spanning from development and initial design to prototype presentation. The company also collaborates with propulsion suppliers, missile prime contractors and government laboratories.

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White House Official Says External Red-Team Assessments of LLMs Could Improve AI Developer Accountability
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White House Official Says External Red-Team Assessments of LLMs Could Improve AI Developer Accountability

External red team assessments, which use real-world cyberattack techniques to identify an organization’s security weaknesses, are effective in detecting artificial intelligence risks such as bias, discrimination, privacy and other novel threats, according to Alan Mislove, assistant director of data and democracy at the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy.

In a blog post published Tuesday, Mislove relayed findings from the first-ever red-teaming event held at the AI Village during the 2023 DEF CON hacking conference from Aug. 10 to 13 in Las Vegas.

While external red-teaming is currently being used in cybersecurity in general, its specific application to AI systems is not yet common. The AI Village event focused on the assessment of large language models, which underwent intensive testing until they produced undesirable outcomes.

The findings helped establish red-teaming norms to expose threats to data rights and safety when it comes to LLMs, Mislove said. The approach may help increase transparency and accountability among AI companies, he added.

On Sept. 12, ExecutiveBiz, an affiliate publication of ExecutiveGov, will host the Trusted AI and Autonomy Forum. The event, which will be held in person in Falls Church, Virginia, is open for registration.

Trusted AI and Autonomy Forum
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USAF, Army Battle Labs Conduct Joint Experiment on Airspace Awareness Software With DARPA
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USAF, Army Battle Labs Conduct Joint Experiment on Airspace Awareness Software With DARPA

The battle laboratories of the U.S. Air Force and the U.S. Army worked with the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency on a joint experiment on a DARPA program designed to enable airspace operations and deconfliction in highly congested combat environments.

The Air Space Total Awareness for Rapid Tactical Execution program seeks to automate the capability to provide a common operational image of airspace in real time to speed up the execution of joint fires, the Air Force said Thursday.

Raytheon, now RTX, developed the artificial intelligence-enabled ASTARTE software using a modular approach to facilitate its integration with the command and control systems of the Army and the Air Force.

Air Force and Army personnel assessed the ASTARTE software in an air-ground conflict by simulating a division-level Joint Air Ground Integration Center. They evaluated ASTARTE and its ability to process multiple data streams to provide a unified operational picture and offer recommendations for improving joint fires through JAGIC battle drills.

“In comparison to previous test events, we observed significantly reduced reliance on legacy C2 systems while using the ASTARTE software, and the role players reported a greater understanding of how the ASTARTE system executes tasks,” said Mary Schurgot, ASTARTE program manager at DARPA’s strategic technology office.

The Air Force’s Advanced Battle Management System Battle Lab, also known as the 805th Combat Training Squadron’s Shadow Operations Center-Nellis, hosted the joint ASTARTE experiment in collaboration with DARPA and the Army’s Mission Command Battle Lab.

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OMB’s Quarterly PMA Update Underscores Progress in Federal Customer Service Delivery
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OMB’s Quarterly PMA Update Underscores Progress in Federal Customer Service Delivery

The Office of Management and Budget has provided quarterly updates to the President’s Management Agenda and shared progress on the second PMA priority, which seeks to transform federal service delivery and customer experience.

The implementation leads for the second priority offered updates on efforts to reimagine federal government services, particularly in the areas of high-impact service providers and life experience projects, according to a Performance.gov blog post published Wednesday.

According to the report, 26 of the 35 HISPs are publicly reporting data on their public interactions to improve accountability and that some HISPs, including the Social Security Administration and the Department of Health and Human Services, have made strides when it comes to delivering services to citizens.

HHS, for instance, performed prototyping and user interviews to help inform changes to Medicare.gov.

Two life experience projects reportedly achieved milestones, one of which is via the “Navigating Transition to Civilian Life” life experience. Under the “Prototyping integrated transition planning support for Service members” project, the Department of Veterans Affairs is developing prototypes and minimum viable products for a shared software meant to help former service personnel access their benefits.

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Wendy Noble Ascends to Deputy Director at NSA
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Wendy Noble Ascends to Deputy Director at NSA

Wendy Noble, former executive director of the National Security Agency, has been appointed deputy director of NSA.

She succeeds George Barnes, who will retire by the end of September after serving as deputy director of NSA for six years, the agency said Wednesday.

In this capacity, Noble will oversee strategy execution, operations and the senior civilian leadership, in addition to helping the defense and intelligence enterprise develop national security policies.

As NSA’s executive director between 2019 and 2022, she guided operational strategies, implemented policies and led all aspects of the global enterprise.

Noble most recently held a position at the Department of Defense wherein she was responsible for advancing foreign partnerships. 

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QinetiQ to Support SDA Proliferated Space Architecture Development Under $224M Contract; Shawn Purvis Quoted
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QinetiQ to Support SDA Proliferated Space Architecture Development Under $224M Contract; Shawn Purvis Quoted

QinetiQ’s U.S. arm has booked a five-year, $224 million Space Development Agency contract for systems engineering and technical services.

Under the firm-fixed price award, QinetiQ is responsible for providing engineering and technical analysis, management and professional services and acquisition support to help SDA progress the Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture initiative, QinetiQ shared with ExecutiveGov in an email sent Thursday.

“This award further expounds on our long-term commitment to the space mission. We are proud to be continuing our partnership with SDA to advance mission operations of this critical space program in support of our warfighter,” said QinetiQ US President and CEO Shawn Purvis, a three-time Wash100 Award recipient. 

The PWSA is a resilient layered network of military satellites and associated components intended to provide the joint warfighter with necessary space-based capabilities using a proliferated low Earth orbit satellite constellation. QinetiQ’s work is intended to advance the development, fielding and operation of the PWSA.

Steve Iwicki, executive vice president of QinetiQ US’ space initiatives and defense technologies and solutions portfolio, said the company has been “fully committed” to making sure it delivers the right technical offerings to drive mission success while also providing the full life cycle support it has partnered with SDA on, which spans requirements generation to launch operations.

This award closely follows multiple contract wins for QinetiQ. Earlier this month, QinetiQ received a contract from the U.S. Army to provide technical and programmatic services for the Army Combat Capabilities Development Command’s C5ISR Center at the Fort Belvoir Prototyping Integration Facility.

In March, QinetiQ secured a $92.7 million award also from the Army, under which the enterprise is responsible for developing, testing and demonstrating a night vision device that uses digital sensor and display systems.

House Bill to Restrict Defense Contractor, Foreign Influence on DOD
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House Bill to Restrict Defense Contractor, Foreign Influence on DOD

Rep. Andy Kim, D-N.J., has introduced legislation to limit contractor and foreign government influence on the U.S. military and uphold greater transparency over the Department of Defense’s interaction with contractors.

The Defense Ethics and Anti-Corruption Act would put a four-year ban on major defense contractors hiring senior DOD officials and former Pentagon employees who managed their contracts, Kim’s office said Tuesday.

The legislation would also prohibit former military generals from lobbying DOD, require defense contractors to submit annual reports on the hiring of former Pentagon leaders and ban retired senior defense officials from owning stock in contractors with more than $100 million in revenue from the defense contracts.

To limit foreign influence, the bill would restrict senior national security officials from working for foreign governments.

“From my time in national security, I saw firsthand how important it is for DoD officials to put their focus on U.S. national security, completing the mission, protecting servicemembers, and supporting military families,” Kim said.

The legislation is a companion to the Senate bill introduced by Sen. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass.

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Rep. Mike Rogers Asks DOD Officials to Provide Documents Related to Space Command HQ Location Selection
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Rep. Mike Rogers Asks DOD Officials to Provide Documents Related to Space Command HQ Location Selection

Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Ala., chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, has asked Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall and Gen. James Dickinson, commander of U.S. Space Command, to provide documents related to the basing requirements and process for the permanent headquarters of USSPACECOM.

Some of the documents requested by HASC are a copy of the HQ basing requirements as they existed on June 1, 2022, and papers and communications generated after June 1, 2022, as well as those related to the ranking of candidate cities for the combatant command’s HQ, according to a Monday letter addressed to four-time Wash100 awardee Kendall and Dickinson.

The House panel has set a Sept. 8 deadline for the requested documents.

The letter came days after Rogers asked the Government Accountability Office to investigate the Department of Defense’s basing process for the command’s permanent HQ, in response to President Joe Biden’s selection of Colorado Springs, Colorado, as the permanent location for USSPACECOM’s HQ.

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