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Sandia National Lab Taps General Atomics to Develop Conceptual Research Reactor Design
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Sandia National Lab Taps General Atomics to Develop Conceptual Research Reactor Design

General Atomics‘ electromagnetic systems business will provide a Department of Energy science and engineering laboratory for national security and technology innovation with a conceptual research reactor design under a new contract.

The concept design General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems is developing for Sandia National Laboratories will be used for a new advanced facility, the company said Tuesday.

“We have long enjoyed a strong working relationship with Sandia and look forward to delivering a new facility conceptual design under this contract to support their experimental, research and development activities going forward,” commented Scott Forney, president of GA-EMS.

The concept design is envisioned to enable safe use, operation and maintenance of the reactor and supporting systems.

GA-EMS will utilize its experience in designing and operating the Training, Research, Isotopes, General Atomics or TRIGA research reactors for the contract work.

Various TRIGA reactor configurations have been installed in 68 facilities worldwide to support government and industrial laboratories and other organizations in their nuclear research, testing and training efforts.

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BlueHalo Demos Phased-Array Antenna System to Modernize Space Operations; Jonathan Moneymaker Quoted
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BlueHalo Demos Phased-Array Antenna System to Modernize Space Operations; Jonathan Moneymaker Quoted

BlueHalo has demonstrated a multi-band, deployable ground terminal designed to enable resilient satellite communications and modernize space-based operations under the U.S. Space Force’s Satellite Communication Augmentation Resource program.

BADGER is an electronic phased array antenna built on BlueHalo’s core Multi-band Software Defined Antenna technology and developed as part of the $1.4 billion SCAR contract awarded in May 2022, the company said Tuesday.

BlueHalo’s proprietary MSDA phased-array technology uses agile and re-configurable beamforming tiles to streamline mission operations.

Jonathan Moneymaker, CEO of BlueHalo and a previous Wash100 awardee, said the company is dedicated to transforming defense technology to address the need for “more robust and modernized satellite communication infrastructure to maintain our strategic advantage in space.”

“In addition to adding communication capacity, the SCAR program will bring much-needed communications flexibility to the Space Force,” said Col. Greg Hoffman, senior material leader for the Space Rapid Capabilities Office.

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UCLA Professor Subramanian Iyer Tapped to Lead CHIPS for America Advanced Packaging Program
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UCLA Professor Subramanian Iyer Tapped to Lead CHIPS for America Advanced Packaging Program

Subramanian Iyer, professor and occupant of the Charles P. Reames endowed chair at the University of California, Los Angeles, was named director of the CHIPS National Advanced Packaging Manufacturing Program.

Iyer will retain his tenure at UCLA while leading the program, which is part of CHIPS for America’s Research and Development Office, according to a Tuesday notice from National Institute of Standards and Technology.

Iyer brings more than 40 years of experience in electrical engineering, microelectronics and packaging to his role at NAPMP, which aims to identify and adopt advanced technologies to keep the United States at the forefront of the global packaging industry.

He has a history with IBM, where he served as regional sales manager, engineer and fellow of director system scaling technology. He is known for developing 3D memory products, the embedded dynamic random-access memory and the first silicon germanium heterojunction bipolar transistor.

The professor also co-founded a company called SiBond, a joint venture between IBM and MEMC Electronic Materials that specializes in bonded Silicon-on-Insulator wafers.

CHIPS for America R&D is administered by NIST and the Department of Commerce.

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White House Advisory Committee Recommends Ways to Combat Abuse of Domestic Infrastructure
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White House Advisory Committee Recommends Ways to Combat Abuse of Domestic Infrastructure

A White House advisory panel unanimously voted Tuesday to pass a draft report outlining six recommendations to counter cyberattacks on domestic infrastructure by foreign threat actors, Nextgov/FCW reported.

Approved by the National Security Telecommunications Advisory Committee, the draft report recommends that the U.S. government establish a public-private task force to create a framework that includes best practices to mitigate abuse of domestic infrastructure or ADI.

The document calls for the government to launch a pilot program to assess privacy-enhancing technologies to advance threat data sharing and analysis efforts and directs the Office of the National Cyber Director to come up with a strategy aimed at combating ADI.

Other recommendations in the report include creating an operational working group to drive efforts to improve tactical collaboration to address ADI, developing a strategy to share intelligence with international partners with regard to the abuse of virtual resources and working with the private sector to update the Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act of 2015, which will expire by the end of September 2025.

The NSTAC report also lists key findings, including the need for a multifaceted strategy to counter ADI and the importance of focused information sharing and collaboration between the government and industry in understanding the scale and scope of ADI.

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CIA to Unveil AI Tool to Support Open Source Data Analysis
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CIA to Unveil AI Tool to Support Open Source Data Analysis

The CIA’s Open-Source Enterprise division is planning to roll out a generative artificial intelligence tool designed to give analysts better access to open source data, Bloomberg reported Tuesday.

Randy Nixon, director of the Open-Source Enterprise at the CIA, said the new tool will enable analysts to see the original data source and will have a chat feature for faster distribution of publicly and commercially available intelligence.

Users can take information gathering to “the next level and start chatting and asking questions of the machines to give you answers, also sourced,” according to Nixon.

The AI tool will be available to the CIA, the National Security Agency, the FBI and other defense and intelligence community agencies.

The CIA did not disclose further details on the new tool, including how it will protect information from spreading on the open internet.

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CISA Launches National Campaign to Raise Online Security Awareness; Jen Easterly Quoted
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CISA Launches National Campaign to Raise Online Security Awareness; Jen Easterly Quoted

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency has launched a nationwide cybersecurity public awareness campaign aimed at providing resources and tools to protect businesses, organizations and the public from cyberattacks.

CISA said Tuesday the “Secure Our World” campaign focuses on four basic cybersecurity practices: creating strong passwords and using a password manager; setting up multifactor authentication for online accounts; recognizing and reporting phishing incidents; and enabling automatic updates on software.

“I’m incredibly excited to launch our nationwide Public Service Announcement campaign, which includes resources and tools every individual and organization can use to stay safe online by practicing good cyber hygiene,” said CISA Director Jen Easterly, a two-time Wash100 awardee.

The campaign is part of CISA’s Cybersecurity Awareness Program, which aims to raise public awareness of cyber threats and online security.

POC - 2023 Homeland Security Summit

The Potomac Officers Club is hosting the 2023 Homeland Security Summit on Nov. 15 to bring together top officials from CISA, CBP and the Department of Homeland Security. Click here to learn more and register to attend the event.

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Senator Proposes Continuing Resolution to Extend Government Funding Through Mid-November
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Senator Proposes Continuing Resolution to Extend Government Funding Through Mid-November

Sen. Patty Murray, D-Wash., has introduced a bipartisan measure that seeks to prevent a government shutdown by the end of September by extending federal funding through Nov. 17.

The continuing resolution would provide lawmakers time to complete work on full-year appropriations bills, the Senate Appropriations Committee said Tuesday.

The stopgap bill would extend the Federal Aviation Administration’s authorities through the end of 2023, produce funding for disaster-stricken communities and maintain support for Ukraine.

The proposed legislation seeks to authorize $1.65 billion in emergency funding to support Ukraine’s defensive efforts against Russian invasion.

The Department of Defense would get $4.5 billion in emergency funding to respond to the situation in Ukraine and replenish U.S. military inventory, according to the bill’s section-by-section summary.

The CR would also allow DOD to obligate funds to kick off construction work on the second Columbia-class submarine using the “Shipbuilding and Conversion, Navy” account.

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William LaPlante on Pentagon’s Efforts to Advance Multiyear Contracts for Munitions
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William LaPlante on Pentagon’s Efforts to Advance Multiyear Contracts for Munitions

William LaPlante, under secretary for acquisition and sustainment at the Department of Defense, said DOD is pushing to get the Standard Missile-6, Long-Range Anti-Ship Missile, Patriot Advanced Capability-3 and other munitions and weapons systems on multiyear contracts, which he said would play an important role in an extended conflict in the Indo-Pacific region, Defense News reported Tuesday.

“If you look at the real challenges, it is matching a consumption rate that you are trying to predict. War breaks out and the consumption rate of X goes up from here this quickly. So how do you … without a buffer … match consumption rate with production rate,” LaPlante, a two-time Wash100 awardee, said Tuesday at a Center for Strategic and International Studies event in Washington, D.C.

“We want to do the multi-years because — it’s not a panacea, it will get savings but that’s not the reason we’re pushing it — but it’s because it takes one more reason away from industry to say, ‘I’m not putting my [capital expenditures] against it because I don’t believe you guys,'” he noted at the event.

The defense acquisition chief added that multiyear contracts could help the U.S. government demonstrate that it is serious about purchasing more munitions for an extended period of time.

“I like to think a multi-year would help. Once we put up [economic order quantity funding], which is a bunch of the money up front so they [can buy] a lot of the long-lead items, we generally don’t break multiyear contracts in the DoD; we honor them,” LaPlante said. “That’s the reason why we want to get to that.”

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CGI Federal Books Potential $143.5M Initial Task Order Under AOUSC IDIQ; Clay Goldwein Quoted
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CGI Federal Books Potential $143.5M Initial Task Order Under AOUSC IDIQ; Clay Goldwein Quoted

CGI Federal has secured an initial task order under a potential 10-year, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity award from the Administrative Office of the U.S. Courts.

The initial task order has a potential value of $143.5 million if all options are exercised, and as the awardee, CGI will support the judiciary’s financial management and acquisition processes enabled by the company’s Momentum platform, CGI announced from its Fairfax, Virginia headquarters on Wednesday.

“IT modernization requires business agility to meet evolving demands. CGI provides a flexible, holistic approach that enables digital transformation,” said Clay Goldwein, senior vice president and national security and justice business unit lead at the enterprise.

Momentum is a contract and financial management software that includes automation and data capabilities. Under the IDIQ, CGI will offer strategic consulting, advisory, application operations and management, hosting and other assistance associated with processes using Momentum. The one-year initial task order covers operations and maintenance, service desk support and training services.

Brian Becker, vice president and U.S. federal judiciary and legislative branch sector lead at CGI, said Momentum improves financial transparency, accountability and performance, which boosts operational efficiency, enhances user experience and allows the judicial branch to “further the stewardship of taxpayer dollars.”

Currently, Momentum is used by over 100 federal organizations, and CGI has recently won multiple awards related to the software.

In March, the company received a $40 million Nuclear Regulatory Commission contract to continuously support the commission’s financial management systems, which use Momentum.

Just over a year earlier, CGI secured a potential $250 million Blanket Purchase Agreement from the Department Of Justice and a five-year, $133.9 million initial task order to manage the department’s Unified Asset Management System and Momentum-powered Unified Financial Management System.

The software was also recently added to the Financial Management Quality Service Management Office’s online Marketplace Catalog. It was approved as part of the General Services Administration Multiple Award Schedule.

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NCCoE Issues Hybrid Satellite Networks Cybersecurity Framework Profile
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NCCoE Issues Hybrid Satellite Networks Cybersecurity Framework Profile

The National Institute of Standards and Technology’s National Cybersecurity Center of Excellence has released the final interagency report on a profile meant to help space stakeholders assess the cybersecurity posture of hybrid satellite networks.

The HSN Cybersecurity Framework Profile seeks to help organizations integrate security, better understand the attack surface and improve resilience of space systems, NCCoE said Monday.

The HSC CSF Profile intends to help organizations identify assets, data, systems and risks that pertain to hybrid satellite networks; protect HSN services by performing self-assessments and adhering to cybersecurity principles; and detect cybersecurity-related disturbances or corruption of HSN services and data, among others.

According to NIST, the document also aims to facilitate the integration of HSN components via consideration of cybersecurity functions and categories and provide a comprehensive framework to facilitate risk management decisions.

The HSN profile’s scope focuses on physical and virtual interfaces, including antenna fields, payloads, user terminals, virtual machine-based command formatter and software-defined elements hosted on a cloud.

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