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PLA Looking to AI to Gain Warfighting Edge, USAF Report Says
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PLA Looking to AI to Gain Warfighting Edge, USAF Report Says

The Chinese military is developing artificial intelligence weapons and other technical systems in hopes of enhancing the People’s Liberation Army’s range of warfighting capabilities, the Washington Times reported on Tuesday.

According to the “China’s ChatGPT War” report released by the Department of the Air Force’s China Aerospace Studies Institute, “there is a consensus in the PLA media that Generative AI has a place in warfare,” and military writings have revealed initiatives surrounding this new technology.

One of the most widespread examples of generative AI is ChatGPT, a chatbot able to generate content in response to user-written prompts. As it advances, analysts forecast that ChatGPT will be able to create text, video and images using a combination of advanced software and high-speed computing in a way that mirrors the human brain.

The report noted that using similar AI technologies for human-machine relations could largely increase the PLA’s force as they are installed into unmanned combat systems that can quickly collect and analyze information and create attack plans. Generative AI may also improve decision making within the PLA when adopted.

AI applications in cyber warfare are also being considered by the PLA. According to the report, hackers will use AI to write malicious code, build bots and websites to obtain user information, carry out social engineering scams and phishing campaigns and create advanced polymorphic malware that can dodge network security software. The PLA also intends to use AI in cognitive warfare, a form of battle that uses non-kinetic methods to shape people’s opinions, as well as in logistics, space operations and training.

While China’s military sees many benefits of AI implementation, there are still areas of concern, including system security, a lack of warfighting experience within the PLA and even the potential for AI systems to develop self-awareness, the report said.

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Berkeley Lab Center Spearheads Efforts to Enable Large-Scale Microelectronics Production
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Berkeley Lab Center Spearheads Efforts to Enable Large-Scale Microelectronics Production

Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory is leading a newly established center to research and develop extreme ultraviolet lithography technology to enable large-scale production of advanced semiconductor chips.

The Center for High Precision Patterning Science secured funding from the Department of Energy to research new EUV lithography materials and evaluate their interaction with EUV light, Berkeley Lab reported Monday.

The CHiPPS Energy Frontier Research Center focuses on four research areas: photomaterials synthesis, new materials for “hierarchical” self-assembly, theory and modeling and new methods to characterize EUV lithography materials with atomic precision.

Berkeley Lab CHiPPS Director Ricardo Ruiz said the center aims to create a fundamental understanding and control of patterning processes for large-scale manufacturing of future-generation microelectronics.

“EUV lithography is key to creating integrated-circuit patterns on the scale of a billionth of a meter in the materials that are used to manufacture advanced microchips. It’s the latest advance in lithography, a technique that uses light to print tiny patterns in silicon to mass produce microchips,” Ruiz explained.

The CHiPPS team includes scientists from the Molecular Foundry, the Advanced Light Source, the Center for X-Ray Optics, the Chemical Sciences Division and the Energy Storage & Distributed Resources Division.

Argonne National Laboratory, San Jose State University, Stanford University, the University of California at Santa Barbara and Cornell University also provide support to the center.

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NIST Seeks Reviewer Assistance for Semiconductor Manufacturing Grant Applications
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NIST Seeks Reviewer Assistance for Semiconductor Manufacturing Grant Applications

The National Institute of Standards and Technology is looking for a contractor to help the agency evaluate semiconductor facility concept plans submitted through the CHIPS Incentives Program.

In a sources sought notice posted Monday, NIST said a potential contract team will conduct a technical evaluation of proposed projects to invest in facilities and equipment aimed at driving domestic chip sector growth.

The notice comes as NIST issued a second notice of funding opportunity under the program to seek construction, expansion or modernization proposals involving a capital investment of not more than $300 million.

NIST expects at least three contractor reviewers to assess eligible applicants based on criteria established in its notice of funding opportunity and submit resulting scores to the agency’s CHIPS Program Office for final consideration.

The office plans to commence grant program review training for a selected contract team in January 2024 and kick off the submission assessment process in February.

Responses to the sources sought notice are due Sept. 12.

Navy, Marines Trial CH-53E Manned Aircraft Refueling MQ-8C Unmanned Helicopter
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Navy, Marines Trial CH-53E Manned Aircraft Refueling MQ-8C Unmanned Helicopter

The U.S. Navy and Marine Corps demonstrated a refueling mission between the latter’s MQ-8C Fire Scout helicopter and the former’s CH-53E Super Stallion helicopter, marking a first time for such event involving an unmanned rotary wing aircraft and manned platform.

The aerial delivered ground refueling trial was performed at Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms, California on July 31, according to a post on Defense Visual Information Distribution Service.

About 700 pounds of fuel were transferred to the MQ-8C by utilizing the ability of the CH-53E to deliver fuel to air and ground vehicles in austere environments. The said value could support an estimated range of 150 nautical miles and enable the unmanned helicopter to function on the battlespace longer.

“By conducting ADGR in addition to using a mobile control station, the MQ-8C can be operated to support Marines in nearly any environment,” said Lt. Cmdr. Brian “Freq” Paskey, the HSC-21 training officer.

Participants in the trial were Marines with Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron 361, Marine Aircraft Group 16, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing and the MQ-8C Fire Scout from Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 21.

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FAA Calling for Comments on Proposed Rule to Implement Commercial Space Launch Competitiveness Act’s Provisions
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FAA Calling for Comments on Proposed Rule to Implement Commercial Space Launch Competitiveness Act’s Provisions

The Federal Aviation Administration has started soliciting insights on a proposed rule to provide regulatory clarity for commercial space operators applying for licenses for spaceflight operations involving government astronauts in compliance with the U.S. Commercial Space Launch Competitiveness Act of 2015.

The proposed rule would establish two new subparts to include requirements for “applicants whose licensed or permitted operations involve government astronauts with and without safety-critical roles on board a vehicle,” according to a notice published Friday in Federal Register.

The rule would direct operators to demonstrate that such astronauts can perform safety-critical tasks aboard a vehicle.

“This proposed requirement would maintain public safety by ensuring operators provide mission specific training on safety-critical tasks to government astronauts, as has been done in the NASA Commercial Crew Program,” the notice reads.

FAA also volunteered to update definitions related to commercial space launch and reentry vehicles and occupants; implement clarifications to financial responsibility requirements in accordance with the law; and broaden applicability of allowed operations for reusable suborbital rockets.

Public comments are due Oct. 17.

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DHS Requests Info on FLETC Enterprise IT Support Services Requirement
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DHS Requests Info on FLETC Enterprise IT Support Services Requirement

The Department of Homeland Security has begun accepting information on potential industry sources that could provide enterprise information technology support services and solutions to the Federal Law Enforcement Training Centers’ Chief Information Officer Directorate.

A notice posted Wednesday on SAM.gov states that the EITSS procurement vehicle will support the FLETC headquarters and field sites to provide training services to federal law enforcement professionals.

The potential contract will cover support across all CIO Directorate divisions, including the end user computing services branch, IT service management branch, IT infrastructure branch and cybersecurity division.

Work may include acquisition support, quality control, configuration management, system integration, zero trust architecture support and division administrative support.

Interested parties have until Sept. 6 to respond to the request for information.

CISA, NIST, NSA Urge Organizations to Prep for Post-Quantum Cryptography Migration
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CISA, NIST, NSA Urge Organizations to Prep for Post-Quantum Cryptography Migration

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, the National Security Agency and the National Institute of Standards and Technology have recommended that organizations begin preparing for post-quantum cryptography migration by developing roadmaps for quantum readiness.

Organizations that handle sensitive information must plan their implementation of post-quantum cryptographic standards to be released by NIST in 2024 to boost their security against malicious use of quantum computers, the NSA said Monday.

An effective quantum-readiness roadmap must begin with an inventory of quantum-vulnerable systems and assets before starting the quantum risk assessment processes. During the inventory, organizations should engage with supply chain vendors to identify technologies that need to migrate to PQC.

The agencies also encourage organizations to create migration plans prioritizing the most sensitive and critical assets.

Technology manufacturers and vendors of products that support the use of quantum-vulnerable cryptography should begin reviewing the draft PQC standards to begin planning and testing for integration.

“The transition to a secured quantum computing era is a long-term intensive community effort that will require extensive collaboration between government and industry,” said Rob Joyce, director of cybersecurity at NSA and a two-time Wash100 awardee.

SBA Extends Moratorium on 8(a) Bona Fide Place of Business Requirement
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SBA Extends Moratorium on 8(a) Bona Fide Place of Business Requirement

The Small Business Administration has extended — until Sept. 30, 2024 — the moratorium on the requirement for small businesses to establish a bona fide place of business in a particular geographic area when awarded any construction contract under the 8(a) Business Development Program.

The moratorium was instated in 2021 to address challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic and has since enabled federal agencies to increase construction procurements with small and disadvantaged businesses in rural and remote areas, SBA said Monday.

A bona fide place of business refers to the location where a participant regularly maintains an office with at least one full-time employee. It does not include construction trailers or other temporary construction sites.

“With this extension, the SBA under the Biden-Harris Administration is again demonstrating its commitment to creating opportunity and leveling the playing field for American entrepreneurs,” said SBA Administrator Isabella Casillas Guzman.

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Army CIO Leonel Garciga Focusing on Interim Software & Data Policies
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Army CIO Leonel Garciga Focusing on Interim Software & Data Policies

Leonel Garciga, chief information officer of the U.S. Army, said he is prioritizing the development of interim policies for software, cybersecurity and data to help the service keep pace with technological advances in the private sector, Federal News Network reported Monday.

One of the first interim policies the military branch is working on prizes containers, which are used to package and deploy software.

“We’re going to focus on some things that are huge leaps, both from a security perspective and from the ability to build software out faster. Container guidance — that’ll be coming out soon,” Garciga said at a conference.

Garciga, who assumed the CIO post in late June, said his office plans to release new policy on the use of data on government systems.

“We need to remind folks that there are some rules around this, and we need to protect DoD data and we need to protect personal information too. We’re going to be putting some stuff out there,” Garciga noted.

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Robert Hale & Ellen Lord on 5 Areas of Improvement in Defense Budgeting Process
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Robert Hale & Ellen Lord on 5 Areas of Improvement in Defense Budgeting Process

Commission on Planning, Programming, Budgeting and Execution Chair Robert Hale and Vice Chair Ellen Lord said speed and agility of defense budgeting could help the Department of Defense strengthen deterrence and keep its advantage over strategic competitors.

The commission has identified five improvement areas for the PPBE process, Hale and Lord wrote in an opinion piece published Friday in The Hill. The first line of effort calls for DOD to update business processes to foster innovation adoption and warfighting adaptability.

Another area of improvement is considering reforms to PPBE documents to clearly communicate how DOD’s budget implements the defense strategy.

Lord and Hale said DOD should provide Congress update on its budget by conducting a mid-year briefing to improve communications.

The two previous Wash100 Award recipients called on the Pentagon to advance use of data analytics and digital business systems to streamline the PPBE process and ensure that its workforce can implement each phase of the process.

Lord is former undersecretary of defense for acquisition and sustainment and Hale is former DOD undersecretary for comptroller and chief financial officer.

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