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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.

NSWC Requests Experimentation Nominations for 2024 Trident Spectre Exercise
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NSWC Requests Experimentation Nominations for 2024 Trident Spectre Exercise

Naval Special Warfare Command is inviting industry, academia, government laboratories and research and development organizations to submit technology experimentation nominations for the annual Trident Spectre exercise.

The upcoming annual government exercise will aim to facilitate multi-agency collaboration and integration to share best practices and identify emerging technologies designed to meet current and future operational capability needs of the Special Operations Forces, according to a notice posted Tuesday on SAM.gov.

NSWC will host an industry day on Sept. 11 at the Nauticus Museum in Norfolk, Virginia, to discuss Trident Spectre’s priorities and objectives and share ways to maximize participants’ potential for selection.

The joint experimentation exercise is the principal technology Proving Ground for the NSWC and its SOF partners.

 Interested parties have until Oct. 31 to submit experimentation nominations.

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NIST Issues Request for Comment on Draft Revision of Cybersecurity Learning Program Guidance
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NIST Issues Request for Comment on Draft Revision of Cybersecurity Learning Program Guidance

The National Institute of Standards and Technology is seeking public feedback on a draft publication focused on creating a training program for cybersecurity and privacy.

The draft, entitled “Building a Cybersecurity and Privacy Learning Program,” is a revision of a 2003 special publication on cybersecurity training, awareness and requirements, NIST said Monday.

The goal of the document revision is to adapt to the changing landscape of information technology and consequently, the approaches to cyber defense and data privacy. The new provisions align with the Cybersecurity Enhancement Act of 2014 as well as the National Defense Authorization Act for fiscal year 2021, according to the institute.

Some of the proposed amendments are the application of the NIST Cybersecurity Framework and other relevant terminologies to training programs and the incorporation of learning programs into organization goals to better manage online risks.

 The draft is open for comment until Oct. 27.

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Sandia National Labs Collaborates With Government, Industry to Expedite Tech Testing in Space
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Sandia National Labs Collaborates With Government, Industry to Expedite Tech Testing in Space

Sandia National Laboratories is working with NASA, the National Nuclear Security Administration and Voyager Space Holdings subsidiary NanoRacks on a new rapid testing approach for supercomputers and other national security space technologies.

The project will use the International Space Station as a testing ground, hosting payloads carrying different technologies such as a high-performance computer installed on the NanoRacks External Platform, Sandia said Monday.

The team began testing Sandia’s payload, LEONIDAS, which carries Advanced Micro Devices‘ Versal microchip designed for national security satellites. The demonstration is being done at the External Platform on the Japanese external module of ISS.

Instead of spending ten years or more on traditional component testing, the new space-based approach shortens the research time to 12 to 18 months while the technology is still relevant.

Using the new process, Sandia is planning to advance other innovations under its Laboratory Directed Research and Development projects. After LEONIDAS, a payload called ASTRID will be launched to test four separate technologies: a vanadium dioxide plant for regulating satellite temperature; an experimental electromagnetic pulse protection device; an integrity box for securing satellite data; and radiation-hardened neural networks.

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PCAST Recommends 2 Measures to Foster Public Engagement on Matters of Science
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PCAST Recommends 2 Measures to Foster Public Engagement on Matters of Science

The President’s Council of Advisors on Science and Technology has offered two recommendations to promote public engagement among federal research and development agencies, science and technology professionals and communities.

The recommendations suggest issuing a call for federal agencies to make public engagement and science and technology communications a key component of their strategy and mission and creating a new office to support agencies in their continuing efforts to build participatory engagement and S&T communications, the White House said Tuesday.

The General Services Administration’s 18F and the Office of Management and Budget’s U.S. Digital Service could be used as models for the proposed office, which should be composed of professionals with a range of expertise who can team up or be deployed to agencies, according to PCAST.

PCAST said the proposed actions are aligned with the current administration’s initiatives that direct agencies to improve collaboration and engagement with communities.

PCAST presented the recommendations through a letter addressed to President Biden.

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