Paul Friedrichs, a retired U.S. Air Force major general, has been named director of a new permanent office within the Executive Office of the President tasked with coordinating policies related to pandemic preparedness and response.

The Office of Pandemic Preparedness and Response Policy will take over the duties of the current COVID-19 Response Team and Mpox Team and help the government prepare and respond to potential biological threats that could lead to significant health-related disruptions, the White House said Friday.

Friedrichs presently serves as special assistant to the president and senior director for global health security and biodefense at the National Security Council.

Before joining the NSC, he was the joint staff surgeon and medical adviser to the Department of Defense’s COVID-19 Task Force.

Friedrichs will assume his new position on Aug. 7.

The new office will work closely with the Department of Health and Human Services on the development of medical countermeasures and next-generation vaccines and treatments for COVID-19 and other public health threats.

In addition, OPPR will continue ongoing efforts to address threats from Mpox and polio, as well as avian and human influenza and respiratory syncytial virus.

The U.S. Army and Congress are investing more than $1.7 billion in Watervliet Arsenal to support modernization efforts at the manufacturing facility over the next two decades.

Sen. Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., announced Friday that the investment is the largest in the facility’s history and will be used to upgrade buildings, equipment and machinery, as well as promote job retention and creation.

The Army will invest $230 million in five active modernization projects and five additional planned projects starting later this year. These projects include rotary forge replacement, machinery upgrades, infrastructure improvements and quality inspection enhancements.

Another $130.5 million will be invested in modernization projects at the facility in 2024. The service branch will distribute the rest of the investment until fiscal year 2038.

Schumer said the record-breaking investment will also support the base’s almost 800 civilian employees and ensure that the Army-operated industrial manufacturing facility will maintain cannon production for the next generations.

Built in 1813, Watervliet Arsenal produces advanced weaponry for tanks, howitzers and mortar systems for U.S. and allied forces.

John McHugh, former secretary of the Army, designated the arsenal as a Center of Industrial and Technical Excellence for cannons and mortars in 2013.

Iridium Communications has released Iridium Certus — a new aviation commercial service offering a secure cockpit domain with consistent voice and data capabilities.

This launch makes Iridium Connected available for commercial transport aircraft, business aviation, helicopters, private aircraft and uncrewed aircraft systems with compact, cost-effective and high-coverage equipment, the McLean, Virginia-based company announced on Monday.

Matt Desch, CEO of Iridium and a nine-time Wash100 Award winner, said that in a “period of unprecedented growth” for the aviation industry, reliable connectivity is “crucial” for passenger and cockpit communications. He said that due to its Size, Weight and Power, or SWaP, and the reliability of Iridium’s global network, Iridium Certus “perfectly fits” these communications applications.

Iridium Certus is tailorable to device-specific SWaP needs both up and down to fit a wide variety of aircraft and operational demands and meet customer mission requirements. It offers operators the ability to gather real-time data from the cockpit to enhance decision-making and boost operational efficiency.

The technology utilizes L-band satellite frequencies to enable cockpit communications and harmonizes with Ka/Ku band services. Its capabilities allow it to function as a primary service for small to mid-size business jet cabins, and Iridium’s low-earth orbit satellite constellation provides weather-resilient L-band connectivity and worldwide coverage.

“With our upgraded constellation, we have significantly improved and expanded our offerings, delivering air traffic control services, weather and critical information to cockpits worldwide more affordably than ever before,” said Desch.

John Peterson, executive director of aviation at Iridium, noted that the organization’s first-generation voice and data offerings are installed on more than 60,000 aircraft.

“As the preferred solution for a wide range of aviation applications, from drones to airliners, Iridium Certus is ready to support the industry’s evolving connectivity needs,” he said.

Partners of Iridium are working to launch multi-tier Iridium Certus products compatible with other in-flight connectivity systems. Currently, Iridium Certus 100 and Certus 700 are undergoing the safety certification process. Flight trials are anticipated to begin by late 2023, while approvals are expected in 2024.

The Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program is requiring third party assessment organization personnel, including senior and junior assessors and penetration testers, to comply with the specific requirements set by the American Association for Laboratory Accreditation.

Starting on Oct. 1, FedRAMP and A2LA will review assessment reports to ensure that accredited 3PAO personnel are competent and qualified to evaluate documents from cloud service providers, FedRAMP said Thursday.

Personnel qualification requirements under the R311 policy cover training, years of experience, certification qualifications and technical proficiency activities.

FedRAMP noted that a 3PAO with a team consisting of both qualified and unqualified personnel will not be permitted to perform inspections of CSP documents.

The National Reconnaissance Office has modified a 10-year Electro-Optical Commercial Layer contract it awarded to Maxar Technologies last year in order to give the U.S. government long-term access to digital elevation models of the Arctic and Antarctic regions.

The changes support NRO’s agreement with the National Science Foundation and the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency to continue allowing public access to 3D models, which are vital in climate change research, NSF said Thursday.

The recently finalized pact among the three organizations is positioned to enable NGA to share the imaging simulations with NSF’s university partners, which will update the NSF’s ArcticDEM and Reference Elevation Model of Antarctica projects until 2032.

Researchers will be gain access o the digital simulations on NGA’s website, as well as the NSF Polar Geospatial Center site operated by the University of Minnesota.