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Senate Armed Services Committee OKs FY24 NDAA
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Senate Armed Services Committee OKs FY24 NDAA

The Senate Armed Services Committee passed the fiscal year 2024 National Defense Authorization Act on Friday in a 24-1 vote.

The NDAA, which is now headed to the Senate floor for consideration, seeks to authorize a total of $886.3 billion in fiscal year 2024 funding for national defense.

Within the national defense topline, the measure would authorize $844.3 billion for the Department of Defense and $32.4 billion for national security programs within the Department of Energy.

The proposed legislation would authorize increased funding for the LGM-35A Sentinel program, Hypersonic Targets and Countermeasures Program and Fleet Ballistic Missile Strategic Weapon System; support requested funding for the purchase of naval vessels, combat aircraft, armored vehicles, weapon systems and munitions; and authorize $1.9 billion to fully fund the San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock ship LPD-33.

The NDAA is meant to authorize the U.S. Navy to enter into one or more contracts for the multiyear procurement of the next block of 10 Virginia-class submarines and establish the joint program of the DOD and the National Nuclear Security Administration to build a nuclear-armed sea-launched cruise missile.

The bill “addresses a broad range of pressing issues, from strategic competition with China and Russia, to disruptive technologies like hypersonics, AI, and quantum computing, to modernizing our ships, aircraft, and combat vehicles,” said Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I., chairman of SASC.

On Thursday, the House Appropriations Committee voted 34-24 to approve a fiscal year 2024 bill that would fund the agencies and programs within the Department of Defense and Intelligence Community.

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Elsevier’s Albert Chang Talks Career Background, Leadership Strengths & More
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Elsevier’s Albert Chang Talks Career Background, Leadership Strengths & More

Albert Chang currently serves as a government customer engagement lead at Elsevier, a role in which he applies his more than 25 years of leadership experience to support the organization’s public sector customers in streamlining processes to improve research outcomes.

Chang recently participated in an interview with the Potomac Officers Club, in which he discussed his career background, described his leadership style and shared his most significant accomplishments.

In this excerpt from the interview, Chang reflects on what he has learned throughout his career:

My career, which spans over 30 years, has been about change. Having worked in five different industries, I have learned to adapt and to recognize a lot of similarities across these fields. At the end of the day, we are all trying to solve problems. The challenge is knowing how to take advantage of your experiences and strengths to find solutions. The ability to think critically and apply methodologies in ways no one has thought of combined with continuous learning is where you find answers.

For more of Chang’s insights, read the full Executive Spotlight interview on the Potomac Officers Club website.

Each Potomac Officers Club has the opportunity to participate in their own Executive Spotlight interview! Click here to explore our membership options and take advantage of this exclusive brand-building program.

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NASA Reaches End of Initial Certification Tests for Redesigned Artemis RS-25 Engines
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NASA Reaches End of Initial Certification Tests for Redesigned Artemis RS-25 Engines

NASA accomplished initial certification tests of redesigned RS-25 engines manufactured by Aerojet Rocketdyne, which will be used for the Space Launch System rocket in the Artemis V lunar missions and beyond.

The 12-test series was completed at Fred Haise Test Stand at Stennis Space Center in Mississippi and will be followed by a second and final round of certification trials in the fall of 2023, the space agency said Friday.

The experiment included 500-second hot fire tests, as well as four long-duration trials that lasted a total of 720 minutes. Engineers also performed a gimbal test to evaluate the component’s pivoting abilities, and pushed power levels from 80 percent to 113 percent.

“This 12-test series demonstrated our confidence level that our new designs have the same reliability and performance as their predecessors,” said Mike Lauer, Aerojet’s deputy program manager for RS-25. “We put the engine through a lot of different scenarios, and we are extremely pleased with the results.”

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NIST Launches Generative AI Public Working Group
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NIST Launches Generative AI Public Working Group

The National Institute of Standards and Technology is introducing a public working group that seeks to address the challenges and opportunities related to artificial intelligence that can generate text, images, code, videos and other content.

The Public Working Group on Generative AI will help NIST come up with guidance to assist organizations in addressing the risks associated with the technology, the Department of Commerce said Thursday.

“The recently released NIST AI Risk Management Framework can help minimize the potential for harm from generative AI technologies,” said Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo.

“Building on the framework, this new Public Working Group will help provide essential guidance for those organizations that are developing, deploying, and using generative AI, and who have a responsibility to ensure its trustworthiness,” Raimondo added.

The team will support NIST’s testing and evaluation work related to generative AI, help create the generative AI profile for the NIST AI Risk Management Profile and explore opportunities to ensure that generative AI technologies could be used productively to address challenges related to health, climate change and the environment, among other areas.

Interested stakeholders have until July 9 to sign up for the public working group.

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DARPA Develops Software to Enable Secure Info Exchange via Mobile Devices
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DARPA Develops Software to Enable Secure Info Exchange via Mobile Devices

A Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency program has concluded the development and integration of software and networking technologies designed to facilitate the secure exchange of sensitive information in tactical operations through a handheld device.

The Secure Handhelds on Assured Resilient networks at the tactical Edge software, which runs on military end-user mobile devices, has been integrated with the Tactical Assault Kit, a software suite that provides situational awareness to warfighters, DARPA said Thursday.

“Our performer teams developed new technology based on routing individually secured data packets and created software to rapidly configure user devices operating on any type of network, whether commercial Wi-Fi, cellular, or military networks,” said Mary Schurgot, SHARE program manager in DARPA’s Strategic Technology Office.

DARPA initiated the SHARE program in 2017 but officially transitioned the technology to the Defense Department’s TAK Product Center this year.

Two Six Technologies teamed up with Eucleo Software Corporation and MAPPS for the third and final phase of the program.

PSC Survey: 67% of Federal Acquisition Officials Seeing Improved Industry Collaboration
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PSC Survey: 67% of Federal Acquisition Officials Seeing Improved Industry Collaboration

A Professional Services Council survey has found that 67 percent of federal acquisition leaders said they believe collaboration and communication with industry has improved in the past two years and 70 percent of respondents said they think their organizations’ collaboration with vendors will get better in the next two years.

PSC said Thursday the Biennial Acquisition Policy Survey is based on nearly 200 detailed discussions and 22 post-discussion data responses from acquisition professionals across 13 federal agencies.

Requests for information landed the top spot when it comes to the most effective modes of communication with industry, followed by one-on-ones and reverse industry days.

The study showed that 50 percent of respondents said they prefer a hybrid work environment and only 5 percent said they prefer in-office work.

Sixty percent of respondents said departing employees leave for another federal agency and 77 percent of officials said their agencies find it difficult to employ or train personnel with the needed skills.

Apart from workforce and industry collaboration, acquisition strategies and budget challenges emerged as the other two major themes of the PSC survey.

“The key themes from the survey highlight that the government can and should demonstrate clear leadership to address federal marketplace challenges,” said Sebastian Beau Herrick, senior associate for public policy at PSC and primary researcher for the survey.

“Ultimately, there’s ample opportunity in government to collaborate with industry for smarter contracting, better communication, and more seamless acquisition processes,” Herrick added.

DOD Manufacturing Technology Program Hosts Exhibit of American-made Innovations
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DOD Manufacturing Technology Program Hosts Exhibit of American-made Innovations

The Department of Defense Manufacturing Technology Program held a meet-and-greet event on Wednesday exhibiting more than 85 production innovations developed in the United States.

The show featured technologies from the program’s nine manufacturing innovation institutes as well as various military service branches, the DOD announced Thursday.

Dubbed DOD ManTech, it was established to promote domestic capabilities for military supply chain sustainment, while maintaining the country’s global competitive edge in the industry.

The event included a copper alloy rocket nozzle created through additive manufacturing, and a self-healing fibrous material made from the protein structure of squid tentacles. Another exhibitor displayed a space thruster tile composed of glass, metal and ceramics.

The U.S. Navy and Air Force were among the participants, as well as the Missile Defense Agency and the Defense Logistics Agency.

“DOD ManTech serves as the Department’s investment mechanism for identifying, developing, and maturing manufacturing processes that enable affordable production and repair of defense systems and equipment for the Joint Force,” said Tracy Frost, the program’s director.

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DHS Chief of Staff Kristie Canegallo Appointed Acting Deputy Secretary
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DHS Chief of Staff Kristie Canegallo Appointed Acting Deputy Secretary

Kristie Canegallo, chief of staff of the Department of Homeland Security since January 2022, has been appointed to serve as deputy secretary of DHS on an interim basis.

She will assume the position on July 21 and succeed John Tien, who is stepping down after two years in the role, DHS Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas announced Thursday.

Canegallo has held various national security, domestic policy and management roles throughout her government career, including as deputy chief of staff to former President Obama from 2014 through 2017.

“In that role, she was charged with cross-agency implementation of many of the U.S. government’s most complex issues, including the successful implementation of the Affordable Care Act that expanded health care to tens of millions of Americans,” Mayorkas, a previous Wash100 awardee, said.

Before joining DHS, Canegallo was vice president of trust and safety at Google, where she oversaw the implementation of the company’s product safety policies.

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Frank Kendall: USAF Looking at Potential Military Applications of Generative AI
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Frank Kendall: USAF Looking at Potential Military Applications of Generative AI

Frank Kendall, secretary of the U.S. Air Force and a 2023 Wash100 awardee, has requested the service’s Scientific Advisory Board to examine the potential military applications of generative artificial intelligence, such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT chatbot, Breaking Defense reported Thursday.

Kendall said he tasked the advisory board to put together a small team to “take a look at the generative AI technologies like ChatGPT and think about the military applications of them.”

He also directed the creation of a more permanent, AI-focused group to figure out how to bring the emerging technology into military operations as quickly as possible.

According to Kendall, there are currently limited applications of ChatGPT and other generative AI for the military.

“I’m looking, and we’re all looking, right? But having it write documents for you, which is what ChatGPT does? [It] is not is not reliable, in terms of the truthfulness of what it produces,” Kendall said.

“We got ways to go, before we can rely on tools like that to do operational orders, for example,” he added.

Frank Kendall: USAF Looking at Potential Military Applications of Generative AI

Kendall is scheduled to speak at the Potomac Officers Club’s 2023 Air Force Summit on July 18 at the Hilton-McLean in Virginia. Click here to register and hear from other Department of the Air Force leaders about the service branch’s objectives, capabilities and programs for 2023 and beyond.

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CACI Among 5 Companies Chosen to Participate in DON, USSOCOM Joint Threat Warning System Project
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CACI Among 5 Companies Chosen to Participate in DON, USSOCOM Joint Threat Warning System Project

Applied Signals Intelligence, CACI, DRS Advanced ISR, Resonant Sciences and Roke USA have been selected by the Department of the Navy and U.S. Special Operations Command for the Joint Threat Warning System Directional Finding/Omnidirectional Antenna project.

Under the $9.3 million award — which was issued through the Strategic & Spectrum Missions Advanced Resilient Trusted Systems Other Transaction Authority — the five chosen companies will collaborate to create a direction-finding antenna for joint threat warning systems, NSTXL shared with ExecutiveGov in an email sent earlier this month.

“These early threat warning systems are an invaluable tool for the protection of our nation, and as technological capabilities advance, we must upgrade these systems as well. This helps to protect the safety and security of our nation, our citizens and our infrastructure, said Tony Kestranek, deputy director of S²MARTS.

Joint threat warning systems are designed to pinpoint threats using electromagnetic signals, an important capability for providing military personnel and related organizations with advanced warning and protection. This project has a goal of sharing identified threats with the services, evaluating the direction of arrival of signals and providing this information to those at risk.

Participants in the JTWS Directional Finding/Omnidirectional Antenna initiative will upgrade the most up-to-date commercially available antenna technology to enhance JTWS’ ability to collect, process, locate and exploit Signals of Interest and deliver timely, relevant and responsive threat avoidance information.

When provided, the information collected by the JTWS will help notify both government leaders and the public of potential security risks and enable them to determine the best course of action. The JTWS is also intended to assist the public sector with coordinating responses between government and military organizations while helping them share information.

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