The Department of the Treasury has revealed that it invested nearly $22 billion in federal funding across three programs to spur small business growth this year through June.

Treasury said Monday the State Small Business Credit Initiative approved applications for capital programs representing $8.2 billion in potential funding in the first half of the year. The State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds program has reportedly allocated over $5 billion for more than 1,400 small business development projects.

The department’s Emergency Capital Investment Program also invested over $8.5 billion to help community development financial institutions and minority depository institutions strengthen their efforts to support small businesses and consumers.

Data from the Census Bureau revealed that more than 10 million small businesses were established from 2021 to 2022, the highest recorded number for a two-year period.

Engineering company Draper has chosen Unanet’s enterprise resource planning and customer resource management platform to support its growth strategy.

Draper, a developer of space, biotechnology, strategic and electronic systems for national security customers, made the decision after reviewing the ability of various systems to handle an expected doubling of its headcount and revenue over the next decade, Unanet announced from its Dulles, Virginia headquarters last week.

Marjorie Quant, Draper’s chief operating officer, said reducing manual processes to help its people perform important work is a “key component” of achieving its Draper NXT vision, which the company describes as “innovation in the national interest.”

“In our business environment, change happens fairly rapidly, and we must adapt quickly to develop innovative, mission-critical solutions for our customers,” added Vanessa Bryan, principal director of corporate operations at Draper.

She said the company sought out “the right modern business tools” to embrace these changes and ensure Draper’s distributed workforce could operate effectively.

Unanet’s software was one of multiple contenders evaluated in various scenarios. Platforms were scored in multiple areas, including ease of use and technical competency. Unanet’s ERP and CRM system was chosen for its provision of real-time data access across all operations in a user-friendly dashboard.

“Unanet will be the nucleus of our business ecosystem that will help us automate, integrate and consolidate data into one intuitive dashboard,” Bryan said.

The platform, she elaborated, will enable Draper to attain efficiencies, consistency and compliance “from contract awards to contract closeouts and everything that happens in between.”

Draper’s ongoing expansion is part of a larger trend in the government contracting industry. Released in September, Unanet’s 7th annual GAUGE Report found that approximately 70 percent of government contractors saw growth last year.

Unanet is sponsoring GovCon Wire’s Fireside Chat with the DCMA on Nov. 1. During the virtual event, you will have the chance to hear from Defense Contract Management Agency Director Lt. Gen. David Basset and Kim Koster, vice president of product marketing at Unanet and a GovCon Expert, who will come together to discuss the agency’s key role in the government contracting ecosystem. Click here to learn more, and click here to register for the event.

The Department of Commerce Economic Development Administration named 31 technology manufacturing facilities as official Tech Hubs under the CHIPS and Science Act.

The sites, which are located across 32 U.S. states and Puerto Rico, are part of the first phase of the Tech Hubs economic development initiative, the department announced Monday.

The designees were shortlisted out of 400 applications from public, private and academic sectors as well as labor interest groups and economic development organizations. The winners are entitled to apply for the department’s Tech Hub funding opportunity, which has been authorized to grant a total of $500 million in financial support.

The 31 selected facilities include Elevate Quantum Colorado, Advanced Pharma Manufacturing Tech Hub in Virginia, Minnesota MedTech 3.0 located in Minnesota and Wisconsin, SC Nexus for Advanced Resilient Energy in South Carolina and Georgia and the American Aerospace Materials Manufacturing Tech Hub in Washington state and Idaho.

“Our Tech Hubs Program is fundamental to that mission and will supercharge innovation across the nation by spurring cutting-edge technological investments and creating 21st century job opportunities in people’s backyards,” Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo commented. “Each of these consortia will help us ensure the industries of the future—and their good-paying jobs—start, grow, and remain in the United States.”

The Space Development Agency is requesting industry input on the technical and manufacturing readiness of space antenna array payloads for future SDA tranches or experimentation.

SDA said Tuesday it envisions using antenna arrays to enable smaller, proliferated space vehicles to operate in contested environments in support of future space efforts, including the Tranche 2 Demonstration and Evaluation System and Tranche 3 Transport and Tracking Layers.

The agency is interested in antenna arrays that can operate in L-band, S-band, combined L-band and S-band, Ka-band and ultra-high frequency.

Interested parties have until Nov. 17 to respond to the request for information.

In September, SDA issued a request for proposals for the development of approximately 54 prototype satellites to enable the Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture’s Tranche 2 Tracking Layer.

The Department of State has issued an advisory cautioning United States citizens against travel to more than 200 countries amid rising geopolitical tensions and conflict.

“Due to increased tensions in various locations around the world, the potential for terrorist attacks, demonstrations or violent actions against U.S. citizens and interests, the Department of State advises U.S. citizens overseas to exercise increased caution,” according to the worldwide caution advisory released Monday by the State Department’s Bureau of Consular Affairs.

To stay updated on the latest homeland security threats and global issues, join the Potomac Officers Club’s 2023 Homeland Security Summit on Nov. 15. Leaders and decision-makers from the Department of Homeland Security, U.S. Customs and Border Protection and other security agencies are slated to speak and share their insights. Be a part of the conversation — register here.

The State Department warning urges U.S. citizens to “stay alert in locations frequented by tourists,” enroll in the Smart Traveler Enrollment Program and follow the agency on social media platforms to stay updated with the latest information regarding travel advisories.

The widespread global advisory follows closely behind a State Department travel advisory for Israel, the West Bank and Gaza on Oct. 14, as well as a level 4 advisory warning citizens against travel to Lebanon on Oct. 17. As global unease deepens due to emerging conflicts, homeland security has come to the fore as a top priority for U.S. officials and industry executives.

SAIC Program Management Director Tina Burnette will be speaking on the “Securing Our Homeland: Technologies, Innovations & Priorities” panel discussion at the Potomac Officers Club’s upcoming Homeland Security Summit.

When asked why homeland security issues are so urgent at this moment, Burnette told Executive Mosaic, “In the present tide of uncertainty, homeland security stands as the vigilant guardian of our collective well-being. As we face a world of evolving challenges, let us recognize that investing in homeland security is an investment in the safeguarding of lives, the preservation of freedoms, and the forging of a future marked by shared peace and prosperity.”

Hear more from Burnette and other homeland security experts and thought leaders on Nov. 15. Register here for your opportunity to meet government and industry executives while expanding your professional network and gaining important insights.

An information warfare official at the U.S. Department of Defense has urged caution about a capability that can connect directly to electric signals in the human mind, the Washington Times said on Friday.

Referred to as brain-machine interfaces, these technologies are designed to link electrical brain signals with specific devices so users can give commands from their minds.

Lt. Cmdr. Mark Wess, a cryptologic warfare officer, wrote in the May issue of the U.S. Naval Institute’s magazine Proceedings that “no emerging technology is potentially more important to the military.” In the future, Wess sees a world where naval officers can employ BMI tools to control a battleship’s navigation, weapons and engineering systems.

The DOD has made some research and development efforts regarding BMIs. Capt. Ayesha Ahmad analyzed earlier neuroimaging experiments conducted by the department, including a Navy study in which researchers used electroencephalograms to detect lies. The study has a median 95% statistical confidence and error rate lower than 1 percent.

In 2018, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency launched the Next-Generation Nonsurgical Neurotechnology program to develop BMI tools that could be used to facilitate human-machine interaction with unmanned aerial vehicles and active cyber defense systems.

While the U.S. military is looking into these tools, BMI technologies are also being developed by the nation’s near-peer competitors, according to Wess, who warned against potential negative uses of this technology and its ability to gather information regarding human brain functions.

Brain Talker, a joint project between China’s Tianjin University and China Electronics Corp., was announced in 2019. The press release about its creation said it is designed to understand a person’s goals using neural electric signals.

At the Potomac Officers Club’s 10th Annual Defense R&D Summit, you will have the chance to hear about many more DOD R&D initiatives from officials across the department. Last year’s edition of the event featured keynote speakers from the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering, the Defense Innovation Unit and the Air Force. To learn more and register to attend, click here.