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MITRE Banks on 2 Programs to Strengthen Global Cyber Defense Capability
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MITRE Banks on 2 Programs to Strengthen Global Cyber Defense Capability

MITRE plans to expand its International Cyber Capacity Building and Active Defense Capability Set programs to help strengthen U.S. and allied cyber defense.

ICCB will add 28 countries to its partner network to counter cyber threats from China, while ADCS will be deployed to 21 nations in Europe as well as the Indo-Pacific and Africa to provide IT defense training and technology support, the company said Tuesday.

The two programs are built on standards from the National Institute of Standards and Technology, as well as MITRE’s ATT&CK and CALDERA IT defense frameworks.

ICCB collaborates with the Department of State to bolster strategic cyber capacity in developing countries. It has reached more than 100 nations, including Costa Rica, Albania and Ukraine, and will expand to Bangladesh, Mongolia, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Vietnam, as well as parts of Africa.

MITRE’s ADCS team provides technical manuals, military cyber workforce pre-assessments, tools and self-study resources to prepare partner countries for online defense. In the next four years, the program will be rolled out in Romania and Slovenia, while a customized program will be launched in the Indo-Pacific Command and Africa Command.

Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo Requests Recommendations on Supply Chain Resilience
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Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo Requests Recommendations on Supply Chain Resilience

Gina Raimondo, secretary of the Department of Commerce, has requested recommendations from the Advisory Committee on Supply Chain Competitiveness to promote supply chain reliability with partners and allies in the Indo-Pacific region.

During the committee’s virtual meeting, Raimondo asked how the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework could be applied in the U.S. private sector and how the federal government could help enhance supply chain consistency in sectors in which India and other IPEF partners operate, the Commerce Department said Thursday.

“The last two years of supply chain crises have revealed that the U.S. government needs to invest more in supply chain resilience,” Raimondo said. 

“Your experience, energy, and leadership are helping us formulate and implement solutions to make our supply chains more resilient, diverse, and secure,” the secretary said to ACSCC members.

Raimondo also highlighted the work of the Commerce Department’s Supply Chain Center to strengthen supply chain resilience by helping the government make data-driven decisions and supporting public-private collaborations.

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FirstNet Authority Board OKs $451M Budget Package for FY24; Joe Wassel Quoted
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FirstNet Authority Board OKs $451M Budget Package for FY24; Joe Wassel Quoted

The First Responder Network Authority Board has cleared a budget package of $451 million to fund operations and pursue network improvements in fiscal year 2024.

The package, called Resolution 115, includes $261 million for investments in emerging technologies and network coverage, $95 million for the authority’s FY 2024 operating budget and another $95 million for reserves, FirstNet said Wednesday.

“Our top priorities for the coming year include the development of a 10-year investment plan to advance 5G and coverage on the network, as well as strengthening our programs for public safety education, training, awareness, and oversight of the network contract,” said Joe Wassel, executive director and CEO of the FirstNet Authority.

The board approved the budget package during its meeting on Wednesday in Tacoma, Washington.

The FirstNet Authority has invested in upgrades to advance 5G capabilities and expand the fleet of deployable assets in support of the public safety community.

Over 26,000 public safety agencies and organizations in the U.S. are using the FirstNet network.

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NSF Selects 18 Teams to Develop Quantum-Scale Sensor Systems
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NSF Selects 18 Teams to Develop Quantum-Scale Sensor Systems

The National Science Foundation has awarded $29 million in funding to 18 teams to research, develop and demonstrate quantum sensor systems that can yield human-scale benefits.

Each team will receive $1 million to $2 million over four years to explore transformative research on quantum sensing such as enabling novel ultraprecise measurements of gravity, pressure, rotation and acceleration and building components for a quantum-enhanced telescope for imaging astronomical objects and remote sensing, the NSF said Tuesday.

“We are now taking the next step in quantum research through these projects and others, which combine fundamental research with potential applications that can positively impact our lives, our economic prosperity and our competitiveness as a nation,” said NSF Director Sethuraman Panchanathan.

The funding is awarded under the Quantum Sensing Challenges for Transformational Advances in Quantum Systems program.

In addition to exploratory research activities, the teams will conduct education and outreach activities, including K-12 and mentorship programs and partnerships with local community colleges.

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NASA Begins Market Research for Spaceport Operations & Center Services Contract
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NASA Begins Market Research for Spaceport Operations & Center Services Contract

NASA has begun soliciting information on potential industry sources that could provide spaceport operations, logistics, facilities management and other related support services at Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.

The agency plans to compete the Spaceport Operations and Center Services contract as a follow-on to the Base Operations and Spaceport Services program, according to a sources sought notice published Wednesday.

In 2018, NASA awarded PAE-SGT Partners the potential eight-year, $609 million BOSS contract, which covers mission support and launch readiness management and design engineering services.

The space agency expects the SOCS program to support over 30 government and commercial customers and anticipates contract work to kick off no earlier than April 2025.

Some of the potential requirements NASA expects the follow-on contract to cover are maintenance and operations of facilities, systems, equipment and utilities; center logistics services; management of an integrated operations center to include work control; and engineering and related support services.

Interested stakeholders should submit a capability statement, share insights on how to address potential barriers to engaging subject matter experts from industry and academia and offer recommendations to promote diversity and inclusion.

Responses to the request for information are due Sept. 11.

Space Technologies Forum

Listen to industry experts, government officials and other thought leaders across the space domain as they discuss what lies ahead for space technology at ExecutiveBiz’s Space Technologies Forum on Aug. 29. Register here.

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DARPA Offering Workshop on Next-Generation Microelectronics Manufacturing Initiative
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DARPA Offering Workshop on Next-Generation Microelectronics Manufacturing Initiative

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency will host a workshop on Sept. 19 to explore industry recommendations for establishing a U.S.-based center for research, development and manufacturing of three-dimensional heterogeneously integrated microsystems.

DARPA aims to discuss the responses to a previously released request for information on 3DHI research areas and manufacturing challenges and provide an opportunity for communities to interact and enter into teaming arrangements, according to a notice posted Wednesday on SAM.gov.

The agency aims to learn about facility capabilities for multi-chip, multi-semiconductor materials assembly, packaging and testing of 3D stacked chips and chiplets; fabricating 3DHI microsystems with an interconnect pitch between components less than 500 nm; increasing automation in 3DHI packaging and assembly processes; and multi-physics and multi-scale modeling and simulation tools.

In July, DARPA selected 11 teams to begin foundational research to inform next steps of the NGMM program.

The teams are represented by Applied Materials, Arizona State University, BRIDG, HRL Laboratories, Intel Federal, North Carolina State University, Northrop Grumman Space Systems, Northrop Grumman Mission Systems, PseudolithIC, RTX and Teledyne Scientific & Imaging.

The NGMM workshop will be held at the DARPA Conference Center in Arlington, Virginia.

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Air Force Holds Hackathon on Generative AI for Test Planning
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Air Force Holds Hackathon on Generative AI for Test Planning

The Air Force Test Center demonstrated the use of generative artificial intelligence models to augment various test processes during a recently concluded four-day data hackathon.

The AFWERX-sponsored hackathon focused on demonstrating a business use case for generative AI models and creating a knowledge base for future implementation, Air Force Materiel Command reported Tuesday.

During the event, six open-source generative AI models were hosted in a closed environment to enable teams to use controlled unclassified information to provide specific flight test context.

“This concept of using AI modeling to has the potential to be a game changer for streamlining the planning and reporting phases of test,” said Maj. Riley Livermore, flight test engineer with the 413th Flight Test Squadron.

Hackaton teams were composed of airmen, civilians and contractors from Arnold, Edwards and Eglin Air Force Bases and Air Force Test and Evaluation Center and Air Mobility Command.

Trusted AI and Autonomy Forum

Join the ExecutiveBiz Trusted Artificial Intelligence and Autonomy Forum on Sept. 12 to hear from government and industry experts about the development of secure AI technologies for critical missions. Register here.

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NASA Intros Geology Team for 1st Crewed Lunar Landing Mission
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NASA Intros Geology Team for 1st Crewed Lunar Landing Mission

NASA has introduced the geology team to develop the surface science plan for Artemis III, the 2025-targeted, crewed moon landing mission to return humans to the moon’s surface—the first of its kind in 50 years.

The Artemis III geology team will work with NASA to determine Artemis III’s geological science objectives and design the mission’s geology surface campaign, the agency said Thursday.

Brett Denevi of the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory and Lauren Edgar of the U.S. Geological Survey will serve as principal investigator and deputy principal investigator, respectively.

They will lead a team of experts from the government and academia, including Yang Liu from NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, Katherine Joy from the University of Manchester in the U.K. and Gordon Osinski from the University of Western Ontario in London.

NASA expects the team to plan science activities during astronauts’ moonwalks such as field geology traverses, observations, lunar samples collection, imagery and scientific measurements.

“The Artemis III Geology Team will have the unique opportunity to analyze the first-ever samples from the lunar south pole region, helping us not only to unlock new information about the formation of our Solar System, but also with planning for future Artemis missions and establishing a long-term lunar presence,” said Jim Free, associate administrator for NASA’s Exploration Systems Mission Directorate.

Deborah Rosenblum: Addressing Biothreats Requires DOD’s Integrated Focus
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Deborah Rosenblum: Addressing Biothreats Requires DOD’s Integrated Focus

Deborah Rosenblum, assistant secretary of defense for nuclear, chemical and biological defense programs, said the Department of Defense should put an integrated focus on addressing emerging biological threats posed by near-peer competitors, pandemics and non-state actors, DOD News reported Wednesday.

“Biodefense is no longer something that’s the purview of just specialized units who have traditionally been worried about these threats,” Rosenblum said at a Center for Strategic and International Studies-hosted event.

She noted that biothreats have an impact on military readiness and resilience and that a combat credible force is needed to achieve integrated deterrence.

“And to be combat credible, the whole joint force must be capable of fighting through biothreats and being resilient,” Rosenblum added.

Rosenblum’s remarks came a week after DOD released the Biodefense Posture Review, which presents an assessment of the biological threat landscape and offers key reforms aimed at strengthening the U.S. military’s biodefense posture over the next decade.

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Jason Morneault Takes Helm of Army’s Wideband Enterprise Satellite Systems PdM Office
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Jason Morneault Takes Helm of Army’s Wideband Enterprise Satellite Systems PdM Office

Jason Morneault has officially assumed leadership of the Wideband Enterprise Satellite Systems‘ Product Management Office, which is part of the Integrated Enterprise Network portfolio of the U.S. Army Program Executive Office Enterprise Information Systems.

The ceremony for the WESS charter transfer was held June 30 to welcome Morneault as the new product manager to succeed Lt. Col. Scott Davis, the Army said Wednesday.

It was hosted by IEN Project Manager Col. Justin Shell, who highlighted Morneault’s military experience, information operation knowledge and Agile principle application.

The new WESS PdM brings to the role more than three decades of experience as a civil servant, Army enlisted soldier and commissioned officer. He most recently worked as product leader for the Information Operations portfolio, Ground Applications Program Office with PEO Special Operations Forces Warrior.

His other previous assignments were assistant product manager for Personnel Parachutes and Head Protection at PEO Soldier; and division chief for the Training and Doctrine Command Capability Manager of the Infantry Brigade Combat Team.

Morneault is now responsible for driving the acquisition, deployment and sustainment of satellite communication and satellite control systems in support of the Department of Defense and international partners.

During the ceremony, Morneault remarked on the upcoming transition of IEN from PEO EIS to PEO Command, Control, Communications – Tactical.

“I am excited for WESS’s transition to PEO C3T starting on Oct. 8, 2023. The merger of WESS and C3T will allow strategic and tactical [satellite communications] synergy in order to achieve the Army’s goal of a Unified Network,” he said.

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