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GAO Recommends Pentagon Develop Department-Wide AI Acquisition Strategy
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GAO Recommends Pentagon Develop Department-Wide AI Acquisition Strategy

The Government Accountability Office has recommended that the Department of Defense develop guidance to inform the acquisition of artificial intelligence capabilities across the U.S. military.

GAO said in a Thursday report that the Pentagon has not defined concrete plans and timelines for AI acquisitions despite designating the emerging technology as a top priority for modernization and allocating significant funding to develop AI tools and capabilities.

“Without department-wide and tailored service-level guidance, DOD is missing an opportunity to ensure that it is consistently acquiring AI capabilities in a manner that accounts for the unique challenges associated with AI,” according to the report.

GAO said DOD’s department-wide AI acquisition guidance must reflect key factors that private companies consider when acquiring AI technologies.

According to GAO’s analysis, private companies’ AI acquisition strategies are guided by five categories of factors: understanding mission needs, making a business case, tailoring the contracting approach, testing and evaluating proposed technologies and planning future efforts.

Lockheed Martin Mentoring 3 Small Businesses Under Next Generation Interceptor Program
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Lockheed Martin Mentoring 3 Small Businesses Under Next Generation Interceptor Program

Lockheed Martin has taken three small businesses under its wing as part of its Next Generation Interceptor program.

Through the initiative, which falls under the Department of Defense’s Mentor-Protégé Program, the enterprise is working alongside Marotta Controls, Space Information Labs and Valley Tech Systems across several contracts to upgrade their capabilities and bolster the defense industrial base, Lockheed Martin announced from Huntsville, Alabama on Thursday.

“The Mentor-Protégé Program allows us to reduce barriers for small businesses; when small business wins, we all win,” said Sarah Reeves, vice president of NGI at Lockheed Martin.

She added that the company’s belief in the program’s strength is what drove it to mentor three different small businesses through NGI.

The initiative includes three potential two-year contracts awarded to Lockheed Martin by the Missile Defense Agency, under which it will collaborate with its mentees to help mature advanced engineering and technology capabilities, including model-based engineering and the digital thread.

Family-owned Marotta Controls focuses on subsystems for the aerospace and defense sectors.

Patrick Marotta, who serves as president and CEO of the Montville, New Jersey-based contractor, said that Marotta Controls is “privileged” to enter the Mentor-Protégé Program.

“As a small business, Marotta Controls understands the importance of support from the premiere defense contractor. We look forward to our continued growth as an agile partner delivering on our mission to support the warfighter and our nation’s defense,” he said.

A woman-owned business, SIL designs, manufactures and environmentally qualifies Li-Ion Intelli-Pack Batteries, AFTU and Space Based Range flight units for multi aerospace platforms.

“SIL is honored to be selected by Lockheed Martin through the Mentor-Protégé Program to increase our capability to produce and deliver various critical technologies for national security programs,” said Edmund Burke, president and founder of the Santa Maria, California-headquartered company.

Aerospace propulsion-focused small business VTS is based in Folsom, California and Reno, Nevada.

“Valley Tech Systems is excited to be selected by Lockheed Martin as a protégé under the DoD Mentor Protégé Program,” said Phil Csik, program manager at VTS.

“Lockheed Martin’s mentorship will add depth and robustness to our engineering, manufacturing, supply chain and mission assurance processes— enabling VTS to accelerate the application of our advanced controllable solid propulsion technology to enhance homeland defense and protect our warfighters,” Csik said.

When completed, NGI will be a part of the MDA’s Ground-based Midcourse Defense Weapon System. Lockheed Martin has already partnered with these three small businesses as subcontractors to develop, mature and field hardware for the NGI initiative using contemporary technologies created within the DOD’s Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer Programs.

DOD’s David McKeown Receives 2023 Wash100 Award From Executive Mosaic CEO Jim Garrettson
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DOD’s David McKeown Receives 2023 Wash100 Award From Executive Mosaic CEO Jim Garrettson

David McKeown, senior information security officer and deputy chief information officer at the Department of Defense, recently met with Executive Mosaic CEO Jim Garrettson to accept his 2023 Wash100 Award.

Since its establishment 10 years ago, the annual Wash100 Award has stood as the government contracting industry’s most prestigious recognition. To choose each distinguished class of recipients, the award puts its nominees through a scrutinizing selection process in which their past accomplishments and potential for future success are considered.

A first-time Wash100 winner, McKeown was honored for his tireless efforts to drive cybersecurity improvements within the DOD. Last year, McKeown’s push for cybersecurity included advancing the department’s progress with its Zero Trust Strategy and Roadmap and enhancing the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification program. Click here to read his full profile.

This year, McKeown has been outspoken about the importance of cybersecurity. In March, he discussed pathways within the DOD’s zero trust journey and the benefits of commercial cloud at ExecutiveBiz’s Cloud Security Forum.

Earlier this month, he spoke about the department’s cryptography modernization efforts — which play a role in the DOD’s overarching cybersecurity strategy — at the Potomac Officers Club’s 2023 Cyber Summit.

Executive Mosaic congratulates McKeown for his 2023 Wash100 Award win and is excited to witness the fruits of his continued efforts.

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NASA Picks 4 Teams to Advance in Lunar Power Distribution Challenge
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NASA Picks 4 Teams to Advance in Lunar Power Distribution Challenge

Four research teams made it to the final level of NASA’s Watts on the Moon Challenge, a competition that seeks innovations on power generation and storage on the lunar surface.

The winning teams are led by tech startup Orbital Mining Corp., Michigan Technological University, Ohio State University and the University of California – Santa Barbara, NASA announced Wednesday.

Watts on the Moon is part of the Space Technology Mission Directorate’ Centennial Challenges, which was established to encourage public involvement in the agency’s development of advanced technologies. Phase Two of the energy storage contest began in February 2022, with level 1 of the competition ending in August.

The four teams were shortlisted from the level 2 competition. Ohio State University demonstrated a six-kilometer cable with modular power conversion emulating a power transmission line built for the Moon’s surface.

UCSB’s experimental system has shown promise in generating electricity in a wide temperature range, indicating that it may be able to distribute power on lunar days and nights.

MTU took its winning entry from the 2020 NASA BIG Idea Challenge and developed what they call a Tethered Mechanism for Persistent Energy Storage and Transmission. The device uses a battery storage hub and adapted rovers to deliver electricity in uncertain terrains.

Colorado-based Orbital Mining is working on a high-voltage DC-to-DC converter system that can function despite cold temperatures during sunless lunar nights.

Their prototypes will undergo testing in a simulated environment in 2024.

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New Action Plan Outlines White House’s Biotechnology Workforce Priorities
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New Action Plan Outlines White House’s Biotechnology Workforce Priorities

The Biden administration has released a new action plan outlining its priorities to advance education and workforce training opportunities in the U.S. biotechnology and biomanufacturing sector.

The action plan stresses the need for interagency and industry partnerships to support the administration’s five core recommendations to build and strengthen the bioworkforce, the White House said Tuesday.

In accordance with the plan, the National Science Foundation and the departments of Agriculture and Energy will expand partnerships with historically black colleges and universities, tribal colleges and universities and minority-serving institutions to diversify the biotechnology and biomanufacturing talent pool.

The Department of Energy will also launch a professional learning series on the role of K-12 schools and postsecondary institutions in creating career pathways in the sector.

Furthermore, the National Institute of Standards and Technology will fund a National Institute for Innovation in Manufacturing Biopharmaceuticals pilot program to encourage high school students to pursue careers in biopharmaceutical manufacturing.

The action plan supports an executive order signed in September 2022 to strengthen the biotechnology and biomanufacturing industry in the U.S.

GAO Says Navy Faces Challenges in Developing Cost Estimates for Shipyard Improvement
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GAO Says Navy Faces Challenges in Developing Cost Estimates for Shipyard Improvement

The Government Accountability Office has revealed in a new report that the U.S. Navy has yet to develop a full cost and schedule estimate for modernizing dry docks in its four public shipyards that maintain aircraft carriers and submarines.

The service branch also indicated that it will not be able to submit an estimate for the Shipyard Infrastructure Optimization Program until 2025, after each shipyard completes its detailed infrastructure plans, GAO said Wednesday.

“The Navy faces challenges developing a reliable cost and schedule estimate for the full SIOP and its associated efforts, including project uncertainty, volatile commodity prices, and a lack of expertise completing dry dock projects,” the report reads.

GAO added that it found issues in the cost and schedule estimates for the Navy’s ongoing dry dock project at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard.

The government watchdog revealed that the cost estimate for the project grew from $528 million to $2.2 billion between 2019 and 2021 partly due to a lack of competition.

GAO recommends that for all key SIOP projects, the Navy update its estimates throughout the design process and comply with best practices for schedule estimates.

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HHS Eyes Release of Final Rule on Use of AI in EHR Systems
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HHS Eyes Release of Final Rule on Use of AI in EHR Systems

The Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology within the Department of Health and Human Services has proposed a rule that would direct electronic health records systems using artificial intelligence and algorithms to share information with users on how such AI tools work, FedScoop reported Wednesday.

The comment period closed on June 20, for the proposed rule, which ONC expects to help improve transparency and prevent algorithmic bias.

“The idea is that you should have a standardized nutrition label for an algorithm,” National Coordinator for Health IT Micky Tripathi told the publication in an interview.

The rule’s AI portion would build on current certification requirements for clinical decision support platforms by introducing a new category for AI, algorithms and other predictive tools.

A spokesman for ONC said the office intends to release the final rule later this year.

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LIFT Begins Phase 2 Work on Hypersonics Thermal Management, Material Acceleration Programs
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LIFT Begins Phase 2 Work on Hypersonics Thermal Management, Material Acceleration Programs

A Department of Defense-backed national manufacturing innovation institute in Detroit, LIFT, has started the second phase of two programs focused on advancing work on materials acceleration and thermal management for hypersonic vehicles.

LIFT said Wednesday it will continue to work with Friedman Research Corp. and the University of Central Florida and add Exothermics and Materials Research & Design as a partner to study ceramic matrix composites and metallics under the Hypersonics Material Acceleration program’s Phase 2.

The institute worked with FRC, UCF, Hexagon, Spectrum Engineering, Michigan Technological University, University of Arizona, Alfred University and the University at Buffalo on the initial phase of the program.

LIFT will also collaborate with UCF and FRC to pursue hypersonic materials performance prediction under the Hypersonics Thermal Management program’s Phase 2. FRC, UCF, MTU and UofA were the institute’s partners on the first phase, which explored manufacturing processes and metallic materials used in high-temperature thermal applications.

“Understanding materials characteristics is at the core of everything as we look to manufacture the components of the future, particularly those which need to travel in excess of 4,000 miles per hour,” said Nigel Francis, CEO and executive director of LIFT.

The programs launched in 2021 and are expected to conclude in 2023.

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NSA, CISA Issue Recommendation to Strengthen Security of Coding Environments
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NSA, CISA Issue Recommendation to Strengthen Security of Coding Environments

The National Security Agency and the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency jointly released an information sheet recommending security best practices for organizations with Continuous Integration/Continuous Delivery coding platforms.

The guidance was published amid potential threats from malicious cyber actors to compromise CI/CD pipelines, which are key to executing development, security and operations strategies, NSA said Wednesday.

Top risks in CI/CD pipelines include insecure codes, poisoned pipeline execution, misconfigured systems, the use of third-party services and exposure of security keys and secrets.

NSA and CISA urge organizations to implement a zero trust approach to detect threats and use NSA-recommended cryptographic algorithms to boost protection of data, secrets, keys and application programming interfaces.

Long-term credentials should be avoided in software authentication, but if it must be maintained, administrators should protect and manage all keys associated with them. Ephemeral credentials should also be used in cloud environments, the agencies stated.

The full document is available on the NSA website.

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DHS Amends Acquisition Regulation to Boost Protection of Controlled Unclassified Information
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DHS Amends Acquisition Regulation to Boost Protection of Controlled Unclassified Information

The Department of Homeland Security revised its acquisition regulation to enhance the protection and privacy of controlled unclassified information, and improve security incident reporting to the agency.

The rule, which takes effect on July 21, aims to refine standard procedures for responding to DHS contractors that encounter incidents with the agency’s sensitive data.

The Homeland Security Acquisition Regulation was amended to ensure security measures are in place for contractor or subcontractor employees who will access CUI. It contains requirements and processes for handling in-house or third-party information systems that will be used to collect or transmit CUI.

New HSAR language also includes mandates for contractors to have notification and credit monitoring services for individuals who may be affected by information system incidents because of their Personally Identifiable Information or Sensitive PII.

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