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Deltek Analysis Reports Navy Spent $8.4M on Cybersecurity OTAs in Past 3 Fiscal Years
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Deltek Analysis Reports Navy Spent $8.4M on Cybersecurity OTAs in Past 3 Fiscal Years

A new Deltek report shows that the Department of the Navy’s spending on other transaction agreements for cybersecurity-related capabilities totaled $8.4 million between fiscal year 2020 and FY 2022.

The Navy’s spending on cybersecurity platforms and services using OTAs dropped by nearly 60 percent from $5.8 million in FY 2021 to $2.5 million in FY 2022, John Slye, senior advisory research analyst at Deltek, wrote in the market analysis report published Tuesday.

Naval Network Warfare Command and Naval Information Warfare Systems Command account for 70 percent of cyber OTA spending over the three-year period.

NAVNETWARCOM was the top cybersecurity-related OTA spender in the past three fiscal years, reporting $3.8 million in spending. NAVWAR came in second, posting $2 million in OTA spending for cyber capabilities.

“While the Navy’s use of OTA contracts for cybersecurity-related efforts is dwarfed by comparison among the other DoD components, their use at the Navy still underscores the utility of these acquisition methods for targeted technology development, prototyping and other needs,” Slye noted.

POC - 2023 Cyber Summit

Join the Potomac Officers Club’s 2023 Cyber Summit on June 8, Thursday, to hear cybersecurity experts and thought leaders as they discuss the evolving role of cyber across the public sector in the digital age. Register here.

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MITRE Partners With Intel to Integrate Chip Tech Into Wideband RF Spectrum System
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MITRE Partners With Intel to Integrate Chip Tech Into Wideband RF Spectrum System

MITRE has integrated Intel’s Direct RF chip technology into the Extremely Wideband RF Spectrum Operations system as part of efforts to enable multiple wideband platforms.

The McLean, Virginia-based company said Tuesday the integration of the chip technology into EWO was carried out through its partnership with Intel, CAES and the U.S. Air Force.

EWO is a reference implementation system designed to deliver spectrum capabilities for radar, communications, signals intelligence and other applications and has become a standard for developing multifunction wideband technologies.

“EWO is very flexible,” said Wajih Elsallal, FUSE’s creator and EWO co-lead at MITRE. “It provides a foundation previously unavailable that allows government, industry, and academia to develop and assess next-generation technologies.”

In addition to Direct RF, EWO also includes MITRE’s Frequency-scaled Ultra-wide Spectrum Element antenna. The not-for-profit organization also plans to integrate its signal processing capability, dubbed Photon, with the system.

Jose Torres, EWO development co-lead at MITRE, said the organization intends to continue its collaboration with Intel as the latter builds more microelectronics technologies.

“We also look forward to engaging with other third-party vendors, integrating their technology to make it more practical for different use cases – especially for our multiple government sponsors,” Torres added.

In February, CAES was selected to continue providing advanced electronics for the EWO system through its partnership with the Air Force and MITRE.

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NIST Reveals 5 New Leaders of CHIPS R&D Office
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NIST Reveals 5 New Leaders of CHIPS R&D Office

The National Institute of Standards and Technology’s CHIPS Research and Development Office appointed five new leaders to advance the execution of the CHIPS for America Act.

The new executives are Lora Weiss, Eric Lin, Neil Alderoty, Richard-Duane Chambers and Marla Dowell, NIST announced Tuesday.

Weiss, former senior vice president for research at Pennsylvania State University, was named director of the CHIPS R&D Office. She currently serves as president of the Penn State Research Foundation, and has more than 30 years of higher education experience under her belt. Her expertise is in robotics as well as uncrewed systems and human-machine teaming in multi-domain vehicles.

Lin had been working as interim director of CHIPS R&D since September before his official designation as deputy director. He has served in various roles at NIST, starting out as a postdoctoral associate, and then acting associate director for laboratory programs, and later director of the NIST Material Measurement Laboratory.

Alderoty was transferred from his role as executive administrator of the Material Measurement Lab to executive officer of CHIPS R&D. In his over 30-year career in the institute, he has been chief financial officer as well as acting chief of the Grants and Agreements Management Division.

Chambers will become the associate director for integration and policy. He most recently worked as a senior professional staff member in the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation, which advises the group on policies affecting agencies such as NIST. He contributed to the drafting and negotiation for the CHIPS Act.

Dowell, former director of the NIST Communications Technology Laboratory, was appointed as director of the CHIPS R&D metrology program. She has been with the institute since 1993, and was part of divisions including the sources and detectors group, pulse laser metrology project, and applied physics unit.

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V2X Holds Spot on $32B USAF Training System Support Contract; Chuck Prow Quoted
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V2X Holds Spot on $32B USAF Training System Support Contract; Chuck Prow Quoted

V2X holds a position on a potential 10-year, $32.5 billion U.S. Air Force contract vehicle to support global warfighter training initiatives.

Awarded as part of the service branch’s collaborative Training Systems Acquisition IV program, the contract encompasses the development, implementation and long-term assistance of modern training systems, V2X announced from its McLean, Virginia headquarters on Wednesday.

“This partnership enables us to develop, install, and provide long-term support for cutting-edge technologies that shape the future of warfighter training,” said Chuck Prow, president and CEO of V2X and a nine-time Wash100 Award recipient.

The provided training technologies are intended for aircrew, maintenance personnel and system-specific training. Contracted activities are expected to strengthen these programs and expand USAF workforce skill sets to boost mission success.

Prow noted that the award offers an opportunity for V2X to harness its decades of Army training experience to bring novel training approaches to the Air Force.

“V2X is well-positioned to modernize system-specific training that enhances the capabilities and readiness of the Air Force and our armed forces,” said Prow.

The company has recently won several awards from the military services. In April, V2X received a potential $324.2 million Navy contract for base operations support at Naval Station Guantanamo Bay in Cuba.

Earlier that month, the enterprise secured a seven-year, $440 million award from the same service branch to provide aircraft maintenance services for the Naval Test Wing Pacific VX-30 and VX-31 at two California locations.

In February, V2X won a $265 million contract modification under the Enhanced Army Global Logistic Enterprise Program.

DOE Leads Interagency Publication of Clean Hydrogen Adoption Roadmap; Jennifer Granholm Quoted
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DOE Leads Interagency Publication of Clean Hydrogen Adoption Roadmap; Jennifer Granholm Quoted

The Department of Energy collaborated with other federal agencies to create the country’s first framework for advancing the commercialization of clean hydrogen power.

The U.S. National Clean Hydrogen Strategy and Roadmap is part of the Biden administration’s goal of making the grid infrastructure carbon-free by 2035 and achieving its net-zero emission target by 2050, DOE said Monday.

The roadmap highlights three strategies toward effective clean hydrogen adoption. The interagency report recommends targeting high-impact uses of the chemical element, such as the industrial sector, long-duration energy storage and heavy-duty transportation.

It also called for the cultivation of private sector investments and supply chain to reduce the cost of producing the clean energy alternative. DOE, along with its federal partners, suggested the prioritization of regions that already have large-scale producers and end-users of hydrogen.

The government forecasts that the hydrogen industry will create up to 100,000 new direct and indirect jobs by 2030.

The roadmap “will lay the foundation for a strong and productive partnership between the public and private sectors and will guide government and industry to realize the full potential of this incredibly versatile energy resource,” Secretary of Energy Jennifer Granholm remarked.

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Johns Hopkins APL Designs AI/ML Technology for Forecasting Ice Formation in Arctic Seas
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Johns Hopkins APL Designs AI/ML Technology for Forecasting Ice Formation in Arctic Seas

Johns Hopkins Applied Physics Laboratory researchers designed a technology based on artificial intelligence and machine learning to help forecast the formation of sea ice in the Arctic regions.

The AI/ML model shows promise as a safety tool for commercial and military vessels navigating through previously ice-blocked sea routes, the laboratory reported Friday.

With climate change causing temperatures to rise four times faster in the Arctic, sea ice has been melting in its waters at a rate of 2.5 percent every ten years. As a result, more icebreakers and vessels for fishing, tourism and research are passing through.

“In many ways, sea ice is a brave new world…The ice is thinning, and precipitation is changing from snow to rain,” said Mary Keller, APL remote sensing scientist and the project’s lead. “Areas that appear clear in satellite imagery can be ice-blocked just a day or two later, spelling trouble for ships that thought they were on a safe course through a strait or bay.”

The National Ice Center currently uses tracking methods that involve manually clicking on satellite images to create forecast maps as advanced as 48 hours every day.

Johns Hopkins APL’s scientists were able to create a model with 1-kilometer resolution, and proved 97 percent accurate in predicting the formations one to seven days ahead of time.

The study’s lead authors noted that the technology still has a lot of areas for improvement, prompting a follow-up project that will use physics-informed neural network to refine short-term forecasting.

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CISA Unveils Final Draft of TIC 3.0 Cloud Use Case
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CISA Unveils Final Draft of TIC 3.0 Cloud Use Case

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency has unveiled the final draft of the Trusted Internet Connections 3.0 cloud use case and updated several existing documents that outline security capabilities and define the concepts of the TIC 3.0 program.

These documents include the Security Capabilities Catalog Version 3, Branch Office Use Case Version 2 and Remote User Use Case Version 2, the General Services Administration said Monday.

GSA noted that it continues to back the TIC program through the Enterprise Infrastructure Solutions vehicle.

According to GSA, the feedback and insights collected through a request for comments issued in July 2022 helped inform the updates made to the Security Capabilities Catalog and Cloud Use Case on April 17.

“The Branch and Remote User use cases were updated to account for applicable security capabilities added to the Security Capabilities Catalog as part of the TIC Cloud Use Case release,” the GSA notice reads.

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Jessica Salmoiraghi Appointed BSA Senior Director of IT Modernization & Procurement
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Jessica Salmoiraghi Appointed BSA Senior Director of IT Modernization & Procurement

Jessica Salmoiraghi, former chief acquisition officer at the General Services Administration, has joined global software industry trade group BSA as senior director for information technology modernization and procurement.

She assumed the position after serving as executive vice president of shared and managed services and acting EVP of growth at professional services firm Golden Key Group, BSA said Thursday.

Salmoiraghi initially joined GSA in 2018 as chief acquisition officer and associate administrator at the Office of Governmentwide Policy, where she oversaw efforts to modernize federal back-office processes and secure federal IT infrastructure.

Her industry career includes trade association roles such as director of federal agencies and international programs at the American Council of Engineering Companies and director of federal relations and counsel at the American Institute of Architects.

“She brings a proven track record of success to BSA that will help address the challenge of improving how the federal government leverages technology to modernize its services,” said Craig Albright, VP of U.S. government relations at BSA.

NIST’s CHIPS R&D Office Releases Guidance to Improve Metrology in Semiconductor Sector
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NIST’s CHIPS R&D Office Releases Guidance to Improve Metrology in Semiconductor Sector

The National Institute of Standards and Technology’s CHIPS Research and Development Office has published a guidance to help address challenges in metrology in the semiconductor sector.

The document, entitled “Metrology Gaps in the Semiconductor Ecosystem,” aims to improve measurements, standardization and simulations to strengthen the industry, CHIPS R&D announced Monday.

A study conducted by the office found gaps in metrology in semiconductor value chain areas including assembly, packaging, fabrication, laboratory, prototyping and performance verification.

Based on the findings, CHIPS R&D established a metrology program guided by 10 focus areas, such as advanced metrology for supply chain trust and assurance, as well as advanced modeling verification, validation, and development for next generation manufacturing processes.

The office also recommended the standardization of automation, virtualization, security, and equipment and software interoperability. In terms of next-generation microelectronics, the guidelines suggested that special attention be given to metrology for advanced materials and devices, nanostructured materials characterization and 3D structures and devices.

DIU, Office of Industrial Base Policy Tap Into Commercial Battery Market
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DIU, Office of Industrial Base Policy Tap Into Commercial Battery Market

The Defense Department’s Office of Industrial Base Policy is working closely with the Defense Innovation Unit to tap into the commercial market to carry out the U.S. military’s battery strategy.

The goal is to standardize and aggregate battery demand to source rechargeable battery cells from domestic manufacturers, demonstrate cells in high-capacity rechargeable battery packs in different use cases and install new standardized rechargeable batteries into respective devices, the DOD reported Monday.

“We must send a consistent and coherent demand signal to industry – and by coordinating our efforts, we are ensuring that the batteries our forces use are available, ready and free of adversarial influence,” said Halimah Najieb-Locke, deputy assistant secretary of defense for industrial base resilience.

DIU has launched the Jumpstart for Advanced Battery Standardization program aimed at developing a standardized battery system using commercial technologies to power existing and future military ground vehicles.

Moreover, DIU has started soliciting high-capacity rechargeable battery cells or packs for military applications under the Family of Advanced Standard Batteries program.

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