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DARPA Requests Proposals for Quantum-Augmented Network Program
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DARPA Requests Proposals for Quantum-Augmented Network Program

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency has released a broad agency announcement seeking proposals on the development of a hybrid quantum-classical communication network architecture with enhanced security capabilities.

DARPA said Tuesday the Quantum-Augmented Network program aims to integrate current and near-future quantum communications networks with classical infrastructure to facilitate quantum-based security enhancements.

Researchers expect the hybrid network infrastructure to use quantum properties to mitigate vulnerabilities on non-quantum networks.

“QuANET will develop the hardware, protocols and software tools required for missions and critical infrastructure, enabling the first viable transition strategy to operationalize quantum communications,” according to the BAA.

“We want to make the networking and optical communications community more quantum-aware – where the capabilities are now and where they’re going – and we want the quantum networking community to understand better all of the complexities and issues facing classical networks,” said Allyson O’Brien, DARPA’s QuANET program manager in the Information Innovation Office.

Responses are due July 7.

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NASA to Integrate Orion With Laser Communications Terminal for Artemis II Mission
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NASA to Integrate Orion With Laser Communications Terminal for Artemis II Mission

NASA is set to equip the Lockheed Martin-built Orion spacecraft with a laser communications terminal in preparation for the first scheduled crewed test flight of the Artemis space exploration mission.

The Orion Artemis II Optical Communications System arrived at Kennedy Space Center in Florida for integration with NASA’s exploration vehicle to enable faster transmission of high-definition pictures and videos from the moon, the agency said Tuesday.

“In addition to video and pictures, O2O will transmit and receive procedures, pictures, flight plans, and be a link between Orion and mission control on Earth,” said Steve Horowitz, O2O project manager.

O2O uses laser signals to send images and videos to one of two ground stations in Las Cruces, New Mexico, or Table Mountain, California.

Video and image quality will partly depend on cloud coverage at the ground stations.

NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center developed the laser communication terminal in partnership with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Lincoln Laboratory.

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Trade Groups Urge White House to Address Digital Identity in Cyber Strategy Implementation
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Trade Groups Urge White House to Address Digital Identity in Cyber Strategy Implementation

A group of 10 trade associations called on the Biden administration to consider three priorities to help address U.S. digital identity challenges as it crafts the implementation plan for the National Cybersecurity Strategy.

The first priority is launching a White House task force to accelerate the availability of tools that can protect against identity-related cybercrimes, the trade groups wrote in a Monday letter addressed to Kemba Walden, acting head of the Office of the National Cyber Director and Anne Neuberger, deputy national security adviser for cyber and emerging technology and a two-time Wash100 awardee.

The task force should create an action plan for federal, state and local agencies to develop digital versions of existing physical identity credentials to help address the gap between digital and physical identity credentials and determine whether there are restrictions with regard to the abilities of agencies to offer new digital identity platforms, among other key duties.

“We believe that a new White House task force which brings in key stakeholders from Federal, state, and local agencies, as well as industry and civil society, can craft an approach to close the gap between physical and digital credentials over a one-year period,” the associations wrote in the letter.

The other two priorities are initiating an effort to document the ways that investments in digital identity infrastructure can generate budget savings and prioritizing work at the National Institute of Standards and Technology on identity and attribute validation services with a focus on creating a digital identity framework of best practices and standards.

The letter was signed by the American Bankers Association, Better Identity Coalition, College of Healthcare Information Management Executives, Cybersecurity Coalition, Electronic Transactions Association, Identity Theft Resource Center, National Association for Public Health Statistics and Information Systems, Software & Information Industry Association, TechNet and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce Technology Engagement Center.

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DOD, Indiana National Guard Test Resilient Communication Tools at TREX23-1
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DOD, Indiana National Guard Test Resilient Communication Tools at TREX23-1

The Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering and the Indiana National Guard have tested technologies designed to establish resilient communications among warfighters during the inaugural joint Technology Readiness Experimentation 2023.

During TREX23-1, the OUSD(R&E)’s Mission Capabilities Office used signal devices, cyber protection tools, counterintelligence systems and surveillance and reconnaissance equipment in a mock disaster scenario where resilient communications had to be re-established for non-combatant evacuation operations, the Department of Defense said Tuesday.

Lessons learned from the scenario will inform future technology development and transition initiatives.

“TREX is a new and enduring campaign of experimentation developed to support the Rapid Defense Experimentation Reserve initiative,” said Thomas Browning, deputy chief technology officer for mission capabilities at OUSD(R&E).

“A key attribute of RDER is the focus on a campaign of experimentation that enables the collection of a body of evidence to accelerate technology transition to the field,” Browning added.

TREX23-1was held at Camp Atterbury in Indiana and saw the participation of more than 300 attendees, including representatives from the U.K. and Australia.

CISA Issues Binding Directive to Remove Certain Federal Device Interfaces from Public Internet; Jen Easterly Quoted
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CISA Issues Binding Directive to Remove Certain Federal Device Interfaces from Public Internet; Jen Easterly Quoted

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency is mandating government entities to remove dedicated device interfaces from public-facing Internet if such platforms are exclusive to authorized users but accessible through remote network protocols.

The agency on Tuesday issued a binding operational directive to fight cyberthreat campaigns that target improperly configured network devices to hack into sensitive federal data.

The directive applies to devices that reside in networks such as routers, proxy servers, switches, firewalls, VPN concentrators, load balancers and even out-of-band server management interfaces. The network protocols of concern include hypertext transfer protocol and hypertext transfer protocol secure, as well as file transfer protocol, trivial FTP, remote desktop protocol and simple network management protocol.

The mandate does not affect networked management interfaces used for cloud service provider platforms.

CISA is also requiring federal civilian executive branch agencies to implement zero trust architecture to control accessibility to the interfaces.

Federal offices are urged to take action within 14 days of discovering that their interface has been exposed.

“Too often, threat actors are able to use network devices to gain unrestricted access to organizational networks, in turn leading to full-scale compromise,” CISA Director Jen Easterly commented. “Requiring appropriate controls and mitigations outlined in this Directive is an important step in reducing risk to the federal civilian enterprise,” the Wash100 honoree added.

US to Deliver Additional $325M Assistance Package to Ukraine
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US to Deliver Additional $325M Assistance Package to Ukraine

The Department of Defense has committed an additional $325 million to continue supporting Ukraine’s security and defense initiatives.

Primarily focused on air defense capabilities and artillery, anti-armor systems and ammunition, the package represents the Biden Administration’s 40th drawdown from DOD inventories for Ukraine since Aug. 2021, the DOD announced on Tuesday.

Included in the package are munitions for National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems and demolition munitions for obstacle clearing, ammunition for High Mobility Artillery Rocket Systems, 155mm and 105mm artillery rounds and more than 22 million rounds of small arms ammunition and grenades.

The drawdown will also provide Stinger anti-aircraft systems, Javelin anti-armor systems, AT-4 anti-armor systems and Tube-Launched, Optically-Tracked, Wire-Guided missiles as well as 15 Bradley Infantry Fighting Vehicles and 10 Stryker Armored Personnel Carriers.

Other capabilities to be delivered are tactical secure communications support equipment, spare parts and additional field equipment.

The DOD said that the U.S. will continue working with its allies and partners to meet Ukraine’s immediate and long-term security needs. In total, the U.S. has dedicated over $40 billion to Ukraine since Russia invaded the nation in Feb. 2022.

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US Navy Previews Conversational AI Tech Support Tool Developed by GDIT
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US Navy Previews Conversational AI Tech Support Tool Developed by GDIT

The U.S. Navy has provided a glimpse of a conversational artificial intelligence program designed to supply technical support to sailors, Marines and its civilian personnel, Defense News reported Wednesday.

The conversational AI, which has been named Amelia, will be launched in August as part of the $136 million Navy Enterprise Service Desk venture.

In 2021, General Dynamics Information Technology was awarded an indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract to modernize and consolidate the service branch’s more than 90 IT help desks.

Amelia is designed not only to finish repetitive tasks, but also to sense frustration in users asking questions, Travis Dawson, GDIT’s chief technology officer for the Navy and Marine Corps, explained in a previous interview with C4ISRNET. It is programmed to forward problems beyond its capability to a live agent, resulting in first-contact resolution rates in the higher 90 percentile, Dawson noted.

The AI tool can be accessed round-the-clock through phone or text by personnel registered in the Global Federated User Directory.

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Senate Approves Jared Bernstein as White House’s Chief Economist
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Senate Approves Jared Bernstein as White House’s Chief Economist

Jared Bernstein, a member of the White House Council of Economic Advisers, was approved by the Senate in a 50-49 vote Tuesday to be CEA chair, four months after he received a nomination from President Joe Biden, Reuters reported.

Bernstein succeeds Cecilia Rouse, who stepped down as the Biden administration’s top economist in March and returned to Princeton University as a professor of economics and public affairs.

He will lead the council tasked with providing economic policy recommendations to the president.

A Columbia University graduate, Bernstein advised then-Vice President Biden on economic matters from 2009 to 2011 and served as a senior fellow at Washington, D.C. think tank Center on Budget and Policy Priorities from 2011 to 2020.

His career also includes time as executive director of the White House Task Force on the Middle Class, director of the Economic Policy Institute’s Living Standards Program and a stint as deputy chief economist at the Department of Labor under the Clinton administration.

5 Notable Military Shipbuilding Companies in 2023
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5 Notable Military Shipbuilding Companies in 2023

The shipbuilding industry has been around since the time of ancient civilizations. Master crafters engineer massive fleets and naval systems for warfighters to defend their territories.

Today, a handful of shipbuilding companies have modernized ancient shipbuilding methods into more cutting-edge techniques; they engineer advanced vessels for defense and offense and for carrying and delivering warfighters or crucial cargo.

In no specific order, here is a rundown of notable shipbuilding companies that secured contracts for building top-caliber fleets for the military in 2023.

General Dynamics NASSCO

General Dynamics NASSCO
Image from General Dynamics NASSCO Official Website
  • Revenue: $11 billion (FY 2022)
  • Founded/established: 1905; bought by General Dynamics in 1998
  • Headquarters: San Diego, California
  • Notable vessels: USS Arlington, USNS Lewis, and Clark, and The Independence

General Dynamics Corporation is one of the largest and leading defense solutions companies in the United States. Its subsidiary, the National Steel and Shipbuilding Company (NASSCO), is primarily focused on the design, development, repair and maintenance, and deployment of ships for naval warfare and carrying goods such as fuel and dry cargo.

NASSCO has four shipyards located in San Diego, Norfolk, Bremerton, and Mayport. The San Diego facility is the primary hub for the design and construction of commercial cargo ships and auxiliary ocean carriers for the US Navy and Military Sealift Command. Repairs, maintenance, and conversions are performed in all NASSCO boatyards.

On January 17, 2023, the US Navy granted General Dynamics NASSCO’s Norfolk shipyard a contract for the repair, maintenance, and remodeling of the USS Arlington (LPD 24). The agreement has a base value of $150 billion and entails NASSCO fulfilling selected restricted availability efforts for the amphibious naval vessel in the fiscal year 2023.

 

HII

HII (Huntington Ingalls Industries)
Photo by HII from Fortune.com
  • Revenue: $10.7 Billion (FY 2022)
  • Founded/established: 1886; as HII in 2022
  • Headquarters: Newport News, Virginia
  • Notable vessels: Gerald R. Ford-class aircraft carriers, Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyers, and USS America amphibious assault ships

Huntington and Ingalls were both pioneers in the shipbuilding industry; they built companies that would eventually become major players in the field. One of these is HII Corporate. Formerly known as Huntington Ingalls Industries, HII started out in 2011 as an offshoot of Northrop Grumman’s shipbuilding division. Huntington Ingalls Industries rebranded into HII in April 2022.

Despite being a fairly young enterprise, HII carries over 100 years of shipbuilding prowess, able to manufacture military ships of high caliber. Shipbuilding magnates Collis P. Huntington and Robert I. Ingalls, Sr. have created a legacy that HII Corporate is still now proudly upholding. 

HII has two shipbuilding divisions:

  • Newport News Shipbuilding – Based in Newport News, Virginia, this division is where the design, repair, overhaul, and refueling of ships are performed. Newport News Shipbuilding (NNS) was founded by Collis P. Huntington in 1886, making it the oldest shipbuilding yard of HII.
  • Ingalls Shipbuilding – Based in Pascagoula, Mississippi, this shipyard primarily builds, repairs, and maintains surface combatants, amphibious ships, and class-leading cutters for the US Navy and Coast Guard. Ingalls Shipbuilding division was founded by Robert Ingalls, Sr. in 1938.

HII’s expertise in constructing naval vessels made the company a trusted contractor for the US Navy. On April 3, 2023, the US Navy awarded HII a $1.3 billion modification agreement for the construction of the latest San Antonio-class amphibious transport dock. The contract enables the US Navy and HII to build a line of amphibious ships that are efficient and have formidable capabilities. These ships were made for the Marines to place equipment and troops in strategic locations.

 

Lockheed Martin

Lockheed Martin
Photo from Lockheed Martin Official Website
  • Revenue: $65.98 billion (FY 2022)
  • Founded/established: 1995
  • Headquarters: Bethesda, Maryland
  • Notable vessels: Freedom-class littoral combat ship and Aegis Combat System

Lockheed Martin Corporation is a noteworthy defense, aerospace, armaments, information security, and technology company, formed through a merger between Lockheed Corporation and Marietta Martin Corporation. The company’s know-how in shipbuilding stems from the Lockheed Shipbuilding and Construction Company, a now-defunct shipyard that built over 100 vessels for combat and carrying cargo, personnel, and vehicles within 30 years.

Lockheed Martin’s shipbuilding division remains to be a force to reckon with when it comes to maritime defense, transporting armaments and vehicles, and overhauling older fleets. In March 2023, the US Navy granted the defense firm a $21 million modification contract to replace the main propulsion diesel engine of the USS Wichita, one of Lockheed Martin’s littoral combat ship units.

Littoral Combat Ships (LCS) are engineered to carry Navy and Marine troops to defend the nation from seaside threats. These ships are also designed to be integrated with missiles, advanced sensors, and cutting-edge cybersecurity systems to detect and defeat airborne attacks.

 

Northrop Grumman Corp.

Northrop Grumman
Photo from Northrop Grumman Official Website
  • Revenue: $36.6 billion (FY 2022)
  • Founded/established: 1994 (as a merger)
  • Headquarters: West Falls Church, Virginia
  • Notable vessels: Next-Gen C5I Integration Offshore Patrol Cutter, Aegis guided-missile destroyer Dewey (DDG 105), and amphibious transport dock ship New York (LPD 21)

Northrop Grumman is one of the leading manufacturers of weapons systems and defense technology capabilities in the world. Northrop Grumman is a result of a merger between Northrop Corporation and Grumman Corporation, two former prime builders and suppliers of aircraft, vessels, and parts for the military and civilian markets.

Northrop Grumman’s expertise and credibility in engineering defense solutions made it a top contractor for the US federal government. As for shipbuilding, the company primarily focuses on designing and developing advanced naval systems with all-domain defense capabilities. It has developed Arleigh Burke-class destroyers, offshore patrol cutters, and land-and-sea transport dock ships and electronic charting systems, machinery control, steering systems, and electronic warfare capacities for US Navy surface fleets.

The US Navy first contracted Northrop Grumman to develop AN/SLQ-32(V)7 SEWIP Block 3 systems for its surface combatants in 2015. The defense shipbuilding firm received follow-up contracts in 2020 and 2023 to continue the production and supply of these systems to defend surface vessels from anti-ship threats through non-kinetic and electronic attack approaches.

Under the latest firm-fixed-price modification deal, Northrop Grumman will produce additional SEWIP units for the US Navy until December 2025 with fiscal shipbuilding funds worth $236 million.

 

Raytheon Technologies

Raytheon Technologies
Photo from Raytheon Technologies Official Website
  • Revenue: $67.1 billion (FY 2022)
  • Founded/established: 2020 (as a merger)
  • Headquarters: Arlington, Virginia
  • Notable vessels: Zumwalt-class destroyers

Raytheon Technologies Corporation is a leading manufacturer and provider of aerospace, defense, and intelligence solutions. A merger between United Technologies and the Raytheon Company, Raytheon Technologies carries over 100 years of proficiency in protecting the homeland from its two predecessors.

Many of Raytheon’s government contracts involve aerospace and land defense initiatives, although the company also specializes in developing surface ships and missile destroyers for naval missions. The company’s notable vessel, Zumwalt-class destroyers, are designed to be the US’s next-generation surface combat ships.

On April 19, 2023, Raytheon Technologies’s Missile & Defense division secured a $308 million contract for the Combat System engineering and the miscellaneous items and travel activities supporting the modernization of the Zumwalt-class guided-missile destroyers and development of the fleet’s warfare capabilities. This deal is a modification to an earlier Zumwalt-class modernization contract awarded on April 20, 2022. 

DOE Invests $192M in 3 Programs Advocating Battery Recycling
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DOE Invests $192M in 3 Programs Advocating Battery Recycling

The Department of Energy has dedicated $192 million to funding opportunities for projects that aim to advance cost-effective consumer battery recycling technologies.

The investment will be distributed to the Consumer Electronics Battery Recycling, Reprocessing, and Battery Collection funding opportunity, the Advanced Battery Research and Development Consortium funding opportunity and the Lithium-Ion Battery Recycling Prize, DOE announced Monday.

The Consumer Electronics Battery Recycling funding opportunity is focused on influencing consumer behavior to increase their participation in recycling programs. It is also interested in proposals that can lower the cost of recycling to boost market demand for the process. The deadline for applications is on Nov. 29.

The Advanced Battery R&D Consortium is working toward widespread adoption of and commercialization of electric vehicles. It is looking for vendors that can improve supply chain for EV batteries and address other challenges in repurposing such components. Applicants must submit their proposals by Sept. 8.

The Battery Recycling Prize has given $5.5 million in awards to innovators since 2019. This year, DOE is allocating $7.4 million for the fourth phase of the competition, as well as a Breakthrough Contest to provide additional incentives. Participants must demonstrate how their technologies can help transition discarded batteries from consumers to recyclers.

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