Air Force Materiel Command has released a white paper detailing its approach to accelerating the acquisition materiel lifecycle to deliver the latest warfighting capabilities.

The document, titled “Digital Materiel Management: An Accelerated Future State,” outlines key objectives that focus on harnessing the power of data, models and infrastructure to stay ahead of adversaries in sustainment and modernization efforts, AFMC said Monday.

To achieve a competitive advantage, AFMC aims to structure and secure data, modernize its information technology infrastructure, provide access to DMM tools and develop digital strategies.

The command is also working to instill a digital-first culture, train its workforce in digital technologies and strengthen collaboration between industry and government.

The Department of Homeland Security Science and Technology Directorate’s Technology Centers Division has released a strategic framework that aligns and focuses its research portfolio and communicates its priorities and objectives for the next three years.

The Technology Centers Research Agenda outlines the directorate’s investment priorities in research areas including advanced sensing, artificial intelligence and automation, biotechnology, cyber resiliency and novel materials and secure manufacturing, Melanie Cummings, director of the Technology Centers Division, wrote in an article published Monday.

According to the agenda, S&T aims to increase the resilience of the communications networks that are used to share voice and data between devices and mitigate the impacts of “adversarial AI” on homeland security missions.

Cummings said the directorate is also seeking to boost interagency collaboration on mission areas outlined in the framework.

“For our part, we continue to study all aspects of how advances in science and technology can be used to secure the homeland more effectively, in addition to understanding the vulnerabilities and potential misuses,” Cummings said.

The General Services Administration and the Department of Energy are investing $30 million to fund research projects on American-made clean energy technologies.

The funds will be awarded through their Green Proving Ground program, which advocates for the decarbonization of federal buildings through renewable power and innovative systems, GSA announced Friday.

For 2023, GPG will focus on grid-interactive efficient buildings, electric vehicle supply equipment, germicidal ultraviolet technologies that use light-emitting diode and far-UV camera light, greenhouse gas accounting and onsite renewables.

The program will test technologies in various locations including GSA’s Applied Innovation Learning Labs. The agency will determine if some of them can be combined and replicated to achieve net-zero emission in government facilities.

Since 2011, GPG has tested 104 technologies and deployed 23 of them across federally owned buildings, resulting in $28 million in annual cost avoidance.

“Across the country, we’re turning federal buildings into testbeds for clean energy innovation – which will mean more good jobs, savings for taxpayers, and a healthier planet for our kids,” GSA Administrator Robin Carnahan said.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology’s Hollings Manufacturing Extension Partnership program has awarded a total of $20 million in funding to each of its MEP National Network Centers to boost the resilience of domestic supply chains.

NIST said Friday the funding was authorized by the CHIPS and Science Act of 2022 and will support projects focused on workforce development and technology upgrades at small and medium-sized manufacturers, in addition to domestic supply chain resilience.

The funding will also help develop the Supply Chain Optimization and Intelligence Network, a national database designed to support the coordination of supplier scouting services.

“Supply chain shortages are due to a lack of supply chain capacity. To address this issue, we’re creating an information system that lays out all the suppliers across various industries. This way, we can connect small suppliers to more opportunities in the supply chain,” said Pravina Raghavan, director of the NIST MEP program.

SCOIN will work to optimize supply chain network service offerings, connect original equipment manufacturers with small and medium-sized manufacturers and gather data on U.S. supplier capability and capacity.