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NIST Seeks Reviewer Assistance for Semiconductor Manufacturing Grant Applications
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NIST Seeks Reviewer Assistance for Semiconductor Manufacturing Grant Applications

The National Institute of Standards and Technology is looking for a contractor to help the agency evaluate semiconductor facility concept plans submitted through the CHIPS Incentives Program.

In a sources sought notice posted Monday, NIST said a potential contract team will conduct a technical evaluation of proposed projects to invest in facilities and equipment aimed at driving domestic chip sector growth.

The notice comes as NIST issued a second notice of funding opportunity under the program to seek construction, expansion or modernization proposals involving a capital investment of not more than $300 million.

NIST expects at least three contractor reviewers to assess eligible applicants based on criteria established in its notice of funding opportunity and submit resulting scores to the agency’s CHIPS Program Office for final consideration.

The office plans to commence grant program review training for a selected contract team in January 2024 and kick off the submission assessment process in February.

Responses to the sources sought notice are due Sept. 12.

Navy, Marines Trial CH-53E Manned Aircraft Refueling MQ-8C Unmanned Helicopter
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Navy, Marines Trial CH-53E Manned Aircraft Refueling MQ-8C Unmanned Helicopter

The U.S. Navy and Marine Corps demonstrated a refueling mission between the latter’s MQ-8C Fire Scout helicopter and the former’s CH-53E Super Stallion helicopter, marking a first time for such event involving an unmanned rotary wing aircraft and manned platform.

The aerial delivered ground refueling trial was performed at Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center Twentynine Palms, California on July 31, according to a post on Defense Visual Information Distribution Service.

About 700 pounds of fuel were transferred to the MQ-8C by utilizing the ability of the CH-53E to deliver fuel to air and ground vehicles in austere environments. The said value could support an estimated range of 150 nautical miles and enable the unmanned helicopter to function on the battlespace longer.

“By conducting ADGR in addition to using a mobile control station, the MQ-8C can be operated to support Marines in nearly any environment,” said Lt. Cmdr. Brian “Freq” Paskey, the HSC-21 training officer.

Participants in the trial were Marines with Marine Heavy Helicopter Squadron 361, Marine Aircraft Group 16, 3rd Marine Aircraft Wing and the MQ-8C Fire Scout from Helicopter Sea Combat Squadron 21.

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FAA Calling for Comments on Proposed Rule to Implement Commercial Space Launch Competitiveness Act’s Provisions
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FAA Calling for Comments on Proposed Rule to Implement Commercial Space Launch Competitiveness Act’s Provisions

The Federal Aviation Administration has started soliciting insights on a proposed rule to provide regulatory clarity for commercial space operators applying for licenses for spaceflight operations involving government astronauts in compliance with the U.S. Commercial Space Launch Competitiveness Act of 2015.

The proposed rule would establish two new subparts to include requirements for “applicants whose licensed or permitted operations involve government astronauts with and without safety-critical roles on board a vehicle,” according to a notice published Friday in Federal Register.

The rule would direct operators to demonstrate that such astronauts can perform safety-critical tasks aboard a vehicle.

“This proposed requirement would maintain public safety by ensuring operators provide mission specific training on safety-critical tasks to government astronauts, as has been done in the NASA Commercial Crew Program,” the notice reads.

FAA also volunteered to update definitions related to commercial space launch and reentry vehicles and occupants; implement clarifications to financial responsibility requirements in accordance with the law; and broaden applicability of allowed operations for reusable suborbital rockets.

Public comments are due Oct. 17.

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DHS Requests Info on FLETC Enterprise IT Support Services Requirement
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DHS Requests Info on FLETC Enterprise IT Support Services Requirement

The Department of Homeland Security has begun accepting information on potential industry sources that could provide enterprise information technology support services and solutions to the Federal Law Enforcement Training Centers’ Chief Information Officer Directorate.

A notice posted Wednesday on SAM.gov states that the EITSS procurement vehicle will support the FLETC headquarters and field sites to provide training services to federal law enforcement professionals.

The potential contract will cover support across all CIO Directorate divisions, including the end user computing services branch, IT service management branch, IT infrastructure branch and cybersecurity division.

Work may include acquisition support, quality control, configuration management, system integration, zero trust architecture support and division administrative support.

Interested parties have until Sept. 6 to respond to the request for information.

CISA, NIST, NSA Urge Organizations to Prep for Post-Quantum Cryptography Migration
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CISA, NIST, NSA Urge Organizations to Prep for Post-Quantum Cryptography Migration

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency, the National Security Agency and the National Institute of Standards and Technology have recommended that organizations begin preparing for post-quantum cryptography migration by developing roadmaps for quantum readiness.

Organizations that handle sensitive information must plan their implementation of post-quantum cryptographic standards to be released by NIST in 2024 to boost their security against malicious use of quantum computers, the NSA said Monday.

An effective quantum-readiness roadmap must begin with an inventory of quantum-vulnerable systems and assets before starting the quantum risk assessment processes. During the inventory, organizations should engage with supply chain vendors to identify technologies that need to migrate to PQC.

The agencies also encourage organizations to create migration plans prioritizing the most sensitive and critical assets.

Technology manufacturers and vendors of products that support the use of quantum-vulnerable cryptography should begin reviewing the draft PQC standards to begin planning and testing for integration.

“The transition to a secured quantum computing era is a long-term intensive community effort that will require extensive collaboration between government and industry,” said Rob Joyce, director of cybersecurity at NSA and a two-time Wash100 awardee.

SBA Extends Moratorium on 8(a) Bona Fide Place of Business Requirement
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SBA Extends Moratorium on 8(a) Bona Fide Place of Business Requirement

The Small Business Administration has extended — until Sept. 30, 2024 — the moratorium on the requirement for small businesses to establish a bona fide place of business in a particular geographic area when awarded any construction contract under the 8(a) Business Development Program.

The moratorium was instated in 2021 to address challenges during the COVID-19 pandemic and has since enabled federal agencies to increase construction procurements with small and disadvantaged businesses in rural and remote areas, SBA said Monday.

A bona fide place of business refers to the location where a participant regularly maintains an office with at least one full-time employee. It does not include construction trailers or other temporary construction sites.

“With this extension, the SBA under the Biden-Harris Administration is again demonstrating its commitment to creating opportunity and leveling the playing field for American entrepreneurs,” said SBA Administrator Isabella Casillas Guzman.

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Army CIO Leonel Garciga Focusing on Interim Software & Data Policies
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Army CIO Leonel Garciga Focusing on Interim Software & Data Policies

Leonel Garciga, chief information officer of the U.S. Army, said he is prioritizing the development of interim policies for software, cybersecurity and data to help the service keep pace with technological advances in the private sector, Federal News Network reported Monday.

One of the first interim policies the military branch is working on prizes containers, which are used to package and deploy software.

“We’re going to focus on some things that are huge leaps, both from a security perspective and from the ability to build software out faster. Container guidance — that’ll be coming out soon,” Garciga said at a conference.

Garciga, who assumed the CIO post in late June, said his office plans to release new policy on the use of data on government systems.

“We need to remind folks that there are some rules around this, and we need to protect DoD data and we need to protect personal information too. We’re going to be putting some stuff out there,” Garciga noted.

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Robert Hale & Ellen Lord on 5 Areas of Improvement in Defense Budgeting Process
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Robert Hale & Ellen Lord on 5 Areas of Improvement in Defense Budgeting Process

Commission on Planning, Programming, Budgeting and Execution Chair Robert Hale and Vice Chair Ellen Lord said speed and agility of defense budgeting could help the Department of Defense strengthen deterrence and keep its advantage over strategic competitors.

The commission has identified five improvement areas for the PPBE process, Hale and Lord wrote in an opinion piece published Friday in The Hill. The first line of effort calls for DOD to update business processes to foster innovation adoption and warfighting adaptability.

Another area of improvement is considering reforms to PPBE documents to clearly communicate how DOD’s budget implements the defense strategy.

Lord and Hale said DOD should provide Congress update on its budget by conducting a mid-year briefing to improve communications.

The two previous Wash100 Award recipients called on the Pentagon to advance use of data analytics and digital business systems to streamline the PPBE process and ensure that its workforce can implement each phase of the process.

Lord is former undersecretary of defense for acquisition and sustainment and Hale is former DOD undersecretary for comptroller and chief financial officer.

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Amentum Secures Spot on $3.2B IDIQ to Provide Engineering Services for DOD, Other Federal Organizations; Jill Bruning Quoted
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Amentum Secures Spot on $3.2B IDIQ to Provide Engineering Services for DOD, Other Federal Organizations; Jill Bruning Quoted

Amentum has been selected for a spot on a 10-year, potential $3.2 billion contract for the development, engineering and deployment of technologies for multiple Department of Defense and federal civilian organizations.

Under the multiple-award, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity vehicle, Amentum is expected to deliver aggressive, scaled and agile engineering offerings to the U.S. Army Communications and Electronics Command, Defense Logistics Agency and other government agencies, the Chantilly, Virginia-based company announced on Tuesday.

Jill Bruning, president of the engineering, science and technology group at Amentum and a Wash100 Award recipient, said that the Gateway to Sustainment contract is “another great opportunity” for the company to deliver its services to the U.S. Army while harnessing its experience in technology and engineering modernization.

“G2S offers Amentum the ability to work with the government to sustain our operational forces,” added Jack Kasiski, the organization’s senior vice president of operations.

Amentum’s work is intended to support the accelerated acquisition and deployment of counter-IED and mine detection, electronic warfare, aircraft survivability and training systems. The contract leaves room for the enterprise to receive additional orders for ancillary engineering, obsolescence monitoring and test and evaluation services.

As an awardee, Amentum will leverage its experience in science, technology and engineering modernization to support the IDIQ’s focus areas of supply chain agility, hybrid organic contractor support, Diminishing Manufacturing Sources and Material Shortages and Form, Fit and Function replacement parts.

This award closely follows multiple DOD contract wins for Amentum. Yesterday, the department announced that the company was issued a $591.6 million Navy award to provide foreign military sales customers with systems integration, systems improvement, sustainment material, training and associated support services for foreign military sales customers.

Just weeks earlier, Amentum booked an $818 million contract also from the Navy to modernize and maintain F-16 aircraft that are used for Navy air combat training and assist the Viper Maintenance Group with adversary training fleet expansion.

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GSA Launches Equity Study on Remote Identity Proofing; Sonny Hashmi Quoted
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GSA Launches Equity Study on Remote Identity Proofing; Sonny Hashmi Quoted

The General Services Administration is conducting a study to test six remote identity-proofing technologies with up to 4,000 participants as part of efforts to evaluate the impact of race, ethnicity, income, gender and other socio-demographic and socio-economic factors on the identity proofing process.

The Equity Study on Remote Identity Proofing will be performed for 12 weeks between the summer and fall of fiscal year 2023.

GSA said it will analyze the collected data from research participants and work with the Center for Identification Technology Research at Clarkson University to look for any algorithmic bias.

“This is an important study and initiative to test and validate facial recognition and matching algorithms and technology to identify barriers across demographic lines,” said Sonny Hashmi, commissioner of the Federal Acquisition Service at GSA.

“The results will not only inform government strategy moving forward, but will also lower barriers for more Americans when they interact with their government digitally,” added Hashmi, a previous Wash100 awardee.

GSA intends to release a report in 2024 that will offer a statistical analysis of proofing checks’ performance and look at the causes behind any inconclusive results.

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