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NASA’s Atmospheric Waves Experiment Wraps Up Space Environment Tests
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NASA’s Atmospheric Waves Experiment Wraps Up Space Environment Tests

A NASA experiment that seeks to better understand the space weather system from the International Space Station by observing gravity waves in Earth’s atmosphere at altitudes of 50 to 500 kilometers has completed space environment tests.

The space agency said Friday the Atmospheric Waves Experiment will gather data to help scientists analyze the characteristics and physics of atmospheric gravity waves and the impact of terrestrial weather on the ionosphere, which can disrupt satellite communications.

“AWE is a highly sensitive, precise science instrument designed to be fitted on the International Space Station and operate in the harsh space environment,” said Burt Lamborn, AWE project manager at Utah State University’s Space Dynamics Laboratory.

“To ensure that AWE will survive launch turbulence and operate as designed once in space, SDL put the instrument through its paces on the ground,” he added.

The university’s lab put the AWE instrument through electromagnetic interference testing to determine whether its signals could interrupt the orbiting laboratory’s other space equipment and conducted vibration and thermal vacuum testing to simulate launch conditions and extreme temperatures that the instrument will experience during flight.

Michael Taylor at Utah State University in Logan leads the AWE mission, which is managed by the explorers program office at NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland.

In February 2019, NASA agreed to execute the AWE mission, which is expected to cost $42 million.

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NIST Invites Feedback on Draft Supercomputer Security Guidance
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NIST Invites Feedback on Draft Supercomputer Security Guidance

The National Institute of Standards and Technology has issued a request for public comment for a draft special publication on a zone-based high-performance computing system reference model.

NIST’s Computer Security Resource Center said Monday it published a guidance that includes an HPC system’s common features as well as its challenges and security aspects.

IT protection has become a challenge for supercomputers because of their complexity, size and continuous evolution. CSRC developed the reference model to address this vulnerability.

SP 800-223, also known under the title High-Performance Computing Security: Architecture, Threat Analysis, and Security Posture, was created in accordance with the National Strategic Computing Initiative. It aims to standardize the security status of HPC systems, which have become a widespread tool in science and industry.

The agency is accepting feedback for the initial public draft of the special publication until April 7.

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NITRD Requests Industry Input on Updated Federal Cybersecurity R&D Strategic Plan
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NITRD Requests Industry Input on Updated Federal Cybersecurity R&D Strategic Plan

The Networking and Information Technology Research and Development’s National Coordination Office has begun requesting industry input on the latest update to the federal cybersecurity research and development strategic plan.

In a request for information published in the Federal Register, NITRD said the updated plan will guide the development of cybersecurity standards and best practices and coordinate federally funded R&D efforts in the cyber domain.

The NITRD Cyber Security and Information Assurance Interagency Working Group is seeking input on new technologies that can potentially enhance the security, reliability, privacy and trustworthiness of digital assets and what commercially available technology can address deficiencies outlined in the previous strategic plan.

In addition, industry partners are asked to answer what research or topics mentioned in the 2019 Strategic Plan be prioritized in the updated plan.

The U.S. government is required to update the federal cybersecurity R&D strategic plan every four years in accordance with the Cybersecurity Enhancement Act of 2014.

US-EU Defense Cooperation Agreement Gets Approval From European Council
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US-EU Defense Cooperation Agreement Gets Approval From European Council

The European Council has approved a draft administrative agreement between the U.S. military and the European Defence Agency to strengthen their cooperation on defense initiatives.

EDA said Monday the administrative agreement, which awaits final signatures from the two parties, focuses on facilitating information exchange and dialogue on various defense topics of interest to the European agency.

According to EDA, the initial scope of the agreement will center on military mobility, supply chain challenges and climate change impacts on military activities across the U.S. and the European Union.

The agreement also includes invitations for the Pentagon to attend relevant meetings of EDA’s Steering Board and participation in the European Defence Standardisation Committee’s open sessions.

Negotiation for the deal was initiated in November 2021 and a draft proposal for an administrative arrangement was submitted to Defence Ministers in the EDA Steering Board in December 2022.

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Congress to Require DOD to Explicate Use of Streamlined Acquisition Authorities
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Congress to Require DOD to Explicate Use of Streamlined Acquisition Authorities

The Department of Defense is facing requirements from Congress to justify its use of Section 804 Mid-Tier Acquisition and other authorities that seek to simplify the procurement process to rapidly deploy military capabilities to warfighters, Breaking Defense reported Monday.

The fiscal year 2023 omnibus appropriations measure signed into law in late December includes detailed reporting requirements for DOD. Under the law, the Pentagon should include in its FY 2024 budget submission a documentation outlining programs that use MTA authorities, a rationale, long-term acquisition strategy and cost estimates for each program.

Bill Greenwalt, a former Senate appropriations staffer, shared his insights on the potential impact of the reporting language on DOD’s efforts to transform the traditional acquisition process.

The reporting requirement “is designed to slow the process down to the take these special authorities that allow the department to move faster, and to essentially try to conform them to [the old] peacetime predictive linear model, which of course will ensure that the United States falls behind its adversaries,” Greenwalt told BD in an interview.

Pete Modigliani, defense acquisition leader at MITRE, said the reporting language would hamper DOD’s abilities to facilitate rapid acquisition processes.

“The Middle Tier of Acquisition pathway is one of DoD’s most valuable tools to rapidly deliver capabilities … to deter China’s threat,” Modigliani remarked.

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Jeffrey David Singleton Named U.S. Representative to NATO DIANA Initiative; Heidi Shyu Quoted
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Jeffrey David Singleton Named U.S. Representative to NATO DIANA Initiative; Heidi Shyu Quoted

Jeffrey David Singleton, a science and technology executive at the Department of Defense, has been appointed the U.S. representative to the board of directors of NATO’s Defense Innovation Accelerator of the North Atlantic initiative.

In addition to his new role, Singleton serves as director for technology at the U.S. Army and U.S. principal member and head of the delegation to the NATO Science and Technology Board, the Pentagon said Monday.

Singleton brings to the board more than 30 years of experience in advanced technology research and development and acquisition. 

He is the S&T lead for the Pentagon’s strategy for NATO and international partnerships and has helped launch prize competitions and challenges to incentivize private companies to develop new ways to address complex COVID-19 challenges. 

“His background and experience in helping to drive science and technology cooperation with NATO partners is just what is needed to help DIANA succeed,” said Heidi Shyu, the undersecretary of defense for research and engineering and a 2023 Wash100 awardee.

Singleton’s appointment comes after Barbara McQuiston was elected chair of NATO DIANA’s board of directors.

POC - 9th Annual Defense Research and Development Summit

Shyu is set to speak at the Potomac Officers Club’s 9th Annual Defense Research and Development Summit, which will be held on March 23. Click here to register and hear about the Pentagon’s R&D efforts in artificial intelligence, microelectronics and hypersonics and other emerging technologies.

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Brendan Carr Commends House Lawmakers for Proposing Foreign Adversary Communications Transparency Act
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Brendan Carr Commends House Lawmakers for Proposing Foreign Adversary Communications Transparency Act

Brendan Carr, a commissioner of the Federal Communications Commission, has applauded the introduction of a bipartisan bill that would direct FCC to publish a list of companies that hold an FCC authorization and have links to China and other foreign adversarial governments. The proposed ruling is part of efforts to counter the influence of such regimes on U.S. telecommunications infrastructure.

In a statement published Monday, Carr called on Congress to advance the passage of the fielded Foreign Adversary Communications Transparency Act, which he said would help strengthen U.S. national security.

“Increasing visibility into entities with FCC authorizations that have relationships with authoritarian regimes would bring much needed transparency and help strengthen America’s communications networks against threats from malign actors,” Carr said.

Reps. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., Ro Khanna, D-Calif., and Mike Gallagher, R-Wis., reintroduced the bipartisan FACT Act in the lower chamber on Friday.

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Raj Iyer on Army’s Digital Requirements and Resourcing Construct
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Raj Iyer on Army’s Digital Requirements and Resourcing Construct

Raj Iyer, the outgoing chief information officer of the U.S. Army and a two-time Wash100 awardee, discussed how the Digital Requirements and Resourcing Construct has been established to provide the CIO office, along with the service’s G-6, Gen. John Morrison, with more authority when it comes to making decisions and prioritizing information technology requirements, Federal News Network reported Monday.

“So for the budget cycle that starts 2025, the CIO with the G-6 as the co-chairman, now has what’s called the Digital Requirements and Resourcing Construct,” he told FNN in an interview.

“What the Army has done this year is we’ve moved about $5 billion of the $16 billion budget under this new construct, where the CIO now gets to prioritize the requirements. We do the racking and stacking of the priorities, and then we decide, based upon urgent requirements and future modernization efforts, how we need to rebalance the portfolio,” Iyer noted.

Iyer, who is set to step down as Army CIO on Feb. 10, said his office is looking for opportunities where it can address duplication to reduce IT spending and is focused on shifting the network subportfolio under the construct in preparation for the 2025 budget cycle.

“My intent and hope is that when we do this well, next year, we will start to add other parts of the subportfolio under this new construct: things like business systems and then some of the larger acquisition programs, like tactical radios,” he said. 

“That’s how we will slowly scale up and ramp up to the full portfolio. But we’re going this year after the part of the portfolio that requires the greatest help right now, and especially because of so much progress we have made with the unified network and cloud, that was important for us to rebalance our portfolio,” Iyer added.

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Amentum Secures $487M US Army Contract for International Modernization, Logistics & Sustainment Services
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Amentum Secures $487M US Army Contract for International Modernization, Logistics & Sustainment Services

Amentum has won a potential five-year, $487 million remote maintenance and distribution center contract from the U.S. Army to support modernization, comprehensive logistics and sustainment initiatives at facilities outside of the continental U.S.

Under the award, Amentum is expected to provide field engineering services to a broad variety of military equipment and systems that were donated to these locations by the U.S. government, the Falls Church, Virginia-based company announced on Tuesday.

An Amentum spokesperson said that the organization is looking forward to supporting the U.S. and its allies by delivering its sustainment offerings.

Amentum employees will be dispatched to an array of international locations to conduct sustainment duties on a large set of vehicles, assets, radars, gear and ground support equipment. The staff will leverage predictive analytics, tools and technology intended to improve performance through rapid response methods and operational forecasts.

The contract has a base period of one year and includes four one-year options.

Amentum has won multiple awards for maintenance services within the past year. In June 2022, the company booked a $46 million contract modification under an Air Force award to provide executive airlift maintenance support services. The modification brought the award’s cumulative face value to over $197 billion.

The previous month, Amentum received a $48 million contract extension from the Navy to expand its maintenance and contractor logistics support services for aircraft used by the Navy Test Pilot School’s test and evaluation squadron.

Earlier last year, Amentum subsidiary DynCorp International won a $147 million Air Force contract to provide maintenance and sustainment services for equipment used by the U.S. Air Forces in Europe Global Materiel Services program.

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Video: Air Force CIO Discusses Where DOD Can Improve Warfighter Capabilities
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Video: Air Force CIO Discusses Where DOD Can Improve Warfighter Capabilities

Technological advancements, digital modernization efforts and increases in funding across the U.S. defense landscape have unlocked new opportunities for delivering better capabilities to our nation’s warfighters. 

In a new exclusive video interview, Executive Mosaic spoke with Lauren Knausenberger, chief information officer for the Department of the Air Force and 2023 Wash100 Award winner, to better understand where the Air Force’s friction points are and how the service is moving through them to improve the user experience for its operators.

Lauren Knausenberger will keynote GovCon Wire’s 3rd Annual Air Force IT Modernization and Transformation Forum on March 21. Register here to join the conversation!

“A lot of the things that are going to enable our warfighters the most are things that we just didn’t invest in for a really long time,” Knausenberger shared. 

For example, Knausenberger said the Air Force is working on ensuring that its users have compliant end points — which means replacing outdated equipment and making sure warfighters have the tools they need to execute their jobs properly.

“We’ve made a lot of progress on that over the last two years,” revealed Knausenberger, nodding to the “fix our computers” movement — the Air Force’s user-fueled IT modernization push which started in early 2022.

Knausenberger said the Air Force is now “making sure that we’re really leveraging our user experience numbers and throwing our next dollar to where we know that we’re going to get better performance for our warfighter.”

“It took a minute to get the money flowing, but it is flowing now,” she added.

Watch more of what Lauren Knausenberger had to say about artificial intelligence, cloud, software, data and more in her video interview — and don’t forget to subscribe to Executive Mosaic’s YouTube channel for more exclusive content featuring the leaders of GovCon.

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