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Intelligent Waves Books $100M Award to Support USAF Crowd Source Flight Data Program; Tony Crescenzo Quoted
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Intelligent Waves Books $100M Award to Support USAF Crowd Source Flight Data Program; Tony Crescenzo Quoted

Intelligent Waves has won a $99.9 million, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract from the U.S. Air Force to support the Crowd Source Flight Data program at Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada.

Under the award, Intelligent Waves is expected to continue providing the Air Force’s 59th Test and Evaluation Squadron with hardware and software integration services used to download, process and offload relevant data from Quick Reaction Instrumentation Package-equipped aircraft, the Reston, Virginia-based enterprise announced on Wednesday.

“At Crowd Source, we support innovative solutions that increase the speed, security, and availability of mission data from aircraft, ultimately improving our nation’s security. Notably, the next generation of technology is helping the government boost cost savings while maximizing mission impact,” said Intelligent Waves CEO Tony Crescenzo.

In an Air Force Air Combat Command article, Lt. Col. Nathan Malafa, commander of the squadron, commented on the importance of data availability and accuracy in determining the success of the warfighter.

The company’s contracted work demonstrates experience with data collection, data processing, related knowledge management support and flight test mission instrumentation to the squadron’s program.

Contract activities may also be performed in multiple other locations and are set to conclude by the end of January 2025.

Intelligent Waves was awarded an earlier indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract also supporting the 59th Testing and Evaluation Squadron in October 2019. Under the $89.2 million contract, the organization is currently assessing, modifying, enhancing and operating instrumentation systems across all stages of test missions regarding 53rd Wing test aircraft.

The press release from Intelligent Waves detailed the benefits of crowd-sourced flight data support, which can provide a cost-effective, non-intrusive solution that allows a continuous flow of flight test data collected from thousands of jets to be shared between bases.

FAA Requests Feedback on Expanding Small Business Industry Base for Construction Projects
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FAA Requests Feedback on Expanding Small Business Industry Base for Construction Projects

The Federal Aviation Administration is seeking industry input on plans to use the FAA Mentor-Protégé Program to expand the pool of small businesses capable of supporting large-scale construction projects funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law.

A notice posted Monday on SAM.gov states that FAA is looking to create opportunities for small businesses owned by socially and economically disadvantaged individuals to compete for prime positions in federal construction contracts.

According to the FAA, the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law invests $5 billion in funding over five years to modernize the infrastructure of the agency’s air traffic control system by reducing maintenance backlog and upgrading critical buildings and equipment.

Through the Mentor-Protégé initiative, FAA seeks to encourage large, established companies to partner with and assist small businesses in securing contracts with the agency.

Responses to the sources sought notice are due Feb. 28.

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Minh Huebner, National Lab Finance Veteran, Begins Role as CFO at Johns Hopkins APL
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Minh Huebner, National Lab Finance Veteran, Begins Role as CFO at Johns Hopkins APL

Minh Huebner, former chief financial officer of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, has assumed the role of CFO and head of the business, construction and facilities department at the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory.

Johns Hopkins APL announced Monday that Huebner’s new role will include overseeing the laboratory’s contract activities with U.S. government agencies, and being primarily accountable for maintaining APL’s main campus and satellite offices.

Huebner spent 18 years at Berkeley Lab, beginning in the role of budget officer until she ascended to CFO in February 2019. She was also an indirect budget manager at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, and prior to that, a budget analyst at the Department of Energy’s Office of the CFO.

“Minh is an accomplished and collaborative leader who brings three decades of financial experience at research and development institutions to her new role,” APL Director Ralph Semmel said. “Her addition to the Lab’s executive team is essential to enabling us to continue delivering game-changing innovations for our sponsors and our nation.”

DOE Seeks Feedback on Proposed Use of National Laboratories to Spur Regional Innovation Hubs
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DOE Seeks Feedback on Proposed Use of National Laboratories to Spur Regional Innovation Hubs

The Department of Energy Office of Technology Transitions and Office of Science are seeking input on the potential of national laboratories to bolster place-based innovation ecosystems in the U.S.

In an RFI notice published Friday, the agencies said they are looking into leveraging the DOE’s national lab system to help drive regional innovation, which has contributed to economic growth in the country.

Federally funded research and development has given birth to innovation ecosystems in the country, resulting in good-paying jobs, environmental sustainability and new businesses, DOE explained.

To build on this progress, the two offices are soliciting feedback on DOE’s plan to engage and partner with local and regional communities surrounding its laboratories in order to stimulate innovation. 

The strategy will also including expediting the commercialization of breakthrough technologies, launching initiatives in underinvested regions, and providing training and education to a diverse workforce that would be employed by the innovation powerhouses.

OTT and Office of Science are open to RFI responses until March 28.

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CDAO Co-hosts 5th Global Information Dominance Experiments; Craig Martell Quoted
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CDAO Co-hosts 5th Global Information Dominance Experiments; Craig Martell Quoted

The Department of Defense Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Office has teamed up with the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff to launch the fifth iteration of the Global Information Dominance Experiments.

The four-day GIDE V kicked off on Monday and centers on the use of artificial intelligence and machine learning to improve data sharing and integration in joint all-domain command and control, DOD said.

“We want to rapidly improve access to data across the Joint force – from the strategic level to our tactical warfighters,” said Craig Martell, chief digital and artificial intelligence officer. “We want to identify where we may have barriers in policy, security, connectivity, user-interface, or other areas that prohibit data sharing across the Joint force. Second, we want to show how data, analytics, and AI can improve Joint workflows in a variety of missions from global integrated deterrence through targeting and fires.”

The event is held in virtual and in-person settings involving military and civilian personnel from all branches of the U.S. Armed Forces, multiple combatant commands, and duty stations in other parts of the world.

The first four series of GIDE were led by the Northern American Aerospace Defense Command and U.S. Northern Command. CDAO relaunched the event and is hosting three others this year.

AI applications in government acquisition will be discussed at the 4th Annual Artificial Intelligence Summit, hosted by the Potomac Officers Club on Feb. 16. Click on the image below to register.

POC - 4th Annual Artificial Intelligence Summit
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New CISA Office to Help Agencies Implement Supply Chain Risk Management
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New CISA Office to Help Agencies Implement Supply Chain Risk Management

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency has stood up a new office aimed at helping government and industry partners implement policies for managing supply chain risks within their organizations, Federal News Network reported Monday.

Shon Lyublanovits, a former information technology official at the General Services Administration, oversees the project management office for cyber supply chain risk management that operates within CISA’s cybersecurity division.

Lyublanovits, who previously served as IT security subcategory manager and director of the security services division at GSA, said that some federal agencies are still facing challenges with the basics of C-SCRM.

To address this gap, CISA will hold a series of roundtables to guide agencies on how to operationalize C-SCRM,  according to Lyublanovits.

The discussions will be geared toward government employees and industry leaders, as well as state, local, tribal and territorial governments.

“We want to make sure that we’re collectively looking at all of this because again, it isn’t a government problem. It isn’t industry problem. It is a nation problem,” Lyublanovits said.

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Jane Rathbun Named DON Principal Deputy Chief Information Officer
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Jane Rathbun Named DON Principal Deputy Chief Information Officer

Jane Rathbun, formerly chief technology officer at the Department of the Navy, has been appointed to serve as DON’s principal deputy chief information officer, according to a LinkedIn post published Monday.

As CTO, Rathbun helped develop a design concept outlining an integrated framework to achieve digital modernization goals across the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps and implement the reorganization of Program Executive Office Enterprise Information Systems.

Under Rathbun’s leadership, PEO EIS was divided into an office for digital and business technology enterprise services and another for manpower, logistics and business solutions.

Rathbun previously served as deputy assistant secretary of the Navy for information warfare and enterprise services and advised officials on matters related to command, control, communications, computers, intelligence, information operations and Space programs and policy.

Launched in October 2022, the Capstone Design Concept for Information Superiority outlines DON’s vision to optimize DON’s information environment for cloud, adopt enterprise services and implement a zero trust architecture to achieve operational resilience and improve customer experience.

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Rep. Mike McCaul Launches Review of Commerce Agency Over Export Control Licenses
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Rep. Mike McCaul Launches Review of Commerce Agency Over Export Control Licenses

House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Mike McCaul, R-Texas, has initiated a three-month review of the Bureau of Industry and Security within the U.S. Department of Commerce as he seeks a complete accounting of export control licenses that the bureau has granted to China, C4ISRNET reported Monday.

McCaul noted in his Jan. 20 letter to Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo that the agency has provided Congress with a snapshot of China export control approvals and denials over a six-month period.

“It showed that less than 1 percent [of licenses] were declined and $60 billion went into Huawei and $40 billion went to SMIC,” the lawmaker said.

“We do want a reporting requirement because they never report to the public on export licenses,” stated McCaul. “We want a full accounting of that.”

Findings from the review are expected to inform potential reforms to the export control process of the bureau that oversees the sale of sensitive and dual-use equipment.

The Wall Street Journal reported that since 2020, China’s nuclear weapons research institute has managed to buy semiconductors produced by Intel and Nvidia from resellers despite its inclusion in a U.S. export blacklist stretching back to 1997.

WSJ examined procurement documents and found that the state-owned China Academy of Engineering Physics’ laboratory focused on studying computational fluid dynamics—which involves modeling nuclear blasts—purchased many of those chips.

Commerce’s Bureau of Industry and Security said U.S. and foreign entities should conduct due diligence to prevent software and other technologies from ending up into the hands of institutions included in the entity list.

“As mass-market products move through multiple parties in global supply chains, full visibility on ultimate end users is a large undertaking,” the agency commented.

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Lockheed Martin Completes Entirely Digital Production of LM 400 Satellite Bus & Prepares for Testing; Matt Mahlman Quoted
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Lockheed Martin Completes Entirely Digital Production of LM 400 Satellite Bus & Prepares for Testing; Matt Mahlman Quoted

Lockheed Martin has completed an important phase in the development of its first LM 400, a flexible, mid-sized satellite designed to be modified to fit the specialized needs of military, civil or commercial users.

In a step toward the satellite bus’ launch, the digital factory production of the LM 400 has concluded, which moves the initiative toward a planned series of self-funded on-orbit LM 400 technology demonstration missions, the company announced from Denver, Colorado on Tuesday.

Matt Mahlman, director of strategy and capture at Lockheed Martin Space’s Satellite Bus Center of Excellence, enumerated the benefits of the satellite’s completely digital production process, which he said allows the enterprise to produce LM 400s more quickly and cost-effectively for its customers.

To answer the call for more proliferated systems, high-rate production and affordable offerings, Lockheed Martin invested in common satellite designs.

The spacecraft’s agile structure allows a single platform to support a variety of missions, such as remote sensing, communications, imaging, radar and persistent surveillance. Beginning at the size of a home refrigerator, the LM 400 can be scaled to support higher power and larger payloads and prepared to carry multiple satellites in one launch.

Lockheed Martin’s SmartSat, a software-designed satellite architecture, will be included in each LM 400. The technology can conduct onboard “Edge” data processing, which reduces the time it takes to provide actionable data to mission operators and decision-makers on the ground for increased mission adaptability.

Unlike other buses in the same class, the LM400 is able to function in low, medium or geosynchronous earth orbits. It is compatible with a range of launch vehicles in a single, ride-share or multi-launch arrangement.

The satellite is compliant with Modular Open Systems Architecture requirements for interoperability with other platforms across all military branches, which supports the Department of Defense’s Joint All-Domain Command and Control strategy.

In the first LM 400 launch, which is planned for this year, the satellite will host a Lockheed Martin-built narrowband communications Electronically Steered Array payload. The next LM 400 satellite, which is set to launch in 2024, will test synthetic aperture radar-capable ESA on orbit using the LM 400 platform.

“Our end goal is to accelerate the technical maturity of our satellites and advanced payloads, as well as showcase how new capabilities can be delivered quickly to customers,” said Mahlman.

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NGA Harnesses Commercial Capabilities to Advance National Security Via EIM Contract; Shelby Pierson Quoted
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NGA Harnesses Commercial Capabilities to Advance National Security Via EIM Contract; Shelby Pierson Quoted

The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency’s Economic Indicator Monitoring contract is evidence of NGA’s integration of commercial GEOINT, analytics and other platforms and services into its workflows to further advance national security missions and capabilities.

“EIM demonstrates how we can strengthen our national security and global partnerships when we harmonize our government capabilities with those of the commercial sector,” Shelby Pierson, deputy director of NGA’s source management and operations component, said in a statement published Monday.

Under EIM, NGA has broadened its collection and analysis capabilities, enabling the agency to provide situational awareness to GEOINT analysts.

“This type of holistic approach, which was jointly developed by Source and Analysis, uses the full spectrum of tools and diverse sources available to us as a GEOINT community … helping ensure we get the right data to the right users at the right time,’’ Pierson noted.

NGA said it plans to continue procuring unclassified commercial GEOINT using analytical methods, computer vision detections, nontraditional sources and artificial intelligence and machine learning models through EIM.

In November, NGA increased the ceiling value of the EIM contract — which was originally awarded to five vendors in August 2021 — to $60 million.

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