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Ukraine War Prompts US Industry, DOD to Invest in Explosive Material Production
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Ukraine War Prompts US Industry, DOD to Invest in Explosive Material Production

The Pentagon and the defense industry have initiated efforts to increase production of high-end explosives and such initiatives include reestablishing domestic supply chains and refurbishing factories, The Wall Street Journal reported Sunday.

The war in Ukraine has prompted the Department of Defense to expand the manufacturing and use of an explosive material called CL-20 to help address the “molecule gap” with China.

Developed during the 1980s, CL-20 has been used as a material in a warhead that equips AeroVironment-built Switchblade drones, which have been deployed in Ukraine to counter Russian forces.

According to the report, CL-20 could provide shells with greater range and generate a bigger explosion since it is up to 40 percent more powerful than older energetics.

Rep. Mike Gallagher, R-Wis., plans to advance CL-20 adoption by introducing an amendment to the fiscal 2024 defense policy measure that would require DOD to launch a pilot program that incorporates the explosive material into three of its preferred munitions or missile systems.

Sources said the utilization of CL-20 improved the lethality of the Switchblade drones deployed to Ukraine to counter tanks and other armored vehicles.

Gallagher added that the use of CL-20 in the Ukraine war effort helped back the case to expand the use of the explosive material.

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Heads of State Highlight Major Initiatives in Infrastructure, Emerging Tech at Quad Leaders’ Summit
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Heads of State Highlight Major Initiatives in Infrastructure, Emerging Tech at Quad Leaders’ Summit

President Joe Biden and the heads of state of Australia, Japan and India met on Saturday in Hiroshima, Japan, for the fifth Quad Leaders’ Summit to discuss key initiatives in infrastructure, critical and emerging technologies, maritime security, space, climate, public-private partnership and health in the Indo-Pacific region.

The infrastructure aspect includes the establishment of the Quad Partnership for Cable Connectivity and Resilience to help improve access to secure cable systems and provide better internet connectivity in the region, according to a White House fact sheet published Saturday.

A network of executives and leaders, called the Quad Investors Network, has officially launched to advance technology partnerships and accelerate access to capital.

QUIN marked its launch with the establishment of an advisory panel composed of investment and business leaders and five working groups in the areas of artificial intelligence, clean energy and critical minerals, mobile networks, semiconductors and quantum information sciences.

The Quad Investors Network Advisory Board includes Leidos CEO Thomas Bell; Jim Breyer, founder and CEO of Breyer Capital; and Jeong Kim, former president of Bell Labs.

Other initiatives highlighted at the event are the deployment of a commercial Open RAN in Palau and launch of the Quad Health Security Partnership and Quad Cyber Challenge.

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Report: DOD Can Ship More Weapons to Ukraine With $3B Accounting Error
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Report: DOD Can Ship More Weapons to Ukraine With $3B Accounting Error

The Department of Defense overestimated the value of missiles, ammunition and other equipment it handed over to Ukraine in support of its defense against Russian invasion by approximately $3 billion, Reuters reported Thursday.

“We’ve discovered inconsistencies in how we value the equipment that we’ve given” to Ukraine, a senior DOD official told the news agency.

According to the report, the accounting adjustment could facilitate the delivery of more U.S. weapons to the European country in support of the latter’s defense efforts against Russia.

The defense officials said the department estimated the weapons assistance to Kyiv using replacement cost, instead of using the value of the equipment when they were procured and depreciated.

According to sources, Congress has been notified of the accounting error.

The U.S. has transmitted about $21.1 billion worth of weapons derived from its stockpiles to Ukraine since August 2021.

DOE-DOT Joint Office Unveils $51M Funding Opportunity to Advance Transportation Electrification
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DOE-DOT Joint Office Unveils $51M Funding Opportunity to Advance Transportation Electrification

The Joint Office of Energy and Transportation has launched a $51 million grant program funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to advance the electrification of the U.S. transportation sector and stimulate private sector investments in sustainable transportation.

The Ride and Drive Electric program will provide funding to validate and test charging equipment, advance business models for electrification and shared mobility and create job opportunities and training resources for underserved communities, the Department of Energy said Thursday.

“Rapidly modernizing and electrifying key parts of our transportation sector is how we’ll meet consumer needs and achieve widespread electrification,” said Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm.

Pete Buttigieg, secretary of the Department of Transformation, said the funding opportunity will help ensure that the public has access to the benefits of transport electrification.

The Joint Office also funded DOE’s Idaho National Laboratory to lead the newly launched National Charging Experience Consortium, which brings together a cross-industry group of companies and organizations to enhance electric vehicle charging experience across the U.S.

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Small Businesses Urge Congress to Reinstate R&D Tax Incentives
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Small Businesses Urge Congress to Reinstate R&D Tax Incentives

The Aerospace Industries Association’s 35 small business members have called on Congress to act on two bills that would restore tax incentives for research and development work.

The owners and executives of aerospace and defense companies stated in a letter to congressional leaders the impact of a recent tax change on their investment in advancing innovation, AIA said Monday.

They said the tax change would require their businesses to amortize R&D expenses over five years instead of getting a full tax deduction for such expenses in the year incurred.

“These higher tax bills greatly reduce our cash flow — meaning that we will struggle to hire and retain qualified talent, and for some of us, we will need to take out loans to cover these larger-than-expected expenses. Additionally, we will have fewer dollars to invest into the future R&D that will keep our country on the cutting edge of aerospace and defense technologies — and ahead of our foreign competitors,” the letter reads.

The companies urged Congress to bring the American Innovation and Jobs Act and American Innovation and R&D Competitiveness Act to the floor to address the impact of the new tax policy.

“These bills offer a critical lifeline not only to us, but also to American small businesses across every industry and from every part of the country,” the businesses wrote in the letter.

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GAO: 4 Federal Agencies Fall Short of Implementing Key Cloud Security Practices
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GAO: 4 Federal Agencies Fall Short of Implementing Key Cloud Security Practices

The Government Accountability Office investigated the Departments of the Treasury, Agriculture, Homeland Security, and Labor, and found that they did not fully implement all of their key cloud security practices.

In a report published Thursday, GAO said that the gaps in implementation could increase their susceptibility to cyberattacks.

DHS fully executed three out of six key measures across all its systems, including defining security responsibilities and documenting incident response and recovery procedures. However, the agency only partially executed two of the practices, and was not at all performing continuous monitoring.

The Labor Department also practiced three key measures across the board, but GAO noted the absence of efforts to meet FedRAMP requirements in all of its cloud systems.

The Agriculture Department only had two cloud security practices fully implemented, while the Treasury Department only partially practiced all the security procedures across its cloud services.

The government watchdog recommended 35 plans of action, including consistent monitoring of software-as-a-service applications and alignment of performance metrics with the agencies’ service level agreements with cloud providers.

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State Department Introduces Action Plan to Improve Foreign Military Sales Process
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State Department Introduces Action Plan to Improve Foreign Military Sales Process

The State Department has released a 10-point plan aimed at retooling its oversight of the foreign military sales process amid escalating strategic competition.

The action plan, called “FMS 2023,” issued by the department’s bureau of political-military affairs, includes initiatives that seek to improve the efficiency and competitiveness of FMS in the areas of strategic planning, case adjudication and implementation of current and future FMS cases,

The list includes developing a regional approach to arms transfers; prioritizing cases for FMS based on national security strategy goals; refining the implementation of the unmanned aerial system export policy; improving security cooperation officer training; modernizing the congressional notification process; and limiting special security arrangements.

The State Department said it evaluates and approves 95 percent of FMS cases and the action plan intends to improve how the process can be enhanced for the remaining 5 percent.

Wendy Sherman, deputy secretary at the State Department, said the department is working to push targeted reforms to address those remaining cases through the FMS 2023 strategy, according to a report by the Wall Street Journal.

“We are exploring how we can improve the remaining cases, how we can simplify complex policy issues, how we can coordinate with the Defense Department and other agencies to support your industry as you scale up operations,” Sherman noted.

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Elsevier’s Muctar Ibrahim Talks Leadership Strategy, Business Challenges & More
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Elsevier’s Muctar Ibrahim Talks Leadership Strategy, Business Challenges & More

As solution sales manager for Elsevier Research Intelligence’s North American business, Muctar Ibrahim guides the sale of products designed to support organizations and professionals working to establish, execute and evaluate their research strategy and performance.

Ibrahim recently participated in an interview with the Potomac Officers Club, in which he illuminated the challenges on the business side of innovation, highlighted his core values and offered advice to those looking to advance their careers.

In this excerpt from the interview, Ibrahim notes two areas that companies should be focused on:

“With emerging technologies evolving at an unprecedented pace, businesses must adapt quickly to remain competitive. However, they also need to balance the need for speed with the need for quality and reliability. Rushing to market with a new product or service before it is fully developed can lead to costly mistakes and damage to a company’s reputation. As technology evolves, so do the skills required to innovate and stay ahead of the curve. This means that businesses need to invest in training and development programs to keep their employees’ skills up to date. However, it can be challenging to find and attract the right talent, particularly in fields like artificial intelligence and cybersecurity, which are in high demand.”

For more of Ibrahim’s insights, read the full Executive Spotlight interview on the Potomac Officers Club website.

Each Potomac Officers Club member has the opportunity to participate in their very own Executive Spotlight interview! To learn more about membership options and benefits, click here.

Report Calls for Restriction of US Investments in China
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Report Calls for Restriction of US Investments in China

The National Security Institute at George Mason University released a decision memo calling for the restriction of U.S. investments into certain Chinese technological industries to avert potential homeland security risks.

NSI warned that U.S. capital could be exploited by the Chinese Communist Party to dominate the market for semiconductors, decryption, quantum computing and even military technologies that could later be used against the U.S.

The Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States was given broader jurisdictional scope in 2018 to boost its effectiveness in reviewing investment into the U.S. by countries of concern such as China, Russia, North Korea and Iran.

However, the interagency committee does not have standard policy on assessing outbound investments into such nations, according to NSI’s report.

The institute advised the government and private sector to solidify plans to create a system for screening or vetting investments into Chinese businesses. It expressed support for a possible executive order that would limit such transactions, and suggested monetary penalties for entities that would violate the outbound investment EO.

NSI suggested the ban should encompass Chinese product areas that are included in the National Science and Technology Council’s Critical and Emerging Technologies List Update.

Gen. Paul Nakasone Outlines Priorities to Boost Cyberspace Posture
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Gen. Paul Nakasone Outlines Priorities to Boost Cyberspace Posture

Gen. Paul Nakasone, commander of U.S. Cyber Command and a seven-time Wash100 awardee, has outlined his priorities for the command to enhance warfighting advantage in cyberspace.

The commander’s focus areas center on building a mission-ready workforce; enhancing partnerships with combatant commands, government agencies and industry; and exercising the command’s full range of authorities to support national security missions, CYBERCOM said Thursday.

Nakasone is attempting to build a future workforce through readiness, resilience and mission improvement and work in unison with the National Security Agency to remain agile and ready in cyberspace.

His priorities are aligned with the National Defense Strategy and support the command’s mission to coordinate and synchronize its cyberspace planning and operations.

CYBERCOM also updated its Challenge Problem Set for 2023, which presents six categories, each capturing specific skill sets and expertise to align with external commercial and academic research and development efforts.

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