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Lockheed Martin Finalizes $30B Contract for F-35 Aircraft Delivery with DOD; Bridget Lauderdale Quoted
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Lockheed Martin Finalizes $30B Contract for F-35 Aircraft Delivery with DOD; Bridget Lauderdale Quoted

Lockheed Martin and the F-35 Joint Program Office have finalized a $30 billion contract for the production and delivery of up to 398 F-35 aircraft.

The contract includes the U.S., its international partners and Foreign Military Sales aircraft in Lots 15 and 16, with the option for Lot 17, Lockheed Martin announced from Arlington, Virginia last week.

“Continuing to add new countries to our global F-35 fleet further validates the capability and affordability of this aircraft in providing 21st Century Security to nations and allies,” emphasized Bridget Lauderdale, vice president and general manager of Lockheed Martin’s F-35 program.

Under the award, Lockheed Martin will provide 145 aircraft for Lot 15, 127 for Lot 16 and up to 126 for the Lot 17 option, which includes the first F-35 aircraft for Belgium, Finland and Poland.

These aircraft will be the first to contain Technical Refresh-3, a modernized hardware necessary for utilizing Block 4 capabilities. The technology is equipped with a novel integrated core processor with strong computing power, a panoramic cockpit display and an improved memory unit.

Aircraft provided under the agreement will expand the global F-35 fleet, which reached 894 vessels following 141 deliveries in 2022. 

In the same year, Finland, Germany and Switzerland signed Letters of Offer and Acceptance to progress their procurement of F-35 aircraft.

“The F-35 is the world’s premier multi-mission, 5th-generation weapon system, and the modernized Block 4 capabilities these new aircraft will bring to bear strengthens not just capability, but interoperability with our allies and partners across land, sea, air and cyber domains,” said U.S. Air Force Lt. Gen. Mike Schmidt, program executive officer of the F-35 Joint Program Office.

With participants across 17 countries, the F-35 program has trained nearly 2,000 pilots and more than 13,000 maintenance personnel. The fleet holds a total flight time of over 602,000 cumulative hours.

Lockheed Martin Finalizes $30B Contract for F-35 Aircraft Delivery with DOD; Bridget Lauderdale Quoted

Lockheed Martin is sponsoring GovCon Wire’s 2023 Space Acquisition Forum, which will bring experts in the field together to address global challenges, technological developments, emerging best practices and new threats within the space acquisition on January 18. To learn more about the virtual event and register to attend, please visit GovCon Wire’s events page.

DOD to Establish Digital Academy to Expand Cyber Workforce
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DOD to Establish Digital Academy to Expand Cyber Workforce

The Department of Defense will establish a digital academy to close the cybersecurity skills gap in the U.S. military under the recently signed defense authorization bill for fiscal year 2023, Federal News Network said Friday.

The newly minted Department of Defense Cyber and Digital Service Academy will provide scholarships to university students in exchange for five years of service in a civilian position focused on digital technology and cyber at the Pentagon. 

Under the program, DOD will promote cyber and digital service training in higher education by providing free tuition, books, laboratory expenses and other school fees.

Academy participants will also receive financial assistance for completing their internships while earning their degrees. 

Failing to complete the required service commitments will result in reimbursing the government.

The 2023 National Defense Authorization Act also outlines a plan for creating a consortium of universities that will be tasked with advising the secretary of defense on matters related to cybersecurity.

The defense authorization bill, signed into law on Dec. 23, allocates nearly $817 billion to DOD, $30.3 billion for national security programs in the Department of Energy and the Defense Nuclear Facilities Safety Board and $378 million for other defense-related activities.

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Peraton Books $2.3B DCSA Award for Background Investigation Services; Stu Shea Quoted
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Peraton Books $2.3B DCSA Award for Background Investigation Services; Stu Shea Quoted

Peraton has won a $2.25 billion contract from the Defense Counterintelligence and Security Agency for background investigation field work services.

Under the five-year contract, Peraton will be responsible for supporting multiple different types of government background verifications through the provision of these services, the Reston, Virginia-based organization announced on Tuesday.

“As the incumbent for this contract and bringing over 19 years of experience as the leading industry provider, Peraton is proud to continue our relationship with the largest cleared network of nationwide background investigator services,” said Stu Shea, the company’s chairman, president and CEO and a six-time Wash100 Award winner.

“This award is a testament of our continued partnership to enhance DSCA’s mission success and provide comprehensive background investigation support services,” he added.

Specific government suitability determinations expected to be impacted by Peraton’s work include those regarding government employment, government contract personnel assignments, U.S. Armed Forces personnel acceptance and trusted access permission for federal facilities, information and information systems.

These duties will support DCSA’s role as the federal government’s primary investigative service provider. The agency performs over two million investigations each year for civilian and military applicants and employees, which includes contractors and consultants.

DCSA awarded CACI a parallel contract amounting to the same value and operating within the same time frame. Both are firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity awards expected to be completed in December 2027.

Peraton has previously worked with DCSA. In 2021, the company took over a $500 million contract originally awarded to its subsidiary, Perspecta, to build a modernized, central platform intended to enhance the background investigation process.

Treasury Department & IRS Clarify Clean Vehicle Tax Benefit Rules Under Inflation Reduction Act
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Treasury Department & IRS Clarify Clean Vehicle Tax Benefit Rules Under Inflation Reduction Act

The Department of the Treasury and the Internal Revenue Service have published information detailing specific provisions in the Inflation Reduction Act to guide individuals and businesses that are eligible for clean vehicle tax benefits.

This information was released by the agency on Thursday and includes frequently asked questions and notices regarding the incremental cost and proposed regulations for eligible vehicles. 

As noted on the FAQ page, manufacturers have listed clean vehicles that they said meet the requirements for the tax credit. The agencies recommend that consumers should regularly check the list, which will be updated throughout the coming days and weeks.

The tax credit for commercial clean vehicles has a maximum of $7,500 for vehicles weighing below 14,000 pounds, while all other commercial clean vehicles can qualify for up to $40,000 in credit. It may still vary depending on whether the vehicle is gas or diesel-powered.

Regulations on the tax credit for new clean vehicles will also be introduced, including definitions to educate consumers about the changes.

The act will take effect January 1.

DHS, Shooter Detection Systems Develop Technology for Improved Response to Gun Violence; Dimitri Kusnezov Quoted
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DHS, Shooter Detection Systems Develop Technology for Improved Response to Gun Violence; Dimitri Kusnezov Quoted

The Department of Homeland Security‘s Science and Technology Directorate and Shooter Detection Systems have completed the development of a portable outdoor gunshot detection technology that is able to quickly supply information regarding outdoor shooting incidents to first responders.

The novel SDS Outdoor System can be deployed for temporary events including pop-up rallies, open-field concerts and other situations that lack infrastructure or fixed deployment support, the department announced on Thursday.

“Many U.S. gunshot detection technologies are not easily deployed in the field or at temporary locations,” DHS Undersecretary of Science and Technology Dimitri Kusnezov said. 

“This mobile capability will help responders approach gun violence incidents with greater awareness, reducing response times and increasing responder safety,” he emphasized.

SDS Outdoor is an improved version of the commercial Guardian Indoor Active Shooter Detection System. Its dependence not just on the sound, but also on the flash of a gunshot, minimizes the risk of detecting false positives. 

Last month, the technology underwent trials conducted by the directorate’s National Urban Security Technology Laboratory and the First Responder Technology Program in an Operational Field Assessment at Fort Dix, New Jersey. Feedback from the testing was used to make the system more effective.

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NIH Looks to Expand Cloud-Based Initiative With Future Data Management Policy; Susan Gregurick Quoted
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NIH Looks to Expand Cloud-Based Initiative With Future Data Management Policy; Susan Gregurick Quoted

The National Institutes of Health is working to implement a new data management policy in 2023, which will direct researchers to come up with plans for their data sharing and management activities and expand an initiative that explores the use of cloud in research, GovCIO Media & Research reported Wednesday.

Launched in 2018, the NIH’s Science and Technology Research Infrastructure for Discovery, Experimentation and Sustainability Initiative has used cloud computing platforms to streamline data access and use for the agency.

“One of our goals going forward now that we have STRIDES is to really broaden it and think about how all researchers in biomedical science can benefit from the cloud, but it’s going to take time and effort,” said Susan Gregurick, director of the NIH’s office of data science strategy.

Gregurick said she believes the policy will result in a culture change among researchers.

“We anticipate researchers will be sharing the data and the results from their scientific endeavors, and we want the data that makes your research reproduceable even if that data is not published,” she emphasized.

The policy will go into effect on January 25.

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CISA Updates Known Exploited Vulnerabilities Catalog With 2 New Additions
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CISA Updates Known Exploited Vulnerabilities Catalog With 2 New Additions

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency has added two known exploited cyber vulnerabilities posing serious risks to federal agencies to its catalog.

Federal civilian executive branch agencies are ordered to address the newly identified vulnerabilities by January 19 to protect their networks against active cyberthreats in compliance with the Binding Operational Directive 22-01, CISA said Thursday.

Vulnerabilities discovered include an information disclosure vulnerability in the TIBCO JasperReports Server as well as a directory traversal vulnerability in the TIBCO JasperReports Library.

While BOD 22-01 is only applicable to federal agencies, CISA suggests that all organizations correct these vulnerabilities in a timely manner.

Sen. Jerry Moran Appointed Co-Chair of Senate Army Caucus; Sen. Jack Reed Quoted
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Sen. Jerry Moran Appointed Co-Chair of Senate Army Caucus; Sen. Jack Reed Quoted

Senator Jerry Moran, R-Kan., a senior member of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Defense and member of the United States Military Academy Board of Visitors, has been appointed to succeed Sen. Jim Inhofe, R-Okla. as co-chair of the Senate Army Caucus, Moran’s office said Thursday.

The bipartisan caucus is composed of over 30 senators from across the nation and advocates for initiatives intended to advance the U.S. Army goals.

Co-Chair Sen. Jack Reed, D-R.I. said Moran has been a “steadfast advocate” for the U.S. soldiers in the Senate.

“The Army is fundamentally a ‘People First’ organization, and the Senate Army Caucus is committed to supporting our soldiers, their families and our Army civilians and veterans. Sen. Moran will be a tremendous partner in this endeavor,” emphasized Reed.

To craft legislation in line with Army priorities, the caucus meets with the service’s leadership to receive timely information regarding the military branch’s readiness and evaluate soldier quality of life programs.

Inhofe, who currently serves on the Senate Armed Services Committee, announced in February that he is retiring from the Senate on Jan. 3, 2023.

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Senators Propose Federal Reserve Accountability Act
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Senators Propose Federal Reserve Accountability Act

U.S. Senators Kevin Cramer, R-N.D. and Pat Toomey, R-Pa. have introduced a bill that seeks to reform the Federal Reserve System as part of efforts to improve accountability and prevent political bias in the system.

The Federal Reserve Accountability Act would make the general counsel of the Federal Reserve Board of Governors and presidents of regional Federal Reserve banks presidentially appointed positions that would require confirmation from the Senate, Kramer’s office said Thursday.

Other changes requested in the legislation include reducing the number of regional Federal Reserve banks from 12 to five to enable more thorough congressional oversight and applying the Anti-Lobbying Act to the system’s Board of Governors and regional banks.

Also included in the bill are new residency requirements for presidents of these regional banks intended to strengthen geographic diversity within the reserve’s Board of Governors.

Senators Mike Lee, R-Utah, Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo, Thom Tillis, R-N.C., Bill Hagerty, R-Tenn. and Ted Cruz, R-Texas joined Cramer and Toomey in proposing the legislation.

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Former NAVSEA Comptroller Karla Horn Named Navy International Programs Office Executive Director
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Former NAVSEA Comptroller Karla Horn Named Navy International Programs Office Executive Director

Karla Horn, former comptroller of the Naval Sea Systems Command, has been appointed as executive director of the Navy International Programs Office, according to a LinkedIn post published Thursday.

In this role, Horn will help oversee the management and implementation of international security assistance programs, cooperative development programs and technology security policy to further the office’s goal of aiding Navy leadership efforts to build maritime partnerships.

At NAVSEA, Horn was responsible for the budgeting, execution and accounting for all shipbuilding and ship modernization funding along with foreign military sales of over $33 billion annually and the $8 billion Working Capital Fund budget in support of 10 naval warfare centers.

She served as comptroller of Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command from June 2014 to October 2016, during which she advised SPAWAR and its associated Navy Program Executive Offices on financial management and other business matters.

Horn’s experience also includes positions such as associate director for ground, sea and other programs for the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense (Comptroller) Investment Directorate and budget analyst for the OUSD Comptroller and the Navy Comptroller.

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