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DIU Taps Greensea Systems, Nauticus Robotics to Develop Unmanned Amphibious Vehicle Prototypes
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DIU Taps Greensea Systems, Nauticus Robotics to Develop Unmanned Amphibious Vehicle Prototypes

The Defense Innovation Unit has selected Greensea Systems and Nauticus Robotics to build prototypes of unmanned amphibious systems for the U.S. Marine Corps to detect, identify and neutralize naval mines and other explosive hazards in surf and on beach landing zones.

DIU said Wednesday the Autonomous Amphibious Response Vehicle project intends to come up with prototypes of unmanned platforms that could interoperate with other underwater drones, underwater surface vehicles and explosive ordance disposal professionals as part of the Littoral Explosive Ordnance Neutralization program.

Greensea will partner with Bayonet Ocean Vehicles to work on the Bayonet-250 crawler prototype.

Nauticus Robotics will team up with VideoRay to develop a concept vehicle, called Terranaut, that would use thrusters to navigate through the seafloor.

USMC will conduct a user assessment of the submitted prototypes by the fall of 2023 and integrate the platforms with mission command systems. The service expects the prototypes to adopt open architecture standards to facilitate interoperability.

The Department of Defense’s innovation arm received 67 proposals for the A2RV program’s rapid prototyping phase.

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White House Unveils National Security Strategy
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White House Unveils National Security Strategy

The White House has released a strategy outlining how the U.S. will protect the security of citizens, defend democratic values and expand economic opportunity.

The U.S. will pursue such objectives under the National Security Strategy by investing in the underlying sources and tools of U.S. power and influence; building a coalition of countries to improve its collective influence to address shared challenges and shape the global strategic environment; and modernizing and strengthening the U.S. military to prepare it for strategic competition, the White House said Wednesday.

For the first line of effort, the U.S. will make investments to help improve the country’s resilience and competitive edge and complement private sector innovation with a modern industrial strategy to facilitate public investments in the country’s workforce, supply chains, strategic sectors and emerging and critical technologies.

With the new strategy, the government will modernize the military, invest in the defense workforce and pursue advanced tech platforms to better defend the homeland, allies and international interests.

The document also outlines how the U.S. will deal with strategic competitors like Russia and China and increase international cooperation to address shared challenges such as climate and energy security, pandemics and biodefense, food insecurity, terrorism and arms control and nonproliferation.

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Empower AI Lands U.S. Army Contract to Evolve National Defense University Systems; Paul Dillahay Quoted
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Empower AI Lands U.S. Army Contract to Evolve National Defense University Systems; Paul Dillahay Quoted

Public sector-serving artificial intelligence technology company Empower AI has booked a task order from the U.S. Army under which it will help update the systems infrastructure of the National Defense University.

The potential $14 million contract expects Empower AI’s team to collaborate with the Army’s Information Systems Engineering Command to renovate a pair of facilities in Virginia and Washington, D.C., the Reston, Virginia-headquartered company said Wednesday.

Paul Dillahay, CEO and president of Empower AI and a multiple time Wash100 Award recipient, described the invitation to work on the project as an “honor,” continuing, “We look forward to providing the Joint Staff and NDU with the technology and services they need to educate and inform our warfighters of national military strategy in a secure, integrated manner.”

Enabled by Empower AI, ISEC intends to modernize the audiovisual toolkit at the Norfolk, Virginia-based Naval Support Activity Hampton Roads and the D.C.-based Fort McNair. Together, they plan to upgrade and overhaul multiple auditoriums found at the two military outposts, conducting system integration, project management, data support and training services.

Additionally, Empower AI has been entrusted to engineer, furnish, install, secure and test command, control, communications, computers and intelligence and information technology systems.

The task order is a function of the Total Engineering and Integration Services IV contract from ISEC.

Empower AI introduced its new brand and nomenclature in June. It was formerly known as NCI Information Systems.

When the company was still operating under its previous name and mission, in August 2021, it won a prime position on the U.S. Navy’s SeaPort-Next Generation contract vehicle, which is worth $7.5 billion and supports Navy and Marine Corps needs in the areas of program management, engineering and 21 other categories. Empower AI will continue to compete for task orders under the Seaport-NxG for at least one more year and potentially several years after that.

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DOE Boosts Bandwith, Adds New Capabilities to Fiber Network ESnet
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DOE Boosts Bandwith, Adds New Capabilities to Fiber Network ESnet

The Department of Energy’s Energy Sciences Network has upgraded the high-speed network infrastructure that serves DOE national laboratories, scientists and researchers nationwide.

ESnet6 boosts the network’s bandwidth to more than 46 terabits per second to speed up the processing, sharing and visualization of research data from experiments, modeling and simulations, the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory said Tuesday.

The network also includes new capabilities including an expanded fiber optic backbone, network automation platform, network security features and real-time telemetry.

“With ESnet6, DOE researchers are equipped with the most sophisticated technology to help tackle the grand challenges we face today in areas like climate science, clean energy, semiconductor production, microelectronics, the discovery of quantum information science, and more,” said Barbara Helland, associate director of the DOE Office of Science’s Advanced Scientific Computing Research program.

DOE officially unveiled ESnet6 during an event attended by department officials, Berkeley Lab leaders and representatives from local, state and federal government agencies. 

During the event, DOE demonstrated the ability of ESnet6’s new automation platform to configure network paths to support the transfer of massive datasets across the country in less than two minutes.

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GSA, DOE Seek Clean Energy Technologies to Reduce Carbon Emissions; Robin Carnahan Quoted
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GSA, DOE Seek Clean Energy Technologies to Reduce Carbon Emissions; Robin Carnahan Quoted

The General Services Administration and the Department of Energy are seeking input from the private sector on clean energy technologies designed to help reduce commercial buildings’ greenhouse gas emissions and strengthen grid resilience.

In a request for information, the agencies said they are looking for emerging technologies that could reduce greenhouse gas and carbon emissions, generate and store clean energy, enable building electrification and improve operating efficiency, GSA said Tuesday.

The technologies must be commercially available and ready for integration into operational buildings. They will be evaluated for inclusion in the GSA Green Proving Ground (GPG)
program or DOE-facilitated voluntary partnership programs.

The RFI follows the recent passage of the Inflation Reduction Act that allocates $3.3 billion for the integration of low-carbon materials and sustainable technologies into federal buildings.

“The Inflation Reduction Act will provide even more opportunities for us to transform federal buildings into high-performing, high-tech testbeds for clean energy innovation,” said GSA Administrator Robin Carnahan.

Responses are due Dec. 9.

Biden Administration Outlines Agenda for Arctic Region Through 2032
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Biden Administration Outlines Agenda for Arctic Region Through 2032

The Biden administration has released an updated national strategy that sets the U.S. goals and priorities for the Arctic region over the next 10 years.

The National Strategy for the Arctic Region, an update to the 2013 strategy from the Obama administration, outlines four strategic pillars: security, climate change and environmental protection, sustainable economic development and international cooperation and governance, the White House said Friday.

Under the first pillar, the U.S. plans to enhance and exercise its military and civilian capabilities and strengthen partnerships with allies and partners to protect its interests in the region.

To address climate change concerns, the strategy highlights the importance of cooperation with Alaskan communities and the state of Alaska to build climate resilience.

The U.S. will also work with allies to support investment and sustainable development across the region to spur economic growth.

“In particular, we will invest in infrastructure, improve access to services, and support the development of industries that expand economic opportunity for local communities, support the energy transition, and build the resilience of U.S. supply chains,” the strategy states.

For the final pillar, the U.S. will work to sustain the Arctic Council and other Arctic institutions and agreements and uphold international law and standards in the region.

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GovCon Expert Chuck Brooks Explores Influence of Quantum Technology for Web3, Metaverse Capabilities
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GovCon Expert Chuck Brooks Explores Influence of Quantum Technology for Web3, Metaverse Capabilities

Chuck Brooks, a highly esteemed cybersecurity leader as well as an influential member of Executive Mosaic’s GovCon Expert program, recently published his latest feature detailing the new technological innovations that are creating rapid, secure and scalable communications to revolutionize Web3 and the Metaverse along with quantum computing capabilities.

In his most recent feature article with BizCatalyst360, GovCon Expert Chuck Brooks disclosed that it’s being estimated that the growth in the metaverse and virtual goods and services will take an aggregated market share of more than 80 percent by 2030.

During the feature, Brooks mentioned a company called QDEx Labs, which is working to set a new standard for Internet users by providing a quantum secure, self-defending resilient digital infrastructure that removes complexity for organizations and end users alike.

GovCon Expert Chuck Brooks explained that the company’s offerings called the ‘QNTYM Railway’ is working to replace the current internet digital infrastructure that is limited by latency and energy consumption while offering a digital backbone for Web3 and the Metaverse.”

“The underpinnings of QDEx Labs’ QNTYM Railway is, to my knowledge, the only known quantum secure, self-defending digital infrastructure allowing for the proliferation/enablement of Web3, the Metaverse, and quantum computing technologies with a goal of transforming total global digital infrastructure,” Brooks explained.

In addition, Brooks also mentioned that Retired U.S. Navy Rear Admiral Michael Brown also reviewed the QNTYM Railway approach and detailed how the strategy has great promise and potential to solve many of the security issues that we’re facing today in the quantum world.

“We are fast approaching the time when quantum computing begins to severely degrade and eventually completely disregard current encryption algorithms and technology used to secure our critical data,” Brown explained.

GovCon Expert Chuck Brooks expressed his excitement for the continued development for Web3 and the Metaverse that having seen the QNTYM Railway in action as the market grows toward 2030.

“Having invented the advanced, intelligent, digital infrastructure of the QNTYM Railway, QDEx Labs is now setting a quantum secure foundation for the future integration of quantum technologies,” Brooks concluded. “I am eager to see what lies ahead as we approach a new exponential digital era that is already transforming our lives as we know it. More to come soon!”

About GovCon Expert Chuck Brooks

Chuck Brooks, president of Brooks Consulting International, is a globally recognized thought leader and subject matter expert in Cybersecurity and Emerging Technologies.

Chuck is also Adjunct Faculty at Georgetown University’s Graduate Cybersecurity Risk Management Program where he teaches courses on risk management, homeland security technologies, and cybersecurity.

He is also IEEE Cyber Security for Next Generation Connectivity Systems for Quantum IOT Vice-Chair and serves as the Quantum Security Alliance Chair for IoT. LinkedIn named Chuck one of “The Top 5 Tech People to Follow on LinkedIn.”

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Mona Harrington Appointed Full-Time Assistant Director of National Risk Management Center
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Mona Harrington Appointed Full-Time Assistant Director of National Risk Management Center

Mona Harrington, acting assistant director of the National Risk Management Center since March, has been appointed to the role on a full-time basis.

Jen Easterly, director of CISA and a 2022 Wash100 Award winner, announced Harrington’s appointment Friday.

“The cyber and physical risks facing our nation’s critical infrastructure are vast and complex; NRMC’s work is essential to ensuring our collective resources are having the greatest impact on security and resilience,” Easterly said.

Harrington joined the agency in February as deputy assistant director for the NRMC, which launched in 2018 and coordinates with both the public and private sectors in efforts to defend U.S. critical infrastructure operations against security threats.

Her prior government experience includes time as assistant circuit executive for information technology at the U.S. Court of Appeals and executive director and chief information and security officer at the U.S. Election Assistance Commission.

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NASA Reports Change in Asteroid’s Orbit After DART Spacecraft’s Impact; Lori Glaze Quoted
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NASA Reports Change in Asteroid’s Orbit After DART Spacecraft’s Impact; Lori Glaze Quoted

Data analysis shows that the collision of NASA’s Double Asteroid Redirection Test spacecraft with its target asteroid moonlet Dimorphos changed the asteroid’s orbit.

Dimorphos, which does not pose a threat to Earth, took 11 hours and 55 minutes to orbit a larger asteroid dubbed Didymos and with DART’s impact, that time was shortened to 11 hours and 23 minutes, NASA said Wednesday.

“This result is one important step toward understanding the full effect of DART’s impact with its target asteroid” said Lori Glaze, director of NASA’s planetary science division. 

“As new data come in each day, astronomers will be able to better assess whether, and how, a mission like DART could be used in the future to help protect Earth from a collision with an asteroid if we ever discover one headed our way,” added Glaze.

The DART investigation team is now looking at the efficiency of momentum transfer from the spacecraft’s 14,000-mile per hour collision with its target asteroid. Astronomers will also investigate Dimorphos imagery from the spacecraft’s terminal approach and from the Light Italian CubeSat for Imaging of Asteroids or LICIACube to get an estimate of the asteroid’s mass and shape.

The Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory developed and operated the DART spacecraft. APL also oversees the DART mission for the space agency’s planetary defense coordination office.

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New DARPA Program Looks to Improve Power Efficiency in Space
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New DARPA Program Looks to Improve Power Efficiency in Space

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency has launched a three-phase program to find new technologies that can help increase the efficiency of point-of-load power converters used in space.

The Space Power Conversion Electronics program will look at novel devices, designs and engineering to improve the conversion of usable power in radiated space environments, DARPA said Friday.

POL power efficiency declines to as low as 60 percent because of radiation hardening, a form of thermal management to offload heat generated from space-based power consumption, the agency noted.

DARPA intends for the resulting technology to extend the battery life of small low-Earth orbit satellites despite harsh terrains and help provide more electricity to advanced space mission systems.

The first phase of the effort will run for 20 months and focus on creating radiation-tolerant, high-performance, high-voltage transistors.

The second phase will involve low-loss integration development, followed by the demonstration of a high-efficiency conversion circuit to be done during the final phase.

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