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MDA Issues Multiple Authority Announcement for Advanced Missile Defense Tech
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MDA Issues Multiple Authority Announcement for Advanced Missile Defense Tech

The Missile Defense Agency has introduced its first Multiple Authority Announcement.

According to a notice posted on SAM.gov Thursday, MDA aims to utilize the MAA to offer a comprehensive acquisition strategy supporting a variety of technical efforts.

The MAA is a vehicle designed to enable the MDA and Department of Defense agencies to explore various forms of unconventional acquisition methods consolidated under a single announcement. This includes broad agency announcement, commercial solutions opening, cooperative research and development agreement, other transaction agreement and procurement for experimental purpose. This competitive approach is intended for the pursuit of disruptive technologies and rapid development and deployment of advanced capabilities from alternative sources.

Enhancing Missile Defense Against Advanced Threats

MDA is focused on the development and deployment of a multi-layered missile defense system to address emerging advanced missile threats, including unknown missiles and advanced warheads with unpredictable trajectories and other advanced features. The agency aims to develop technology more advanced than existing and future threats such as innovative sensors for early threat detection, kinetic, non-kinetic and directed energy systems for ballistic and non-ballistic missile interception, and efficient battle management and control and command systems for effective coordination.

Potential projects that can be solicited under the MAA include kinetic and hypersonic defense, command and control battle management, integrated non-kinetic and electronic warfare, disruptive technologies and systems, and international missile defense system cooperation. Other possible topic areas include space-based sensors, interceptors and effectors, digital revolution and radiation effects, and heavy ion, proton and pulsed neutron single event effects on electronic devices.

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FCC Opens Inquiry on PNT Technologies as GPS Alternative
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FCC Opens Inquiry on PNT Technologies as GPS Alternative

The Federal Communications Commission will assess commercial technologies providing position, navigation and timing, or PNT, data through an inquiry it launched Thursday. The notice of inquiry seeks to explore potential alternatives or methods complementary to the Global Positioning System used widely and vulnerable to adversarial disruption or manipulation, FCC said in its NOI launching statement.

Looking at PNT Approaches, Tradeoffs 

Through the notice, the commission will look into the various PNT technologies being developed by government entities and industry players using FCC-licensed spectrum, such as broadcasters and wireless operators. The NOI is also geared to solicit comments on emerging PNT technologies’ tradeoffs on such factors as geographic coverage, performance, adoption, commercialization and cost. 

The specific input that FCC wants from the inquiry includes comments on space-based approaches for PNT resiliency, such as medium Earth and low Earth orbit satellite systems. Comments on terrestrial methods for resilient PNT operation, like harnessing ground-based transmitters, is another point of interest in the commission’s inquiry.  

With the NOI’s input, FCC plans to establish a comprehensive lineup of possible measures for strengthening GPS and promoting PNT technologies. Its potential actions could include rule revisions and public–private partnerships, the commission said.

Government & Private Sector Collaboration 

Brendan Carr, FCC chairman, said the NOI’s emphasis is on systems complementary to GPS. “Beyond answering technical questions, we hope this effort will engage stakeholders across government and industry to encourage the development of new PNT technologies and solutions,” added the FCC head.

One PNT project that advanced recently to the manufacturing and deployment phase involves the U.S. Army’s Mounted Assured, Positioning, Navigation and Timing System Generation, with Collins Aerospace as the service branch’s partner vendor. In February, the Department of Homeland Security’s Science and Technology directorate also issued a guide on best approaches to PNT services for critical infrastructure. 

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Katherine Sutton Nominated for DOD Cyber Policy Role
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Katherine Sutton Nominated for DOD Cyber Policy Role

President Donald Trump has nominated Katherine Sutton, a cyber policy and technology expert, to serve as assistant secretary of defense for cyber policy.

Congress received Sutton’s nomination for the Department of Defense position on Monday and referred it to the Senate Armed Services Committee.

If confirmed, Sutton would oversee DOD’s policy for cyber operations and concurrently serve as principal cyber adviser to the secretary of defense.

Katherine Sutton’s Career Background

Sutton has been serving as chief technology adviser to the commander and director of Pentagon operations at U.S. Cyber Command since 2023. In this capacity, she advises the commander on the development of engineering policies and strategies to execute the command’s authorities for acquisition, workforce management, service-like functions and enhanced budget control.

She has over two decades of experience in cyber policy, technology development and legislative oversight.

Before joining USCYBERCOM, the national security official served as a professional staff member on the Senate and House Armed Services Committees.

Sutton spent 15 years at Sandia National Laboratories, where she served as a research and development cybersecurity manager, Congressional Fellow to HASC’s Emerging Threats and Capabilities Subcommittee and nuclear nonproliferation R&D technical adviser at the National Nuclear Security Administration.

The University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign graduate holds a master’s degree in electrical engineering from Stanford University.

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James Schmidt Named 7th JMU President
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James Schmidt Named 7th JMU President

James Schmidt, a seasoned educator, has been selected as the new president of James Madison University.

The university said Wednesday Schmidt was appointed by the JMU Board of Visitors as the seventh president in the school’s history. He will start his tenure on July 1.

Who Is James Schmidt?

Schmidt has been part of academia for over three decades. He is the current chancellor of the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, a role he has held for nearly 12 years. The higher education administrator played a crucial role in the university’s achievement of a top-10 ranking in the U.S. News & World Report’s list of best regional public universities in the midwest. In 2016, UW-Eau Claire was selected as the top master’s university for excellence in undergraduate research by the Council for Undergraduate Research. It is also the only master’s university in Wisconsin to be included in the nation’s top 20 institutions for student involvement in study abroad programs. Furthermore, the school has distinguished itself by producing two Rhodes scholars since 2005 and the most Fullbright students among all master’s level universities in Wisconsin and Minnesota.

Before joining UW-Eau Claire, Schmidt was with Winona State University for over 15 years. He served as vice president for university advancement at the university. He spent over 11 years at the Riverland Community College where he was the VP for student affairs. The academic leader serves as chair of the board of directors at WNB Financial N.A.

“I take great pride in this institution and will do everything I can to support the board and our new president during this transition,” said Charlie King, interim president of JMU.

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ULA’s Vulcan Launch System Now Space Force-Certified for National Security Missions
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ULA’s Vulcan Launch System Now Space Force-Certified for National Security Missions

The U.S. Space Force’s Space Systems Command unveiled that the United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan launch system has been certified for National Security Space Launch missions.

The SSC said Wednesday ULA is now one of two providers allowed to launch NSSL missions.

The NSSL certification involves a strict evaluation process to determine the capabilities of launch service providers, particularly their ability to design, manufacture and qualify a launch system meant to deploy national security space satellites.

Leaders’ Remarks on the USSF Certification

“We are proud to have launched 100 national security space missions and honored to continue serving the nation with our new Vulcan rocket,” said Tory Bruno, president and CEO of United Launch Alliance. “We thank the Space Force for their collaboration and confidence and we are honored to support our national security needs for many years to come,” the Wash100 Award winner added.

Brig. Gen. Kristin Panzenhagen, program executive officer for assured access to space, stated, “Assured access to space is a core function of the Space Force and a critical element of national security. Vulcan certification adds launch capacity, resiliency and flexibility needed by our nation’s most critical space-based systems.”

“The SSC and ULA teams have worked together extremely closely, and certification of this launch system is a direct result of their focus, dedication, and teamwork,” added Panzenhagen.

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NIST Publishes Guidance for Mitigating Adversarial ML Threats
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NIST Publishes Guidance for Mitigating Adversarial ML Threats

The National Institute of Standards and Technology has issued a document that identifies threats associated with adversarial machine learning. The Adversarial Machine Learning: A Taxonomy and Terminology of Attacks and Mitigations, published Monday, collates common tactics used against artificial intelligence, the agency said. 

Securing AI

The new document provides guidance to individuals and groups involved in the design, development, deployment and management of AI. It seeks to address adversarial machine learning, or AML, threats by empowering organizations that use AI to identify and mitigate an attack. 

NIST dedicates sections of the document to evasion, poisoning, privacy and misuse attacks of predictive and generative AI. Evasion, poisoning, privacy and misuse are among the most widely studied risks associated with AML. 

In addition, the guidance aims to standardize AML-related concepts and keywords used across technology communities. 

NIST said the document was developed with contributions from experts in AML. The agency continues to work with domestic partners and in the United Kingdom to update the manual as new information emerges.

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INL Needs Investor in Innovation Incubator for Tech Startups
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INL Needs Investor in Innovation Incubator for Tech Startups

The Idaho National Laboratory is in search of an industry sponsor to invest $5-10 million in a privately funded innovation incubator for tech startups.

INL said Tuesday the program, which integrates the national laboratory’s capabilities with private-sector commercialization know-how, will grant promising access to the laboratory’s world-class facilities and technical expertise to reduce risks and support their innovations’ advancement.

What the Innovation Incubator Offers

Under the program, INL and the industry sponsor will invite entrepreneurs and startups developing innovations in nuclear energy, integrated energy systems, cybersecurity and advanced materials.

In exchange for the investment, the sponsor will be able to tap into various ongoing innovations at a fraction of normal acquisition costs, particularly in the sponsor’s areas of strategic interest, opening up new growth opportunities.

INL will help with technology de-risking through due diligence conducted via its national laboratory scientists and laboratory capabilities, which subsequently accelerates technology development.

A partnership with the laboratory will also give the sponsor additional credibility, helping to demonstrate its technical innovation leadership in the country.

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Five Companies Win DIU Contract to Enhance DOD Biosurveillance
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Five Companies Win DIU Contract to Enhance DOD Biosurveillance

The Defense Innovation Unit has awarded five companies prototype contracts to develop a platform to enhance the Department of Defense’s biosurveillance capabilities using artificial intelligence, machine learning and data analytics.

Integrating Biosurveillance Tech

Under the effort, Booz Allen Hamilton was tapped to integrate biosurveillance technologies within the DOD’s operational infrastructure while Bana Solutions was chosen to provide an IT system for data ingestion and visualization of biosurveillance insights, DIU said Tuesday.

Meanwhile, Cyberhill Partners, data.world and KUNGFU.AI are tasked to deliver secure software, AI-powered analytics and knowledge graph-based systems to enhance real-time threat detection and intelligence insights.

According to Cyberhill Partners, the collaborative effort will build a prototype, which will be evaluated in simulated threat environments to measure its ability to provide real-time decision support and operational readiness.

Leveraging Commercial Innovation

The initiative aims to use commercial innovation to bolster the country’s biosurveillance infrastructure and ensure it remains ahead of emerging threats, DHA Public Health Director Brandon Taylor said. “The ability to rapidly identify and assess biological threats is critical to national security,” he explained.

DIU picked the program participants from 78 companies that submitted their proposed capabilities. The selected contractors will prototype their technologies and refine them over the next 12 to 24 months. The prototypes will be tested to check their effectiveness in detecting and mitigating health threats from diverse data sources.

The Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Nuclear, Chemical and Biological Defense Programs and the DOD Chemical and Biological Defense wing will spearhead the program.

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AFRL Seeks Industry Input on Software Baselines for GARDEM Program
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AFRL Seeks Industry Input on Software Baselines for GARDEM Program

The Air Force Research Laboratory is soliciting industry input on software research and development services for the Command and Control, Space and Intelligence, Surveillance & Reconnaissance, or C2-SpISR, of its Global Application Research, Development, Engineering and Maintenance 2 program, also known as GARDEM 2. The C2-SpISR R&D requirements include engineering, prototyping, integration and testing as well as technology enhancements and modifications, according to an AFRL request for information posted on SAM.gov Tuesday.

$99M Potential Maximum Order Value

The RFI anticipates a cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for the C2-SpISR services within a potential five-year period, with a maximum order value estimated at $99 million. The RFI’s inputs are solely for AFRL planning and possible market research use on small business set-aside proposal determination, the lab said in the SAM.gov post’s reference attachments. 

The information that the Air Force lab seeks covers technical work on several GARDEM software baselines, including C2Core Cyber, Net Ops and Air, as well as National Tactical Data Manager, Advanced Collection Requirements Engine and the tools suite for Integrated Solutions to Situational Awareness. 

Colorado On-Site Provisions

The requirements in the RFI’s draft statement of work also include the provision of on-site system R&D, test and installation at the Colorado campuses of the United States Space Force, Schriever AFB and Air Force National Tactical Integration Colorado Buckley SFB. The deadline for submitting RFI responses is April 1.

AFRL initiated the GARDEM program in January 2020, wherein Parsons Corporation secured a spot in its multiple-award contract with a potential seven-year term and an estimated value of $427 million. In March 2024, Parsons also secured a three-year, $28 million AFRL contract to provide intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance C2 and space software baselines for the program.

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Michael Kratsios Confirmed as OSTP Director
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Michael Kratsios Confirmed as OSTP Director

The Senate on Tuesday voted 74-25 to confirm Michael Kratsios, a two-time Wash100 Award winner, as director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy, or OSTP.

Kratsios’ confirmation as head of OSTP marks his return to the White House. He served as the U.S. chief technology officer during President Donald Trump’s first term.

He was officially nominated for the OSTP director role in January. 

Michael Kratsios’ Career Background

Kratsios most recently served as managing director at Scale AI.

Under his leadership as U.S. CTO, the White House launched national initiatives for artificial intelligence, 5G, quantum computing, commercial drones, autonomous vehicles, STEM education and advanced manufacturing.

He previously served as acting under secretary of defense for research and engineering. In this capacity, he was responsible for research, development and prototyping efforts across the Department of Defense.

Kratsios spent seven years at Thiel Capital, where he held leadership positions, including principal, chief financial officer and chief compliance officer.

Earlier in his career, the Princeton University graduate served as an analyst at Barclays Investment Bank.

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