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Raytheon Lands $110M Australian Air Force Combat Training Contract
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Raytheon Lands $110M Australian Air Force Combat Training Contract

Raytheon Technologies has secured a five-year, $109.7 million contract to train Australia’s air force personnel to operate the F/A-18F and EA-18G platforms.

The Australian defense department said Monday that Raytheon and its subcontractor, Milskil, will work to facilitate ground-based simulator training for aircrews at a military installation located in Queensland.

Forty-nine employees from the two companies will carry out the Electronic Attack Air Combat Training Support contract. The Australian air force has used Boeing-built Super Hornet fighter jets for more than 10 years.

Boeing also produces the EA-18G Growler, an electronic attack aircraft designed to help operators disrupt and deceive military electronic systems.

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Marie Russell Joins Maximus as VP of Federal Alliances; Teresa Weipert Quoted
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Marie Russell Joins Maximus as VP of Federal Alliances; Teresa Weipert Quoted

Former Juniper Networks executive Marie Russell has been appointed vice president of federal alliances at government services company Maximus.

As a member of the federal alliances team, Russell will be expected to manage and grow Maximus’ various collaborations between agencies and technology organizations, the McLean, Virginia-based company said Monday.

Teresa Weipert, general manager of federal services at Maximus, shared that Russell has been brought on to bolster the effort to amplify federal agencies’ missions by identifying and embracing new technologies that will meet their needs and help them achieve their goals. To do so, Weipert, who is a 2022 Wash100 Award winner, added, Russell will tap into the company’s “ecosystem of technology partners.”

Russell has gained experience through work such as serving as assistant vice president of channel sales and marketing at Alcatel, which was eventually bought by Nokia. She established the channel program at the company and nurtured it to reach over $120 million in revenue.

She also occupied the role of business development executive at telecommunications company Walker and Associates, where she handled the accounts for AT&T, Verizon and various federal government contractors.

Before coming to Maximus, Russell spent the last eight years at Juniper Networks in positions such as director of federal field and partner marketing, senior director of global partner programs and marketing and most recently, senior director of EMEA field and partner marketing.

During her career, Russell has earned distinctions such as the Chairman’s Superior Performance Award from the Armed Forces Communications and Electronics Association International, on which she served for a time on the board of directors.

Expressing her excitement to come aboard at Maximus, Russell explained, “As federal agencies look to the future and modernize, there is an opportunity for Maximus and our technology partners to re-imagine what is possible and find ways to do more for our customers and for our citizens.”

Russell’s appointment comes on the heels of Maximus’ June hire of Robert Knapp as VP of digital government solutions

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Barry Duplantis: Five Ways Federal Agencies Can Best Implement CISA Cyber Threat Playbooks
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Barry Duplantis: Five Ways Federal Agencies Can Best Implement CISA Cyber Threat Playbooks

Barry Duplantis, general manager of public sector business and vice president at software company Mattermost, has shared his thoughts on how government agencies can maximize their cybersecurity protections in light of recently released Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency playbooks.

Duplantis is supportive of both the Biden administration’s cybersecurity Executive Order and the CISA playbooks but says there is a gulf between putting forward these ideas and actually implementing them into daily practice and executable processes.

In a July 12 article published on government technology website FCW, Duplantis lays out five guidelines for taking CISA’s conceptual goals and realizing them.

His suggestions begin with urging agencies to tailor and shape CISA’s guidelines to their own individual needs and systems. Most important in this, Duplantis says, is the creation of digital playbooks and embedding them within a unified incident response architecture wherein information and findings about cyber attacks can be circulated to all contributors and members of an agency. This is preferable, in Duplantis’s view, from a written or physical copy of the playbooks such as the spreadsheets that some agencies still maintain.

By utilizing this widely shared, digitally-accessible and customized playbook, agencies can develop game plans and methods of immediate response in the case of cyber attacks that break down individual peoples’ responsibilities and ensure there is a legible course of action.

Duplantis also proffers agency task orders to use automated keywords, such as ‘#security-critical,’ that can be helpful, especially in a time of emergency. Additionally, he recommends gathering and saving data from various cyber incidents and reviewing them closely in order to make more careful and exacting decisions in the face of similar threats in the future.

Altogether, Duplantis reasons that establishing a cohesive, up-to-date and specialized system for answering to cyber malfeasance will make government agencies more attractive to quality candidates for jobs and generally ensure they are equipped to meet these challenges, which have skyrocketed in regularity in the past couple of years.

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New SBA Committees to Expand Innovation, Patient Capital Access Across Industry
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New SBA Committees to Expand Innovation, Patient Capital Access Across Industry

The Small Business Administration has established two new advisory committees that will provide the agency with insights on how to increase access to long-term capital and expand innovation and entrepreneurship across the U.S.

The Invention, Innovation and Entrepreneurship Advisory Committee will focus on the transition of new technologies from the laboratory to the marketplace while the Investment Capital Advisory Committee will be tasked with creating a more diverse and inclusive investment landscape for small businesses, SBA said Saturday.

Committee members will provide advice and recommendations to agency officials on policy and program development and execution.

“These new advisory committees will help us gain valuable insights into not only how the SBA can improve programs and policies to strengthen the innovation ecosystem across the nation, but also how the agency can better serve our customers while accelerating the flow of patient private and public capital to innovative startups and small businesses,” said SBA Administrator Isabella Casillas Guzman.

Bailey DeVries, the associate administrator of the SBA Office of Investment and Innovation, said the agency’s support for innovation builds on the Small Business Innovation Research program, which has been providing funding to start-ups for the past four decades.

SBA is calling for nominations to the committees from members of the public.

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National Science and Technology Council Unveils Orbital Debris Implementation Plan
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National Science and Technology Council Unveils Orbital Debris Implementation Plan

The National Science and Technology Council has released a strategic plan for developing a coordinated approach to addressing risks posed by orbital debris to space exploration initiatives.

The National Orbital Debris Implementation Plan outlines 44 specific actions for federal government agencies to mitigate, track and remediate space debris that orbits around the Earth to ensure the operability of satellite systems.

The framework, prepared by the Orbital Debris Interagency Working Group Subcommittee on Space Weather, Security and Hazards, aims to ensure space debris monitoring, remediation, mitigation and other related efforts are coordinated across the government.

It also informs the development of policies in response to the advances in space technology and other factors.

The Implementation Plan accomplishes objectives set by the U.S. Space Priorities Framework and builds on the National Orbital Debris Research and Development Plan published in 2021.

The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy solicited public comments on the development of the implementation plan in November 2021.

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Navy Tests Autonomous Capabilities of Future USNS Apalachicola
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Navy Tests Autonomous Capabilities of Future USNS Apalachicola

The U.S. Navy is conducting a series of test events aboard the service branch’s future expeditionary fast transport ship to demonstrate its ability to operate autonomously.

The Unmanned Logistics Prototype trials are aimed at assessing the capabilities of the USNS Apalachicola (EPF 13) to conduct point-to-point autonomous navigation, vessel handling and transfer of ship control from manned to unmanned mode, Naval Sea Systems Command reported Friday.

Results from the trials will inform future autonomous vessel operations including ship encounter and avoidance maneuvering.

“EPF 13 will be the first fully operational U.S. naval ship to possess autonomous capability including the ability to operate autonomously in a commercial vessel traffic lane,” Tim Roberts, program manager for strategic and theater sealift at NAVSEA’s Program Executive Office Ships.

The ship’s manufacturer Austal USA and industry partners L3Harris Technologies and General Dynamics collaborate with various Navy components on conducting the test events.

EPF 13 is the thirteenth Spearhead-class expeditionary fast transport of the Navy that is capable of loading and unloading military cargo in shallow-draft ports.

Austal USA is scheduled to deliver the vessel to the service branch later in 2022.

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Steven Schleien Appointed DOD Deputy Assistant Secretary for Defense Continuity & Mission Assurance
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Steven Schleien Appointed DOD Deputy Assistant Secretary for Defense Continuity & Mission Assurance

Steven Schleien, former chief operating officer at the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy, took on a new role in the same office as deputy assistant secretary for defense continuity and mission assurance, according to his LinkedIn post published Sunday.

Schleien will lead an organization that provides support to Department of Defense leaders to ensure mission essential functions can continue even in the event of an asymmetric military threat or a natural hazard.

He will also lead the team in establishing partnerships with other federal agencies and companies to increase the resilience of external systems that support defense operations.

In his previous role, Schleien served as the primary adviser to the head of OUSDP and held responsibility over its organizational management processes and support functions,

He initially worked at OUSDP from 1994 to 2007 and was promoted to the COO post in October 2015 after serving as deputy COO. His other prior roles within DOD included principal director for cyber policy and the director for transnational threats policy.

Schleien received his Senior Executive Service appointment in April 2010.

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NASA Releases RFI for Astronaut Crew Rescue Services
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NASA Releases RFI for Astronaut Crew Rescue Services

NASA is seeking industry input on capabilities and ideas for astronaut crew rescue services in support of the space agency’s Commercial Crew Program and Exploration Ground Systems missions.

In a SAM.gov notice posted Friday, NASA said it is considering a commercial offering for the required services during launch, free flight and landing phases of the programs such as real-time communication with the agency, crew retrieval and basic medical care while in transport.

Currently, the Department of Defense performs rescue support for NASA. CCP launch rescue covers the launch pad at Kennedy Space Center, the coast of the U.S. and Canada and across the coast of Ireland while EGS’ activity is from KSC across the Atlantic.

The space agency is also exploring industry on-call rescue services for those instances that require it outside of the defined phases of flights and locations.

All CCP missions beginning in 2023 and all Artemis missions starting with the second iteration of the program are expected to need astronaut crew rescue services. Responses to the request for information are due Aug. 29th.

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USAF Awards $90M French MQ-9 Logistics Support Contract to General Atomics Unit
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USAF Awards $90M French MQ-9 Logistics Support Contract to General Atomics Unit

The U.S. Air Force has awarded General Atomics‘ aeronautical systems business an $89.8 million contract to provide logistics support for France’s Reaper remotely piloted aircraft.

The company will repair the depot, sustain the life cycle and maintain the software of MQ-9 Block 5 and Block 1 systems for the French air force to fulfill a foreign military sales requirement, the Department of Defense said Friday.

DOD said the contract action will utilize $33.6 million in foreign military sale funds and the department expects contractor services to be complete at the end of 2023.

France asked to procure 16 MQ-9 Reapers, associated equipment and support services worth approximately $1.5 billion in 2013 through the U.S. FMS program.

Lawmakers Call for Executive Order on Post-Award Political Spending Disclosure
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Lawmakers Call for Executive Order on Post-Award Political Spending Disclosure

A group of 65 House members has urged the White House to require political expenditure reports in the contracting industry to promote transparency across federal acquisition programs.

“An Executive Order (EO) requiring federal contractors to disclose their political spending would go a long way to rectifying the perception or, in some cases, reality of the corrupting influence of corporate donations to elected officials,” the lawmakers told President Biden in a letter.

They said issuing such a directive would assure the public that dark money in politics has nothing to do with the process of awarding lucrative contracts.

“It would serve the public interest by increasing transparency and helping government watchdogs as they investigate potential instances of corruption and graft,” added the members of Congress.

The letter, released Thursday on the official website of Rep. Andy Levin, D-Mich., noted corporate political action committees involving the 10 largest U.S. contractors poured nearly $25 million into activities related to the 2020 election.

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