U.S. Rep. Matt Cartwright, D-Penn., introduced legislation to improve the efficiency of federal government software procurement and avoid unnecessary costs at the expense of American taxpayers.

The Strengthening Agency Management and Oversight of Software Assets Act would require federal agencies to submit their own comprehensive assessment of their software resources and purchasing practices, according to an announcement posted Thursday on Cartwright’s official website.

“Without in-depth assessments of how agencies buy and use software, vendors often have the upper hand in transactions with federal agencies. This bipartisan, bicameral legislation will streamline software procurement practices governmentwide to the benefit of American taxpayers,” the congressman said.

The bill expands on the MEGABYTE Act, which was introduced by Cartwright and has reportedly spared over $450 million in U.S. tax dollars since its enactment in 2016.

Under the new legislation, government agencies would provide the independent reports to Congress, the Office of Management and Budget, and the General Services Administration, as part of their annual budget proposals. 

Based on the inventories, the branches’ chief information officers would develop cost-effective licensing agreements with justifiable negotiation provisions. OMB would then create a software modernization strategy in consideration of the CIOs’ audits and plans.

Co-sponsored by 14 other U.S. representatives, the draft bill is also supported by groups such as the Coalition for Fair Software Licensing and the Computer & Communications Industry Association.

BAE Systems has completed the testing of its APKWS laser-guidance kits with General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems’ High-Explosive Anti-Tank Anti-Personnel Anti-Material warheads.

In a recent demonstration, the use of APKWS guidance kits enabled three rockets to hit three different test targets directly, BAE Systems announced from Hudson, New Hampshire earlier this month.

“We’re giving our customers more in-mission options for precision strikes against tougher targets. APKWS guidance kits with HEAT/APAM warheads provide a low-cost, lightweight, easy-to-deploy strike capability against armored and unarmored targets,” said BAE Systems APKWS Program Manager Sam Kirsh.

The APKWS guidance kits are used to convert unguided rockets into smart munitions for precision strikes on soft targets, equipment and armored targets and their installation and activation require minimal training.

During the assessment, BAE Systems launched rockets with HEAT/APAM warheads equipped with these guidance kits against substantial targets including a steel plate and an armored military vehicle. The rockets destroyed each target at range with direct hits in every challenge.

APKWS guidance kits also work with 70 millimeter Hydra rocket components including motors, warheads, fuses, launchers and laser target designators. They are versatile across launch platforms for fighter jets, combat helicopters, ground vehicles and remote weapon stations.

Over 100 successful shots have been fired through the use of APKWS guidance kits in M151 high explosive warheads, which demonstrates the strong accuracy of the kits.

This development coincides with an ongoing Air Force Research Labs contract which tasks BAE Systems’ FAST Labs with developing Environmentally Adaptive Geospatial Learning and Exploitation, a suite of machine learning and fusion algorithms. The award falls under the Multi-Sensor Exploitation for Tactical Autonomy program.

The organization recently won an additional AFRL award to further develop the Fight Tonight program through the provision of autonomy-based planner tools to improve the evaluation and selection of plan options.

Rancher Government Solutions, a company focused on delivering secure, open source technology to the public sector, has teamed with the Linux Foundation, an open source technology consortium.

The collaboration allows RGS to add the complete portfolio of the Linux Foundation’s e-Learning courses to specific support subscriptions, the Reston, Virginia-based company announced on Monday.

“Cloud Native technology like Kubernetes require new skills. We are committed to enabling our customers to build those skills as part of their application modernization journey,” said Ben Zifrony, regional vice president of channels and alliances at RGS.

The Linux Foundation’s open source model promotes software enhancement by allowing freely available code to be modified and updated, unlike private architectures, which can impose limitations on change and growth in technology.

“Partnering with RGS to support the U.S. Government in their adoption of open source through secure tools and training is critically important,” said Clyde Seepersad, senior vice president and general manager of training and certification at the Linux Foundation.

The partnership follows RGS’ confirmation of multiple Security Technical Information Guide validations from the Defense Information Systems Agency for its Kubernetes technologies.

In April, the company’s Multi-cluster Manager version 2.6, which allows Department of Defense information technology specialists to integrate cluster deployment of bare metal, public and private clouds, vSphere and at the edge, received STIG approval.

RGS also received STIG validation for its RKE2 Kubernetes distribution, which made the organization the sole company offering a DISA-approved Kubernetes distribution STIG.

The Linux Foundation has also been working to bolster software security. In a collaboration with the Open Source Software Security Foundation, the organization has helped create a plan to enhance the security of open source software.

Priorities within the plan include securing open source security production, enhancing vulnerability discovery and remediation and accelerating ecosystem patching response time.

The Office of Management and Budget has issued a memorandum directing federal agencies to submit by May 4, 2023, an inventory of information systems and related assets containing cryptographic systems that could be decrypted by quantum computers as part of the transition to post-quantum cryptography.

OMB Director Shalanda Young wrote in the Friday memo that agencies are expected to submit the inventory of such assets on an annual basis through 2035.

Agencies should appoint an official to oversee cryptographic inventory and migration efforts within 30 days of the memo’s publication.

The document directs the Office of the National Cyber Director to issue instructions concerning the collection and transmission of the inventory and procedures related to funding assessments within 90 days.

According to the memo, the National Institute of Standards and Technology should develop within 60 days a mechanism to facilitate the sharing of PQC best practices and testing data among agencies and with industry partners.

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency should introduce within a year a strategy on automated tooling and support for the assessment of agencies’ progress when it comes to PQC adoption.

The U.S. Air Force’s 59th Test and Evaluation Squadron has made a contribution to Crowd-Sourced Flight Data by equipping the initial set of Combat Air Forces F-35 fighter jets with the Quick Reaction Instrumentation Package.

QRIP is a device that can collect a terabyte of data each flight, providing developers access to large volumes of data within minutes to accelerate software development and mission reprogramming changes and speed up the development and delivery of data products to pilots and intelligence officers.

“QRIP captures data that is currently not being recorded, or being discarded at the cutting room floor, and makes it available and accessible at the speed of relevance,” Lt. Col. Nathan Malafa, 59th Test and Evaluation squadron commander.

QRIP has been installed in 19 CAF F-35 jets and the Air Force said it plans to expand the deployment of the instrumentation package to other fighter planes and platforms.

“The more data we can collect from the Air Force’s diverse portfolio puts the ‘crowd’ in CSFD and amplifies data sets we can use to gain competitive advantage against our adversaries and competitors,” noted Malafa.