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IARPA to Hold Proposer’s Day for Space Debris Identification, Tracking Program
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IARPA to Hold Proposer’s Day for Space Debris Identification, Tracking Program

The Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity will hold a proposer’s day on Aug. 10 in Arlington, Virginia, to discuss the forthcoming Space Debris Identification and Tracking program with industry partners.

The agency said Wednesday the SINTRA program will focus on the interaction of orbital debris with the surrounding space environment and the detection and tracking of lethal non-trackable space debris in orbit.

IARPA will provide event attendees with the opportunity to present five-minute lightning talks to highlight their technical capabilities to meet the SINTRA requirements.

Interested participants have until Aug. 5 to register for the event, which will be broadcasted via the Webex video conference platform for remote attendees.

Isabella Casillas Guzman: SBA, Local Governments Partner to Help Entrepreneurs Reach Contracting Opportunities
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Isabella Casillas Guzman: SBA, Local Governments Partner to Help Entrepreneurs Reach Contracting Opportunities

Isabella Casillas Guzman, administrator of the Small Business Administration, met with entrepreneurs and government officials during her two-day trip to Washington state last week to discuss federal contracting initiatives.

She and Gov. Jay Inslee toured the site of Seattle’s 520 Montlake modernization project, highlighting the potential of the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law to drive small business contracting activity, SBA said Wednesday.

They also visited other business establishments and discussed fresh grants from the American Rescue Plan Act stimulus package to help entrepreneurs recover from the COVID-19 pandemic.

Guzman also joined Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell and minority-owned firms for a roundtable that sought input on how agencies could further provide support for the small business community.

“SBA is collaborating with local leaders throughout the nation to help entrepreneurs gain access to revenue and growth opportunities to achieve their American dreams,” Guzman said.

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Marine Corps Inches Closer to Deploying Live Virtual Constructive-Training Environment
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Marine Corps Inches Closer to Deploying Live Virtual Constructive-Training Environment

The U.S. Marine Corps and industry partners are working to build and deploy the Live Virtual Constructive-Training Environment, a software-intensive platform designed to connect legacy training systems to support the service branch’s training exercises.

“The LVC-TE program is a key component of TECOM’s modernization efforts for the Marine Corps and conforms to the tenets of the Commandant’s Planning Guidance and Force Design 2030,” Brig. Gen. Matthew Reid, deputy commanding general of Marine Corps Training and Education Command, said in a statement published Wednesday.

“LVC-TE will be the foundational program for the Marine Corps’ future simulation-supported training to improve our ability to fight and win our nation’s battles,” Reid added.

The program manager for training systems, also known as PM TRASYS, within Marine Corps Systems Command oversees LVC-TE as a program of record and uses the Software Acquisition Pathway for the platform.

PM TRASYS received authorization to transition LVC-TE to the execution milestone phase in April and is working to achieve Minimum Viable Capability Release in April 2023.

The new training environment will operate on commercial-off-the-shelf hardware and feature exercise design tools to support exercise and scenario planning.

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Czech Republic Announces Plans to Buy 24 F-35 Fighter Jets
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Czech Republic Announces Plans to Buy 24 F-35 Fighter Jets

The government of Czech Republic has authorized its defense ministry to facilitate the procurement of F-35 Lightning II fighter jets from the U.S. government to support the modernization of the country’s armed forces.

“I was authorised to form an inter-ministerial negotiating team and commence negotiations with the United States Government to procure 24 units of the F-35 Lightning II multirole fighters to equip two squadrons,” Jana Cernochova, defense minister of Czech Republic, said in a statement published Wednesday.

Cernochova said the government’s decision to acquire the Lockheed Martin-built fighter aircraft comes amid increasing costs of weapon systems and scarcity of materials and production capacity, resulting in longer lead times.

The government said sharing the same aircraft with the U.S. and other NATO allies will help strengthen cooperation, capability sharing and joint training and improve its defense posture.

Czech Republic also announced plans to buy CV90 combat vehicles from the government of Sweden after it decided to drop the tender for infantry fighting vehicles.

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Sean Kirkpatrick Named Director of DOD All-Domain Anomaly Resolution Office
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Sean Kirkpatrick Named Director of DOD All-Domain Anomaly Resolution Office

The Department of Defense has announced the establishment of the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office within the office of the undersecretary for intelligence and security and appointment of Sean Kirkpatrick, most recently chief scientist at the Defense Intelligence Agency’s missile and space intelligence center, as director of AARO.

The AARO will synchronize efforts across DOD and with other federal agencies to detect and identify airborne, anomalous, unidentified space, transmedium and submerged objects in and near military bases, training areas, special use airspace and other areas of interest, DOD said Wednesday.

Kirkpatrick brings to the role over 20 years of experience in scientific and technical intelligence, acquisitions, research and development and space policy.

He previously served as deputy director of intelligence for U.S. Strategic Command, director of the National Security Strategy at the National Security Council and deputy director of intelligence and DNI Representative for U.S. Space Command.

Ronald Moultrie, undersecretary of defense for intelligence and security, will lead the AARO Executive Council to provide direction to the newly created office along six lines of effort: surveillance, collection and reporting; system capabilities and design; intelligence operations and analysis; mitigation and defeat; governance; and science and technology.

Moultrie established the AARO in accordance with a July 15 memo that Kathleen Hicks, deputy defense secretary and a 2022 Wash100 Award winner, issued to meet the provision of the fiscal year 2022 National Defense Authorization Act.

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Octo Secures $203M FCC Contract for Application Development; CEO Mehul Sanghani Quoted
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Octo Secures $203M FCC Contract for Application Development; CEO Mehul Sanghani Quoted

Public sector-serving information technology company Octo has received a potential five-year, $203.5 million contract from the Federal Communications Commission for technical assistance and software services.

The Application Development Support Services contract requires Octo’s team to wield their proficiency in extreme programming to execute program management and software development at the FCC Information Technology Center, the Reston, Virginia-based company said on July 12.

“We are excited to bring our proven tools and processes to the FCC in support of their mission to regulate communications in the United States including promoting communication technology innovations,” remarked Octo CEO Mehul Sanghani.

Sanghani also said the contract work will make use of the company’s newly reconstructed and revamped oLabs research and development facility and predicted that Octo’s staff will not only fulfill the contract’s stipulations but supersede the Commission’s expectations.

According to Octo Civilian Business General Manager Tom Lee, to meet the FCC’s need for system modernization and goal of increased citizen engagement, Octo will collaborate with personnel at Nuvitek, CivicActions, Emprata and DefyneIT.

The recently completed hub renovation equipped oLabs with over 15 petaflops of AI compute and two petabytes of FlashBlade storage. It is a 14,000 square foot space that encourages cooperation and coworking, especially between Octo employees and federal government clientele. oLabs resources and appliances are expected to render the company’s work for the FCC more efficient and comprehensive.

“Octo has long understood the power of collaboration when it comes to creating and delivering cutting-edge solutions,” Lee added.

The contract announcement comes on the heels of the company’s June release of a data mesh platform to help national government agencies gather, handle, protect and access analytical data. This program was also developed at oLabs.

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Biden Admin Unveils Apprenticeship Campaign for Boosting Cybersecurity Workforce
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Biden Admin Unveils Apprenticeship Campaign for Boosting Cybersecurity Workforce

The Biden administration has announced a national campaign aimed at closing the cybersecurity skills gap by promoting the establishment of Registered Apprenticeship programs.

The departments of Commerce and Labor unveiled the 120-week Cybersecurity Apprenticeship Sprint in a push to recruit employers, labor unions, industry associations, educational providers and other organizations to help develop and train a diverse federal cybersecurity workforce, the National Institute of Standards and Technology said Tuesday.

During the campaign, the government will hold Apprenticeship Accelerators events to provide employers and workforce partners with resources and information on how to expand the use of Registered Apprenticeship in the cybersecurity sector.

“These newly trained workers will help protect our critical infrastructure, advance our digital way of life, strengthen our economy and improve access to cybersecurity career paths for underrepresented communities, especially women, people of color, veterans and people with disabilities,” Labor Secretary Martin Walsh said in a separate statement.

The Sprint will continue until National Apprenticeship Week, which will be held from Nov. 14th to 20th.

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House Bill to Strengthen U.S. Government’s Defense Against Cybersecurity Risks
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House Bill to Strengthen U.S. Government’s Defense Against Cybersecurity Risks

Rep. Eric Swalwell, D-Calif., has introduced a bill that would enhance coordination across the federal government to address cybersecurity vulnerabilities and boost defenses against emerging threats.

The Proactive Cyber Initiatives Act of 2022 would give the National Cyber Director the authority to resolve risk conflicts between agencies that have overlapping cybersecurity jurisdictions and would require penetration testing for moderate to high-risk government systems, Swalwell’s office said.

The bill would also mandate the submission of reports on how agencies take proactive actions, such as the use of deception technologies, to respond to and mitigate unlawful breaches.

“Cybercrime is increasingly putting American families, businesses, and government agencies at serious risk. For too long, we have been addressing vulnerabilities only after a breach occurs,” Swalwell said.

The lawmaker said his bill would put focus on more proactive and innovative cybersecurity approaches to safeguard the nation’s most critical infrastructures.

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Akima to Conduct Logistics Support for U.S. Air Force Academy Under $109M Contract; Scott Rauer Quoted
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Akima to Conduct Logistics Support for U.S. Air Force Academy Under $109M Contract; Scott Rauer Quoted

A division of defense contracting company Akima has landed a potential 10-year, $109.7 million contract from the U.S. Air Force Academy for aircraft technical services and logistics support.

Under the contract, Akima Logistics Services will carry out base support services and organizational and depot maintenance, among other tasks, for three flight training groups at the Colorado Springs school, the Herndon, Virginia-based company said Wednesday.

“We are honored to prepare cadets for their future missions by supporting the Academy’s three major flying training programs and over 15,000 sorties a year,” stated Scott Rauer, president of Akima Facility Solutions.

Rauer also noted that the contract speaks to the Air Force’s trust in Akima to provide aircraft care, engineering and supply chain assistance.

At USAFA, as well as Peterson Air Force Base and the USADA auxiliary airfield, the Akima Logistics Services team will aid the flight training squadrons that provide instructions for glider/soaring, parachutes and powered flight. Through the contract, they will also conduct sortie support and scheduling, maintenance and depot recovery, as well as supply tow aircraft and tow pilots for the glider/soaring demonstrations.

The contract comes as a function of the Tinker, Oklahoma Air Force Base’s Air Force Life Cycle Management Center and will extend 10 years provided that all options are selected.

This collaboration with the Air Force follows Akima subsidiary Sunik’s Enhanced Army Global Logistics Enterprise contact, acquired in April. Via the $44 million award, Sunik’s team will perform maintenance, supply and transportation services for the 3rd Infantry Division of the U.S. Army.

A different Akima subsidiary, RiverTech, is currently helping to train the flight crew of the U.S. Air Forces in Europe-Air Forces Africa under a five-year, $40 million contract. This work is not unlike the newly contracted USAFA project.

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State Department Clears Belgium’s $127M FMS Deal for F-16 Sustainment
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State Department Clears Belgium’s $127M FMS Deal for F-16 Sustainment

The State Department has approved the purchase request of Belgium for F-16 aircraft sustainment support and related equipment under a potential $127 million Foreign Military Sales transaction.

The proposed deal will cover for AN/ARC-210 radios; spare and repair parts; additional hardware and software; mission planning system sustainment; electronic warfare support; logistics; and other equipment and support services, the Defense Security Cooperation Agency said Tuesday.

It will also expand a previously implemented case worth $98.4 million for the same orders.

Through the purchase, Belgium seeks to ensure that its F-16 fleet is combat-ready and capable of addressing current and future threats and performing NATO’s Eastern flank rotations.

Lockheed Martin, the Bethesda, Maryland-based developer of the F-16 fighter jet, will serve as the principal contractor.

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