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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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Marine Corps Deploys UAS Threat Defense System to Installations
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Marine Corps Deploys UAS Threat Defense System to Installations

The U.S. Marine Corps has started to field an artificial intelligence-based system for service personnel to detect, identify and track drones that pose a threat to military bases.

USMC’s Installation-Counter small Unmanned Aircraft Systems equipment uses a radar and an optical sensor through the Long Range Sentry Tower and a radio frequency detector that works to help the operator visualize the flight path of drones, the service said Thursday.

Maj. Kyle Yakopovich, a fixed site project officer at USMC’s program executive office for land systems, said that I-CsUAS facilitates autonomous sensor data analysis with the system’s AI and machine learning tools.

The platform is built to defend against commercial off-the-shelf drones that belong to the Group 1 and Group 2 categories.

Yakopovich noted the system works with a non-kinetic technology that has been demonstrated in other ground-based air defense programs and will support counter-UAS efforts at installations within the continental U.S.

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NSTC Report Highlights Challenges, Best Practices Related to Federal Use of Cloud for AI R&D
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NSTC Report Highlights Challenges, Best Practices Related to Federal Use of Cloud for AI R&D

The White House National Science and Technology Council has released a report outlining the lessons learned from federal adoption of cloud computing to advance research and development work on artificial intelligence.

NSTC said the report touched on the benefits of investments in the cloud, best practices and common challenges in implementing strategies to improve access to cloud resources.

According to the report, several programs facilitated rapid access to graphics processing units and other advanced computational capabilities to advance deep learning and collaboration among government and nongovernment researchers.

The report noted that cloud adoption has helped streamline computational access to data maintained and owned by federal agencies.

User authentication, precomputed workflows and training and education are some of the best practices that have emerged with regard to the use of cloud in advancing AI research within the federal government, according to the report.

The council’s machine learning and AI subcommittee discussed its vision for the federal government’s future use of commercial cloud to pursue AI-related R&D and identified opportunity areas to optimize federal adoption of cloud computing resources, such as automating identity and access management through federated systems and cultivating open-source technologies that can support ways to develop and execute workloads for multicloud deployment.

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DARPA Sets Proposers Day for Rotating Detonation Engine Project
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DARPA Sets Proposers Day for Rotating Detonation Engine Project

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency will host an industry event on Aug. 16 in Arlington, Virginia, to discuss a forthcoming program that centers around propulsion technology envisioned to power a long-range air-to-ground strike weapon system.

DARPA expects the two-phase Gambit project to last 36 months with the goal of developing and demonstrating a rotating detonation engine, according to a notice posted Monday on SAM.gov.

The first phase will cover preliminary RDE design work and direct-connect combustor and freejet inlet tests, followed by detailed system design and tip-to-tail testing in simulated flight environments.

Efforts under the program seek to pave the way for a flight test of a high-supersonic weapon prototype, DARPA noted.

Interested business representatives should register in advance to attend the proposers’ day as the agency will fill accept registrations on a first-come, first-served basis.

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DOD to Fund 10 Projects via Tech Procurement Pilot Program; Heidi Shyu Quoted
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DOD to Fund 10 Projects via Tech Procurement Pilot Program; Heidi Shyu Quoted

The Department of Defense has introduced the first batch of 10 projects that will get funding through the Accelerate the Procurement and Fielding of Innovative Technologies pilot program.

Heidi Shyu, undersecretary for research and engineering at DOD and a 2022 Wash100 Award winner, said in a statement published Tuesday the APFIT pilot program holds promise in transforming the way the Pentagon buys next-generation platforms and will be a key asset as the department continues to work to address the “valley of death” and help companies speed up the delivery of technologies to warfighters.

APFIT is a merit-based program established through the fiscal year 2022 National Defense Authorization Act. Under this pilot initiative, 10 program offices within DOD will each get $10 million in funding as they purchase technologies from nontraditional defense contractors and small businesses.

The projects to be funded under the APFIT program are:

  • Advanced Sensor Package Procurement project of the U.S. Navy and Arete Associates
  • Anti-Jam Radio-links for Maritime Operations Resiliency project of the U.S. Marine Corps with Pacific Antenna Systems, Titan Systems and Naval Systems
  • Atmospheric Plasma Coating Removal System project of the U.S. Marine Corps and Atmospheric Plasma Solutions
  • Augmented Reality Tactical Assault Kit project of U.S. Special Operations Command and Eolian
  • Autonomous Unmanned Aerial System – Vertical-BAT project of the U.S. Air Force and Shield AI
  • Drop-Glide Munitions project of the U.S. Army and Orbital Research
  • Lightfield Directing Array Secure Production effort of the Missile Defense Agency and Bright Silicon Technologies
  • Lightweight Wide Field of View Aviation Goggle project of USSOCOM and Aviation Specialties Unlimited
  • Rapid Analysis of Threat Exposure, a project of the Defense Innovation Unit and Philips Healthcare
  • Real-Time Sensor Data Transformation project of the U.S. Space Force and Meroxa
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Savannah River National Lab to Pursue DOE-Backed Fusion Energy Development Projects With 2 Companies
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Savannah River National Lab to Pursue DOE-Backed Fusion Energy Development Projects With 2 Companies

Savannah River National Laboratory aims to mature fusion energy technologies in partnership with General Atomics and General Fusion under two Innovation Network for Fusion Energy awards from the Department of Energy.

“These two new INFUSE awards continue SRNL’s efforts to deepen industry engagement through public-private partnerships that help industry develop their technologies into viable commercial solutions,” Brenda Garcia-Diaz, fusion energy research program manager at SRNL, said in a statement released Tuesday.

The national lab will build two models that General Atomics will use as it develops a modeling workflow for a fusion pilot plant as well as conduct FPP optimizations with the company using the models. SRNL will also perform a preliminary cost analysis for the tritium processing facilities under the project, which will be led by SRNL scientist Holly Flynn and principal investigator David Weisberg from General Atomics.

“One of the most attractive aspects of a fusion power plant is the environmentally friendly hydrogen fuel, which doesn’t require any harmful mining or drilling activities,” said Weisberg. 

“But we also need to perfect the way we recycle fuel inside the power plant, and SRNL has expertise to advance the technological readiness of that system,” he added.

SRNL scientist George Larsen and Ryan Guerrero, chief technology officer at General Fusion, will oversee a project that seeks to understand tritium inventory to inform the company’s design for a commercial pilot plant.

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