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CACI Moves Closer to Low Earth Orbit Network with Optical Intersatellite Links; CEO John Mengucci Quoted
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CACI Moves Closer to Low Earth Orbit Network with Optical Intersatellite Links; CEO John Mengucci Quoted

CACI International has achieved a significant goal in space connectivity, executing space to space optical communication links in low Earth orbit.

The Reston, Virginia-based professional services and information technology company said Thursday they completed the mission alongside the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency and the Space Development Agency under the auspices of the Mandrake II program.

“We are on the path to supporting the contested space domain with faster, more secure satellites,” declared CACI CEO and president John Mengucci.

Three-time consecutive Wash100 Award recipient Mengucci specified that national security demands dependable technology that can use high-speed networks and advanced intelligence systems on modestly sized satellites.

DARPA, SDA and the Air Force Research Laboratory’s Space Vehicles Directorate are responsible for spearheading Mandrake II, in which the agencies seek to monitor the pointing, acquisition and tracking algorithms that are central to the optical communication terminal processes. Building on these algorithms and terminals, communication links in the Blackjack and SDA Transport and Tracking Layer constellations are formed.

Enabled by CACI’s CrossBeam free-space optical terminals, a test was run on April 14 that lasted 40+ minutes and successfully formed an optical link, which evinced closed-loop tracking and data transfer across a 100+ km link distance. Over 200 gigabits of information was transferred.

The inaugural links represent the first step in creating a plethora of secure, space-based communications networks so that the defense community, especially the National Defense Space Architecture, has a platform for dispatching data with speed and volume.

CACI’s work on the LEO optical communication links was aided by photonics engineering and manufacturing company SA Photonics, which CACI acquired in December 2021. The former company’s manufacturing facilities in California and Florida will be instrumental in replicating and mass-producing the terminals that were used in the connectivity trial run.

“Through the acquisition of SA Photonics, our joint technology and manufacturing capabilities have enabled this successful milestone,” Mengucci said of the companies’ collaborative accomplishment.

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Marine Corps Maj. Gen. Michael Cederholm Nominated as Deputy Commandant for Aviation
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Marine Corps Maj. Gen. Michael Cederholm Nominated as Deputy Commandant for Aviation

U.S. Marine Corps Maj. Gen. Michael Cederholm has received a nomination from President Biden to serve as the service branch’s deputy commandant for aviation.

Cederholm, who serves as commanding general of the 2nd Marine Aircraft Wing at Marine Corps Air Station Cherry Point in North Carolina, is also nominated for the grade of lieutenant general, the Department of Defense said Monday.

If confirmed by Senate, Cederholm would succeed Lt. Gen. Mark Wise, who assumed the position in July 2020. He would advise the commandant on all aviation matters and oversee the development and coordination of plans and policies for managing the Marine Corps’ aviation programs.

Cederholm is a Camp Lejeune, North Carolina, native, who was commissioned in 1989 after graduating from Wesleyan University. His military career includes positions such as deputy commander of Marine Corps Forces Command and deputy commanding general of Fleet Marine Force Atlantic.

He has experience flying every operational type-model aircraft in the Marine Corps fleet, including the F-35B fighter jet and CH-53K helicopter.

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ECS Donates to US Naval Academy’s Hopper Hall to Support Cybersecurity Studies; President John Heneghan Quoted
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ECS Donates to US Naval Academy’s Hopper Hall to Support Cybersecurity Studies; President John Heneghan Quoted

ECS announced on Tuesday that the company and partners have donated more than $4 million to the recently opened its Hopper Hall, the Naval Academy Center for Cybersecurity Studies. It will be the first academic building constructed on the USNA campus in forty years. 

“The Naval Academy is at the forefront of training next-gen cyber warriors. We are confident this donation will strengthen the capabilities of the Center for Cyber Security by enabling midshipmen to develop practical skills through hands-on experience in cyber operations,” said John Heneghan, president of ECS and a 2022 Wash100 Award recipient. 

The donation to support the Advanced Cyber Threat Defense (ACTD) hardware and software platform, a complete suite of enterprise security automation tools for use in the educational lab, was made in partnership with Trellix and ThreatQuotient. 

The ACTD platform is a comprehensive, next-generation endpoint security tool that provides visibility, remediation, orchestration, and management of digital assets, as well as state-of-the-art threat intelligence sharing.

Hopper Hall is named for Rear Admiral Grace Hopper, a renowned mathematician and computer scientist who pioneered the development of computer programming languages. Hopper Hall includes classrooms, teaching and research laboratories, and a research and testing tank.

About ECS

ECS, ASGN’s federal government segment, delivers advanced solutions in cybersecurity, data and artificial intelligence (AI), cloud, application and IT modernization, science, and engineering. The company solves critical, complex challenges for customers across the U.S. public sector, defense, intelligence, and commercial industries. ECS maintains partnerships with leading cloud, cybersecurity, and AI/ML providers and holds specialized certifications in their technologies. 

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Michael Monteleone to Lead AFC’s Assured PNT/Space Cross-Functional Team
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Michael Monteleone to Lead AFC’s Assured PNT/Space Cross-Functional Team

Michael Monteleone, former director of the Engineering and Systems Integration Directorate under the U.S. Army’s Combat Capabilities Development Command, was named director for the Assured Position, Navigation and Timing/Space Cross-Functional Team.

The Army said Monday Monteleone’s appointment will take effect May 22 and will make him one of eight CFT directors tasked to support the Army Futures Command.

In his new role, Monteleone will help ensure that the Army is capable of operating in PNT-contested environments by coordinating PNT and tactical space and navigation warfare initiatives across the service branch.

The team is responsible for providing warfighters with up-to-date technologies and capabilities needed for their respective missions.

The APNT/Space CFT director has experience in working at the Senior Executive Service and at the Space and Terrestrial Communications Directorate under Combat Capabilities Development Command’s Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Cyber, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Center.

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Climate Venture Funds Call for Federal Action to Accelerate Move to Clean Energy Tech
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Climate Venture Funds Call for Federal Action to Accelerate Move to Clean Energy Tech

Partners at climate technology venture funds have called on the White House and Congress to approve the pending energy bill to expedite the country’s transition to clean energy technologies.

Leaders from SJF Ventures, Spring Lane Capital, Energy Impact Partners and 36 other venture funds wrote a letter to the Biden administration and congressional leaders to advance “consistent federal policy leadership” and public investments to further build up the country’s response to “fossil fuel-driven autocracies.”

“Now we ask you to proceed on the remaining pending legislation including clean energy tax credits, research support, domestic manufacturing incentives, resilience and mitigation investments, and electric vehicle incentives,” the letter reads.

They also called on the administration to settle the solar module trade case and eliminate other hurdles to developing more clean energy infrastructure.

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Study: Most CDM Program Stakeholders See Federal Cyber Resilience Improvement
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Study: Most CDM Program Stakeholders See Federal Cyber Resilience Improvement

According to a MeriTalk survey, 93 percent of 100 government and industry professionals have observed an improvement in the resilience of federal cyber operations due to the Department of Homeland Security’s Continuous Diagnostics and Mitigation Program.

Forty-nine percent of the respondents saw improved visibility and situational awareness over the past year under the governmentwide cybersecurity initiative and 49 percent said the program has facilitated network asset monitoring automation, MeriTalk reports.

DHS created the program in 2012 to help federal organizations secure information technology networks and systems with the use of commercial off-the-shelf tools and agency dashboards.

Survey participants said program integration with zero trust security efforts, funding consistency and data collection process standardization would help agencies to apply information from the CDM dashboard across government security operations.

The study also found that 84 percent of CDM stakeholders surveyed believe the program can serve as a pathway to achieving compliance with President Biden’s executive order on cybersecurity.

CyberArk, Ping Identity and SteelCloud were the underwriters for the survey.

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DIU, GSA Seek to Speed Up Access of Agencies to Emerging Commercial Tech; Michael Brown Quoted
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DIU, GSA Seek to Speed Up Access of Agencies to Emerging Commercial Tech; Michael Brown Quoted

The Defense Innovation Unit and the General Services Administration have signed a memorandum of understanding to establish a framework that would enable GSA to facilitate the transition of prototyped technology platforms at DIU to contract vehicles.

“Partnering with GSA to more easily bring proven, innovative, and emerging technologies to meet agency missions across the U.S. government is a win-win for both the taxpayers and for the commercial companies working with DIU,” Michael Brown, director of DIU and a 2022 Wash100 Award winner, said in a statement published Monday.

The MOU will enable GSA to easily bring innovative platforms to federal clients and provide agencies access to non-traditional tech vendors through GSA contracts.

GSA will also help Department of Defense and non-DOD organizations to scale commercial tech platforms across the U.S. DIU and GSA will also leverage the use of follow-on contracting, other transaction authority and FASt Lane process to facilitate collaboration with industry partners.

DIU focuses on six key emerging tech areas: artificial intelligence/machine learning; autonomy; cyber; energy; human systems; and space.

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Report: Lt. Gen. John Shaw, Lt. Gen. Stephen Whiting Among Potential Nominees to Lead Space Force
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Report: Lt. Gen. John Shaw, Lt. Gen. Stephen Whiting Among Potential Nominees to Lead Space Force

Lt. Gen. John Shaw and Lt. Gen. Stephen Whiting have emerged as potential candidates for the role of Space Force chief, Breaking Defense reported Monday.

Sources said the White House is now considering the two names for potential nomination as it looks for a replacement to Chief of Space Operations Gen. Jay Raymond, who plans to retire in the fall. 

Raymond, a 2022 Wash100 Award winner, previously served as commander of U.S. Space Command. 

Shaw currently serves as deputy commander of Space Command. Prior to this role, he was commander of Combined Force Space Component Command and deputy chief of Space Operations Command.

He joined the Air Force in 1990 after graduating from the U.S. Air Force Academy with a bachelor’s degree in astronautical engineering and a minor in Russian language.

Whiting is commander of Space Operations Command and oversees the preparation and sustainment of combat support forces, space, cyber and combat-ready intelligence.

He previously served as deputy commander of the Headquarters U.S. Space Force and commanded the 13th Space Warning Squadron. He entered the Air Force in 1989 following his graduation from the academy.

Army Engineers Plan Financial Management System Modernization Project
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Army Engineers Plan Financial Management System Modernization Project

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers has released a draft request for proposals for a potential five-year, $150 million contract to modernize and maintain USACE’s financial management system.

A presolicitation notice posted on SAM.gov says the public engineering services agency is seeking input from vendors or integrators to assist with acquisition planning efforts for its CEFMS II program.

The planned contract has a single-award, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity structure with five-year base ordering period that includes four option years. Interested parties can submit questions and comments about the draft RFP document until May 27th.

USACE’s Finance Center is responsible for research, development, installation, analysis and maintenance activities related to financial and accounting systems of the agency.

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Decorated Marine Ryan Colvert Joins BWXT as SD, Government Relations
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Decorated Marine Ryan Colvert Joins BWXT as SD, Government Relations

U.S. Marine Corps veteran and defense scholar Ryan Colvert has been appointed senior director for government relations at BWX Technologies.

In his new position, Colvert will channel his defense knowledge and experience in the political arena to focus on BWXT’s relationships with members of U.S. Congress and the executive branch, the Lynchburg, Virginia-based company said Monday.

Colvert will also be expected to nurture and expand the defense manufacturing and engineering company’s status as the exclusive producer of naval nuclear reactors for U.S. submarines and aircraft. The organization is a trusted source of various intricate nuclear technologies used in defense and space settings.

The new BWXT senior director’s military career includes 16 years of service in the USMC, during which time he was an AV-8B pilot and forward air controller. He was deployed several times in Iraq and Afghanistan, flying over 400 combat ventures and administering hundreds of close air support missions and medical evacuations.

While in the Marines, Colvert earned distinctions such as the Meritorious Service Medal, the Afghanistan Campaign Medal, the Humanitarian Service Medal and the Presidential Unit Citation. He was a ten-time recipient of the Flight/Strike Air Medal.

Prior to joining BWXT, Colvert held the role of senior defense policy advisor to Senator Tim Kaine, who consulted Colvert on Army related issues and national security matters. Kaine was a participant in the Senate Armed Services Committee and Colvert holds a master’s degree in military studies from Marine Corps University.

Colvert’s skill set spans intelligence analysis, military logistics, counterinsurgency and contingency planning.

His addition to the BWXT team follows Jan Bertsch’s hire as chair of the company’s board of directors earlier this month, succeeding the retiring John Fees.

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