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Labor Department to Unveil Online Tool for Construction Contract Award Notifications
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Labor Department to Unveil Online Tool for Construction Contract Award Notifications

The Department of Labor’s office of federal contract compliance programs will launch on Friday, Aug. 26, an online portal meant to transform the way the agency receives notifications of awards of construction contracts and subcontracts.

DOL said the Notification of Construction Contract Award Portal will provide contractors and contracting personnel an electronic system to file with OFCCP a notice within 10 days of the issuance of a federal construction contract or subcontract valued at more than $10,000.

Vendors can use the portal to upload in bulk information on contract value, contract awarding entity, estimated commencement and completion dates of a contract and other key details of awarded construction contracts.

OFCCP expects the online platform to serve as a key source for submitting and tracking notifications of construction contract awards for evaluation by the agency.

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Anthony Fauci to Depart Role as NIAID Director in December
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Anthony Fauci to Depart Role as NIAID Director in December

Anthony Fauci announced on Monday that he will step down from his roles as director of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases and chief medical adviser to President Joe Biden in December to pursue the next phase of his career.

He has been leading NIAID for 38 years and served seven U.S. presidents during his career, offering advice on HIV/AIDS, anthrax attacks, West Nile virus, Ebola, Zika, COVID-19 pandemic and other infectious diseases.

Fauci, who will also leave his position as chief of the NIAID Laboratory of Immunoregulation, said in a statement Monday he is not going to retire and that he will “continue to advance science and public health and to inspire and mentor the next generation of scientific leaders as they help prepare the world to face future infectious disease threats.”

He added that he will help with the leadership transition over the coming months.

Biden issued a statement commending Fauci’s “unwavering” commitment to the work as the country deals with the COVID-19 crisis. The president also thanked the NIAID chief for his public service.

“As he leaves his position in the U.S. Government, I know the American people and the entire world will continue to benefit from Dr. Fauci’s expertise in whatever he does next,” Biden said.

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SpaceLink Tapped to Participate in MEO-Earth Communication R&D Under DARPA Contract; David Nemeth Quoted
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SpaceLink Tapped to Participate in MEO-Earth Communication R&D Under DARPA Contract; David Nemeth Quoted

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency has awarded SpaceLink, a space technology company working in data connectivity, with a contract award for research and development activities.

Through the contract and as part of the Space-Based Adaptive Communications Node endeavor, SpaceLink’s team will study and offer findings on the alignment of federal and commercial communications methodologies, especially in medium earth orbit, the Washington, D.C.-based company said Monday.

“DARPA’s vision of interoperability will unlock the value of the proliferating commercial remote sensing constellations for U.S. government agencies. We are gratified to share our technical insights with regard to command and control and API development,” remarked David Nemeth, SpaceLink’s senior vice president of systems engineering.

Nemeth also noted that the company is a good fit for the contract considering that the Space-BACN program overlaps with the SpaceLink objective of establishing unceasing high-capacity, real-time links for data transmissions from space to military personnel.

The company’s current major project is the construction of a constellation of MEO-range relay satellites intended to reciprocally network with earthbound users.

For the Space-BACN program, its team will collaborate with Parsons Corporation, integrating the latter organization’s enterprise scheduling and tasking software with its own optical relay network. The combination is expected to yield dynamically modifiable space-to-space optical communications terminals through which dialogue can be transmitted by and on a range of satellites and mediums.

Additionally, SpaceLink’s responsibilities under the DARPA contract include technical observations and analysis regarding Space-BACN Technical Area 3’s application program interface and algorithms. They will participate in simulation and testing that directly impacts the launch and implementation of the program’s reconfigurable optical communications terminals.

The DARPA contract win comes on the heels of SpaceLink entering into a cooperative research and development agreement with the Alabama-based U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Technical Center.

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MTSI Secures Spot on $5B NASIC Scientific, Technical Intelligence Contract; Kevin Robinson Quoted
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MTSI Secures Spot on $5B NASIC Scientific, Technical Intelligence Contract; Kevin Robinson Quoted

Modern Technology Solutions, a defense and national security-focused engineering and technology company, has won a spot on an 11-year, $5 billion contract from the U.S. Air Force’s service intelligence center.

As one of five organizations working under the indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity small business set-aside NOVASTAR contract, MTSI’s team will conduct scientific and technical intelligence support services and continue a years-long relationship with the National Air and Space Intelligence Center, the Alexandria, Virginia-based company said Friday.

Andrew Norton, the executive leading the NOVASTAR effort and Austin Smith, senior director of the national security branch of MTSI, explained that through the latest NASIC collaboration, the company will perform technical services and strategic assessments to aid modernization of the hub’s analytic strategies and ensure rapid digital transformation.

“We wish to thank them for their confidence in our company and our team,” Smith added.

MTSI will work alongside Ball Aerospace, deciBel Research, as well as Leidos and its subsidiary Dynetics. Carrying out the work mainly at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Beavercreek, Ohio, the home of NASIC, MTSI will additionally partner with Dayton-adjacent small businesses like Mile Two, Awetomaton and AIS.

The collaboration between MTSI and Wright-Patterson and NASIC has endured over 16 years. Their missions together have centered on executing differentiated all-source intelligence evaluations, threat modeling and simulation and foreign materiel exploitation.

“MTSI is proud to extend our partnership with NASIC and lead an amazing team on this critical national security mission out of the Dayton market,” commented Kevin Robinson, CEO and president of MTSI.

Until February 2024, MTSI is also working under the OASIS contract vehicle, the General Services Administration’s ongoing project for professional services. Their team is specifically responsible for research and development endeavors with aircrafts and their parts, space vehicles and guided missiles.

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US, Mission Partners Demo JADC2 Tactical Capabilities During Bold Quest 22
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US, Mission Partners Demo JADC2 Tactical Capabilities During Bold Quest 22

The U.S. military and allied partners have concluded month-long testing and demonstration of the Department of Defense’s Joint All Domain Command and Control initiative.

More than 1,000 participants from 19 countries participated in the Bold Quest 22, which showcased the JADC2 effort’s capabilities to achieve integrated deterrence by enabling data interoperability across systems, services and domains, the Pentagon said Friday.

JADC2 is a multidomain battlefield strategy that aims to synchronize command and control efforts across the land, sea, air, space and cyber domains.

DOD said Bold Quest 22 provides a platform for the U.S. military and mission partners to gain information needed to advance warfighter capabilities and achieve unity of effort in globally integrated operations.

The international military exercise also included live fire demonstrations of French aircraft and fire support units from various countries.

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DOE to Open Funding Opportunities to Advance Hydropower Tech Development; Jennifer Granholm Quoted
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DOE to Open Funding Opportunities to Advance Hydropower Tech Development; Jennifer Granholm Quoted

The Department of Energy has announced plans to invest $28 million in research and development projects focused on advancing the deployment of hydropower technologies.

DOE said Friday it will offer three funding opportunities in the fall to support various activities supporting the development of hydropower and pumped storage hydropower technologies as a source of clean energy.

The department will invest about $14.5 million to encourage sustainable growth of hydropower and pumped storage hydropower technologies designed to decarbonize the U.S. power sector.

Another $10 million will be awarded to expand pumped storage hydropower to provide long-duration energy storage and $4 million will be used to seek stakeholder insights to inform hydropower R&D projects.

According to the notice of intent, the research projects will be funded by the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law and support the Biden administration’s goals of achieving a carbon-free power sector by 2035 and a net-zero-emissions economy by 2050.

“Funding from President Biden’s Bipartisan Infrastructure Law will ensure that hydropower continues to play as big a role in our clean energy future has it has in our past,” said Energy Secretary Jennifer Granholm.

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Army Concludes ‘Saturn Arch’ Counter-IED Aircraft Mission
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Army Concludes ‘Saturn Arch’ Counter-IED Aircraft Mission

The U.S. Army’s Saturn Arch Quick Reaction Capability aircraft flew its last mission to support U.S. Central Command, concluding more than one decade of geospatial intelligence collection work for improvised explosive device neutralization efforts.

The Saturn Arch fleet has recorded 72,500 mission hours and produced over 18,000 data products, the Army Program Executive Office for Intelligence, Electronic Warfare and Sensors said Friday.

Leidos helped the branch manage ground and flight operations of the aerial counter-IED platform equipped with hyperspectral, electro-optical/infrared and high-resolution imagery sensors.

The Joint Improved Explosive Device Defeat Organization initially developed the system to address CENTCOM’s urgent intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance needs in the Middle East.

Michael Payne, product manager for the Army’s Medium Altitude Reconnaissance and Surveillance System, said the service funded the Saturn Arch QRC program to build 10 planes over the past decade.

The Army is looking to transition the aircraft’s sensor suite to other programs as the branch shifts focus on addressing operational requirements in a multidomain environment.

POC - 2022 7th Annual Army Summit

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DHS OIG Offers 4 Recommendations to Help CISA Improve Quality of Shared Cyberthreat Data
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DHS OIG Offers 4 Recommendations to Help CISA Improve Quality of Shared Cyberthreat Data

The Department of Homeland Security’s office of inspector general has recommended that the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency enable accurate reporting by establishing a process to verify the number of cyberthreat indicators and defensive actions being shared through CISA’s Automated Indicator Sharing platforms.

CISA should also come up with a new approach to encourage federal agencies and industry to comply with data sharing requirements and agreements to help improve information sharing under the Cybersecurity Act of 2015, the OIG said in an Aug. 16 report.

The inspector general made the recommendations after it found deficiencies in the quality of data shared with AIS participants, including the lack of contextual information in cyberthreat indicators.

“Deficiencies in the quality of threat information shared among AIS participants may hinder the Federal Government’s ability to identify and mitigate potential cyber vulnerabilities and threats,” the OIG report reads.

The inspector general also called on CISA to complete AIS 2.0 upgrades and prioritize the recruitment of operational and administrative staff to carry out strategic planning, performance measurement and analysis in order to mitigate cyber risks.

FAA Taps 5 Universities to Study Drone-Based Disaster Assistance
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FAA Taps 5 Universities to Study Drone-Based Disaster Assistance

The Federal Aviation Administration has selected five universities to examine drone-based approaches government organizations can apply when responding to manmade or natural disasters.

The research grants have a combined value of $2.7 million and represent the third round of awards made through the FAA-sponsored Alliance for System Safety of UAS through Research Excellence, which aims to facilitate the integration of unmanned aircraft system operations into the national airspace, the agency said Thursday.

“Every second counts in an emergency, and this funding will allow drones to safely and more quickly deploy in moments when minutes matter,” said acting FAA Administrator Billy Nolen.

The grantees and their awards are provided below:

  • University of Vermont: $1.2 million
  • University of Alabama Huntsville: $828,070
  • New Mexico State University: $400,000
  • North Carolina State University: $200,000
  • Kansas State University: $145,000

FAA noted the latest ASSURE funds bring the total awarded under the alliance during fiscal 2022 to $21 million.

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4 States Approved for $750M in Funds to Support Small Businesses; Janet Yellen Quoted
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4 States Approved for $750M in Funds to Support Small Businesses; Janet Yellen Quoted

The Department of the Treasury has approved four states for up to $750 million in funds to help expand access of small businesses and underserved entrepreneurs to capital.

Venture capital, loan guarantee and capital access initiatives operated by the governments of Colorado, Oregon, Montana and New York will receive funding under the State Small Business Credit Initiative, the department said Friday.

New York, for instance, has been approved for up to $501.5 million in funds to run loan participation, venture capital, loan guarantee and venture capital programs in support of small companies.

“This is an historic investment in entrepreneurship, small business growth, and innovation through the American Rescue Plan that will help reduce barriers to capital access for traditionally underserved communities,” said Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen.

“I’m excited to see how SSBCI funds will promote equitable economic growth across the country,” Yellen added.

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