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Parsons Expands Reach in Special Ops, Intelligence Community with Xator Acquisition; CEO Carey Smith Quoted
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Parsons Expands Reach in Special Ops, Intelligence Community with Xator Acquisition; CEO Carey Smith Quoted

Public sector-serving technology and engineering firm Parsons Corporation has signed a $400 million deal to acquire infrastructure protection and C4ISR services organization Xator Corporation.

The business combination is aimed to grow Parsons’ reach to the U.S. special operations command and Intelligence Community sectors, as well as to federal civilian clientele and the global critical infrastructure market, the Centreville, Virginia-based company said Monday.

Carey Smith, CEO, president and chair of Parsons and a four-time Wash100 Award winner, said the Xator purchase adds “solutions and technologies that advance global security” and “continues our strategy of buying accretive, mission-focused companies aligned with global macroeconomic trends.”

Xator’s staff of over 900 employees (90 percent of whom carry security clearances) will bring skill sets in counter-unmanned aircraft systems, intelligence and cyber services, biometrics and global threat evaluation and operations. These capabilities are aimed to bolster Parsons’ offerings for the federal services and critical infrastructure markets, as well as gain a more trenchant relationship with the Department of State, which is undergoing budgetary expansion.

The acquisition is worth a total of $400 million — $343 constitutes Xator’s price tag, along with a net present value of a $57 million tax benefit, the result of 10.7x Xator’s adjusted EBITDA for 2023. The agreement is in-keeping with Parsons’ tendency of acquiring companies with revenue gains and adjusted EBITDA margins of 10 percent or higher that serve to bolster the company’s arsenal with new intellectual property.

“The joining of Parsons’ impressive capabilities in infrastructure and national security solutions, along with Xator’s capabilities in infrastructure protection, engineering, C4ISR, and national security will be a competitive force in the global infrastructure and national security markets,” remarked David Scott, CEO of Xator.

The transaction is scheduled to officially close later this quarter and Xator’s benefits are slated to be visible in Parsons’ 2023 adjusted earnings per share, revenue growth and adjusted EBITDA margin.

Parsons consulted with Goldman Sachs & Co. LLc and Latham & Watkins LLP for the transaction and Rees Broome, PC provided Xator consulting services.

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Navy Commissions USS Minneapolis-Saint Paul to Service
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Navy Commissions USS Minneapolis-Saint Paul to Service

The U.S. Navy has officially commissioned into service its newest Freedom-variant littoral combat ship manufactured by Lockheed Martin and Fincantieri Marinette Marine during a ceremony held Duluth, Minnesota.

USS Minneapolis-Saint Paul, dubbed LCS 21, is the second naval vessel to be named after the twin cities of Minnesota and will be homeported at Naval Station Mayport, Florida, the Navy reported Saturday.

The Lockheed-Fincantieri team completed acceptance trials for LCS 21 in August 2021 and handed the vessel over to the Navy in November 2021 after concluding tests of a combining gear modification.

LCS 21 is designed to support sea control, deterrence, forward presence and maritime security operations and capable of operating in near-shore and open-ocean environments.

The commissioning ceremony was attended by Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz; Erik Raven, undersecretary of the Navy; and Vice Adm. Scott Conn, deputy chief naval operations for warfighting requirements and capabilities. 

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DHS S&T Seeks Participants in 2022 Biometric Tech Rally
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DHS S&T Seeks Participants in 2022 Biometric Tech Rally

The Science and Technology Directorate within the Department of Homeland Security is seeking applications from the industry to join the 2022 Biometric Technology Rally in September.

DHS S&T said Friday it is encouraging developers of face biometric acquisition systems and face biometric matching algorithms to participate in the event at the Maryland Test Facility in Maryland to showcase their capabilities.

Accurately screening and differentiating specific small groups of people will be the challenge focus of the 2022 Rally. It will build on earlier assessments of biometric technology capabilities developed to process individuals.

“Now we plan to assess how well these systems work when identifying individuals within small groups that opt-in to using the system, while avoiding bystanders in a crowded environment who have not opted-in,” said Arun Vemury, director of S&T’s Biometric and Identity Technology Center.

Demonstrations will aim to highlight a participant’s image capturing and face identification abilities, and to meet performance requirements for each demographic group.

A Stakeholder Demonstration Day will also be held to provide technology developers with an opportunity to showcase their offerings to government and private sector stakeholders. Applications from interested parties are due July 1st.

Navy Rear Adm. Thomas Ishee Nominated as Sixth Fleet Commander
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Navy Rear Adm. Thomas Ishee Nominated as Sixth Fleet Commander

U.S. Navy Rear Adm. Thomas Ishee was nominated to serve as commander of the Sixth Fleet, Task Force Six and Striking and Support Forces NATO, as well as deputy commander of U.S. Naval Forces Europe and Africa.

President Biden also tapped Ishee for appointment to the grade of vice admiral and Joint Force Maritime Component Commander Europe, according to Lloyd Austin, secretary of the Department of Defense.

Currently, Ishee is the director of global operations for U.S. Strategic Command.

His career includes time serving as the director of the Undersea Warfare Division of the Navy, deputy commander of the Joint Functional Component Command for Global Strike and executive assistant to the Chief of Naval Operations.

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Kiran Ahuja: OPM Seeks to Expand Federal Talent Pool With New Hiring Approach
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Kiran Ahuja: OPM Seeks to Expand Federal Talent Pool With New Hiring Approach

The Office of Personnel Management has issued guidance meant to encourage federal hiring managers to assess potential candidates based on skills rather than relying solely on the applicants’ educational attainment or self-evaluation of their capacity to perform a job.

OPM said Thursday a skills-based hiring approach will work to help agencies value the learned ability of a person applying for a federal civilian position regardless of where the applicant acquired skills.

The office’s new guide implements an executive order signed by former President Donald Trump in June 2020 to reform hiring practices in the government.

“Given today’s booming labor market, the federal government must position itself to compete with other sectors for top talent,” said OPM Director Kiran Ahuja.

“By focusing on what an applicant can do—and not where they learned to do it—skills-based hiring will expand talent pools by making it easier for applicants without a bachelor’s degree to demonstrate their skills and will help remove barriers to employment for historically under-represented groups.”

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IARPA Program Explores Artificial Intelligence for Microelectronics
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IARPA Program Explores Artificial Intelligence for Microelectronics

Several technology companies and universities are helping the Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity explore artificial intelligence and machine learning applications for microelectronic devices.

IARPA said Thursday MicroE4AI program aims to demonstrate materials and processes for the development of small electronics that can host AI/ML algorithms to support intelligence community and national security missions.

Intel’s federal business, Chip Scan, General Electric and GenXComm are among the participants in the two-year program that kicked off in September last year with 12 seedling efforts.

The agency cited unmanned autonomous vehicle navigation, hybrid computing and tamper detection as some of the potential use cases under the effort.

“When fully realized, the advances the MicroE4AI program will bring to AI and ML will be closer to the edges of the IC cloud, automating and enhancing the effectiveness of the IC’s mission,” said Noel Wheeler, an IARPA program manager.

“This means the IC will have the ability to more quickly sift out high-quality information, while minimizing the need for human oversight.”

IARPA Program Explores Artificial Intelligence for Microelectronics

ExecutiveBiz, sister publication of GovConDaily, will assemble leaders from the government and GovCon community on June 14 to offer insight into the role of microelectronics in the Pentagon’s National Defense Science and Technology Strategy. Learn more about the upcoming event at ExecutiveBiz.com.

 

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GAO: NNSA Should Develop Process for Evaluation of R&D Portfolio Performance Under AMD Program
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GAO: NNSA Should Develop Process for Evaluation of R&D Portfolio Performance Under AMD Program

The Government Accountability Office has recommended that the National Nuclear Security Administration come up and document its process for assessing the performance of its research and development projects under the Advanced Manufacturing Development program.

GAO said in a report published Friday NNSA should establish measures for evaluating the progress on long-term R&D priorities and goals for its AMD program.

The congressional watchdog found that NNSA’s AMD program fully or substantially followed five of six leading practices for overseeing a federal R&D portfolio, including the development and alignment of short- and long-term R&D goals and priorities; identification and coordination with stakeholders to develop the R&D portfolio; and use of a portfolio-wide system to monitor the progress of R&D.

However, NNSA has not fully established a process for reviewing the performance of the R&D portfolio within the AMD program.

“As a result, NNSA may be using inconsistent measures across individual projects to evaluate performance,” the GAO report reads.

According to the report, NNSA production and laboratory sites had approximately 600 manufacturing-related R&D projects and spent about $300 million on such initiatives in fiscal year 2021.

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Milancy Harris Nominated as DOD Deputy Undersecretary for Security, Intelligence
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Milancy Harris Nominated as DOD Deputy Undersecretary for Security, Intelligence

President Biden has nominated Milancy Harris, deputy assistant secretary for irregular warfare and counterterrorism at the Department of Defense, to serve as deputy undersecretary for security and intelligence at DOD.

Harris was part of the Intelligence Community Agency Review Team during the Biden-Harris transition, the White House said Friday.

In her current role, Harris oversees the development of policy guidance and implementation of all DOD strategies and plans with regard to counterterrorism and irregular warfare, including the recruitment of special operations forces in irregular warfare, special reconnaissance and counterproliferation, among other areas.

In 2004, she joined the IC and worked at the Defense Intelligence Agency as an analyst. 

Her government career also included time as chief of staff of the directorate of intelligence at the National Counterterrorism Center; director for counterterrorism on the National Security Council staff; deputy director of the emerging issues division at the Office of the Director of National Intelligence; and as an intelligence briefer within the office of the secretary of defense.

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PSC Urges House Panel to Provide USAID With Funding, Authority to Hire Contracting Staff; David Berteau Quoted
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PSC Urges House Panel to Provide USAID With Funding, Authority to Hire Contracting Staff; David Berteau Quoted

The Professional Services Council has called on the House Foreign Affairs Committee to provide the U.S. Agency for International Development with the needed funding and hiring flexibility to increase the number of employees supporting program management initiatives.

“As foreign assistance needs increase, USAID must continue to plan and execute programs with both measurable goals and real impact,” PSC President and CEO David Berteau said in a statement published Friday.

“PSC recognizes that this only happens if USAID has the authority and funding to hire and maintain a capable and diverse workforce, including contracting professionals. Our CIDC member companies recognize and support this,” added Berteau, a two-time Wash100 Award winner. 

In a May 16 letter to the House panel, PSC said it supports USAID Administrator Samantha Power’s stand that USAID could better execute programs if it had adequate number of contracting personnel to review, manage and award projects.

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FedRAMP Gets 1st System Security Plan in Machine-Readable OSCAL Format
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FedRAMP Gets 1st System Security Plan in Machine-Readable OSCAL Format

The Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program has received from a cloud service provider the first system security plan in a machine-readable format called Open Security Controls Assessment Language.

FedRAMP expects the adoption of the OSCAL format to help automate reviews of security packages and accelerate authorizations, the program said in a blog post published Thursday.

In June 2021, the National Institute of Standards and Technology and FedRAMP introduced the initial version of OSCAL.

In August 2021, FedRAMP unveiled the first set of OSCAL validation rules to enable CSPs and third-party assessment organizations to perform self-testing to see whether all the required data is included in their security packages prior to submission to the government.

The program also expects the validation rules to enable FedRAMP reviewers to offer feedback with structured markup and focus on the review’s more complex aspects.

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