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2022 Wash100 Voting Deadline Approaching; Cast Your 10 Votes By April 30th
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2022 Wash100 Voting Deadline Approaching; Cast Your 10 Votes By April 30th

The Wash100 Award, the most prestigious and coveted award in all of government contracting (GovCon), has been the standard of accomplishment and excellence in the GovCon industry since its inception nine years ago. Executive Mosaic presents the award every year to recognize the 100 influential leaders in our community who can make the most significant contributions in the coming year. 

With all 100 profiles having been published and available on Wash100.com for this year’s list of Wash100 Award winners, the countdown towards the April 30th deadline to cast your TEN votes in the 2022 Wash100 Vote Standings.

For the next three weeks, you’ll have ten votes to cast for the best-in-class executives who you believe deserve the spotlight amongst the GovCon community for their leadership, reliability, drive for innovation and excellence across our industry as well as industry and the U.S. military.

As of this writing, Defense Secretary Gen. Lloyd Austin is holding onto first place by nine votes over NSA Director Gen. Paul Nakasone, who is also a six-time recipient of the award. You have TEN votes to cast before the upcoming deadline, which demonstrates how competitive the 2022 Wash100 Vote Standings have been and will be until the clock strikes midnight on April 30th. 

In addition, Air Force CIO Lauren Knausenberger, the NGA’s Tonya Wilkerson and Mary Petryszyn of Northrop Grumman are keeping close in third, fourth and fifth place, respectively. 

Your ten votes could make all the difference for your favorite executives to receive the acknowledgement they deserve for their accomplishments in the federal landscape. As a member of the GovCon community, your ten votes go a long way to ensure our entire industry recognizes the most significant executives and initiatives impacting the ever evolving federal landscape. 

Visit Wash100.com to cast your TEN votes for the federal leaders you believe deserve the highest honor in all of GovCon, the top spot in the annual Wash100 Vote Standings. 

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CH-53K Helicopter Achieves USMC Testing Milestones Toward IOC
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CH-53K Helicopter Achieves USMC Testing Milestones Toward IOC

The CH-53K heavy-lift helicopter made by Lockheed Martin’s Sikorsky subsidiary has made testing progress toward initial operational capability later in the year and the green light for full-rate production in 2023.

The helicopter underwent seven months of initial operational test and evaluation through March under Marine Operational Test and Evaluation Squadron One in North Carolina, Lockheed said Tuesday.

The IOT&E’s completion follows a number of CH-53K program milestones including sea trials, air-to-air refueling and the deliver of the first six production units. The program’s IOC requires the delivery of four CH-53K units, associated equipment, technical documents and initial spare parts to the first squadron.

Lockheed produces the helicopter in Stratford, Connecticut, with three units scheduled to be delivered within the year.

The U.S. Marine Corps will use the helicopter to transport armored vehicles, personnel and equipment for expeditionary missions.

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DIU, Army Partner to Construct 3D-Printed Barracks
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DIU, Army Partner to Construct 3D-Printed Barracks

The Defense Innovation Unit and the U.S. Army’s Installation Management Command will jointly continue a project aimed at additively manufacturing military barracks.

DIU said Tuesday it will use ICON’s Vulcan construction system to produce a trio of 3D-printed barracks for Texas-based Fort Bliss.

Each barracks will measure 5,700 square feet and align with the Department of Defense’s new unified facilities criteria, which serve as guidance for additive concrete construction.

The effort aims to demonstrate how additive manufacturing can allow for the fast construction of resilient and energy-efficient buildings.

The partnership follows a previous effort between the Texas Military Department and ICON to 3D print barracks at Bastrop-based Camp Swift Training Center via robotic construction-scale technology.

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Charles River to Develop AI-Assisted Intelligence Collection Manager for Army
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Charles River to Develop AI-Assisted Intelligence Collection Manager for Army

Charles River Analytics has received U.S. Army funding to improve the planning of intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance efforts using artificial intelligence optimization techniques and human-machine design best practices.

Achieving Federated ISR Collection through Intelligent Optimization and Natural AI supported Decision Operations (AFICIONADO) is aimed at improving the Army’s existing manned process of managing intelligence collection missions, Charles River said Monday.

Individual collection managers can use AFICIONADO unified workspace to receive AI engine-generated plans that recommend optimized ways of meeting mission goals while enterprise users can utilize the shared system to coordinate and improve strategies by units across the service branch.

“It will serve as a catalyst for changing the current, largely manual workflow, which is extremely laborious, into a streamlined, collaborative one,” noted Tyler Mayer, Charles River scientist and AFICIONADO principal investigator.

Development of AFICIONADO could inform the advancement of resource allocation optimization in the utilities market and the wider private sector in the future.

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OMB Report Highlights Climate Change Impact on Federal Budget
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OMB Report Highlights Climate Change Impact on Federal Budget

The Office of Management and Budget has released an initial risk assessment highlighting the impacts of climate change on the federal budget and U.S. economic development.

Candace Vahlsing, associate director for climate, energy, environment and science at OMB, and chief economist Danny Yagan said in a blog published Monday the report found that the U.S. government could lose about $2 trillion annually in revenue by the end of the century due to climate change.

The report also estimates that the federal government’s expenditure on climate change-related issues could be between $25 billion to $128 billion annually. Crop insurance premium subsidies are projected to grow from 3.5 percent to 22 percent annually as a result of crop losses and annual spending on coastal disaster response could increase up to $94 billion annually by the end of the century.

The OMB recommended that Congress enact budget allocations in fiscal year 2023 that address the threats of climate change, including more than $7 billion to reduce emissions in the power sector and more than $5 billion to help the Department of Transformation transition to renewable energy.

“Funding these activities will not only help confront the risks created by the climate crisis, but help ensure that 40 percent of the benefits from climate and clean energy funding is directed through the Justice40 Initiative toward addressing the disproportionate impacts of climate change on disadvantaged communities,” the OMB personnel said.

The report was published in compliance with an executive order signed by President Biden in May 2021 that directed agencies to analyze and mitigate the risks climate change poses to Americans’ financial security.

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Gen. Paul Nakasone Talks US Cyber Command’s Priorities at Congressional Hearings
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Gen. Paul Nakasone Talks US Cyber Command’s Priorities at Congressional Hearings

Gen. Paul Nakasone, head of U.S. Cyber Command and a 2022 Wash100 Award recipient, on Tuesday appeared before House and Senate lawmakers to discuss five priorities that will help USCYBERCOM improve its capabilities to counter cybersecurity threats and other national security challenges.

Nakasone, who also serves as director of the National Security Agency, said those priorities are readiness; operations in defense of the nation; integrated deterrence; recruiting, retention and training; and Joint Cyber Warfighting Architecture and enhanced budget control.

For integrated deterrence, he said advancing that priority “means preparing for crisis and conflict while campaigning in competition across the full spectrum of cyber operations” and “building the strategic partnerships that enable the defense of U.S. systems and networks” beyond the defense industrial base and the Department of Defense Information Network.

Nakasone told congressional members how the command supported Ukraine, NATO allies and other mission partners to defend networks against potential vulnerabilities in light of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

He also talked about the strategic challenges posed by China, North Korea and Iran in cyberspace.

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Aaron Weis: Navy Enterprise Network Modernization Calls for IT Architecture Changes
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Aaron Weis: Navy Enterprise Network Modernization Calls for IT Architecture Changes

Aaron Weis, chief information officer at the Department of the Navy and a 2022 Wash100 Award recipient, said a fundamental change in information technology architecture could help DON increase the agility and security of its enterprise network, FCW reported Tuesday.

He pointed to the Navy’s move to implement Office 365 productivity and collaboration tools as part of a broader network modernization strategy during a panel discussion at the Navy League’s Sea Air Space conference.

Weis told the publication that the branch seeks to transform how it operates and protects the network with software-defined technology.

The Navy is working with Leidos to conduct IT modernization efforts under the Next Generation Enterprise Network-Recompete contract’s service management, integration and transport portion valued at $7.7 billion over eight years.

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FBI Promotes Nathan Taylor to IT Applications & Data Division Assistant Director
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FBI Promotes Nathan Taylor to IT Applications & Data Division Assistant Director

Nathan Taylor, a 16-year FBI veteran, has been promoted to assistant director of the bureau’s information technology applications and data division. 

He held the deputy assistant director post within the division for three years before his promotion and is now responsible for overseeing the applications and information services that support the FBI’s administrative, investigative, cybersecurity and intelligence processes, the FBI said Monday. 

Taylor supported cloud service adoption and cybersecurity initiatives in his more recent role at ITADD.

His FBI career started in 2006 as an accounting analyst for the finance division and he later served as a management and program analyst. The bureau also assigned him to the front office of the budget and accounting sections and the internal advisory group.

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US, Australia, UK to Pursue Hypersonics Development Under New Defense Alliance
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US, Australia, UK to Pursue Hypersonics Development Under New Defense Alliance

The U.S., Australia and the U.K. have agreed to broaden cooperation to develop hypersonics and other military technology platforms, The Washington Post reported Tuesday.

The defense alliance, called AUKUS, will also advance cooperation on artificial intelligence, cyber, quantum, undersea and electronic warfare capabilities.

U.S. President Biden, Australian Prime Minister Scott Morrison and British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said in a statement the expanded cooperation sought to reaffirm their “commitment to [the partnership] and to a free and open IndoPacific.”

The three countries launched AUKUS in September. At the time, the U.S. and the U.K. announced that they would help Australia develop nuclear-powered submarines.

A defense official said the U.S. conducted testing in mid-March of a Lockheed Martin-built hypersonic missile that was launched from a B-52 bomber, according to a report by CNN.

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency said the Lockheed version of the Hypersonic Air-breathing Weapon Concept system flew for more than 300 nautical miles at altitudes higher than 65,000 feet and hypersonic speeds faster than Mach 5.

The HAWC missile also met several objectives, including safe separation from the carrier aircraft, booster firing, integration and release and cruise, according to the report.

CNN said it was the second HAWC missile test. In September, the U.S. Air Force tested a Raytheon Technologies-built configuration of an HAWC missile powered by a scramjet engine from Northrop Grumman.

Hypersonics Forum

Join ExecutiveBiz Events for the Hypersonics Forum this spring to hear from federal and industry leaders as they discuss the role of public-private partnerships in hypersonics development in relation to national security, military capabilities and strategic competition in today’s evolving threat landscape.

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Air Force’s Ground-Based Strategic Deterrent Now Designated LGM-35A Sentinel; Frank Kendall Quoted
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Air Force’s Ground-Based Strategic Deterrent Now Designated LGM-35A Sentinel; Frank Kendall Quoted

The Department of the Air Force has officially named its Ground Based Strategic Deterrent intercontinental ballistic missile system the LGM-35A Sentinel.

The Sentinel is set to replace the Minuteman III ICBM system as the ground-based leg of the U.S. nuclear triad and will have a modular architecture to facilitate the integration of emerging technologies in response to evolving threat environment, the Air Force said Tuesday.

The service said the GBSD weapon system, which is being developed by Northrop Grumman under a contract awarded in September 2020, will reinforce the country’s integrated deterrence and will be a fully integrated platform with command and control capabilities.

“The name Sentinel recognizes the mindset that thousands of Airmen, past and present, have brought to the deterrence mission, and will serve as a reminder for those who operate, secure, and maintain this system in the future about the discipline and responsibility their duty entails,” said Frank Kendall, secretary of the Air Force and a three-time Wash100 Award winner. Kendall approved the designation for the new ICBM system.

The LGM-35A Sentinel will be housed at F.E. Warren Air Force Base in Wyoming, Minot AFB in North Dakota and at Malmstrom AFB in Montana.

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