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DARPA Launches Program to Manufacture Large Systems in Space
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DARPA Launches Program to Manufacture Large Systems in Space

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency has selected eight industry and university research teams to support a new program for designing new technologies to build large structures on orbit.

The Novel Orbital Moon Manufacturing, Materials, and Mass Efficient Design will focus on on-orbit manufacturing of large space and lunar structures to address size constraints that limit the production and launch of such systems, DARPA said Wednesday.

The three-phase NOM4D research will primarily focus on developing in-space materials and manufacturing technologies and exploring new mass-efficient designs.

Phase I will concentrate on meeting structural efficiency targets for a 1 MW solar array, phase II will center on the development of radio frequency reflectors and phase III will demonstrate precision for infrared reflectors.

The first set of teams comprises HRL Laboratories, Physical Sciences Inc., Teledyne Scientific Company, the University of Florida and the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. The second group includes Opterus Research and Development Inc., the University of Michigan and the California Institute of Technology.

“NOM4D aims to enable a new paradigm where future structures that support DoD space systems are built off-Earth using designs optimized for the space environment, shedding launch constraints. This would enable enhanced capability, improved robustness, operation in higher orbits, and future cislunar applications,” said Bill Carter, NOM4D program manager in DARPA’s Defense Sciences Office.

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Navy Seeks Aircraft Beyond-Line-of-Sight Communications Demo for August Maritime Exercise
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Navy Seeks Aircraft Beyond-Line-of-Sight Communications Demo for August Maritime Exercise

The U.S. Navy’s Naval Air Warfare Center Aircraft Division is looking for companies interested to showcase beyond-line-of-sight communications for aerial platforms during an upcoming demonstration in August.

According to a special notice on SAM.gov, NAWCAD wants to experiment on technologies that can connect unmanned vehicles dependent on data and communications networks as part of the 2022 Advanced Naval Technology Exercise.

Capabilities of interest for naval officials must be of low size, weight and power; capable of operating in autonomous, dynamic and contested environments while using minimal latency and throughput; and be compatible with manned aircraft in support of distributed maritime operations.

NAWCAD will accept applications for participation at ANTX until April 19.

Selected companies will have a chance to demonstrate their technologies at Naval Air Station Patuxent River or Wester Outlying Field in Maryland and inform future acquisition strategies for naval aviation systems.

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Bipartisan Senate Bill Calls for Legacy Government IT Inventory, Modernization
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Bipartisan Senate Bill Calls for Legacy Government IT Inventory, Modernization

A bill proposed by Sens. Maggie Hassan, D-N.H., and John Cornyn, R-Texas, would mandate federal agencies to make an inventory of legacy information technology assets and craft plans to modernize or dispose of outdated systems.

The Legacy IT Reduction Act of 2022 also calls for the Office of Management and Budget to develop guidelines that could help government organizations identify and update old IT platforms, Hassan’s office said Wednesday.

“All Americans know the frustration of trying to use an old computer that is too slow or isn’t compatible with the newest, securest software – now imagine the entire federal government trying to serve Americans using such technology,” said the Democratic senator.

“This bipartisan bill will help ensure that agencies act to update critical technology and better serve the American people.”

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FBI: Complaints of Suspected Internet Crimes Rose 7% in 2021
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FBI: Complaints of Suspected Internet Crimes Rose 7% in 2021

The FBI has issued a report stating that its Internet Crime Complaint Center received 847,376 complaints of alleged online crimes in 2021, up 7 percent from the previous year.

The 2021 Internet Crime Report shows that internet-enabled crimes resulted in $6.9 billion in losses and that the top three cybercrimes were personal data breach, phishing scams and nonpayment and non-delivery scams, the bureau said Tuesday.

According to the report, victims primarily lost money to email account compromise, investment scams and fraud and confidence and romance schemes.

In 2021, IC3 received 19,954 complaints of business email compromise, resulting in approximately $2.4 billion in losses. The other top internet-enabled crimes are personal data breaches, real estate or rental schemes and tech support scams.

POC - 2022 CMMC Forum

To learn more about the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification program, join the Potomac Officers Club on May 18 for the 2022 CMMC Forum.

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DIU, DAU Announce Immersive Commercial Acquisition Program; Michael Brown Quoted
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DIU, DAU Announce Immersive Commercial Acquisition Program; Michael Brown Quoted

The Defense Innovation Unit and the Defense Acquisition University have come up with a 12-month program to train civilian and military contracting officers on the Commercial Solutions Opening process as part of efforts to speed up the delivery of technologies to warfighters.

The Immersive Commercial Acquisition Program is expected to launch in October and offer participants an opportunity to attend virtual classes on other transaction authorities via DAU’s Defense Acquisition Credential Program.

“To give our warfighters the best and most current technology available, DoD must embrace and leverage an acquisition process that maximizes competition and enables the Department to operate at commercial speeds,” said Michael Brown, director of DIU and a 2022 Wash100 Award winner. 

“To do this, we need to train our acquisitions talent from across the Services on how to effectively transition technologies from the commercial sector into the DoD,” Brown added.

DIU and DAU will conduct a competitive selection process to name up to six contracting officers that will participate in the program. Those who will complete the training program will serve as a link between DIU and service branches on future projects.

ICAP may expand to other procurement-related fields, including program management, legal and finance.

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Richard Creed: Army Eyes June Release of Multidomain Operations Doctrine
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Richard Creed: Army Eyes June Release of Multidomain Operations Doctrine

Richard Creed, director of the U.S. Army’s Combined Arms Center doctrine division, said the service’s multidomain operations concept for warfighting will become a doctrine in June to address great power competition and potential conflict across ground, air, maritime, space and cyber domains with near-peer competitors, Defense News reported Wednesday.

According to a document obtained by the publication, MDO is carried out during competition, crisis and armed conflict phases and advances the use of layered capabilities to deter peer competitors.

The doctrine will require “a mission command approach” to command-and-control and direct the Army to determine how ground forces influence the other four domains.

The document will have seven chapters, including one on the military branch’s operations in maritime-dominated environments.

“This represents a capstone doctoral shift to account for the Pacific pivot,” Creed said n a Monday briefing at the Combined Arms Center at Fort Leavenworth in Kansas. “There are some very different considerations in terms of planning, conduct and expectations for the operation.”

The other chapters deal with the fundamentals of MDO, operations during armed conflict and war and leadership during operations.

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Ted Kaouk: Council Recognizes Opportunity to Build Up CDO Position in Federal Government
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Ted Kaouk: Council Recognizes Opportunity to Build Up CDO Position in Federal Government

Ted Kaouk, chairman of the Federal Chief Data Officers Council, said the council believes that there is a “unique opportunity” to advance CDO as a new profession within the federal government, Federal News Network reported Wednesday.

“We feel that the federal CDO position is a pivotal and really transformational role that can significantly benefit the collection, organization, analysis and use of data at agencies, as well as improve its overall value to society,” he told FNN in an interview.

Kaouk, who also serves as CDO and deputy director for human capital data management and modernization at the Office of Personnel Management, said the council released a playbook to help standardize some aspects of the CDO role across the government.

CDOs have been creating data dashboards and data inventories and conducting data skills training among the workforce at the agency level.

“We feel like CDOs really have to seize on that opportunity to leverage data as a strategic asset. They need to do things like build critical relationships to show value in the near term. Things like quick wins are going to help them build that momentum,” said Kaouk.

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Peraton Hires Three Public Sector-Facing Executives, Announces First PAC; SVP Mara Motherway Quoted
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Peraton Hires Three Public Sector-Facing Executives, Announces First PAC; SVP Mara Motherway Quoted

Peraton has appointed three new executives to roles in its government and customer relations divisions, as well as the newly founded political action committee.

U.S. Marine Corps. Veteran Scott Cooper has been named vice president of strategic advocacy, former Honeywell executive Joe DeVooght will be vice president of federal congressional affairs and former SAIC manager Elisabeth Drabkin has assumed director responsibilities for Peraton PAC, the company said Wednesday.

“The addition of these world-class leaders in government affairs and advocacy further demonstrates Peraton’s commitment to proactively engage with Congress and other policymakers on issues important to our business, our employees, and our national security,” said Mara Motherway, senior vice president of government and customer relations at Peraton.

The employee-funded PAC is intended to back political figures who align with Peraton’s economic and policy goals. It is the company’s first PAC endeavor and will be informed by Drabkin’s experience managing SAIC’s government affairs and voluntary PAC. 

Drabkin has accrued extensive experience in PAC management, compliance, legislative and regulatory matters and team-building. In addition, she participates in the National Association of Business PACs and spent time as co-chair of the Defense PAC PALS.

Prior to coming to Peraton, DeVooght was senior director of government relations at Honeywell. Before that, he worked for over 15 years in the House of Representatives under U.S. Representative Pete Visclosky, holding positions as deputy chief of staff and legislative director. In addition, he was associate staffer for the chairman of the defense appropriations subcommittee, during which time he liaised with the Department of Defense and members of the intelligence community.

In his new role, DeVooght will be in charge of Peraton’s legislative strategies and be expected to build on his relationships with members of congress via an expansion of the company’s strategic congressional engagement.

As a marine, Cooper executed five tours in Iraq and two in Afghanistan and is a distinguished figure on the topic of national security. He co-authored a book on no-fly zones and is a non-resident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council. Before joining Peraton, his last position was as an agent advising on space and aerospace exploration, national security and technology at the Charles F. Bolden Group.

As vice president of strategic advocacy, Cooper will report to Motherway and oversee development and planning for Peraton’s partnerships with think tanks, research and development centers and advocacy organizations.

“Scott, Joe, and Elisabeth each bring a unique and proven set of skills to the company that will ensure Peraton’s mission impact to national security is well-understood on the Hill,” Motherway concluded.

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Acuity International Receives Amentum Subcontract to Support Hawthorne Army Depot Operations; Mike Reynolds Quoted
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Acuity International Receives Amentum Subcontract to Support Hawthorne Army Depot Operations; Mike Reynolds Quoted

Acuity International announced on Wednesday that the company has received a subcontract from Amentum in support of the Army, Army Materiel Command (AMC) Joint Munitions Command (JMC) for the operation and maintenance of the Hawthorne Army Depot (HWAD).

“We are proud to support the U.S. Army in this complex and highly specialized operation,” said Mike Reynolds, president of Global Mission Solutions for Acuity International. “Our team brings well-tested and adaptable methods, agility and deep domain expertise to support the Army’s mission.”

The contract was originally awarded to DynCorp International, which was acquired by Amentum in Nov. 2020. Through the contract, Acuity will be responsible for demilitarizing and disposing of unserviceable, obsolete, and surplus and disposing of conventional ammunition, missiles and other related munitions and components.

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AT&T FirstNet Unveils Slew of Technological Offerings for Emergency Response; President Jason Porter Quoted
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AT&T FirstNet Unveils Slew of Technological Offerings for Emergency Response; President Jason Porter Quoted

AT&T FirstNet, the telecommunications company’s branch for first responders, has debuted several new tools and features to advance its mission of protecting citizens and shortening emergency response times.

Among the newly announced features are mini cell towers for indoor use enhancement, compact rapid deployables, emergency response kits, 9-1-1 improvements and a push-to-talk service, AT&T Public Sector said Tuesday.

“As technology rapidly evolves, we’ll continue to create innovative solutions and equip public safety to further strengthen their situational awareness and incident response in any emergency,” said AT&T Public Sector and FirstNet President Jason Porter, who is also a 2022 Wash100 Award recipient.

Porter emphasized that the company is creating the new services “because it ultimately helps all people across the country stay safe” and predicts FirstNet will “continue to lead the industry, providing interoperable, end-to-end emergency communication solutions for decades to come.”

The Cell Booster Pro, available April 1, is designed to strengthen cell phone reception and connectivity so that the 80 percent of wireless calls that occur at indoor locations can have a better chance of reaching a public safety official. This mini cell tower is able to transmit both Band 14 spectrum specific to FirstNet as well as commercial LTE service.

AT&T has also unveiled a geospatial Z-Axis technology that empowers more accurate location identification and visualization so that people stuck in a certain place during an emergency can be swiftly tracked.

In addition, the company has introduced a disaster response package that includes 150 assets for public safety usage, among which are compact rapid deployables or mobile assets that are built for fast distribution throughout areas suffering from wildfires, hurricanes and other natural disasters.

New as well are emergency response kits that are applicable both for post-disaster use and for daily implementation by public safety officials.

Another feature FirstNet is now offering is an integration of AT&T ESInet with 9-1-1 services so that public safety answering points can route and track calls with efficiency and cut down on emergency response periods. To do so, they will utilize the combined efforts of satellite GPS, wi-fi and a wireless network.

Finally, AT&T FirstNet has released an arsenal of push-to-talk services. FirstNet Rapid Response, one of these tools, is a voice, video and data service that increases situational awareness for public safety agencies and is a standards-based mission-critical offering. It is intended to enable those seeking help to stream their surroundings and share images or documents immediately with first responders.

“Public safety has identified these capabilities and solutions as critical to advancing the FirstNet network… users can continue to count on their network to provide them with mission-ready solutions for emergencies of all types and sizes,” commented FirstNet Authority CEO Edward Parkinson.

The new technological additions follow AT&T FirstNet’s expansion of its 5G coverage to 10 new cities in February.

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