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Former ManTech Exec Scott Garren Named CGO at Sigma Defense; CEO Matt Jones Quoted
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Former ManTech Exec Scott Garren Named CGO at Sigma Defense; CEO Matt Jones Quoted

Seasoned business development executive Scott Garren has joined defense contractor Sigma Defense Systems as chief growth officer.

In his new position, Garren will aim to strengthen Sigma’s edge services initiative in the various branches of the U.S. Department of Defense and oversee its strategic revenue efforts, the company said Wednesday. He will report to Matt Jones, CEO of Sigma Defense.

Jones remarked that Garren’s appointment is a “key step in the evolution of Sigma Defense” due to the company’s broadening portfolio and high expectancy of service delivery to the DOD.

“[Garren] is focused on the execution of our business strategy, growth acceleration and enhancement of our position as a leader in the market,” Jones continued.

The newly hired executive will leverage over two decades of shepherding expansion and business development in federal government-facing and technology sector roles. He was an associate at Booz Allen Hamilton for eight years and vice president and growth lead of defense at ManTech for 14 years.

Most recently, Garren was chief growth officer at Interactive Government Holdings, a small, veteran-owned business consulting and services firm.

As CGO at Sigma, Garren will additionally spend time emboldening the company’s customer relationships and industry collaborations while ensuring the organization’s reputation for providing advanced edge services to the U.S. military is strong.

The instatement of Garren comes after retired U.S. Army Lieutenant General Francis Beaudette was added to Sigma Defense’s board of advisers in January.

That same month, the company underwent a brand redesign with a new logo and website.

Bechtel Unveils Manufacturing and Technology Business; President Catherine Hunt Ryan Quoted
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Bechtel Unveils Manufacturing and Technology Business; President Catherine Hunt Ryan Quoted

Engineering, construction and project management company Bechtel has created a new business wing concerned with manufacturing and technology.

Bechtel Manufacturing and Technology will offer engineering, procurement and construction services for organizations in the semiconductor, electric vehicle, synthetic materials and data center industries, the company said Tuesday.

Catherine Hunt Ryan, president of the newly established business unit, said the decision to start the endeavor was made in order to increase market presence in “industrial facilities, data centers and advanced-technology manufacturing spaces.”

The team at BMT are set to develop, construct and implement supply chain systems for various technologies via the assembly of their component parts. They anticipate these processes to be difficult but made possible by a staff of advanced and experienced professionals.

“Differentiated by our ability to design for rapid advances in technology and deploy best-in-class construction innovation, Bechtel Manufacturing and Technology helps customers realize their ambitions in the next generation of manufacturing,” Ryan said.

Ryan previously held the position of chief financial officer at the company and is a member of its board of directors. She stated the new enterprise is “moving aggressively” in order to guarantee “supply chain integrity” and a fast-acting delivery of services.

The inception of the manufacturing and technology entity comes on the heels of manufacturing contracts like Bechtel Plant Machinery’s December 2021 $872 million modification award for naval nuclear propulsion part production.

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Army Seeks Sources of 5th Gen-Representative Aerial Targets for Military Training
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Army Seeks Sources of 5th Gen-Representative Aerial Targets for Military Training

The U.S. Army has released a sources sought notice for the development, integration and production of an aerial target prototype that can be used in ground and flight testing of fifth-generation aircraft.

The Army eyes the award of an indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract with a five-year base period and a two-year option period to just one company by fiscal 2023 for the prototypes, according to the notice posted on SAM.gov.

The service branch is interested in a low-cost and low-observable prototype that could emit passive signatures emulating fifth-generation fighters, carry external payloads, dispense chaff and flares, travel at transonic speeds, fly for up to 120 minutes and last for up to 50 hours.

The aerial targets will feature in various development and operational test and training such as red and blue force training programs, product verification, special tests and research and development activities.

Interested companies can submit information to the Army until April 26.

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Noblis Secures Patent for Autonomous Machine Cooperation Tech; Karl Wunderlich Quoted
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Noblis Secures Patent for Autonomous Machine Cooperation Tech; Karl Wunderlich Quoted

Noblis has received a patent for a technology designed to collectively optimize autonomous machines performing cooperative actions together.

The nonprofit said Tuesday its Noblis Orchestrated Autonomy technology allows autonomous machines to plan and consistently run motion to foster trust from other machines.

“Noblis Orchestrated Autonomy allows pick-up teams of autonomous machines to perform as if they have trained together extensively,” said Karl Wunderlich, a Noblis research team lead who also invented the system.

Wunderlich noted that the group of autonomous machines would self-organize and isolate compromised components if one of them malfunctions.

Noblis expects this technology to enable high-speed, coordinated actions for a range of applications, including self-organizing drones, unmanned undersea vehicles and movement coordination of autonomous vehicles.

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OPM’s Robert Shriver Delivers Updates on Cybersecurity Workforce Efforts
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OPM’s Robert Shriver Delivers Updates on Cybersecurity Workforce Efforts

Robert Shriver, associate director for employee services at the Office of Personnel Management, has given updates on three efforts to expand the federal government’s cybersecurity workforce.

OPM has released a new page on the MAX information system to centralize resources and best practices for coding cybersecurity positions, Shriver said in a memo issued Monday. The MAX system helps OPM gather, analyze, model and publish management and budgeting information.

This update aligns with requirements imposed by the Federal Cybersecurity Workforce Assessment Act of 2015 and supports existing guidance released in January 2017.

Second, OPM is promoting an inter-agency pilot program that aims to boost the visibility of job opportunity announcements relevant to federal cybersecurity.

Lastly, the agency’s Future of Work website now features a resource hub with information on hiring and maintaining federal cybersecurity employees.

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DHS Plans to Replace Information Sharing Platform With New Cloud-Based System
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DHS Plans to Replace Information Sharing Platform With New Cloud-Based System

The Department of Homeland Security is looking for companies that can develop a cloud-based platform for sharing sensitive-but-unclassified homeland defense data between government, international and private sector members.

DHS plans to use a new information and communication technology system to replace its existing Homeland Security Information Network system, according to sources sought notice published on SAM.gov.

According to a draft statement of objectives, the envisioned HSIN Phoenix must feature shared services, human-centered design, zero trust cybersecurity architecture, DevSecOps, Agile methodologies and other capabilities.

DHS explained that the new system would address problems caused by the existing platform being complex, costly and not optimized for cloud and mobile features.

The agency will accept responses to its notice until April 25th.

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Yext’s Justin Fessler Talks Federal Tech Needs with Potomac Officers Club
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Yext’s Justin Fessler Talks Federal Tech Needs with Potomac Officers Club

Senior Director of Yext’s federal business, Justin Fessler, recently participated in an Executive Spotlight interview with the Potomac Officers Club to discuss the federal government’s technology needs and share the core tenets that steer his career working with the public sector. An IBM alumnus, Fessler now works to enhance citizen services using AI-powered solutions and natural language processing for Yext’s federal clients.

In this excerpt from his spotlight, Fessler describes how he got his start in the federal landscape and talks about how to meet the government’s evolving requirements:

“I’ve always been a tech geek. My father worked for IBM for 39 years and I wanted to be like him. I went to Binghamton University’s Watson School of Engineering and wanted to get into technology sales for IBM. When I started working with the federal government, it became clear that there are three objectives that a technology provider needs to align with in order to drive efficiencies: mission, budget and priorities. As government needs and challenges evolve in the fields of R&D, cyber, tech modernization and others, the need for enhanced capabilities grows. If you are a technology company and can’t align to those basic objectives of mission, budget and priorities, then it’ll be difficult to provide much value in the evolving technology needs within the federal government.”

Read the full Executive Spotlight interview with Yext’s Justin Fessler at PotomacOfficersClub.com, where you can also learn more about the platform’s membership options and benefits. 

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Ylli Bajraktari: Federal Government Needs to Increase Basic R&D Spending
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Ylli Bajraktari: Federal Government Needs to Increase Basic R&D Spending

Ylli Bajraktari, CEO of the Special Competitive Studies Project, said the federal government should increase its spending on basic research and development efforts to help maintain its competitive edge in artificial intelligence and other emerging technology areas, Federal News Network reported Tuesday.

“If we don’t outmaneuver and not out-innovate China, we will not be in the lead position when it comes to these emerging technologies,” said Bajraktari, former executive director of the National Security Commission on Artificial Intelligence.

“The lead position in emerging technologies ensures that our economy keeps progressing, that our society is using all the benefits from these technologies, and ultimately, our military has the latest and greatest capabilities if they need to utilize it for warfighting purposes,” he added.

Bajraktari noted that maintaining a high R&D spending level will play a key role in building up the STEM workforce in order for the U.S. to remain competitive.

“If these are our comparative advantages, then I think basic R&D can help towards incentivizing students and Ph.D. candidates at universities to come up with next-generation AI capabilities,” he said.

The White House’s budget request for fiscal year 2023 seeks to increase R&D budget to over $204 billion, reflecting a 28 percent rise from the enacted FY 2021 level. Part of the proposed R&D budget would go to existing and new national AI research institutes.

White House Offers Infrastructure Funding Playbook to Rural Communities
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White House Offers Infrastructure Funding Playbook to Rural Communities

The White House has created a document for rural stakeholders planning to apply for grants and technical assistance programs under President Biden’s $1 trillion nationwide infrastructure investment package.

More than 100 programs that offer a cost-sharing option or a match waiver are listed in the Bipartisan Infrastructure Law Rural Playbook, the White House said Monday.

The playbook contains “what, when, where and how” details regarding the grant application process.

Senior administration officials will participate in tour events during the month of April to discuss how federal funds can support transportation, health care, flood mitigation and water projects among others.

The Biden administration has offered more than $100 billion to state-level programs aimed at modernizing roads and highways, airports, bridges and ports. These allocated funds will also support electric vehicle charging, internet, clean energy and weatherization services.

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DIA Report Cites Security Threats to US Space Capabilities; Lt. Gen. Scott Berrier Quoted
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DIA Report Cites Security Threats to US Space Capabilities; Lt. Gen. Scott Berrier Quoted

A new Defense Intelligence Agency report has found that the combined in-orbit satellite fleets of Russia and China increased by more than 70 percent between 2019 and 2021.

The DIA report “Challenges to Security in Space – 2022” shows that China and Russia have advanced the militarization of the space domain by incorporating space and counterspace capabilities into their combat strategies to challenge the U.S.

According to the study, Russia and China are integrating into their military exercises space scenarios and continue to build and test antisatellite weapons that could pose risk to space assets of the U.S. and allies.

“The loss of space-based communication and navigation services could have a devastating impact on warfighters during a conflict — that’s one of the most serious scenarios anticipated. A secure, stable and accessible space domain is crucial as China and Russia’s space-based capabilities and electronic-warfare activities continue to grow,” said DIA Director Lt. Gen. Scott Berrier.

The report noted that North Korea and Iran will continue to build and operate electronic warfare systems to deny space-based navigation and communications.

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