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Army Cancels Strategic Long-Range Cannon Program; Ellen Lovett Quoted
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Army Cancels Strategic Long-Range Cannon Program; Ellen Lovett Quoted

The U.S. Army has decided to drop research work on the Strategic Long-Range Cannon program after Congress directed the service to cease funding the SLRC initiative in the fiscal 2022 appropriations measure, Defense News reported Monday.

The military branch’s decision also “eliminates potential redundancy, and ensures we effectively use tax dollars to achieve modernization objectives,” Ellen Lovett, a spokesperson for the Army, told the publication in a May 20 statement.

“Pursuing the effort could cost billions of dollars even if the science and technology effort succeeded because the Army would have to enter into a development program, procure the system, and create entirely new units to operate it,” Lovett added.

She noted that any unused funding originally earmarked for the long-range cannon will still be directed toward other science and technology projects as per the order of the assistant secretary of the Army for acquisitions, logistics and technology.

The other four long-range precision fires projects that are scheduled to reach operational units in 2023 are the Long-Range Hypersonic Weapon; Precision Strike Missile; Mid-Range anti-ship Missile; and the Extended Range Cannon Artillery.

Doing Business with the Federal Government
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Doing Business with the Federal Government

How can the federal government support my business?

Doing contract opportunities with the government can give a lot of benefits to any business. Here are several examples, to name a few:

1. Endless business opportunities

The United States government comprises different government departments and agencies known to procure almost everything they need. It means there could be a lot of business opportunities for both large and small businesses.

2. Access to markets in the public sector

When small businesses get into a new market, it can make them grow and be stable. Being able to offer things for public usage is very different.

Therefore in order to get into the market found in the public sector is through the GSA schedules. A GSA contract gives small businesses more chances to reach government buyers and bid on federal government contracts.

3. A long-term deal

The process before getting into the business economy of the government requires a complicated procedure. Yet, once a company successfully works its way in, it will be easier for them to bid for future federal contracts or even foreign business opportunities.

Additionally, government contracts last from one to three years which guarantees a long-term business with the federal. Lastly, during the span of project procurement, the procuring department may refer the business to other federal agencies.

4. Compete for exclusive contracts

The government knows that not all businesses have access to government contracting opportunities. That is why they made specific contracts and contracting programs more accessible to small businesses, such as the set-aside contracts.

5. Guaranteed payments

There are times in the business industry when problems regarding payment occur. However, the government contracting industry strictly adheres to its regulations, especially with the terms stated in the contract.

How do I sell something to the government?

How do I sell something to the federal government?

According to the Federal Acquisition Regulations, a government contract must be offered to large and small businesses. But before a business can get a government contract, it must take a few actions to succeed in the industry.

Small businesses can reach out to an official government organization like the United States Small Business Administration (SBA.gov) to learn more about the necessary steps needed. However, to give you an idea, the following are some steps that small businesses must comply with.

Step 1: Be a member of the System for Award Management (SAM)

Before receiving a government contract, the first step is to register a company in SAM.

 

System for Award Management (SAM.gov) is one of the official websites of the government. The site stores a database of businesses seeking opportunities with federal agencies.

 

Anyone can use SAM without any charge. Also, by registering on the federal government website, any business can:

  • Update or check company status
  • Be qualified for federal government contracting

 

Step 2: Have a Unique Entity Identifier

In April of 2022, the government stopped using DUNS Number and changed it into Unique Entity Identifier (UEI). Among the gov websites the authorities have, only SAM.gov creates the UEI.

 

Step 3: Obtain a North American Industry Classification System (NAICS)

To identify and classify the sizes of all businesses and the statistical data of the economy, the federal statistical agencies use the North American Industry Classification System (NAICS). A business may apply for multiple NAICS codes, especially if it offers products or services in different markets.

 

Step 4: Verify Your Small Business Status on the Small Business Administration Website

It is required for any company to meet the minimum or maximum size standard to be considered as one of the small businesses. Indeed industry standards vary, but the number of people and the average annual revenue is commonly used to identify a company’s size.

 

How do I sell to the DoD?

Offering products or services to the Department of Defense is not easy for every business. Business owners must have patience and extensive knowledge regarding the acquisition rules to win DoD open contracts.

 

In 1985, the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) established a Procurement Technical Assistance Program (PTAP). This assistance aims to help small businesses willing to do business with the Department of Defense.

 

Under the program, small businesses may get into the following support networks:

A. Procurement Technical Assistance Centers (PTACs)

PTACs help small businesses prepare their bids to win government contracts from the Department of Defense and other federal agencies. They can also assist businesses in looking for past contract opportunities or see if it is eligible for small business certification.

 

B. Small Business Development Centers (SBDCs)

SBDCs provide one-on-one counseling and training to small businesses. They also support a business with preparation for business plans and financial and marketing activities.

C. SCORE (Score.org)

SCORE is a nonprofit organization that works with the US Small Business Administration as a resource partner (SBA). Since 1964, the organization has educated and mentored more than 11 entrepreneurs.

 

Before any business establishments may transact for a military contract, they must be registered and meet the Federal Acquisition Regulation’s (FAR) requirements.

 

These are the things needed to obtain:

A. Learn the federal codes and sensitive information about the federal contracting industry.

B. Be at the System for Award Management database.

C. Obtain UEI or Unique Entity Identifier

D. Have a Product Service Codes (PSC) and North American Business Classification System (NAICS) codes.

D. Know the Department of Defense procurement opportunities.

E. Meet the military contractors’ standards and specifications

F. Effectively present a proposal bid and become well versed with the military standards and guidelines.

 

What businesses work with the government?

What businesses work with the government?

United States government is one of the largest heavy spenders in the world. In fact, in 2020, the federal government spent a record-breaking $682 billion worth of awarded federal agencies government contracts. With the allotted government’s significant budget, many companies aim to work with them.

Indeed businesses of any scale are welcome to work in the federal marketplace. Also, a big portion of the available federal government contracts is dedicated to small businesses.

The industry also comes with subcontracting opportunities, which can help a business learn essential things about the industry by working for a prime contractor.

Nonetheless, government contracting is a massive industry that can bring growth and success to both large and small businesses, even to a disadvantaged business. So, if you are looking for a new market to get into, you may want to consider the government contracting industry.

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TMF Contributes to NARA, USDA for Digital Modernization; Clare Martorana Quoted
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TMF Contributes to NARA, USDA for Digital Modernization; Clare Martorana Quoted

The Technology Modernization Fund has agreed to financially assist the U.S. National Archives and Records Administration and the Department of Agriculture with the agencies’ records system access and data protection, respectively.

TMF will donate $9.1 million to NARA to evolve and update the system for veteran family benefit requests and records management and contribute $4.4 million to the USDA for the installation of cybersecurity reinforcements in order to maintain a secure network of information, the organization said Monday.

“With the TMF investments in NARA and USDA, we’re moving the needle in deploying technology that is secure by design and building back trust in delivering a Government that meets today’s customer expectations,” commented Clare Martorana, federal chief information officer and board chair of TMF as well as a 2022 Wash100 Award winner.

TMF’s investment will be used to digitally migrate NARA’s paper-based fulfillment tasks for citizen and government agencies to a web-hosted platform. NARA is the official record facilitator of the U.S. and is subject to an annual 1.1 million records requests from veterans and their families in addition to eight million records attainment notices from more than 400 federal agencies and offices. TMF’s donation is aimed to move NARA’s legacy systems to the cloud and enable staff to meet requests needs remotely and securely.

Using TMF’s resources, the USDA intends to embrace a zero trust structure so that shared services and sensitive information may be safeguarded and websites that link users to solvencies are protected. New cybersecurity measures for the department will be instituted for increased threat monitoring, detection and response. The USDA is a hub for rural development activities and initiatives in forest management, nutrition, agricultural research and international trade.

“This is another example of the TMF’s approach to making smart technology investments that provide better service to the public and save money for taxpayers,” explained Robin Carnahan, General Services Administration administrator.

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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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