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President Biden Nominates FCC Chair Jessica Rosenworcel for Commissioner
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President Biden Nominates FCC Chair Jessica Rosenworcel for Commissioner

Jessica Rosenworcel, who chairs the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), has received President Biden’s pick to serve as an FCC commissioner.

The nominee formerly served as an FCC commissioner and worked on efforts to help students overcome the homework gap, the difficulty of not being able to do school assignments due to lack of broadband access, the White House said Tuesday.

She also used FCC’s Emergency Broadband Benefit program to help financially challenged households access the internet. The tenured FCC officer also boosted consumer protections in the government’s telecommunications policies.

Her career also includes work with the Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation, where she served as senior communications counsel.

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Gillian Bussey: Universities, Investments Tied to Warfighter Need Could Help Expedite Hypersonic Tech Transition
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Gillian Bussey: Universities, Investments Tied to Warfighter Need Could Help Expedite Hypersonic Tech Transition

Gillian Bussey, director of the joint hypersonics transition office within the Department of Defense’s office of the undersecretary for research and engineering, said her office aims to accelerate the transition of hypersonic technologies to warfighters by driving community collaboration, facilitating the involvement of universities and allies, ensuring that investments are linked to soldiers’ requirements and establishing a systems engineering field activity to help monitor tech transition efforts, Government Matters reported Tuesday.

Bussey told GovMatters in an interview that JHTO is excited about several developments, including the Hawk missile system test from Raytheon Technologies, strong support from Congress as it works through the budget process and the Army’s battery with the long-range hypersonic weapon.

“Hawk is an air-breathing scramjet engine. It’s more of a tactical system so it’s a very nice complement to the conventional prompt strike program,” she said.

Bussey noted that collaborating with universities allows DOD to gain access to new ideas and technologies and build up its workforce.

She also highlighted the need for cyber protections and improved vetting process to safeguard U.S. hypersonic technology from near-peer competitors such as Russia and China. 

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GovCon Expert McAleese: Gen. Mark Kelly on Next-Generation Air Dominance Program
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GovCon Expert McAleese: Gen. Mark Kelly on Next-Generation Air Dominance Program

Consulting firm McAleese & Associates has issued a report on Air Combat Command’s (ACC) top priorities discussed by Gen. Mark Kelly, commander of ACC, at a virtual event Monday.

Kelly noted that all joint force missions will fail without air superiority and to ensure air superiority in the fight against near-peer competitors like China, the U.S. Air Force’s Next-Generation Air Dominance fighter program must be fully funded, Jim McAleese, founder of McAleese & Associates and a three-time Wash100 winner, reported.

The commander said NGAD is his top requirement and is “designed to operate beyond a single spectral band of the RF [radio frequency] spectrum, to thrive in a multispectral environment.”

Kelly added that he considers NGAD as a multiservice requirement since other military branches are “not remotely designed to operate without” control of the air and that every service is relying on the Air Force to deliver that capability.

Other priorities he discussed at the event are the F-35 conventional take-off and landing aircraft; E-7 as replacement for the Airborne Warning and Control System; Advanced Battle Management System/Joint All-Domain Command and Control; fifth-generation missiles; and airbase defenses.

Kelly also highlighted the need for an Advanced Tactical Trainer to avoid burning up the combat capacity of F-35 and F-22 fighter fleets, according to the McAleese report.

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BAE Secures $478M Systems Engineering, Integration Support Contract from U.S. Navy; Lisa Hand Quoted
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BAE Secures $478M Systems Engineering, Integration Support Contract from U.S. Navy; Lisa Hand Quoted

BAE Systems has booked a potential five-year, $478 million Systems Engineering and Integration Support Services contract to continue its support of the U.S. Navy’s Strategic Systems Programs office.

Under the contract, which was originally awarded in September 2021, BAE will leverage model-based and digital engineering approaches to support the SSP in its oversight of the Strategic Weapons System and Attack Weapons System aboard a range of naval vessels, the company said Wednesday.

“We are proud to continue providing full system-level lifecycle capabilities to SSP that will help advance their digital engineering strategy to ensure the readiness of the Navy’s strategic missions,” said Lisa Hand, vice president and general manager of BAE’s integrated defense solutions business.

Hand continued, noting that BAE currently supports “two-legs of the nation’s nuclear triad” through systems integration expertise on a wide range of defense initiatives.

BAE’s work under the contract will support critical systems on the Navy’s U.S. Ohio, U.K Vanguard, U.S. Columbia and U.K Dreadnought class submarines.

Recently, BAE Systems won two separate contracts from the U.S. Navy, worth a total of $291.2 million, to provide a range of systems integration and engineering services across C4ISR systems, command facilities and intelligence platforms, among other systems.

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Chris DeRusha: OMB to Narrow Scope of Information Security Reports
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Chris DeRusha: OMB to Narrow Scope of Information Security Reports

Chris DeRusha, the federal chief information security officer (CISO) and 2021 Wash100 Award, said agencies will follow a more specific scope of things to assess in their next annual information security reports to the Office of Management and Budget (OMB).

The Federal Information Modernization Act tasks agencies to produce their own information security reports for OMB’s record, Nextgov reported Tuesday.

DeRusha said reducing the scope to a more priority-specific list based on security practices can produce better results compared to last year’s. This move addresses recent cybersecurity incidents witnessed by the U.S. government. 

“It’s been a goal for a while, but we’re doubling down on that and making sure that we’re giving agencies some space to be able to focus on that,” he said.

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Amentum-Jacobs-Honeywell Joint Venture Receives $8.3B Oak Ridge Reservation Cleanup Contract; CEO John Vollmer Quoted
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Amentum-Jacobs-Honeywell Joint Venture Receives $8.3B Oak Ridge Reservation Cleanup Contract; CEO John Vollmer Quoted
John Vollmer
John Vollmer, CEO of Amentum

United Cleanup Oak Ridge (UCOR), a joint venture among Amentum, Jacobs and Honeywell, has been awarded a potential ten-year, $8.3 billion Indefinite-Delivery/Indefinite-Quantity (IDIQ) Oak Ridge Reservation Cleanup contract, Amentum announced on Wednesday.

“Amentum and our partner companies have a long history of supporting the DOE’s environmental management programs and recently delivered historic success in cleaning up DOE’s uranium enrichment complex ahead of schedule and under budget at the 2,200-acre ETTP complex,” said John Vollmer, CEO of Amentum and a six-time Wash100 Award recipient.

UCOR will be responsible for cleanup and remedial actions at the East Tennessee Technology Park (ETTP), the cleanup of excess facilities at the Oak Ridge National Laboratory and the Y-12 National Security Complex and the design, construction, and operation of the new onsite disposal facility – the Environmental Management Disposal Facility.

“We look forward to working with our customers, partners, regulators, and the Oak Ridge community stakeholders to further advance the DOE’s mission of safe environmental cleanup of the Oak Ridge Reservation,” Vollmer elaborated.

In addition, UCOR will provide operational activities and surveillance and maintenance for multiple facilities; and core functions for central and project services. The team includes four pre-selected small businesses, RSI EnTech, Strata-G, Longnecker & Associates and Environmental Alternatives, Inc.

“The team we have assembled has the expertise and experience to deliver an end state-focused vision for the DOE customer,” said Mark Whitney, president of Amentum’s Nuclear & Environment business. “Building on the accelerated completion of Vision 2020, Amentum and UCOR will partner with our customer to deliver the next phases of DOE’s vision for the site under this contract.”

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Sev1Tech Completes Acquisition of Geocent; CEO Robert Lohfeld Quoted
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Sev1Tech Completes Acquisition of Geocent; CEO Robert Lohfeld Quoted

Sev1Tech has finalized its acquisition of Geocent, a New Orleans, Louisiana-based DevSecOps and engineering services provider.

Through the business combination, Sev1Tech will leverage Geocent’s IT and engineering capabilities to deliver expanded service offerings to the companies’ strategically aligned federal and commercial customer base, Sev1Tech said Tuesday.

Bob Lohfeld, CEO of Sev1Tech, said the two companies both share long-standing government agency partnerships, deep federal experience and complementary core values, which uniquely positions the partnership to expand its market reach and strengthen its relationship with key defense agencies such as the Department of Homeland Security (DHS).

“Geocent’s leadership in DevSecOps and the scientific space domain dovetails with Sev1Tech’s growing influence in space modernization,” Lohfeld explained. “Our combined capabilities will amplify our missions, from the tactical edge to the enterprise to the end-user.”

Additionally, CEO of Geocent, Dr. Bobby Savoie said the companies’ combined capabilities across artificial intelligence, machine learning, cybersecurity and market-leading applications will “unleash new offerings and augment service delivery” to their government partners.

In September 2021, Sev1Tech won a $47.5 million contract to develop a data transport-as-a-service to support critical U.S. Space Force missions, and the company was also recently named as an Advanced Consulting Partner for Amazon Web Services Partner Network.

The company’s recently finalized acquisition of Geocent is expected to bolster the partnership’s space capabilities and pave the way for future opportunities as they expand their reach across the space domain.

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Air Force’s New F-15EX Jet Flies First Operational Test Mission at Nellis AFB
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Air Force’s New F-15EX Jet Flies First Operational Test Mission at Nellis AFB

The U.S. Air Force recently completed the first-ever operational test mission of its new Boeing F-15EX Eagle II fighter aircraft at Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada. 

According to officials, the week-long test served as an evaluation of the F-15EX’s performance at Nellis’ threat environment and its differences with the in-service F-15C fighter variant, the Air Force said Monday.

F-15EX, an upgraded variant of the over four-decades-old F-15 aircraft, features a new digital fly-by-wire control technology signaling a departure from its predecessor’s standard hydro-mechanical system.

The new aircraft also uses the new Eagle Passive Active Warning Survivability System, which provides both electronic attack and defense capabilities for missions involving advanced threats and areas with denied communications.

Colton Myers, Operational Flight Program Combined Test Force F-15EX test project manager, shared that the aircraft will now fly back to Eglin Air Force Base in Florida for more developmental tests that would ensure its compliance with build specifications and safety standards.

The Air Force plans to use F-15EXs as a replacement to its existing F-15C aircraft in its four-plus-one streamlined fleet concept that includes F-35 Lightning II, F-16 Fighting Falcon, A-10 Thunderbolt II and a sixth-generation fighter.

The modern aircraft is being built by Boeing under a potential $22.9 billion indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity (IDIQ) contract awarded in July 2020, with two units already delivered to the Air Force.

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Former Secret Service Member Jonah Force Hill to Lead Cyber Policy at National Security Council
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Former Secret Service Member Jonah Force Hill to Lead Cyber Policy at National Security Council

Jonah Force Hill, formerly a cybersecurity strategist for the U.S. Secret Service, has been appointed to serve as the National Security Council’s director for cybersecurity and emerging technology policy.

Hill began duties in his new role last month, according to his profile on LinkedIn. He spent over three years with the Secret Service, where he contributed to the Cyber Investigations Advisory Board as an executive director.

The experienced government executive also held roles at the White House, the State Department and the Department of Commerce, where he served as a senior policy analyst. Hill was also a senior analyst for Monitor Deloitte.

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State Department to Establish New Cyber Bureau Amid Ransomware Threat
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State Department to Establish New Cyber Bureau Amid Ransomware Threat

The State Department will stand up a bureau dedicated to cyber policy in response to ransomware attacks experienced by the U.S., Reuters reported Monday.

The Senate will confirm an official to serve as the bureau’s ambassador, according to Ned Price, a spokesperson of the State Department.

Price noted that the department also plans to employ a special agent that would lead technology diplomacy for emerging technology. The U.S. government has been engaging in other efforts to address the growing threat of ransomware.

Recently, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), the National Security Agency (NSA) and the FBI released an advisory that tackles the BlackMatter ransomware.

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