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Lloyd Austin: US Seeks to Address China Challenge Through Integrated Deterrence
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Lloyd Austin: US Seeks to Address China Challenge Through Integrated Deterrence

Lloyd Austin, secretary of the Department of Defense and a 2021 Wash100 Award winner, said China is a “pacing challenge” for the U.S. military and the U.S. aims to counter that challenge through integrated deterrence or defense strategy that includes the elements of partnership and innovation, DOD News reported Saturday.

“First, we’re building on a lesson that I learned over four decades in uniform: In war and in peace, we’re always stronger when we work together with our friends. That defines our approach to the China challenge,” Austin said Saturday during a forum.

He said such an approach would involve performing more exercises with partners and allies, encouraging European allies to help advance security in the Indo-Pacific and assisting allies in developing security capabilities.

Austin also highlighted the importance of innovation in integrated deterrence.

“Integrated deterrence requires us to weave together cutting-edge technology, operational concepts and state-of-the-art capabilities to seamlessly dissuade aggression in any form, domain or theater,” he said. “That means that innovation lies at the heart of American security.”

He cited the need to address the “valley of death” to facilitate the delivery of new capabilities to warfighters and mentioned DOD’s efforts to advance the Small Business Innovation Research program to encourage companies to conduct research and meet the Pentagon’s tech requirements.

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CNAS Report: White House Should Craft Roadmap for US Leadership in 6G
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CNAS Report: White House Should Craft Roadmap for US Leadership in 6G

A new report by the Center for a New American Security (CNAS) says the White House and Congress should carry out a series of measures to protect U.S. competitiveness in 6G, the sixth generation of wireless technology.

The report calls on the White House to create a strategic roadmap outlining a vision for U.S. leadership in 6G, provide additional research funding for 6G technologies, use existing capabilities for testing, experimentation and verification of such technologies and open more experimental spectrum licenses to advance research and development efforts, CNAS said Thursday.

The executive branch should also create a spectrum working group focused on 6G and foster the development of new use cases by using the U.S. government’s purchasing power.

The document recommends that Congress designate the Department of Commerce as a member of the Intelligence Community to enhance information sharing on policy development related to foreign technology, enact R&D funding to address challenges facing rural 6G development and initiate immigration reform to retain and attract foreign talent in the field of science and technology.

Authors of the CNAS report said the National Science Foundation should expand the Platforms for Advanced Wireless Research Program and form an equivalent of the Resilient & Intelligent NextG Systems program for startups. 

They also called on Congress to establish a technology partnership office at the State Department and work with the White House to create a 6G security fund and promote the development of open and interoperable tech platforms.

The report was written by Martijn Rasser, a senior fellow and director of the Technology and National Security Program at CNAS; Ainikki Riikonen, a research associate for the program; and Henry Wu, a former intern for the program.

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SAIC Announces Four Percent Revenue Growth in Third Quarter 2022 Fiscal Year Results; CEO Nazzic Keene Quoted
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SAIC Announces Four Percent Revenue Growth in Third Quarter 2022 Fiscal Year Results; CEO Nazzic Keene Quoted

Science Applications International Corporation (SAIC) announced its third quarter results for the company’s 2022 fiscal year on Monday. The company has reported that it increased its overall revenue to $1.9 billion, which represents a 4.4 percent revenue growth and includes 2.1 percent growth as well after excluding acquired revenues. 

“Our strong results and sustained growth reflect the continued progress we are making in aligning SAIC with areas of increasing customer demand,” said SAIC CEO Nazzic Keene, who is also a four-time Wash100 Award recipient. We continue to see attractive opportunities to profitably grow our business.”

In addition, SAIC also reported its diluted earnings per share also increased to $1.22 and its adjusted diluted earnings increased to $1.85. The specific revenues for SAIC were also increased to $80 million when compared to last year’s third-quarter results. 

The increase was due to the acquisition of Halfaker and Associates back in July as well as the accelerated growth of new and existing contract awards. 

Other contract wins for SAIC included a $1.1 billion contract from the U.S. Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA) to test and deliver the U.S. Navy’s MK 48 MOD 7 torpedo afterbody tailcones (AB/TC) and MK29 Mod 0 Warshot fuel tanks. 

SAIC also secured a $200 million contract extension with the Department of State to continue providing engineering and design services, security, and operation and maintenance services for critical IT infrastructure. 

“Our focus remains on positioning our portfolio and empowering our talented workforce to meet the needs of our customer, today and in the future,” Keene added.

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Peraton CEO Stu Shea: U.S. Must Incorporate Human Security to Address National Security Concerns
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Peraton CEO Stu Shea: U.S. Must Incorporate Human Security to Address National Security Concerns

Stu Shea, chairman, president and CEO of Peraton, who is also a five-time Wash100 Award recipient, provided a feature for DefenseNews detailing the impact that the pandemic has had on U.S. national security efforts and how government contractors should respond to the current set of challenges that continue to influence the nation’s systemic issues surrounding cyber attacks, supply chain management and other issues.

“Our national security today is not only dependent on our ability to effectively deter our adversaries, but also our ability to deliver robust citizen services, protect our financial systems and rapidly respond to an increasing volume of unconventional threats,” Stu Shea wrote. 

Stu Shea illustrated the disruption that COVID-19 had on global health as well as the economic, political and security areas. Shea argued that these problems are all inextricably linked and can no longer be viewed as independent issues and it’s time for the federal landscape and government contracts to take a more holistic approach to address our national security efforts. 

“Today’s threats often don’t fit neatly into traditional definitions of security. We must be nimble, agile and open-minded to respond to the challenge at hand,” Shea explained. “I hope to see more of our industry colleagues look at our collective national security universe holistically so that we can work together to solve the increasingly complex challenges confronting our customers.” 

Shea also advocated for U.S. national security efforts to incorporate human security on top of the latest emerging technology capabilities to protect U.S. borders and deploy its military forces to ensure the security and well-being of our citizens. 

He mentioned Joint All-Domain Command and Control (JADC2) as one of the key initiatives that will make a difference. Shea emphasized that a comprehensive set of capabilities is foundational to addressing the broad expanse of needs in this complex ecosystem of national security in 2022 and beyond.

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IDEMIA NSS Adds Sandra Joyner Williams, Marg Schulenberg, Mike Ronayne to VP Executive Team; CEO Andrew Boyd Quoted
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IDEMIA NSS Adds Sandra Joyner Williams, Marg Schulenberg, Mike Ronayne to VP Executive Team; CEO Andrew Boyd Quoted

IDEMIA National Security Solutions, a subsidiary of the Reston, Virginia-based biometric and identity security services company, has named three new executives to its leadership team.

Sandra Joyner Williams joins the company as vice president of its Department of Defense and Intelligence Community operations, Marg Schulenberg has been elevated to vice president of security and business operations and Mike Ronayne will serve as vice president of federal civilian operations, NSS said Monday.

Andrew Boyd, CEO of IDEMIA NSS, welcomed the “distinguished individuals” and said of the newly appointed executives, “They bring an extremely robust knowledge base to the organization and will play a critical role in our growing success and deployment of secure identity and biometrics solutions.”

Williams joins IDEMIA NSS from Parsons Corporation, where she served as senior director of business development as well as growth and strategy account executive. She also previously held senior capture management roles at GDIT. In her new role as VP of DOD and IC operations, Williams will leverage her more than two decades of public sector experience to advance the company’s market expansion goals.

Schulenberg has been promoted from her previous position with NSS as the facility security officer. She will now spearhead the management of security operations, quality certification, contract support and procurement as VP of security and business operations. Schulenberg has 20 years of experience across multi-contract portfolio management and CMMI certification achievement and maintenance.

A nearly eight-year IDEMIA NSS veteran, Ronayne has been elevated from his previous role of senior director of identity solutions, where he oversaw profit and loss, business development and contract negotiations. As VP of federal civilian operations, Ronayne will be responsible for conducting cross-functional research and overseeing product development in support of the company’s customers.

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NASA, NOAA Turn to Cloud to Transform Environmental Data Storage
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NASA, NOAA Turn to Cloud to Transform Environmental Data Storage

Federal agencies tasked with gathering and storing climate-related data are turning to cloud computing and artificial intelligence to store, analyze and preserve vast amounts of information about the potential effects of global warming, The Wall Street Journal reported Sunday.

NASA and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) are working with technology companies Google, Amazon Web Services and Microsoft to move their climate databases into the cloud to accommodate the rapid growth of information used in climate studies.

Robert Lee Hotz wrote in WSJ’s The Future of Everything series that the total volume of the U.S. environmental data archives is expected to grow from about 83 petabytes to more than 650 petabytes over the next decade. The growth will be driven by projects aimed at gathering data about the natural phenomena on Earth and its atmosphere, including NASA’s NISAR radar imaging satellite and the space agency’s Surface Water and Ocean Topography mission.

“This is a new era for Earth observation missions, and the huge amount of data they will generate requires a new era of data handling,” said Kevin Murphy, NASA’s chief science data officer.

Nancy Ritchie, archive branch chief at the National Centers for Environmental Information in Asheville, North Carolina, said NOAA expects to move all of its Earth science archives into the cloud by 2027. 

In addition to the cloud, scientists are looking at the potential application of artificial intelligence in attribution science.

“There is a lot of data sitting around and AI, I argue, is the cheapest way to unlock the insights from the data,” said Claire Monteleoni, a computer scientist at the University of Colorado specializing in climate data systems.

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DISA Names Teresa Pitts as New Chief of Staff
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DISA Names Teresa Pitts as New Chief of Staff

Teresa Pitts, formerly civilian deputy at the Defense Information Systems Agency’s (DISA) operations center, has been named the new chief of staff of the agency. 

She took over the role on Nov. 8th and now oversees DISA’s budget planning, policy implementation and workforce management as well as external and internal communications initiatives, the agency said Tuesday.

Pitts brings 30 years of experience holding operations and staff leadership positions across the federal government. She previously served as chief of staff at the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) and the White House Communications Agency.

In her most recent role as civilian deputy for the operations center, Pitts supported the deployment of the Department of Defense Information Network for global operations. 

Her appointment comes after DISA announced a reorganization plan to create four centers for digital capabilities and security, hosting and cloud computing, operation and infrastructure and enterprise integration and innovation.

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Navy to Test Boeing-Built Unmanned Tanker Prototype Onboard George H. W. Bush Carrier
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Navy to Test Boeing-Built Unmanned Tanker Prototype Onboard George H. W. Bush Carrier

The U.S. Navy has deployed its Boeing-built unmanned refueling tanker prototype to the USS George H. W. Bush aircraft carrier for at-sea testing, USNI News reported Thursday.

Rear Adm. Andrew Loiselle, Navy’s air warfare director, told the publication that the tests will help evaluate the MQ-25A Stingray-based T-1 prototype‘s performance in relevant flight deck wind conditions.

Upcoming activities with the T-1 will follow up overland exercises refueling three of the Navy’s fighter aircraft and, according to Loiselle, will help reduce risks with the tanker program.

The admiral described the unmanned prototype as an important part of the Navy’s efforts to expand the range of its operations, with an eye toward keeping up with the evolving threat environment in the Indo-Pacific region.

He suggested that T-1 could perform not just transport of around 15,000 pounds of fuel 500 miles away from a U.S. carrier but also other naval missions beyond the aircraft’s initial requirements such as intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance trips.

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NASA Opens Doors for New Flight Directors Supporting Human Spaceflight Missions; Holly Ridings Quoted
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NASA Opens Doors for New Flight Directors Supporting Human Spaceflight Missions; Holly Ridings Quoted

NASA has announced new job openings for flight directors that will lead human spaceflight missions from the Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas.

The space agency said Friday that it is looking for candidate U.S. citizens qualified to oversee future trips of astronauts to the International Space Station, the moon under the Artemis program and Mars.

Interested applicants must have earned a bachelor’s degree from an accredited institution in engineering, biological science, physical science, computer science or mathematics with professional experience making decisions in high-stress and high-risk environments, among others.

“We need NASA flight directors who are technically excellent, humble, and creative to lead historic missions for humanity,” explained Holly Ridings, chief flight director at Johnson.

The agency will announce in spring of 2022 the candidates, who will then undergo training on flight control, spacecraft systems, operational leadership and risk management. NASA will accept applications until Dec. 6th.

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DARPA to Explore on-Site Food Production Based on Microbial Science
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DARPA to Explore on-Site Food Production Based on Microbial Science

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has launched an effort to reduce the military’s logistical burdens associated with food transportation.

DARPA said Thursday its Cornucopia program aims to enable food production on a site when demanded, as well as indefinite sustenance dependent on water and energy sufficiency.

The program’s resulting technology would use raw resources to produce microbe-based food for warfighters.

“Cornucopia seeks to produce from air, water and electricity – with minimal supplementation – a range of microbial-origin, nutritious foodstuffs that taste good and offer complete nutrition for military applications ranging from troops in austere locations to civilians and troops during humanitarian assistance and disaster relief operations,” said Molly Jahn, program manager at DARPA’s Defense Sciences Office.

Cornucopia will explore domesticated microbes for human consumption, tailorability and system demonstrations in austere conditions and humanitarian relief scenarios.

Companies, research laboratories and universities wanting to take part in Cornucopia may submit proposals and input for the program, whose proposers day will occur on Dec. 15th.

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