The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency seeks proposals of machine-generated, campaign-scale analytics that can produce warfare strategies, and plans to award $39 million for associated development efforts.

The Strategic Chaos Engine for Planning, Tactics, Experimentation and Resiliency or SCEPTER program seeks analytic engines that can deliver machine-generated strategies for evaluation-based warfare planning, DARPA said Tuesday in a SAM.gov notice.

Work under SCEPTER will run for a 36-month period divided equally into two phases.

Interested parties may submit proposals containing technical and cost details covering only phase one, as DARPA plans to release phase two instructions to participants before the initial phase’s completion.

DARPA expects to accommodate multiple awards under SCEPTER and will provide resources based on proposal quality and fund availability.

The agency will entertain submitted questions through Feb. 14 and will accept proposals through March 11.

The U.S. Missile Defense Agency and its Israeli counterpart tested a system designed to intercept missile threats outside of the atmosphere.

The Arrow Weapon System‘s radars detected a target, which was then pursued by a pair of Arrow-3 interceptors in central Israel, MDA said Tuesday when the test took place.

The two countries jointly developed AWS, which will serve as a central part of Israel’s four-layer defense array. The Iron Dome and David’s Sling missile defense systems compose two parts of this array, as the Arrow-2 and Arrow-3 interceptors make up the other half.

“MDA remains committed to assisting the government of Israel in upgrading its missile defense capability against current and emerging threats,” said Vice Adm. Jon Hill, the agency’s director.

Moshe Patel, director of Israel’s missile defense organization, said the AWS team has significantly extended the system’s capabilities since tests in Alaska in 2019.

The U.S. government is investigating the cloud business of Chinese e-commerce company Alibaba to determine whether the unit poses a national security risk, Reuters reported Monday.

Reuters cited sources that say the Department of Commerce’s office of intelligence and security is leading the probe into Alibaba Cloud to determine how the business stores personal information, intellectual property and other data of U.S. customers and whether the Chinese government could secure access to those data.

The office at the Commerce Department was established during the Trump administration as part of efforts to create authorities to prohibit U.S. firms from doing business with tech companies from Russia, China and other “foreign adversary” countries.

One of the sources said the office has focused on Chinese cloud companies over concerns of potential data access disruption and data theft.

Rep. Tom Emmer, R-Minn., has proposed a bill that would prohibit the Federal Reserve from directly issuing central bank digital currencies to individuals as part of efforts to safeguard financial privacy, promote innovation and maintain the dollar’s dominance.

“CBDCs that fail to adhere to these three basic principles could enable an entity like the Federal Reserve to mobilize itself into a retail bank, collect personally identifiable information on users, and track their transactions indefinitely,” Emmer said in a statement published Jan. 12th. He noted that the Federal Reserve should not have the authority to issue retail bank accounts.

“This means that any digital dollar must be accessible to all, transact on a blockchain that is transparent to all, and maintain the privacy elements of cash,” Emmer added.

In 2021, the Federal Reserve announced its intent to assess the potential risks and benefits of issuing a digital currency and come up with a report that includes the proposed CBDC design. The agency has yet to present the report.

On Jan. 27, the Potomac Officers Club will bring together distinguished government and industry leaders to discuss the national security aspect of digital currencies. National Cyber Director Chris Inglis will deliver the keynote speech at POC’s Digital Currency and National Security Forum.