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Doug Schroeder: DOD-Formed Group Reviews Small Satellite Investments
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Doug Schroeder: DOD-Formed Group Reviews Small Satellite Investments

Doug Schroeder, oversight executive at the Defense Department's research and engineering office, said a group of DOD representatives has identified more than 100 small satellite investment programs across the U.S. Air Force, Army, Space Force and Marine Corps, Breaking Defense reported Tuesday.

He told an audience at the SATELLITE 2021 event that service branches mostly invested in satellite systems that could potentially support remote sensing and communications activity.

According to Shroeder, companies should consider pursuing DOD's Joint Capability Technology Demonstration (JCTD) approach because the process works to accelerate the transition of a technology project from the development stage to the initial operational capability.

He added that more than 200 proposals have been submitted to the Rapid Defense Experimentation Reserve, a funding vehicle created by DOD in June to encourage joint warfighting concept development across service branches.

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Philip Duffy Rejoins OSTP to Serve as Climate Science Adviser
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Philip Duffy Rejoins OSTP to Serve as Climate Science Adviser

Philip Duffy, former president and executive director of the Woodwell Climate Research Center, has returned to the Office of Science and Technology Office as a climate science adviser.

He will work in OSTP's climate and environment division and brings his experience from initiatives that sought to address the socioeconomic impacts of climate change, the White House said Sept. 1st.

At the Woodwell Climate Research Center, Duffy oversaw the organization's collaboration with indigenous groups, social justice organizations and under-resourced communities, as well as business and finance leaders, to examine how to manage climate change risk in work and livelihoods. 

He worked as an author and review editor at the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, where he represented the U.S. government at the approval sessions for IPCC reports and coordinated the federal government’s review of the Fifth Assessment Report. 

In the 1990s and 2000s, he served as a research scientist at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, where he worked on issues related to drought, water scarcity and wildfire. Duffy was a senior policy analyst at OSTP and senior adviser for the U.S. Global Change Research Program during the Obama administration, 

The White House noted that his new appointment comes at a crucial time, following the Aug. 9 release of the IPCC report and ahead of the upcoming 26th United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties in November.

Philip Duffy Rejoins OSTP to Serve as Climate Science Adviser

As climate change continues to pose challenges in the environment and communities around the world, find out how the nation's defense and national security agencies are leveraging data analytics for their climate adaptation approaches. Join the Potomac Officers Club's “Bolstering Climate Resilience for National Security" forum on Sept. 14 at 1 p.m. ET. Register here.

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House Bill to Establish Term Limit for CISA Director; Rep. Andrew Garbarino Quoted
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House Bill to Establish Term Limit for CISA Director; Rep. Andrew Garbarino Quoted

Rep. Andrew Garbarino, R-N.Y., ranking member of the House Homeland Security Committee’s cybersecurity infrastructure protection and innovation subpanel, and six other bipartisan House lawmakers have proposed a bill that would set a five-year term limit for the director position at the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA).

The CISA Leadership Act seeks to reaffirm that the CISA director role is a presidentially nominated, Senate-confirmed position, Garbarino’s office said in a release Tuesday.

“With cyberattacks on the rise, CISA, the lead federal civilian cybersecurity agency for the United States, needs consistent and stable leadership presiding over our nation’s cyber preparedness,” Garbarino said.

“This bipartisan bill will remove any uncertainty from the CISA Director role so that the Director can focus squarely on strengthening our cyber posture,” he added.

Other sponsors of the measure are House Homeland Security Committee Chairman Bennie Thompson, D-Miss.; ranking member John Katko, R-N.Y.; cybersecurity subcommittee chairwoman Yvette Clarke, D-N.Y.; and Reps. Jim Langevin, D-R.I.; Ralph Norman, R-S.C.; and Mike Gallagher, R-Wis.

Supply Chain Cybersecurity: Revelations and Innovations

ExecutiveBiz, sister site of GovConDaily and part of the Executive Mosaic digital media umbrella, will host a virtual event about securing the supply chain on Oct. 26. Visit ExecutiveBiz.com to sign up for the “Supply Chain Cybersecurity: Revelations and Innovations” event.

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Report: Air Force’s Tactical Aircraft Study Could Reshape Fighter Inventory; Todd Harrison Quoted
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Report: Air Force’s Tactical Aircraft Study Could Reshape Fighter Inventory; Todd Harrison Quoted

The U.S. Air Force is carrying out a tactical aircraft study as it prepares its budget request for fiscal year 2023 and looks to whittle down the types of fighter jets it operates from seven to four platforms, Defense News reported Tuesday.

The four fighter platforms could include the F-35A Joint Strike Fighter; the sixth-generation Next Generation Air Dominance system or NGAD; F-15EX; and F-16 or its potential replacement.

According to the report, the Air Force plans to procure 1,763 F-35A jets throughout the program of record but the ongoing study could potentially reshape the service’s inventory of fighter jets as it works to determine the right mix of aircraft to counter advanced threats by 2030s and come up with a plan to reduce the number of legacy platforms.

Lt. Gen. Clinton Hinote, the deputy chief of staff for strategy, integration and requirements at the Air Force, said the service finalized the study’s initial draft, but Air Force Secretary and three-time Wash100 Award Frank Kendall has requested for additional analysis.

Some analysts have raised questions on whether the Air Force will maintain or cut the F-35 program of record.

Todd Harrison, an aerospace and defense budget expert with the Center for Strategic and International Studies, said it is uncertain whether Congress would be in favor of reducing the overall buy.

“Earlier this year, we started hearing a lot more negative sentiment coming out of Congress about the F-35 program, and quite frankly the Air Force has seemed to soften on the program as well,” Harrison said. “But it may be too soon to call it. Negative talk does not necessarily translate into negative appropriations.”

Brett Ashworth, a spokesman for Lockheed, said the service should take a look at the “cost per effect” when it comes to assessing the F-35 jet’s value.

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Marines Transition to Government-Owned Reaper UAS
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Marines Transition to Government-Owned Reaper UAS

The U.S. Marine Corps has transitioned to a government-owned, contractor-operated (GOCO) model for the MQ-9A unmanned aircraft system, built by General Atomics' aeronautical systems business. 

Marine Unmanned Aerial Vehicle Squadron 1 (VMU-1) obtained the military branch's first Reaper after three years of using the Reaper UAS under a contractor-owned, contractor-operated construct, USMC said Tuesday.

Transition to the GOCO system will allow VMU-1 to pursue organic training and qualification of aircrew for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions involving the remotely piloted aircraft.

Maj. Keenan Chirhart, executive officer of VMU-1, said the Reaper was built to perform mission sets such as multisensor imagery reconnaissance, unmanned aerial escort and electronic support functions.

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GAO: DOD Should Find Options to Meet Narrowband Satcom Capability Needs
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GAO: DOD Should Find Options to Meet Narrowband Satcom Capability Needs

The Government Accountability Office (GAO) has recommended that the Department of Defense (DOD) explore options for delivering narrowband satellite communications capabilities to meet near-term requirements and reassess its future narrowband satcom needs.

GAO made the recommendations after it found that DOD has failed to optimize the advanced capabilities of the Mobile User Objective System (MUOS), its narrowband military satcom platform, according to a report published Thursday.

The Pentagon has invested $7.4 billion to develop the MUOS satellite constellation, which has been in orbit for more than four years to deliver secure communications to warfighters, GAO noted.

The congressional watchdog also identified narrowband communications-related challenges facing the Pentagon, including users’ dependence on the communications platform before MUOS and limited design lives of five MUOS satellites on orbit.

According to the report, the department has not updated narrowband needs since 2010 and has not identified future narrowband satcom requirements after MUOS.

“Reexamining its narrowband communications needs will enhance DOD’s ability to field a timely replacement for MUOS and ensure warfighters have needed communications tools in the future,” the GAO report reads.

Space Acquisition Forum

GovCon Wire will hold its Space Acquisition Forum on Sept. 14. Click here to register for the virtual forum to hear from defense officials as they share their insights on military acquisition reform and modernization efforts.

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Berkeley Lab, 2 Universities to Collaborate on DOE-Backed Quantum Network Testbed Project
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Berkeley Lab, 2 Universities to Collaborate on DOE-Backed Quantum Network Testbed Project

The Department of Energy's (DOE) Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory will collaborate with two research universities in California to develop a testing platform for the quantum internet concept under a five-year, $12.5 million project to be funded by DOE. 

Berkeley Lab said its partnership with the University of California and the California Institute of Technology aims to produce a software-based distributed quantum computing network that will link the DOE facility and UC Berkeley.

The project, called Quantum Application Network Testbed for Novel Entanglement Technology, supports the federal government's National Quantum Initiative and is part of a $61 million DOE investment.

Other department funding awards include $12.5 million for a similar testbed development effort at Oak Ridge National Laboratory, $30 million for the establishment of five Nanoscale Science Research Centers and $5 million for the creation of continental-scale quantum internet building blocks.

Quantum networks use light’s quantum properties for encoding more information compared to traditional computing technology, according to Berkeley Lab.

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Peraton Names Mara Motherway to SVP, Government & Customer Relations Role; CEO Stu Shea Quoted
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Peraton Names Mara Motherway to SVP, Government & Customer Relations Role; CEO Stu Shea Quoted

Mara Motherway, former vice president for Government Relations and Military Affairs at Booz Allen Hamilton, has been appointed to the new role of senior vice president of Government and Customer Relations at Peraton.

“I’m excited to welcome Mara to the company at such a critical time,” said 2021 Wash100 Award winner Stu Shea, Peraton’s chairman, president, and CEO. on Tuesday. “Her decades of experience in national security and track record of success in the government affairs arena will scale this capability and be a force multiplier for our business.”

In the newly created role, Mara Motherway will be responsible for driving the company’s public policy and government affairs strategies. She will report to Peraton’s Executive Vice President and Chief Growth Officer Mike King.

“Mara is an exceptional government relations professional and strategic thinker who brings a unique and proven skillset to Peraton in support of our business objectives,” said King. “She is widely respected across industry and government for her abilities to masterfully navigate public policy issues and effectively convey the priorities of the company to policymakers.”

At Booz Allen Hamilton, Motherway played a key role in guiding strategic government customer relationships, advancing the firm’s business interests with policymakers and overseeing military partnership strategy.

Motherway also previously served as director of Special Projects with BAE Systems’ Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance (ISR) business for more than two years prior to joining Booz Allen Hamilton.

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Air Force Test Team Demos New Precision-Guided Munition via F-15E Jet
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Air Force Test Team Demos New Precision-Guided Munition via F-15E Jet

A test team at Eglin Air Force Base demonstrated a new air-dropped, precision-guided weapon designed to strike enemy ships while reducing the survivability risks observed with existing methods.

An F-15E Strike Eagle dropped the GBU-31 Joint Direct Attack Munition (JDAM) over the Gulf of Mexico during the test on Aug. 26th, Eglin AFB said Monday.

Maj. Andrew Swanson, F-15E weapons system officer at the 85th Test and Evaluation Squadron, said the new munition can address the survivability risks associated with the existing 2,000-pound, laser-guided GBU-24.

The new GBU-31 JDAM can also serve as an alternative to submarine-launched torpedoes and eliminates the risk of revealing a submarine's location during launches.

The test follows a previous demonstration conducted by the 49th Test and Evaluation Squadron, which evaluated JDAM's performance in specific maritime conditions. JDAM features a modern tail kit designed to provide precision guidance.

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DARPA Names Participants of Effort to Study, Apply Warm Atomic Vapors
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DARPA Names Participants of Effort to Study, Apply Warm Atomic Vapors

The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has selected eight teams to conduct research projects that address the limits of atomic vapors in quantum science.

DARPA said Friday that its Science of Atomic Vapors for New Technologies (SaVANT) effort will study how to improve the coherence of warm atomic vapors and determine how they can support DOD's technological pursuits.

Unlike cold atoms, warm atomic vapors do not require laser-cooling but present the challenge of maintaining quantum coherence. 

SaVANT will address this limitation and apply room-temperature atomic vapors to support quantum information science applications, as well as help DOD measure high-sensitivity electric and magnetic fields.

The effort will mainly focus on three approaches: Rydberg electrometry, vector magnetometry and vapor quantum electrodynamics.

The eight SaVANT participants are:

  • ColdQuanta
  • Georgia Institute of Technology
  • Quantum Valley Ideas Laboratories
  • Rydberg Technologies
  • Twinleaf
  • University of Colorado
  • University of Maryland
  • William & Mary

 

DARPA will announce an additional participant in the coming months.

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