Quick Hits

Same ol fight and a new client. Amazon and Microsoft spar over $1B NGA contract. 

The rivalry of government cloud computing continues between Microsoft and Amazon Web Services. This time there is a new battleground, a $1 billion sole source task order at the NGA. AWS was awarded a task order to cover cloud requirements for both classified and unclassified services under the C2E contract. Microsoft quickly filed a post-award protest alleging that NGA did not conduct a competition and has not justified why a sole-source award to AWS was appropriate. They are also arguing the task order’s scope is too broad for a sole-source award. A GAO decision is expected by Dec. 5.
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Draft RFP released for $1.3B NASA IT contract.

NASA just released a draft solicitation for a $1.3B task order on Alliant II. The NASA Consolidated Applications and Platform Services (NCAPS) procurement wis going large business and is expected to consolidate contracts from the following incumbents: SAIC,  GDIT, Mori Associates, and many small businesses who hold the other sizeable IT support contracts.
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ICYMI Snippets:

• Federal Court confirms strict SDVOSB unconditional ownership requirements
• Find out who’s who at the National Cyber Director’s Office

Top Defense & Aerospace

ICYMI Snippets

• DOD creates new infrastructure focused on mitigating harm to civilians.
• Latest military sexual assault report shows ‘tragic’ rise in cases.
• Defense industry to launch inflation relief push in Congress.

Defense Contract Awards

• DOD announces FY2021 Nunn-Perry award winners.
• Iron EagleX awarded $430M USSOCOM OTA for technical development support.
• Lockheed to provide pilot night vision systems for the apache attack helicopter.

Follow the Defense Leaders

• Former Army HR Officer Michael McGregor joins Golden Key Group in VP role.
• Tim Cahill is now EVP of the Lockheed’s missiles and fire control business segment.

Follow the Defense Job Openings

• Army is looking for a Director of Science & Technology Integration at CCDC.
• Navy is looking for a Chief Legal Advisor for its Supply Systems Command.

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Top Intel Community

Upcoming DARPA Program to address 5G Security Concerns.

A soon-to-be-announced DARPA program will seek to make communicating over 5G networks more secure. “The U.S. military and intelligence community often rely on foreign cellular services to communicate. The problem is that such 5G systems may not be secure” said DARPA’s Strategic Technology Office Director Phil Root. An upcoming agency program, called GECCO — Generating Communications Channels to Operate — wants to allay these privacy concerns, Root said. “We want to ensure that the traffic that the information is not exploitable and maintains our privacy,” Root said Aug. 31 at the DARPA Forward conference at Colorado State University in Fort Collins.
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IARPA to host PICARD Proposer’s Day.

IARPA posted an invitation for the Pursuing Intelligent Complex Aerosols for Rapid Detection (PICARD) proposer’s Day. The IARPA PICARD program intends to develop a fieldable sensing platform for the rapid identification of aerosol particles in plumes. The PICARD Proposers’ Day will be held on Monday, September 26, 2022 from 10:30am to 5:00pm EDT. Participants must register by Friday, September 16, 2022 at noon EDT. Same day registrations will not be accepted.
Read more | Register here

ICMY Snippets

• NSA, CISA & ODNI release new software supply chain guidelines for developers.
• FBI responds to questions about CBD use in the IC.
• DIU’s director tried to overcome a calcified defense innovation system. It beat him. Now what?

Intel Contracts Awards

• KBR Awarded NOVASTAR Contract through Xandar JV for U.S. Air Force.
• Army signs Cooperative Research & Development Agreement (CRADA) with HAWKEYE 360.
• Scout Space wins two STTR awards from the Space Force SpaceWERX Orbital Prime Program.

Top Civilian

SSA small biz industry day on digital modernization.

Patrick Newbold, Assistant Deputy Commissioner/DCIO and the SSA are calling all small businesses to help SSA achieve their digital modernization goals through partnerships. The SSA virtual digital modernization small business industry day is on October 19th. Attendees should register by October 17.
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Housing agency didn’t complete cyber orders from DHS.

The Federal Housing Finance Agency,  a small, independent agency tasked with oversight of federal mortgage providers Fannie Mae and Fannie Mac,  fell short on enacting binding operational directives from the Department of Homeland Security covering cybersecurity issues, according to an audit by the agency’s inspector general released Aug. 31. The agency lacks a documented process or procedure to implement directives from DHS, which federal agencies are required to comply with – something the report says could cause the agency to respond in an “ad-hoc, reactive manner.” FHFA’s chief information security officer told auditors that they assign these directives to appropriate analysts to process when the agency receives them.
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ICMY Snippets

• What does the federal government buy from data brokers?
• Lessons Learned Over a Decade with Health Care Marketplace.
• DoS Overseas Buildings Operations 2022 Industry Advisory Group Annual Meeting.

Civilian Contracts Awards

• GDIT Awarded $89M Software Engineering contract at IHS.
• CDC awards CFA Advisory Services task to BAH.
• Maximus awarded $6.6B CMS contact center follow on contract.

Follow the Civilian Leaders

• MetaPhase taps former GSA Executive, Beth Angerman.
• Dana Chisnell now Deputy Director of Customer Experience at DHS OCIO.
• USAID taps new CIO (Jason Gray) from Dept. of Ed.
• VA names Faith Roy as deputy CISO.
• HHS ASA taps Carol Ruth for Budget and Finance Director.

Follow the Civilian Job Openings

• FDA Office of Digital Transformation is looking for a Data Curation Lead.
• GSA is in need of a Director of Enterprise Technology Solutions (info session registration).
• Executive Office of the President (EOP), Office of the National Cyber Director (ONCD) seeking a Director of Cybersecurity Planning and Operations.

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GovCon M&A Corner

ICF acquires Blanton & Associates.

ICF acquired Blanton & Associates, Inc., an environmental consulting, planning and project management firm headquartered in Austin, TX, that supports a variety of infrastructure projects in key markets. Blanton & Associates’ team of more than 75 highly specialized and experienced staff bring proven domain expertise in environmental regulatory compliance and permitting in the transportation, renewable energy, water and resource management sectors.
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Quest Global expands US defense unit with EXB acquisition.

Quest Global acquired of EXB Solutions to join forces with its U.S. subsidiary, Quest Defense Systems & Solutions (Quest Defense). This addition expands the company’s capabilities in software and systems engineering with particular focus on quality in execution of design, development, verification and validation for safety and mission critical applications – and marks another milestone on Quest Global’s growth journey.
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