• SBs are getting a portal that hooks them up with potential clients: DOD Small Business is launching an updated web portal that would directly link small businesses to potential buyers.
• Fed procurement reform is coming — here’s what you should know: Collaboration between private, public sectors will clarify how best to modernize govt. systems, minimize disruptions.
• IT leaders see ‘critical moment’ in securing systems from fraud: Federal IT leaders look across agencies to fight fraud in public programs.
• What execs need to know before they hop on LinkedIn: LinkedIn has some pretty cool ‘powers‘ contractors can wield to build their business.
• $6 billion USAID SWIFT 6 Draft RFP is released: The contract will have 8 awards in its unrestricted full-and-open portion, with at least one small business reserve contract. (SAM notice here)

DEFENSE & AEROSPACE

ICYMI Snippets

• Read about one of Space Force’s super-secret groups: Space Rapid Capabilities Office.
• AF loses its CIO, sealing a trifecta of exoduses. (Exodi? Exodus? Exodoi?)
• DOD leaders have learned a lot from a year of battle in Ukraine.
• Congress just got a report on hypersonic weapons.
• Space Force envisions ‘freight trains’ to space, ‘Walmarts on orbit’.

Defense Contract Awards

• Lockheed was awarded $170M supporting the Joint Strike Fighter Program.
• GovCIO subsidiary books $99M navy submarine broadcast tech engineering IDIQ.
• Group W Inc. gets a $12M WHO contract for information management and analysis.

Follow the Defense Leaders

• The Senate Appropriations Defense Subcommittee welcomes two new members.
• Retired two-star general appointed to Sigma Defense Systems advisory board.
• Accenture’s federal group names a new group leader.
• SAIC promoted a senior Opps manager to be Senior VP of its Army business unit.

Defense Job Openings

• The Navy needs metalheads — sorry, we meant a Principal for Naval Alloys & Materials.
• The Air Force wants a Command Integration and Transformation Officer.

INTEL COMMUNITY

Heads up, contractors! FBI’s ITSSS-2 award phase is fast approaching.

The FBI has informed vendors it can now take over responsibility for the execution of the award phase for its follow-on Information Technology Supplies and Support Services blanket purchase agreement, as a result of increased bureau procurement staffing and experience. Read more

CIA’s AI director says AI is a critical national security issue.

The director says the CIA is hard at work on addressing and incorporating AI into its daily practices, but reiterated the private sector’s obligation to partner with the government — specifically the IC — to assist the country in reaching its goals and readying for confrontation with its competitors. Read more

ICYMI Snippets

• The NSA released some best practices for securing your home network.
• SilverEdge taps former National Security Council director as intelligence president.
• Telos Corporation secures an NSA follow-on contract.
• The NGA is looking for an experienced Systems Engineer.

CIVILIAN

GAO’s new contract vehicle will cross procurement’s “valley of death”.

The GAO is continuing its market research for a potential new multi-award IDIQ contract vehicle centered on a research and development funding program. The vehicle means to make innovative tools available for governmentwide acquisition and help technology funded by federal research bridge the gap between prototype and production –  what’s known in procurement circles as the “valley of death.” Read more

VA’s EHR functionality issues are affecting other medical centers.

According to a VA official, it’s possible there will be additional delays in the rollout of its Oracle Cerner EHR platform due to concerns regarding how it interacts with other medical research systems. Read more

Big bucks this way  → VA posts draft scorecard, eval criteria for $5B IDIQ.

In the VA Enterprise Supply Chain Modernization IDIQ, the agency has released some draft documents to help you prepare your submission. Read more

ICYMI Snippets

• After a decade of noncompliance, DOJ issues a report on federal website accessibility.
• Commerce Department posts NATO opportunity to provision OSINT AI platform as SaaS.
• DHS’s biometric rally reveals strong capabilities reliant on camera configuration.
• EPA employees voice concerns about low pay, understaffing, burnout.

Civilian Contracts Awards

• Peraton snags $399M NOAA contract supporting the Joint Polar Satellite System.
• CMS re-signs Serco for $690M insurance eligibility support contract.
• HHS awards EAGLES a $2M, five-year DITAP training program IDIQ.

Follow Civilian Leaders

Civilian Job Openings

• Get in touch with nature (sort of) and become a Deputy Regional Forester.
• DOE needs a Director, AUKUS Technical Exchange Programs.

M&A CORNER

Booz Allen invests in Hidden Level Inc.

Booz Allen announced that its corporate venture capital arm, Booz Allen Ventures, LLC, has made a strategic investment in Hidden Level, Inc., a developer of passive sensing technology of unmanned aerial systems (UAS), such as drones, for high-interference environments. Read more