QUICK HITS
A $100B Venezuela oil deal could open a huge new GovCon-adjacent market: The U.S. gets 55% of the venture’s effective output, an ownership stake, and access to oil for the Strategic Petroleum Reserve and military.
TMF wants to train an AI on every proposal it’s ever received: Fed tech fund wants AI to learn from its entire investment history.
GAO IT modernization: OIG finds the watchdog quietly abandoned its $29M five-year plan without telling some of its own staff.
PQC in procurement: CISA's top quantum expert says agencies will increasingly require quantum-resistant encryption in contracts.
DEFENSE & AEROSPACE
Marine Corps GCE 2040: Five pillars, three phases, and a human-first warfighting vision.
The USMC released its FY26 Ground Combat Element 2040 framework, a phased modernization roadmap built around five pillars: human-centered warfighting, lethality, endurance, decision advantage, and modularity. The near-term phase through 2030 focuses on AI, unmanned systems, and lethality. By 2036-2040, the Corps envisions AI-enabled, edge-computing formations built for contested littoral terrain.
Army lasers blast drones, proving directed-energy weapons are the future.
USA soldiers used the Army Multipurpose High Energy Laser system to defeat three suspected cartel-linked drones along the southern border, marking the system’s first operational use there. DOD is expanding directed-energy investments because lasers can counter drones and cruise missiles at far lower cost per shot than traditional interceptors. The Joint Laser Weapon System program carries a potential ceiling of $847M.
Army will soon deliver first batch of detection tools to protect from EMS targeting.
USA will soon field its first Spectrum Situational Awareness Systems (S2AS), which detect friendly radio, microwave and other electromagnetic emissions that could give away command-post locations to an adversary. Nine systems are headed to prioritized units within weeks, with 46 expected by July 2027 as the service adapts to battlefields where even a stray cell phone or radio signal can become a targeting cue.
ICYMI:
USSF spent $124M on commercial data, services over nearly three years.
Army movies enterprise cloud management under its Cyber Command.
Here’s what the new “Space Academy” could mean for the military.
Opinion: The Pentagon’s proposed nuclear shift is costly and dangerous.
Defense Contract Awards
Follow the Defense Leaders
Evercore names two new senior managing directors.
Defense Job Openings
FUNNY
INTEL COMMUNITY
Intel community revolutionizes system development and acquisition strategies.
NRO and NGA are shifting toward faster, proliferated architectures that combine commercial systems with government capabilities, using AI to process the growing volume of intelligence data at speed and scale. NGA is also moving away from monolithic acquisition programs toward agile platforms and plans to expand its commercial space-based constellation from about 1,300 satellites today to at least 10,000 by the end of the decade.
ICYMI:
DISA RFI: Combatant Command Network Optimization Execution Guidance.
CIA is making AI-generated reports for local police via DHS “fusion centers.”
CIA director holds talks in Moscow with his intelligence counterparts.
NSA, FBI, and CNMF warn China-linked group has targeted defense, telecom, and local government since 2018.
SpaceX satellites are clogging up space, risking massive collision.
Judge rules that Anthropic supply chain risk designation was “illegal and baseless.”
ODNI is looking for a Legislative Liaison Officer.
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CIVILIAN
NARA says agencies’ AI use does not automatically create federal records.
NARA says federal agencies’ use of AI does not automatically make prompts, outputs or other AI-generated materials federal records; instead, agencies must determine whether those materials document official business and therefore meet existing records-management requirements. The new guidance stresses that there is no one-size-fits-all rule, so agencies need policies for preserving—or disposing of—AI-related content based on how each tool is actually used.
VA launches AI helpdesk chatbot, with plans for expansion later this year.
VA has launched a beta AI helpdesk chatbot on VA.gov to help veterans find information about benefits and services, with plans to add personalized sign-in experiences, live-agent support and broader deployment later this year. The chatbot does not access medical records or collect identifying information, and VA warns users not to rely on it for emergencies or medical advice because of inaccuracies.
DOJ launches new center to combat fraud against taxpayer-funded programs.
DOJ has launched the National Fraud Detection Center (NFDC), a prosecutor-led, multi-agency effort to identify and pursue major fraud schemes targeting taxpayer-funded federal programs. The center brings together FBI, HSI, IRS-CI, FinCEN, Treasury and numerous agency IG offices to share data and analytical capabilities, generate criminal leads and break down silos that previously allowed fraudsters to exploit multiple programs undetected.
ICYMI:
Civilian Contracts Awards
FCN booked a $170K DHS ICE ERO network hardware, IT equipment deal.
Qualtryx won a $10M USCB IT Services contract.
Guidehouse won a $9M TREAS FINCEN ECD Enforcement, Data deal.
eMentum won a $3M TREAS FM QSMO and FMLOB Program Support deal.
Deloitte booked a $12M DHS HSI IT Portfolio Investigative Case Mgmt deal.
Follow Civilian Leaders
DHS selected a former DOGE team member as its Acting CIO.
DHS has a new Fraud Task Force Leader.
Civilian Job Openings
M&A CORNER
Space-Eyes gains option to acquire KMS.
Space-Eyes has signed a purchase option agreement granting it the exclusive right to acquire all of KMS Solutions, a U.S. Navy engineering services provider, as part of an effort to expand its defense and maritime technology capabilities. The move would combine Space-Eyes’ AI and geospatial technology with KMS’ engineering, life cycle support and Navy mission expertise.
Inspirit Equity comples acquisition of Valiant O&M.
Inspirit Equity has acquired the operations and maintenance division of Valiant Integrated Defense Services, an independent provider of facilities, maintenance and logistics services to government agencies. Valiant O&M will operate as an independent company called Vulcan Government Services (VGS). VGS will support hospitals, medical facilities, research laboratories and other critical infrastructure through facility operations and maintenance services.
ICYMI:
SHOWER THOUGHTS 🚿
Trade war hits our toilet: Canada threatens 25-50% tariffs on poo paper; the U.S. imported $328M worth in 2024. SOURCE↗︎
Don’t eat the President’s head. It’s a deadly drug! A Dutch institute issued warning over ecstasy pills stamped with POTUS's face and loaded with PMMA. SOURCE↗︎
Want your own chatbot? Here’s how to to run your own AI model privately without sending data to the cloud. SOURCE↗︎
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