April 19, 2024

Godspeed buys Special Aerospace, DARPA AI controlled aircraft, IRS plans to use AI more, Northrop and SpaceX team up, new SATCOM ground sys demo

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GovBrew
April 19, 2024

QUICK HITS

  • SeaPort NxG IDIQ MAC Rolling Admissions II: RFP was released. Offers are due May 16.

  • Primes are responsible for their subcontractors: When subs violate prevailing wage, primes may be on the hook.

  • Google Cloud Next 2024: Here are your top public sector takeaways.

  • NAPEX & APEX Accelerator: DCAA Cost Reimbursable Requirements webinar, May 1 at 2 pm EST. Optimize your contracting process!

TRIVIA 🤔

According to the US Sentencing Commission, the median loss of tax revenue due to individual tax fraud in 2022 was:

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Just click the choice you think is right & the correct answer will be shown. Scroll down to the bottom of this email for more information about the topic.

DEFENSE & AEROSPACE

DARPA achieves major breakthrough with AI-controlled aircraft.

For the past four years, DARPA has been developing its Air Combat Evolution (ACE) program, which teams human pilots with AI and ML systems in dogfighting scenarios. The initiative reached new heights in September with the first AI-versus-human dogfight conducted with actual aircraft. During the test campaign, the AI made no violations of training rules codifying airmen’s safety and ethical norms. Read more

Army is mulling over bundling millions in professional services, IT vehicles.

What the Army is currently calling by the acronym ACCESS will be the successor to the RS3 vehicle. The branch's vision for its Army Contracting Command Enterprise for Sourcing Services acquisition is to create a more consolidated and comprehensive marketplace for buying staff augmentation and other services. May 3 is the deadline for responses to the sources sought notice issued Wednesday regarding ACCESS. The Army said it is also considering whether to combine the scope of ACCESS with another vehicle more concentrated on IT systems. Read more | SAM

DISA gears up for wartime coms, prepares a new strategy.

Internet access is crucial during wartime when nations face imminent danger. DISA wants to prepare for “the bad day.” The agency’s strategy will prioritize “resilient” capability for warfighters and ‘strategic command, control, and communications’ alongside IT-focused essentials like data cleanup, tech replacement, and cloud migration. Read more

ICYMI:

  • Navy’s plan to buy a single submarine raises concerns.

  • Even NASA is worried that China is growing its presence in space.

  • NASA’s Dragonfly mission to Saturn’s huge moon Titan gets green lighted. It will launch in July 2028 and arrive in 2034.

  • Cambridge International Systems plead guilty to bribery conspiracy involving gov’t (Navy) contracts worth more than $100 million.

Defense Contract Awards

Follow the Defense Leaders

Defense Job Openings

CHART

Source: GAO 2024

INTEL COMMUNITY

Kratos, SES demo virtualized SATCOM ground system.

Kratos and SES successfully showed a flexible network architecture facilitating simultaneous communication pathways for resilient SATCOM. This virtualized and containerized architecture enables soldiers to position their RF hardware and software-defined hubs anywhere globally. The demonstration showed seamless operation supporting satellites in Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) on a “make-before-break” mode over SES’s O3b MEO satellite network. Read more

ICYMI:

CIVILIAN

CMS’s financial office is using LLM pilot to combat the loss of institutional knowledge.

CMS is especially reliant on institutional knowledge because of its need to uphold quality standards and adhere to operational rules. But with an aging workforce, occasional hiring freezes, and an unyielding stream of work to manage, CMS’s leaders are turning to AI to keep pace. To this end, CMS unveiled a new LLM pilot that aims to “mitigate the loss of that institutional knowledge” while also “rapidly getting people up to speed.” Read more

IRS plans expansion of AI capabilities.

The IRS is using Inflation Reduction Act funds to continue to modernize systems through AI utilization. Leaders believe the IRS can help connect with taxpayers, automate efficiency to reduce mistakes internally, deploy chatbots for answering basic questions, and a variety of other uses. Read more

CISA pitches procurement power to enforce cybersecurity.

The head of the CISA said that the federal government has a “powerful” ability to mandate security standards for software vendors through its procurement process. She was referring to a new software development attestation form that was released last month, which requires that federal contractors provide secure products to the federal government. Read more

ICYMI:

Civilian Contracts Awards

  • Commerce awards Colossal Contracting, Gov’t Acquisitions, Greenbrier Gov’t Solutions, Regan Tech, Thundercat Tech, and Veteran Tech Partners a $100M networking strategic sourcing initiative BPA.

  • Akiak NS, LLC, an 8(a) SB, won a $10M Commerce BIS export administration support services contract.

  • Computer Work Services Corp. won a $44M NIH prof servcs task.

  • Hill ASC won a $7M Treasury OCIO IT financial management support services BPA.

  • Booz Allen won a $29M IRS OCIO Enforcement 1 support task.

Follow Civilian Leaders

  • RELI announces a new VP of Health Informatics with experience at FDA, VA, and CMS.

  • Cloud’s former VP is now A-TEK’s CTO.

  • NuAxis has a new CDO.

  • Amivero has chosen a former TechFlow Director to be its new Business and Development VP.

  • BeaconPoint tapped a DOE Enterprise IT Leader to be its CEO.

Civilian Job Openings

M&A CORNER

Godspeed Capital acquires Special Aerospace Services.

Godspeed Capital Management LP has bought Special Aerospace Services. With this acquisition, the company aims to form a platform that will cater to the requirements of the U.S. defense & intelligence agencies and commercial space clients. Read more

GOVBREW INSIDER

  • Check out this week’s 85+ opportunities from defense, civilian, and intel agencies.

  • Our team uncovered 35+ upcoming IT services opportunities at the Securities Exchange Commission (SEC) in this week's recompete report.

  • See if your company qualifies for any of the latest grants & competitions.

  • Stay up to date on the upcoming events.

  • Keep track of the latest Agency Acquisition Forecasts.

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SHOWER THOUGHTS 🚿

Is following the “White House AI order” feasible?

The White House wants agencies to ensure the safe and fair use of artificial intelligence—and they gave them until the end of the year to do it. They emphasize keeping humans in the decision loop, permitting opt-outs from AI applications, and discontinuing AI use if safeguard rules aren’t met. Is this goal achievable? Read more

Is the privacy of your brain at risk?

If you take it for granted that nobody can listen in on your innermost thoughts, I regret to inform you that your brain may not be private much longer. We have Neuralink technology that falls under “neurotech” regulations, but there is noninvasive neurotech too, like products that record activity in your brain—and those companies are free to do what they’d like with the data. Now, brains everywhere are lawyering up. Read more

How was Google Ads used to spread the Whale Market Malware?

Whales Market is a decentralized OTC trading platform that enables users to exchange assets across different blockchains. Recently, someone reached out to BleepingComputer about a phishing ad related to WM in Google search results. How was Google Ads used to spread the malware? Read more

TRIVIA ANSWER ⭐️

$300,000 — Here’s some interesting information about tax evasion:

In 2022, 73% of the 61,142 reported fraudsters were men. Their average age was 52 years old. 92% were U.S. citizens, and 84% had no criminal history.

The average loss for the tax evasion was $301,009. 14.4% involved loss amounts of less than $100,000, and $17.8% involved loss amounts greater than $1.5 million. The average sentence for tax fraud offenders was 13 months in jail.

Source: U.S. Sentencing Commission, 2022 statistics.

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