Aug 07 2023

QUICK HITS

• Three acting chiefs, three black boxes: Army, Navy to join Marines without confirmed chief: due to hold on military confirmations.

• SBA pauses applications for 8(a) business program: following an injunction last month from a Tennessee federal judge.

• Russia and China sent large naval patrol near Alaska: In international waters, triggering a U.S. response.

DEFENSE & AEROSPACE

Air Force close to awarding Cloud One Next contract.

An RFP for the Air Force’s Cloud One Next program could come as soon as this month, as the service eyes a spring 2024 contract award. Last November, interested companies were asked by the Air Force how they might approach managing and modernizing Cloud One while factoring in “recent government leadership direction,” including the National Defense Strategy and a FY 23-28 information technology road map. Read more

Sprawling Pacific exercise revealed Air Force needs some doctrine refresh: General.

Following the conclusion of Air Mobility Command’s largest readiness exercise in its history held for the first time in the Indo-Pacific, officials are starting to unpack lessons learned, with a key takeaway being the need to “refresh” Air Force doctrine to better coordinate logistics forces, according to a top service official. Read more

The cloud, fiber optics and hiding in basements: Army races to adapt to new command post threats.

On tomorrow’s battlefield, there’s no safe place for ammo dumps or command posts. Drones will buzz constantly overhead, AI-powered algorithms searching for any sign of life — movement, body heat, wireless signals — that they can target for precision strike. So how can commanders and their staffs survive this new threat, when their very function requires communication? Read more

ICYMI Snippets

• General Dynamics IT withdraws its $400M NASA Shared Services contract protest.

• Air Force tackling network needs for future CCA drone operations.

• NASA cautiously tests OpenAI for summarization and code writing.

• Incoming Sergeant Major of the Army wants AI-powered health monitors as a path to higher readiness.

• Navy eyes new tech to help kill underwater drones and enemy divers.

• Northrup Grumman opens new propulsion system factory while Lockheed Martin opens a new small satellite factory.

Defense Contract Awards

• NASA selects Axiom Space for fourth ISS private astronaut mission.

• Mantech wins $622M Army TITUS task order.

• Seneca Nation Group subsidiary books $99M Navy software environment support IDIQ.

• Startup iRocket signs agreement to develop and test hardware at U.S. Air Force facility.

Follow Defense Leaders

• Retired Four-Star General joins Klas Government’s Board of Advisors.

Defense Job Openings

• U.S. Army Futures Command is hiring a Director for Software, Simulation, Systems Engineering & Integration.

• Air Education and Training Command is hiring a Learning Architect.

• The Air Force is seeking an Interdisciplinary Operations Research Analyst/Computer Scientist/Data Scientist.

DAILY FUNNY

INTEL COMMUNITY

IARPA grapples with threats posed by generative AI.

The Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Agency wants to understand how the large language models that help fuel artificial intelligence and machine learning chatbots are vulnerable to threats and biases. IARPA officials issued a sources sought notice to gain more insight into what threats and vulnerabilities could be inherent in LLMs, how they are characterized and what strategies could be used to mitigate them. Read more

Space Force intel focus: 50% on China, 25% on Russia.

The Space Force is concentrating full half of its intelligence-gathering activities on China to keep tabs on Beijing’s rapid evolution as a space power to reckon with, according to the service’s senior intelligence officer. “From an intelligence perspective…about half of what we do is focused on China. About 25 percent of what we do is focused on Russia, and a lot of that has to do because of the current conflict (in Ukraine),” Maj. Gen. Gregory Gagnon, Space Force deputy chief of space operations for intelligence, told the Space Force Association. Read more

ICYMI Snippets

• DHS extends timeline on enterprise cloud strategy.

• CACI awarded $2.7B NSA intelligence analysis contract.

• NextGen Federal Solutions secures $170M ASTERIOD task order under OASIS contract.

• Artificial intelligence flies XQ-58A Valkyrie drone.

• NAVWAR releases C4I TVE presolicitation notice.

CIVILIAN

Commerce unveils contract for supply chain analytics.

The Commerce Department agency responsible for promoting exports of U.S. goods and services is accepting proposals for a potential three-year contract to build a supply chain data analytics platform. Commerce's International Trade Administration wants the web-based system to collect and track a variety of data to help inform regulatory and economic policies. ITA also wants to better identify risks and opportunities for protecting supply chains, according to the solicitation documents. Read more | Get the RFP

GAO prods DOE to action on cyber risky grid transformers.

The Department of Energy needs to do more to improve electric grid resilience by ensuring there are adequate reserves of spare power transformers, which are susceptible to cyberattacks and other physical threats, according the GAO. Read more

State Department’s upcoming AI strategy looks to lay foundation for emerging tools.

The Biden administration is laying the foundation for greater use of artificial intelligence tools across the federal government — but agencies are already charting a path for how federal employees will work with AI tools. The State Department is relying on AI tools to help its workforce go through a massive inventory of diplomatic cables and recommend documents to declassify. The department also plans to soon release its first enterprise AI strategy. Read more

ICYMI Snippets

• The next step in CISA's maturity is its new cyber strategic plan.

• Aligning to National Cybersecurity Strategy pillars using a secure-by-design approach.

• CISA, Five Eyes cyber advisory lists common vulnerabilities among 2022’s top exploits.

• Zoom Me In! GPO vacates regional offices and embraces 100% telework for all eligible employees.

• Watchdog: IRS’s digital platforms tax users searching for in-person assistance.

• NSF aims to drive democratization of AI with its funding.

Civilian Contracts Awards

• DOE awards 19 spots on potential $5B Energy Savings Performance Contract Vehicle.

• VA awards Greenbrier Government Services $7M security refresh TO.

• HHS AHRQ awards ESimplicity, an 8(a) HUBZone EDWOSB business, a $4M QSRS-DA contract.

• NIH NLM awards Reli Group an $8M HSS CIT Professional IT Support Services task.

Follow Civilian Leaders

• Red Hat appoints a new SVP and chief revenue officer.

• Four new members have been named to CRDF Global’s Board.

Civilian Job Openings

• FDA is hiring a Deputy Associate General Counsel for Litigation 2.

• Department of Energy is seeking a Program Manager.

• The Bureau of Economic Analysis is seeking a Chief Regional Expenditures and Prices.

M&A CORNER

Sentar acquires Waterfront Technical Services.

Sentar Inc., a women-owned business specializing in advanced cyber intelligence solutions and technology, has acquired Waterfront Technical Services. Waterfront’s portfolio includes flight and ground operations, data center operations, information technology, software development, and test supporting NASA’s spaceflight missions. As a member of Teledyne Brown Engineering’s MOSSI team, Waterfront is providing mission-critical support to NASA’s ISS, Artemis, Gateway, and Human Lander projects. Read more

Day & Zimmerman acquires EPI.

Day & Zimmerman (D&Z) a provider of construction and maintenance, engineering, staffing, and defense solutions for corporations and governments, has acquired Empire Products, Inc. (EPI), a military contract sewing company specializing in propellant bags and charge bags. This acquisition expands D&Z's munitions manufacturing capabilities and integrates the operations of a key supply chain component. Read more

SHOWER THOUGHTS 🚿

The government is struggling to track its AI, and that's a problem.

Efforts to inventory artificial intelligence uses within major federal agencies have so far been inconsistent, creating a patchwork understanding of the government’s use of the budding technology. Regulating AI is a cornerstone of the current administration’s agenda, but the push to figure out where the federal government was using the technology began before President Joe Biden took office. Read more

VA deploys medical units around the country to treat homeless vets.

The Veterans Affairs Department is deploying staff around the country to provide health care services to homeless former service members. VA will send out 25 mobile medical units, or MMUs, across the country over the next six weeks, a project that began this week in Orlando, Fla. The teams will offer a variety of specialists, including mental health clinicians, social workers, primary care providers, audiologists and others.  Read more

Commentary: Stimulus fraud prevention is not a lost cause, it’s an opportunity for new tools and techniques.

In economic emergencies such as the recent COVID-19 pandemic, there’s a desire and need to release relief money quickly to those who qualify and legitimately need it. Unfortunately, in such situations, criminals also amass at the gate to submit fraudulent claims for themselves. Their techniques are often well coordinated, and sophisticated technology equips them to commit this fraud at a massive scale. Read more

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