Aug 14 2023

QUICK HITS

• Maui wildfires: Extra logistical challenges hinder government's initial response when disasters strike islands.

• White House requests $40B from Congress to support Ukraine, replenish U.S. disaster aid, and bolster border: Through Fiscal Year 2023.

• DHS: Office of the Chief Procurement Office: Check out PILCast Episode #35: Tips for Developing Unique Evaluation Criteria.

DEFENSE & AEROSPACE

The next big space business: satellite pictures of other satellites.

Satellite images, long used by militaries to track developments on Earth, are increasingly being used to keep tabs on the proliferating objects in space. Maxar Technologies has been filling U.S. government orders for images of objects in space for “several years,” said Kumar Navulur, the company’s director of strategic business development. Read more

Space Development Agency shaking up how the military buys satellites.

The Pentagon, for decades, has spent the bulk of its massive space budget on traditional geostationary satellites. The four-year-old Space Development Agency is working to break the mold with an ambitious plan to build a low-Earth orbit constellation by relying on a broad base of suppliers for commercially produced small satellites and laser communications terminals. Read more

ICYMI Snippets

• RFI: Air Force releases Advanced Battle Management Systems Content Delivery Network.

• U.S. military get a feel for the value of commercial satellite imagery.

• Army network will improve global visibility and cybersecurity.

• These soldiers to assess the Army’s new do-it-all device for infantry: Integrated Visual Augmentation System v.1.2.

• Ukraine war driving US Army electronic warfare development.

• Commentary: Irregular warfare in space is an ongoing threat – and the US must adapt.

• Opinion: Why drones don’t cut it in Ukraine; they are too expensive to deploy at scale.

• New AI laser system to guard US capital region from unauthorized aircraft.

Defense Contract Awards

• Parsons secures $109M CYBERCOM contract for C4, capabilities development.

• Aeyon books Navy Financial Workforce Integration support task order.

• Greystones wins slot on $249M AI Talent 2.0.

• Air Force awards $100M cyber, ISR advisory contract.

• Valiant wins two-year, $18M DTRA task order.

Follow the Defense Leaders

• Former DOD JAIC COO returns to ECS as Analytics & Artificial Intelligence VP.

DAILY FUNNY

INTEL COMMUNITY

Amid historic hiring surge, NSA considers hybrid, unclassified work options.

The NSA is considering options for hybrid work and other flexibilities previously unimaginable at the highly secretive agency. NSA Director Gen. Paul Nakasone described how the organization is in the middle of “perhaps the largest growth in our agency’s history” during an appearance at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. The NSA announced earlier this year that it has openings for more than 3,000 new employees. Read more

CSRB releases long-awaited report on Lapsus$ hacking group.

The Cyber Safety Review Board – established by the Department of Homeland Security – has released its long-awaited review on the Lapsus$ hacking group, which attacked various government agencies and corporate networks from 2021 to 2022. Read more

ICYMI Snippets

• CACI's CEO views artificial intelligence as an 'enabling tech,' including its work with NGA.

• RTX wins DARPA contract to develop trustworthy AI.

• New Zealand to create intel agency recommended over two years ago.

CIVILIAN

How the IRS accidentally tagged thousands of taxpayers as dead.

“I’m not dead yet!” The IRS has wrongly tagged at least 6,821 living people as dead, blocking thousands of taxpayers from filing their tax returns and getting refunds. The process of locking a deceased person’s account is meant to prevent fraudsters from using stolen identity information to file returns and get benefits. Read more

NOAA upgrades weather forecasting supercomputers.

The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is upgrading the supercomputing power of its weather forecasting operations. The science agency announced 20% expansion in computing power to its Dogwood supercomputer in Manassas, Va., and the Cactus supercomputer in Phoenix, both of which began operating in NOAA in June 2022. Read more

ICYMI Snippets

• Legacy systems jeopardizing future of USDA's National Finance Center.

• WH to Congress: Don’t let firefighter salaries drop to $15 an hour. Have you noticed all this smoke lately? Even Hawaii might get on board.

• Should there be a hiring freeze at the Education Department?

• House committee asks FCC for more action on IoT device security.

• OPM’s retirement backlog back up in July after months of it shrinking.

• Opinion: Don't cut the Technology Modernization Fund.

Civilian Contracts Awards

• ASRC Federal subsidiary wins 10-year NOAA contract with $8B ceiling.

• Peraton wins $514M subcontract to maintain NASA’s space communications complex.

Follow Civilian Leaders

• Avion Solutions names former GSA’s MAS Program Management Deputy Director as their new Director of BD.

M&A CORNER

Ameresco acquires microgrid project through Pinnacle West Capital Deal.

Renewable energy provider Ameresco and investor-owned utility holding company Pinacle West Capital have agreed to develop a microgrid system to provide backup power for the U.S. Army and California National Guard. The first stage of the companies’ two-phase agreement involves Ameresco’s acquisition of an energy resilience project under construction at Joint Forces Training Base in Los Alamitos, Calif., from Pinnacle subsidiary Bright Canyon Energy, Read more

SHOWER THOUGHTS 🚿

It's never too late for the most important fiscal year-end sales tip.

Stick your head in a government contractor meeting anywhere around the Beltway and you will probably hear someone offering advice on maximizing your impact for the end of FY2023. There’s a ton of advice out there and much of it is good. So, I’ll add my two cents, and it revolves around leveraging LinkedIn. But this article does not address selling or business development per se, but the steps necessary to make a stellar first impression. Read more

ISIS jihadists told to ‘prioritize self-care’ and mental health while using ‘toxic’ social media, learn cybersecurity tips.

Jihadists were advised in a new ISIS publication to keep abreast of cybersecurity trends and maintain strong cyber hygiene while being alert for “toxic content” that “can affect mental health” and well-being during prolonged social media usage. Read more

Have the kids come home? How are open-source technologies are reshaping conflict and humanitarian operations?

Over the course of the Ukraine war so far, the group Conflict Observator has used open-source technologies to supply dozens of intelligence reports with evidence of Russia-led efforts to force passportization on Ukrainians in occupied areas, destroy the nation’s cultural heritage sites and major medical facilities, and — among other international violations — force the relocation of thousands of Ukrainian children without consent from their parents. Read more

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