Aug 23 2023

QUICK HITS

• SBA to require social disadvantage narratives for most 8(a) program participants: After July District Court injunction.

• Threat actor targeted DOD contracting website: Malware HiatusRAT takes advantage of flaws in edge routers to siphon data.

• ClearanceJobs' DC/VA all clearance event is 1 month out: Dress to impress and make sure you pre-register to avoid the entry line!

DEFENSE & AEROSPACE

DOD previews on-ramp to $48B tech research contract.

The Defense Department has started to give industry some expectations and pointers on how it plans to conduct the on-ramp for a $48B technology R&D services contract vehicle. A final solicitation to reopen the vehicle known as IAC-MAC and the associated requirements documents should go live on or after Sept. 5, DOD said in a presolicitation notice. Read more

Army launches new contract writing system.

The Army has kicked off the initial deployment of a new platform intended to streamline the contract writing process for its procurement workforce. The effort is being spearheaded by the program executive office for enterprise information systems, and it comes as the service is pursuing a wide-ranging IT modernization agenda. Read more

DOD thinking 'outside the box' to solve workforce cyber challenges.

The Pentagon is taking a new approach to solve cyber workforce retaining and recruitment challenges that will require thinking “outside the box”, according to the principal director for resources and analysis for the Pentagon’s CIO. Read more

ICYMI Snippets

• GAO prods DOD on NBIS IT System upgrade schedules, costs.

• Army to seek industry input as it looks to reduce command post footprint for Command and Control (C2) on the move.

• New Army CIO, self-proclaimed ‘bureaucracy hacker,’ doesn’t want policy to prevent progress.

• Four questions for Ed Barker, Army’s new electronic warfare executive.

• US Air Force fires ARRW hypersonic in first test since March failure. No word on whether this 2nd try was a success or not.

Defense Contract Awards

• Space Development Agency awards $1.5B for transport satellites to Northrop Grumman and Lockheed Martin.

• Mynaric to design $3 million optical ground terminal for U.S. military constellation.

• Armentum wins $592M Navy contract for FMS follow-on.

• Cherokee Federal wins DHA HQ support contract.

• DOD commits $142 to Archer for electric takeoff and landing aircraft.

Follow the Defense Leaders

• Retired Army three-star general named CEO of Warrior Focused Solutions.

Defense Job Openings

• NAVSEA seeks distinguished software engineer/scientist for fleet signatures systems.

INTEL COMMUNITY

U.S. intelligence office to investigate lagging procurement of commercial satellite data.

Got problems? They want to know! The ODNI is seeking information from the private sector on barriers encountered by commercial remote sensing data providers when doing business with the intelligence community and the DOD. Responses to this RFI are due September 22. Read more

ICYMI Snippets

• IARPA bringing ‘smart pants’ to market, taking the phrase “smarty pants” to a whole new level. Your little sister will love a pair for xmas.

• Commentary: National security needs 'whole people,' not perfect people.

• DOJ OBD awards $52M IT Services support contract to Information Protection Solutions, a SDVOSB.

CIVILIAN

Take 2 for $1.5B Commerce acquisition for CATTS IDIQ.

Awardees are starting to be announced for the Transformational Technology Services (CATTS) IDIQ award to provide the DOC with IT support services, including OCIO support, Digital Document/Records Management, Managed Services Outsourcing, IT Services Management, IT Operations & Maintenance, and Cybersecurity support. Read more

CISA pushing agencies for ‘Quantum-Readiness’ roadmap.

The CISA, along with NSA and NIST, have released a joint factsheet encouraging early planning for migration to post-quantum cryptographic standards by developing a Quantum-Readiness Roadmap. Read more

WH unveils multiagency R&D priorities for FY '25.

The WH's Office of Science and Technology Policy and OMB have issued a memo outlining the current administration’s R&D priorities to guide federal agencies as they formulate their budget submissions for fiscal '25. Read more

ICYMI Snippets

• Homeland Security reveals new AI use cases — and removes references to others.

• CISA's “super-awesome” culture has been key to its hiring successes.

• Six Sigma Master Black Belts wanted: Watchdog says USPS doesn’t have a system to identify lessons learned: They need some Project Managers.

• Call center wait times balloon as millions dropped from Medicaid.

Civilian Contracts Awards

• Energy Department announces $16M to go toward AI nuclear physics research.

• National Science Foundation invests $38M in quantum research.

• HHS awards Zolon PCS $9M CCHQ IT Services Support task.

• CDC awards Deloitte $4M Health IT Services task.

Follow Civilian Leaders

• Former CFO at GE Healthcare to become CFO at Clarios.

• Grady Lincalis promoted to Freedom Consulting Group CFP.

• NASA appoints a chief data officer.

• Longtime SSA IT Specialist joins DOS as Branch Chief, Contracts & Acquisitions in Consular Systems Technology.

• Adobe co-founder John Warnock, who helped invent the PDF, is dead at 82.

Civilian Job Openings

• Become NASA HQ's Director of Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate Safety.

M&A CORNER

Aretum adds agile development, cloud skills with first acquisition.

Aretum LLC has made its first acquisition since it was stood up in April by Renovus Capital Partners, its private equity backer. The company has added management consulting and technology solutions offerings with the acquisition of Artemis Consulting. Read more

M&A activity remains strong despite challenges.

After an unprecedented level of merger and acquisition activity in 2021, there were expectations markets would be “cooling down” in 2022. In reality, 2022 fell into a normalized level of deal flow, in-line historical performance.  Read more

Broadcom-VMware transaction gets UK govt approval.

Semiconductor company Broadcom has received final clearance from the U.K. government to acquire multi-cloud services provider VMware and expects to close the transaction by the end of October this year. Read more

SHOWER THOUGHTS 🚿

How do we rethink who’s winning the US-China tech competition?

A study earlier this year asserted China has a “stunning lead” in essential technologies. And it wasn’t the first time this claim has been made. But are these claims based entirely on reality rather than supposition? Read more

Why is public service a members-only club?

As millennials become the dominant workforce and Gen Z increases its presence in the workforce, the security sector must find a way to effectively attract and integrate diverse talent with the greatest ability to navigate new frontiers. Read more

Did China figure out how to get drones to target without GPS?

An academic paper out of China proposes a new method for controlling drones and steering them to targets in environments where GPS is under attack, a new sign of the growing importance of drones in conflicts where adversaries have advanced electromagnetic jamming capabilities. Read more

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