QUICK HITS
POTUS signs three AI executive orders: Infrastructure permission acceleration, export promotion, and bias prevention.
DOC seeks IT upgrades: Proposed bill targets foreign adversaries.
Proposed contracting preference program for VOSBs: The Van Orden amendment would set goals at no less than 5% and allow set-aside and sole-source without the “rule of two” limitation.
GD4A Industry Day recap: Insights and exclusive updates from MDA and DOD leaders.
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DEFENSE & AEROSPACE
NAVSEA advances design work on future destroyer and submarine.
NAVSEA is leading design efforts for the DDG(X) and SSN(X), focusing on early engineering disciplines to avoid pitfalls from the Constellation-class program. Officials aim to strengthen in-house capabilities and deliver more integrated, technically mature platforms.
Army details plans for MQ-1C Gray Eagle replacement.
The Army has announced plans to replace the MQ-1C Gray Eagle within three years, ending future procurements from GA-ASI. A short takeoff variant is under consideration to support operations in austere environments.
Army CIO unveils strategy to streamline business system oversight.
The Army’s CIO has issued a directive to refine how defense business systems are classified and approved, emphasizing operational relevance and fiscal accountability. Systems exceeding $25M now require CIO validation, which might be streamlined but doesn’t feel very efficient. Non-mission-critical platforms—like static websites—may no longer qualify.
ICYMI:
USAF RFI: AI-Enabled Personnel Readiness Wargaming Support.
Revised DLA RFI: HMMS Software and Sustainment Support.
Army plans to phase out Gray Eagle and Shadow drones.
USSF gears up for first NSSL launch with ULA’s Vulcan rocket.
Defense Contract Awards
Follow the Defense Leaders
Chugach Government Solutions has a new Business Development VP.
Aretum selected a People VP.
Defense Job Openings
CHART
Water Infrastructure Resilience: Agencies Could Better Assess Efforts to Assist Communities Vulnerable to Natural Disasters. GAO-25-107013. August 11, 2025.
INTEL COMMUNITY
Researchers detail new “grey zone conflict” in AI-driven Chinese propaganda.
A cache of documents from the Chinese company GoLaxy reveals that it has developed AI-powered propaganda campaigns targeting U.S. figures—creating detailed data profiles for at least 117 sitting members of Congress, over 2,000 political and thought leaders, and thousands of right-wing influencers and journalists—deploying content with unprecedented speed, precision, and lifelike quality. Vanderbilt University experts warn this signals a new kind of “gray zone conflict.”
The D.C. takeover could supercharge surveillance.
The administration’s declaration of a “crime emergency” in Washington, D.C., has enabled unprecedented collaboration between federal law enforcement, the National Guard, and military technologies—potentially unleashing advanced surveillance tools in the capital that evade local civilian oversight, such as spy aircraft, cellphone-tracking “dirtboxes,” and drones.
ICYMI:
USSOCOM RFI: PEO-TIS-ISS Industry Week 2025 - RF SIGNINT info wanted.
NATO RFI: Space Data Marketplace.
National Guard begins deploying on DC streets after government takes over.
FBI report: U.S. crime rates fell 4.5% nationwide in 2024.
USCG commissions first Arctic icebreaker in over 25 years.
Legion Systems booked a $14M USSOCOM STTE Support contract.
Former FBI executive and cybersecurity leader joins Dinsmore.
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CIVILIAN
FedRAMP doubles cloud approvals as GSA revamps process.
FedRAMP’s overhaul is paying off—cloud authorizations in FY25 have already more than doubled last year’s total, hitting 114 by July. Thanks to automation and streamlined workflows, approval timelines have shrunk from over a year to just five weeks.
Control of federal grants is now in the hands of political appointees.
A new E.O. gives political appointees sweeping authority over all federal grants—including those from NIH, NSF, and FEMA. Researchers are alarmed, calling it a recipe for delays, bias, and fewer cures. Administration officials say it’s part of their efforts to “strengthen oversight” and “streamline agency grantmaking.”
White House targets NASA climate & crop monitoring missions’ budget.
Two NASA missions tracking carbon dioxide and plant health are on the chopping block under the FY26 budget. The Orbiting Carbon Observatories—praised as “national assets”—could lose funding, despite helping reveal global carbon trends and crop stress. Congress may be the last lifeline.
ICYMI:
FBI RFI: BPR and Innovation for the BIAS Program.
DHA RFI: Data Governance Transforming the Data Landscape.
Google, NASA are testing an AI medical assistant for deep-space missions.
WH to review Smithsonian exhibits so they fit new views of American history.
Civilian Contracts Awards
Follow Civilian Leaders
Heritage Foundation economist to head the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and he already wants to suspend monthly jobs reports.
OSTP’s second-in-command departs after publication of AI plan.
NSF’s tech leader has left, and a new Acting Chief AI Officer has been named.
IntelliDyne named its Capture VP.
Reli Group appointed a new Client Relationship Executive.
Civilian Job Openings
DCA is hiring an IT Program Manager.
VHS is seeking a Program Manager.
M&A CORNER
Qinetiq to offload federal IT arm to V2X for $31M.
Qinetiq will be selling its non-core Federal IT Services unit to V2X for $31M as part of a U.S. restructuring. The deal, expected to close by September, will fund share buybacks and cut debt. The company’s new focus? Sensors, space, and surveillance—not spreadsheets.
SHOWER THOUGHTS 🚿
[Watch] 2 Chinese ships collided while pursuing a Philippine Coast Guard patrol boat. The incident occurred during a humanitarian operation. SOURCE↗︎
Pakistani Army Chief of Staff made a nuclear threat to India during his visit to the U.S. He said, “We are a nuclear nation. If we think we are going down, we'll take half the world down with us.” SOURCE↗︎
Carbon…butter? A Bill Gates–backed lab says its creation tastes like the real thing. Do you want to try it? SOURCE↗︎
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