August 23, 2024

QUICK HITS

• Army unveils 2nd solicitation for $4B in R&D recompetes: This is for the unrestricted portion of the "D3I2" contract vehicle.

• Coast Guard working on its own cost estimates for icebreakers: Its newest ships may jump 60% in cost.

• AGILE Reading List: Army PEO EIS’s McKinney recommends his must-read books on all things AGILE.

• GAO to bidders: Your proposal needs to change when the agency amends the solicitation.

GOVBREW INSIDER

• Check out this week’s 80+ opportunities from defense, civilian, and intel agencies.

• In this week's recompete report, our team uncovered 60+ upcoming IT & Engineering Services opportunities at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

• 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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DEFENSE & AEROSPACE

The USAF unification effort is making progress.

The U.S. Air Force is making progress in its journey to become “one Air Force,” according to USAF Chief of Staff Gen. David Allvin who said continued success in this effort relies on mission effectiveness rather than functional competence. Read more

DLA seeks industry assistance to overcome contested logistics.

The DLA must “operate on a wartime footing” amid a strategic environment characterized by contested logistics, where adversaries continually challenge the efforts of the U.S. military “across all domains and at all levels, overseas and at home.” Read more

Army plans to become first military service with formal program of record for AI.

The army has just wrapped up its 100-day sprint designed to develop a clearer picture of what it wants to achieve between now and 2026 in terms of AI, when it plans to achieve a formal program of record specifically for AI. Next up: another 500 days of planning work with two initiatives. “Break AI” and “Counter AI” will take the sprint to another level of readiness. Read more

ICYMI:

• BAA: Army has announced Cyber Quest 2025.

• BAA: DOD released its SBIR/STTR topics and schedule.

• Initial round of DOD's Rapid Defense Experimentation Reserve draws 200+ proposals.

• DISA wants more contractors and faster deals for joint cloud successor.

Defense Contract Awards

• 3 contractors won spots on the Navy’s $848M Software License BPA.

• DHPC Technologies was awarded a $14.6M NGAP R&D and Rapid Prototyping deal.

• TrustPoint was awarded a $3.8M USAF SpaceWERX D2PII contract.

• Sidus Space booked a $2M Navy Propulsion contract.

Follow the Defense Leaders

• Red River has a new GTS CTO.

• Retired USAF colonel promoted to president, GM at Auterion Government Solutions.

Defense Job Openings

• OSD needs a Defense Media Activity Director.

• DISA is looking for an Operations, Plans, and Exercises Director.

TRIVIA 🤔

INTEL COMMUNITY

Was the recent Russian prisoner swap an equal exchange for the US?

The former executive assistant director for the FBI Information and Technology Branch asserts in an interview that while the nation was glad to see the recent exchange of prisoners with Russia, it was by no means a fair deal for the US. Read more

ICYMI:

• RFI: DARPA is seeking solutions for ML and Optimization-guided Compilers for Heterogeneous Architectures (MOCHA).

• Sierra Space was chosen for SSC’s Space Domain Awareness TAP Lab Accelerator.

• Army puts new 'Geronimo' reconnaissance unit to the test.

• The DIA is looking for an Intelligence Officer (Military Analysis).

FUNNY

CIVILIAN

How a new president could strengthen US tech leadership.

Nonprofit federal partner MITRE has released a report recommending that the next presidential administration strengthen US science and technology leadership by revisiting its oversight and continuing its external partnerships. Read more

OPM may finally have modernized retirement systems in sight.

The OPM is getting closer to modernizing its retirement systems now that a pilot to test out new platforms for online applications is showing promise with federal payroll providers. At the same time, retirement claims remain uncomfortably high; OPM’s current retirement claims backlog is 15,797 for July, the highest in three months. Read more

Most federal agencies don't understand OMB's evidence-building guidance.

GAO has reviewed the assessment process of 23 federal agencies for collecting and using evidence and found that most are having difficulties in understanding OMB guidance for conducting the assessments. Read more

ICYMI:

• RFP: The FAA is seeking NISC Enterprise Support Tasking (NEST).

• SBIR II: NASA is requesting white papers for 2025.

• FAA released its proposal on cybersecurity standards for airplanes and aviation equipment.

Civilian Contracts Awards

• Guidehouse was awarded a $40M NICHD Business Analysis and Management Services deal.

• Accenture Federal Services bagged a BLM ACRES task order.

• Siga Technologies received a $9M DOD TPOXX deal.

• Polycon Solutions won a $4.9M FAA Systems Support Management Support Services contract.

Follow Civilian Leaders

• Empower AI selected a new CTO.

• Former CACI VP is now GDIT’s HSD Growth VP.

Civilian Job Openings

• DOI needs an Associate Director for the HR Directorate.

• DOL wants a Regional Director.

M&A CORNER

Mobix Labs acquires J-Mark Connectors.

Mobix Labs has announced that it intends to acquire electromagnetic interference technology provider J-Mark Connectors; the move aims to boost revenue and grow Mobix Labs' military aerospace footprint. Read more

ICYMI:

• Green Flag Ventures invested in Karadag Technologies.

• Owl Cyber Defense has finalized a distributor partnership with Carahsoft.

SHOWER THOUGHTS 🚿

1. Should we worry about the “Atlantic Nina?” It could affect the hurricane season this year. SOURCE↗︎ 

2. Meta is training its sneaky bots on the web. It’s going to be harder for website owners to stop their data from being collected. SOURCE↗︎

3. Neuralink’s second patient can play Counterstrike and do 3D designs with his brain. A new milestone has been achieved! SOURCE↗︎

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TRIVIA ANSWER ⭐️

D. 12 Regional Banks — The Federal Reserve System is made up of 12 regional Federal Reserve banks, with the main headquarters located in Washington, D.C. While each regional Fed branch oversees operations in its own location, the New York Fed is considered the most influential regional bank as it implements the decisions of the FOMC. (Source)