QUICK HITS
Supercharging the “Do Not Pay” list: How fedgov is moving away from “pay-and-chase” and moving towards a proactive, pre-certification approach.
How social media is changing contract management: How gov’t is using it, how acquisitions is using it, how govcon does market research with it.
Congress wants changes to the bid protest function: Here’s GAO’s response.
Gov’t misses 3% HUBZone goal for the 19th consecutive year. Only 2.75% of prime contracting $$ was awarded to HUBZones, a decrease from FY23.
DEFENSE & AEROSPACE
DARPA prepares to assess top teams in DEF CON AI-cyber competition.
DARPA is preparing to evaluate seven finalist teams in its AI Cyber Challenge (AIxCC) at DEF CON 33 in August 2025, where the teams will demonstrate autonomous systems that can detect and fix security flaws in open-source software. The top three systems, developed with support from companies like OpenAI and Anthropic, must be open-sourced after the competition to promote adoption in critical sectors such as healthcare, utilities, and finance.
SECNAV on shipbuilding: “We have to get urgency into the system.”
SECNAV emphasized the urgent need to inject speed and accountability into U.S. shipbuilding, calling out systemic delays, cost overruns, and workforce shortages that undermine fleet readiness. In an interview at a shipyard, he highlighted the importance of streamlined procurement, tighter industry collaboration, and cutting bureaucratic red tape to rebuild the U.S. maritime industrial base quickly.
Navy adds another Arleigh Burke destroyer to multi-year contract.
The USN has exercised an option in its 2023 multi-year DDG‑51 contract to order an additional Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyer from General Dynamics’ Bath Iron Works, increasing the shipyards’ workload and reflecting congressional support via the FY 2025 defense appropriations package. The new vessel, likely built to the advanced Flight III configuration, joins a lineup of existing Flight IIA and Flight III destroyers currently under construction.
ICYMI:
Get ready for SBIR 25.4/STTR 25.D Release 11, SBIR 25.3/STTR 25.C, pre-release set for Aug 6.
The Army’s giant data deal with Palantir is a harbinger, says service CIO.
Joby and L3Harris join forces to propose a hybrid VTOL to the DOD.
USAF surgest munitions buys with $4.3B for JASSM and LRASM, $3.5B for AMRAAM.
Defense Contract Awards
Follow the Defense Leaders
Defense Job Openings
ANGU wants an Inspections Director.
USAF is looking for a Director of Staff.
INTEL COMMUNITY
USSF aims to share classified threat info with industry.
The USSF has launched a program called Orbital Watch through its Front Door portal to regularly share unclassified threat intelligence with commercial space companies, helping them build resilience against emerging orbital threats. According to Lt. Gen. Garrant, the initiative will eventually extend to sharing classified threat information with vetted companies that hold the necessary security clearances.
Why U.S. intelligence intervened with DOJ to push HPE-Juniper merger.
The intelligence community played a pivotal role in persuading the DOJ to approve HPE’s $14 billion acquisition of Juniper Networks, emphasizing the merger's importance in strengthening domestic capabilities to counter China's Huawei Technologies. This intervention led to internal conflicts within the DOJ, resulting in the dismissal of two senior antitrust enforcers over disagreements regarding the settlement.
ICYMI:
CISA and USCG issue joint advisory to strengthen cyber hygiene in critical infrastructure.
EchoStar orders initial MDA satellites for $5B LEO constellation.
What the Sensitive Data Rule means for “bulk data” and national security.
There’s a new National Cyber Director.
GET SEEN
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CIVILIAN
Senate Passes $455B VA Bill.
The Senate passed a $455 billion VA funding bill Friday night, aiming to bolster hospital staffing, expand the toxic exposures fund to $52 billion, and lock in baseline funding for rural health and other essential medical services.
The military and VA combined multiple EHR systems into one cloud-based program.
The DOD and the VA have successfully merged multiple EHR systems into a unified cloud-based platform, providing service members, veterans, and clinicians with seamless access to a single integrated medical record. This shift, coordinated under the Federal Electronic Health Record Modernization (FEHRM) initiative, aims to enhance interoperability, improve care coordination, and lay the foundation for efficient future deployments across all federal health facilities
NARA sees encouraging progress toward fully electronic records.
Federal agencies are making significant headway toward NARA’s goal of eliminating permanent paper records, now that the deadline for doing so passed one year ago. This transition is leading to meaningful improvements in digital records management across the federal government.
ICYMI:
DHS RFI: IT Supplies and Equipment.
Russian and U.S. space leaders hold rare talks to strengthen collaboration.
Joint NASA-ESA Sea Level Mission: How it will aid hurricane forecast.
Gov’t coders are studying whether major AI models output hate speech.
Sharing services is essential for the federal gov’t. Here’s how to make it work.
Civilian Contracts Awards
Accenture wins $937M Ed FSA Title IV Financial Aid Origination and Disbursement (TIVOD) Systems contract.
DLH won $47M NIH OIT support task on CIO-SP3 SB.
AGovX/22nd Century JV won $10M IRS Enterprise Systems Testing contract.
ERADrive booked a $1M NASA Space Object Tracking, ID, Detection contract.
Follow Civilian Leaders
FDA selected an Acting CIO.
POTUS nominates financial executive to be GSA administrator.
Civilian Job Openings
DOI is hiring a Deputy Division Chief.
HUD’s OCAO needs an Emergency Management & National Security Director.
SHOWER THOUGHTS 🚿
Iranian threats? The U.S. and 14 allied governments, including NATO members, accused Iran of plotting attacks against dissidents and officials in Europe and North America. SOURCE↗︎
China’s new electronic warfare disrupts enemy systems. Two drones, working together, cancel each other out at the point of intersection. SOURCE↗︎
The U.S. President deployed nuclear submarines in response to a tweet from Russia’s former president. Medvedev called Trump’s warning to sanction Russia over Ukraine a "step towards war." SOURCE↗︎
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