QUICK HITS
MAPS RFI: Draft 2 Sections L & M have been released.
Qualifying as a WOSB is about to get easier: How about some set-aside and sole source contracts?
Records dispute: Groundswell’s legal fight for $1B Army ERP contract.
Use of AI in technical writing: A quick review of how AI is impacting writers.
DEFENSE & AEROSPACE
Are AI defense firms about to eat the Pentagon?
Over the last week, Palantir, Anduril, Shield AI, OpenAI, Booz Allen, and Oracle announced various partnerships to develop products tailored to defense needs. Meanwhile, the 2025 NDAA push the DOD to work more closely with tech firms on AI. Also, DOD announced yet another office intended to foster AI adoption. Read more
USSF aims for bigger exercises, more realistic training.
Guardians launched the the biggest exercise in Space Force history last week in Colorado even as USSF leaders gathered for the second annual Spacepower Conference. USSF Chief Master Sergeant Bentivegna, said he was “blown away” by the start of Space Flag 25-1: “56 squadrons, 11 Deltas, 85 operational planners, 31 tactical planners, 111 ops crew members, 373 participants, all focused on the domain and the fight and integration and lessons learned.” Read more
DOD officials see progress in tackling weapons cybersecurity but have a long way to go.
DOD’s cyber and IT professionals have made progress raising awareness among senior military leaders about cyber threats to weapons systems and other critical technology, but there are still some who don’t take it seriously enough, said DOD Chief Information Security Officer McKeown. Read more
ICYMI:
USAF RFI: Multi Stream Platform Support.
DOD addresses UAVs over NJ military bases. Summing up: It happens all the time. No, we don’t know what it is. We have limited authority to investigate.
Related: FBI, DHS supporting NJ drone response with detection methods.
Seldom-discussed CMMC effects on a defense contractor’s business.
Facing crisis, USCG rethinks strategy.
DOD, AmeriCorps sign MOA pledging support.
Defense Contract Awards
Riverside Research inked a $160M DIU Technical, Engineering and Advisory Support Services deal.
UH ARL booked a $110M DOD Cutting-edge Research contract.
TechTrans Int’l won a $325M DTRA contract for the CTR program.
Follow the Defense Leaders
Army G-6 appoints a new Director of Network C4 Systems.
Defense Job Openings
USAF wants a Financial Manager.
IMCOM needs a Deputy Garrison Manager.
END OF YEAR RECAP
SDVOSB Power Plays: Top 3 of 2024.
The top 3 SDVOSB contracts of 2024 are in, and these wins are nothing short of heroic. These Service-Disabled Veteran-Owned Small Businesses didn’t just compete—they conquered, proving that grit, determination, and a killer proposal are the ultimate triple threat. Salute the top dogs who came out on top this year! Read more
INTEL COMMUNITY
A decade-old risk led to the “phenomenal partnership” between AWS and the intel community.
More than 10 years ago, the CIA made a groundbreaking $600 million deal with AWS to make use of its cloud computing services — a radical departure for the risk-averse intelligence agency. The C2S contract — which procured commercial cloud services on behalf of all 18 intelligence agencies — was considered risky, allowing top secret classified data and information onto AWS hardware for tasks like computing, storage and sharing. Speaking last week at AWS’ re:Invent conference in Las Vegas, the tech chiefs for both the CIA and NSA made clear in rare public remarks that those risks a decade prior have more than paid off. Read more
ICYMI:
INSCOM RFI: Professional Administrative Support Services.
How China’s cyberespionage has changed.
What exactly does the director of the FBI do?
Truth Social CEO will be the chairman of the White House IAB.
ODNI is looking for a Program Manager.
FUNNY
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CIVILIAN
NASA wants an EHR system to support astronauts.
NASA wants to replace an existing EHR system that supports its astronauts. The existing system currently holds roughly 30,000 records for NASA employees that date back to the founding of the U.S. Space Program. While that current system at the Johnson Space Center is understood well and configured for the agency’s current workflows, it’s limited in its “patched together work arounds,” “manual processes and procedures,” and “single points of failure in both system and human terms.” (RFI link below) Read more
Federal buildings are about to get more secure (maybe).
The Improving Federal Building Security Act (S. 3613) would require building managers to adopt recommendations from the Federal Protective Service (FPS), which secures more than 8,500 federal facilities, or explain to the DHS secretary why they are not doing so. The GAO reported in 2022 that FPS issued more than 25,000 security recommendations between fiscal 2017 and 2021. But for 57% of the recommendations the agency did not receive a response whether facilities planned to implement them and 12% were rejected. Read more
ICYMI:
NASA RFI: Electronic Health Record System for astronauts.
US gov’t builds AI governance through policies, panels, and procurement.
Transportation heroes honored at awards, including impactful DHS programs.
OMB released its federal technology impact report.
Civilian Contracts Awards
ICF booked over $40M in contracts for health innovation with advanced tech.
Regulus Group secured a $27M FAA Enterprise Services Directorate, AJM-3 and AJM-33 Program Support Services contract.
Gunnison won $27M DOS Cybersecurity Enhancement deal.
LCG inked a $17M NIH NIDA Infrastructure and End User IT Support Services deal.
Follow Civilian Leaders
There will be a new OMB director with the new administration.
Michael Baker Int’l selected a new Aerospace and Healthcare Sector VP.
ManTech has a new Federal Civilian Sector Growth VP.
Civilian Job Openings
DHS Coast Guard is hiring a Deputy Director of Admissions.
DHA is seeking a MEDLOG Deputy Director.
M&A CORNER
Viavi will acquire Inertial Labs to expand strategic market reach.
Viavi Solutions has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Inertial Labs. The company will be growing its tech portfolio with this acquisition, a move aimed at boosting capabilities in navigation, positioning, and autonomous systems. Read more
SHOWER THOUGHTS 🚿
The world’s first carbon-14 diamond battery has been created. It can potentially provide power for thousands of years. SOURCE↗︎
South Korea’s President has been impeached. He attempted to put his country under Martial Law. SOURCE↗︎
Is private equity going to have an even larger role in defense technology? A Blackstone principal and Carlyle executive are betting on it. SOURCE↗︎
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