🥷 Digital mercenary era begins

A new W.H. policy will allow vetted private cybersecurity firms to conduct offensive cyber operations against foreign adversary networks under DOJ and DHS supervision, including disrupting or destroying systems so long as actions do not risk serious injury or death. The move reflects a broader shift toward private engineers and tech firms becoming increasingly embedded in military operations to deploy, update and even operate complex systems faster than traditional government processes allow.

DON Research, Development and Acquisition has launched a Security Plug-and-Play Consortium to speed the testing and adoption of commercial security technologies across Navy and USMC facilities. The consortium is intended to give vendors a more direct path to demonstrate solutions and help DON move promising physical-security capabilities from evaluation to deployment faster.

DARPA is funding new research to advance quantum networking, with a focus on extending the range and reliability of quantum communication links for national security applications. Current quantum networks are limited to short distances, and DARPA's program aims to overcome those constraints through new hardware, protocols, and error correction techniques.

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The Army is seeking new equipment to directly engage adversary satellites from the ground, particularly surveillance satellites that could be used to target US forces. The effort is part of a broader push to treat space as a contested warfighting domain, not just a support function. The Army is looking at both kinetic and non-kinetic options and wants industry input on what's technically feasible.

DIA is on a 90-day sprint to build its first enterprise AI platform and is adopting Model Context Protocol to connect AI applications to external systems. NGA stood up its ADROIT task force to track AI return on investment across its portfolio, while the FBI is managing 139 AI use cases through a dedicated AI Review Board.

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The Veterans Health Administration launched RISE, a new initiative designed to modernize how the VA delivers health care to veterans. RISE focuses on improving clinical workflows, technology infrastructure, and the overall care experience across VA facilities. The program is framed as the next chapter in VHA's broader modernization effort following years of EHR-related challenges. For contractors in federal health IT and clinical systems, RISE signals a new set of procurement priorities taking shape at VHA.

USPS OIG says the agency could gain the most from AI in areas such as dynamic route optimization, shipment-arrival forecasting and expanded Informed Delivery features as it tries to stay competitive with private parcel carriers. USPS already has more than 35 active AI use cases, but broader adoption will depend on infrastructure costs, labor agreements and moving beyond isolated pilots into integrated systems..

The VA's Oracle electronic health record modernization program is running low on contract funds, and the agency has not yet finalized a path forward to keep the program going. The contract, originally awarded to Cerner and later transferred to Oracle, has faced years of cost overruns, schedule delays, and performance problems.

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AEVEX Aerospace acquired BlackSea, a maritime autonomous systems company in a $650 million deal. BlackSea brings autonomous surface vessels, undersea sensors, and mine countermeasure capabilities with an existing DOD customer base. The combined company positions AEVEX to compete across multi-domain unmanned programs as the Pentagon increases investment in autonomous maritime systems.

Archer Aviation signed definitive agreements to acquire three Boeing subsidiaries: Wisk Aero, SkyGrid, and Insitu. The deal brings together Wisk's 16 years of autonomous flight development, SkyGrid's digital air traffic management tools, and Insitu's unmanned aircraft systems portfolio, which has been deployed with armed forces across 35 nations.

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D) Herbert Hoover — In 1929, Hoover formally created the press secretary position and appointed former journalist George Akerson to the job, professionalizing a White House function that earlier administrations had handled more informally. (Source)