July 29, 2024

NASA space sustainability funding, NIST vulnerability database backlog, FedRAMP new guidance, NGA CASPER-A RFI, Army gets new gear fast, overvaluing Ukraine aid

Author

GovBrew
July 29, 2024

QUICK HITS

  • Army worker steals nearly $109M to buy mansions & luxury cars: The Texas woman will spend the next 15 years behind bars.

  • SDA's novel acquisition model is facing long-term hurdles: Other defense agencies may not be able to follow in its footsteps.

  • Federal entities are making bigger investments in AI R&D: $3B+ is being requested for efforts in FY 2024.

  • Everything to expect for 2024 presidential transition planning: The “daunting” task of transition planning is already moving too slowly. 

DEFENSE & AEROSPACE

Pentagon overvalued Ukraine weapons aid by another $2B.

According to the GAO, the DOD has discovered it overvalued weapons aid provided to Ukraine by another $2 billion. The DOD has faced challenges in accurately valuing defense articles sent to Ukraine due to unclear accounting definitions. The total amount that has been improperly valued is currently estimated at $8.2 billion. Read more

National Guard top officers retire without nominations confirmed.

The National Guard’s leadership changes are causing upheaval within the service component as several top officers have already retired or are set to retire early next month. The Guard will hold either a change of responsibility ceremony or a relinquishment of responsibility in case the Senate doesn’t confirm POTUS’s new pick. Read more

As new gear flows into Army units, experiments reveal risks and rewards.

The soldiers of the 25th Infantry Division are getting their hands on new technology faster than ever and learning lessons about the risks and rewards of drone warfare under a new Army fielding program. The new fielding strategy includes drone, electronic warfare, and network capabilities. The effort has seen new equipment fielded within “a matter of months from when a [fielding] decision was made.” Read more

ICYMI:

  • Crane Army Ammo Activity looks to PPPs to support modernization.

  • Navy tests ‘game-changing’ missile cannister at-sea rearming capability.

  • DOD to upgrade and expand its three-star command in Japan.

Defense Contract Awards

  • RTX awarded $1.9B MDA contract to produce SM-3 Block IIA interceptors.

  • Honeywell to develop counter-sUAS capability for Air Force Global Strike Command.

  • General Dynamics subsidiary snags $181M Navy contract mod for submarine requirements.

  • NATO awards Airbus, Leonardo, Lockheed next-gen rotorcraft concept contracts.

Follow the Defense Leaders

Defense Job Openings

FUNNY

INTEL COMMUNITY

IC determines TikTok censored speech on behalf of Chinese government.

The U.S. intelligence community determined TikTok censored speech on behalf of the Chinese government, according to a Justice Department court filing. “Intelligence reporting further demonstrates that ByteDance and TikTok Global have taken action in response to [Chinese government] demands to censor content outside of China,” said the legal brief, citing an ODNI representative. Read more

ICYMI:

  • RFI: NGA seeks info on CASPER-A radio frequency antenna capabilities.

  • Solicitation Update: Army updates next-gen ID and awareness funding opp.

  • Akima secures $480M USSF contract to support satellite operations.

  • BAE wins $347M NGA contract supporting the NSG enterprise repository.

  • Intelligence community and Army veteran joins CTEC as CEO.

CIVILIAN

AGs in 25 states send emergency appeal to halt EPA's carbon rule.

Attorneys general in 25 states have sent an emergency appeal to the Supreme Court asking it to immediately halt a WH rule which would shutter the country’s remaining fleet of coal-fired power plants. The appeal also says that because of future pollution targets, energy companies need to make investment and permitting decisions in advance and that the EPA cannot meet those timelines itself, risking millions of sunken or lost costs for public utilities that would be passed along to consumers. Read more

GSA is drafting plans to shed more unused office space next year.

In 2023, federal building utilization rates in the Washington, D.C. metro area remained about 30% lower than pre-pandemic rates, by some estimates; GSA last fall added 23 federal buildings to its sale and disposal process to address this issue and is now doubling down on efforts to sell or dispose of office space. Read more

NIST may not resolve the vulnerability database backlog until early FY25.

NIST’s National Vulnerability Database has been backed up with unanalyzed vulnerabilities since February without any clear explanation. At current rates, nearly 30,000 vulnerabilities filed into NVD will still be awaiting analysis by the end of 2024, and may not be fully resolved until March of 2025. Cybersecurity firm Analygence has been retained to help NIST clear the congestion. Read more

ICYMI:

Civilian Contracts Awards

Follow Civilian Leaders

Civilian Job Openings

  • NASA HQ looking for Associate Administrator, Space Technology Mission Directorate.

  • Goddard Space Flight Center still searching for a new CIO.

  • NARA needs a Training Administrator to lead its records management training program.

  • NNSA needs a new Director of External and Public Affairs.

SHOWER THOUGHTS 🚿

When AI makes a fatal mistake, who’s to blame?

Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall is a strong proponent of the Air Force’s rapidly accelerating drone wingman effort but says he needs to weigh morality and reality: “Whatever weapon systems we employ have to be consistent with the laws of armed conflict. The problem isn’t that. We know what those rules are and I think we know how to impose them on our systems. It’s who do you hold accountable.” Read more

What are this year’s heartwarming Olympics stories of grit and sacrifice?

Lauritta Onye is a 4 foot 1 inch shot putter who dreamed of being a movie star. She went from a “pretty good” athlete to a phenom thanks to the support of her coach, Patrick Anaeto. “He was the one who first told me, ‘You have the fire in you to be great,’” she says. When she didn’t have bus fare to come to training, she says, he gave her the money. When she arrived with an empty stomach, he took her to lunch. These might be Olympics stories, but we can take apply these stories of success even in the business world. Read more

Why are NASA employees barred from using so many software apps?

TikTok, WeChat, Grammarly, and Microsoft Yammer are just some of the tools that NASA employees are barred from using on agency devices, according to a document that provides insight into software denials on the space agency’s networks. Read more

GROW WITH GOVBREW

Whenever you’re ready, here’s how we can help you:

1. Are you serious about finding the next opportunity? Become a GovBrew Insider member to keep your pipeline full. Weekly opportunities, recompete reports, agency forecasts, and much more. Learn more

2. Promote your brand to over 6,900 GovCon professionals by sponsoring this newsletter. Apply here

3. Follow us on LinkedIn for more GovCon coverage.

Did you learn something new from today's newsletter?

Login or Subscribe to participate in polls.

Share GovBrew, Win Cool Stuff!

Have colleagues who'd like our newsletter too? Click to share or give them your unique referral link (below) and get rewarded when they subscribe.

Or copy and paste this link to others: https://govbrew.co/subscribe?ref=PLACEHOLDER

PS: You have referred 0 people so far