July 7 2023

QUICK HITS

• Get to know NatSec 100: Silicon Valley Defense Group's newly developed list of top venture-funded defense and dual-use startups.

• The fourth quarter federal buying season officially kicked off on Saturday: And it’s expected to be as busy as ever.

• The CDC is getting a new leader: CDC aims to remake itself after the pandemic. Meet Dr. Mandy Cohen, stepping in as director in July.

TOGETHER WITH FEDSAVVY STRATEGIES

Realize Your Federal Business Growth Goals

Are you interested in enhancing and accelerating your federal market growth strategy? FedSavvy Strategies empowers your success through greater clarity and confidence, optimizing your business development resources to help you achieve your growth goals.

FedSavvy Strategies has been in business for over 10 years. Over that time, they have developed unique analytical approaches, tools, and proprietary intelligence practices to surpass typical “Master of the Obvious” outcomes. They enable your success through the following:

• Market analysis and account planning

• Agency evaluation trend analysis

• Black Hat reviews

• Competitive environment analysis

• Rapid CI™

• FedSavvy Battle Cards™

In 2023, FedSavvy Strategies unveiled a new report that delivers verifiable and actionable intelligence on specific bid evaluation trends for U.S. Government customers. Start learning how to optimize your bid strategy to best balance solution vs. price.

➡️ Get the latest “Agency Evaluation Trend Analysis” report now.

Enter GOVBREWROCKS20 to save 20% on any single item before July 21.

TRIVIA

DEFENSE & AEROSPACE

Russian military failures in Ukraine should be ‘sobering’ for China

China has not fought in a war since the 1950s, raising questions about how its armed forces would perform in 21st-century combat, a retired top Navy official said. That combined with the lessons Moscow has learned over the last 18 months should be “sobering” to Chinese President Xi Jinping, retired Adm. Mike Mullen has said. Read more

Pentagon to monitor users, insider threats in the wake of leaks.

The DOD says it will improve how it monitors people who handle classified information, based on the findings of a 45-day security review that was conducted after the leak of dozens of classified documents. Read more

The military robots are coming — at some point.

The roadmap to UGVs becoming fully integrated into national fighting forces remains blurry. Most country representatives here were going by an assumption of 2040 as the year when the technology will be ready for prime time. For now, that objective entails troops gaining more experience operating and maintaining these systems while also learning how to make them cost-effective. Read more

ICYMI Snippets

• Draft RFP: USSF previews $2.5B Hemisphere advisory contract.

• USAF embracing 7 operational imperatives with 3 major contract opportunities.

• Sources Sought: Navy seeks info on commercial large-diameter unmanned undersea vehicles.

• Israel looks to acquire 25 more Lockheed-made F-35 aircraft for $3B.

Defense Contract Awards

• Frontier Electronic Systems awarded $94M Navy IDIQ.

• USAF awards $90M depot maintenance IDIQ to 4 contractors.

• General Atomics unit wins $82M DARPA contract to build ‘LongShot’ UAV.

• Lockheed Martin wins $123M Navy mod for technical refresh actions in support of the F-35 JSF program.

Follow the Defense Leaders

• Former Sigma Defense exec to lead DTC’s North American business.

• Collins Aerospace appoints new VP, GM of BMC2 & Autonomy Solutions.

• Former DynCorp international general counsel named EVP, general counsel, chief compliance officer at Sig Sauer.

Defense Job Openings

• Fleet Forces Command seeks Senior Analyst for Civil Maritime.

INTEL COMMUNITY

One of the Ukraine war’s biggest secrets is how much the CIA doesn't know.

The CIA is as uncertain about Volodymyr Zelensky's thinking and intentions as it is about Vladimir Putin's. And as the Russian leader faces his biggest challenge in the aftermath of a failed mutiny, the Agency is straining to understand what the two sides will do. Read more

ICYMI Snippets

• RFI: NGA seeks data science platform, responses due July 17.

• RFP: NGA posts Chinook requirement.

• NSC taps new Director for Technology and National Security.

• IARPA hiring Director of the Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity.

CIVILIAN

OPM launches portals for STEM and national security jobs.

OPM has launched two website portals to streamline candidates’ search for U.S. government STEM and national security jobs. The agency announced details of the new dashboards, which can be found at natsec.usajobs.gov and stem.usajobs.gov. Read more

New court ruling may hinder federal information sharing efforts.

Security experts warned that a federal ruling barring CISA and others from contacting social media sites about key issues may have implications that go far beyond First Amendment-protected speech. Read more

Deficiencies in EPA’s radiation data system pose ‘significant risk to public health'.

The EPA failed to consistently and promptly fix vulnerabilities in a system used for monitoring radiation level fluctuations, putting the data “at risk of being exploited by threats,” according to the EPA’s OIG. Read more

ICYMI Snippets

• Pricing challenge falls short in $1.3B Treasury cloud competition.

• Federal Reserve OIG is poking holes in the cyber incident response process.

• OPM identifies over 50 skill sets to look for in federal AI workers.

Civilian Contracts Awards

• Technology Modernization Fund awards $50.5M to agencies.

• NOAA selects Thoma-Sea Marine Constructors for 2 research ships.

• DHA awards six spots on $2.4B GSP Enterprise IT Support Services IDIQ.

Follow Civilian Leaders

• Raytheon elevates VP and chief HR officer to Human Resources SVP.

• CMS has named its new chief digital strategy officer.

• Former White House AI policy advisor joins UC Davis Health.

Civilian Job Openings

• The Food and Nutrition Service needs a new COO.

M&A CORNER

VSE closes $124M acquisition of aftermarket component distributor Desser Aerospace.

VSE has purchased global aftermarket components distributor Desser Aerospace for $124M in cash as part of efforts to diversify its aviation segment. The defense contractor said it also concluded the $30M sale of Desser Aerospace’s Seginus Aerospace, AOG Aviation Spares, and DAC Engineered Products subsidiaries to aerospace and defense components provider Loar Group. Read more

Fluor, HII buy Honeywell’s stake in Savannah River Nuclear Solutions JV.

Fluor and HII have purchased the membership interest of Honeywell in a joint venture – Savannah River Nuclear Solutions – focused on helping the DOE manage the Savannah River Site in South Carolina. Read more

ICYMI Snippets

• Cyware to expand AI-powered global cyber fusion with $30M in Series C financing led by Ten Eleven Ventures.

• Akima wraps up Pinnacle Solutions purchase.

SHOWER THOUGHTS 🚿

How have digital tools helped agencies decrease improper payments?

Improper payments have long been a headache for the government, but some agencies have been able to reduce the rates of such mistakes in recent years. The reported improper payment estimates for the 19 evaluated programs declined from a total of approximately $55 billion for FY17 to $44.5 billion for FY22. Read more

Should the government take a page from Google's IT playbook?

Government agencies encounter substantial obstacles in ensuring the reliability and accessibility of their IT systems for both citizens accessing public services and employees conducting government operations. Time and again, we see government websites and IT systems fail to keep up with the demand or fail to meet users’ expectations of reliability and availability. Read more

LINKEDIN POST

TRIVIA ANSWER

A. Bonus Army

The Bonus Army was a group of 43,000 demonstrators—17,000 veterans of US involvement in World War I, their families, and affiliated groups, who gathered in Washington D.C. in mid-1932 to demand early cash redemption of their service bonus certificates. The World War Adjusted Compensation Act of 1924 had awarded them bonuses in the form of certificates they could not redeem until 1945. Each certificate, issued to a qualified veteran soldier, bore a face value equal to the soldier's promised payment with compound interest. The principal demand of the Bonus Army was the immediate cash payment of their certificates. (Source)

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 a reward 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