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- March 27, 2024
March 27, 2024
Sayres Defense buys Global Systems Tech, first Artemis III lunar instruments, CIA Moscow terrorist warnings, AeroStar acquires Near Space, DARPA moon train
GovBrew
March 27, 2024
QUICK HITS
Notice of Opportunity: AFWERX, SpaceWERX wants space applicable tech submissions.
Exxonmobil and Jera collaboration: Development of low carbon hydrogen and ammonia for the United States and Japan.
Deloitte’s William Eggers: Eight seismic trends that redefine governance.
Federal acquisition: Learn more about “Small Business Programs” in next Wednesday’s seminar.
DEFENSE & AEROSPACE
The DARPA moon train and the lunar supremacy race (with a rendering).
Yeah, we talked about it last week, but the idea is so out of orbit that we wanted to talk about it again—especially because this article includes a visualization. To counter the China-Russia lunar base plan, DARPA and Northrop Grumman are teaming up to build a lunar railway system. The moon train will prepare the conditions for a new era of space military operations, economy, and exploration. Read more
Human-machine warfare—we may see it soon.
Can humans and robots work together on the battlefield? A real-life demonstration of Project Convergence gave a peek into the army's future where robots work alongside humans in the field. The service's future force is expected to be integrated with machines, lessening the risk of losing human lives during battles, and wars. Read more
To jumpstart the new theater-level signals intelligence program, the army needs funding.
Army needs $6.6 million for the development of the Theater SIGINT System. The project will work towards providing integrated signals intelligence capabilities to support force protection, information superiority, and multi-domain operations for combatant commands and early service component commands. Read more
ICYMI:
Witnesses push for DOD acquisition reforms.
Problems in F13 engine upgrade addressed by the DOD by throwing money — nearly half a billion of it—at the problem.
The first progress report of the Army Application Lab has been released.
SAAB has a new munitions facility.
47 JWCC task orders were issued, and more are coming soon.
Army Futures Command stands up its All-Domain Sensing (ADS) Cross-Functional Team (CFT).
Defense Contract Awards
BNH bagged a $3.7B support services contract from USAF to support the Arnold Engineering Development Complex in TN.
Accenture, A.T. Kearney, Booz Allen, Boston Consulting Group, Definitive Logic, Deloitte, Ernst & Young, Guidehouse, and McKinsey win a $93M DLA BPA.
KBR wins $60.7M NIWC Cybersecurity Services contract in support of the DHA.
Parsons gets $28M software contract from the U.S. Air Force.
$35M Navy architect-engineering contract was awarded to National Institute of Building Sciences.
Follow the Defense Leaders
Former IRS Deputy Commissioner for Operation Support was chosen as new Deputy Naval Inspector General.
The Pentagon’s incoming Acting Undersecretary for Policy is the current NDU Director of the Africa Center for Strategic Studies.
Former Raytheon VP of Finance was selected as the CFO of CAE’s defense and security team.
Sciolex Corporation’s former CFO is now its CGO.
Defense Job Openings
USAF is looking for a HAF Information Management Director.
USACE is hiring a Supervisory Contract Specialist.
US Military Entrance Processing Command is seeking an IT Program Manager.
NAVSEA needs a Program Manager.
CHART
Since FY 2003, federal agencies have reported about $2.7 trillion in improper payments. The chart above only examined FY23 data from 14 government agencies; taking that data one step further, the two programs which reported the largest percentage of government-wide improper payment estimates were Medicare ($51.1B) and Medicaid ($50.3B). (Source)
INTEL COMMUNITY
Why did the Kremlin ignore terrorist warnings from the CIA?
At the start of March, the US issued a warning about the imminent threat of a mass casualty terrorist attack against large gatherings including concerts, and warned its citizens to avoid such places for the following 48 hours. The CIA shared the intelligence with Russia that mentioned Moscow and an entertainment venue as targets (although the date was wrong). So why did Russia just ignore the warning? Read more
US targets 6-8 month timeframe for new nations to join spyware pact.
Six countries last week joined the year-old alliance that encourages nations to impose domestic and international controls on spyware makers and their investors. More nations were interested in joining, but various complications involved in coordinating with their governments made it impossible to finalize anything by the time of the March 18 announcement. Read more
ICYMI:
RFP: NGA issued an update to its D-RFP for its AI/ML Data Labeling requirement. Responses are due March 29.
Coast Guard is conducting recovery operations at Baltimore’s Francis Scott Key Bridge.
FBI investigates another member of the Air Force for the 2022 Discord leaks.
DHS ICE Digital Engagement Division Chief becomes the FBI's Section Chief for Strategic Communications.
CIVILIAN
DOJ launches a new “whistleblower rewards program.”
The DOJ will put a new whistleblower rewards program to the test. Assets seized by the defendants in criminal and civil cases will be given to those who report corporate misconduct. Will this be enough to incentivize witnesses to help unveil malpractice in the workplace? Read more
First lunar instruments for Artemis Astronaut deployment handpicked by NASA.
The first instruments made for astronauts to deploy on the moon's surface during Artemis III has been selected by NASA. The chosen three scientific instruments will gather important data on the Moon that will aid NASA in preparing astronauts for their future journey to Mars. Read more
ICYMI:
An AI Assurance and Discovery Lab was opened by MITRE to test federal government AI risks.
16 ideas submitted by feds examined by GSA’s 10x program.
NASA, SpaceX: NOAA’s weather satellite has a new launch date.
CISA urgest software devs to weed out SQL injection vulnerabilities.
New tech-focused Presidential Innovations Fellows announced by GSA.
Civilian Contracts Awards
Blue Origin gets $134M NASA contract to build the Orbital Reef Space Station.
IT Concepts Inc. was awarded a $3.8M Phase 2 Implementation of SAP Contract and Lease Management deal from the USDA.
Asrt won a $3.3M CDC Office of Readiness and Response Administrative and Operational Support contract.
HHS awarded a $6.4M NIAAA Information Technology Security Support Services contract to Booz Allen Hamilton.
Follow Civilian Leaders
RavenTek promotes one of its very first team members to CFO.
SAIC’s new Cloud Operations Chief was USAF’s Chief of Operations.
The VA Deputy Chief of Staff was chosen to be the new Acting Telehealth Services Executive Director.
CBP’s Former Deputy Executive Director was selected to be the new Field Operations Director.
Snowflake’s new Practice Director Enterprise-East was a Senior Practice Manager.
Civilian Job Openings
DOJ Community Relations Service is looking for a Regional Director.
USDA needs a Civil Rights Director.
FHWA is seeking an Office of Safety Technologies Director.
ATF is hiring a Deputy Division Chief.
M&A CORNER
Aerostar acquires Near Space.
Aerostar International LLC, a TCOM portfolio company, has acquired Near Space Corporation. This marks an important milestone for Aerostar’s journey towards innovation and expansion in defense and aerospace. Read more
FMD has completed the acquisition of AMMCON.
Arcline Investment Management's portfolio company Fairbanks Morse Defense, has acquired AMMCON Corp. The acquisition shows the defense contractor's commitment to delivering critical components to the U.S. Navy and other marine defense customers. Read more
Sayres Defense acquires Global Systems Technologies.
Sayres Defense, a leader in defense mission support services to the US Navy, DOD, and broader national security community has acquired Global Systems Technologies (GST). GST is a leading provider of test and evaluation services, model-based systems engineering, logistics, research and development to defense and homeland security customers. Read more
SHOWER THOUGHTS 🚿
Can you create ‘unhackable’ codes via lava lamps?
When generating codes using computers, patterns start to show and it can be easy to guess in the long run. Cloudfare's way of providing one is quite unconventional. The obvious solution to this problem is to make random codes, but one company uses good old-fashioned, 1960s style lava lamps to generate truly random data. Read more
Stock up on…water? What do you need to know about the upcoming eclipse?
The highly anticipated total solar eclipse is less than two weeks away. It can give you a spectacular view, and maybe even a spiritual experience—but a big event comes with great risks. Here’s what state officials want you to prepare for, and it’s not “special glasses so you don’t burn your eyes out.” Read more
Why and how did the Baltimore bridge collapse so quickly?
A huge shipping vessel that collided with a major bridge in Baltimore has left numerous people missing and could cause significant economic and social disruption. Many questions remain about the collision, including why the ship hit with the bridge in the first place. But many of them are structural: how was the ship able to reach the bridge? Why was it not protected against such collisions? Why did the bridge collapse so quickly? Read more
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