QUICK HITS
Did you know small biz can request evaluation documents? WIN OR LOSE, you can (and should) ask for the redacted Source Selection Document (SSDD).
Federal AI agents are climbing the authority ladder: Hugging Face offers a good lesson on the importance of certain boundaries.
[Event] GSA’s AAS leaders talk procurement: Learn more about CSOs, SBIR programs, and FLEX models. September 16 virtually.
GovCon labor compliance: What contractors need to know about wage, non-discrimination, and union organizing rules.
DEFENSE & AEROSPACE
DIU moves to prototype new contract model that will fast-track security clearances for startups.
DIU plans to test a new contracting model that would sponsor qualified startups and nontraditional vendors for fast-tracked facility security clearances, allowing them to join classified discussions and better understand DOD requirements before winning major contracts. The effort, part of DIU’s new Bridge Program, is designed to remove a major barrier for commercial tech firms, with DCSA reporting a five- to sixfold reduction in clearance-processing time under its rapid FCL approach.
The military’s next significant challenge: hiding.
Recent Iranian missile and drone attacks have exposed how vulnerable large, concentrated U.S. bases and command posts can be, pushing the military to relearn Cold War-era skills like dispersion, concealment, deception, and electromagnetic-signature management. Army leaders say future forces will need to “create the benefits of mass without presenting the vulnerabilities of concentration,” even if that means sacrificing some logistical efficiency for survivability.
Concurrent attacks across multiple domains force rethinking of air and missile defense.
Recent fighting with Iran showed that U.S. air-and-missile defenses remain highly effective, but massed attacks combining cheap drones, cruise missiles, ballistic missiles, and other threats can burn through expensive interceptors and expose gaps in current defenses. The answer will require cheaper counter-UAS options, larger interceptor stockpiles, and a major expansion of industrial-base production.
ICYMI:
Defense Contract Awards
Follow the Defense Leaders
Everforth ECS named a former SVP/HR at CACI as its CHRO.
A former Vibrint CEO joins Riverside Research as President and CEO.
Defense Job Openings
USAF is seeking a Director and Chancellor.
USMC is hiring an Associate Deputy Director NF5.
FUNNY
INTEL COMMUNITY
Russia is weaponizing U.S.-built AI to make killer drones, cyberattack bots, and fake news.
Anthropic says Russian-linked actors used its Claude AI to help develop autonomous drone targeting software, automate cyberattacks, and create more convincing disinformation campaigns, while other foreign groups also tried to use the model for weapons development. U.S.-built AI is increasingly being exploited by adversaries even as the current administration has dismantled or reduced several federal efforts aimed at countering foreign influence operations.
Related: DOD moving all classified AI workloads off Anthropic by October as restrictions take effect.
ICYMI:
U.S., international partners to bolster global secure communications with updated multinational agreement.
25 years after 9/11, spy agencies face old lessons and new threats.
CIA released never-before-seen warnings about al Qaeda.
Obsidian Solutions Grp won a $9M SOCOM Human Dimension Training deal.
ODNI is looking for a Senior Counterintelligence Integration Manager.
GET SEEN
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CIVILIAN
NIH seeks to engage patients as it scales use of AI with Bio Genesis Mission.
NIH is expanding its use of AI through the Bio Genesis Mission, which aims to accelerate biomedical breakthroughs in areas such as drug discovery, chronic disease, pediatric cancer, and biological-threat detection while giving patients and clinicians a direct role in shaping the technology. The agency is also working with FDA, CMS, and other HHS components to speed promising discoveries toward the market, with NIH expecting stronger interagency infrastructure for the effort within the next year.
NWS transition to cloud supercomputing could help fuel AI weather prediction.
The NWS is moving its Weather and Climate Operational Supercomputing System to Google Cloud, giving the agency more flexible computing capacity. The cloud environment will make it easier to scale computing for severe weather, operationalize newer systems such as Warn-on-Forecast, and eventually combine traditional physics-based models with faster AI forecasting models.
GSA advances centralized repository for vendors’ Section 508 accessibility reports.
GSA moved its proposed Accessibility Conformance Report Repository to OMB review, with comments open through Oct. 9. The repository would centralize vendor ACRs for ICT products and use standardized, searchable and machine-readable accessibility information to support federal market research and procurement.
ICYMI:
VA OIG flags pricing weaknesses in $25B-a-year Federal Supply Schedule program.
Rocket Lab protests NASA’s $700M Mars Telecommunications Network award to Blue Origin.
Civilian Contracts Awards
Follow Civilian Leaders
Civilian Job Openings
M&A CORNER
GE HealthCare in talks over possible $1B deal for Sofie Biosciences.
GE HealthCare is reportedly close to acquiring radiopharmaceutical developer Sofie Biosciences for as much as $1 billion, a deal that could be announced as soon as this week. The acquisition would strengthen GE HealthCare’s pharmaceutical diagnostics business by adding specialized cancer-imaging chemicals to its broader MRI, CT, and PET portfolio.
ICYMI:
Assessing the legality of the DOD’s equity stakes in key suppliers.
ITC Federal launches ITC Digital Solutions following Capgemini Government Solutions acquisition.
SHOWER THOUGHTS 🚿
The Mint marks 25 years since 9/11: A new half dollar says NEVER FORGET. SOURCE↗︎
Researchers find a Wordle strategy that wins 99% of the time: The method uses Shannon entropy, an information theory concept. SOURCE↗︎
Claude misuse across borders: China, Yemen, and Russia used Anthropic's AI for weapons, espionage, and cyber operations. SOURCE↗︎
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