Good morning. We’ve got a big one this week: our webinar with the Air Force Nuclear Weapons Center is happening Sept. 24 at 2:00 PM ET. Don’t miss AFNWC’s Robert Acosta and Govly’s Oliver Taylor on upcoming opportunities and winning strategies. 👉 Reserve your spot
QUICK HITS
Congress takes on contractor price gouging: New bill could expose $millions in contractor rip-offs.
Congress finally hacks into the future: Inside the Capitol’s push to make AI and tech innovation more than just buzzwords.
Lessons government can borrow from business: Without losing its soul.
Cybersecurity crisis: Budget cuts, rising threats, and the need for PPPs.
DEFENSE & AEROSPACE
Lockheed’s Skunk Works unveils work on a potential CCA competitor.
Lockheed Martin’s Skunk Works has revealed work on a new multipurpose autonomous drone, dubbed Vectis, that’s expected to fly by 2027. It’s built to perform surveillance, air-to-air combat, and strike missions, and could compete in the USAF’s Collaborative Combat Aircraft program thanks to its stealth, adaptability, and range compatible with Indo-Pacific and European theaters.
USSF just admitted the threat is real—Here’s what they’re building to fight back.
The USSF, now approaching its seventh year, is expanding both in size and mission to better keep pace with threats like China and Russia. The service is examining organizational changes—such as growing its civilian cadre, developing its own contracting officers, and introducing part-time Guardians—to ensure it has the agility, capability, and infrastructure to operate independently and sustainably.
DOD’s counter-drug mission could cost millions. Where will the funding come from?
The Pentagon is launching a counter-drug mission in the U.S. Southern Command area, sending warships and jets to target criminal organizations and drug routes near Venezuela. Costs could reach hundreds of millions, funded via DOD budgets, DHS support, congressional bills, or supplemental appropriations.
Related: DIU wants nonlethal weapons to disable small boats amid crackdown on drug cartels.
ICYMI:
USAF RFI: JCC2 Cyber Operations.
USSF RFP: Space-Based Interceptors.
Outsourcing naval work past the prime contractors is a necessity.
Army’s Electromagnetic Warfare Company breaks new ground.
Defense Contract Awards
Follow the Defense Leaders
Defense Job Openings
FUNNY
INTEL COMMUNITY
NGA’s AI standards work to avoid ATO-like process.
The NGA is developing agile, responsible AI standards to manage a looming surge in space-based sensor data without imposing overly burdensome “authority-to-operate” style approval processes. They’ve created new leadership roles and initiatives like AGAIM to ensure that AI models are evaluated for risk and aligned with legal and ethical norms, while enabling more decentralized accreditation.
ICYMI:
DIA RFI: CIP JPMO Industry Engagement.
USSOCOM RFI: TE 26-1 TE: Multi-Domain Joint SOF Operations.
ManTech landed a $910M SOUTHCOM IT Services.
August Schell Enterprises won a $22M DOJ FBI Trellix Software procurement.
FBI taps a new Assistant Director, IT Apps and Data Division.
GET SEEN
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CIVILIAN
How the USPS is putting data at the core of its “always-on” tech work.
The USPS’s “always-on” mission is being powered by a new “data-first” strategy that establishes a centralized data group to set shared definitions, governance, and metrics—making data accessible, secure, and usable across the agency. This foundation enables more effective adoption of AI tools in areas like logistics, customer service, fraud detection, and other operational and business-support functions.
A DHS data hub exposed sensitive intel to thousands of unauthorized users.
Between March and May 2023, a misconfigured platform used by the DHS inadvertently exposed sensitive national security information to thousands of unauthorized users, including private contractors and at least 46 foreign nationals. The exposed data encompassed reports on domestic protest movements, foreign cyber threats, and investigative leads.
HUD joins GSA’s Centralized Acquisition Services pilot.
HUD is joining a pilot with GSA’s Office of Centralized Acquisition Services to let GSA handle procurement of common goods and services. The goal is to reduce duplicate contracts, improve efficiency, and let agencies focus more on mission-specific, complex work; early results from similar pilots with OPM and SBA show substantial savings and better contract consolidation.
ICYMI:
HHS Sources Sought: Data Access Program.
NASA RFP: Facilities Support Services II at Ames Research Center.
ICE continues its work with digital forensics firm Cellebrite.
DHS CX, CBP Cargo Systems, USCIS Digital Operations win Citizen Awards.
WH’s AI plan supports antitrust enforcement, DOJ says.
Civilian Contracts Awards
One Phoenix Solutions won a $6M VA Cloud, AI Driven Benefits project.
Ekin booked a $4.4M ED OIG IT Operational and Cybersecurity Support deal.
Aplura secured a $2.1M DOI Splunk support services contract.
ITStackedEdge got a $1.9M FDA SST Platform Support contract.
VITG won a $4.4M CMS IT Services contract.
Follow Civilian Leaders
Aerospace has chosen former NGA IT Director as its new President, CEO.
OAS names a govcon guru to be their new CAO.
Civilian Job Openings
The US Courts is seeking a Workplace Relations Director.
MACPAC is hiring a Finance Director.
SHOWER THOUGHTS 🚿
MITRE, FAA launched the “Aerospace LLM Evaluation Benchmark.” The initiative aims to improve safety and efficiency in the NAS. SOURCE↗︎
AI creates the first viruses. Could this be the dawn of artificial life? SOURCE↗︎
Michael Dell buying TikTok? Dell has joined Larry Ellison and even a Murdoch or two in a bid to take over the app’s U.S. operations. If TikTok ends up running on Oracle Cloud and Dell hardware, it might just become the most American social media platform ever. SOURCE↗︎
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