September 27, 2023

QUICK HITS

• FCC looks to reinstate net neutrality rules: FCC to officially vote on the proposal in October.

• One-third of agencies make gains in latest FITARA scorecard: Eight CFO Act agencies make gains since last report, in December 2022.

• Take a look inside the quantum revolution: Demystify quantum as it gains fame in the public and private sectors in this video interview.

DEFENSE & AEROSPACE

Joby’s air taxies help Air Force usher in electric aviation era.

This week Joby Aviation delivered the first electric air taxi to Edwards Air Force Base for real-world testing. AFWERX launched its Agility Prime effort in 2020 to work with industry to develop electric vertical takeoff-and-landing aircraft. Edwards plans to use the Joby aircraft for day-to-day tasks, such as transporting spare parts or other cargo or passengers around the sprawling base. Read more

After setting new record for responsive launch, Space Force eyes next challenge.

The U.S. Space Force Victus Nox mission that Firefly Aerospace launched Sept. 14 set a new record for how quickly a national security payload can be put into orbit. The time was measured in a mere 37 hours—from getting the payload ready, to launch prep, to operational post-launch. The previous record for a rapid-response mission, set in 2021, was 21 days. Read more

Boeing is using Fortnite’s game engine to upgrade B-52s.

The popular gaming engine, Fortnite, is helping Boeing to refit 60-year-old B-52 bombers for another 30 years of service. To see how new Rolls-Royce F-130 engines would work on Stratofortresses, the plane-maker turned to Unreal Engine 5, the software that powers Fortnite. The game engine’s 3D environment lets pilots and maintainers virtually interact with a digital representation of the upgraded B-52, like starting up and shutting down an engine. It’s a “really impressive, powerful tool.” Read more

ICYMI Snippets

• A looming shutdown means troops may be protecting us without pay.

• Space Systems Command’s TAP Lab launches Project Apollo.

• Pentagon acquisition chief LaPlante focused on boosting manufacturing.

• Top Marine Corps leader sworn in 1 day after Senate confirmation.

• Industry day October 25 and 26 for Navy shipboard computing hardware initiative.

Defense Contract Awards

• Aerospace Corp wins $1.2B mod for systems engineering for National Space Community.

• Serco books $201M recompete Navy contract for anti-terrorism tech support.

• Lumen snags $110M DISA dark fiber O&M services IDIQ.

• Leidos secures Joint Chiefs CJADC2 support contract.

• Air Force awards Computer World Services a $213M Cyberspace Operations contract.

Follow the Defense Leaders

• Army PEO EIS adds Chief Information Security Officer.

• Raytheon veteran joins Blue Origin as New Glenn VP & CFO.

• Former head of innovation for NATO joins Saab, Inc as CIO.

Defense Job Openings

• Got a planner; super good at brainstorming? DISA is seeking a Deputy Director of Strategy and Plans.

• Space Force is seeking a Supervisory Intelligence Specialist.

INTEL COMMUNITY

TL:DR? Yeah, us too, but AI may be able to help the IC community parse down the quantity of data.

The Intelligence Community is saddled with many of the same challenges as organizations from various sectors that process information in attempts to make it actionable: an excess of data and a need to find efficient and dependable ways to sort through it. IC information assessors say that it is the community’s job to identify which data is important and of a high quality. Read more

DHS intelligence office to get outside help as Congress debates future authorities.

A group of former intelligence officials, as well as privacy and civil liberties advocates, will advise the DHS’s intelligence office. DHS announced the formation of the Homeland Intelligence Experts Group last week. The group will provide “their unique perspectives on the federal government’s intelligence enterprise” to DHS’s Office of Intelligence and Analysis (I&A) as well as the Office of the Counterterrorism Coordinator. Read more

ICYMI Snippets

• NGA director: DOD in the midst of a "reluctant revolution in military affairs."

• Draft FEMA SOO: DHS seeks IT systems operations, maintenance, and development support.

• White papers due: AFRL seeks feedback for signals intelligence tech development BAA.

• NAVSEA posts maritime SIGINT and ELINT/COMINT industry day notice; Requests due by Oct 20.

• NGA announces 2022-23 GEOINT Hall of Fame inductees.

CIVILIAN

OMB formally initiates potential shutdown preparation process.

With the government teetering on the edge of a shutdown thanks to Congress' inability to strike a funding deal, OMB has formally initiated its process of preparing for a potential shutdown this coming Friday. Read more

VA taking back nearly $10M in bonuses paid to senior leaders.

The VA has canceled nearly $10M in bonuses paid to more career executives than intended. Officials said the department found it was “imprecise” in implementing its new critical skill incentive authority under the toxic-exposure PACT Act. Read more

IRS CIO lays out three priorities for modernization.

(1) Modernize call centers to make it easier for people to contact the IRS. (2) Digitizing paper and paper-based processes. (3) Invigorate online accounts and self-help services taxpayers use to file documents. Read more

ICYMI Snippets

• Federal cloud advisory committee sets public meetings for GSA FedRAMP.

• Federal Acquisition Services new structure seeks to break down long held fiefdoms.

• New bill would beef up accessibility reporting requirements for agencies; 508 compliance officers would be required.

• Data sharing is still a problem despite talking about it for a year. Data silos threaten innovation in key sectors, new report warns.

Civilian Contracts Awards

• Cadmus wins $200M USAID Digital Strategy Implementation and Programs contract.

• Battelle books $416M NSF award for continued NEON operations support.

• DOE NNSA Nuclear Emergency Support Team technical support services contract award to Mele Assoc., a veteran owned business.

• Amentum awarded $282M USCIS application support center contract.

Follow Civilian Leaders

• CMS CCSQ adds recent Leidos Software Services Portfolio Manager as a Product Manager.

• Longtime Fannie Mae CIO and VP exits and becomes CTO at T. Rowe Price.

• Verizon SVP named chair of Executive Mosaic’s 4×24 5G Group.

Civilian Job Openings

• Become the Orion Spacecraft Chief Engineer at the LBJ Space Center.

• Treasury is seeking a Deputy Assoc. Director of Enforcement and Compliance Division in the Financial Crimes Enforcement Network.

• DOI/USFWS is seeking a Supervisory IT Specialist.

M&A CORNER

Amazon steps up AI race with up to $4B deal to invest in Anthropic.

Amazon.com said it will invest up to $4 billion in cash in the high-profile startup Anthropic, in its effort to compete with growing cloud rivals on artificial intelligence. Amazon's employees and cloud customers will gain early access to technology from Anthropic as part of the deal, which they can infuse into their businesses. Read more

How private capital and prototyping help bridge the 'valley of death.'

No conversation about how to get the so-called "latest and greatest" technologies into U.S. government environments, and national security in particular, can go on without mentioning private capital and prototyping efforts. The topic of private capital also cannot be discussed without bringing up that the defense industrial base's small business portion has shrunk by 40% over the past decade, according to DOD’s own strategy for tackling that problem. Read more

SHOWER THOUGHTS 🚿

How can astronauts stay safe when they're spending time in space?

Traveling to space poses risks to the human body, and since NASA wants to send a manned mission to Mars by the 2030s, scientists only have a limited amount of time to come up with some solutions to prevent space-related harm to astronauts. Read more

Is the new Getty Images/NVIDIA AI generator going to make creating digital artwork for your company easier?

Getty Images is partnering with Nvidia to launch Generative AI by Getty Images, a new tool that lets people create images using Getty’s library of licensed photos. Generative AI by Getty Images (yes, it’s an unwieldy name) is trained only on the vast Getty Images library, including premium content, giving users full copyright indemnification. This means anyone using the tool and publishing the image it created commercially will be legally protected, promises Getty. Getty worked with Nvidia to use its Edify model, available on Nvidia’s generative AI model library Picasso. Read more

How do we bring tech talent to bear on the biggest service delivery challenges?

The director of the Technology Transformation Services at GSA is bringing tech talent to bear on a range of big, pressing service delivery challenges while constantly figuring out ow to match complexity to systems or needs as a leader in tech. Read more

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