• FedRAMP bill hitches a ride on NDAA, SBOM falls off: NDAA for FY23 would codify FedRAMP and authorize GSA’s cybersecurity certification and risk management program.
• Agencies lack funding to fully modernize IT for CX initiatives: Agencies lack resources to share insights, consolidate data from qualitative customer interviews and surveys.
• The current state of GWACs in the federal market: Dive into the current state of GWACs: must-haves for contractors worth their salt.
• Department of Veterans Affairs releases T4NG2 RFI: The VA got things moving on the next version of its highly sought-after IT contract vehicle with the release of an RFI.

DEFENSE & AEROSPACE

ICYMI Snippets

• Proposals wanted! DISA seeks internet connectivity platform for military personnel
• DHS has an upcoming tech challenge for industry leaders.
• Space acquisition should be faster, stronger, more united in FY23: USAF space official.
• Lawmakers decide not to add the Boeing 737 MAX exemption in defense bill.

Defense Contract Awards

• Peraton and CACI win $2.2B DCSA IDIQ contract to provide nationwide background investigation fieldwork.
• Akima, Amentum JV secures $334M Tinker AFB CESOM award.
• DIU, Army select 2 vendors for ground vehicle autonomy competition.
• Empower AI wins $14M TCV Army cybersecurity contract.

Follow the Defense Leaders

• Former Northrop exec takes VP role (Homeland Security, Transportation) at Serco Subsidiary.
• Exovera has hired a former Amentum executive as its VP for Marketing and Communications.

Defense Job Openings

• The Army is looking for a Supervisory General Attorney.
• Naval Air Systems Command is seeking a Director, Procurement for Program Executive Office.
• Defense Threat Reduction Agency is seeking a Director, CWMD Technologies Department (CX).

INTEL COMMUNITY

Accenture and Planet Lab to collaborate on AI-powered GEOINT tools.

Accenture, through its Accenture Ventures Project Spotlight initiative, announced that it has entered into a collaboration agreement with Planet Lab to collaborate on AI-powered geospatial intelligence tools for sustainability, traceable supply chain and climate risk solutions. Read more

White House’s AI ‘Bill of Rights’ may risk national security.

The White House has proposed guidelines for AI’s use in its new AI Bill of Rights. While the blueprint emphasizes basic rights and principles of our democracy and catalogs examples of harm AI can cause, it fails to grapple with how to put those into practice. Read more

ICYMI Snippets

• An Intel team leader’s insight into Intel’s defense industrial base partnerships.
• NDAA wants speedier intelligence community hiring.
• Data-driven intel readily available via open source, says solutions architecture vet.
• ЦРУ ищет специалиста по языку в качестве офицера по языку Управления операций. (If you can’t read Russian, then you probably don’t want to bother.) 

CIVILIAN

It’s blast off for OSC’s space traffic coordination pilot.

Commercial space firms began conducting space situational awareness data analysis for the Office of Space Commerce, as it takes over the role of space traffic coordinator this week. The analysis supports satellite tracking, safety notifications, and anomaly detection and alerts. Read more

Dynetics, Northrop team up on NASA Human Landing System bid.

Dynetics, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Leidos, announced it has submitted a bid on the Human Landing System Sustaining Lunar Development contract for NASA’s Artemis Mission, and Northrop Grumman will join in the pursuit.  Read more

Attacks in NC have FERC thinking “oh, dang, yeah, maybe we should shore up security more.” Mmm, yeah?

Updates are incoming for critical infrastructure protection standards that secure electric utilities and other energy-sector entities from attacks.  “I think, absolutely, we need to consider updating the liability standards,” said FERC Chairman Richard Glick. “Clearly things have changed. It’s important that we start considering that now.” Read more

ICYMI Snippets

• Congress is giving NARA funding to dig itself out of a pandemic-era backlog of veteran records.
• BAE Systems talks about their post-pandemic communication trends.
• Why don’t railroads have to report safety incidents to a federal database of incidents?

Civilian Contracts Awards

• CDC awards Palantir consolidated disease surveillance contract worth up to $443M.
• NNSA extends Triad National Security’s Los Alamos lab O&M contract period.
• Guidehouse wins $650M VA Healthcare Innovation contract.

Follow Civilian Leaders

Civilian Job Openings

• NASA needs a Director, Technology Integration and Partnerships.

M&A CORNER

Octo to be acquired by IBM.

Arlington Capital Partners, a Washington, DC-based private equity firm, announced it has agreed to sell Octo to IBM. Octo, headquartered in Reston, VA, is a pure-play digital modernization solutions provider to the federal government. Read more

A 2022 review: What were the 5 top National Security-related acquisitions in the last year?

Aerojet, QuinetiQ, LMI, Booz Allen, L3Harris all top the list. Read more