In an effort to secure the digital supply chain for the United States, President Trump issued a policy on May 15 prohibiting the trade of information and communications technology or services designed, developed, manufactured or supplied by adversaries.
The Executive Order on Securing the Information and Communications Technology and Services Supply Chain states that the risk of using such technology and services constitutes a national emergency.
The Department of Energy and the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory are working to advance high performance computing by lowering adoption risks and conducting related technology development. Under the High Performance Computing Energy Innovation Program, known as HPC4EI, they are pursuing three initiatives involving the manufacturing, materials and mobility applications of high performance computing, and are seeking industry solutions as part of a $5.2 million request for proposal solicitation. The laboratory, known as LLNL, is managing the HPC4EI Program in conjunction with other laboratories.
The requirement to share information and communicate effectively via radio or other equipment during natural disasters, fires, crimes or catastrophes has only increased for police officers, firefighters and other public safety personnel. The National Institute of Standards and Technology’s (NIST's) Communications Technology Laboratory, known as the CLT, has been working to improve interoperability among the first responders and other public safety organizations, conducting research to update legacy systems and harness new mobile technologies to exchange vital voice and data communications in a crisis
The Joint Multinational Simulation Center recently fielded the Stryker Virtual Collective Trainer (SVCT) to Vilseck, Germany, the system’s first deployment in Europe.
The SVCT, which was fielded to Vilseck in January, was developed at the Combined Arms Center-Training – Innovation facility at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, to provide the Army’s Stryker community the capability to train a platoon in a multi-vehicle, virtual environment. Army officials describe the trainer as a low-cost, commercial, game-based simulator that provides a realistic training environment while also being relatively easy to configure and administer.
The National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency, headquartered in Springfield, Virginia, today announced the launch of MagQuest, its $1.2 million global open innovation challenge, seeking advanced approaches to geomagnetic data collection.
The U.S. Department of Homeland Security Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) and Israel’s Ministry of Public Security (MOPS) are seeking proposals to support collaborative research and development between U.S. and Israeli companies, or between a company and a university or research institute—one from the United States and one from Israel.
With the establishment of the Advanced Manufacturing Operations Cell, or AMOC, at the Marine Corps Systems Command, Marines can now get round-the-clock support for 3D printing, the command announced last week.
The AMOC team will be on hand to answer questions, field requests for 3D printing, as well as “fully vet” any part that requires fabrication by a Marine organization, which includes required legal and safety reviews. The AMOC is not limited to helping with 3D printing, but can assist with all forms of manufacturing and sustainment, reported Monique Randolph, of the command's Office of Pubic Affairs.
The U.S. Army is striving to modernize and go faster, with a better focus, said Undersecretary of the Army Ryan McCarthy at a breakfast meeting on February 26 at the Association of the U.S. Army’s Institute of Land Warfare. This includes taking measures to be more effective with the funding the Army receives. “We're trying to put in a behavior of reform so that we can do better with every dollar that we have,” he stated.
The Department of Homeland Security’s Science and Technology Directorate is teaming up with NASA and the Federal Aviation Administration in order to manage unmanned aerial vehicle traffic. With projections of seven million drones that could congest the national airspace, the federal agencies needed a capability to control the domain.
They are creating the Unmanned Aircraft Systems Traffic Management infrastructure, or UTM, a cloud-based, automated air traffic management system, according to the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T). The UTM would then communicate with a required UAS Service Supplier interface on drones.
The U.S. Marine Corps Systems Command (MCSC) at Marine Corps Base Quantico in Virginia has unveiled a computer system aimed at giving Marine Corps recruiters state-of-the-art tools for the enlistment process.
Working with the Marine Corps Recruiting Command (MCRC), the MCSC developed the Marine Corps Recruiting Information Support System II, known as MCRISS II. The system uses a customizable platform that recruiters can access across government-issued cellphones, laptops and tablets.
Using a special 3D printer called ACES, or Automated Construction of Expeditionary Structures, U.S. Marines from the 1st Marine Logistics Group, along with the Marine Corps Systems Command’s Advanced Manufacturing Operations Cell and the Army Corps of Engineers, created a concrete footbridge in December.
The Marines printed and assembled the bridge during the service’s annual Steel Knight exercise to demonstrate the ability to use concrete 3D printing in an operational environment, the service reported. The Marines trained on how to operate ACES and incorporate new equipment into the process.
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency's (DARPA’s) development of a new type of membrane reflect-array antenna as part of its Radio Frequency Risk Reduction Deployment Demonstration (R3D2) program is ready to be space qualified, the agency reports, and anticipates that R3D2 will be launched in late February.
The agency stated that the antenna could enable multiple missions that usually depend on large satellites. R3D2 was produced with a “tissue-thin Kapton membrane” or a polyamide film, which allows the antenna to compact during launch and then deploy to a full size of 2.25 meters in diameter once it reaches low-Earth orbit, according to DARPA.
On January 15, the U.S. Navy awarded a contract to Lockheed Martin Corp. of Baltimore, exercising an option to build an additional littoral combat ship (LCS).
Lockheed Martin will build the ship, known as LCS-31, at teammate Fincantieri Marinette Marine’s (FMM’s) naval shipyard in Marinette, Wisconsin. Under the contract, Lockheed Martin will oversee the design and construction, as well as the testing and trials of the ship for the Navy.
The award is a fixed-price-incentive firm target modification to a previously awarded contract. DOD did not disclose the dollar amount of the award, as it was considered source-selection sensitive information.
Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center (SSC) Atlantic has awarded the first prototype project agreement valued at $1.3 million for a Low Altitude Range Communication System (LARCS) for the Marine Corps under the Information Warfare Research Project (IWRP) for $1.3 million.
The other transaction authority contract, order N65236-19-9-1001, was awarded January 8 to ATI on behalf of Booz Allen Hamilton in collaboration with Intuitive Research Technology Corporation (IRTC). A significant portion of the work will be performed by IRTC, a nontraditional defense contractor, and is scheduled to be completed in 10 months.
A division of Las Cruces, New Mexico-based SameDay Security Inc., has introduced a virtual home health care assistant that the company claims will “quickly deliver an immersive end user experience.” The electronic interface, known as Addison Care, uses visual, artificial intelligence and augmented reality. The system runs on Amazon Sumerian, a service provided by Amazon Web Services (AWS).
“Designed to transform the home into a full-time health and wellness environment, Addison appears on 15-inch media screens throughout a residence and provides support to consumers with features including medication management, care plan adherence, social experiences and emergency response,” a company official stated.
The Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity (IARPA) has announced two new challenges: the Credibility Assessment Standardized Evaluation (CASE) Challenge, which seeks methods for measuring the performance of credibility assessment techniques and technologies, and the Activities in Extended Video (ActEV) Prize Challenge, which aims to develop algorithms that will monitor surveillance videos for suspicious activity.
The Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity (IARPA) is seeking information on research efforts in the area of machine learning with a particular focus on deep learning and in the area of cooling systems for small mobile devices.
Four newly announced projects led by Sandia National Laboratories aim to advance quantum computing technology, according to an announcement from the laboratories.
The efforts include: a quantum computing testbed with accessible components on which industrial, academic and government researchers can run their own algorithms; a suite of test programs to measure the performance of quantum hardware; classical software to ensure reliable operation of quantum computing testbeds and coax the most utility from them; and high-level quantum algorithms that explore connections with theoretical physics, classical optimization and machine learning.
Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Chief Procurement Officer Soraya Correa announced this week that DHS will follow a new strategy for obtaining information technology services. Rather than pursue a re-competition of the Enterprise Acquisition Gateway for Leading-Edge Solutions (EAGLE) II, the department will offer an array of options for industry, including greater opportunity for small businesses, under EAGLE Next Generation.
To spur innovation for a necessary handheld targeting system, the U.S. Marine Corps is turning to the Other Transaction Authority contracting tool, which provides for rapid prototyping of technologies.
The Marine Corps Systems Command awarded four Other Transaction Authorities (OTAs) to BAE Systems, Elbit Systems of America, Fraser Optics and Northrop Grumman Systems Corp., according to the command.
The command will use the OTAs to assess how the companies are able to produce a Next Generation Handheld Targeting System. The Marines need such a system to quickly acquire targets; perform guidance against targets; and generate target location data during combat operations, the command reported.
