Predictive Cyber Map. White House Cyber Security Coordinator Michael Daniel says a potential model for predicting cyber attacks is akin to integrated sensors used to forecast weather. He says the “highly chaotic, very dynamic” nature of weather is similar to that of cyber space. “One of the questions that we have is, “Can you create a weather map of sorts for cyber space?” he says. “And I think in many ways that requires some pretty sophisticated analytics to do. So this is more than just sharing the indicators of compromise, but can you then take that information stream, that data and turn it into actual real information and create what I think is this weather map? I think that’s a very good model for us to think about.”
Texas Border Visit. Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), chairman of the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, led a bipartisan delegation to South Texas this weekend to examine security challenges on the nation’s southern border. Johnson, joined by Ranking Member Tom Carper (D-Del.), and Ben Sasse (R-Neb.), says that through the fact-finding trip committee members “can gain a greater understanding of the terrain, manpower, infrastructure, technology and challenges that we must address as we begin crafting legislation that will actually work.” The delegation will observe an unmanned aircraft system operation, aerostats, visit a port of entry, and tour a Border Patrol station and a centralized processing center for capture illegal immigrants.
Reaper Contract. The Air Force awards General Atomics a $279 million fixed-price-incentive-firm and firm-fixed-price contract for MQ-9 Reaper unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) production, according to a DoD statement. General Atomics will provide 24 Block 5 Reaper aircraft and associated spare parts, support systems and spares. The Air Force expects work to be completed by Sept. 30, 2017. The award is the result of a sole-source acquisition.
Going Back to Navy Yard. The Naval Sea Systems Command workforce has begun returning to the Washington Navy Yard, which it had vacated 17 months ago following a shooting rampage that left 12 people dead, others wounded and many more emotionally scared. The mentally deranged shooter was also killed by police during the Sept. 16, 2013 massacre. The first group returned to building 197 on Monday and more employees will come back in phases over the next few months until the transition is complete in April, Vice Adm. William Hilarides, the NAVSEA commander, told Defense Daily. NAVSEA relocated the workforce to an old Coast Guard facility at Buzzard’s Point in southwest Washington while the building 197 underwent extensive renovations. The Navy thought it would be better to give employees a brand new look to ease reliving the horrors of the day when they returned. Hilarides said the building’s interior is “a lot different.” Prior to resuming work there, the Navy offered tours to employees to allow them to see it before they had to start working there, Hilarides said.
SMAP Launch. The Air Force successfully launches NASA’s Soil Moisture Active Passive (SMAP) satellite Jan. 30 from Vandenberg AFB, Calif. SMAP’s mission is to increasing understanding of the processes that link earth’s water, energy and carbon cycles, improving weather and climate prediction models. SMAP is destined to a 426-mile near polar, sun-synchronous orbit. Boom deployment will take place 16 days after launch and the reflector will be fully deployed on the 20th day. SMAP is designed to operate for a minimum of three years. Launch was on a United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket. 
Boeing, DLA Contract. Boeing and the Defense Logistics Agency (DLA) signed the second phase of a performance-based contract that the company says reduces combat logistics costs while enhancing warfighter readiness. Boeing will provide support for 11 different aircraft, including the F/A-18 Super Hornet, AH-64 Apache, AV-8B Harrier; B-52 Stratofortress; C-17 Globemaster III and associated ground support equipment. The contract, worth $223 million, is the second of two awards under a five-year agreement signed in September. Total contract value is $516 million. DLA has a follow-on option for an additional five years.
SABR F-16. Northrop Grumman’s APG-85 Scalable Agile Beam Radar (SABR) receives its first production order from Lockheed Martin, according to a Northrop Grumman statement. Northrop Grumman will provide 142 radars to Lockheed Martin as part of the Taiwan Air Force F-16 upgrade program. The first production system will be delivered to Lockheed Martin in 2016. SABR is a multifunction, active electronically scanned array (AESA) fire control radar.
NDAA Before August Recess? Sen. Roger Wicker (R-Miss.), chairman of the Senate Armed Services seapower subcommittee, tells the Amphibious Warship Industrial Base Coalition on Tuesday that this year’s National Defense Authorization Act would be passed in a more timely fashion to provide stability for industry. “We will be marking up a defense authorization bill before Memorial Day. We have assurances from leadership, from [Majority Leader Sen. Mitch] McConnell (R-Ky.), that we will be bringing that bill to the floor in regular order–that means amendments, that means a lot of debate…I expect we will have it on the floor for a week. We hope to have a conference report [with the House] completed before August and on its way to the president.” For the past several years, Congress has not sent a defense authorization bill to the White House until December, causing uncertainty about authorities for contracts, special pays and more. “We haven’t done you right by making all of us wait for December to have that certainty,” Wicker says.
HASC Subcommittee Vice Chairs Announced. HASC Chairman Mac Thornberry (R-Texas) announced subcommittee vice chairmen, a new position he created to bring younger members into the leadership fold in Congress’s largest committee. “Our country has never faced a strategic environment as complex and multi-faceted as we face today. Shaping a military that is equipped to face this environment will require a diligent effort from Congress. With all these threats, this expanded Committee leadership team will work to support our troops and shape our strategy,” he says. The appointments are: Rep. Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.) on the seapower and projection forces subcommittee, freshman Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.) on the readiness subcommittee, Rep. Doug Lamborn (R-Colo.) on the strategic forces subcommittee, Rep. Trent Franks (R-Ariz.) on the emerging threats and capabilities subcommittee, freshman Rep. Tom MacArthur (R-N.J.) on the military personnel subcommittee, and Rep. Paul Cook (R-Calif.) on the tactical air and land forces subcommittee.
Guard and Reserve Caucus Leadership Named. The House National Guard and Reserve Components Caucus announced that Reps. Steven Palazzo (R-Miss.) and Tim Walz (D-Minn.), both National Guardsmen, will serve as co-chairmen for the 114th Congress. “As the only active, enlisted Guardsman in Congress, this responsibility has personal significance for me, and I share in each service member’s concern. Our mandate is to ensure our National Guard and Reserve components are provided with the right funding, equipment and training to defend our shores and to be ready to respond when crisis strikes,” Palazzo says. Walz, a 24-year veteran of the Army National Guard, says, “we must ensure our National Guard and Reservists have a strong voice on Capitol Hill. Congressman Palazzo and I pledge to be that voice; to make certain our Guard and Reservists are provided with the proper funding to maintain a 21st century fighting force.”
FAA Grants Eight More UAS Exemptions. The FAA granted eight more regulatory exemptions for commercial use of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) on Feb. 3, bringing the total to 24. The exemptions were issues to Total Safety U.S. Inc. for flare stack inspections; Slugwear, Inc. for aerial photography and surveys; Team 5, LLC; Shotover Camera Systems LP; Helinet Aviation Services LLC; and Alan D. Purwin, for film and television production. The FAA also amended previous exemptions, letting Pictorvision, Inc. and Aerial MOB, LLC fly additional types of small UAS. Anthony Foxx, Secretary of Transportation, found these particular UAS “do not pose a threat to national airspace users or national security.”