Capitol Hill Takes a Pause. Congress went home for its Fourth of July recess this week, giving lawmakers a pause before conferencing on the 2016 defense authorization bill starts in earnest. The House and Senate will be back in session on July 7.
NSA Mobility: National Security Agency director Adm. Michael Rogers says last week that the agency is still grappling with how to best incorporate mobile devices such as cell phones and tablets into operations. “We need to mitigate the risk to the maximum extent that we can, and be conscious of the risk,” he says, “but on the other hand, you cannot turn your back” on the capability these technologies bring to the mission. The agency will have to weigh mobility against potential vulnerabilities. “It won’t be a one size fits all” approach, he says.
DHS Bills Pass House. The House on Wednesday approved by voice vote seven bills introduced by various Republican and Democrat members of the House Homeland Security Committee, including legislation requiring the Department of Homeland Security to research how commercially-available unmanned aircraft systems could be used in attacks and how drone attacks can be mitigated. Other bills that were approved are aimed at reducing duplication of information techn
ology at DHS, requiring annual reports of the activities and accomplishments of the department’s federally funded research and development centers, providing an update on cost and schedule estimates of the headquarters consolidation effort, and directing DHS to improve department-wide interoperable communications. The interoperable communications bill has also been approved by the Senate and the IT duplication bill has been cleared by the Senate Homeland Security Committee.
…More Bills on the Way. The House Homeland Security Committee on Thursday approved by voice vote 10 bills related to DHS, including the Critical Infrastructure Protection Act, which is aimed at securing critical infrastructure against electromagnetic threats. Several bills are related to border security, including one that each border security technology acquisition program have an approved baseline, another seeking a report on cross-border rail security, and a third requiring a northern border threat analysis. Other bills would improve vetting for aviation workers, require certain maintenance of security-related technology at airports, improve marketing of the PreCheck trusted traveler program, suspend programs that provide PreCheck screening to travelers that haven’t gone through background checks, and strengthen the Visa Waiver Program.
…New Bill. Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas), the committee’s chairman, on Thursday introduced legislation to counter violent extremism in the U.S. by establishing a new office within DHS headed by an assistant secretary that would report directly to the Homeland Security Secretary. The Countering Violent Extremism Act of 2015 would also create a counter-messaging program that uses social media and other technologies to fight against the propaganda used by violent extremists. “We have arrested more people in the United States this year who have been inspired by ISIS than there are officials working to keep ISIS from radicalizing Americans,” McCaul says. “Terrorists at home and overseas are bringing the battle into our homes through the Internet.”
Cyber Adviser. Former Army Cyber Command Chief retired Lt. Gen. Rhett Hernandez has been appointed as the first member of the advisory board of ProtectWise, a small network security firm that was founded in 2013 but only recently emerged publicly. Hernandez is currently serving as the U.S. Military Academy Cyber Chair to the Army Cyber Institute. The firm plans to announce additional members to its advisory board in the coming weeks. In March, Colorado-based ProtectWise exited its stealth mode, announcing a new cloud-based architecture for enterprise network security. The company’s investors include Crosslink Capital, Trinity Ventures, Paladin Capital Group, and Arsenal Venture Partners.
SecDef On NATO Cyber. Secretary of Defense Ash Carter says he asked allies to participate more in cyber exercises and encouraged them to meet NATO’s cyber defense targets, he says while at a meeting of NATO defense ministers in Brussels. The encouragement was “so that, similar to NATO’s common standards for ammunition, we can all meet the highest standards for cybersecurity.”
Kerry-China Cyber Discussions. Secretary of State John Kerry says there was an honest discussion with Chinese officials “without any finger-pointing–-about the problem of cyber theft and whether it was sanctioned by government or whether it was hackers and individuals that the government has the ability to prosecute” after the closing of the Strategic & Economic Dialogue between the two countries.
New GW Cyber Board. George Washington University’s Center for Cyber & Homeland Security (CCHS) announces a new board of directors. The board is chaired by J. Richard Knop, founder and Co-Manager of FedCap Partners and a member of the university’s Board of Trustees. Other board members include Richard Allen, former assistant to the president for national security affairs; Amb. Cofer Black, former director of the Defense Intelligence Agency; Judge Michael Chertoff, former Secretary of Homeland Security; Jane Holl Lute, former Deputy Secretary of Homeland Security; former Attorney General Edwin Meese; Thomas Ridge, former Secretary of Homeland Security; and Judge William Webster, former Director of the FBI and CIA.
School Days. A new report from the Stimson Center says that inconsistent performance of K-12 schools in and around military bases could pose a serious retention issue for the Army. More than 240,000 active-duty soldiers have children who are affected by varying education standards and performance. The report also finds that communities that do not improve their schools risk losing Army support. The only nationwide academic standards today are the Common Core State Standards. While most U.S. states have adopted Common Core, states that host Army bases have varied in the decision whether to adopt these standards.
Virginia-Class Submarines: Huntington Ingalls Industries’ Newport News Shipbuilding delivers a Virginia-class attack submarine, the John Warner (SSN 785), to the Navy more than two months ahead of schedule, a news release says. Newport News and General Dynamics Electric Boat are partnered on the shipbuilding program and have delivered 12 Virginia-class submarines to date. This is the sixth delivered by Newport News. When submerged, the submarines can hit speeds in excess of 25 knots and can stay under water for up to three months at a time, the release stated.
AFCAP IV Contract. The Air Force on June 25 awards a combined not-to-exceed $5 billion indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity (ID/IQ) contract under the Air Force Contract Augmentation Program (AFCAP IV) to eight companies, according to a Defense Department statement. These companies are: CH2MHILL, Fluor-Amec II, Exelis Systems Corp, KBR, RMS, PAE-Perini, URS and DynCorp International. Ten offers were received as part of a competitive acquisition. Work will be performed at locations worldwide, beginning Oct. 1, and is expected to complete by Sept. 30, 2021. AFCAP is a rapid response contingency contract tool for use by government entities needing urgent assistance.
F-35 Spares Contract. The Navy on June 25 awards Lockheed Martin a not-to-exceed $238 million contract for delivery order 0031 against a previously-issued basic ordering agreement (N00019-14-G-0020) for initial spares in support of low-rate production Lot 9 F-35 aircraft, according to a DoD statement. Spares to be procured include F-35 common spares; F-35A, B and C variant unique spares; and aloft spare package and deployment spare packages.
…F-35 Ski Jump. A F-35B short takeoff and vertical landing (STOVL) variant completes the first ramp-assisted short takeoff to test the aircraft’s compatibility with British and Italian aircraft carriers, according to a Joint Program Office (JPO) statement. The two partner nations use ramp-assisted short takeoffs for their carrier operations as an alternative to the catapults and arresting gear used aboard longer U.S. aircraft carriers. Curved at its leading edge, a ski-jump ramp simultaneously launches aircraft upward and forward, allowing aircraft to takeoff with more weight and less end-speed than required for an unassisted horizontal launch aboard U.S. aircraft carriers.
BMDS Contract. The Missile Defense Agency awards Lockheed Martin a maximum $870 million modification to a previously awarded contract (HQ0147-12-D-0003) for the continued engineering, development, test, integration, fielding and on-site operations and sustainment support for the command and control (C2), battle management and communications system located worldwide for the Ballistic Missile Defense System (BMDS). The Spiral 8.2-1 development supports enhanced homeland defense while Spiral 8.2-3 is required to meet European Phased Adaptive Approach III. The contract is a hybrid cost-plus-fixed-fee, cost-plus-incentive-fee, cost-plus-award-fee, fixed-price incentive, firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity (ID/IQ) contract.