Kill Vehicle Review. The Missile Defense Agency (MDA) plans to conduct a preliminary design review of the Redesigned Kill Vehicle (RKV) sometime in the first quarter of fiscal year 2017, an agency spokesman says. MDA is developing the RKV to increase the reliability of the ground-based interceptors that defend the United States against long-range ballistic missiles. The agency is leading the design effort, which also includes Boeing, Lockheed Martin and Raytheon.
New Cyber Testbed. The Department of Homeland Security Science and Technology Directorate has issued a Request for Information on potential approaches to operating and maintaining a Cyber Experimentation for the Future (CEF) Testbed. In July 2015 the National Science Foundation generated a report, Cybersecurity Experimentation for the Future: Catalyzing a New Generation of Experimental Cybersecurity Research, which highlights the need for an improved research infrastructure that can support cyber research and experimentation efforts in the future to facilitate the development and deployment of cyber security technologies. The vision for the testbed is to provide the necessary infrastructure—networks, tools, methodologies, and supporting processes—to support national testing of emerging and advanced cyber security technologies.
Conversation on Hold. The debate over encryption versus judicial access to information has quieted down but the FBI plans to renew the conversation in 2017, FBI Director James Comey says. “The challenge we face is that the advent of default ubiquitous strong encryption is making more and more of the room that we are charged to investigate dark,” he says at the annual Symantec Government Symposium. “There was always a corner of the room that was dark,” he says, but it has become increasingly so in the post-Snowden era. The FBI is collecting information “so that next year we can have an adult conversation in this country.”
…A Necessary Conversation. Comey says our Founding Fathers provided for privacy protections “in all of our private spaces” that could only be intruded upon with “good reason” using the nation’s courts. “That is the bargain that has been at the heart of our liberty in this country since its founding,” he says. If law enforcement has good reason to invade someone’s private spaces with “good reason,” if the judicial review process agrees, then law enforcement can have access to those spaces, a “general principle that has always been accepted in our country…There is no such thing as absolute privacy in America.” Comey adds that “widespread default encryption changes that bargain” and that the FBI believes there needs to be a conversation about this.
Hiring Help. The Transportation Security Administration on Thursday awarded Accenture a potential five-year $290 million contract to support the agency with employee recruitment and hiring. TSA has about 60,000 employees and on average hires between 8,000 and 10,000 employees nationwide. The contract has a six-month base period, four one-year options and a six-month option.
Aegis Contract. The Missile Defense Agency (MDA) on Aug. 30 awarded Lockheed Martin a $204 million cost-plus-incentive-fee, sole-source modification to a previously awarded contract for Aegis Ballistic Missile Defense (ABMD) Continuation of Baseline 5.1 Increment-2 development. The contract also includes the adaptation of Aegis Ashore efforts. Upon completion, these efforts will provide a certified ABMD 5.1 baseline, according to a Defense Department statement. This modification increases the total cumulative contract value to $2.4 billion from $2.2 billion. The work has an expected completion date of Sept. 30, 2018.
Taiwan Black Hawks. The Army on Aug. 30 awarded Sikorsky a $135 million modification to a foreign military sales (FMS) contract to provide Taiwan 24 UH-60M uniquely-configured Black Hawk helicopters, according to a DoD statement. The work has an estimated completion date of Oct. 8, 2018. Fiscal year 2016 other funds of $135 million were obligated at the time of award. Sikorsky is a division of Lockheed Martin.
Orion Jettison Motor. Aerojet Rocketdyne tested its third development jettison motor for NASA’s Orion capsule at its facility in Rancho Cordova, Calif., according to a company statement. The jettison motor is one of three motors that compromise Orion’s launch abort system that can activate within milliseconds to propel the capsule away from danger and position it for a safe ocean landing. The other two motors are the abort motor that pulls the crew module away from the launch vehicle and the attitude control motor that is used to steer the crew module following an abort. The jettison motor was fired for 1.5 seconds during the test, all the time required to separate the launch abort system from the crew module. The jettison motor will also be the only launch abort system motor that will be activated on Orion’s next test flight, EM-1, scheduled for 2018.
SSL Bid Protest. The Government Accountability Office (GAO) on Aug. 22 denied a bid protest by Space Systems/Loral LLC over a NASA contract award to Aerojet Rocketdyne for thruster and power processing unit development for an advanced electric propulsion system. SSL protested the agency’s evaluation of its cost proposal, conduct of discussions and source selection decision. SSL argued that the best value tradeoff decision was flawed because it relied on a flawed evaluation.
SES-DoD. SES Government Solutions obtained a contract to provide an O3b Networks high-throughput, low latency satellite communications solution for a DoD end-user, according to a Aug. 29 SES statement. The contract also enables the U.S. government to order additional O3b services to meet surge requirements. This is SES Government Solutions’ second U.S. government customer to use O3B Networks’ services this year. NOAA was the first agency to sign an agreement with SES Government Services, that one being for an O3b high throughput solution at the Pago Pago National Weather Service office in American Samoa.
Unmanned Warrior. Dozens of unmanned vehicles, sensors and systems are slated to take part in Unmanned Warrior, a Royal Navy-hosted multinational exercise off the coast of western Scotland in October. Unmanned mine-hunting will be among the capabilities demonstrated. For example, Northrop Grumman says its AQS-24B mine-hunting sensor will be towed through a simulated mine field by an Atlas Elektronik ARCIMS unmanned boat.
Counter-Drone RFI. DARPA, which recently issued a request for information (RFI) on technology that could defend land and sea forces against small unmanned aircraft, is giving industry and others a little more time to respond. The RFI deadline, originally Aug. 26, is now Sept. 9. The agency still plans to invite some of the respondents to a “mobile force protection” workshop in late September.
FAA Drone Regs. The Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA’s) first set of rules for the routine commercial use of small unmanned aircraft took effect Aug. 29. Unveiled in June, the new regulations apply to drones weighing less than 55 pounds and “are designed to minimize risks to other aircraft and people and property on the ground,” the FAA says. Among the requirements is that drone operators have a remote pilot certificate or be supervised by someone who does.
Seapower Symposium. Naval and coast guard officials from more than 110 countries will soon gather in Newport, R.I., to discuss maritime security. Four U.S. leaders — Chief of Naval Operations Adm. John Richardson, Navy Secretary Ray Mabus, Deputy Defense Secretary Robert Work and Coast Guard Commandant Adm. Paul Zunkunft – will be among the speakers at the 22nd International Seapower Symposium, which takes place Sept. 21-23 at the U.S. Naval War College.
Carrier Care. The USS Harry S Truman (CVN-75) arrived at Norfolk Naval Shipyard in Virginia in late August to undergo 10 months of planned maintenance and improvements, including an upgrade to the CANES communication network. Contractors, including Huntington Ingalls Industries, whose Newport News Shipbuilding division built the aircraft carrier, will have a significant role in the work, says Naval Sea Systems Command (NAVSEA).
Albaugh on Harris Board. Former Boeing Defense Chief James Albaugh joined the board of Harris Corp. on Sept. 1, strengthening the company’s high-level expertise of the aerospace and defense industry. Albaugh, 66, also led Boeing’s Commercial Airplane business during his 37-year career with the company. He left Boeing in 2012 and then became a senior adviser to The Blackstone Group before taking the same role with the financial services firm Perella Weinberg Partners this summer. Albaugh is also on the boards of American Airlines and B/E Aerospace. Harris also nominated Roger Fradin, vice chairman of Honeywell, for election to its board.
Drone Meeting. The Federal Aviation Administration says the first meeting of a new Drone Advisory Committee will take place Sept. 16 at the Center for Strategic and International Studies. Establishment of the committee was announced in May as an open venue for the FAA and other decision makers to support the safe introduction of unmanned aircraft systems into the National Airspace System. The meeting will include an overview of the current UAS landscape, an overview of the priorities of committee members and an exercise to prioritize issues.
Close Call. Central Command Chief Gen. Joseph Votel says he witnessed first-hand Iranian aggression when a ship he was riding on recently was buzzed by a missile ship and three fast attack ships belonging to that rogue nation. “In recent months, we’ve seen an uptick in confrontations by Iranian vessels in the Arabian Gulf,” Votel says during a press conference at the Pentagon. “I personally witnessed this behavior last month while on the USS New Orleans transiting the Strait of Hormuz.” An Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps missile ship and three fast-attack crafts demonstrated aggressive behavior in the vicinity of the ship, he says. Since then, the U.S. has witnessed even more provocative activity by the IRGC and Navy vessels. “That type of behavior is very concerning and we hope to see Iran’s naval forces act in a more professional manner,” Votel says. “In contrast, I cannot say enough about the professionalism of our naval forces. I was pleased to see how well they handled the situations that were presented to them. They remain measured in their response and they helped to keep a tense situation from escalating into an international incident. I was very, very proud of our sailors and their leaders.”
Star Trek. Rob Afzal, senior fellow for laser sensor and systems at Lockheed Martin, is participating in a panel at the Star Trek Mission New York convention in New York City to discuss the lasting influence the iconic science fiction series has had on technology in the real world. The panel will follow a premier screening of the Smithsonian Channel documentary “Building Star Trek.” The film celebrates the 50th anniversary of Star Trek and premieres Sept. 4 at 8 p.m. on Smithsonian Channel. The film, in which Lockheed Martin’s Afzal is featured, will be available after that on www.smithsonianchannel.com. He will be joined in the panel discussion by Sonny Kohli, Team Leader of Cloud DX, a finalist for the Qualcomm Tricorder XPRIZE and Margaret Weitekamp, curator of the National Air and Space Museum.
SECDEF Travels. Secretary of Defense Ash Carter is traveling to the United Kingdom and Norway Sept. 6-9 to meet officials from the two longstanding NATO allies, to participate in discussions regarding UN peacekeeping operations and to update counterparts on recent momentum in the counter-ISIL campaign. Defense Daily reporter Pat Host will be along for the ride. Carter visits with U.K. leaders on Sept. 7, “highlighting the enduring special relationship between the United States and the United Kingdom and the ongoing and important role the United Kingdom plays on security in Europe and globally,” according to a Defense Department statement. Public events include a speech at Oxford University, where he studied as a Rhodes Scholar, and a joint press conference with U.K. Defense Minister Michael Fallon. On Sept. 8, Carter leads the U.S. delegation to the UN Peacekeeping Defense Ministerial, where he will highlight U.S. contributions to UN peacekeeping operations and discuss areas of potential improvement. Expect updates on pledges made during the Leaders’ Summit on peacekeeping that President Obama hosted in 2015, at which more than 40 nations discussed efforts to strengthen and modernize UN peacekeeping operations, DoD says. Secretary Carter also will announce additional US contributions to UN peacekeeping. While in London, Secretary Carter is expected to hold bilateral meetings with several of his defense counterparts, including Secretary Fallon, Turkish Minister of National Defense Fikri Isik and Israeli Minister of Defense Avigdor Lieberman. Carter then heads to Norway, where he meets with Minister of Defense Ine Eriksen Søreide in Bodø to view Norwegian military capabilities. Secretary Carter and Minister Søreide will then travel to Oslo for a joint press conference.
Laser Day. The Missile Defense Agency (MDA) intends to hold an industry day Sept. 8 at Kirtland AFB, N.M., to discuss its plans to develop an airborne laser demonstrator. The prototype, whose “low power” laser would be roughly 100 kilowatts, is expected to determine the feasibility of destroying enemy missiles in their boost phase of flight. The agency last month issued a broad agency announcement (BAA) soliciting white papers on the experimental system.
Cyber HQ. The U.S. Army awards B.L. Harbert International, L.L.C. an $85 million firm-fixed-price contract for construction of the Army’s cyber headquarters command and control facility with the cyber protection team operations facility. The army solicited bids via the internet with 10 received. Fiscal 2016 military construction funds of $80.3 million and fiscal 2016 other procurement funds of $4.8 million are obligated at award time. Work will be performed at Fort Gordon, Ga., with an estimated completion date of May 21, 2018. The contracting activity is the Army Corps of Engineers in Savannah, Ga.
NIST Appointment. Patricia Hatter is appointed to a four- year term on the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) Information Security and Privacy Advisory Board (ISPAB) by NIST Director Willie May. Hatter is currently the vice president and general manager of the Intel Security Group Professional Services organization. She previously serves as Intel Security CIO and vice president of operations and CIO at McAfee. Hatter joined Intel in 2011 when it acquired McAfee as a subsidiary. The ISPAB advises NIST, the Secretary of Homeland Security, and the director of the OMB on issues pertaining to federal government information systems Four members of the board are directed to be from outside of the federal government who are eminent in the information technology industry. Her term runs through August 2020.
Indian Minister Visits CYBERCOM. Indian Minister of Defence Manohar Parrikar made a second official visit to the U.S. the week of Aug. 29 at the invitation of U.S. Defense Secretary Ashton Carter. During the visit Parrikar had official meetings at the Pentagon, met with the leadership of the Defense Innovation Unit Experimental (DIUx), and U.S. Cyber Command (CYBERCOM). He also visited DARPA, toured the Air Combat Command and the 480th Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance (ISR) Wing at Joint Base Langley-Eustis.
Ball Acquisition. Ball Aerospace earlier this year acquired Columbia, Md.-based specialized engineering cyber firm Wavefront Technologies to further strengthen and diversify its business portfolio, according to a Ball statement. Wavefront Technologies provided a broad range of tactical and strategic engineering services including: mission operations, deployment and sustainment; network engineering and security; system engineering and software development; analytics; cyber operations and project management.
IT Contract. The U.S. Army awarded Bering Straits Logistics Services LLC a $13.4 million contract modification for information technology (IT) support, warehouse operations, maintenance support, and training support to the consequence management support center. Work funding and locations will be determined with each order, but the estimated total completion date in Sept. 25, 2016. The contracting activity is the Army National Guard Bureau in Arlington, Va.
Leidos IT Contract. The U.S. Army awarded Leidos a nearly $36 million modification to a contract for information technology (IT) repair, maintenance, operations, logistics, and engineering services. This is meant to ensure secure, reliable, and uninterrupted availability of 13 organizations’ worldwide IT systems. Fiscal 2016 operations and maintenance (O&M) funds covering the full modification are obligated at award time. The work will be performed in various locations with an estimated completion date of Aug. 31, 2017. The contracting activity is Army Contracting Command in Warren, Mich.
Another IT Contract. The Defense Department Washington Headquarters Services (WHS) awarded NetCentrics Corp. a $11.4 million firm-fixed-price and cost contract line item number contract to obtain IT operations support for the Office of the Secretary of Defense, WHS, WHS supported Organizations, and the Pentagon Force Protection Agency. Work will take place in Arlington and Alexandria, Va., with an expected completion date of Dec. 31, 2016. Fiscal 2016 O&M funds were obligated at award time. The contracting office is the WHS in Arlington, Va.
DISA Network Upgrades. The Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) awarded Sprint Federal Operations, LLC a $34 million contract for upgrades to the Defense Information Systems Network (DISN) Optical Transport Network (OTN). While the face value of the action is $34 million funded through DISA with FY ’16 procurement funds, the estimated total cumulative face value of the contract is $215.7 million. The solicitation is issued on the basis of other than full and open competition pursuant to 10 U.S.C. 2304(c)(1) with only one responsible source and no other type of supplies or services would satisfy agency requirements. The contract performance will be at various European locations and with a performance period running from Aug. 30, 2016 through Aug. 29, 2017. The contracting activity is the Defense Information Technology Contracting Organization at Scott AFB, Ill.
Second DISA. The Defense Information Systems Agency (DISA) awarded World Wide Technology Inc. a competitive single award, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity (IDIQ), firm-fixed-price contract for commercial firewall hardware and incidental services with a total cumulative face value of $9.3 million. The contract’s minimum guarantee is $3,000. Delivery order 0001 has a total value of nearly $300,000, funded through fiscal 2016 O&M funds to fulfill the minimum guarantee. The firewall hardware and incidental services will be delivered at one of four naval shipyards. Proposals were solicited on the Federal Business Opportunities website and the agency received seven proposals. The performance period covers a five-year ordering period from Sept. 1, 2016 through Aug. 31, 2021. The contracting activity is the Defense Information Technology Contracting Organization at Scott AFB, Ill.