October 13, 2021 | International, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security
Contracts for October 12, 2021
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May 19, 2020 | International, C4ISR, Security
Booz Allen Hamilton wins massive Pentagon artificial intelligence contract
Andrew Eversden
Booz Allen Hamilton won a five-year, $800 million task order to provide artificial intelligence services to the Department of Defense's Joint Artificial Intelligence Center (JAIC).
Under the contract award, announced by the General Services Administration and the JAIC on May 18, Booz Allen Hamilton will provide a “wide mix of technical services and products” to support the JAIC, a DoD entity dedicated to advancing the use of artificial intelligence across the department.
The contracting giant will provide the JAIC with “data labeling, data management, data conditioning, AI product development, and the transition of AI products into new and existing fielded programs,” according to the GSA news release.
“The delivered AI products will leverage the power of DoD data to enable a transformational shift across the Department that will give the U.S. a definitive information advantage to prepare for future warfare operations,” the release said.
The contract will support the JAIC's new joint warfighting mission initiative, launched earlier this year. The initiative includes “Joint All-Domain Command and Control; autonomous ground reconnaissance and surveillance; accelerated sensor-to-shooter timelines; operations center workflows; and deliberate and dynamic targeting solutions,” said JAIC spokesperson Arlo Abrahamson told C4ISRNET in January.
The joint warfighting initiative is looking for "AI solutions that help manage information so humans can make decisions safely and quickly in battle,” Abrahamson said. The award to Booz Allen Hamilton will push that effort forward, Lt. Gen. Jack Shanahan, the center's director, said in a statement.
“The Joint Warfighting mission initiative will provide the Joint Force with AI-enabled solutions vital to improving operational effectiveness in all domains. This contract will be an important element as the JAIC increasingly focuses on fielding AI-enabled capabilities that meet the needs of the warfighter and decision-makers at every level," Shanahan said.
DoD CIO Dana Deasy told Defense News in December that the JAIC would embark on its first lethality project in 2020, which Abrahamson said would be part of the joint warfighting initiative. According to an April blog post from the JAIC, the initiative's first RFP released in March included the ethical principles DoD adopted this year, an effort to quell concern about how the Pentagon uses artificial intelligence.
The award to Booz Allen Hamilton was made by the GSA through its Alliant 2 Government-wide Acquisition Contract, a vehicle designed to provide artificial intelligence services to the federal government. The GSA and JAIC have been partners since last September, when the pair announced that they were teaming up as part of the GSA's Centers of Excellence initiative, a program meant to accelerate modernization with agencies across government.
“The CoE and the JAIC continue to learn from each other and identify lessons that can be shared broadly across the federal space,” said Anil Cheriyan, director of the GSA's Technology Transformation Services office, which administers the Centers of Excellence program. “It is important to work closely with our customers to acquire the best in digital adoption to meet their needs.”
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July 11, 2019 | International, Aerospace
Air Force unveils ‘Digital Air Force’ initiative
By: Diana Stancy Correll The Air Force is launching a “Digital Air Force” initiative aiming to revamp its data management, IT architecture and business operations so the force will remain competitive against adversaries. “Our advantage in future battles depends on our ability to fuse vast amounts of data to accelerate our decision cycle to guarantee the success of any mission," said acting Air Force Secretary Matthew Donovan in a news release Tuesday. “Victory in combat will depend on us becoming a Digital Air Force.” This means the Air Force must establish tools to efficiently generate information and data in real-time to help the service make informed and quick decisions, he said. "Doing so will allow the Air Force to rely less on personal experience or intuition. The Digital Air Force initiative, detailed in a July white paper, focuses on eliminating “antiquated processes” and overhauling how the service curates, uses and shares data and information, amid difficulties coordinating systems across air, land, sea and cyber domains. Specifically, the initiative calls for cultivating a 21st century IT infrastructure that can react to the demands of modern combat. This will require cloud-based solutions to store and share data so airmen have constant access to data, the white paper says. Additionally, the Air Force said it is creating data management architecture and standardized policies that facilitate sharing data and using platforms. “This requires data that is gathered, stored and transmitted in commonly read and digested formats to minimize the delay between receiving, processing and using information derived from multiple systems,” the white paper said. The service said it is hiring contracted service providers to handle daily IT infrastructure management so cyber professionals can “focus on warfighter tasks and connecting information operations to our tactical and strategic ends.” The process accompanies the Air Force's plan to streamline its business practices to free up funding for “efforts that increase the lethality and readiness of the force.” “We must move beyond antiquated processes, systems and mindsets,” the white paper says. “We will pursue new ways to leverage technology and institute a culture of innovation and informed risk-taking.” Such changes will influence every segment of the service, the Air Force said. The undersecretary of the Air Force is spearheading the initiative. “The Air Force must control and manipulate massive volumes of information to out-think and out-maneuver its opponents,” Donovan said. “The Digital Air Force initiative will ensure all Airmen have uninterrupted access to the data they need, where and when they need it.” https://www.airforcetimes.com/news/your-air-force/2019/07/10/air-force-unveils-digital-air-force-initiative/
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July 9, 2022 | International, Aerospace, Naval, Land, C4ISR, Security
Le PDG de Leonardo demande à la Banque européenne d'investissement de permettre le financement des projets militaires
DÉFENSE Le PDG de Leonardo demande à la Banque européenne d'investissement de permettre le financement des projets militaires Le PDG de Leonardo, Alessandro Profumo, a appelé à une révision de la politique de prêt de la Banque européenne d'investissement (BEI) pour lui permettre de financer des projets militaires à la suite de l'invasion de l'Ukraine par la Russie. Il a notamment déclaré que le conflit avait « considérablement modifié la position de nombreux pays européens à l'égard du secteur de la Défense » et étayé l'idée selon laquelle « il n'y a pas de durabilité sans sécurité ». La BEI, l'organisme de prêt de l'UE détenu par les États membres, sert à financer des projets qui favorisent la réalisation des objectifs de l'Union, mais elle n'est pas autorisée à investir dans des activités ou des actifs de Défense essentiels tels que les munitions et les armes. La banque a refusé de commenter spécifiquement les remarques du dirigeant, mais a souligné qu'elle joue un rôle dans le soutien de l'industrie au sens large, notamment dans les projets de recherche et de développement qui ont une approche à double usage. « Un changement dans les règles de la BEI sur la manière de financer le secteur de la défense serait très pertinent en tant que créateur de tendances pour le secteur financier », estime Alessandro Profumo dans une interview au Financial Times. En mars, la banque avait accepté de soutenir le financement d'une initiative stratégique européenne de sécurité visant à renforcer les investissements en Recherche et Développement à double usage dans des domaines tels que les infrastructures et les technologies de sécurité civile. Les propositions de l'UE de l'année dernière, sur ce qui constitue une finance socialement durable, qui auraient qualifié l'industrie de la Défense de socialement nuisible, ont depuis été abandonnées. Le rapport final est « meilleur qu'il ne l'était », mais « pas encore sur la table » analyse le PDG de Leonardo. L'accès au financement est particulièrement critique pour les petites entreprises de la chaîne d'approvisionnement du secteur, qui sont cruciales pour l'innovation. Financial Times du 5 juillet