April 29, 2024 | International, Land
October 9, 2018 | International, C4ISR
Google Drops Out of Pentagon's $10 Billion Cloud Competition
By Naomi Nix
Alphabet Inc.'s Google has decided not to compete for the Pentagon's cloud-computing contract valued at as much as $10 billion, saying the project may conflict with its corporate values.
The project, known as the Joint Enterprise Defense Infrastructure cloud, or JEDI, involves transitioning massive amounts of Defense Department data to a commercially operated cloud system. Companies are due to submit bids for the contract, which could last as long as 10 years, on Oct. 12th.
Google's announcement on Monday came just months after the company decided not to renew its contract with a Pentagon artificial intelligence program, after extensive protests from employees of the internet giant about working with the military. The company then released a set of principles designed to evaluate what kind of artificial intelligence projects it would pursue.
“We are not bidding on the JEDI contract because first, we couldn't be assured that it would align with our AI Principles," a Google spokesman said in a statement. "And second, we determined that there were portions of the contract that were out of scope with our current government certifications.”
The spokesman added that Google is “working to support the U.S. government with our cloud in many ways.”
The Tech Workers Coalition, which advocates for giving employees a say in technology company decisions, said in a statement that Google's decision to withdraw from the cloud competition stemmed from “sustained” pressure from tech workers who “have significant power, and are increasingly willing to use it.”
Read more: Google Won't Renew Pentagon AI Drone Deal After Staff Backlash
Google is behind other technology companies such as Amazon.com Inc. and Microsoft Corp. in obtaining government cloud-security authorizations that depend on the sensitivity of data a service is hosting.
The JEDI contract attracted widespread interest from technology companies struggling to catch up with Amazon in the burgeoning federal government market for cloud services. Final requirements for the project were released in July after a months-long lobbying campaign in Washington by tech companies including Microsoft, International Business Machines Corp. and Oracle Corp. that opposed the Pentagon's plans to choose just one winner for the project instead of splitting the contract among a number of providers.
“Had the JEDI contract been open to multiple vendors, we would have submitted a compelling solution for portions of it,” the Google spokesman said. “Google Cloud believes that a multi-cloud approach is in the best interest of government agencies, because it allows them to choose the right cloud for the right workload.”
In a report to Congress, the Defense Department said making multiple awards under current acquisition law would be a slow process that “could prevent DoD from rapidly delivering new capabilities and improved effectiveness to the warfighter that enterprise-level cloud computing can enable.”
The department also said it expects “to maintain contracts with numerous cloud providers to access specialized capabilities not available under the JEDI Cloud contract.”
— With assistance by Ben Brody, and Josh Eidelson
On the same subject
-
-
November 15, 2022 | International, Other Defence
UK set to join EU project helping swift military movements across Europe
European Union defence ministers paved the way on Tuesday for Britain to join an EU project aimed at facilitating the swift movement of troops and military equipment across Europe, as war rages in Ukraine for a ninth month.
-
September 25, 2019 | International, Aerospace
Sikorsky Combat Rescue Helicopter Approved To Enter Production
STRATFORD, Conn., Sept. 24, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) today announced the Sikorsky HH-60W Combat Rescue Helicopter (CRH) program achieved a Milestone C decision from the U.S. Air Force, which moves the program into low rate initial production. The Combat Rescue Helicopter will perform critical combat search and rescue and personnel recovery operations for all U.S. military services. View the latest CRH video. The four instrumented test aircraft at the Sikorsky Development Flight Center in West Palm Beach, Florida, demonstrated their production readiness during rigorous U.S. Air Force (USAF) performance and flight load survey testing. The joint Sikorsky and USAF flight test team has executed over 150 hours of envelope expansion flights, which provided USAF the data necessary to execute a Milestone C decision. This decision allows Sikorsky to begin production of the aircraft, which is based on the venerable BLACK HAWK helicopter. "This affirmative Milestone C decision validates the modifications to Sikorsky's most successful BLACK HAWK helicopter, making it capable of saving downed airmen anytime, anywhere around the world," said Greg Hames, Sikorsky program director. "This establishes the Combat Rescue Helicopter as a production program." Prepared for Production There are five CRH aircraft in various stages of production at Sikorsky's Stratford facility. Sikorsky employees and our nationwide supply chain are ready to begin production and support delivering this all new aircraft to the warfighter. The USAF program of record calls for 113 helicopters to replace its predecessor, the Sikorsky HH-60G PAVE HAWKs. "We have just successfully gained approval to launch the production of a helicopter that will save the lives of our warfighters and our allies all over the world. This decision begins the transition to this more capable and reliable helicopter to fulfill the Air Force's mission to leave no one behind. I could not be more proud of our government-contractor team for making this happen," said Col. Dale R. White, Program Executive Officer, Intelligence, Surveillance, Reconnaissance and Special Operations Forces, USAF. The CRH is significantly more capable and reliable than the HH-60G PAVE HAWK. The aircraft hosts a new fuel system that nearly doubles the capacity of the internal tank on a UH-60M BLACK HAWK, giving the USAF crew extended range and more capability to rescue those injured in the battle space. The CRH specification drives more capable defensive systems and enhances the vulnerability reductions, hover performance, electrical capacity, avionics, cooling, weapons, cyber-security, environmental, and net-centric capabilities beyond the current HH-60G. For additional information, visit our website: www.lockheedmartin.com/crh. About Lockheed Martin Headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland, Lockheed Martin is a global security and aerospace company that employs approximately 105,000 people worldwide and is principally engaged in the research, design, development, manufacture, integration and sustainment of advanced technology systems, products and services. SOURCE Lockheed Martin https://news.lockheedmartin.com/2019-09-24-Sikorsky-Combat-Rescue-Helicopter-Approved-to-Enter-Production