News

Nathan Strout WASHINGTON - The Department of Defense wants better batteries for its war fighters, and it's partnering with NanoGraf to develop them. “Just like we civilians are increasingly relying on cell phones and tablets and everything else, the modern soldier is also transitioning towards these really power heavy devices in the field, [like] night vision goggles, weapon optics, all of the communications devices, GPS,” said Chip Breitenkamp, NanoGraf vice president of business development. “All of those things require more and more power. “If you take a look at what the soldier has to bring on the field already, between guns, ammunition, water, food, right now the best estimate that I've seen [...] is that every soldier for ever mission goes out with somewhere between 15 and 25 pounds of batteries just to power all of this stuff,” he continued. NanoGraf wants to build energy dense batteries that reduce that weight while allowing war fighters to operate longer without replacing or recharging their batteries. The company recently announced that DoD had awarded the company a $1.65 million Small Business Innovation Research grant to develop silicon anode-based lithion-ion portable batteries to replace the graphite anode lithium-ion batteries currently used by the military. The goal is to develop batteries with a 50-100 percent increase in runtime. “The technology that we have can be applied to any lithium-ion battery, and what it does is it basically gives the soldier more energy, longer runtime, less weight,” said Breitenkamp. He added that better batteries could enable emerging technologies like small drones and augmented reality devices. He noted that the company can currently get about 30 percent more energy density out of their batteries, and their technology is about 12 months away from being available commercially. Under their contract, NanoGraf will be working directly with the U.S. Army over the next two years to improve their technology and prepare to begin manufacturing batteries for use by soldiers. https://www.c4isrnet.com/battlefield-tech/2020/07/22/the-department-of-defense-wants-better-batteries/

Mark Pomerleau About two years after it was created, the Pentagon's artificial intelligence center is setting its sights on new projects, including one on joint information warfare. This initiative seeks to deliver an information advantage to the Department of Defense in two ways. The first is improving the DoD's ability to integrate commercial and government AI solutions. The second is improving the standardization of foundational DoD data needed to field high-performing AI-enabled capabilities to support operations in the information environment, said Lt. Cmdr. Arlo Abrahamson, a spokesman for the Joint Artificial Intelligence Center. Nand Mulchandani, the JAIC's acting director, told reporters in early July that this initiative also includes cyber operations — both broad defensive and offensive measures for use by U.S. Cyber Command. The DoD is discovering that it needs ways to process, analyze and act upon the vast amounts of data it receives. “As we look at the ability to influence and shape in this environment, we're going to have to have artificial intelligence and machine-learning tools, specifically for information ops that hit a very broad portfolio,” Gen. Richard Clarke, commander of Special Operations Command, said at the Special Operations Forces Industry Conference in May. “We're going to have to understand how the adversary is thinking, how the population is thinking, and work in these spaces in time of relevance. If you're not at speed, you won't be relevant. “To make sure the U.S. message and our allies' and partner message is being heard and it's resonating. What we need is adapting data tech that will actually work in this space and we can use it for our organization.” A program in support of network incident detection, called MADHAT — or Multidimensional Anomaly Detection fusing HPC, Analytics, and Tensors — is helping the JAIC develop an information warfare capability. The program allows for the exploration of network data as a way of enabling more effective detection of nuanced adversarial threats, Abrahamson said. MADHAT has already been deployed, he added, and analysts working on the High Performance Computing Modernization Program are being trained on the tool for operational use. This program accelerates technology development and transitions it into defense capabilities through the application of high-performance computing. Mulchandani also told reporters that other information warfare-related efforts include using natural language processing, which involve processing and analyzing text. “NLP and speech-to-text is actually a fairly mature AI technology that can be deployed in production. And that actually is going to be used in reducing information overload,” he said. “So being able to scan vast quantities of open-source information and bring the sort of nuggets and important stuff on the NLPs.” https://www.c4isrnet.com/smr/information-warfare/2020/07/22/pentagon-ai-team-sets-sights-on-information-warfare/

By: David B. Larter WASHINGTON — A small fire aboard the U.S. Navy's next Ford-class carrier John F. Kennedy has prompted builder Newport News Shipbuilding to shut down all welding this week as the shipyard investigates, according to a statement from Huntington Ingalls Industries, its parent company. The fire broke out around 10:15 a.m. on Monday and was quickly extinguished by emergency crews, the statement read, resulting in no injuries. “Newport News Shipbuilding is investigating the cause of this incident,” the statement from HII spokesman Duane Bourne read. “There are no known cost or schedule impacts at this time. “Newport News Shipbuilding secured all hot work on CVN 79 while the cause of the fire is being investigated and a yard-wide stand down was conducted for fire safety. The Navy and Newport News Shipbuilding will restore hot work on CVN 79 once the investigation is complete and any necessary corrective actions are in place.” Fire safety has been an area of intense focus for the ship repair and shipbuilding industry since last week's fire on the amphibious assault ship Bonhomme Richard. The fire damaged 11 of 14 decks and gutted the ship's island superstructure, according to a letter from the chief of naval operations obtained by Defense News. https://www.defensenews.com/naval/2020/07/23/welding-suspended-on-future-carrier-john-f-kennedy-after-small-fire/

By: Joe Gould WASHINGTON ― The White House and Senate Republicans are nearing an agreement on a $1 trillion-plus economic rescue proposal that would also seek $21 billion for defense, according to a draft obtained by the New York Times on Thursday. The emerging GOP proposal would include $11 billion in payments to contractors under the Section 3610 of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act, which allowed firms serving the federal government to seek reimbursement for pandemic-related expenses. However, amid reports of internal divisions―over the defense money and other aspects―Republicans delayed the rollout to at least next week. Defense trade associations, along with dozens of industry executives, have conducted a vocal lobbying effort across government to secure the money as they grapple with the economic damage wrought by the coronavirus pandemic. It was unclear from the draft document — essentially a list of priorities and amounts — what the remainder of the defense funding would be for. The line item in the draft read only: “$20 billion — Defense total ($11 billion of which is for 3610 payments to contractors.” The funding follows $10.5 billion the Pentagon previously received under the CARES Act. The emerging proposal would include another round of stimulus payments to individuals, additional aid to small businesses and a partial extension of enhanced unemployment benefits, according to a summary circulating on Capitol Hill that was obtained by the New York Times. The defense portion would be a boon to the Pentagon and its suppliers, but it's by no means a done deal. The White House and Senate Republicans, which took months to draft the proposal, faced more delays this week over internal disagreements ― as well as coming negotiations with Democrats, who have sought as much as $3.5 trillion for coronavirus relief. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin, meeting with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky., and White House chief of staff Mark Meadows, told reporters that staff are working to finalize text of the agreement, which was expected to be released as a group of bills instead of one piece of legislation. Underscoring the difficulties, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., on Thursday rejected the GOP's “piecemeal” approach, saying the proposal fell “very short.” It omits Democratic priorities like food assistance, aid to prevent evictions, hazard pay for essential workers, and aid to states and communities, they said. Since officials with the Department of Defense have called for defense reimbursements in the low double-digit billions, warning that they would otherwise have to raid modernization and readiness accounts for the funding, some analysts have predicted Congress would address the need. “We expect the Senate's version of the next COVID-19 relief package to include money for Section 3610 impacts and related cost impacts,” Roman Schweizer of the Cowen Group wrote Thursday in a note to investors. “We think this money will be small compared to the total cost of the bill (~$1T+) and will be included in the final bill. This will be positive for defense [firms] and allow DoD to protect investment accounts. We expect a lengthy, complicated process for cost recovery.” In a Senate floor speech earlier in the week, Senate Armed Services Committee Chairman Jim Inhofe said Congress ought to follow through on Section 3610 with appropriations, or risk delays and cost overruns in weapons programs as well as attrition in the defense industry's workforce. “Defense industrial companies have done a great job in ensuring that their suppliers — primarily thousands of small businesses — stay open and keep their employees paid,” said Inhofe, R-Okla. “In the CARES Act, we gave DoD the authority and the tools to reimburse these companies to keep the defense workforce strong. But the DoD needs money to use these tools.” https://www.defensenews.com/congress/2020/07/23/21b-for-defense-in-draft-covid-aid-proposal-report/

By: Sebastian Sprenger COLOGNE, Germany — German tank-maker Krauss-Maffei Wegmann is developing a tactical bridge-launching capability for its Boxer vehicle that the company hopes to sell to its growing customer base. Executives still consider the module an internal prototype, with more testing planned in the coming months. But the premise of a bridge-launching capability in forces lighter than the heavy, tracked vehicles mostly used for that job today could garner interest, they said. The German military, Lithuania, the Netherlands, the U.K. and Australia are current or soon-to-be operators of Boxer fleets. The vehicles were developed in a joint venture with Germany's Rheinmetall. The rides are modular by design, consisting of base chassis that can be combined with payloads for troop transport, command and control, combat, or medical evacuation, for example. The new module will be able to deploy two types of bridges: a heavy variant that spans 14 meters and can carry 80 tons, and a longer version of 22 meters certified for 50 tons. Those weight limits are sufficient for heavy battle tanks and the slightly lighter infantry fighting vehicles, respectively. KMW officials had planned to debut the new development at the Eurosatory expo in Paris, France, last month before organizers canceled the event due to the coronavirus pandemic. The next chance to display the bridging module for would-be clients will be the U.K.-based DVD2020 conference, sponsored by the British Ministry of Defence, in November, according to the company. Modifications needed to operate the bridging module with the base version of the Boxer include a new drive output for siphoning power from the main engine to the hydraulic arms used to push the bridge from the vehicle to the ground, officials explained. https://www.defensenews.com/land/2020/07/23/germanys-kmw-pitches-bridge-launching-boxer-to-its-customer-base/

Mark Pomerleau One way the Air Force's new information warfare command is trying to bring together the disparate parts of the organization is through forums where leaders put representatives from different components in the same room. Sixteenth Air Force/Air Forces Cyber, created in October, combined what was previously known as 24th and 25th Air Force. The move placed cyber, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, electronic warfare and weather capabilities under one commander, serving as the Air Force's first information warfare entity. With all these new wings and capabilities now under a single unit, they need to understand what everyone is doing and how it can feed together. “How do we bring forums together where all of our wings that are focused on a problem can be in the same room and we start to build out what things are they all contributing,” Lt. Gen. Timothy Haugh, 16th Air Force's commander, told a webcast hosted by the Mitchell Institute. “Then taking it to the next layer, so all the weapons and tactics teams are talking. That simple act of creating a forum was built largely on our component responsibilities. We have very good forums ... for how do we support and produce cyber outcomes. We expanded that forum into an information warfare environment.” Some of this integration is already taking hold. Haugh explained he received a positive update earlier this month about how one meeting had led to fewer stovepipes and more data sharing. In addition, he said he'd like to see more components share intelligence as a way to enable others within the enterprise. For example, if a portion of the ISR enterprise, be it analysis or exploitation, in support of Air Forces Africa, discovers a Russian private military corporation conducting malign activities in Africa, they can pass that to the cyber enterprise to potentially pursue the adversary. Then the cyber element can feed their information or operation back to the ISR enterprise to produce better intelligence for the air component. “This is where for us, that art is starting to come together. Right now, it's very manual, and we're seeing the processes and the data flows start to fall in place that that will become a more automated and routine function that now becomes mutually supportive across our enterprise,” Haugh said. https://www.c4isrnet.com/smr/information-warfare/2020/07/22/the-unlikely-way-to-improve-air-force-information-warfare-forums/

AIR FORCE BAE Systems Technology Solutions and Services Inc., Rockville, Maryland, has been awarded a $495,482,136 firm-fixed-price, cost-plus-fixed-fee and cost-reimbursable indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for the Instrumentation Range Support Program. This contract provides for serviceable components and subsystems for instrumentation tracking systems, worldwide for both foreign and domestic government agencies to include radars, telemetry and optical range mission systems, flight termination systems, data acquisition systems and Global Positioning Systems. Work will be performed on participating ranges in the program, including Air Force, Army, Navy, NASA, Department of Energy, as well as foreign ranges in the United Kingdom, Germany, Norway, Sweden, Republic of Korea and Switzerland. Work is expected to be completed Sept. 30, 2027. This award is the result of a competitive acquisition and three offers were received. Fiscal 2020 operations and maintenance funds in the amount of $116,235 are being obligated on a delivery order at the time of award. This contract has a ceiling amount of $945,234,462. The 45th Contracting Squadron, Patrick Air Force Base, Florida, is the contracting activity (FA2521-20-D-0005). The Boeing Co., St. Louis, Missouri (FA8694-20-D-0400); General Atomics Aeronautical Systems Inc., Poway, California (FA8694-20-D-0600); Kratos Unmanned Aerial Systems Inc., Oklahoma City, Oklahoma (FA8694-20-D-0700); and Northrop Grumman Systems Corp., Palmdale, California (FA8694-20-D-0900), have each been awarded indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contracts with a shared ceiling of $400,000,000 for all subsequent competitively selected delivery orders in support of the Skyborg Vanguard Program. Skyborg is an autonomous attritable aircraft capable of achieving a diverse set of missions to generate massed combat power; delivering a future Air Force which can deter, blunt and defeat peer adversaries. The Skyborg prototyping, experimentation and autonomy development contract will be used to deliver missionized prototypes in support of operational experimentation and develop the first Skyborg air platform with modular hardware and software payloads that will incorporate the Skyborg autonomy core system and enable manned/unmanned teaming. The locations of performance are to be determined at the order level and are expected to be completed by July 2026. These awards are being made as a result of a competitive acquisition and 18 offers were received. No funds are obligated on the awards and funding will be provided on each individual order. Air Force Life Cycle Management, Wright Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, is the contracting activity. Accenture Federal Services LLC, Arlington, Virginia, has been awarded an $89,615,577 multiple-year firm-fixed-price contract action to sustain existing infrastructures and establish new cloud common infrastructure and services for Air Force enterprise resource planning: Air Force Integrated Personnel and Pay System, Defense Enterprise Accounting and Management System, and maintenance, repair and overhaul initiative. Work will be performed in Arlington, Virginia; Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio; Maxwell AFB-Gunter Annex, Alabama; Randolph AFB, Texas; and other locations as required. Work is expected to be completed by July 31, 2025. This award is the result of a competitive acquisition and 28 offers were received. Fiscal 2020 operations and maintenance funds in the amount of $5,000,000; and fiscal 2020 research, development, test and evaluation funds in the amount of $1,750,340 are being obligated at the time of award. Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, Maxwell AFB – Gunter Annex, Alabama, is the contracting activity (FA8771-20-C-0014). Advanced Concepts Enterprises Inc., Shalimar, Florida, has been awarded a $43,099,833 firm-fixed-price contract for command and control contract academic training, courseware development and distance learning training program. This contract provides services for training support/mission system interface and staff support services to the Control and Reporting Center, Battle Control Center, Air Operations Center and Tactical Air Control Party missions at various locations. The total cumulative face value of the contract is $43,099,834. Work is expected to be completed by Sept. 30, 2025. This award is a result of a 100% small business set-aside competitive acquisition and six offers were received. Fiscal 2020 operations and maintenance funds in the amount of $943,015 are being obligated at time of award for the phase-in period. Acquisition Management and Integration Center, Joint Base Langley-Eustis, Virginia, is the contracting activity (FA4890-20-C-0013). ARMY SRC Inc., North Syracuse, New York, was awarded a $425,870,432 hybrid (cost-no-fee, cost-plus-fixed-fee, firm-fixed-price) contract for development, production, deployment and support of the Expeditionary-Low, Slow, Small Unmanned Aircraft System Integrated Defeat System (E-LIDS). Bids were solicited via the internet with one received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of July 26, 2025. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, is the contracting activity (W31P4Q-20-D-0032). Addon Services LLC,* Warren, Michigan (W56HZV-20-D-L007); A&H-Ambica JV LLC,* Livonia, Michigan (W56HZV-20-D-L008); Angels General Construction Inc.,* Detroit, Michigan (W56HZV-20-D-L009); Custom Mechanical Systems Corp.,* Bargersville, Indiana (W56HZV-20-D-L010); Erie Affiliates Inc.,* Wickliffe, Ohio (W56HZV-20-D-L011); Expo Technologies LLC,* Pontiac, Michigan (W56HZV-20-D-L012); F.H. Martin Construction Co.,* Warren, Michigan (W56HZV-20-D-L013); Genoa Contracting LLC,* Saint Clair Shores, Michigan (W56HZV-20-D-L014); McGahey Construction LLC,* Sault Sainte Marie, Michigan (W56HZV-20-D-L015); Nisou LGC JV LLC,* Detroit, Michigan (W56HZV-20-D-L016); Pontiac Drywall Systems,* Pontiac, Michigan (W56HZV-20-D-L017); Q.B.S. Inc.,* Alliance, Ohio (W56HZV-20-D-L018); RB Construction Co.,* Mount Clemens, Michigan (W56HZV-20-D-L019); and Wolverine Fire Protection Co.,* Mount Morris, Michigan (W56HZV-20-D-L020), will compete for each order of the $92,000,000 firm-fixed-price contract for construction support on Detroit Arsenal and surrounding locations. Bids were solicited via the internet with 17 received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of Aug. 2, 2025. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Detroit Arsenal, Michigan, is the contracting activity. AHI, Grand Prairie, Texas, was awarded a $73,999,755 modification (PZ0014) to contract W58RGZ-18-C-0007 for 15 UH-72 D-2 production aircraft and options to procure three additional D-2 production aircraft, 18 jettisonable cockpit doors, 14 engine inlet barrier filters and 14 environmental control units. Work will be performed in Grand Prairie, Texas, with an estimated completion date of Aug. 31, 2022. Fiscal 2018, 2019 and 2020 aircraft procurement (Army) funds in the amount of $73,999,755 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, is the contracting activity. Barlovento LLC, Dothan, Alabama, was awarded a $45,000,000 firm-fixed-price contract to support the advanced contract initiative for emergency temporary roof repairs for the Gulf Coast of the continental U.S. Bids were solicited via the internet with seven received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of May 31, 2027. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Omaha, Nebraska, is the contracting activity (W9128F-20-D-0043). Sikorsky Aircraft Corp., Stratford, Connecticut, was awarded a $19,511,833 firm-fixed-price contract for overhaul and repair of the tail rotor blade with pitch horn replacement for UH60 Blackhawk aircraft. Bids were solicited via the internet with one received. Work locations and funding will be determined with each order, with an estimated completion date of July 23, 2025. U.S. Army Contracting Command, Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, is the contracting activity (W58RGZ-20-F-0473). Indtai Inc.,* Vienna, Virginia, was awarded a $9,598,566 firm-fixed-price contract for educational support services in support of the U.S. Army Continuing Education System. Bids were solicited via the internet with one received. Work will be performed at Fort Sam Houston, Texas, with an estimated completion date of Jan. 27, 2021. Fiscal 2020 operations and maintenance (Army) funds in the amount of $8,487,090 were obligated at the time of the award. The U.S. Army Field Directorate Office, Fort Sam Houston, Texas, is the contracting activity (W9124J-20-C-0012). Modern Technology Solutions Inc.,* Alexandria, Virginia, was awarded an $8,613,292 modification (P00023) to contract W9133L-16-F-0027 for continued modernization and engineering services for the Air National Guard Air Force Reserve Command Test Center. Work will be performed in Tucson, Arizona, with an estimated completion date of July 26, 2021. Fiscal 2020 operational test and evaluation, defense funds in the amount of $8,613,292 were obligated at the time of the award. National Guard Bureau, Arlington, Virginia, is the contracting activity. NAVY Alexandria Technical and Community College, Alexandria, Minnesota (N00189-20-D-Z800); Anne Arundel Community College, Arnold, Maryland (N00189-20-D-Z801); Arizona State University, Tempe, Arizona (N00189-20-D-Z802); Ashford University, San Diego, California (N00189-20-D-Z803); Bethel University, St. Paul, Minnesota (N00189-20-D-Z804); Bismarck State College, Bismarck, North Dakota (N00189-20-D-Z805); Black Hills State University, Spearfish, South Dakota (N00189-20-D-Z806); Blackhawk Technical College, Janesville, Wisconsin (N00189-20-D-Z807); Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, Ohio (N00189-20-D-Z808); Brandman University, Irvine, California (N00189-20-D-Z809); Bristol Community College, Fall River, Massachusetts (N00189-20-D-Z810); California University of Pennsylvania, California, Pennsylvania (N00189-20-D-Z811); Cape Fear Community College, Wilmington, North Carolina (N00189-20-D-Z812); Capitol Technology University, Laurel, Maryland (N00189-20-D-Z813); Cecil College, North East, Maryland (N00189-20-D-Z814); Central Georgia Technical College, Macon, Georgia (N00189-20-D-Z815); Central Michigan University, Mount Pleasant, Michigan (N00189-20-D-Z816); Central Texas College, Killeen, Texas (N00189-20-D-Z817); Chesapeake College, Wye Mills, Maryland (N00189-20-D-Z818); Clarion University of Pennsylvania, Clarion, Pennsylvania (N00189-20-D-Z819); Cleveland State University, Cleveland, Ohio (N00189-20-D-Z820); Coastline College, Fountain Valley, California (N00189-20-D-Z821); Colorado Mountain College, Glenwood Springs, Colorado (N00189-20-D-Z822); Columbia College, Columbia, Missouri (N00189-20-D-Z823); Columbia Southern University, Orange Beach, Alabama (N00189-20-D-Z824); Community College of Baltimore County, Baltimore, Maryland (N00189-20-D-Z825); Dakota College at Bottineau, Bottineau, North Dakota (N00189-20-D-Z826); Dakota State University, Madison, South Dakota (N00189-20-D-Z827); Delaware Technical Community College, Dover, Delaware (N00189-20-D-Z828); Des Moines Area Community College, Ankeny, Iowa (N00189-20-D-Z829); East Carolina University, Greenville, North Carolina (N00189-20-D-Z830); Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University, Daytona, Florida (N00189-20-D-Z831); Excelsior College, Albany, New York (N00189-20-D-Z832); Finger Lakes Community College, Canandaigua, New York (N00189-20-D-Z833); Florida State College at Jacksonville, Jacksonville, Florida (N00189-20-D-Z834); Frederick Community College, Frederick, Maryland (N00189-20-D-Z835); George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia (N00189-20-D-Z836); Georgia Southern University, Statesboro, Georgia (N00189-20-D-Z837); Iowa Central Community College, Fort Dodge, Iowa (N00189-20-D-Z838); Ivy Tech Community College of Indiana, Indianapolis, Indiana (N00189-20-D-Z839); Jackson College, Jackson, Michigan (N00189-20-D-Z840); Jefferson Community and Technical College, Louisville, Kentucky (N00189-20-D-Z841); Kent State University, College of Applied and Technical Studies, Kent, Ohio (N00189-20-D-Z842); Lake Area Technical College, Watertown, South Dakota (N00189-20-D-Z843); Lake Region State College, Devils Lake, North Dakota (N00189-20-D-Z844); Lake Superior College, Duluth, Minnesota (N00189-20-D-Z845); Macomb Community College, Warren, Michigan (N00189-20-D-Z846); Mid-State Technical College, Wisconsin Rapids, Wisconsin (N00189-20-D-Z847); Minerva Schools Keck Graduate Institute, San Francisco, California (N00189-20-D-Z848); Minnesota State University Moorhead, Moorhead, Minnesota (N00189-20-D-Z849); Mississippi Community College Board, Jackson, Mississippi (N00189-20-D-Z850); Monroe Community College, Rochester, New York (N00189-20-D-Z851); Montgomery College, Rockville, Maryland (N00189-20-D-Z852); North Dakota State College of Science, Wahpeton, North Dakota (N00189-20-D-Z853); North Dakota University System, Bismarck, North Dakota (N00189-20-D-Z854); Northeast Iowa Community College, Calmar, Iowa (N00189-20-D-Z855); Northeastern Technical College, Cheraw, South Carolina (N00189-20-D-Z856); Northeastern University-College of Professional Studies, Boston, Massachusetts (N00189-20-D-Z857); Northern Essex Community College, Haverhill, Massachusetts (N00189-20-D-Z858); Northern State University, Aberdeen, South Dakota (N00189-20-D-Z859); Northern Virginia Community College, Annandale, Virginia (N00189-20-D-Z860); Northwest Technical College, Bemidji, Minnesota (N00189-20-D-Z861); Northwestern Michigan College, Traverse City, Michigan (N00189-20-D-Z862); Norwich University, Northfield, Vermont (N00189-20-D-Z863); Ocean County College, Toms River, New Jersey (N00189-20-D-Z864); Oklahoma City Community College, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma (N00189-20-D-Z865); Old Dominion University, Norfolk, Virginia (N00189-20-D-Z866); Oregon Institute of Technology, Klamath Falls, Oregon (N00189-20-D-Z867); Oregon State University, Corvallis, Oregon (N00189-20-D-Z868); Paris Junior College, Paris, Texas (N00189-20-D-Z869); Park University, Parkville, Missouri (N00189-20-D-Z870); Parkland College, Champaign, Illinois (N00189-20-D-Z871); Prince George's Community College, Largo, Maryland (N00189-20-D-Z872); Purdue University Global, Indianapolis, Indiana (N00189-20-D-Z873); Quinsigamond Community College, Worcester, Massachusetts (N00189-20-D-Z874); Rio Salado College, Tempe, Arizona (N00189-20-D-Z875); Saint Leo University, Saint Leo, Florida (N00189-20-D-Z876); San Diego Community College District, San Diego, California (N00189-20-D-Z877); San Diego State University, San Diego, California (N00189-20-D-Z878); San Jacinto Community College District, La Porte, Texas (N00189-20-D-Z879); San Juan College, Farmington, New Mexico (N00189-20-D-Z880); Savannah Technical College, Savannah, Georgia (N00189-20-D-Z881); Seminole State College of Florida, Sanford, Florida (N00189-20-D-Z882); Sinclair Community College, Dayton, Ohio (N00189-20-D-Z883); South Dakota State University, Brookings, South Dakota (N00189-20-D-Z884); South Florida State College, Avon Park, Florida (N00189-20-D-Z885); South Orange County Community College District doing business as Saddleback College, Mission Viejo, California (N00189-20-D-Z886); Southern New Hampshire University, Manchester, New Hampshire (N00189-20-D-Z887); Stark State College of Technology, North Canton, Ohio (N00189-20-D-Z888); State University of New York (SUNY) System Administration, Albany, New York (N00189-20-D-Z889); Syracuse University, Syracuse, New York (N00189-20-D-Z890); Tallahassee Community College, Tallahassee, Florida (N00189-20-D-Z891); Temple University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (N00189-20-D-Z892); The Catholic University of America, Washington, D.C. (N00189-20-D-Z893); The College of William and Mary, Williamsburg, Virginia (N00189-20-D-Z894); The University of Toledo, Toledo, Ohio (N00189-20-D-Z895); Thomas Edison State University, Trenton, New Jersey (N00189-20-D-Z896); Trident Technical College, Charleston, South Carolina (N00189-20-D-Z897); University at Albany, SUNY, Albany, New York (N00189-20-D-Z898); University of Alaska Fairbanks, Fairbanks, Arkansas (N00189-20-D-Z899); University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona (N00189-20-D-Z900); University of Central Florida, Orlando, Florida (N00189-20-D-Z901); University of Charleston, Charleston, West Virginia (N00189-20-D-Z902); University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, Ohio (N00189-20-D-Z903); University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida (N00189-20-D-Z904); University of Hawaii Community College System, Honolulu, Hawaii (N00189-20-D-Z905); University of Mary Washington, Fredericksburg, Virginia (N00189-20-D-Z906); University of Maryland Global Campus, Adelphi, Maryland (N00189-20-D-Z907); University of South Dakota, Vermillion, South Dakota (N00189-20-D-Z908); Villanova University-College of Professional Studies, Villanova, Pennsylvania (N00189-20-D-Z909); Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, Virginia (N00189-20-D-Z910); Virginia Community College System, Richmond, Virginia (N00189-20-D-Z911); Waldorf University, Forest City, Iowa (N00189-20-D-Z912); Wallace State Community College, Hanceville, Alabama (N00189-20-D-Z913); Webster University, Webster Groves, Missouri (N00189-20-D-Z914); Western Governors University, Salt Lake City, Utah (N00189-20-D-Z915); White Mountains Community College, Berlin, New Hampshire (N00189-20-D-Z916); Williston State College, Williston, North Dakota (N00189-20-D-Z917); and Wilmington University, Dover, Delaware (N00189-20-D-Z918), are awarded $147,050,000 in multiple-award, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contracts to provide educational services to the entire enlisted workforce and to establish the U.S. Naval Community College in support of the Office of the Chief Learning Officer. The contracts will run concurrently with no option period. The ordering period of the contracts is anticipated to begin August 2020, and is expected to be completed by July 2025. Work will be performed at various locations across 37 states and the District of Columbia. The percentage of work at each of the facilities cannot be determined at this time. Fiscal 2020 operations and maintenance (Navy) funds in the amount of $59,500 will be obligated ($500 on each of the 119 contracts to fund the contracts' minimum amounts), and funds will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The funding for task orders to be issued under these contracts will come from a variety of sources and will be consistent with the purpose for which the funds were appropriated. This contract was competitively procured with the solicitation posted through beta.SAM.gov and 245 offers were received. The Naval Supply Systems Command Fleet Logistics Center, Norfolk, Contracting Department, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, is the contracting activity. Wu and Associates Inc.,* Mt. Laurel, New Jersey (N62473-20-D-1103); Macro Z Technology,* Santa Ana, California (N62473-20-D-1104); Corbara MGS JV,* National City, California (N62473-20-D-1105); Pacific West Builders,* Simi Valley, California (N62473-20-D-1106); Ahtna-CDM JV,* Irvine, California (N62473-20-D-1107); Insight Pacific LLC,* Brea, California (N62473-20-D-1108); Dimensions Construction Inc.,* San Diego, California (N62473-20-D-1112); and I. E. Pacific Inc.,* Escondido, California (N62473-20-D-1120), are awarded a $99,999,000 firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity, multiple award construction contract for new construction, renovation and repair by design-build or design-bid-build of general construction projects located primarily within the Naval Facilities Engineering Command (NAVFAC) Southwest area of responsibility in California. The maximum dollar value including one two-year base period and one three-year option period for all eight contracts combined is $99,999,000. Wu and Associates Inc. is being awarded an initial task order at $633,000 to design and construct repairs for Building 16139, Naval Air Weapons Station, China Lake, California. All work on these contracts will be performed at various government installations located in California. The work to be performed provides for new construction, renovation and repair within the North American Industry Classification System (Code 236220). The various types of construction projects may include, but are not limited to, administration buildings; academic and applied instruction training facilities; maintenance/repair facilities; military operations facilities; aircraft hangars; fire stations; office buildings; laboratories; dining facilities; related structures; and other similar facilities located in California. Work for this task order is expected to be completed by July 2021. The terms of the contracts are not to exceed 60 months and work is expected to be completed by July 2025. Fiscal 2020 Navy working capital funds; and operations and maintenance (Navy) (O&M, N) contract funds in the amount of $668,000 are obligated on this award and will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. Future task orders will be primarily funded by military construction (Navy); Navy working capital funds; O&M, N; and O&M, Marine Corps. This contract was competitively procured as a small business set-aside via the Navy Electronic Commerce Online website and 36 proposals were received. These eight contractors may compete for task orders under the terms and conditions of the awarded contract. The NAVFAC Southwest, San Diego, California, is the contracting activity. Florida Atlantic University, Boca Raton, Florida, is awarded an $11,179,001 cost reimbursement contract for the development of a next-generation, high-intake, compact, defined excitation bathyphotometer sensor for natural oceanic bioluminescence assessments. Work will be performed in Boca Raton, Florida, and is expected to be completed by July 2025. The total cumulative value of this contract, including a 48-month base period and one 12-month option year, is $11,179,001. Fiscal 2019 research, development, test and evaluation (Navy) funds in the amount of $10,179,001 are obligated at time of award and will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. This contract was competitively procured under N00014-20-S-B001, “Long Range broad agency announcement (BAA) for Navy and Marine Corps Science and Technology.” Since proposals are received throughout the year under the long range BAA, the number of proposals received in response to the solicitation is unknown. The Office of Naval Research, Arlington, Virginia, is the contracting activity (N00014-20-C-2035). DEFENSE ADVANCED RESEARCH PROJECTS AGENCY SRI International, Menlo Park, California, was awarded a $10,991,741 cost-plus-fixed-fee contract for a research project under the Semantic Forensics (SemaFor) program. The SemaFor program will develop technologies to automatically detect, attribute and characterize falsified, multi-modal media assets (e.g., text, audio, image, video) to defend against large-scale, automated disinformation attacks. Work will be performed in Menlo Park, California; Baltimore, Maryland; Buffalo, New York; and Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, with an expected completion date of July 2024. Fiscal 2020 research, development, test and evaluation funds in the amount of $1,713,323 are being obligated at time of award. This contract was a competitive acquisition under an open broad agency announcement and 37 offers were received. The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, Arlington, Virginia, is the contracting activity (HR0011-20-C-0124). DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY DCX-CHOL Enterprises Inc., Los Angeles, California, has been awarded a maximum $8,125,000 firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for grip assemblies. This was a competitive acquisition with two responses received. This is a five-year contract with no option periods. The initial delivery order (SPRDL1-20-F-0297) for $225,000 will be issued at the same time as the contract. Location of performance California, with a July 20, 2025, ordering period end date. Using military service is Army. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2020 through 2025 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Land and Maritime, Warren, Michigan (SPRDL1-20-D-0108). *Small Business https://www.defense.gov/Newsroom/Contracts/Contract/Article/2286392/source/GovDelivery/

July 23, 2020 - The U.S. Army has awarded BAE Systems an initial order under its Distributed Common Ground System (DCGS) Capability Drop 2 Program. The multiple award, Indefinite Delivery-Indefinite Quantity contract is worth up to $823 million, and provides enhanced intelligence to see and better understand threats and other relevant aspects of the operational environment. The company's solution for Capability Drop 2 is the Intelligence Knowledge Environment (IKE). It's a software framework of modular data and artificial intelligence analytic capabilities built to autonomously transform information into knowledge. “With a focus on a user-centric analyst experience, IKE rapidly transforms data into intelligence in an easy to learn and scalable manner,” said Dave Logan, vice president and general manager of C4ISR Systems at BAE Systems. “It helps analysts translate information into actionable intelligence using a collection of tools – some interactive, others that operate autonomously – to enhance the effectiveness of the analyst.” The Capability Drop development model allows the Army to rapidly insert new technology upgrades to DCGS by breaking requirements into small bundles, enabling agile and rapid acquisition. The company's Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance, and Reconnaissance systems provide robust processing and exploitation capabilities that enable the analysis of intelligence data from a variety of sources, in any mission environment. BAE Systems developed the IKE framework at its site in San Diego, California. Ref. No. 068/2020 View source version on BAE Systems: https://www.baesystems.com/en/article/u-s--army-awards-distributed-common-ground-system-capability-drop-2-to-bae-systems

Getting it right doesn't just mean staying within the bounds of the law. It means making sure that the AI delivers reports that accurate and useful to policymakers. By KELSEY ATHERTON ALBUQUERQUE — Today, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence released what the first take on an evolving set of principles for the ethical use of artificial intelligence. The six principles, ranging from privacy to transparency to cybersecurity, are described as Version 1.0, approved by DNI John Ratcliffe last month. The six principles are pitched as a guide for the nation's many intelligence especially, especially to help them work with the private companies that will build AI for the government. As such, they provide an explicit complement to the Pentagon's AI principles put forth by Defense Secretary Mark Esper back in February. “These AI ethics principles don't diminish our ability to achieve our national security mission,” said Ben Huebner, who heads the Office of Civil Liberties, Privacy, and Transparency at ODNI. “To the contrary, they help us ensure that our AI or use of AI provides unbiased, objective and actionable intelligence policymakers require that is fundamentally our mission.” The Pentagon's AI ethics principles came at the tail end of a long process set in motion by workers at Google. These workers called upon the tech giant to withdraw from a contract to build image-processing AI for Project Maven, which sought to identify objects in video recorded by the military. While ODNI's principles come with an accompanying six-page ethics framework, there is no extensive 80-page supporting annex, like that put forth by the Department of Defense. “We need to spend our time under framework and the guidelines that we're putting out to make sure that we're staying within the guidelines,” said Dean Souleles, Chief Technology Advisor at ODNI. “This is a fast-moving train with this technology. Within our working groups, we are actively working on many, many different standards and procedures for practitioners to use and begin to adopt these technologies.” Governing AI as it is developed is a lot like laying out the tracks ahead while the train is in motion. It's a tricky proposition for all involved — but the technology is evolving too fast and unpredictable to try to carve commandments in stone for all time. Here are the six principles, in the document's own words: Respect the Law and Act with Integrity. We will employ AI in a manner that respects human dignity, rights, and freedoms. Our use of AI will fully comply with applicable legal authorities and with policies and procedures that protect privacy, civil rights, and civil liberties. Transparent and Accountable. We will provide appropriate transparency to the public and our customers regarding our AI methods, applications, and uses within the bounds of security, technology, and releasability by law and policy, and consistent with the Principles of Intelligence Transparency for the IC. We will develop and employ mechanisms to identify responsibilities and provide accountability for the use of AI and its outcomes. Objective and Equitable. Consistent with our commitment to providing objective intelligence, we will take affirmative steps to identify and mitigate bias. Human-Centered Development and Use. We will develop and use AI to augment our national security and enhance our trusted partnerships by tempering technological guidance with the application of human judgment, especially when an action has the potential to deprive individuals of constitutional rights or interfere with their free exercise of civil liberties. Secure and Resilient. We will develop and employ best practices for maximizing reliability, security, and accuracy of AI design, development, and use. We will employ security best practices to build resilience and minimize potential for adversarial influence. Informed by Science and Technology. We will apply rigor in our development and use of AI by actively engaging both across the IC and with the broader scientific and technology communities to utilize advances in research and best practices from the public and private sector. The accompanying framework offers further questions for people to ask when programming, evaluating, sourcing, using, and interpreting information informed by AI. While bulk processing of data by algorithm is not a new phenomenon for the intelligence agencies, having a learning algorithm try to parse that data and summarize it for a human is a relatively recent feature. Getting it right doesn't just mean staying within the bounds of the law, it means making sure that the data produced by the inquiry is accurate and useful when handed off to the people who use intelligence products to make policy. “We are absolutely welcoming public comment and feedback on this,” said Huebner, noting that there will be a way for public feedback at Intel.gov. “No question at all that there's going to be aspects of what we do that are and remain classified. I think though, what we can do is talk in general terms about some of the things that we are doing.” Internal legal review, as well as classified assessments from the Inspectors General, will likely be what makes the classified data processing AI accountable to policymakers. For the general public, as it offers comment on intelligence service use of AI, examples will have to come from outside classification, and will likely center on examples of AI in the private sector. “We think there's a big overlap between what the intelligence community needs and frankly, what the private sector needs that we can and should be working on, collectively together,” said Souleles. He specifically pointed to the task of threat identification, using AI to spot malicious actors that seek to cause harm to networks, be they e-commerce giants or three-letter agencies. Depending on one's feelings towards the collection and processing of information by private companies vis-à-vis the government, it is either reassuring or ominous that when it comes to performing public accountability for spy AI, the intelligence community will have business examples to turn to. “There's many areas that I think we're going to be able to talk about going forward, where there's overlap that does not expose our classified sources and methods,” said Souleles, “because many, many, many of these things are really really common problems.” https://breakingdefense.com/2020/07/intelligence-agencies-release-ai-ethics-principles/