Contract Awards by US Department of Defense - November 7, 2018

Sur le même sujet

• 

  16 décembre 2021 | International, Aérospatial

  Hornet Extension Project remains on schedule - Skies Mag

  Two projects to increase the size of the CF-188 Hornet fleet and improve systems interoperability and combat capability are hitting their targets.

• 

  15 janvier 2019 | International, C4ISR

  With China looming, intelligence community backs AI research

  By: Justin Lynch The U.S. government wants to boost its artificial intelligence capabilities or risks being left behind by the private sector and China. In the last two years, that's meant new AI initiatives from the Pentagon, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency and the intelligence community. Now, the Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity is requesting information about research efforts on “cutting-edge machine learning techniques.” IARPA posted the formal request for information Dec. 4. The deadline for industry to submit information is Jan. 17. “Of specific interest is the respondent's knowledge of, and experience implementing, current, cutting-edge machine learning techniques,” the intelligence community's research arm said. Respondents are required to have top secret clearances to work on the project, according to the IARPA listing. In addition to its deep learning program, IARPA leaders want information about research into “future computing systems” that can self-learn. Such a move could have implications for improving government cybersecurity. “The need for real-time (or near-real-time) analysis of massive amounts of heterogeneous data in this new era of explosive data growth has dramatically broadened the application space for advanced computers,” IARPA said. “The current volume and variety of data are already beginning to exceed the ability of today's most advanced classical systems to deliver optimal solutions.” Most cyber threat detection platforms use some form of artificial intelligence to create warning indicators, according to public and private sector officials. However, the U.S. government is behind the private sector when it comes to use of AI, said James Yeager, the public sector vice president at cybersecurity firm Crowdstrike. “There is, by design, a more staggered type of approach to some of these advances in technology in the public sector, and as a result, the government is going to be behind the private sector,” Yeager said. IARPA has a “very high-risk-but-high-reward approach to solving complex problems. They take a lot of time and take a lot of resources,” said Yeager. “But If they can come out of that research project with a silver bullet, it is going to benefit everyone.” Andrew Laskow, a senior manager at Blue Prism, which provides AI products to federal government and defense agencies, said that in the U.S. government many people are “looking to AI for problems that they cannot solve.” “There is still a misunderstanding at the highest levels of what AI can and cannot do,” Laskow said. Public and private sector officials warn that AI-backed threat network indicators can overload users and create too many warnings. Michael McGeehan, head of business development at Blue Prism, described intelligent automation being broken down into the “thinking side” and the “execution side.” The artificial intelligence platform is the “thinking side” that makes decisions and is analogous to the human brain. On the other hand, robotic processing automation is the “execution side” that carries out tasks, like an arm or a leg. https://www.fifthdomain.com/dod/2019/01/12/with-china-looming-intelligence-community-backs-ai-research

• 

  29 avril 2020 | International, Naval

  U.S. Navy pays contractors $600 million held back to ensure performance

  WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Navy has paid defense contractors $600 million it had withheld to ensure contract performance, hoping the funds would shore up finances for suppliers ravaged by the coronavirus-driven economic downturn, a Navy official said on Tuesday. The move, which follows a similar action taken by the Air Force that released billions of dollars in payments, is aimed at replacing revenue vital Pentagon suppliers have lost in their non-military businesses as the spreading coronavirus has halted business activity nationwide. “We were immediately able to infuse about $600 million of funds that we had on withholds,” James Geurts, the assistant secretary of the Navy for research, development and acquisition, told reporters on a conference call. A Navy spokesperson said “for example, with the ship repair industry, withholds were reduced to one percent.” The Navy was unable to say whether a portion of the $600 million was withheld due to poor contractor performance. The Department of Defense has also accelerated contract awards as it leverages its portion of the more than $700 billion annual defense budget to help keep suppliers afloat. Geurts wrote a memo on March 24 to his staff directing them to release or reduce the withholds. It did not discuss rectifying the root causes. Government waste watch-dogs criticized the move. “This current emergency shouldn't be an excuse to avoid accountability for poor performance that predated this outbreak,” said Mandy Smithberger, of the Project On Government Oversight in Washington. Earlier this month, Geurts said he had authorized “hundreds of millions” of dollars to be paid out to top suppliers like General Dynamics (GD.N) and Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII.N) which could flow to the supply chain. Representatives from Huntington Ingalls and General Dynamics said the Navy was not withholding money from them for poor performance. While the Navy did not name any companies that received payments, industry sources have said the biggest contractors have been filtering coronavirus-related funds to their suppliers and subcontractors who, because of their smaller size, are on much shakier financial footing. The Navy's multi-layered supply chain is comprised of companies building out President Donald Trump's vision for a 350 ship here Navy. The funding will help pay salaries and ensure hard-to-replace workers are not lost to other industries or early retirement. Geurts has said the Navy is pushing money into the defense industrial base by speeding up contract payments, hastening contract awards and releasing funds withheld for poor past performance. The U.S. Air Force said it would release $882 million in payments to Boeing (BA.N) that were held back due to flaws in the KC-46 air refueling tanker. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-navy-procurement/u-s-navy-pays-contractors-600-million-held-back-to-ensure-performance-idUSKCN22A33L