21 juillet 2020 | International, C4ISR, Sécurité

Startups Need Free Data To Work With Army: Venture Capitalists

Because open-source software lacks the same kind of cyber certification that comes with more sensitive information, it is fertile ground for start-ups looking to work on military data, provided each service makes an open-source library available.

By KELSEY ATHERTONon July 20, 2020 at 7:01 AM

ALBUQUERQUE: Venture capitalists want the Pentagon to be a good market. But for an industry that makes many unsuccessful bets in the promise that just a few pan out spectacularly, marketing software exclusively to the Pentagon poses an almost unacceptable risk. To ease startups into contracting, investors suggest the Army should provide unclassified, open-source data as the Air Force already does.

Near the top of his investors' wishlist, says Stu Solomon, CTO of intelligence provider Recorded Future, is removing “a lot of the friction necessary to get innovation into the government without having to be directly aligned or affiliated with the big solution integrators.”

Hitching new technology to a company already firmly ingrained in the Pentagon's ecosystem is a popular way to shepherd new software through the acquisitions process. It is also partly explains how, despite hundreds of millions of dollars in military contracts going to Silicon Valley companies, tech adoption seems as slow from the Valley as elsewhere.

Solomon's remarks came during a panel at AFCEA's 2020 AFCEA Army Signal conference. Recorded Future was founded in 2008, received early funding from IN-Q-TEL, received a contract from DIU in 2017, and a contract from Cyber Command in 2020. Much of Recorded Future's product is built on ingesting open-source information and offering analysis. As a feature, that meant the company could sustain itself in the commercial market, selling enterprise software, while still planning long-term to contract with the military, DHS, and intelligence services.

“If you think this is eventually going to be a market that matters to you, you're not going to be able to wait four years for the procurement process to mature as your product matures,” said Elizabeth Lawler, founder of Founder of AppLand.

If a startup's focus is solely on processing classified data, the capital investors need to be aligned directly with that goal to fund it since getting certified to handle classified material is one of the major sources of cost and friction.

“My current startup, focused on providing real-time up-to-date software images, works on things that are less sensitive as a starting point,” said Lawler, “for example, some of the code bases in the Air Force's open source code repository.”

Because open-source software lacks the same kind of cyber certification that comes with more sensitive information, it is fertile ground for start-ups looking to work on military data, provided the service makes an open-source library available.

“When it comes to this Valley of Death, I really view what we do when we start companies as an awful lot like a really difficult special forces mission,” said Andy Palmer, co-founder and CEO of data management company Tamr. “When you go in, you drop onto the ground to start a company, with a small team of people, and limited resources, and what oftentimes feels like an unreasonable objective. It's hand to hand combat for much of it, it's not pretty. The goal is survival.”

So, if the Army wants to bring new data tools to the battlefields of the future, it could start by creating open-source environments that allow companies to solve problems, at a smaller scale and without the hurdles of classification, suggested several panelists

https://breakingdefense.com/2020/07/startups-need-free-data-to-work-with-army-venture-capitalists

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2 décembre 2019 | International, C4ISR, Sécurité

How the Defense Digital Service revamped Army cyber training
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27 décembre 2018 | International, Aérospatial, Naval, Terrestre, C4ISR, Sécurité

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Contract Awards by US Department of Defense - October 12, 2018
DEFENSE INFORMATION SYSTEMS AGENCY Iridium Satellite LLC, Tempe, Arizona, was awarded a non-competitive, firm-fixed-price $44,000,000 contract modification (P00008) for the extension of services on the current airtime contract (HC104714C4000) in accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulation 52.217-8. Fiscal 2019 defense working capital funds will be used. Performance will be at the contractor's facility. The period of performance for the option period is Oct. 22, 2018, through April 21, 2019. The Defense Information Technology Contracting Organization, Scott AFB, Illinois, is the contracting activity. DEFENSE LOGISTICS AGENCY Creighton AB Inc., Reidsville, North Carolina, has been awarded a maximum $35,000,000 fixed-price contract for Air Force lightweight jackets. This was a competitive acquisition with two responses received. This is a one-year base contract with four one-year option periods. Maximum dollar amount is for the life of the contract. Locations of performance are New York and North Carolina, with an Oct. 11, 2023, performance completion date. Using military service is Air Force. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2019 through 2024 defense working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Troop Support, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (SPE1C1-19-D-1104). Simmonds Precision Products Inc., Vergennes, Vermont, has been awarded an $11,024,500 firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for electro-me actuators. This is a five-year base contract with four one-year option periods. This was a competitive acquisition with two responses received. Location of performance is Vermont, with an Oct. 15, 2023, performance completion date. Using military service is Army. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2019 Army working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Aviation, Redstone Arsenal, Alabama (SPRRA1-19-D-0004). Transaero Inc., Melville, New York, has been awarded a $9,500,000 firm-fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract for assembly clutches. This is a five-year base contract with four one-year options periods. This was a competitive acquisition with two responses received. Location of performance is New York, with a Nov. 30, 2023, performance completion date. Using military service is Army. Type of appropriation is fiscal 2019 Army working capital funds. The contracting activity is the Defense Logistics Agency Aviation, Redstone Arsenal, Alabama (SPRRA1-19-D-0002). ARMY Medvolt LLC,* Colorado Springs, Colorado, was awarded a $19,978,985 firm-fixed-price contract for upgrading the chilled water line system at the Cheyenne Mountain Air Force Station. Bids were solicited via the internet with one received. Work will be performed in Cheyenne Mountain Air Force Station, Colorado, with an estimated completion date of Oct. 15, 2020. Fiscal 2019 operations and maintenance (Army) funds in the amount of $19,978,985 were obligated at the time of the award. U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, Omaha, Nebraska, is the contracting activity (W9128F-19-C-0001). AIR FORCE Rockwell Collins, Richardson, Texas, has been awarded a $12,010,975 definitization (P000013) to previously undefinitized contract FA8204-18-C-0010 (P00005) to implement Security Classification Guide changes. Work will be performed at Richardson, Texas, and is expected to be completed by Dec. 3, 2020. Fiscal 2018, research, development, test and evaluation funds in the amount of $818,227 are being obligated at the time of award. Air Force Nuclear Weapon Center, Hill Air Force Base, Utah, is the contracting activity. NAVY Complete Parachute Solutions, Deland, Florida, is awarded a $9,270,000 modification under previously awarded firm-fixed-price contract (M00264-18-C-0007) for the Multi-Mission Parachute Course. The Multi-Mission Parachute Course provides training and technical support for all Military Free-Fall training to ensure compliance with all Federal Aviation Administration Regulations and Marine Corps Orders to safely meet the Marine Corps Training Input requirements. This contract includes four one-year option periods which, if exercised, could bring the cumulative value of this contract to $42,763,854. Work will be performed in Coolidge, Arizona, and is expected to be completed Sept. 27, 2019. If all options are exercised, work will continue through Sept. 27, 2022. Fiscal 2019 operations and maintenance (Marine Corps) funds in the amount of $9,270,000 will be obligated at the time of contract modification award and will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The original contract was competitively solicited and competitively procured via solicitation on the Federal Business Opportunity website, with one proposal received. 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Huntington Ingalls Inc., Newport News, Virginia, is awarded a $7,031,737 cost-plus-fixed-fee modification to previously awarded contract (N00024-17-C-2103) to exercise an option for the accomplishment of planning and design yard functions for standard Navy valves of nuclear-powered submarines and aircraft carriers. Work will be performed in Newport News, Virginia, and is expected to be completed by September 2019. Fiscal 2019 operations and maintenance (Navy) funding in the amount of $600,000 will be obligated at time of award and will expire at the end of the current fiscal year. The Naval Sea Systems Command, Washington, District of Columbia, is the contracting activity. *Small Business https://dod.defense.gov/News/Contracts/Contract-View/Article/1660999/source/GovDelivery/

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