Army Futures Command (AFC) has approved the development of electric powered tactical and combat vehicles by the Maneuver Capabilities Development and Integration Directorate. The directorate will begin drafting a requirements document for Tactical and Combat Vehicle Electrification (TaCVE) and will host an industry day to share electrification initiatives with industry.

“Let’s be clear. We’re behind. We’re late to meet on this thing,” said LTG Eric Wesley, former director of the Futures and Concepts Center within AFC. “If you look at all of the analysis, all of the various nations that we work with, they’re all going to electric power with their automotive fleet, and right now, although we do [science and technology] and we’ve got some research and development going on and we can build prototypes, in terms of a transition plan, we are not there.”

The electrification effort aims to decrease the Army’s reliance on fossil fuels. “The requirement also aims to increase operational reach across all maneuver formations through electric propulsion, which offers a variety of operational and tactical benefits,” said the Maneuver Capabilities Development and Integration Directorate.

Electric powered vehicles have the potential to double operational duration, implement silent mobility, increase silent watch and reduce the Army’s logistical burden by nearly half when fully implemented. The initiative will develop an entire enterprise that would support those electric vehicle fleets and other capabilities.

Wesley has also developed a proposal for the head of Army Futures Command on how the service might accomplish such an endeavor that could change the paradigm of the logistics and sustainment initiatives as well as enhance force mobility.

Bruce Jette, assistant secretary of the Army for Acquisition, Logistics, and Technology (ASA(ALT)) and 2020 Wash100 Award recipient, recently delivered a keynote address during Potomac Officers Club’s 5th Annual Army Forum on Thursday August 6th.

Throughout the past several years, the U.S. Army has continued to implement advanced technology priorities, from enhancing hardware, software, and infrastructure to expanding synthetic training environments, to improve the service branch’s acquisition and modernization processes. The Army has employed agile, responsive cross-functional teams to achieve its modernization goals and efforts.

Jette discussed the progress, innovations and accomplishments of the Army’s modernization renaissance over the last year, what challenges remain, and how industry can help in 2021 and beyond.

If you missed the event, you can still register to watch the footage in Potomac Officers Club’s Event Archive.

The U.S. Air Force reorganized some units in order to form a new cyber group in support of U.S. Cyber Command in an effort to bring together cyber developers, operators and intelligence forces, C4ISRNET reported Friday.

The 867th cyberspace operations group at Fort Meade in Maryland will operate under the 67th cyberspace wing and include the 315th, 341st, 833rd and 836th cyberspace operations squadrons. The two intelligence units of the 659th ISR Group will be redesignated under the 867th group.

“The activation and redesignation activities we will complete today will bring unity of command and unity of effort to our air force cyber mission forces an ultimately increase the lethality we can bring to bear against our adversaries,” said Col. Jeffrey Phillips, commander of the 67th Cyberspace Wing.

The Air Force officially established the 867th cyberspace operations group during a ceremony held Friday in San Antonio. The activation of the 867th group came a year after the formation of the 16th Air Force, which combined the 24th and 25th air forces.

NASA officials told the House Space Subcommittee o n Friday that the transition to telework due to the COVID-19 pandemic has led to new cybersecurity challenges, SpaceNews reported.

Paul Martin, NASA inspector general, told the House subpanel during the hearing that the space agency has seen an increase in cyber threats including phishing attempts during the period.

“Our concerns with NASA IT governance and security are wide-ranging and long-standing,” Martin said. “For more than two decades, NASA has struggled to implement an effective IT governance structure that aligns authority and responsibility commensurate with the agency’s overall mission.”

Jeff Seaton, acting chief information officer at NASA, said the agency has initiated measures to address security and governance issues. 

“For almost a decade now, we’ve been working to integrate and operate as a cohesive unit,” Seaton said of NASA’s IT management efforts.

The Department of Energy (DOE) has launched a new office meant to drive DOE's activities across the Arctic region. The Arctic Energy Office will directly report to the DOE undersecretary and handle initiatives in the areas of national security, science and energy, the department said Thursday.

AEO will also coordinate various efforts such as methane hydrate research activities and nuclear power system development.

"DOE’s Arctic Energy Office will grow to strengthen and coordinate our work in energy, science, and national security and help build an Arctic future of prosperity and increased opportunity," said Dan Brouillette, secretary at DOE.

DOE will establish AEO's physical office at the University of Alaska, Fairbanks. 

FireEye, Inc. has announced that it will offer cyber security defenses to Texas public sector agencies, under Texas Department of Information Resources (DIR), the company reported on Thursday. 

“DIR has made resources available to the Texas public sector market to effectively combat the evolving threat of ransomware,” said Amanda Crawford, DIR executive director. “With these contracts for robust cyber security tools and services, we’re enabling Texas government entities to efficiently strengthen their ransomware defenses.”

Through the end of 2020, FireEye security products and Mandiant Solutions services will be available to all Texas agencies, county governments, cities and school districts through DIR’s Bulk Purchase Initiative for Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) solutions.

FireEye will provide network security, including FireEye Email Security and FireEye Endpoint Security to safeguard critical computer systems, as well as FireEye Helix security operations platform to enable organizations to maintain control of incidents from alert to fix. 

Additionally, the company will leverage Mandiant Managed Defense and Mandiant Threat Intelligence to inform on attacker behaviors and provide decisive action. Mandiant Expertise On Demand will provide access to a wide range of Mandiant security skills, experience and knowledge to augment security teams. 

Leveraging Mandiant Purple Team Assessments, FireEye will evaluate a security team’s ability to prevent, detect and respond to cyber attacks through the most relevant, realistic scenarios to improve detection response.

“Mandiant ransomware investigations have skyrocketed in recent years… When organizations can detect and remediate the initial compromise quickly, it is possible to avoid the significant damage and cost of a ransomware infection. We applaud DIR for paving a clear path forward for its local agencies,” said Pat Sheridan, SVP of Sales, Americas at FireEye.

DIR facilitates contracts for state and local government entities, putting master contracts in place for technology products and services at discounted prices. FireEye will provide services through Carahsoft’s DIR contract DIR-TSO-4288 and DIR’s Bulk Purchase Agreement #BP2020-028. 

About FireEye, Inc.

FireEye is the intelligence-led security company. Working as a seamless, scalable extension of customer security operations, FireEye offers a single platform that blends innovative security technologies, nation-state grade threat intelligence, and world-renowned Mandiant consulting. With this approach, FireEye eliminates the complexity and burden of cyber security for organizations struggling to prepare for, prevent, and respond to cyber attacks. FireEye has over 9,300 customers across 103 countries, including more than 50 percent of the Forbes Global 2000.