Lawmakers denied a proposal to move nearly $90M in funding for cybersecurity research to the newly established Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security agency within the Department of Homeland Security, FCW reported Tuesday. Congress passed a new funding bill that would retain the budget at the Science and Technology Directorate at DHS. 

With the funding, lawmakers tasked S&T to launch a new test bed examining new cybersecurity technologies and to begin the Next Generation Cyber Infrastructure Apex project to support the financial services sector in protecting their systems and networks.

S&T also received $5.2M to continue its Data Analytics Engine to help DHS analyze big data for law enforcement, fraud detection, risk-based screening and other applications.

Naval Mobile Construction Battalion 133 has adopted use of additive manufacturing or 3D printing for service branch’s 5th, 6th and 7th fleets. The battalion leverages tactical fabrication tools such as 3D scanners and printers as the group seeks to implement the manufacturing approach across naval sites in Europe, Africa and Southeast Asia, the U.S. Navy said Friday. The group is working to produce Class IX repair parts and Class IV materials via 3D printing to meet critical mission demands.

“The upside to this process is with the proper database they can print repair parts instead to waiting 30 to 90 days for new parts to come in,” said Lt. Michael Lundy, who supports the chief of naval operations’ fleet readiness and logistics staff as a reservist. He added that the only possible hindrance would be the limit of imagination. Lundy also noted that the battalion has already printed over 30 various parts, and identified 50 more designs that still require computerized models.

Cmdr. Joe Symmes, supply officer at the 22nd Naval Construction Regiment, said that naval construction personnel could potentially use 3D printing for repairs on the battlefield in the near future.

The Department of Energy established a facility at the Argonne National Laboratory to reuse cobalt and lithium materials from discarded lithium-ion battery products. DOE said Friday that it opened the Battery Recycling Center hoping to recover at least 90 percent of usable battery components and develop new technology out of the materials.

“These efforts will reduce our dependence on foreign sources of critical materials, strengthening America’s economic growth and energy security,” said Daniel Simmons, assistant secretary for energy efficiency and renewable energy at DOE.

The department also announced a three-phase battery recycling contest to drive investment in technological platforms intended to collect, store and transport discarded batteries. A lithium-ion battery can power multiple defense systems, laptop computers, electric vehicles, mobile phones and energy storage devices, DOE noted.

The U.S. Navy plans to further implement artificial intelligence boosting readiness and establish new offices to guide the effort, AFCEA reported Friday.

Adm. Christopher Grady, commander of the U.S. Fleet Forces, said at the AFCEA-USNI West 2019 Conference that the effort intends to reform the service branch’s readiness approach.

He said the Navy needs boosted readiness to maintain a competitive advantage despite limits in budget. The two potential offices would focus on chief readiness and analytics, respectively.

The Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command and 10 other U.S. Navy commands discussed military updates and industry engagement during the recent WEST 2019 event in San Diego, Calif., the Navy said Friday. The Navy fostered dialogue with the event’s attendees through activities such as the theater speaking series, engagement zone and technology demonstrations.

In line with updates discussed during the event,  SPAWAR Commander Rear Adm. Christian Becker spoke about SPAWAR Systems Center Atlantic and SPAWAR Systems Center Pacific’s transition into the Naval Information Warfare Center Atlantic and Naval Information Warfare Center Pacific, respectively. He said the new names “reflect the centers’ focus, core capabilities and importance in the full spectrum of warfighting.”

SSC Pacific presented an exhibit on rapid prototyping demonstrating methods that defense procurement officials can utilize to quickly deploy new technologies to warfighters. Representatives from the command’s Office of Small Business Programs also discussed ways to do collaborate with SPAWAR during the event.

Exhibited technologies include the Consolidated Afloat Networks and Enterprise Services platform, unmanned underwater vehicles, navigation and timing technologies, satellite communication systems, cloud offerings and other capabilities deploying artificial intelligence and machine learning.

James Geurts, assistant secretary of the U.S. Navy for research, development and acquisition, officially announced the formation of a technology accelerator program at West 2019 in San Diego called NavalX, C4ISRNET reported Friday.

NavalX, also known as Naval Expedition, seeks to facilitate collaboration between industry and military personnel and develop platforms designed to make the service more agile.

“If you’re interested in doing counter [unmanned aerial systems], you should be able to call NavalX and ask who else is doing that and connect with them,” Geurts said during his keynote speech at West 2019. “On the industry side, if you have an idea, I’m going to make that easy for you. One-stop shop,” he added.

NavalX also aims to provide industry stakeholders access to experimentation and investment opportunities.