The State Department has started soliciting public feedback on a proposed rule that seeks to amend federal regulations by including namecheck vetting provisions in solicitations and awards for both contracts and grants as part of counterterrorism mitigation efforts.

“This regulatory action will boost national security by helping the Department to mitigate the risk that agency funds and other resources do not inadvertently benefit terrorist groups, their members, or their supporters,” according to a notice posted Monday in Federal Register.

The State Department is asking the public to respond to several questions related to costs associated with namecheck vetting and the Office of Risk Analysis and Management’s current vetting procedures.

Questions include the estimated time an organization spends submitting the completed Risk Assessment Information Form—DS-4184—through the RAM Portal and whether vetting requirements have resulted in potential contractors and grantees choosing to drop out of the application process.

Comments are due July 31.

Mistral has begun the production of a vertical take-off and landing unmanned aerial system for the U.S. Army.

THOR, a commercial off-the-shelf Group 2 UAS, was created as part of an Army program to build medium-range reconnaissance drone systems, Mistral announced from Nottingham, Maryland on Friday.

This technology will be manufactured at the Bethesda-based company’s facility in Nottingham ahead of the planned demonstration of its capabilities at the Edge 2024 experiment at Yuma Proving Grounds, Arizona.

Mistral will also participate in the Project Convergence Capstone 5 joint and multinational force experiment, which will begin in January and run through March 2025.

Along with THOR, Mistral’s Nottingham location houses the production of Roboteam’s Micro Tactical Ground Robot for the U.S. Marine Corps and the Blast Mitigation Vessels for the government and law enforcement sectors.

Rogue Valley Microdevices is set to receive $6.7 million in proposed direct CHIPS and Science Act funding, the first such investment for a women- and minority-owned business.

The Department of Commerce said Monday that it has signed a non-binding preliminary memorandum of terms with RVM to facilitate the funding, which would aid in the construction of a pure-play microelectromechanical systems, or MEMs, and sensor foundry facility in Palm Bay, Florida.

The investment is intended to help bolster the domestic supply of microelectronics and increase U.S. supply chain resilience. Projected for mid-2025, the completion of the facility is expected to result in additional employment opportunities in Florida.

Commenting on the investment, RVM Founder and CEO Jessica Gomez said the company is “deeply committed to the onshore manufacturing of advanced microelectronics.”

“We plan to use this capital infusion to increase production of the miniature, intelligent sensors that are critical to markets for which a robust supply chain is essential, including automotive, biomedical, and industrial,” she said.

Laurie Locascio, under secretary of commerce for standards and technology and director of the National Institute of Standards and Technology said, “As one of the only U.S. based MEMS foundries, RVM is positioned to support the U.S. semiconductor ecosystem with its 300mm MEMS foundry services.”