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NIST Fields Input on Proposed National Emerging Tech Standards Strategy
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NIST Fields Input on Proposed National Emerging Tech Standards Strategy

The National Institute of Standards and Technology is seeking industry input regarding its plan to implement the United States Government National Standards Strategy for Critical and Emerging Technology.

In a request for information issued Thursday, NIST invited external feedback on the potential risks and benefits of U.S. participation in developing standards for CET, and how the government can use its research and development budget to aid such activities.

USGNSSCET encompasses communication and networks, semiconductors and microelectronics, artificial intelligence and machine learning, biotechnologies and quantum computing. It also covers positioning, navigating and timing systems, digital identity infrastructure and clean energy generation and storage.

The strategy aims to enforce transparency, impartiality, effectiveness, relevance and coherence in the industry. It will build on existing CET standards in the private sector, such as the American National Standards Institute United States Standards Strategy.

The RFI will close in 60 days.

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CISA Releases Guidance to Help Mitigate DDoS Attacks Against Web Services
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CISA Releases Guidance to Help Mitigate DDoS Attacks Against Web Services

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency has released guidance for evaluating and mitigating the risk of distributed denial-of-service attacks against various agency websites and web services.

The Capacity Enhancement Guide: Volumetric DDoS Against Web Services Technical Guidance aims to help agencies prioritize DDoS mitigations based on mission impact and make risk-informed decisions on using available resources most effectively, CISA said Wednesday.

CISA recommends that agencies use the document as a reference when conducting an impact analysis to inform the prioritization of protections for agency assets and choosing the appropriate security controls to address the risks to organizational operations.

Federal civilian executive branch agencies are encouraged to review the guidance and apply the recommendations to protect their websites and web services against DDoS attacks.

NTIA Wants Industry Perspective on Federal Spectrum Data System Modernization
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NTIA Wants Industry Perspective on Federal Spectrum Data System Modernization

The National Telecommunications and Information Administration has begun seeking information on potential industry sources to modernize NTIA’s software systems used to manage radio frequency spectrum use of federal agencies.

A notice posted Wednesday on SAM.gov states that NTIA aims to develop a modernized Federal Spectrum Data System composed of user-capability areas to reduce manual manipulations and automate the decision-making process for spectrum management.

NTIA’s current systems are inadequate to meet the demands of advanced technologies, such as deploying 5G, advancing space commerce and securing spectrum-dependent government missions, according to the request for information.

“We can meet these and future spectrum demands by upgrading our systems to the latest technical platforms; improving the security and scalability of NTIA spectrum systems; improving accessibility of spectrum data; and developing advanced analytical tools and engineering models; and automating workflows,” the RFI reads.

The FSDS must be secure and include updated optimization and assessment applications to promote the effectiveness of spectrum use across the federal government.

Interested parties have until Oct. 5 to respond to the RFI.

Lt. Gen. James Slife Nominated as Air Force Vice Chief of Staff
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Lt. Gen. James Slife Nominated as Air Force Vice Chief of Staff

President Biden has nominated Lt. Gen. James Slife, deputy chief of staff for operations of the U.S. Air Force, for assignment as the service branch’s next vice chief of staff and promotion to the rank of general, Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin announced Wednesday.

If confirmed, Slife would succeed Gen. David Allvin, who was nominated to replace Gen. Charles Brown Jr. as chief of staff of the Air Force.

Slife’s special operations aviation assignments include commander of Air Force Special Operations Command; chief of staff and vice commander of U.S. Special Operations Command; and vice director of strategy, plans and policy of U.S. Central Command.

As a command pilot, Slife has logged over 3,100 flying hours in aircraft models, including the MH-53 combat search and rescue helicopter and the MQ-1 Predator remotely piloted aircraft.

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Maj. Gens. David Miller, Sean Farrell Nominated to Space Operations Command, USSOCOM Leadership Roles
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Maj. Gens. David Miller, Sean Farrell Nominated to Space Operations Command, USSOCOM Leadership Roles

President Joe Biden has nominated Maj. Gen. David Miller to lead Space Operations Command and Maj. Gen. Sean Farrell to serve as deputy commander of U.S. Special Operations Command.

The administration also pushed for the promotion of Miller and Farrell to the rank of lieutenant general, the Department of Defense said Wednesday.

Miller is special assistant to the vice chief of space operations within the U.S. Space Force. 

Prior to this role, he was director of operations, training and force development, J3, within Space Command at Schriever Space Force Base in Colorado. He previously served as assistant deputy chief of space operations for operations, cyber and nuclear and senior military assistant to the secretary of the Air Force.

Farrell currently serves as deputy commanding general of Joint Special Operations Command.

He previously directed force structure, requirements, resources and strategic assessments at USSOCOM and was head of the Air Force’s security assistance and cooperation directorate.

Farrell additionally commanded the 1st Special Operations Wing, 27th Special Operations Group and the 16th Special Operations Squadron.

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Kathleen Hicks: DOD Aiming to Overcome ‘Production Valley of Death’ Through Replicator Program
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Kathleen Hicks: DOD Aiming to Overcome ‘Production Valley of Death’ Through Replicator Program

Kathleen Hicks, deputy secretary of the Department of Defense and a three-time Wash100 awardee, said DOD is working to speed up the deployment of attritable, autonomous systems across all domains through the Replicator program as part of efforts to get over the “production valley of death.”

At a previous conference, Hicks announced that the Replicator initiative seeks to counter China’s military buildup by fielding thousands of attritable, autonomous systems across multiple domains within the next 18 to 24 months.

“So, Replicator will use existing funding, existing programming lines, and existing authorities to accelerate production and delivery at scale — by exerting leadership focus and attention on a singular operational challenge and maturing solutions, because that’s what ultimately delivers,” Hicks said at a conference Wednesday.

“With Replicator, we’re beginning with all-domain, attritable autonomy, or ADA2, to help us overcome the PRC’s advantage in mass: more ships, more missiles, more forces,” she added.

Through Replicator, the deputy DOD secretary said ADA2 will work to address the challenge of anti-access, area-denial systems posed by China and that the department will leverage the Deputy’s Innovation Steering Group to give key DOD stakeholders a seat at the table.

“Our task through this initiative is bringing leadership across the department around that DISG table to help ensure those ripe enough to scale actually do get scaled, by elevating and accelerating what we do and cutting red tape, so they’re delivered to warfighters in 18-to-24 months,” Hicks said.

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CDAO Solicits Information on Generative AI
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CDAO Solicits Information on Generative AI

The Department of Defense’s Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Office has started soliciting information as it seeks to explore the benefits and risks of developing, acquiring and integrating generative AI tools in partnership with academic and industry stakeholders.

DOD’s newly formed Task Force Lima is leading the effort by evaluating and advancing the use of generative AI capabilities across the department in support of national security missions, according to a call for information published Wednesday.

CDAO is asking industry stakeholders whether their organizations have a framework for classifying and understanding the range of large language model-related threats and vulnerabilities and if they have novel methods to mitigate or detect threats posed by LLM vulnerabilities to users.

Respondents can also provide information on whether their organizations have original measures for assuring privacy, accuracy and robustness of pre-trained models used for internal purposes and approaches for integrating LLM output into existing workflows that involve human assessment and judgment.

Responses to the call for information are due Oct. 9.

Trusted AI and Autonomy Forum

Listen to public sector leaders and technology experts as they talk about the opportunities and risks associated with generative AI and related tools at ExecutiveBiz’s Trusted Artificial Intelligence and Autonomy Forum on Sept. 12. Register here.

DOD IG Office to Review Valuation of Assets Used in Ukraine Aid; Robert Storch Quoted
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DOD IG Office to Review Valuation of Assets Used in Ukraine Aid; Robert Storch Quoted

The Department of Defense Office of Inspector General will begin auditing the valuation of equipment and other assets used to support Ukraine during its war with Russia.

This month’s Audit of the Valuation of Assets Provided Under Presidential Drawdown Authority to Ukraine aims to investigate policy compliance among DOD components involved in estimating and updating the value of such items, DOD IG Robert Storch said Wednesday.

The review follows DOD’s press statements in March and June, disclosing that equipment sent to Ukraine were overvalued by $2.6 billion in fiscal year 2022 and $3.6 billion in FY 2023. The agency attributed the discrepancy to the interchanging use of the term “replacement cost” with “net book value” in the estimation process.

The audits will be conducted at the following DOD divisions:

  • Assistant Secretary of the Air Force, Financial Management and Comptroller
  • Defense Security Cooperation Agency
  • Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army (Acquisition, Logistics, and Technology)
  • Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Army for Financial Management and Comptroller
  • Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Navy, Financial Management and Comptroller
  • Office of the Undersecretary of Defense (Comptroller)/Chief Financial Officer
  • U.S. Marine Corps Financial Operations

“The DoD OIG has concerns that the DoD’s valuation policy for equipment, munitions, and inventory provided under PDA is not being consistently applied,” Storch explained. “The use of PDA has rapidly expanded to support Ukraine, from $100 million to $14.5 billion per fiscal year. DoD policy must comply with Federal laws and regulations, and it is important that it be consistently applied across the DoD.”

Storch added that the audit could also inform the government’s approach regarding the use of PDA for other allies moving forward.

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Space Force Reveals New Guardian-Developed Mission Statement; Chance Saltzman Quoted
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Space Force Reveals New Guardian-Developed Mission Statement; Chance Saltzman Quoted

The U.S. Space Force has adopted a new mission statement designed to better represent the role of Guardians in military operations.

The statement – “secure our Nation’s interests in, from and to space” – was created using suggestions and feedback from individual Guardians and teams, the Space Force announced on Thursday.

“We did not hire a corporate marketing team to develop a catch phrase. Nor did generals sit around a table in the Pentagon debating what the statement should be,” said Chief of Space Operations Gen. Chance Saltzman, a 2023 Wash100 Award winner.

Using a “Guardian-driven process,” Saltzman requested input from members of the service branch and collected 135 responses within two weeks of the May announcement. In July, officer, enlisted and civilian Guardians from across four field commands and major commands came together to offer feedback and rework the statement in a series of eight focus groups.

“Our mission statement is a call to action that concisely encapsulates our purpose and identity as Guardians and members of the profession of arms,” said Saltzman.

Each segment of the statement was selected to highlight an element of the Space Force mission.

The use of “secure” in the statement represents the Space Force’s initial purpose to contest and, if necessary, control the space domain for the U.S. “Our Nation’s interests” references Guardians’ goal to secure space and harness the benefits it can bring to American life.

Three core functions of the Space Force — superiority efforts in the domain, global mission operations enabled by space-based technology and space access assurance — are reflected in the “in, from and to space” portion of the statement.

Army’s Main Battle Tank Modernization Program Changes Course
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Army’s Main Battle Tank Modernization Program Changes Course

The U.S. Army has decided to scrap its current Abrams main battle tank modernization program and embark on another initiative to increase the vehicle’s mobility and survivability against future threats on the battlefield.

Work on version 4 of the M1A2 System Enhancement Package will end to give way to M1E3 Abrams development as part of the Army’s strategy to confront battlefield threats in 2040 and beyond, the service branch said Wednesday.

M1E3 Abrams will include some M1A2 SEPv4 features and comply with modular open systems architecture standards to enable faster technology upgrades in the future.

According to the Army, the new modernization program will provide reduced sustainment and logistical footprint, enhancing the maneuverability of armored brigade combat teams in conflicts.

“The Abrams Tank can no longer grow its capabilities without adding weight, and we need to reduce its logistical footprint,” said Maj. Gen. Glenn Dean, program executive officer for ground combat systems. 

The branch will produce the M1A2 SEPv3 at a reduced rate until it transitions the M1E3 Abrams into production.

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