DISA Requests Info on Next-Generation EMS Strategic Roadmap Development
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DISA Requests Info on Next-Generation EMS Strategic Roadmap Development

The Defense Information Systems Agency is seeking industry input on a range of topics to support the development of a plan designed to guide the implementation of the Department of Defense’s activities aimed at ensuring U.S. electromagnetic spectrum superiority.

In a notice posted Wednesday on SAM.gov, DISA said the Senate Armed Services Committee requires that DOD engage and seek input from industry stakeholders to establish the Next-Generation Electromagnetic Spectrum Strategic Roadmap.

DISA is looking to identify ways to promote advanced forms of EMS spectrum sharing between military and commercial systems, find opportunities to accelerate the integration of advanced dynamic spectrum techniques in congested environments and review available tools designed to process large quantities of spectrum data.

Military operations in air, land, maritime, space and cyberspace domains rely on EMS and to achieve a multidomain advantage, DOD aims to focus on five key areas: develop superior EMS technology, evolve a fully integrated EMS infrastructure, pursue total force spectrum readiness, secure EMS-focused partnerships and establish effective governance for EMS.

Interested parties have until Feb. 10 to respond to the request for information.

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NOAA’s 3rd Weather-Observing Satellite Enters Service as GOES West
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NOAA’s 3rd Weather-Observing Satellite Enters Service as GOES West

The third spacecraft for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Geostationary Operational Environmental Satellite-R series, dubbed GOES-18, officially became GOES West on Thursday following its transition into operational service.

GOES West will now serve as NOAA’s lead geostationary satellite to help identify and survey Pacific hurricanes, coastal fog, atmospheric rivers, volcanic eruptions, wildfires and other environmental phenomena affecting the U.S. West Coast, Hawaii, Alaska, Mexico and Central America, NOAA said Wednesday.

GOES-18 detects space weather hazards and monitors the Sun, replacing GOES-17 in these duties; the latter satellite will serve as a backup for the constellation. GOES West will additionally deliver atmospheric measurements and high-resolution infrared imagery and help map lightning activity in real time.

In March 2022, GOES-T launched aboard a United Launch Alliance-built Atlas V rocket from Cape Canaveral in Florida. The satellite was renamed GOES-18 upon reaching geostationary orbit.

NOAA said the fourth and last satellite in the GOES-R series program, GOES-U, is set to lift off in 2024.

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NASA Taps BMNT to Advance Startup-led Innovation Efforts; Ellen Chang Quoted
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NASA Taps BMNT to Advance Startup-led Innovation Efforts; Ellen Chang Quoted

BMNT will help NASA connect with small businesses to identify relevant products and services that could support the space agency’s missions.

The consulting firm said Wednesday it secured a 42-month contract with NASA for the buildup of the Early Stage Innovation Program and will employ its entrepreneurial engagement service, which it uses to bridge organizations such as the U.S. Space Force and Aerospace Corp. to businesses focused on addressing space exploration issues.

“This ESIP contract will enable NASA to leverage private investment in commercial space to solve mission-critical problems while aligning NASA efforts to strategic investments in Deep Tech,” said Ellen Chang, vice president at BMNT.

Women and minority-owned entities as well as small businesses that are new to the agency will be targeted to join opportunities like NASA’s annual solicitation for small business innovation research.

Chang also heads H4XLabs, the business unit leading the Palo Alto, California-based company’s space entrepreneurship service.

Proposed FCC Rules to Enable Licensed Spectrum Use for Drones; Jessica Rosenworcel Quoted
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Proposed FCC Rules to Enable Licensed Spectrum Use for Drones; Jessica Rosenworcel Quoted

The Federal Communications Commission has started developing rules to enable unmanned aircraft system operators to access wireless communication links in the 5030-5091 MHz band to improve the reliability of drone operations.

The FCC said Wednesday it has released a notice of proposed rulemaking to seek industry input on whether changes to measures are necessary to facilitate UAS use on flexible-use wireless networks.

Drones depend on wireless communications for a variety of mission-critical operations ranging from medical supply to emergency response and the FCC determined that the licensed spectrum is capable of supporting such activities.

“The FCC must ensure that our spectrum rules meet the current – and future – spectrum needs of evolving technologies such as unmanned aircraft systems, which can be critical to disaster recovery, first responder rescue efforts and wildfire management,” said Jessica Rosenworcel, chairwoman of the FCC.

The agency has also suggested a licensing process for drone operators to communicate with air traffic control and other aircraft to ensure safe integration of UAS operations in controlled airspace.

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USAF F-15EX Fighter Jet Demonstrates Increased Missile Capacity
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USAF F-15EX Fighter Jet Demonstrates Increased Missile Capacity

The U.S. Air Force demonstrated expanded missile capacity with two Boeing-built F-15EX Eagle II fighter aircraft by fielding missiles from their new weapon stations during a flight test held in late November over the Gulf of Mexico, the service said Wednesday.

Eagle II pilots from the Air Force’s 96th test wing launched an AIM-120 Advanced Medium-Range Air-to-Air Missile from Station 1 and an AIM-9X missile from Station 9 as part of the Operational Flight Program Combined Test Force mission.

The flight test reportedly marked a key step in proving the fighter jet’s capability to fire up to 12 air-to-air missiles.

The two F-15EX Eagle II jets, which come with four additional missile stations, deployed the missiles against a target drone and over the water range of the Eglin Test and Training Complex, reflecting another milestone in the aircraft’s development test program.

In October 2021, the Air Force announced the completion of the first operational test mission of Eagle II at Nellis Air Force Base in Nevada. 

The Air Force awarded Boeing a potential $23 billion contract to design and produce the F-15EX Eagle II in July 2020.

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Leidos Wins Accenture Federal Services Subcontract for CDC Cloud Modernization; Liz Porter Quoted
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Leidos Wins Accenture Federal Services Subcontract for CDC Cloud Modernization; Liz Porter Quoted

Leidos has won a subcontract from Accenture Federal Services to provide cloud modernization support for the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The time and materials subcontract falls under a $189 million award and has a base period of one year with two one-year options and a six-month option, Leidos announced from Reston, Virginia on Thursday.

Liz Porter, president of Leidos Health Group, expressed her excitement to join forces with Accenture to support the CDC.

“Through our experience and technical expertise migrating legacy systems, Leidos will accelerate the CDC’s performance and execution. We’re proud to support this mission and the CDC’s work protecting the health of the American people,” she stated.

Leidos is responsible for four tasks under the subcontract: application rationalization, project initiation and planning, cloud modernization and application sustainment and modernization.

These services are intended to aid the CDC in moving its systems into secure cloud environments to enhance public health data collection, validation, analytics, forecasting and decision-making.

The collaboration aims to combine both organizations’ strengths by integrating technology, healthcare, systems infrastructure and mission knowledge to support all Department of Health and Human Services operating divisions.

Accenture was awarded the initial contract in October of last year, under which the company is responsible for updating CDC information technology systems and advancing the agency’s adoption of cloud platforms.

Leidos has worked with the CDC across multiple initiatives. In 2021, the enterprise received a potential five-year, $13 million contract to deliver scientific computing and bioinformatics services to the agency’s Office of Advanced Molecular Detection, including IT assistance, data management, high-performance computing and analytical services surrounding genomics and proteomics.

That same year, Leidos partnered with Intel to build a platform that ensures secure data sharing for contact tracing within the CDC’s MicrobeTrace Next platform. The provided technology is also intended to be used for post-pandemic analysis and other necessary public health responses.

Akima Subsidiary Secures Multiple Awards at Noble Skywave 2022; Barry Smallwood Quoted
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Akima Subsidiary Secures Multiple Awards at Noble Skywave 2022; Barry Smallwood Quoted

An Akima subsidiary has won multiple awards in the annual Noble Skywave 2022 military-led High Frequency competition, which measures the number of HF contacts each team can achieve by voice, data and distance.

Compass Point’s performance in the three-day evaluation earned the company first place in the U.S., first in the 400+ watt transporter category and third place among all participants, Akima announced from Herndon, Virginia on Thursday.

“The knowledge and readiness this team displayed is essential for strengthening connectivity across the Army. This is a critical military mission and lifeline for communication, if and when needed,” said Barry Smallwood, president of Akima’s emerging markets group.

The competition, which was hosted by the Canadian Armed Forces, included 429 military units from 13 different countries.

Compass Point currently maintains and operates the Army HF Gateway Station in Fort Huachuca, Arizona year-round, where the company conducts tailored training sessions for military units from every branch.

These training sessions frequently include HF radio troubleshooting, detailed training on novel systems and guidance on configuration and setup.

Specific skills Compass Point applies to daily base operations were highlighted during the competition.

The organization also harnesses this experience to aid military radio operators across the nation by troubleshooting problems concerning frequency, antennae angles and the configuration of related technologies.

“We’re so proud of this hard-working team that is extremely passionate about what they do,” Smallwood emphasized.

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Raj Iyer Announces Departure from US Army CIO Position
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Raj Iyer Announces Departure from US Army CIO Position

Raj Iyer, the first civilian U.S. Army CIO and a two-time Wash100 Award winner, has announced that his contract is expiring and he will be stepping down from the role in the near future.

In a LinkedIn post published Wednesday, Iyer detailed his efforts to upgrade Army technology while holding the position, which centered around six major strategies intended to change the branch’s culture and drive engagement with the plan.

“It was clear to me that the sense of urgency was strong and transforming the Army was an imperative. Adopting technology at scale to transform and innovate seemed like a distant dream to many when even basic IT didn’t meet their requirement,” Iyer said.

The first three pillars of Iyer’s initiative focused on leadership. First, Iyer had Army Secretary Wormuth sign his plan to “send the right message to the Army.” Second, he took steps to ensure CIO collaboration with every decision-making entity to harness the bureaucratic nature of the federal government. Third, he built relationships with Army leaders to establish trust.

Pillars four, five and six were centered around communication. Iyer said he traveled to international locations to explain the plan and its impact on warfighting to those serving in the military branch and encouraged soldiers and civilians to reach out to have their voices heard. He additionally partnered with DOD CIO John Sherman and other military CIOs to create a team based around joint objectives.

“We enabled the Army’s largest and most aggressive transformation in its history in just two years. But I can take very little credit for this success because the execution was truly at all levels in the Army,” Iyer described.

“Every one of the initiatives could be completed in two years if only we all pulled in one direction,” he added.

During Iyer’s time as CIO, the Army also reportedly changed the way it interacts with the private sector.

“We sent a strong message to software vendors, you are either our strategic partner or we will find others who want to be,” he stated.

Reflecting on his time in the role, Iyer said that the Army is now on a “strategic sustainable path” to advance in the future and his job as the Army’s first CIO has concluded.

“We have established irreversible momentum at a scale where there is no going back. More importantly, we have shown that we can do this in a budget-neutral fiscal environment and never used funding as an excuse for not getting things done,” Iyer stated.

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Maxar Secures 2 NGA Awards for Geospatial Intelligence Services & API Development; Tony Frazier Quoted
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Maxar Technologies has been awarded two contracts with a combined value of $35.8 million by the National Geospatial-Intelligence agency.

Under the two awards, Maxar is expected to supply the agency with geospatial intelligence data and an improved application programming interface, the Westminster, Colorado-based company announced on Wednesday.

“Maxar is proud to continue partnering with NGA on enduring missions such as foundation geospatial intelligence, land cover and intelligence support, as well as to help spur innovation in new areas like automation,” commented Tony Frazier, executive vice president and general manager of public sector earth intelligence at Maxar and a five-time Wash100 Award winner.

The first award has a one-year period of performance and a potential value of $22.5 million, of which an initial $11.3 million will be funded under NGA’s Janus Geography program.

This award expands Maxar’s long history of efforts to provide NGA with foundational geospatial intelligence data by characterizing land cover at high resolution over various areas that are currently unmapped.

Maxar will be responsible for providing a modernized API under the second contract, which is valued at $13.3 million and has a base period of six months with four option years. The API is intended to support computer vision, machine learning and artificial intelligence applications.

Capabilities to be included in the interface include querying, discovering and downloading Maxar products from the organization’s 125-petabyte, high-resolution commercial imagery archive. Moving away from legacy dissemination methods, the API will supply content to the end user’s cloud account.

Also offered in the API are options for third-party content integration, full business analytics and increased production capacity.

“Public-private partnerships such as this represent the U.S. government’s ongoing commitment to commercial space and geospatial analytics technology,” emphasized Frazier.

Maxar is currently supporting the NGA under an ongoing $60 million contract awarded in 2021, through which the enterprise is continuing to develop and operate a classified big data analytics platform that utilizes geospatial tools to quickly interpret data.

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Space Systems Command Launches Weather Imaging CubeSat Technical Demonstration
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Space Systems Command Launches Weather Imaging CubeSat Technical Demonstration

Space Systems Command has launched a small satellite onboard the SpaceX Transporter-6 mission to showcase the capability of space-based electro-optical/infrared weather systems to provide weather imagery data from low Earth orbit.

The demonstration, which was launched from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida, will last for one year, the command announced on Tuesday.

According to Lt. Col. Joe Maguadog, EWS materiel leader and program manager, the EWS CubeSat technical demonstration will collect space-based environmental monitoring data to inform the U.S. Space Force’s movement toward a more resilient weather constellation.

SSC said Orion Space Solutions manufactured and delivered the weather imaging CubeSat prototype used in the demonstration under a contract awarded in February 2022.

General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems Group was also selected to produce a second EO/IR SmallSat prototype to deliver operational data by 2025.

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