advanced technology | The Contracting Education Academy

November 13, 2020 By cs

Army awards 10 prototyping contracts under small business pilot program

The U.S. Army is using a special topics pilot program to shorten the life cycle of military technology development.

The U.S. Army selected 10 projects addressing military technology gaps for prototyping under a small business pilot program meant to speed the development life cycle, according to a press release.

The awards were made using an Army Small Business Technology Transfer, or STTR, pilot program, according to the Nov. 5 announcement. The 10 projects from nine small businesses and partner research institutions were selected from a pool of 22 proposals.

Most of the projects address the Army’s network modernization priority and cover seven special topic areas including position navigation and timing, or PNT, without GPS, edge sensor processing, and interference and jamming of high frequency radios.

The prototyping is the second phase in a three-step pilot program for identifying and addressing warfighter technology gaps that requires small businesses to partner with research institutions like universities or nonprofits, according to the statement. The pilot is meant to get new technology solutions in the hands of warfighters faster, according to a broad agency announcement outlining the program.

Keep reading this article at: https://www.nextgov.com/it-modernization/2020/11/army-awards-10-prototyping-contracts-under-small-business-pilot-program/169898/

October 5, 2020 By cs

New Pentagon initiative aims to help allies, contractors work together on AI

New tools are planned to help various militaries and defense companies cooperate and interoperate on artificial intelligence.

To better compete with China and Russia in developing artificial intelligence, the Defense Department will launch a new partnership with defense organizations from more than 10 nations, with more expected to join over the coming year, Defense Secretary Mark Esper recently announced.

The AI Partnership for Defense will “create new frameworks and tools for data sharing, cooperative development, and strengthened interoperability” across partner militaries, Esper said at the Joint Artificial Intelligence Center’s Symposium. It will also help embed awareness and understanding of AI into contracting and training for personnel working in areas that include AI.

More details, including which nations will initially join the partnership, will become available soon, a Defense Department senior official said on background.

Esper said the Pentagon’s approach to AI development is more grounded in democratic values than those of China and Russia. “We are pioneering a vision for emerging technology that protects the U.S. Constitution and the sacred rights of all Americans. Abroad, we seek to promote the adoption of AI in a manner consistent with the values we share with our allies and partners: individual liberty, democracy, human rights, and respect for the rule of law, to name a few,” he said.

Keep reading this article at: https://www.defenseone.com/technology/2020/09/new-pentagon-initiative-aims-help-allies-contractors-work-together-ai/168343/

February 11, 2020 By cs

Getting critical technologies into DoD applications

In today’s changing geopolitical environment, concerns in Washington that the United States is falling behind in critical emerging technologies are commonplace.

China and Russia — both identified as great-power competitors of the United States by the current administration — are forging forward with critical investments in technologies ranging from quantum computing to artificial intelligence.

But the United States is still by far the most innovative nation on earth. America’s strengths run from its fundamental pull to brilliant minds the world over through its relatively open immigration system to the unparalleled resources of its universities. The free-market structure of the economy, vibrant venture capital ecosystems, world-class universities, and government support of R&D combine to form the most innovative ecosystem in the world.

However, when it comes to defense and positioning for future competition with Beijing and Moscow, the government has not figured out how to tap this flow of innovation emanating from the civilian sector.

Keep reading this article at: https://nationalinterest.org/feature/getting-critical-technologies-us-defense-applications-119541

December 3, 2019 By cs

DHS acquisitions are steady despite CIO departure

Technology procurement at the Department of Homeland Security remains on steady ground despite the departure of CIO John Zangardi earlier this month for an industry job.

“We’re going to miss Dr. Zangardi, but the next CIO will come in,” said Soraya Correa, the chief acquisition officer at DHS, said on the sidelines of an industry event hosted by the Association for Federal Information Resources Management. “What I’ve seen is that CIOs are pretty much aligned with things like cloud and the strategies we’re trying to implement.”

Correa added: “Leadership changes are going to happen. That’s the nature of government. The question is: do goals and strategies still align. Dr. Zangardi and his staff knew where we were trying to go. He brought his deputy in, and we started working those strategies.”

DHS Deputy CIO, Beth Cappello, is expected to move into the acting CIO post.

On the procurement front, DHS has yet to issue its solicitation for the General Services Administration’s $50 billion, 15-year, next-generation telecommunications contract.

Keep reading this article at: https://fcw.com/articles/2019/11/21/dhs-acquistion-cio-change.aspx?m=1

November 13, 2019 By cs

Failure is an option for DoD’s experimental agency, but how much?

Since 2015, millions of dollars have been invested in the Pentagon’s Defense Innovation Unit, the agency watched as some of its projects fell flat, and only about 23% the organization’s completed projects ended up in the hands of troops — but the thing is: DIU is completely fine with that.

DIU’s success statistics, delivered in a July report card to Congress, are the first long-term numbers to come out of the Defense Innovation Unit (formerly the Defense Innovation Unit-Experimental) since its inception.

The metrics, which also address time-to-contract and other areas, highlight a vexing dichotomy currently playing out in the Defense landscape: How can the world’s largest military field state-of-the-art technologies faster to counter China and Russia without compromising oversight and opening the door for waste?

While successful DIU experiments ended up, or will end up, as technologies that will protect service members from drones and detect cyber vulnerabilities on DoD networks, 77% of completed prototypes DIU invested in failed to make it to contract or have yet to make it to contract. That leaves millions of taxpayer dollars on the table, which can sometimes be a hard sell for lawmakers. Congress remains at least marginally skeptical of the program built to convert private cutting edge technology for military use.

Keep reading this article at: https://federalnewsnetwork.com/defense-main/2019/10/special-report-failure-is-an-option-for-dods-experimental-agency-but-how-much/

The U.S. Army is using a special topics pilot program to shorten the life cycle of military technology development.

New tools are planned to help various militaries and defense companies cooperate and interoperate on artificial intelligence.

In today’s changing geopolitical environment, concerns in Washington that the United States is falling behind in critical emerging technologies are commonplace.

Technology procurement at the Department of Homeland Security remains on steady ground despite the departure of CIO John Zangardi earlier this month for an industry job.

Since 2015, millions of dollars have been invested in the Pentagon’s Defense Innovation Unit, the agency watched as some of its projects fell flat, and only about 23% the organization’s completed projects ended up in the hands of troops — but the thing is: DIU is completely fine with that.

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