Bruce Jette on US Army’s Project Convergence
Bruce Jette, the U.S. Army’s acquisition chief and a 2020 Wash100 Award winner, told Defense News in an interview published Monday about Project Convergence and how it allows the service to integrate existing capabilities. “Project Convergence was, in many ways, a weaving together of existing capabilities that had not been brought together in the manner that they were […]
Pentagon Releases Data Strategy; Dana Deasy Quoted
The Department of Defense (DoD) has unveiled a new strategy to help DoD transform into a data-centric organization that considers data as a strategic resource critical to maintaining operational advantage on the battlefield. DoD said Thursday that the Data Strategy will help advance the National Defense Strategy and initially focus on the areas of business […]
OSTP Launches New Website, Report on Quantum Info Science; Michael Kratsios Quoted
The White House Office of Science and Technology Policy has unveiled a new website and a report that identifies priority areas that require continued research to advance quantum information science. “With the launch of Quantum.gov, the White House has created an online home for the National Quantum Coordination Office (NQCO) and a new digital hub for the […]
Bruce Jette, James Geurts, Will Roper Talk Post-Pandemic Changes in Military Ops
Leaders from the U.S. Army, Navy and Air Force have said that their respective service branches need to implement changes in force operations, supply chain management and workforce settings following the COVID-19 pandemic. Bruce Jette, assistant Army secretary for acquisition, logistics and technology and a 2020 Wash100 Award recipient, told National Defense Magazine in an […]
Three Lawmakers Suggest Ways for Federal Gov’t to Advance AI Development
Reps. Will Hurd, R-Texas, Robin Kelly, D-Ill., and Jerry McNerney, D-Calif., said they believe the federal government will play a key role in pushing the development of artificial intelligence by ensuring access to data and education, Nextgov reported Tuesday. “Let’s also make sure that whenever the federal government is doing research and has data, that that […]
Senate Confirms LTG Michael Groen as JAIC Director
The U.S. Senate has confirmed LTG Michael Groen to be the new director of the Joint Artificial Intelligence Center (JAIC), the Department of Defense’s (DoD) division for developing and advancing artificial intelligence (AI) technologies, FedScoop reported on Monday. With Groen’s recent confirmation, he has also been promoted to major general. In his new role, Groen […]
Kevin Fahey on DoD’s New Software Development, Acquisition Policy
Kevin Fahey, assistant secretary of defense for acquisition, said a new policy that seeks to guide services’ software development and acquisition efforts was finalized and signed by Hon. Ellen Lord, undersecretary of defense for acquisition and sustainment and a 2020 Wash100 Award winner, Inside Defense reported Friday. “Just this week, Ms. Lord signed out the final version […]
CISA Launches Cybersecurity Awareness Month 2020; Christopher Krebs Quoted
The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) has commenced this year's month-long campaign to promote cybersecurity awareness across the U.S. The 17th annual National Cybersecurity Awareness Month will focus on what Americans can do themselves to protect their personal cyber presence, CISA said Thursday. “This year, we’ve seen a major, and likely permanent, shift in […]
DoD’s Joint Acquisition Task Force to Become Defense Assisted Acquisition Cell; Hon. Ellen Lord Quoted
The Joint Acquisition Task Force established by the Department of Defense to help coordinate the delivery of acquisition support to other agencies during the COVID-19 pandemic will be called the Defense Assisted Acquisition Cell and will operate under the Joint Rapid Acquisition Cell starting next year, Federal News Network reported Wednesday. “As the JATF transitions […]
Ellen Lord: Pentagon Working on Microelectronics Strategy to Ensure Supply Chain Security
Hon. Ellen Lord, undersecretary of defense for acquisition and sustainment and a 2020 Wash100 Award winner, said the Department of Defense (DoD) is developing a “microelectronics strategy” to bring manufacturing and testing operations to the U.S. by relying on public-private partnerships and other initiatives, Breaking Defense reported Tuesday. Lord said Tuesday at the ComDef conference 98 percent of […]
Ellen Lord: DoD Must Consolidate Military Construction Funds to Meet ICBM Modernization Deadlines
Hon. Ellen Lord, the Department of Defense’s (DoD) acquisition head and a 2020 Wash100 Award recipient, said the Pentagon seeks to streamline military construction allocations to support the Ground Based Strategic Deterrent (GBSD) missile modernization program. Lord, who serves as undersecretary of defense for acquisition and sustainment, told the Senate Armed Services Committee at a […]
US, UK Sign Declaration on Joint AI Ramp;D Initiatives
The U.S. has entered into an agreement with the U.K. to launch a joint effort aimed at driving artificial intelligence-focused research and development, technology adoption and public-private partnerships. The declaration was signed by Michael Kratsios, U.S. chief technology officer and a 2020 Wash100 Award winner, and U.K. secretaries of state Alok Sharma and Oliver Dowden […]
DoD Seeks Feedback on Interim Rule for CMMC Implementation
The Department of Defense (DoD) is seeking comments on an interim rule to implement the Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification framework and an assessment methodology as part of efforts to better protect unclassified data within the DoD supply chain and evaluate vendors’ implementation of cyber requirements. DoD introduced the interim rule as an amendment to the […]
Ryan McCarthy: Army Seeks ‘Transformational Change’ With Project Convergence Network Experiment
Ryan McCarthy, secretary of the U.S. Army and a 2020 Wash100 Award recipient, said he hopes the results of the service branch’s recent “Project Convergence” experiment will inform future network modernization efforts. The Army included artificial intelligence technologies such as the “Firestorm” reconnaissance system during a follow-up Project Convergence test that took place last week, […]
Gen. John Murray on Further Dev’t, Testing of Army’s Integrated Tactical Network
Gen. John Murray, commanding general of the U.S. Army Futures Command (AFC) and a 2020 Wash100 Award winner, has said the Army's integrated tactical network (ITN) needs updated commercial technologies to operate at constrained bandwidth ranges. The Army conducted an experiment called "Project Convergence" to test ITN's capacity to ingest data through artificial intelligence, robotics and automated systems. The exercise began […]