The Defense Department has sent Congress a legislative proposal intended to help small companies bridge the "valley of death" by hastening the progression of critical technologies from prototype to production.
Sunday, May 19, 2024
Sunday, May 19, 2024
Key Issues GAO on F-35 SLCM-N program office PrSM funding
Georgina DiNardo is a beat reporter covering emerging technologies. Previously, she worked at the "Military Times" and "Defense News", where she reported on technology advancements, military updates and the federal workforce. Before that she graduated from American University, where she interned for "PBS To the Contrary" and served as Managing Copy Editor for "The Eagle", the university newspaper.
The Defense Department has sent Congress a legislative proposal intended to help small companies bridge the "valley of death" by hastening the progression of critical technologies from prototype to production.
Daniel Erikson, defense assistant secretary for Western Hemisphere affairs, will leave his position, Sasha Baker, acting defense under secretary for policy, said today, adding that James Alverson, currently the principal director for Western Hemisphere affairs, will take over the position as an acting official.
Heidi Shyu, defense under secretary for research and engineering, administered the oath of office to Aprille Ericsson Friday, swearing her in as the inaugural defense assistant secretary for science and technology.
Amid rising tensions between the Space Force and the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency over commercial intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, NGA's director said this week that more combatant commands are using Program Maven, noting increased opportunities for the program thanks to the Replicator initiative.
Senior officials spoke about the four goals of the Defense Department's 2024 Defense Industrial Base Cybersecurity Strategy, adding that the strategy comes at a time when adversaries are specifically targeting DIB contractors.
A top innovation official at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency said today that a winning system for DARPA's Artificial Intelligence Cyber Challenge will leverage the statistics in cutting-edge large language models, while also using traditional "cyber reasoning systems that are more symbolic."
The co-chairs of the newly established Defense Modernization Caucus told Inside Defense today that they are working on a bipartisan legislative agenda to advance U.S. military capabilities, noting they will focus on accelerating various Defense Department innovation efforts, like the Replicator initiative.
Amid news of Congress allotting $200 million to the secretive Replicator program in a new spending deal, senior defense officials told Inside Defense in an exclusive interview that an inaccuracy was made in Replicator's published -- and later corrected -- fiscal year 2025 budget request, leading to an inside look at the Pentagon's internal decision-making process.
The Defense Innovation Unit announced the launch of a trilateral prize challenge run through AUKUS Pillar II today which will focus on determining electromagnetic spectrum technologies that give the Defense Department a "strategic edge in targeting."
Sasha Baker, acting under secretary of defense for policy, plans to resign at the end of April, according to a Pentagon announcement.
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) named Rep. John Moolenaar (R-MI) as the next chairman of the House Select Committee on the Chinese Communist Party following the announcement of Rep. Mike Gallagher's (R-WI) planned departure from Congress.
The Defense Department is working on developing the first "AI Superteams" for the testing and evaluation community over the next two years, the first of which Inside Defense has learned will be based at Redstone Arsenal, AL.
Amid news of Congress allotting $200 million to the secretive Replicator program in a new spending deal, senior defense officials told Inside Defense in an exclusive interview that an inaccuracy was made in Replicator's published -- and later corrected -- fiscal year 2025 budget request, leading to an inside look at the Pentagon's internal decision-making process.
Rep. Mike Gallagher (R-WI) announced his resignation today, effective April 19, from the House of Representatives, opening two key chairmanships and leaving Speaker Mike Johnson (R-LA) with a one-seat majority.
The Pentagon's chief digital and artificial intelligence officer said today that CDAO has created a "Replicator sandbox" to test industry drone software.
A senior Pentagon official said today that the next round of awards through DOD’s Accelerate the Procurement and Fielding of Innovative Technologies, known as APFIT, is ready to be released, pending congressional budget approval.
The head of the Defense Department's strategic capital office said the department, for the first time ever, now has a loan program that can help small companies, predicting the first funds could be licensed in the coming months.
The Chief Digital and Artificial Intelligence Office intends to release its large language model maturity model, which aims to help industry and the Defense Department determine what LLMs are truly capable of and if they can achieve their intended purposes, for evaluation within the next month.
Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin announced today that Radha Plumb will take up the role of chief digital and artificial intelligence officer, assuming duties on April 8.
The Defense Innovation Unit, in partnership with the Air Force Research Laboratory and NavalX, opened a new Joint Defense Innovation workspace in Austin, TX last week intended to further relationships with technology companies and lower barriers between government and industry collaboration.