GovCon News

Frontgrade Technologies, a Veritas Capital portfolio company and a space electronics supplier, has completed its acquisition of Aethercomm, which manufactures radio frequency solid-state power amplifiers and switches. According to Todd Thornton, Aethercomm’s founder and CEO, the acquisition will increase investments in space electronics research and development. As a new Frontgrade division, Aethercomm will offer integrated RF and antenna solutions to aerospace and defense customers, Frontgrade said Monday.

A U.S. Air Force official said earlier plans to retire the B-1 Lancer in the early 2030s had been dropped. According to Brig. Gen. William Rogers, program executive officer for bombers at the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center, the military service has a multi-pronged strategy to ensure that the fleet can remain operational until its more modern replacement, the B-21, comes online. Parts obsolescence is one of the key concerns of the AFLMC with all aging platforms. Rogers is focusing on ensuring the aircraft can sustain operations and eventually retire gracefully, Air and  Space Forces Magazine reported.

The D. E. Shaw Group has appointed Rohan Desai as a financial research associate for data analytics. Prior to joining D. E. Shaw, Desai was a senior associate for credit risk management at DIAGEO India. He spent his internships at The Westin Hyderabad Mindspace and at Dr. Reddy's Laboratories, according to his LinkedIn profile.

Millennium Management has welcomed Xinlu Xiao as a quantitative researcher. Xiao joined Millennium in June following his two-year stint as vice president for quantitative strategies at Goldman Sachs. He also worked at Citi for three years, joining the exchange-traded funds market-making and macro trading section, focusing on international ETF optimal hedges and fair value arbitrage, according to his LinkedIn profile.

The National Institutes of Health has renewed its support for Case Western Reserve University's Clinical and Translational Science Collaborative with a seven-year, $56.3 million grant to expand medical research initiatives in Ohio. The latest Clinical and Translational Science Award builds on nearly $175 million from NIH since 2007 to support a growing collaboration among biomedical institutions in Northern Ohio. The collaboration, which recently added the University of Toledo and Northeast Ohio Medical University, boosts efforts to speed up medical research breakthroughs and increase the number and diversity of researchers and patients, CWRU said Monday.

Verition Fund Management has appointed Seth Morrison as a portfolio manager. Before joining Verition, Morrison served as executive director at Morgan Stanley and at JP Morgan. He was a director at Deutsche Bank and a manager at HSBC. Morrison earned a degree in economics and statistics at University College London, according to his LinkedIn profile.

Globalstar plans to begin beta testing full Spot two-way global communications in the coming months. The satellite operator currently has a contract with MDA to build 17 extra spacecraft to be launched in 2025 to ensure that its constellation can meet the increased global demand for connectivity services. Its partner Apple contributed 95 percent of the cost needed to manufacture the satellites and, in turn, will get access to 85 percent of the fleet's capacity. Qualcomm will also integrate Globalstar's Band 53 spectrum into its chipsets, Advanced Television reported.

Viasat will develop and deliver active electronically scanned array systems to defense customers under contracts with a combined value of $80 million. According to Jeanne Atwell, general manager for Viasat Arizona operations, the AESA systems will improve sensor performance, satellite communications and line-of-sight communication systems for multidomain operations. The products provide multiple beams, a low probability of intercept and jamming resistance, capabilities that defense customers require for ground, maritime and space applications, Viasat said.

Viasat is set to provide an update and reveal contingency plans on the antenna reflector issue affecting the ViaSat-3 Americas satellite during an earnings conference call on Wednesday. The company is weighing two options: redeploying satellites from its extensive fleet and reallocating a subsequent ViaSat-3 class satellite to provide additional bandwidth to the Americas. ViaSat-3 Americas is an ultra-high-capacity Ka band satellite that will allow the satellite communications provider to reach more homes, businesses and planes, Runway Girl Network reported.

Benchmark Space Systems, an in-space mobility company based in Burlington, Vermont, has launched a driver-assist control system that allows highly precise satellite maneuvers. The system, called SmartAIM, extends a spacecraft's navigation capabilities using software controls embedded in Benchmark's nontoxic chemical, electric and hybrid propulsion systems. Kayhan Space's Pathfinder spaceflight safety service is integrated into the platform, providing optimized maneuver planning and autonomous space traffic coordination support. Benchmark developed SmartAIM in collaboration with the Air Force Research Laboratory, Satellite Evolution Group reported.

The Food and Drug Administration is seeking to procure the KNIME Business Hub Software, which provides a secure collaboration environment for deploying data science solutions. According to a recent request for quotation, the contract will include the acquisition of technical and maintenance services to support the products to be installed in four FDA data center environments. The agency wants to use modern analytics techniques to manipulate, use and present data including electronic health records, Forum Insights reported Monday.

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