GovCon News

Cyberattacks targeting government agencies and public services surged by 40 percent during a three-month period that ended in May 2023, according to the Global Threat Intelligence Report published by BlackBerry. The report said that the cyberthreats mostly came from Russia and North Korea, adding that threat actors continue to improve their techniques to defeat targets' cyber defenses. BlackBerry also noted that ransomware operators are increasingly aiming their attacks on the health care and financial services industries as data and critical services present a lucrative target for the threat actors, MeriTalk reported.

Northrop Grumman has initiated the next phase of pre-launch preparations for the Arctic Satellite Broadband Mission after delivering the ABSM's Control and Planning Segment ground system and the Enhanced Polar System Recapitalization payloads to the U.S. Space Force. ABSM is a two-satellite constellation that will deliver protected satellite communications to the Northern Polar region. It uses the GEOStar-3 platform, which includes the main satellite structure and systems required to maintain operations, Northrop said Monday.

Teledyne FLIR will showcase technologies and services relevant to the commercial unmanned aerial vehicle market at a conference in Nevada. Presented by Commercial UAV News, the Commercial UAV Expo is an international trade show and conference that touches on the integration and operation of commercial drone solutions. Attendees can expect to compare and qualify products offered by the commercial UAV industry, spanning airframes, sensors and software, among other capabilities. The event will be held at the Caesars Forum in Las Vegas from Sept. 5 to 7, the event organizer said.

The U.S. Army has awarded Oshkosh Defense a $201 million contract to supply the Family of Medium Tactical Vehicles. The deal is anticipated to boost the Army's transport of warfighters and supplies and recovery of vehicles. An upgraded version of the aging FMTV A1P2 line of vehicles, the FMTV A2 reportedly comes with modernized engine and electrical systems, increased payload capacity and improved off-road capability. The company has supplied nearly 2,000 FMTV A2s and 1,000 FMTV trailers to the military service for a total of $858 million, The Defense Post reported.

Lockheed Martin has announced the successful validation of designs for all elements of the Next-Generation Interceptor with the Missile Defense Agency. According to Lockheed, a series of preliminary design reviews has proven the design maturity of all NGI major subsystems. The program is headed to its next major review, the All Up Round PDR, which will see MDA assessing if the program is ready to advance in the acquisition process through Knowledge Point number one and ultimately on to the critical design review. The first NGI is expected to be delivered as early as fiscal 2027, Lockheed said Monday.

The U.S. Air Force is seeking contractors that can provide base operations support for the Navy Systems Management Activity at Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling in Washington, D.C. The contractor will furnish all personnel, labor, equipment, transportation, tools, materials, supplies, supervision, quality control, management and other necessary items and services. The services will focus on NSMA's facilities, ground structures, personal property equipment and installed equipment systems. Interested firms have until Aug. 21 to respond, according to a notice posted on SAM .gov.

Leidos and artificial intelligence and machine learning platform company Permion have announced a strategic collaboration to accelerate the adoption of AI in critical national security missions. As part of the partnership, Leidos looks to use Permion's X-Machines Instruction Set Architecture, a data-oriented computing platform for AI, to improve applications and capabilities that can be deployed on the tactical edge, on-premises or in the cloud. The collaboration is also developing and testing an additional explainable knowledge-graph generative AI/large language model cognitive solution based on Permion's current Open-Source Intelligence and Relationship Inference System and built on XVM-ISA, Leidos said Monday.

The Federal Risk and Authorization Management Program has conferred the in process designation to Talkdesk CX Cloud, a cloud-based, artificial intelligence-powered contact center platform. Talkdesk CX Cloud has also been made available on the FedRAMP marketplace. The in process designation is given to products working toward full authorization under FedRAMP, a U.S. federal governmentwide compliance program that offers a standardized approach to evaluating the security of cloud products, Talkdesk said.

BAE Systems, Boeing and Leidos Australia are among the companies set to exhibit at the Army Robotics Expo 2023. The event, which will be hosted by the Australian Army's Robotic and Autonomous Systems Implementation and Coordination Office, will bring together Australian industry and academia to demonstrate robotic and autonomous technologies with the potential for the joint land force. The expo will focus on robotic systems that can maximize soldier performance, improve decision-making, generate mass and scalable effects and enable force protection efficiency. It will be held from Aug. 29 to 30 at the Perth Convention and Exhibition Centre in Australia, the Australian Army said.

Lockheed Martin has signed up to exhibit at the Army Innovation Day 2023. Hosted by the Australian Army's Robotic and Autonomous Systems Implementation and Coordination Office in partnership with Defence Innovation Hub, the event aims to showcase the ability of the Australian defense industry and academia to use innovative concepts to address capability gaps and grow the project pipeline. AID 2023 will be held on Aug. 29 and 30 at Perth Convention and Exhibition Centre in Australia, the Australian Army said.

The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers-Tulsa District is looking for companies that can provide architecture and engineering services and plans to solicit proposals for a five-year, $99 million indefinite-delivery contract on or about December, according to a sources sought notice. The responses to the notice and associated market research will determine the type of set-aside decisions that will be issued. Some of the required A-E services include program management, data management, project programming and planning, feasibility and concept studies and design. Interested parties have until Sept. 7 to respond, according to the notice posted on SAM .gov.