GovCon News

Maj. Gen. Gregory Gagnon, the U.S. Space Force's deputy chief of space operations for intelligence, recently shared that 50 percent of the service's intelligence-gathering efforts are focused on China and 25 percent on Russia. He told the Space Force Association on Thursday that the remaining 25 percent is directed at the private sector to understand it "from an intelligence perspective." Gagnon, a past Potomac Officers Club event speaker, explained that China requires monitoring because of its rapidly growing space capabilities, Breaking Defense reported Friday.

CAE has delivered the first Magnetic Anomaly Detection-Extended Role sensors to its long-time partner Mitsubishi Electric Corp. The Japanese company will install the system on board the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force's new P1 maritime patrol aircraft.According to CAE, the system is based on the MAD magnetometers the company supplies to navies around the world. It is capable of detecting changes in the Earth's magnetic field for various applications, including anti-submarine warfare operations. The technology also comes with reduced weight and power requirements and enhanced range and sensitivity compared to its predecessors.In a statement, Marc-Olivier Sabourin, vice president and general manager for global defense and security at CAE, the highly sensitive magnetometer can provide submarine detection and localization capabilities on board manned and unmanned platforms operating in challenging landscapes.CAE was awarded a multi-year contract to deliver, integrate and sustain the MAD-XR systems to support the JMSDF's fixed-wing anti-submarine operations.

Eutelsat Asia has signed a partnership agreement with Thaicom subsidiary Space Tech Innovation to expand its connectivity services all over Asia. The agreement is related to a new software-defined satellite that will be positioned at the 119.5-degree East orbital slot. STI will procure the geostationary SDS, which is expected to be delivered by 2027. The satellite will expand Eutelsat's in-orbit assets and provide 50 Gbps of incremental capacity in Asia to address the increased demand for connectivity in the region, Satellite Evolution Group reported.

A team of Department of Energy researchers has used a Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory-developed software on Oak Ridge National Laboratory’s Frontier supercomputer to develop power grid-control strategies under weather-related emergency scenarios. As part of the DOE Exascale Computing Project’s ExaSGD initiative, the researchers ran the HiOp open-source grid optimization solver on Frontier nodes to simulate over 100,000 possible grid failures and weather scenarios. The team includes representatives from LLNL, ORNL, National Renewable Energy Laboratory and Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, LLNL said.

The U.S. Army Reserve has partnered with Pacific Northwest National Laboratory to conduct studies, pilots and demonstrations in a bid to accelerate the adoption of new and emerging technologies for protecting critical energy and water infrastructure and facilities. According to Col. Martin Naranjo, head of the Army Reserve Installation Management Directorate, the technologies will help address potential threats such as cyberattacks, climate change impacts and increasing natural disasters. Naranjo said the directorate is planning and securing funding for various partnerships that advance the Army of 2030, Defense Visual Information Distribution Service reported.

Early career scientists from Los Alamos National Laboratory have secured multiyear Department of Energy funding for projects in environmental science, applied mathematics and particle physics. The latest DOE Early Career Research Awards will support Rich Fiorella's work in improving coastal-urban environmental models using stable water isotope ratios and numerical tracers and Kun Liu's research on the hadron mass origin. Through the grant, Andrey Lokhov will apply machine learning to quantum physics, power grids, turbulence and field theories, while Yu Zhang will focus on multiscale modeling for molecular quantum electrodynamics, LANL said.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has projected the EG.5 variant to have caused 17.3 percent of COVID-19 cases nationwide as of Friday, more than any other group, up from 7.5 percent through the first week of July. EG.5 includes a strain with a subgroup of variants designated as EG.5.1, unofficially nicknamed "Eris." The next most common COVID variants are XBB.1.16 at 15.6 percent, XBB.2.23 at 11.2 percent and XBB.1.5 at 10.3 percent. Officials have noted that the symptoms and severity from the strain have been largely alike, though they said discerning changes in the virus has become increasingly difficult as surveillance has slowed, CBS News reported.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has appointed LaTreace Harris as senior science adviser and programmatic deputy branch chief. Harris has almost 20 years of experience as a senior public health scientist, with extensive knowledge in pandemic and routine vaccination surveillance, data innovation and interoperability and complex problem solving. The scientist previously served as deputy for the COVID-19 Vaccine Task Force under CDC's Data Monitoring and Reporting Section, Forum Insights reported.

Ultra's intelligence and communications business has named Bradford Powell as president of the command, control and intelligence segment. Powell will be responsible for the development and implementation of the company's growth strategy and all business operations within C2I. Ultra I&C CEO Jon Rucker noted Powell's experience in strategy development and implementation within the defense industry. Powell most recently served as a partner at boutique investment bank FON Advisors. He also held leadership roles at Northrop Grumman and Cubic, GovCon Wire reported.

BlueCrest Capital Management has posted a job opening ad for a network engineer who will be based in London, England. The engineer, who will be part of the network services team, will manage complex and global-scale projects. He or she will provide direct support to users from global offices and execute business-as-usual changes across all systems under the change control process, BlueCrest said in the job ad posted on LinkedIn.

The U.S. Air Force has awarded California-based electric vertical take-off and landing aircraft manufacturer Archer Aviation $142 million in contracts to provide up to six Midnight eVTOL aircraft. The Air Force will use the Midnight platform for personnel transport, logistics support and rescue operations. Adam Goldstein, founder and CEO of Archer, said the Midnight aircraft can carry up to 1,000 pounds of cargo and is powered by a proprietary, low-noise electric powertrain that enables low-cost operations. Archer will also provide flight test data, certification test reports, pilot training and maintenance and repair operations, Defence Connect reported.

U.S. Air Force airmen from the 86th Maintenance Squadron have painted liberation stripes and added decals to six C-130J Super Hercules aircraft stationed at Ramstein Air Base to commemorate the 80th anniversary of D-Day in Normandy, France. The United States and its allies used the stripes and designations on June 6, 1944, for coordination between the ground and the air parties. According to Tech. Sgt. Garrett Magnie, maintenance officer for the 86th Maintenance Squadron, the 37th Troop Carrier Squadron, now known as the 37th Airlift Squadron, was part of the Normandy liberation, AF .mil reported.