Defense Budget. Next week will be a hectic one on Capitol Hill. The House is expected to take up the defense authorization bill on the floor as early as Wednesday, while the SASC debates its own version of the National Defense Authorization Act. SASC subcommittees will mark up their portions of the bill on Monday and Tuesday, mostly in closed sessions. The full committee markup, which is also closed to the public, starts Wednesday and could extend until Friday.
Wasteful Spending. SASC Chairman John McCain (R-Ariz) published a report May 7 on wasteful government spending that calls out a number of military programs, such as an U.S. Army Research Office project evaluating the possibility of training elephants to smell bombs. “While finding new ways to enhance our bomb detection methods is important, it is unlikely that African elephants could feasibly be used on the battlefield,” the report says. McCain also dug into the National Guard’s practice of using government money to advertise with professional sports organizations, such as paying $32.2 million to sponsor NASCAR driver Dale Earnhardt, Jr. or a deal with the New England Patriots football team for in-stadium advertising, game day presence and other perks. The Guard announced it was ending its use of sponsorships in 2014, but has continued its use of other partnerships with sports teams. 
Boeing P-8 Deal: Boeing on May 7 announces the first international sale of the P-8 Poseidon training system to Australia, the first foreign buyer of the aircraft. The combined foreign and domestic military sales contract includes one system for the Royal Australian Air Force and four for the U.S. Navy, according to a news release. The Australian government in 2014 approved the purchase of eight P-8s, which will begin delivery in 2017. The training system is slated to be delivered in 2018.
DARPA Cyber R&D. The DARPA Information Innovation Office (I2O) has issued a request for information on potential performers for classified Cyberspace Operations (CSO) R&D work. Responses must be submitted by May 2016. It specifically seeks information on performers that can rapidly develop state-of-the-art CSO technologies responsive to current and emerging threats. The request also seeks performers that have personnel and facilities cleared to receive and process classified CSO information or are eligible to be cleared.
FBI Cyber Software. The FBI’s National Cyber Investigative Joint Task Force (NCIJTF) is requesting information regarding software able to perform as a Threat Intelligence Platform (TIP). Responses are due by May 22. The TIP works to provide indicator/knowledge management of cyber threats. The TIP should have the ability to aggregate data from multiple sources, automatically extract observables from those sources, and then enrich the extracted data with third party data sets. The TIP would also provide functionality for analysts to exploit the data by providing a search/filter capability. The TIP would also have future enhancements including flexible reporting, enriching the data with localized data stores, and provide a robust Application Program Interface. Vendors whose products meet the requirements will demo the product.
SpaceX-USAF CRADA. The Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center (AFSMC) and Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX) formally amend their Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) for Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) certification of the Falcon 9, according to an AFSMC statement. These updates incorporate lessons learned from the ongoing certification process and will streamline the execution of the process.
…Details. The amended CRADA incorporates all of the independent review committee’s recommendations, including clarification that the AFSMC commander, Lt. Gen. Sam Greaves, as the certifying official, has the authority to grant certification based on a new entrant’s demonstrated capability to design, produce, qualify and deliver its launch system. Additionally, new entrants will provide future mission assurance support required to deliver national security space payloads to specific orbits on a specific schedule with a specific level of risk. These changes allow SpaceX certification with some open work, provided there are jointly approved handling plans for work to support potential national security space mission processing timelines.
NGA RFI. The National Geospatial Intelligence Agency (NGA) issues a request for information (RFI) on Federal Business Opportunities (FBO) to inform commercial imaging satellite operators and industry partners, including satellite imagery brokers, of its plans for future acquisition of commercial geospatial intelligence (GEOINT) capabilities in fiscal year 2017 and beyond. NGA is considering establishing a contract with one or more prime vendors that will serve as NGA’s focal point for commercial GEOINT capabilities for NGA and its end users. NGA encourages web/cloud-based solutions that are scalable, do not require government investments in multiple architectures, minimizes impacts on existing NGA system and, to the extent practicable, leverages current systems.
AFSMC Contract. AFSMC awards Georgia Tech Research Institute a $7.9 million contract for combustion stability modeling and design tool development, according to a AFSMC statement. This contract provides for the development of a suite of software-based design tools for predicting and analyzing stability characteristics of combustion devices based on hydrocarbon-fueled, oxidizer-rich staged combustion rocket engine cycles. Work is expected to complete by April 27, 2017.
SBIRS Capability. The Air Force successfully completes the capability integration phase, transitioning into the capability evaluation phase for its new Space Based Infrared System (SBIRS) ground system currently in development, according to a service statement. Completion of the integration phase indicates the system reaches sufficient maturity to enter the more formal evaluation testing phase and also increases confidence in the Air Force’s planned operational acceptance of the ground system in 2016. Currently, each of the three satellite types are controlled via three ground software systems located at separate facilities. With the new system, all operational control will be consolidated under one primary mission control station with a single backup control station.
FAA UAV User App. The Federal Aviation Administration has introduced a new smartphone application called “B4UFLY” that is designed to help model aircraft and unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) users know if it is safe and legal to fly in their current or planned location. “We want to make sure hobbyists and modelers know where it is and isn’t okay to fly,” says FAA Administrator Michael Huerta. The app offers users a status indicator about their current or planned location, interactive maps, contact information for nearby airports, information on the parameters about the status indicator, a planner mode for future flights, and links to FAA UAV resources and regulatory information.
…(Bulldog) UAS Center of Excellence. The FAA has selected Mississippi State Univ. as its Center of Excellence for Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) to focus on research, education and training in areas critical to safe and successful integration of UAS into the nation’s airspace. The initial research areas will include detect and avoid technology, low-altitude operations safety, control and communications, spectrum management, human factors, compatibility with air traffic control operations, and training and certification of UAS pilots and other crew members. The center includes 12 other universities as teammates.
…People Finder Radar. The Department of Homeland Security Science and Technology (S&T) branch, in partnership with NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory, has transitioned to the commercial market the final prototype of a radar technology that detects the heartbeats of victims buried in a wreckage. The Finding Individuals for Disaster and Emergency Response, or FINDER, radar has been licensed to tow companies for manufacture, New Jersey-based R4 Inc., and SpecOps Group Inc. of Florida. The FINDER can pinpoint the location of a victim to within five feet depending on the type of rubble.
…Success in Nepal. The FINDER radar was used recently to support the international search and rescue efforts in Nepal following the devastating earthquake there that killed thousands. David Lewis, president of R4, took two prototype devices to Nepal on April 29 to help in the rescue efforts. The team he was with used FINDER to detect two heartbeats beneath each of two different collapses structures, allowing rescue workers to find and save four men in the village of Chautara. “I stopped at every decimated village and used FINDER there,” he says. “Family members were desperate to find trapped people.”