Tomahawk Robotics said their Grip & Mimic controllers have received an award from the DoD for the Defense Production Act, Title III Program. This award is part of the U.S. effort to expand domestic industrial base capabilities that are critical to the Department and the American Warfighter. The funding will be applied towards Tomahawk Robotics’ on-going prototyping effort with the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) for the Soldier Robotic Controller Program (SRoC).
We’re excited to work with DIU, an organization that values and recognizes the speed of technological change,” said Tomahawk Robotics’ CTO, Matt Summer.
Tomahawk Robotics is among seven companies receiving this award on behalf of the DoD.
“This investment in the defense industrial base is intended to provide critical battlefield capabilities across the spectrum of conflict, including on-demand reconnaissance which augments service members’ capabilities and increases their survivability, lethality, and mission flexibility,” said Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Industrial Policy Jesse Salazar.
Contract Opportunities to Watch
| Viasat | Viasat was awarded a DoD contract to provide vulnerability assessment testing and response support under a new pilot program focused on improving the cybersecurity and resilience of DoD weapon systems. Viasat will be the first external cybersecurity team to perform these assessments through the pilot, which aims to drive efficiencies to automate mission and threat-based security assessments at-scale using analytics and a proven methodology for intelligence gathering, threat modeling, vulnerability analysis and exploitation.
As part of the pilot, Viasat will analyze key components within a highly complex, interconnected DoD weapon system architecture that could be vulnerable to an attack. The analysis will also include cyber and software defined radio threat assessments to address networking, Internet of Things and radio frequency interfaces to the weapon system. “DoD’s leadership focus on weapon system cyber resilience is essential. Recent cyberattacks against the U.S. government provide a clear reminder that we must minimize vulnerabilities through active insights and harden core networks,” said Craig Miller, president, Viasat Government Systems. “As the battlespace is modernizing quickly, and the use of commercial technologies and systems are being rapidly deployed in DoD’s infrastructure, performing robust vulnerability assessment tests is critical to identifying and addressing potential gaps in technology, as well as determining if platforms are potentially vulnerable to attack.” Miller continued, “Viasat takes a holistic approach to cybersecurity and we’re excited to partner with the DoD to provide a comprehensive, scalable vulnerability assessment capability, leveraging the power of analytics-based automation to create efficiencies and enable rapid and continuous evaluations. This will help keep pace with commercial technology development and chart a path to artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) driven threat-based cybersecurity assessments.” Viasat was selected based on its extensive experience and award-winning expertise in DoD cybersecurity, as well as its unique view of the threat landscape across global government and commercial services and a customizable approach to information security. For 35 years, Viasat has been a provider of cybersecurity and information assurance systems to secure U.S. Government, critical infrastructure and commercial networks. As a global satellite internet service provider, Viasat protects its networks and prevents billions of cyberattacks daily. Its history and expertise, paired with expert analysis of data across its network, provides a diverse view of the global cyber threat landscape that allows for the creation and delivery of expert-level security solutions. |
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Key Employer in the Cleared Industry
| KPMG |
People who thrive at KPMG Federal Advisory are individuals who push their colleagues outside their comfort zones and drive others to success. Ready to push yourself to new limits? Find your next career at KPMG. |
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Cleared Job of the Week
| Technical Writer | It’s easy to lose track of all the programs in national security that are in need of a technical writer. The opportunities for the technical writer are wide within the cleared industry. With projects, there will always be documentation. While a project manager could take the time to develop all of the necessary documentation, the best way to make sure your documentation not only represents your organization well to the client but also actually communicates something meaningful is to hire a technical writer. The writing may be dry; however, having a writer on the team brings the gift of clarity to documentation.
You can gain entry to some cleared technical writing positions with just a Secret clearance, a year of experience, and a bachelor’s degree in communications, journalism, english, business, or something similar. However, other positions are mid career and require a Top Secret clearance and a polygraph. It just depends on the agency and project. Long term trajectory in this field would be for someone who wants to take on an internal leadership role within their organization, as well as support program documentation. This is a great skill set when it comes to proposal writing, as well. Technical writers may not see large compensation jumps if they don’t take on leadership roles, but because this job is a better fit for the organized personality, it’s also a role that progresses smoothly into project management or leadership positions. |
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Growth Opportunities
Capella Space, an information services company that provides an operational, high-quality, Earth observation data service, has signed a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) with the U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Technical Center (SMDTC). Through this agreement, Capella Space integrates its Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) data into the U.S. Army’s Payload Development Lab, exploring this and other space-based technology concepts within both simulated and test environments.
Capella’s SAR data is unique in that it collects high-quality imagery easily, quickly, and securely. Capella Space is the first U.S. commercial SAR constellation operator and an industry leader in SAR data. Capella’s SAR systems image in most weather, day or night, and capture amplitude and phase history data, enabling the extraction of highly valuable intelligence, such as material properties, moisture, elevation, and small changes and movements, which are not available with electro-optical imagery. Multiple U.S. Department of Defense agencies have shown interest in using Capella’s SAR imagery for a variety of purposes, including national security, humanitarian assistance, disaster relief, infrastructure and transportation monitoring, and reliable monitoring for indications and warnings of potential natural and security threats.
“SMDTC is looking forward to this partnership with the team at Capella Space,” said Tom Webber, the director for the Technical Center, U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command (USASMDC). “Capella is the first U.S. company to commercialize SAR and is uniquely positioned to provide mission-critical support to tactical users and advance the Army’s critical mission.”
The CRADA reinforces Capella Space’s collaborative relationship with United States government agencies. This past year, Capella Space signed and maintained contracts with the US Navy, US Airforce, National Geospatial Agency, In-Q-Tel, the Space Development Agency, and the US Space Force. to provide on-demand, high-resolution SAR data and analytics for the U.S. government.
“Every day, the United States Armed Forces are tasked with keeping the peace and saving lives across multiple domains in a state of constant change. You need timely intelligence to drive the best possible outcomes,” said Payam Banazadeh, CEO and founder of Capella Space. “We’re proud to offer US-made, market-leading SAR to support the U.S. government, from policymaking to the tactical user.”
