Kevin McDonnell, J.D.

This is not how you win #WW3. The US has become the high-cost producer of everything defense-related. The F-35 is not a new new thing. It is just the best expression of an old thing. At multiples of the cost. The new new thing is a drone. An F-35 is a very expensive drone with a pilot riding in it instead of controlling it from the ground. The only reason to put a human in a drone is to prevent jamming of the control of the drone. Is the juice worth the squeeze? It is $7mm per year just to keep an F-35 operational. That's a lot of drones. The problem to be solved is not how to get humans to ride more expensive jet fighters. The problem to be solved is how to prevent jamming of drones. #defenseinnovation Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) European Defense Investor Network Heather Jo Richman United States Department of DefenseUnited States Air Force #drones Creighton Holt Timothy D. Otten Graham Scarbro Defense News Defense One Drones https://lnkd.in/gjEK4HtB

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Defense innovators have an important role to play in upholding integrity in government procurement programs. Read more about the recent $2.5 million False Claims Act settlement involving a military supplier and the emphasis on compliance with supply chain laws. #GovernmentContracting #Compliance #FalseClaimsAct.

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Exciting news from the aviation frontier! The US Navy has awarded a contract to Electra.aero under the Naval Air Systems Command (NAVAIR), marking a significant milestone in the advancement of innovative logistics solutions. Ben Marchionna, Electra’s director of Technology and Innovation, expressed pride in adding the U.S. Navy to their esteemed clientele, highlighting Electra’s expertise in hybrid-electric aircraft technology. The contract focuses on leveraging Electra’s electric short takeoff and landing (eSTOL) aircraft for logistics operations in challenging, contested environments. Contested logistics, critical for national security, involves navigating difficult terrains to support military personnel and supplies effectively. Electra’s eSTOL aircraft, equipped with hybrid-electric propulsion and a blown fixed wing, offers unmatched capabilities for addressing next-generation aviation logistics challenges. Marchionna emphasized Electra’s aircraft as a versatile asset, not limited to tactical logistics but also as a potential solution for expeditionary power generation, mesh networking, and integral support for Joint All-Domain Command and Control (JADC2) initiatives, positioning it as a force multiplier for the Navy and United States Marine Corps. In addition to the Navy contract, Electra recently announced a small business innovation research (SBIR) contract for powered wind tunnel testing. This $1.9 million contract will advance Electra’s blown wing aircraft technology, enhancing military capabilities and contributing to novel aerodynamics databases for performance analysis and control law development. For a detailed insight into Electra’s groundbreaking technologies and their impact on future aviation and military operations, read the full article on our blog. #AvfoilNews #ElectraAero #USNavyContract #InnovationInAviation #MilitaryLogistics #JADC2 #AerospaceTechnology

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The following industry article emphasizes the need for the United States Department of Defense (DoD) to modernize its procurement and acquisition capabilities and processes to keep up with 21st-century warfare. The article discusses its current program-centric approach which some say impedes DoD’s rapid adoption of leading technologies and reduces military advantage and argues that shifting to a portfolio-centric model would allow for more flexibility and agility. Samuel Group D.C. specializes in government affairs and strategic advisory services, offering unparalleled support in political, regulatory, and federal opportunities for U.S., Canadian, and international clients. With our essential insights and advice on U.S. governmental processes, including budgets, programs, and key policy issues, we can help organizations achieve success in Washington, D.C. Contact us at www.samuelgroup.us to learn more. #DepartmentofDefense #modernization #governmentaffairs #strategicadvisory #WashingtonDC #SamuelGroupDC

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The White House's mandate requiring all federal agencies in the US to appoint a Chief AI Officer to strengthen governance has raised the question of whether other enterprises must follow suit. In a discussion with The Times, our CEO, Michael Queenan, delves into why there might be a genuine need for a CAIO in five years but emphasises that it is premature at present. He argues that organisations require additional time to refine their AI strategies and determine whether they would derive greater benefit from developing their own tech or buying off-the-shelf products. Read the full article here: https://lnkd.in/eP_3X5qf #ai #artificialintelligence #caio #data

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Tailored to your mission!

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On June 14, The White House unveiled an executive order to bolster supply chain resiliency efforts. Peter Guinto—our President of Government, Defense, and Aerospace—provides insights on this development: 💬 “This new executive order clearly demonstrates that supply chain fragility impacts truly every facet of American life by the breadth of agencies that will be participating in this important work. Further, it emphasizes that international partnerships will be vital, the US cannot win this battle alone, comparative advantages of production and distribution across all friendly nations are necessary to assure that investment in resilience is price competitive and therefore enduring. It will be vital that all agencies adopt a framework of validated mapping of key materials and service (they too rely on indirect materials and consumables), risk assessment, continuous monitoring, and rapid engagement with value chain participants. Ideally, these agencies will utilize best-in-class commercial solutions that leverage cutting edge AI where appropriate, Resilinc’s Multi-tier solution is the only commercial technology that delivers all the necessary capabilities to deliver rapid success in this vital mission.” 📝 Read the full statement from The White House: https://okt.to/QXiKW8 #SupplyChainResilience #SupplyChain #RiskManagement #Procurement #SCRM

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In SBIR news, Navy SBIR/STTR Transition Program (Navy STP) released their “Open Topics” today: N244-P01 Open Topic for Advanced Robotic Automation for Fleet Readiness Center Industrial Processes N244-P02 Open Topic for Sustainment and Obsolescence N244-P03 Open Topic for Advanced Data Integrity and Control Methods Link below for details to see if your technology fits into their specific “open” topics: 🙂 https://lnkd.in/ek7SfA6t

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Australia's announcement of a record AU$55.7 billion (USD $36.8 billion) defense budget marks a pivotal moment in global defense strategy. This unprecedented investment underscores the nation's commitment to bolstering its defense capabilities amidst increasing strategic competition in the Asia-Pacific region. A significant portion of this budget will advance the trilateral AUKUS agreement, highlighting the growing importance of international partnerships in maintaining global security. The allocation for nuclear-powered submarines and other advanced defense technologies reflects a forward-thinking approach that enhances national and regional stability. At Honeywell Aerospace, we recognize advanced technology and innovation's critical role in supporting our allies and enhancing global security. Australia's substantial investments in state-of-the-art equipment, including submarines, fighter jets, and advanced defense systems, open up immense opportunities for collaboration and technological advancements. We look forward to continuing our partnership with the Australian Defense Force, providing cutting-edge solutions that enhance operational efficiency and capability. #AUKUS #Australia #Defense #Honeywell Gemma Whiting Lee Davis Vanessa Shapiro Matthew Hasson https://lnkd.in/ey89gEcn.

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Gen. Allvin's remarks underscore a pivotal shift in Air Force strategy towards collaborative combat aircraft (CCA), highlighting a deliberate departure from the longevity model typical of traditional aircraft fleets. Emphasizing flexibility and modularity over multi-decade service life, Allvin advocates for CCAs that swiftly evolve with technological advancements, ensuring they remain relevant and cost-effective within a shorter operational span. This approach not only aligns with Air Force efforts to enhance mission versatility and affordability but also reflects broader trends in defense innovation, where adaptability and rapid iteration are prioritized to meet evolving threats and operational needs. In the evolving landscape of defense contracting, the Air Force's shift towards CCA presents a distinct opportunity for industry players to focus on agility and technological integration. By prioritizing modularity and rapid upgrade cycles, companies can differentiate themselves in a competitive market striving to support the Air Force's vision of affordable mass through drone wingmen. Leveraging CRG's expertise in navigating complex defense acquisitions and managing lifecycle challenges, industry partners can enhance their capabilities to secure and sustain contracts in this dynamic environment. Explore how CRG can empower your organization to excel in defense contracting at https://crgroupinc.com/ or contact us at contact@crgroupinc.com. IL - VA - DC - Dubai, UAE. #CRG #USAF #AirForce #DefenseInnovation #CollaborativeCombatAircraft #AirForce #DefenseContracting #Aircraft #AircraftInnovation #DoD #DIB #GovCon #MilitaryContracts #CCA #Drones

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I hate to be critical of a well-intended effort at innovation in the #defenseindustry but I believe Defense Innovation Unit (DIU)'s $1 billion budget would be better spent on low-interest loans to existing defense industrial base small businesses to expand production, make capital investments, and hire & train workers. Doug Beck is clearly very driven & talented, with a compelling mix of military (US Navy) and private sector (Apple) experience. He also seems to understand the fundamental problems of 1) awarding prototype contracts fast and 2) transitioning those early wins to long term programs of record. It's just much less clear what DIU can do about it simply with more funding. An early sign of weakness in Beck's plan: "The additional money will allow DIU to nearly double its staff... The DIU is also requesting 50 more military and civilian staffers..." No comment. "DIU says it strives to award prototype contracts within 60 to 90 days... but in 2023 it took 197 days on average." In 2023 the DIU awarded 90 contracts for pilot projects worth an average $3.3M..." but of these "just 10 went on to win a deal with the military." "Since its inception, the DIU has helped 20 projects obtain a program of record." That is only 20 companies since 2015, nearly 10 years (!). So far, this doesn't seem like an organization we should give $1B to expand its mission. However, Beck has outlined some strong strategic priorities: 1. "He wants the DIU to grant technology pilots only when there is already confirmed demand for a contract from the Pentagon." Forget about how difficult this will be to accomplish -- this alone would be a huge step forward. 2. DIU will use its "increased budget to grant production contracts to startups waiting for other parts of the military to get their own funding to come through..." which Beck says could shave 1-3 years (!) off the time it takes to go from prototype to a production contract. Hoping for the best for this effort. Definitely some challenges, and I still say the effort would be better directed at supporting the existing defense industrial base rather than trying to force technology startups into the DIB. #defenseindustry #defensetech #defenseinnovation https://lnkd.in/eEhDktrG

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Thanks for the NewSpace Nexus Sadler Report shout-out by Mike French of the newly formed Space Policy Group! "Sign-up for the excellent newsletters from Space News, Payload, CNBC, and the Sadler Report." For more information, check out this page!

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𝐓𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐬 𝐚 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐜𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐬𝐩𝐚𝐜𝐞 Seattle’s space sector is often overlooked — not by the people who would have the strongest reaction to that statement, but rather by those who don’t regularly interact directly with space tech. The space sector is a force, employing about 12,000 people across Washington’s aerospace supply chain and generating an estimated $5 billion in economic activity for the state. But it’s also isolated, partly by design. The sprawling manufacturing facilities and labs are not found in downtowns. Instead, many are located in far-flung areas of the region. Out of sight, out of mind. https://lnkd.in/gShku98Y Puget Sound Business Journal | #Manufacturing | #Space

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Last week I posted on the importance of the continuing development of platform plays and the advancements made in the ASPM space. Although the industry has made great strides, it's still important to hit on some important topics that practitioners need to consider when building their nirvana code and application defense platform of choice.   This week I want to focus on end-to-end pipeline defense. As a chief security officer, I have always felt that multiple and diverse development pipelines with independently managed technology and code repos are a continuing blind spot for us. From code to cloud, there are a host of security considerations that should be acknowledged when focusing on application and code security that should be inclusive of end to end pipeline defense.    Let's start with one of the most continuing issues that we seem to deal with; secrets. Hard coded secrets continue to be the bane of many incident responders. The problem is, there are multiple opportunities within the SDLC that we can prevent this at. When considering your platforms, look for technologies that are capable of remediating at the pre-commit stage, the pre-receive stage, and even at the pull-request stage of development. By having a multi-detection-in-pipeline capability, you significantly reduce the opportunity for misconfiguration and the inappropriate application of secrets in code.   Next let's talk about CI/CD security itself. Have you asked yourself, “Am I sure we are enforcing least privilege?” Or “Do I know what DevOps tools have source control access?”. These are all important elements of how we manage our pipelines and enforce security policies that we attest to for our regulators, customers, and our commitment to our business. Make sure that as you choose your platform that it is inclusive of capabilities to manage, enforce, and report on your policies.   Finally, we have to move beyond historical SDLC security evaluation concepts as the baseline of how we defend our pipelines end to end. Secure code as a component of quality is a given, but we also need to think about the broader issue of code exposure as an anchor point for adversaries to attack and exploit your business. When considering your application and code defense platform options, ensure that they include code leak defense. The technology should autodetect for tool misconfigurations that could allow leaks, provide automated alerting on suspicious code access or patterns, and provide continuous public domain scanning to find your intellectual property and proprietary code in public repositories on an ongoing basis.   With the advancements made today in the ASPM technology market, you don't have to choose multiple tools to give you the umbrella capability necessary to defend your pipeline end to end. Create your checklist and go upgrade your business operations protection from cloud to code tomorrow. #cybersecurity #appsec #codedefense #aspm #secrets #codetocloud Cycode | Complete ASPM

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The Missile Defense Agency is re-entering the the directed energy market with a $11M FY-26 budget request aimed at putting directed energy technology in the “upper hundreds” of kilowatts on airborne assets to eliminate long-range ballistic missiles early in flight. While this is an exciting development for MDA after previous DE setbacks, healthy skepticism is needed regarding the timeline of development as MDA will need to overcome two key hurdles.  1) Similar to DE initiatives in other domains, MDA will need to mature key DOTMLPF-P elements to support the adoption of a novel capability like airborne DE. 2) The SWAP restrictions of airborne assets will present an additional hurdle, with MDA needing to collaborate with industry to develop DE solutions capable of airborne platform integration. MDA’s re-commitment to airborne DE is a step in the right direction but we expect a long road to realizing MDA’s goals. #DirectedEnergy #MissileDefenseAgency #MDA #DOTMLPFP Craig Belanger Anirudh Suneel Ben Osterholtz Robyn Pirie

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The competition for Space Communications just got a little tougher. With SES buying Intelsat that gives them a scale and a set of orbit classes that will be tough to beat. The market is moving to what we call a perfect competition where price will be the king, that happens in the commodity communications markets. If you can't get your prices down in this market kiss your future goodby. Unless.....You figure out how to offer a unique value proposition that no one else can match. No not multi-orbit, everyone is doing that. No not high capacity GEO sats, too many doing that. Coverage? that is quickly becoming a null issue as more satellites are launched daily. First for companies to survive in this very tight environment they need to decide if they are access based, needs based or variety based (if you are a serious competitor you already know what this is, if not then you better get ready for some tough decisions). Ground station visualization will be the next market shock as those that do this early and successfully will create a significant price advantage (Comtech, Kratos, AT&T) as well as flexibility. The convergence of terrestrial communications (5G with traditional SATCOM comms) will be another point of competition. There is a race to handheld devices, but all of these are natural evolutions of the technology. There will be more consolidations as the market gets tighter. So where are the unique value propositions out there? Where are the underserved customers? The next game changer, maybe 20 years off will be quantum communications, at that point you don't need satellites. An yes there are companies hard at work spending R&D to do this..At Caldgargan and Associates, we can help you work through your future strategies, because in the end it will be a winning, executable strategy that will produce market leaders, compete on cost and be mediocre, compete on technology and take a risk, but compete on a future unique value proposition and emerge as a leader....#competitiveIntelligence #Spacecommunications #VirtualGroundStations #SoftwareDefinedRadios #QuantumCommunications

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CRG's Advice on Key Differentiators: Companies should focus on developing versatile, low-SWaP (Size, Weight, and Power) systems that can be easily integrated into existing aircraft platforms. Emphasizing modular, scalable solutions that can discern between friendly and hostile drones will be crucial. Furthermore, the ability to provide both kinetic and non-kinetic countermeasures, ensuring minimal disruption in civilian airspaces, will be a significant competitive advantage. CRG advises clients to prioritize advanced situational awareness tools that enhance the detection and identification of UAS threats, offering comprehensive protection during both airborne and ground operations. CRG SME Advice on Differentiators: 1. Modularity and Integration: Develop systems that are easily configurable and can be seamlessly integrated into various aircraft platforms without significant modifications. 2. Advanced AI and Machine Learning: Utilize AI and machine learning algorithms to improve the identification and classification of UAS, ensuring accurate differentiation between friendly and hostile drones. 3. Low-SWaP Solutions: Focus on creating lightweight, compact systems that do not impede the aircraft’s primary functions or cargo capacity. 4. Hybrid Countermeasures: Offer both kinetic (e.g., interceptors) and non-kinetic (e.g., jammers, spoofers) solutions to provide flexible and adaptive responses to UAS threats. 5. Rapid Deployment: Ensure that C-sUAS systems are quick to deploy and operationally efficient, particularly for scenarios involving austere or unpredictable environments. 6. User-Friendly Interfaces: Design systems that require minimal crew input and can be managed efficiently during high-stress operations. By leveraging CRG's expertise in pre-/post-award services for winning & managing relevant work, including Capture/BD, B&P, Pricing, SME support and PMO, clients can enhance their pWin, improve teaming capabilities, and mature their solutions to meet the Air Force's stringent requirements. Visit http://crgroupinc.com or reach out at contact@crgroupinc.com to learn more about how CRG can empower your organization. #IL - #VA - #DC - #Dubai, #UAE. #CRG #DefenseInnovation #CUSAS #AirForce #DroneWarfare #MilitaryTech #DoD #Aerospace #CRG #DefenseContracting #MilitaryLogistics #AI #USAF #DIB #MachineLearning #NationalSecurity #USG #GovCon

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