Keoki Jackson

The Senate Appropriations Committee’s FY25 defense budget bill highlights the urgent need for the Pentagon & Intelligence Community (IC) to fully leverage commercial space capabilities. The bill underscores gaps in current utilization plans and emphasizes the importance of integrating commercial solutions to bolster the High-Capacity, Find, Fix, Track, Target, Engage, and Assess Constellation (HCF). This new joint architecture, involving electro-optical, synthetic aperture radar, and ground moving target sensors, is pivotal for modern ISR operations. However, legislative scrutiny reveals concerns about the underutilization of robust commercial space capabilities, potentially undermining the US remote sensing industrial base. CRG’s SME Opportunities, Advice, Differentiators Opportunities: 1. Integration with HCF: Companies specializing in electro-optical, SAR, and GMTI sensors can play a crucial role in integrating commercial tech with the HCF constellation. 2. Tactical ISR Enhancement: Firms can support the ongoing pilot project for Combatant Commands to directly task commercial satellites, enhancing tactical ISR capabilities. 3. Commercial Augmentation: Businesses offering space-based PNT, environmental monitoring, and other satellite services can benefit from the $22 million allocated to augment these missions. Advice: 1. Align with Strategic Goals: Align your capabilities with the strategic objectives outlined by the Senate, focusing on enhancing the HCF and supporting tactical ISR operations. 2. Leverage Commercial Advantages: Emphasize the cost-effectiveness, agility, and scalability of commercial solutions compared to traditional government systems. 3. Engage Early: Proactively engage with Space Systems Command’s Commercial Space Office to position your technologies for integration and funding opportunities. Differentiators: 1. Proven Track Record: Highlight successful integrations of commercial technologies in defense and intelligence applications. 2. Cutting-Edge Innovation: Showcase advancements in sensor technologies and data analytics that can provide superior capabilities for ISR operations. 3. Scalability and Flexibility: Demonstrate how your solutions can quickly scale and adapt to evolving mission requirements, offering a resilient and robust alternative to traditional systems. The defense landscape demands rapid integration of commercial space capabilities. Firms must act now to position themselves as essential partners. Interested companies should act now to capitalize on this opportunity. Contact CRG today to leverage our expertise and secure your position in this critical defense initiative. For more information, visit crgroupinc.com or contact us at [email protected]. #CommercialSpace #SpaceAcquisition #ISR #DefenseInnovation #SpaceForce #SatelliteTechnology #ISRIntegration #DefenseContracts #MilitarySpace #TacticalISR #SpaceSurveillance #SatelliteIndustry #DefenseStrategy #CommercialSatellites #TechInnovation

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Only 2 more days to sign up for this informative and insightful webinar of Combat Systems Engineering - including AEGIS, Missile Defense, Fire Control, Radars, light amplification by stimulated emission of radiation [LASERs], and much more!*!

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🌟 Meet our incredible members! This week, we’re shining the spotlight on Tom McDaniel from L3Harris Technologies. Tom discusses how DII has helped him and his organization. What is one way that you and your organization use DII? To me the most valuable part of DII is networking with other members offline using Member Connect and in-person during the annual Best Practices Forum (BPF) to share ideas and learn how others are implementing their respective ethics programs. Check out his full spotlight at www.dii.org #DIICommunity #ethicsandcompliance

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📢 The Department of Defense (DOD) has released a new Open Announcement through the Defense Industrial Base Consortium Other Transaction Authority(DIBC OTA) 📝 The DIBC OTA will accept unsolicited White Papers to be considered for Defense Production Act (DPA) Title III and Industrial Base Analysis and Sustainment (IBAS) funding. 🧑‍🏫 DIBC membership is free and is open to U.S. organizations as well as international partners from the United Kingdom (UK), Australia, and Canada. 📈 The Open Announcement will significantly accelerate the timeline to project award, which will bring critical capabilities to the industrial base faster. This effort also supports the critical Supply Chain Resiliency Focus Areas identified as part of President Biden's Executive Order 14017, On America's Supply Chains. ✴️ The critical sectors sought under this Open Announcement include: * Kinetic Capabilities * Energy Storage and Batteries * Castings and Forgings * Strategic and Critical Materials * Microelectronics * Workforce Development 📅The Open Announcement is currently accepting White Papers and will remain open until September 30, 2024. All the information 👇

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Two cadets had the opportunity to conduct pioneering research and policy work with The Aerospace Corporation in Crystal City, VA, where they focused on developing common engineering platforms and space architecture. Their work addressed key policy implications and strategies for enhancing collaborative efforts in space operations, with a particular emphasis on how the #DefenseProductionAct (Title 7) could be utilized to promote stronger government-industry cooperation.   In their proposal, the cadets also recommended establishing recurring collaborative meetings between the military, #Congress, and the private sector. These meetings would focus on agreeing upon common standards for space architecture, streamlining the rapid acquisition of space capabilities, and ensuring Congress can appropriate the necessary funds to support these efforts. This proposal is highly relevant as the United States Space Force is currently working on these very issues to enhance its operational effectiveness and readiness in space.   The cadets’ presentation at Corona was met with notable attention, leading the Secretary of the Air Force (SECAF) Frank Kendall III to personally request a follow-up discussion (which happened last week). This engagement underscores the significance of their research and highlights their potential to influence the future direction of aerospace policy.

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Come see us at the SIA Government Summit (Main Auditorium of the National Housing Center) in DC next week! We will be discussing the path forward to modernization, proliferation of OT/IoT devices in the security space, and the convergence of technologies in an interconnected world. We are honored to have distinguished members of the Federal community on the panel, contributing their experiences and views on a range of topics resonating in the field of physical security today. Hope to see you there! #physicalsecurity, #homelandsecurity, #departmentofdefense, #accesscontrol, #CCTV,

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"When Deputy Secretary of Defense Kathleen Hicks signed a memo to initiate changes in the Department of Defense’s classification policy for space programs, the move marked a tangible moment in the push to adapt traditional classification policies for a modern space era." #classification #classified #classificationpolicy #elaranova #spacesecurity #nationalsecurity #internationalspace #thoughtleadership #SpaceForce #Pentagon #DOD #nationaldefense #CSpO

Satellites, GPS, and the Internet – what do all these have in common?📡📱 They are all the result of world-changing #tech first developed by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), an agency in the United States tasked with developing frontier #emergingtechnologies. Now, the Advanced Research Projects Agency for Health (ARPA-H) aims to do the same for healthcare. Find out about how Nina Maturu, a US White House Presidential Innovation Fellows, is working with ARPA-H to drive futures thinking and solve the next big challenge in #healthcare.

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In a move to streamline technology transitions, Heidi Shyu, Under Secretary of Defense for Research and Engineering, has inaugurated the Transition Tracking Action Group (TTAG). This advisory body, established March 13, is set to harness advanced data analytics to track how the Department of Defense (DoD) delivers capabilities to the field. Chaired by the R&E's chief data officer, Cyrus Jabbari, and comprising senior representatives from the military services and offices under the Secretary of Defense, TTAG aims to improve the visibility and management of the DoD's technology transition processes. The goal of this initiative seeks to ensure the timely and cost-effective delivery of state-of-the-art systems and equipment to military personnel. To do this, the department will seek understand what the primary obstacles to transition are and if the measures it undertakes to improve outcomes are yielding desired effects. The TTAG will create a department-wide method to track technology transition and determine the reasons capability-enhancing technologies do or do not transition, to enable the Joint Force to deter and, if necessary, prevail in contested environments.

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The DoD has released the National Defense Industrial Strategy - Implementation Plan. The United States continues to lead the world in innovation, but the underlying industrial base and supply chain has atrophied. In the aftermath of the fall of the Berlin Wall and the dismantling of the USSR, President Clinton formulated a “Peace Dividend Policy” that slashed defense spending from 4.3% of GDP to 2.9%. Concurrently, in the decade that followed, the U.S. had an exodus of manufacturing to China. We not only atrophied our industrial capabilities, but we destroyed skilled, high paying jobs. The Rust Belt, as it became known, was decimated with communities throughout Ohio, Pennsylvania, Michigan, Indiana, W Virginia losing factories that had employed multiple generations. This is an urgent matter of national security and the highest priority economic policy issue. Supporting small businesses and re-establishing a more resilient and scalable manufacturing base is a bi-partisan issue with broad federal support. It’s great to see the breadth and depth of support … time is of the essence. Great to see momentum building. Amaero International Ltd (ASX:3DA)

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🆕 In IEST's latest blog post, Dave Sgro of Anduril Industries provides a high level overview of what MIL-STD-810 product qualification entails and why it’s critical for success in the field. In today’s rapidly evolving technological landscape, the reliability and durability of equipment are paramount, especially for military and defense applications. MIL-STD-810, a rigorous standard established by the U.S. Department of Defense, plays a crucial role in ensuring that equipment meets these demanding requirements. Specifically, MIL-STD-810 product qualification focuses on validating that equipment can endure and perform under extreme conditions. 📆 Also, don't miss Dave's upcoming training courses on MIL-STD-810! https://lnkd.in/gfPdp2kK https://lnkd.in/gDW475CD

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Opportunistic, Resilient & Innovative Expeditionary Network Topology Solicitation posted! United States Department of Defense needs to ensure that connectivity across a heterogeneous swarm of attritable multi-domain autonomous platforms remains intact. Communications equipment shall be capable of reliable operations in a contested spectrum along with ability to operate at lower classification levels in conjunction with attrition resilience concurrent with the vehicles that they are on. DoD needs the ability to push one-way updated commands via a broadcast through the line-of-site and beyond line of siteradio frequency and data networks. Communications across the network must be secure, applying best industry practices of commercial grade transmission and communications security. DoD requires a network control channel and management tool to direct and/or redirect the UxV team in both real-time and non-real-time disconnected operations. Defense Innovation Unit (DIU) requests solutions by 7/19/2024. Details found here: https://lnkd.in/eXJexNCh #software #cybersecurity #autonomy

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In today's rapidly evolving security landscape, the Department of Defense is working to better align three rigorous processes, each with its own priorities and prerogatives, to deliver capability at speed and scale: requirements, funding, and acquisition. "The main institutional obstacle here is not a particular acquisition regulation but the wider process established over time to direct resources prudently toward new military capabilities in ways consistent with overall strategic priorities and the needs of the Joint Force," Dr. William LaPlante, Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Sustainment, writes in an op-ed published today in National Defense Magazine. "We call it the 'three-legged stool' of defense modernization though, given the traditional rigidity of the process, the term “iron triangle” might be more appropriate. The goal is to flip the equation on process improvement: identify technology potentially useful to multiple military services stuck somewhere in or among the stool/triangle’s three legs. [Competitive Advantage Pathfinders] are demonstrating solutions to barriers in capability fielding by illuminating disconnects among these three 'legs'." 🔗 Read the full article below to learn more about how CAPs are breaking down barriers and accelerating acquisitions. 🔜 Join us this afternoon! Don’t miss Dr. LaPlante lead a panel discussion on the state of #DefenseAcquisition at the second annual National Defense Industrial Association - (NDIA) Emerging Technologies for Defense Conference. #EmergingTechETI | Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Acquisition

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Op-ed from Bill LaPlante outlining some successes of the Competitive Advantage Pathfinders, which have cut time to fielding new capabilities, especially for CJADC2. "A crucial advantage of CAPs is to adapt a technology capability used by one service and migrate it to another service without requiring a new program or budget cycle." Two examples: "CAPs enabled the Air Force to go from identifying operational need to developing a capability solution available for procurement within 18 months — a process usually taking several years for a new program. Additionally, a similar electronic warfare pathfinder has enabled the Army to potentially skip the development stage by leveraging a pre-existing Navy capability with minimal hardware and software changes." Great to see these success stories! Read more below. 👇

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🚨 ONE WEEK LEFT: the 24.3/C Specific Topic solicitation will be in pre-release for only one more week until the solicitation opens on September 18. This solicitation is seeking solutions related to Space Domain Awareness, Tactical High Orbit Fast Transfer, Dynamic Space Operations, and more. Be sure to submit questions directly to the Technical Point of Contact (TPOC) before the pre-release period ends! Once the solicitation opens, the TPOC will no longer be able to respond to direct questions but you can still pose questions through the DSIP Q&A. View all pre-release details, login or create an account to submit questions and find TPOC contact information here: https://ow.ly/q4RO50TgnXo . . . #AFWERX #SpaceWERX #SpecificTopic #funding #opportunity #SBIR #STTR #innovation #technology #space #USSF #DAF #DoD

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As the Army streamlines its use of digital engineering, the service is promoting new standards that will enable interoperability and data sharing between government-and industry-owned digital environments, according to a senior official. https://lnkd.in/eT9_5wnw #digitalthread #digitaltwin #digitalengineering #canvasenvision

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