THIS WEEK’S TOP 10 MOST POPULAR STORIES
Former Leidos VP William Mintz Named Cerner Chief Strategy Officer
William Mintz, former vice president of strategy at Leidos (NYSE: LDOS) and a more than 25-year industry professional, has joined Cerner (Nasdaq: CERN) as its new chief strategy officer. Cerner said Wednesday that Mintz will manage the development of the company’s corporate strategy as well as the identification of business opportunities in his new role.
Army Awards 31 Spots on $13B Enterprise IT Software Recompete Contract
The U.S. Army has awarded 31 companies positions on the potential 10-year, $13B Information Technology Enterprise Solutions follow-on contract for commercial-off-the-shelf software. Army Contracting Command received 32 bids for the ITES – Software 2 firm-fixed-price contract, which seeks to provide COTS software and maintenance support to help the service, Department of Defense and other federal agencies meet their infrastructure and infostructure goals, DoD said Monday.
Northrop Gets $81M Navy Contract to Update Air-Launched Missile Tech
Northrop Grumman has secured a potential five-year, $80.9M contract from the U.S. Navy to incorporate new technology into a family of tactical weapon systems for defending against surface-to-air threats. The company will aim to increase the performance of the the Advanced Anti-Radiation Guided Missile under the indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract, the Department of Defense said Monday.
DARPA Names Victoria Coleman as Director; Michael Kratsios Quoted
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has appointed Victoria Coleman, an expert in artificial intelligence and microelectronics, as director of the agency, SpaceNews reported on Monday. Coleman served as a founding member of DARPA’s Microsystems Exploratory Council and a member of the Defense Science Board. She will bring her extensive private sector experience, across various senior leadership positions, to DARPA.
USAF Awards Booz Allen Spot on $950M Contract to Support ABMS Development; Khalid Syed Quoted
The U.S. Air Force awarded Booz Allen Hamilton a spot on the $950 million indefinite-delivery, indefinite-quantity (IDIQ) contract to support development of the Advanced Battle Management System (ABMS), the company reported on Monday. Booz Allen has been selected by the Air Force Life Cycle Management Center’s (AFLCMC) Chief Architect Integration Office (CAIO).
HPE Wins $79M DISA Enterprise Storage Solutions III Contract
Hewlett Packard Enterprise (NYSE: HPE) has won a potential 10-year, $79.4M contract from the Defense Information Systems Agency for enterprise storage platforms and services. DISA received six proposals for the Enterprise Storage Solutions III indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract, the Department of Defense said Thursday.
Lockheed Expedites $500M in Weekly Supplier Payments in August
Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT) is working to accelerate up to $500M in supplier payments as part of the company’s efforts to help government and industry partners in COVID-19 recovery initiatives. Lockheed said Friday it aims to “promote a healthy defense industrial base” and expedited payments of $300M to $500M every week especially to small business and at-risk companies over the past month.
Leanne Caret Talks Boeing’s Tech Investments to Build Military Aircraft Platforms
Leanne Caret, head of Boeing‘s (NYSE: BA) defense, space and security business, said the company invested in advanced manufacturing and digital engineering technologies to support its work on the Navy MQ-25 unmanned tanker and the Air Force T-7 trainer, GovCon Wire reported Aug. 18. Caret, a four-time Wash100 awardee, said in a Defense News interview posted Aug. 17 that she thinks the company’s technology investments have “paid off” for both the military aircraft programs and also for USAF’s F-15EX fighter jet production efforts.
Cerner Unit Books Potential $161M VA Health Network Deployment Order
Cerner’s (Nasdaq: CERN) government services business has received a potential $161M firm-fixed-price order to help the Department of Veterans Affairs implement an enterprise health care services network at four VA medical facilities in Ohio. VA said in an award notice posted on the beta SAM website that the order, which has a base value of $139.7M, covers deployment support for the Veterans Integrated Service Network 10 at designated VA medical centers and associated facilities.
JAIC Issues RFI on Alternative AI Procurement Methods
The U.S. Army and Joint Artificial Intelligence Center (JAIC) are looking for information on potential acquisition business models that can be used to support rapid artificial intelligence prototyping efforts. JAIC said in a notice posted Friday on the beta SAM website that it seeks to leverage new methods such as other transaction authorities to promote “collaboration and optimal teaming arrangements” with traditional and nontraditional contractors.
