The Defense Department has created a new steering group that is centered around innovation within the department in major technology industries, according to a DoD official. The steering group’s creation was announced on Tuesday at a Senate Appropriations Defense subcommittee. The news comes amidst tensions between lawmakers and the agency

The Joint Artificial Intelligence Center (JAIC) is seeking support for artificial intelligence testing and evaluation services. The program supports the goals of the Defense Department and the US government in achieving an upper hand in harnessing cutting-edge technology at the start of the new decade. The JAIC released the request

On Thursday, Microsoft announced new partnerships with ten different companies that will aim to support Defense Department projects using Azure cloud services. In October of 2020, the DoD rewarded Microsoft and IBM a transaction authority contract totaling $24.5 million to assist the agency on a program called the Rapid Assured

The Government Accountability Office has found that 10 out of 15 of the Department of Defense’s IT projects are behind schedule. The Defense Department’s programs consist of software development approaches seeking to avoid cost increases and schedule delays for information technology systems. However, the Government Accountability Office (GAO) also found

The Defense Department is seeking open-source intelligence software that can draw on information from social media to create graphics and conduct analysis in real-time, according to a solicitation released by the agency. The agency states that the software would access at least 50 million websites and be able to disseminate

We previously wrote that the Joint All-Domain Command and Control (JADC2) is perhaps the most important program in DoD today. The Air Force plays a particularly important role in developing the JADC2 concept.  They have been designated as the Executive Agent.  That means they will have major input into how the framework is shaped.  Their work will influence every sensor, shooter and network advance the Department of Defense puts forward for the next decade.

Air Force’s Advanced Battle Management System (ABMS) is the architecture approach they are using to flush out the JADC2 concept.  Through a carefully structured series of events, they are developing the standards that will enable current and future weapon systems and networks to migrate to a JADC2/Joint All Domain Operations environment.

Earlier this week, Pentagon officials announced that they were seeking ways to capitalize on the potential of machine learning and artificial intelligence for automating the decision making processes from a tactical standpoint. In 2019, the Defense Department released a digital modernization strategy that highlighted the uses of AI and machine

The Navy’s global, federated Defensive Cyber Operation (DCO) enclave is about to get a major upgrade.  PMW 130, the Cybersecurity Program Office, recently put a Request for Information on the street to engage with industry on ideas to upgrade their Sharkcage program.  17 companies responded.

The House Armed Services Committee (HASC) chartered a special task force to assess what the nation should know about the dynamic national security environment and produce a report to guide future action. The report was just issued. It evaluates strategic priorities of the US DoD to seek better matches of national resources to next-generation threats and sets goals for the entire national security community to achieve to ensure success in the coming decades.

The report was not meant to inform action in corporate America, but there are some considerations that may be of critical importance to strategic planning. This report provides our cut on what this report means for business strategists and suggestions on what actions to consider because of the shifting national security environment discussed in this report.

Unmanned ground systems have been around and in use in DoD for decades. They were used throughout WWII for various functions considered too dangerous for humans, like demolition missions or advancing on a battle front to draw enemy fire. What’s exciting today is the explosion of possibilities as we couple artificial intelligence with modern day sensors and a versatile all-terrain ground platform. The FY21 President’s Budget dedicates serious funding to the R&D of Intelligent Robotics and Autonomous Systems (IRAS). Systems that can perform autonomously, make intelligent decisions based on what they “sense” and carry our successful missions (with or without a human in the mix) are critical to DoD’s strategy over the next decade.