Weekly Roundup
June 15 – June 19 2015


A Note From Our President & Founder Jim Garrettson

Several of the GovCon industry’s most notable players have aligned with each other — and against each other — in pursuit of a multibillion Air Force program to build a new set of surveillance planes for the service branch.
The Joint Surveillance Target Attack Radar System Recapitalization competition will pit one team comprising Northrop Grumman, L-3 Communications and General Dynamics’ Gulfstream business aircraft arm against another lineup featuring Lockheed Martin, Raytheon and commercial plane maker Bombardier.
Both JSTARS Recap teams will focus on open systems architecture and commercial-off-the-shelf technology in each of their aircraft proposals, which will be respectively based on business airplanes made by Gulfstream and Bombardier.
A subsequent report from Aviation Week pegs the project’s total value at $4.3 billion and puts the contract’s award date at sometime in late 2017.
Also this week, the Air Force’s top civilian official offered a glimpse into how the service will dole out contract work on the future Long Range Strike Bomber.
USAF Secretary Deborah Lee James said the service branch could decide on the bomber’s prime awardee by August between either Northrop or a Boeing-Lockheed team.
She also said the Air Force will hold a separate competition for work on the bomber’s subsystems.
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James will give the Potomac Officers Club her perspective on “The State of the Air Force” at POC’s July 22 breakfast event in Falls Church, Va. as keynote speaker.
James became Air Force secretary in late 2013 after 11 years executive roles at SAIC.
Air Force Chief Technology Officer Frank Konieczny will also address the GovCon executive audience at the event with many more speakers being lined up.
Topics slated for discussion at the event will include priority programs for the service branch, its current budget posture and the private sector’s role in helping to equip the Air Force.
Prior to that, the Potomac Officers Club will kick off its summer “CIO Speaker Series” for industry and government executives to hear from federal IT leaders on their technology priorities.
        
Doug Wolfe, the CIA’s chief information officer, will be the first federal CIO to address the POC at a July 16 breakfast event with Pentagon CIO Terry Halvorsen scheduled for August 6 and Transportation CIO Richard McKinney for August 20.
Heidi Shyu, the Army’s chief acquisition official, will address the POC September 2.
Click here to register for these events and to view POC’s full calendar.

THIS WEEK’S TOP NEWS STORIES

George Pedersen: ManTech Eyes Cyber, Homeland Security Markets With KCG Acquisition
KCG will bring approximately 200 professionals to ManTech’s mission, cyber and intelligence group.
Leidos Appoints Former Vencore Exec James Reagan as EVP, CFO; Roger Krone Comments
Reagan will officially join Leidos July 6 and succeed the retiring Mark Sopp, who also held the CFO role when the company was known as SAIC.
Gregory Hayes: UTC to Decide on Sikorsky Spinoff or Sale Move in ‘Coming Weeks’
UTC started a strategic review of Sikorsky in March and the helicopter subsidiary recorded $8 billion in FY 2014 revenue.
Hugh Evans: Veritas Capital Targets Mass Notification Tech Market with ECN Buy
ECN designed a cloud-based software tool for public and private sector entities to share data during emergencies.
QTS Closes $326M Carpathia Acquisition; Chad Williams Comments
The companies will operate under their current organizational structures while they work on an integration plan.
Rick Ambrose: Lockheed-Boeing JV Seeks US Approval for Russian Rocket Engine Purchase
Lockheed’s space systems president previews the United Launch Alliance’s next steps in an evolving satellite launch market.
Appian Obtains FedRAMP Approval for Cloud Services; Myles Weber Comments
The company received its FedRAMP authorization from the Federal Transit Authority.
GSA’s 18F Hub to Open Agile Development Contract Solicitation Process
This new blanket purchase agreement will be included in GSA’s Schedule 70 procurement vehicle for IT products and services.
Raytheon-Websense JV, Syntel Form Cybersecurity Alliance for Clients; Nitin Rakesh Comments
Syntel will work to customize and implement the joint venture’s threat identification and analytics products for customers.
Michele Flournoy: Immediate Deal to Undo Defense Budget Caps Unlikely
The former Pentagon official expresses hope that lawmakers could reach a deal within the next two-to-three years on defense spending.
Anne Rung: Future ‘Digital Procurement Corps’ to Drive Agile, Modular Acquisitions
The White House’s procurement chief says the government could model this group after the U.S. Digital Service.
Emile Monette: GSA Begins Work on Cyber Risk Framework for IT Systems Acquisitions
The GSA government-wide policy office adviser says an initial list of risk indicators for IT acquisition processes could be ready by the fall.
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