Executive Mosaic announced on Wednesday that Aaron Weis, chief information officer at the Department of the Navy, has received his second consecutive Wash100 Award, the most coveted award in all of government contracting (GovCon), for his efforts to update information technology processes and security practices at the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps. 

ECS executives Aaron Burciaga and Steve Ahern wrote in a blog post published Wednesday that for the Department of Defense to enable data visibility, accessibility and interoperability, it needs tools, processes and people knowledgeable of data usage and analytics.

Aaron Burciaga, vice president of analytics and artificial intelligence at ECS, has said that combining the technical aspects of data science with the humanistic elements of customer experience will help organizations gain financial opportunities.

AAR has been certified under a Federal Aviation Administration program that seeks to ensure compliance of maintenance, repair and overhaul service providers and other organizations with safety management system requirements. The move to implement an SMS Voluntary Program-compliant system at AAR facilities is aimed at spotting and addressing safety issues and trends early for better customer service, the company said Friday.

AAR has established a committee tasked with assisting the company's board of directors in ensuring safety across employee training programs and aviation services. AAR said Tuesday that Duncan McNabb, a retired U.S. Air Force general and former head of U.S. Transportation Command, will serve as chair of the Aviation Safety and Training Committee.

AAR has secured a $148 million follow-on indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract to help the Naval Air Systems Command maintain and operate the U.S. Navy's C-40A transport planes. Nick Gross, senior vice president of integrated solutions at AAR, said the award marks the second consecutive for the company to “We are proud to have been selected for the second consecutive time to provide logistics support services to the C-40A fleet.

Accenture’s federal arm and Appian have teamed up to help defense and civilian agencies simplify the acquisition process with the use of low-code automation technology. Accenture Federal Services is working on delivery accelerators to update Appian’s suite of Acquisition Solutions designed to simplify the procurement process in accordance with Federal Acquisition Regulations.

The U.S. Army has asked industry for information on supply drone concepts as part of the Joint Tactical Autonomous Aerial Resupply System program. A notice published Thursday on the beta SAM website says the service is seeking a first unit equipped supply drone that could demonstrate operational capability at technology readiness level 6, could be ready for use by 2026 and could comply with regulations of the Federal Aviation Administration and the International Civil Aviation Organization.

Gary Newgaard, vice president of public sector at Pure Storage, wrote in an article published Tuesday on FedTech Magazine how artificial intelligence and big data could help government agencies carry out their missions by gleaning insights from large data volumes.  

The U.S. Navy has indicated its intent to award Northrop Grumman’s defense systems business a sole-source contract to commence low-rate initial production of the AGM-88G Advanced Anti-Radiation Guided Missile–Extended Range variant.

Magellan Federal has appointed Aaron Betz as senior director of the company’s Department of Veterans Affairs programs.

AAR will continue to distribute Unison Industries' aircraft component products in the military and civilian aviation aftermarket under a potential 11-year, $1B partnership agreement. The exclusive global distribution deal also calls for AAR to create sales and marketing strategies, generate forecasts, store offerings in a warehouse and sell original equipment manufacturer replacement parts, the company said Tuesday.