nLIGHT will continue developing a high energy laser prototype under the second phase of the HEL Scaling Initiative of the Department of Defense's Office of the Under Secretary of Defense, Research & Engineering. The phase two award now has a total value of $171 million after the DOD exercised additional options.

Interested in learning more about the DOD's research and development activities? Hear from OUSD(R&E)'s Heidi Shyu, one of the speakers at the Potomac Officers Club's 10th Annual Defense R&D Summit. Register here to join the event.

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The acquisition of Novetta by Accenture Federal Services has benefited both companies in terms of expanding to new markets, said Kevin Heald, managing director and leader of the national security portfolio at the Accenture business. He told The Channel Company-CRN on Tuesday that since the acquisition two years ago, Accenture Federal Services has been able to secure more government agency customers while Novetta has extended its offerings beyond national security.

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The U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory has awarded Stratolaunch a contract to support the inaugural flight test of the company's second reusable Talon-A hypersonic vehicle called TA-3. The award came on the heels of a 2022 AFRL contract to facilitate the first flight of the initial configuration of the TA product line.

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Boeing has partnered with NASA and United Airlines to conduct in-flight tests to examine how sustainable aviation fuel can impact contrails and non-carbon emissions and reduce carbon soot. The study will involve the Boeing-manufactured second ecoDemonstrator Explorer, which will fly using 100 percent SAF and conventional jet fuel stored in separate tanks.

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The Defense Contract Management Agency, on behalf of the U.S. Army, accepted the first GE Aerospace-built flight test engine for the Army’s Future Attack Reconnaissance Aircraft on Sept. 28. The second T901 engine is going through the acceptance process under the Army’s Improved Turbine Engine Program and the service is set to hand over the two engines to two vendors working on two FARA competitive prototypes - Raider X from Lockheed Martin's Sikorsky business and 360 Invictus from Textron's Bell subsidiary - by the end of October.

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Michael Perrin, a retired U.S. Army colonel, has joined veteran-owned, minority small business DigiFlight as senior vice president of national intelligence. Perrin brings to the role decades of military and government experience in tactical and strategic air and missile defense, technology development, program management, and contracting and policy oversight, the Columbia, Maryland-headquartered company said Tuesday.

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General Dynamics‘ land systems division, McQ, Oshkosh Defense and Textron Systems have secured contracts worth $25 million combined to design and build light robotic combat vehicle prototypes for the U.S. Army. Under the first phase of the competition, the contractors will each work to deliver two platform prototypes to the service branch by August 2024 […] More

A Boeing and Red 6 team has finished the initial flight testing of augmented reality technologies designed to enhance the combat capabilities of the U.S. Air Force. Incorporating Red 6’s Advanced Tactical Augmented Reality System and Augmented Reality Command and Analytic Data Environment on the TA-4J tactical aircraft took less than a year to complete, Thomas Bergeson, president […] More

A Boeing and Red 6 team has finished the initial flight testing of augmented reality technologies designed to enhance the combat capabilities of the U.S. Air Force. Incorporating Red 6’s Advanced Tactical Augmented Reality System and Augmented Reality Command and Analytic Data Environment on the TA-4J tactical aircraft took less than a year to complete. More

Rob Carey, president of Cloudera Government Solutions, said federal agencies looking to effectively implement artificial intelligence tools should identify problems that are well-defined and supported by high-quality data. “This is taking what we do today with machine learning and current AI algorithms. And now we are into generative AI that helps you predict things better, […] More

Rob Carey, president of Cloudera Government Solutions, said federal agencies looking to effectively implement artificial intelligence tools should identify problems that are well-defined and supported by high-quality data. "So this is all about what data is the language learning model using to produce a result in support of the mission of that organization?” Carey noted. More

The Honorable Dr. John Hillen has joined Enlightenment Capital‘s advisory board. A longtime player in both the government and industry spaces, Hillen will use his decades of military, national security and intelligence experience to provide insights to the aerospace, defense, government and technology-centered investment firm, Enlightenment Capital shared with ExecutiveBiz on Monday. “I am looking forward to […] More