Ground has been broken at the Institute for Advanced Learning and Research campus in Danville, Virginia, marking the beginning of construction of a new regional training center for the U.S. Navy. Professional services firm Dewberry, which is providing architecture and environmental engineering services for the project, said Friday that the new facility is expected to open by 2025.

Advanced Technology International has been awarded an other transaction agreement by the Naval Surface Warfare Center Crane Division. The public service non-profit company said Thursday that, under the OTA, it will serve as the manager for the Expeditionary Missions Consortium - Crane.

Valkyrie Enterprises won a five-year, $76 million contract to support the U.S. Navy Center for Surface Combat Systems Training Command. The company said Wednesday it will perform systems engineering and training analysis to serve the mission of SCSTC across the globe.

Serco Group's North American business arm has been awarded the Autonomy and Vehicle Control Systems / Testing and Evaluations contract by the U.S. Navy. The IT service management company said Thursday that, under the three-year, $68 million contract, Serco Inc. will support the Naval Architecture and Engineering Department within Naval Surface Warfare Center Carderock Division in developing unmanned surface vessel autonomy.

RTX has secured a potential five-year, $20.8 million contract to build and demonstrate two wideband passive sensor systems for the U.S. Navy's Birdseye Yonder effort. The Office of Naval Research solicited bids for the cost-plus-fixed-fee contract under a long range broad agency announcement and will obligate funds in the Navy's fiscal 2023 research, development, test and evaluation budget, the Department of Defense said Tuesday.

The Potomac Officers Club will host the 10th Annual Defense R&D Summit on Jan. 31. Register here.

The public sector business of Verizon has received a task order from the U.S. Navy via the Enterprise Infrastructure Solutions contract vehicle to provide voice and data services in support of the Morale, Welfare and Recreation program. Valued at $15 million, the award entails introducing new technologies to address the Navy’s next-generation voice requirements and enhancing data capabilities, including shifting from the Navy’s Time Division Multiplexing voice platform to ethernet, the company said Tuesday.

HII has christened the U.S. Navy's third America-class amphibious assault ship, named after Bougainville Island in the Solomons in honor of a World War 2 campaign that dismantled the Japanese stronghold. Ellyn Dunford, wife of former Joint Chiefs of Staff chairman and U.S. Marine Corps Commandant Joe Dunford Jr., sponsored the christening of USS Bougainville, the company said Saturday.

Assurance Technology Corp. has secured a $70 million indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity contract to provide the Navy with development support and integration services for optical and radio frequency payload systems. Work will be carried out at the Naval Research Laboratory in Washington, D.C., through November 2028.

CRL Technologies, an Alexandria, Virginia-based engineering services provider, was selected by the U.S. Navy to deliver lead systems integrator support to the AIRWorks Office within the Naval Air Warfare Center. Under a $247.7 million contract, the company will perform engineering, technical, prototyping and project management services in support of the service branch's manned and unmanned aircraft programs and platforms.

Four unmanned surface vessels outfitted with Leidos' autonomy technology have reached Sydney Harbor as part of the U.S. Navy's Integrated Battle Problem 23.2 multidomain exercise aimed at incorporating autonomous systems into fleet operations. Gerry Fasano, president of Leidos' defense group and a four-time Wash100 awardee, said in a company statement published Tuesday that the deployment will give "fleet commanders much-needed enhancements to maritime domain awareness, accelerating the speed and lethality of existing maritime kill chains."

RENK Systems, an Indiana-based industrial test systems developer, has won a $49 million contract to develop three test stands for the CH-53K King Stallion helicopters of the U.S. Navy and Marine Corps. The Department of Defense said Friday the company will work through November 2025 to conduct testing on various gearbox assemblies and deliver corresponding logistics, calibration, maintenance and sustainment support.

The shipbuilding division of HII has commenced the production of the U.S. Navy's newest Flight III Arleigh Burke-class destroyer, named in honor of former U.S. Senator Thad Cochran. HII said Thursday the initiation of the fabrication of the USS Thad Cochran signals the shipyard's preparedness to progress with construction, with the initial 100 tons of steel already cut.