The AI Gamble: Inside the High-Stakes Tech of the Golden Dome Initiative
President Trump’s proposed space-based missile shield will rely heavily on AI to achieve the speed needed for boost-phase intercepts, writes Vincent Carchidi and Carter Palmer of Forecast International. President Trump’s Golden Dome initiative has certainly created buzz within the space industry. There are a lot of questions still unanswered, namely what the architecture of the system […]
Crunch time for CMMC as November deadline looms
Full implementation of the standard takes effect in a month. In the meantime, a new study shows a compliance gap that could lock unprepared contractors out of defense contracts while cyber vulnerabilities persist. Full implementation of the Defense Department’s new cybersecurity standard takes full effect on Nov. 1 and you’d think the GovCon industry would be […]
Government spirals toward shutdown with Trump promising mass layoffs
A last-ditch effort to keep government funded failed Tuesday night. Agencies will begin furloughing staff on Wednesday. The federal government is headed toward a shutdown Wednesday morning with Congress failing to pass any funding to kick off fiscal 2026, which will cause hundreds of thousands of agency employees to be furloughed and the rest of the […]
Don’t go dark: Why this shutdown demands a different contractor strategy
With 140,000 federal workers already gone, the contractors who stay engaged now will be the only ones with customers left when funding returns. Federal workers are “terrified” and “disoriented,” according to CNN. And they should be. This isn’t following the usual script. Trump canceled negotiations with Democratic leaders, calling their demands “unserious and ridiculous,” before holding […]
CBP picks 3 for $900M IT, enterprise business support pact
Customs and Border Protection sought industry support for various aspects of its operations related to emerging tech and management of key programs. Customs and Border Protection has awarded three positions on a potential five-year, $900 million blanket purchase agreement for broad IT and professional services in support of DHS’ enterprise business functions. Deloitte, IBM and Steampunk […]
SecDef uses unprecedented meeting to unveil 10 personnel, due-process reviews
After summoning senior officers from around the world, Hegseth invites them to resign if they don’t agree with him. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth summoned hundreds of admirals, generals, and senior enlisted leaders to Quantico, Virginia, on Tuesday to hear him announce a spate of personnel initiatives around physical fitness and grooming standards, the inspector general process, […]
White House seeks industry input as it crafts “anti-woke” AI guidelines
Critics have said that the July executive order on “woke” AI could chill free speech, despite the administration’s stated focus on protecting it. The White House Office of Management and Budget is hosting listening sessions with industry as it creates its anti-woke guidance for artificial intelligence. In July, President Donald Trump signed an executive order on […]
Connolly’s successor, James Walkinshaw, looks to carry on his IT and workforce legacy
“A shutdown gives the Trump administration no new legal authority to fire federal workers or to conduct reductions in force,” Rep. James Walkinshaw, D-Va., told Nextgov/FCW in response to the White House telling agencies to implement mass layoffs in the event of a funding lapse. Rep. James Walkinshaw, D-Va., was sworn into office earlier this month […]
The government shutdown playbook: cash flow, communication and recovery
The Professional Services Council is urging companies to secure their cash flow and identify agency contacts as they get ready for an all too familiar funding crisis. It is easy to lose count of how many times the government has shut down or come close to it over the past three decades because, well, it has […]
Navy awards $244M contract for space-to-ground transmission research
Assurance Technology will develop systems to transmit energy across the radio frequency spectrum to objects in space under the FROST program. Assurance Technology has captured a $244 million Navy contract for research on space to ground communications. The Focused Radio Frequency Optimized Signal Transference contract will be used for engineering, analytical and technical services needed to development […]