GovConJudicata Weekly Debrief (1/6–10)
This week's Weekly Debrief covers Pentagon acquisition reform and AI, Army's need for a mothership to launch drones, DHS's first responder RFI, federal IT, and NASA's lunar objectives.
Defense
"For all that has been made of how artificial intelligence can increase the military’s warfighting capabilities, such as improving targeting and intelligence analysis, an important group at the Pentagon has largely been left on the sidelines."
"The Army is scouring industry for unmanned aircraft systems to launch from medium- or high-altitude platforms that would perform tasks like intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, according to a request for information posted to the federal business opportunities portal Sam.gov.
Homeland Security
"The Department of Homeland Security is seeking information about technology that could potentially assist first responders, according to a new procurement posting. The program is part of the DHS Science and Technology Directorate’s System Assessment and Validation for Emergency Responders (SAVER) program and will work with the National Urban Security Technology Laboratory, a federal resource that focuses on law enforcement and fire emergency response tech, as well as systems that can assist in radiological and nuclear threats.
Information Technology
"If the federal IT sector had a news year’s party, the theme could easily be “What old is new again.” Along with the new Trump administration, the initial priority areas for federal agencies, and specifically for technology programs, is efficiency and effectiveness. As one federal expert said, we haven’t seen this type of specific call out for E&E — what I’m calling efficiency and effectiveness starting now — since the early 2000s. Clay Johnson, the former deputy director for management at the Office of Management and Budget during the George W. Bush administration, was often quoted as saying the goal of managing federal programs is to ensure they are getting better every year."
NASA
"While Elon Musk suggests he is interested in going directly to Mars, NASA experts argue that lunar missions are essential before attempting any human expeditions to the Red Planet. In a Jan. 2 post on X, the social media network he owns, Musk made clear he was not interested in at least a sustained human presence on the moon, or even any at all. “No, we’re going straight to Mars. The Moon is a distraction,” he wrote."
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