The Defense Threat Reduction Agency has begun seeking information on potential industry sources capable of providing unbiased operational assessments of technologies and capabilities. A notice posted Thursday on SAM.gov said that the potential five-year contract will support the assessment of the comparative functionality and interoperability of platforms designed for explosive ordnance disposal and counter weapons of mass destruction missions.

Join the Potomac Officers Club's 10th Annual Defense R&D Summit on Jan. 31. Register here.

Guidehouse has been acquired by Bain Capital Private Equity, which purchased the firm from Veritas Capital for $5.3 billion. Scott McIntyre will remain as CEO and continue to lead Guidehouse's management team, who will keep their current positions.

Gecko Robotics, a developer of software and robotic technologies that work to build and maintain physical assets, announced raising $100 million from the extension of its Series C funding round in addition to the $73 million it had already received. Gecko Robotics said Tuesday that part of the Series C extension involves the expansion of its corporate board with the addition of U.S. Innovative Technology Managing Director Gaetano Crupi and Founders Fund Partner Trae Stephens.

Modern data platforms enable organizations to work with any kind of data regardless of where it is stored, Splunk's Bill Rowan said in an interview. Rowan, the vice president of public sector at Splunk and a Wash100 winner, discussed the benefits users can gain from modern data platforms, which he described as "key to enabling enterprise resilience and innovation."

Second Front Systems has completed and raised $40 million from its Series B funding round, which was led by NEA and saw participation from current investors Moore Strategic Ventures and AE Industrial Partners HorizonX. The software company said the fresh funds will accelerate the delivery of mission-critical software solutions to the government.

Automation and other digital transformation initiatives are progressively being implemented by government agencies looking to improve customer experience, said David Egts, field chief technology officer of public sector at Salesforce company MuleSoft. In a commentary published Tuesday in Federal News Network, Egts recommended various applications of automation that can help agencies deliver better customer services.

Intelsat delivered high-speed, uninterrupted satellite communications connectivity with its Multi-Orbit Tactical Terminal during a two-week field test with the U.S. Army. Intelsat said Thursday that the demo was part of the Army’s annual Network Modernization Experiment.

Bill Rowan, vice president of public sector at Splunk and a four-time Wash100 awardee, said in a commentary published Friday on Federal News Network that federal agencies looking to improve critical infrastructure through digital resilience and adoption of the National Cybersecurity Strategy should use next-generation observability tools.

Divergent Technologies has closed its Series D equity financing, totaling $230 million. Divergent said Monday that Hexagon AB invested $100 million and led the capital raising round, which included new and existing institutional and family office investors.

Generative artificial intelligence and Space Force Supra Coders and cybersecurity were the main highlights of the the 2023 Department of the Air Force Information Technology and Cyberpower Education & Training Event. Mike McCalip, vice president of Department of Defense solutions at Carahsoft, shared the use cases and multifaceted approaches by the Air Force and Space Force on the three IT areas.

Lance Spencer, client executive vice president for defense at AT&T, leads the company’s efforts to help the Department of Defense modernize its operations with 5G offerings. Spencer recently sat down with ExecutiveBiz for an Executive Spotlight interview, during which he discussed the immense potential of 5G, its ability to transform the way the military uses technology and the challenges that may be faced in its development and deployment. 

Blue Origin has launched a mockup of its Blue Moon 1 lunar lander at its Huntsville, Alabama-based facility for use in testing technologies meant for a manned version of the vehicle for NASA’s Artemis 5 mission.